Nucor at Crossroads Essay

In 1986, three distinct segments defined the U.S. steel industry; integrated steel mills, mini-mills, and specialty steel makers. The integrated mills have the capacity to produce a maximum of 107 million tons of steel per year, mini-mills produced a maximum of 21 million tons of capacity a year, and the nation’s specialty steel makers could produce a maximum capacity of 5 million tons of stainless and specialty grades of steel. This leads to a total capacity of 133 million tons of production per year. In 1986, the market consumed only 70 million tons of steel, leaving 33 million tons unused. Nucor is at a crossroads. It faces a saturated market suffering from significant overcapacity. Nucor’s only opportunity for growth seems to be to expand into the production of flat sheet metal. However, to compete in that area, Nucor would need to invest in a very risky new technology, a thin-slab casting plant that, if successful, would allow Nucor to manufacture flat sheet metal with a low minimum efficient scale and a low marginal cost of production. This case will examine Nucor’s history, the impacts of entering the thin-slab casting business, the advantages Nucor would reap, and whether they should build the new thin-slab casting plant. Looking at the business landscape of the steel industry, it is amazing to see how well Nucor has done considering the industry is so competitive and has relatively low profitability. Using Porter’s model, the threat of rivalry is high due to weak domestic demand, excess global capacity, a maturing industry, low switching costs, high exit barriers, rising operating costs (increasing raw material prices), and more than 5 comparable competitors. The threat of entry is low due to high barriers to entry (economies of scale have been achieved and high capital requirements), growth and profitability are modest at best, and most viable candidates are already present in the industry and are looking to expand into other markets. The threat of substitutes is moderate because buyers have the option of choosing other materials (aluminum, plastics, ceramics, etc.), and new materials technologies are currently being developed and sought after. The threat of suppliers is moderate because iron ore and scrap metal prices are currently high, energy prices are increasing, Nucor pays for transportation of its raw materials to its plants, there is no easy substitute to take the place of iron ore/scrap metal, and there is currently an overabundance of buyers of scrap metal and iron ore. Lastly, the threat of buyers is weak to moderate, because there is excess capacity, low switching costs, few high volume buyers, many low volume customers, strong demand from China, and rising feedstock prices. With the difficult business landscape in the steel industry, Nucor had to develop competitive advantages over its rivals to achieve its success. These advantages included differentiating itself by being an early adopter of computerized order tracking and allowing customers to make short time orders thus reducing their inventory. Second, it invested in modernization of its plants at an average of 2.9 times its depreciation expenses vs. an ave raged of 1.6 of its competitors through the 1970s and 1980s, and refurbished on average a plant a year. Third, Nucor strategically located its plants closer together to share orders for minimal cost and maximum sales, and building new plants in smaller rural areas with access to railroads, low energy costs, and a plentiful water source allowed Nucor to keep labor costs relatively low and made sure that COGS remained competitive. Fourth, base wages were lower but incentives were higher than average, and direct communication on expectation vs. performance provided feedback on compensation. Also, during down times, officers and CEO pay dropped dramatically while average workers did not. This led to lower employee turnover 1-5% vs. 5-10% for competitors. Fifth, Nucor’s hiring practices focused on making sure that they focused on hiring people based on potential, not experience. Finally, Nucor’s business hierarchy was different- mostly flat, resulting in less bureaucracy and more productivity per worker. In short, many of these advantages led to Nucor becoming the second most productive steel maker per employee in the world due by 1985. Thin-slab casting was a proposed technique for mini-mills to fill orders for flat sheet steel, a segment that accounted for approximately half of the U.S. steel industry. To expand its steel market share, Nucor needed to enter the flat sheet segment. In the thin-slab casting business, Nucor would initially compete with international firms from Canada and Japan that provided high quality flat sheet steel, and cheap flat sheet steel providers in newly industrialized nations. Barriers to entry would include large capital expenditures making new entrants cost prohibitive, but not impossible as the barrier is small comparative to the overall costs for steel manufacturing. While new rivals may not pop up immediately, new entrants from existing rivals will dilute Nucor’s competitive advantage. Nucor needed an innovative technology to be profitable in this segment as a new entrant. However, innovative technologies are risky due to development costs, unknown long-term operating costs, and the unknown quality of future products. Also, as a first mover, increased costs will be realized. Increased maintenance above forecasts, the risk that production will not keep pace with the small-scale model, the risk that the new tech will not be fully understood by the employees and harder to run. Also, an increased likelihood that other companies will benefit from their mistakes as SMS has not made any offer to keep information gleaned from a large-scale operation confidential. However, the benefits of being a first time mover would be realized as well. The expected profit from the thin slab minimill would be $81.50 per ton, which is 26% higher than from a modernized hot rolled sheet produced in an integrated mill and 226% higher than the margin from an unmodernized integrated mill. For cold rolled sheet, the expected profit advantage remains with minimills, with an expected profit of $107.50 per ton, which 1.9% greater than a modernized integrated mill and 115% higher than an unmodernized integrated mill. If Nucor enters the thin-slab casting business the lasting advantages may be reduced over time as others in the industry may imitate them so long as the model is proven to deliver the targeted results. If Nucor works out the kinks, then other companies will join up and the competitive advantage window will shrink, making the overall scheme too costly. If the program does not work, it is likely the other companies will not follow suit, while Nucor pays the cost for other companies â€Å"R&D† offsite. However, if the investment into the new technology proves successful, Nucor would have a significant cost savings over integrated mills initially, both in terms of entry costs and in terms of operating costs and profit margin. This will provide Nucor with a significant competitive advantage over the integrated mills, which already provide flat-rolled steel products, but will not provide sustainable competitive advantage over the long term, as it will be easy for competitors to duplicate this technology. Many of the companies that do steel would imitate the path that Nucor is taking. They have done an excellent job of lowering cost while leveraging their competitive advantages. Furthermore, CSP is a step in the ultimate industry goal of direct casting of sheet at strip. However, it seems as though Nucor would only gain a head start of two to three years since SMS held the CSP technology and Nucor couldn’t block others from using it. This head start doesn’t seem very advantageous as it would require almost 5 years to break (see attached chart) even and the other companies would be able to use lessons learned from Nucor’s first mover and apply it to lower their breakeven point. Overall this would be a very risky undertaking for Nucor to undertake at this time as the technology is not at an adequate tech readiness level, the initial cost to implement, as well as it could move Nucor away from its competitive advantages.

Future Worlds Essay

I think future worlds will change earth entirely; there will probably be teleports and other, various new machinery that could revolutionize the way humans live and survive. Working may be a thing of the past if Robots start taking shape. Various kind of medical advancements might change how long we can live for; eternity might be possible in years down the track, that would make earth very crowded and we humans possibly would have to move planet and inhabit another land and environment, this could also make us evolve and we might need skills like wings or gills to help us survive the new living conditions. Other forms of life might be on other planets and cross breeding between ‘alien’ and ‘human’ might have an effect on the physical and mental changes of humans. If life down the track ends up like how it is stereotyped, then hover cars and flying cars might be the way we transport. Food might also be different, due to the fact that we are killing off animals as a source of meat. Plant life might also die off due to those same reasons. Another possible outcome in the future is the ice caps could melt, causing humans to become water bound, this could either wipe us out, or we could maybe adapt to these changes and change the way we can survive the new prominent element. War could also be another way the world is changed, as much is it is a horrible thing, it could help out thinning the numbers of humans populating earth. War could also make people in general poorer, which might stop the rapid growth in technology. After a war, lots of jobs would become available to repair, make or farm new things to help things improve and to regenerate growth in the world. The downside to wars is, smaller countries could be over run, many people die, families lose loved ones and people are forced to live with such vivid memories while fighting. The way the world is, really does depend on how us humans can maintain earth’s natural resources and how much the technological advancements can improves or hinder the way the world develops. Technological advancement to nuclear warfare could put an end to the world all together, Australia alone has 23% of the world nuclear power, if sold to the wrong people, the world could be gone or heavy mutation could occur, changing life form. A future world, at the moment is really just your imagination, there is very little knowledge of what the world will do, is there really a god? Will there be an Ice age? No one can really know for sure just yet, it is all an assumption and what you think in your own head.

Individual Work Motivation Essay

Be it a multi-national company or a small superstore right down the corner of your house, motivated and energetic employees are a pre-requisite everywhere in order to reach the zenith of excellence, success and prosperity. In accordance with a research paper rooting out from The Ohio State University’s Piketon Research and Extension Center and Enterprise Center, enthusiastic employees are desired for the survival and efficiency of a particular organization. (Lindner J. R. 1984) An assortment of theories exist which suggests the reasons that why the employees in this organization were unable to be energized and elated to perform better and portray their true potential and ability in the training program which was chalked out by their respective organization. (Lindner J. R. , 1984) Theories and their implications To begin with, expectancy theory is a theory that has been drafted out by Victor Vroom who belongs to the Yale school of Management. This theory aptly states that employees in any company would be highly motivated if they firmly believe that more hard work and better performance would succumb to better results, improved outcomes and enhanced rewards such as a tremendous increase in one’s salary or fringe benefits. (Vroom, n. d) Vroom also throws lights on this exceptionally important fact that an employee’s motivation and hence his or her performance is based on numerous factors such as aptitude, skills, personality, experience and the amount of knowledge that he or she possesses. Following this, the attention is now turned to the reinforcement theory of motivation. This theory was chalked out by B. F. Skinner and his accomplices. The foundation of this theory is the â€Å"law effect†. This means that an individual behavior have a tendency to be repeated if the consequences and the rewards are positive and tends to declines if the consequence are negative. Some of the note-worthy elements of the reinforcement theory are positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement, punishment and extinction. Re-inforcement theories Keeping these two considerably significant theories in mind, the employees at this particular organization are unable to execute well in the training program because they are provided with less rewards and less positive consequences. Their performance in the training program is not co-related with the rewards that they would receive. Each employee is paid the same amount for attending the program, whether that employee is motivated or not, had passed the exam or not. Hence, employees are not at all passionate and energetic for performing well in the program. Following this, the employees are allowed to retake the training till the time they pass the exam. This policy makes the employees motivated to give out their hundred percent at the training program. Recommendations Keeping all these factors into consideration, managers of this organization should tightly relate the rewards with the performance and should make use of the theory of positive reinforcement. Managers should also make sure that the rewards are those that are valued by their employees and are desired by them. Employees should be given the necessary support to boost up their motivation and enthusiasm, such as a mentor or a human resource manager. Last but not the least, negative reinforcement should be used as tool to motivate the employees by informing them that not performing up to a benchmark and hence not passing the training would result in negative rewards such a decrease in one’s pay or the cutting down on some of the fringe benefits.

Read the requirement and powerpoint first, then write the essay

Read the requirement and powerpoint first, then write the - Essay Example In the negotiations, it is vital that the three elements including knowledge, interpersonal skills and attitude are present in the negotiating parties because this tends to affect the ultimate end result of the cooperation. In this case, the main part in negotiatin form the Setlek company was played by the Chief financial officer of the pharmaceutical company. The CFO controlled the entire negotiation by using knowledge as power. Majority of the points that arose in the negotiation were on the side on the setlek company. The CFO had solid points that made it easier for him to control the negotiation. For the CFO of Setek company, the major factor that affect his negotiation is the idea that if he is navle to sell the company to Biopharm within this year, the selling value for the company would decline rapidly and Setlek would have to face great loss. By selling the company at $7 million at this year, Setlek would then have to focus its attention on selling the Petrochek patent, to Bi opharm as well. So the fact that Setlek needs to sell not only the plant but also the Petrochek patent forces the CFO to take each step carefully. The probability of selling the patent to Elfand Exxon is very low since neither of the two companies are majorly interested in the patent to pay $5 or more for it. If biopharm agrees to buy the plant for $7 million and the patent for $4 million, Setlek would have sufficient money to divert its attention to developing in the conventional pharmaceuticals. It is thus vital that any negotiating team pay great attention to the factor that brings an advantage to the company not only in the long run but also an advantage at the present. In this case, since the company has bought the company for $12 million and now is negotiating selling it at $7 million final shows that the company needs an immediate advantage so that it can establish on its current strategy. The context of the current negotiating case is in fact not that

THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

THE GREATER MIDDLE EAST - Essay Example th Zionist congress in Jerusalem in 1968.† It also plays a role in transforming Israel into a western state during World War I and II (Goldschmidt & Davidson, 2013). Gartner (1996) argues that, the ideology of Jews returning to their homeland is evident from biblical precedents where Moses leads the exodus of Israelite from Egypt to their promised homeland. In addition, the immigration of Israelite comes again in 641 BCE when Babylonians conquer Judea. However, in 1897 Theodor Herzl establishes the Zionist movement with the aim of creating a Jewish state. This state provides an opportunity for Jews to escape from anti-Semitism and join the family of nations. The world Zionist organizations are established and together with Birnbaum, there is establishment of Zionist congress to increase the effect of Zionism. Gottheil (1899) argues that, the 28th Zionist Congress of 1968 in Jerusalem adopts 5 principles as aims of the contemporary Zionism. These principles include: protecting the Jewish rights everywhere; returning the Jewish people into historic homeland; preserving the Jewish identity through fostering Hebrew, Jewish and Zionist education; strengthening the state of Israel; and centralizing and unifying the Jewish people. According to Goldschmidt & Davidson (2013), after Herzl’s death Zionism separates with Orthodox Judaism and shifts to Communism. This is as a result of cultural and language diversity which makes orthodox religious organizations opposes the Zionism. In addition, this opposition is influenced by Zionism’s secularism and the fact that Jewish rule will only be re-established in Israel by Messiah. However, after the Jewish separates with the Judaism they immigrate to Palestine to form a communism. The Jewish citizens are led by Zionist leader Jabotinsky and form a new revival for the Hebrew language. The Jewish organizations and migrants begin making vast land purchases. For instance, they purchase malarial swamps and drain them to create

Forensics- Narcotic Drugs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Forensics- Narcotic Drugs - Research Paper Example In addition, the paper will examine the process of presentation of exhibit in a law court, especially in cases that involve drug abuse. Further, the paper will analyze the use of evidence to facilitate prosecution or acquittal of individuals with criminal charges. The detection of drug abuse in body fluids, blood, tissues, and corpses is a common procedure done in forensic laboratories. Agencies that perform forensic examination of evidences in law enforcement include the FBI, the NIDA, and the DEA and Justice departments (Lowney, 1994). These agencies control, regulate and classify drugs that are commonly abused and investigate cases that relate to drug abuse. Narcotics are drugs that occur naturally in poppy seeds or opioid substances that are semi-synthetic; the medical purpose of these drugs is to relieve pain in patients  suffering from terminal ailments like cancer (Lowney, 1994). The concept narcotic means a state of sluggishness or lethargy and these drugs are significantly essential in the medical field when used as per the physician’s directions. However, these drugs may find their way into the black market where they mix with a wide range of drugs, which could be poisonous (Lowney, 1994). The ills associated with drug use make the concept of narcotics lose social acceptability. As a result, the legislature has criminalized the use of narcotic drugs. Drug users experience confrontations from various laws and law enforcement agencies, which strive to stop the use of drugs and avoid the criminal cases associated with drugs use and abuse (Brickey, 1995). Drugs and crime share an intimate relationship, as most criminals are drug dealers while others use drugs for courage that helps to commit crimes comfortably. Drug addicts can kill people and rob them off their money to buy drugs. Therefore, crime results from drugs and crime causes drugs use while both crime and drugs have strong connections to social forces. Drugs are classified into three

Juvenile delinquency and foster care Research Paper

Juvenile delinquency and foster care - Research Paper Example The dearth of studies of the effects of foster care, particularly its long-term effects, has been pointed out in the literature by several authors (Fanshel & Shinn, 2003; Geiser, 2001; Madison & Shapiro, 2001; Prosser, 2003; Wolkind, 2003). A recent review of research into fostering concluded that there is a lack of even the fundamental knowledge â€Å"about the intrinsic value of foster care itself† (Prosser, 2003, p. 31), and that the need to assess its long-term effects that was stressed by earlier reviewers (Dinnage & Kellmer Pringle, 2002) continues.If it is accepted that long-term effects can be defined as those effects of fostering that manifest themselves in the personal and social functioning of former foster children as adults, then only four studies appear to have been ever published on this subject in the professional literature. Further, only one of these was concerned with an inferential analysis of specific parameters of fostering (Meier, 2001). The parameters w ere age of child at placement and the number of different foster homes experienced by the child, and were found to be unrelated to the â€Å"social effectiveness† and â€Å"sense of well being† of the subjects as adults. The other studies indicated that, among children in state care, those who are fostered have the least convictions as adults (Ferguson, 2001); that fostering of boys who present a high risk of delinquency does not prevent their deviance as adults (McCord, McCord & Thurber, 2004); and that adults who were fostered in childhood have a somewhat higher incidence of marital breakdown.

Gender-Based Differences in Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) Research Paper

Gender-Based Differences in Cardiovascular Disease (CVD) - Research Paper Example As reported by the American Heart Association (2006), almost 70% of the total population of the United States has cardiovascular disease. As shown in the charts above (Health Care Online, 2011), males are more prone to develop CVD than women at the age below 60. Men die 10 years younger than women from heart attacks (Kannel et al., 1976). However, this biological advantage of women over men shrinks as they age. II. Biological Theories The primary biological advantage of women over men in terms of CVD risk is the female sex hormone, estrogen. Estrogen protects women from cardiovascular disease. Most of the protective functions of estrogen originate from its role in controlling cholesterol levels. This hormone works in the liver to eliminate unnecessary cholesterol in the body (Saleh & Connell, 2007). More particularly, estrogen boosts the level of good cholesterol and high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and minimizes the buildup of bad cholesterol or low-density lipoprotein (LDL). Bad chol esterol buildup blocks blood vessels which then can disrupt blood flow to the heart. In contrast, good cholesterol reduces these blockages by minimizing the level of bad cholesterol (Vitale, Miceli, & Rosano, 2007). Estrogen strengthens the prostacyclin receptor. The prostacyclin receptor, which soothes the production of vascular smooth muscle cells and minimizes pulmonary vascular disorders, is a primary goal for estrogen being controlled by the estrogen receptor proteins— ERa and ERb (Saleh & Connell, 2007). Prostacyclin receptor can hinder the tightening of vessel walls, blood clotting, and clustering of platelets (Sugden, 2001). Thus the protein can help protect the body from heart disease. Estrogen also prevents the development of dangerous blockages by working on white blood cells. These white blood cells can cause blockages by accumulating in the interiors of blood vessels (Sugden, 2001). Women in their childbearing years have higher amount of the protein annexin-A1 in their white blood cells compared to men. Annexin-A1 stops white blood cells from aggregating in the blood vessel wall which can cause vascular disorder (Sugden, 2001). Therefore, Pre-menopausal women are less prone to CVD than post-menopausal ones. Epidemiological studies reported lower CVD risk factors among estrogen-enriched women. These findings resulted in the assumption that estrogen-enhancing therapy, such as the use of birth control pills and hormone replacement therapy (HRT), for a specified period of time before the onset of the menopause is feasible. It is assumed that estrogens assume a major physiological function when the heart exhibits reperfusion disorder, which is an injury to the renal blood vessels (Saleh & Connell, 2007). Normally, estrogen activity is interceded by particular estrogen receptors (ERs). ERs are part of the primary group of steroid hormone receptor, which can function as endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), which serves a vital function in sus taining vascular homeostasis by combining and discharging a number of soothing elements, like prostacyclin (Saleh & Connell, 2007), with possible repercussions for coronary heart function. Nevertheless, the use of birth control pills has been linked to the raised amount of C-reactive protein related to CVD. This C-reactive protein (CRP) is generated in the body as a reaction to inflammation (Mendelsohn, 2002). Recurrently high CRP levels have been connected

International Business - F.D.I Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

International Business - F.D.I - Essay Example Metro Group is a forward-looking, dynamic company with strong corporate and marketing strategies and focus on global expansion. It also invests in and utilises the latest technology to create efficiency and profitability in its divisions. Through its effective marketing and operative strategies as well as high investments, the Metro Group has managed to revive some of the traditional retail sectors in Germany that were facing a grim future. The Metro Group is the leading retailer in Germany and the fourth largest retailer in the world after Wal-Mart Inc., Carrefour SA and Ahold NV. In Europe, Metro is the second leading retailer after Carrefour. In Germany, Metro is the fifth largest food retailer. Its Praktiker division is the second leading DIY retailer in the country and Media-Saturn is the leading retailer in consumer durables in Germany. Metro is also the second largest department store retailer in the country. Metros Cash & Carry division and Media-Saturn are the most successful business concepts, and Metro has concentrated on their expansion both in Germany as well as in overseas markets. Real hypermarkets and Praktiker DIY outlets are also utilised in Metros expansion to a lesser degree and found mainly in East European markets. To make the Group profitable Metro started a restructuring process in 1998, which is still continuing. In 1998, Metro AG remodelled the group structure as part of its shareholder value policy. Strategies were developed to focus on a core product and service portfolio, to optimise outlet potential and to globalise the group. To achieve this target, the group was remodelled, by divesting its marginal operations and strengthening core businesses through strategic takeovers. Metro has merged procurement activities for all its divisions to create synergies through bulk buying. It is also participating in e-procurement through Internet auctions, which allows it to buy non-branded

Early childhood education Essay Example for Free

Early childhood education Essay

Mass Media In A Liberal Democratic Society

Mass Media In A Liberal Democratic Society What is the proper role of the mass media in a liberal democratic society? In the contemporary world, the use of mass media has been on the increase and thus this has not exempted its use in the political arena. In connection to this point, there is a vital role that is played by mass media especially in the liberal democratic society. As such, a liberal democratic society is the one in which elections are fair and free while encouraging competition in the political process. This kind of democracy is a representative of the American, Brazilian and Canada among other such like democracies. In particular, a liberal democratic society seeks to bring developments in the political arena, social and economic sectors. In this sense, the government is used as a tool of making developments where they are needed. On the other hand, democracy brings about vesting of authority on the citizens. In this context, the proper role of mass media in such a society may be not understood. Therefore, the undertaking of this work will cover the proper role played by mass media in a liberal democratic society. Following this point, democracy involves a set of measures followed in the making choice of the state elite. It actually requires meaningful electoral choice that which can be made possible by the mass media which is important in any large democratic polity. In this sense, there have been ongoing arguments regarding the autonomy granted to the mass media as far as politics are concerned. Arguably, the success of any liberal democratic society is direct connected to the free flow of both ideas and arguments. This is necessitated by the mass media which should in fact maintain a deliberative exchange of such ideas and arguments. From a general point of view, mass media plays a pivotal role in a liberal democratic society which is termed as a role of being a guardian of the democracy along with the defending of the interest of the public  [1]  . In actual sense, mass media plays the role of correcting the arms of the government which involve the executive, judiciary and in the large r perspective the legislative. In other words, the mass media plays a major role as the major player in the theatre of elections  [2]  . It was also noted that democracy requires inhibited public debates along with free speeches and along with this point, citizens should be equipped with the ability to make informed decisions of which this is accomplished by the use of mass media  [3]  . In addition, a liberal democratic society should actually provide sufficient information along with transparency in the matters of political decisions. As well, it should provide competition in terms of ideas and arguments which encourage participation from the members of the society and thus meet the demands of a democratic society. According to research, mass media has a great role to play in the context of a liberal democratic society. As such, it has been pointed that there are three major roles that media plays in the given society  [4]  . The most important one has been pointed out as the media acting in the capacity of a regulator against the state. In the same line of thought, the media is given to the role and responsibility of ensuring that accurate as well as sufficient information is provided to the society from the larger point of view. Accordingly, the mass media has another major role to play which cannot be underrated. As a matter of fact, it should work hard to ensure that it represents people in the sense of sufficiently reflecting the range of public opinions together with the aspect of political competition  [5]  . It is important at this point to note that media has a major communication role to play in the context of a liberal democratic society. So to speak, communication entails the facilitation of the public dialogues, representation of the public, making the public to live being informed, and acting as a regulator or rather a watchdog of the structures of power which affect the wellbeing of the public. As well, media is used as a tool of social unity and thus it is important to bring into view the major types of media systems in use to accomplish roles assigned within a democratic society. In line with this point, media covers the instruments of communication employed in order to accomplish the roles of communication in a democratic society. As such, these instruments of communication involve books, internet, films, newspapers and TVs among others as such. In essence, democracy advocates for freedom of speech to be granted to the members of the society. In this sense, media works to represent the members within the given society of which due to the limited space, they use some members of the society to speak for the citizens and as well representatives of particular groups and communities together with other such like organization representatives. Therefore, through the use of media, the ideas and arguments along with the information of the given people in the society is brought into public view for the necessary actions to be taken. Basically, the media is expected play the role of a watchdog for the public. This is to suggest that it should take the responsibility to protect the very citizens or rather the society it is mandated to serve. So to articulate, the public is always out to see that the media is regulating the power structures of the society by exploring their functioning and then notify the public when there has arisen some issues in the structures  [6]  . This is also accompanied by the media pointing out to the interests of the people and where they want to act. Another point to note is that a liberal democratic society as it has been highlighted requires a good flow of information. This is to suggest that the public requires to get information and to stay informed. In such as society, citizens are inclined towards making collective decisions for the societal benefit altogether. In the light of this point, democratic societies grow when there is flow of the shared information among the society members and thus it is imperative for the media to inform the society regarding the contemporary issues that need attention and the public stance in regard to them. As far as social unity is concerned, the media acts as a tool that works to bring together the members of the society by making use of a common culture which is only achieved when the media gives the society an experience of culture that is shared. According to research findings together with arguments from various scholars, media as a key player in the flow of information in the society has failed in most of its roles. This is what has brought about the misconception of the proper role of the mass media in a liberal democratic society. However, pointing out to what should be done so that the media can play its proper role, will help to alleviate the burden of the media abuse in a democratic context. As such, the mass media should not accept the manipulation by the political leaders who use it for selfish interest  [7]  . In the light of this point, the media should seek to ensure a universal access in that members should be given room to the right of entry to the mass media to contribute as well as gain from the public. The role of the mass media in the democratic society will be realized again when the mass media works independent from the structures of power present in the society. In all the undertakings of the media, influential leaders should be presented separately from the titles so that there may be no bias. Owing to the manipulation of the mass media by influential leaders, mostly the media may ignore the interests along with the concerns of the public and as such, this should not be done but rather the media should respond to the public interests and concerns altogether. From a more practical point of view, the media is expected to provide truthful and honest information if the development of the democracy is to be achieved. It has been argued that media is central to a democratic society as it leads to information accessibility at all social levels and geographical locations of a society  [8]  . Equally, mass media works as a critic essential to the government along with the investigations of wrong doing. In essence, mass media has its proper role as that of acting as an advocate for good along with bad causes. It is the responsibility of the mass media again to state the different constituencies of the democracy. So to speak, it works towards the creation of common experiences to the society while offering shared public symbols. Needless to say, it is through media that the public gets to interact with the leaders and as such solicit information from them. Accordingly, mass media plays the role of constantly reminding the society the essence of their national identity  [9]  . Following this point, the instruments of media have experienced developments which are closely linked to the technological development. This is to suggest that it is not only though books, newspapers and TVs among others that the mass media operates, but rather internet has come into the scene. Thus, it is possible for the political leaders to use the internet to influence the citizens and as well interact with them  [10]  . Of importance to note in this case is the abuse of mass media by the leaders in order to serve their self driven interest. Therefore, regulation of the mass media should be carried out so that no cases of abuse can be reported. Arguably, contemporary democracy has been pointed out as not to be working. This is given to the reason that the media has engaged in politics with the citizens engaging in the internet citizenship and thus the point of contact and development has been lost  [11]  . Besides this point, mass media has developed to a point whereby it has thus constrained leadership and leaders in the democratic society and thus on the other hand mass media has worked to drag back the democratic societyà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s growth  [12]  . More to this point, arbitrated political communication in the public specialty can smooth the progress of deliberative legalizing of the processes in multifarious societies only if an autonomous media system gains self-government from its social situation and if unidentified audiences grant a criticism between a knowledgeable leader conversation and a reactive civil society  [13]  . Although there have been many challenges limiting the media from achieving its objective, it is essential to note that mediaà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s role in the liberal democratic society is paramount. As such, it serves the role of being the watchdog by regulating and criticizing the operations of the government. It provides a platform whereby the leaders of the society interact with the citizens and thus serve their needs. Debates concerning the political and social matters are carried out in the media and thus it serves the interests of the public. It further corrects the wrongs of the government and thus it keeps the government on check so as to ensure freedom and fairness in the society altogether.

Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA) Instrumentation

Thermomechanical Analysis (TMA) Instrumentation THERMOMECHANICAL ANALYSIS (TMA) Aisyah Radhiah Binti Ahmad INSTRUMENTATION OF TMA 1.1 The Instrumentation Figure 1: The simple schematic diagram of TMA [1]. The sample tube that is located in the center of the furnace is used to control the temperature and atmosphere. The sample temperature is measured with a thermocouple that is located near the sample. The area around the sample can usually be both heated and cooled to prevent the heat-rise problem and the sample temperature (sensed by a thermocouple) has to be directed to programmer control. The sample platform and the probe are made from a material such as quartz. Quartz is chosen as it has a low, reproducible, accurately known coefficient of thermal expansion and also it has low thermal conductivity to isolate the LVDT from the temperature changes in the furnace. The probes can also be made from alumina and metals depending on the temperature range and the measurement purpose [2]. The heavy black probe measures the position of the sample surface with a linearly variable differential transformer, LVDT. The floating suspension act as a balance for the arm arrangement, combined with added weights at the top, allowing the probe weight to be counterbalanced that can be used to control the force on the sample [3]. A purge gas is used during the TMA measurements. Its purpose is to ensure continuous laminar gas flow to prevent the formation of air turbulence as the temperature is being increased and to prevent deposition of degradation products inside the various parts of the instrument. The purge gas is also used to increase heat transfer to the sample and to prevent oxidation in high temperature measurements. Helium is chosen for this purpose because of it has a high thermal conductivity [4]. Figure 2: The TMA Instrument [5]. 1.2 Operating the TMA The instrument is warmed up before putting the sample. The sample is prepared by according to the modes used. For example, the sample should be flat for compression modes to make sure the sample is in a good contact with the probe. The sample is put into the furnace and the probe touched the sample. The probe is integrated into an inductive position sensor. For temperature measurement of the sample, the thermocouple is placed near the sample. The system is heated at a slow rate. If the specimen expands or contracts, the probe will be moved. By applying the force on the sample from the Force Generator by the probe, the sample temperature is changed in the furnace. The sample deformation such as Thermal Expansion and Softening with changing temperature is measured as the probe displacement by the Length Detector. Linear Variable Differential Transformer (LVDT) is used for Length Detection sensor. The measurement consists then of a record of force and length versus temperature [6]. 1.3 Calibration of the instrument The calibration of the instrument needs to be done before using the TMA. A standard calibration is needed and should be done at the same heating rate as is used in the sample experiment. The calibration sample that is used should be in the thickness range span of the sample. The TMA instrument must be calibrated in height force, eigen-deformation, temperature, and expansion. The calibration of the instrument need to be done to reduce the different between measures values of the parameters with their true values [4]. 1.4 Modes of operation The measurement can be carried out in various modes of sample configuration. Figure 3: TMA probe types (left-right): compression, penetration, tension, volumetric [7]. Compression probe is used for applying low load for a wide area of sample for thermal expansion measurements (thermodilatometry). For the penetration probe, it is used for the sample that applies a high load under a small area of sample for the purpose of measuring softening temperatures. This technique can measure the transitions of a material as thin as 10 microns. Tension probe used for the measurement of the thermal expansion and the thermal shrinkage of the sample for measuring non-self supporting specimens. It is used for the samples like thin films and fibres under tension [7]. Volumetric probe used for measuring the thermal volumetric expansion of irregularly shaped sample surrounded by an inert packing material (alumina powder or silicone oil). The glass dilatometers are used in this technique where the change in the level of a liquid is observed. By dipping the sample in the silicone oil or alumina powder, the expansion of the sample is recorded as a vertical movement by the TMA. The probe for this technique usually has a small surface area to cover the sample [8]. Figure 4: volumetric probe [8]. References Menard, K. P. (2008). Dynamic mechanical analysis: a practical introduction. CRC press. Menczel, J. D., Prime, R. B. (2009). Thermal analysis of polymers, fundamentals and applications. John Wiley Sons. Brown, M. E., Gallagher, P. K. (1998). Handbook of thermal analysis and calorimetry: Principles and Practice (Vol. 1). Elsevier. Wunderlich, B. (2005). Basics of thermal analysis. Thermal Analysis of Polymeric Materials. 1.Introduction to Thermomechanical Analysis. Available from: http://www.anasys.co.uk/library/tma1.htm. 2.Brown, M.E. and P.K. Gallagher, Handbook of thermal analysis and calorimetry: Principles and Practice. Vol. 1. 1998: Elsevier. 3.Wunderlich, B., Basics of thermal analysis. Thermal Analysis of Polymeric Materials, 2005. 4.Menczel, J.D. and R.B. Prime, Thermal analysis of polymers, fundamentals and applications. 2009: John Wiley Sons. 5.TMA analyzer / thermomechanical. Available from: http://www.directindustry.com/prod/linseis-thermal-analysis/tma-analyzers-thermomechanical-30771-406852.html. 6.Description of TMA. Available from: http://www.hitachi-hitec-science.com/en/products/thermal/tec_descriptions/tma.html. 7.Haines, P.J., Principles of thermal analysis and calorimetry. Vol. 30. 2002: Royal society of chemistry. 8.Menard, K.P., Dynamic mechanical analysis: a practical introduction. 2008: CRC press. References Introduction to Thermomechanical Analysis. from http://www.anasys.co.uk/library/tma1.htm Brown, Michael E, Gallagher, Patrick K. (1998). Handbook of thermal analysis and calorimetry: Principles and Practice (Vol. 1): Elsevier. Wunderlich, Bernhard. (2005). Basics of thermal analysis. Thermal Analysis of Polymeric Materials. Menczel, Joseph D, Prime, R Bruce. (2009). Thermal analysis of polymers, fundamentals and applications: John Wiley Sons. TMA analyzer / thermomechanical. from http://www.directindustry.com/prod/linseis-thermal-analysis/tma-analyzers-thermomechanical-30771-406852.html Description of TMA. from http://www.hitachi-hitec-science.com/en/products/thermal/tec_descriptions/tma.html Haines, Peter J. (2002). Principles of thermal analysis and calorimetry (Vol. 30): Royal society of chemistry. Menard, Kevin P. (2008). Dynamic mechanical analysis: a practical introduction: CRC press.

Contract Law Essay examples -- essays research papers

DETERMINING PAST PERFORMANCE VERSUS EXPERIENCE Contracting Officers within the Federal Government are tasked with negotiating contracts for goods and services with the contractor that is best able to satisfy that particular requirement in terms of quality, timeliness and cost. Best value analysis strives to apply good business judgement to making source selection decisions. It seeks to isolate technical differences between proposals to determine which offer represents the best value to the customer. The Federal Government is steadily moving away from awarding contracts purely on the basis of low price and opting to employ evaluation factors such as past performance, management capabilities and technical superiority. Confidence in a prospective contractor's ability to perform satisfactorily is an important factor in the source selection process making for "best value" analysis. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to explore the difference between experience and past performance in the source selection process of &quo t;best value" procurements. Definition Experience is the active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill (Houghton Mifflin Company, 1988). In other words it is the process of "learning by doing". It reflects whether a contractor has performed a job that is similar or of "comparable size and complexity". Comparable size and complexity meaning that which is similar in dollar amount; number of client/customer employees services; and number of contractor employees assigned to the contract, and types of services performed. When you consider that every requirement has its own set of problems and pitfalls, it makes perfectly good sense to look at whether a contractor is knowledgeable of where those problems are likely to occur and if the contractor has experience in solving such problems. Past performance serves as an indication of a contractor's ability to perform virtually any contract. In addition to whether or not a contractor has experience doing a particular job it is also important to know "how well" that particular job was performed as it relates to the pending procurement. Evaluation of a contractor's past performance enables contracting professionals to better predict the quality of and customer satisfaction of future work. Past perfo... ...sp; Contact: Phone: Phone: 2. If a Government Contract, Contract Number: Contract Officer (CO): Phone Number and Fax Number: 3. Provide a brief description of all services performed on the contract. 4. Number of building (s) on-site/off site. Total square footage serviced and number of occupants per each building. 5. Number of occupants per building. # On-Site: Total Square Footage: Number of Occupants: # Off-Site: Total Square Footage: Number of Occupants: 6. Number of permanent supervisors/employees assigned to the contract project. Supervisors: Employees: 7. Contract Start Date: Contract Completion Date: 8. What was the dollar value of the contract per year: Total for term of contract: 9. Names of all Sub-Contractors and their roles on the contract. Name: Role: Name: Role: Name: Role: Name: Role: 10.Brief statement regarding your compliance with the contract terms and conditions. 11.Your statement regarding any known performance outlined as unacceptable and/or not in accordance with the contract terms and conditions. 12. If contract was not renewed for all option years, what is your explanation why it was not renewed?

In Superman and Paula Browns New Snowsuit the main character feels Essa

In Superman and Paula Browns New Snowsuit the main character feels betrayed by others. Compare how feelings of betrayal are shown in this story and another story of your choice. a) The ways in which the main character is let down by others. b) How the authors show the feelings of betrayal by the way in which they write. c) Differences in the stories. I am going to talk about themes of betrayal, comparing "Superman and Paula Browns New Snowsuit" and "Chemistry". In both of these stories, some characters are betrayed. The narrator in "Superman and Paula Browns New Snowsuit" is betrayed by her community when they think she is guilty of pushing over Paula Brown and ruining her new coat. She felt especially betrayed by her Uncle Frank, whom she compares with Superman, as he is her hero in the story. When he does not believe her, she describes it as; "the year the war began and the real world, and the difference." The experience taught her lesson, and marks the end of her childhood. In "Chemistry", it is Grandfather, who is betrayed by his daughter and Ralph. The narrator, his widowed mother and grandfather once lived together in harmony in the grandfathers' house. Their harmony is disturbed by the arrival of Ralph, his mothers' boyfriend. Grandfather becomes increasingly isolated when his daughter and Ralph are mean to him so he retires to his shed, and eventually commits suicide, leaving the others to begin a new life. The stories are both about themes of betrayal, and at the same time are very contrasting stories. "Superman and Paula Browns New Snowsuit" is about more trivial things, a Snowsuit being ruined, but it was important to the narrator because it showed her the "real world", and taught... ...s much more factual whereas the other is more opinionated and uses much more metaphors and similes. The style of "Chemistry" is such that it always seems to keep to the point, and when there are sometimes long descriptions about things which do not seem t first important, there always seems to be a hidden meaning behind them, for example the door to the shed which symbolised a "step out" or half way out of life for Grandfather. In "Superman and Paula Browns New Snowsuit" there are a lot of things which do not have much significance to the story, and which add more detail to just set the scene; "he taught me some ju-jitsu in the living room until mother called us for supper". They have some similarities, they are both about relationships between family, and about their childhoods. They are also about changes in their lives and in the way they look at life.

First Aid and Buttercups Cc Pin

Name: Kirsty Beale Nursery: Buttercups CC PIN: MU2. 4 Contribute to Children and Young People’s Health and Safety 3. 1 Identify non medical incidents and emergencies that may occur in the work setting * Fires * Flooding * Loss of property * Lack or loss of electricity,gas,water and heat * Data loss * Breach of confidentiality * Legal issues * Personal relationships * Bad management * Bad planning . 1 Identify the signs and symptoms which may indicate that a child or young person in injured or unwell. * Temperature over 37. 5c * Unresponsive * Lethargic * Nausea * Vomiting * Dizziness * Difficulty breathing * Rash * Diarrhoea * Chronic Headaches * Stomach pains 4. 2 Identify circumstances where children or young people may need urgent medical attention. * Broken bones * Unconscious/unresponsive * Shallow Breathing Asthma attack * Temperature over 80c * In severe pain * Dislocation * Confusion * Allergies * Chocking 4. 3 Outline own role and responsibilities in the event of a ch ild or young person requiring urgent medical attention. If I found a child showing any of the above symptoms I would evaluate what the symptoms are to the treatment needed if non-emergency I would immediately alert the appointed first aider so the child’s care can proceed. Related reading: Situations That Require Urgent Medical AttentionIf the child needs more substantial medical care an ambulance will be called and the parent/carer of the child will be informed what is wrong and where the child will be, when the situation is under control the settings medical forms will be filled out for legal purposes. 6. 2 Describe Personal Protective Clothing that is used to protect spread of infection. * Disposable gloves * Disposable aprons * Wounds to be dressed properly * Appropriate clothing and footwear to be worn * Body piercing’s covered or removed * Offensive tattoo’s covered or removed * Hair tied back

Autobiography Of a Pen Essay

Autobiography Of a Pen feelings that lay inside her, through her writing. She used to call me her Lucky Pen and i was proud of that status. But one day, I remember her writing writing†¦ PremiumSaved An Autobiography Through Fiction-Based Prose of his life and, through his prose, still does. George Orwell wrote his autobiography not as a book written in the first person, but as a lifetime of prose based†¦ Premium Jayson De Lemon’s Autobiography Jayson de Lemon’s Autobiography â€Å"I once asked myself, how history was written. I said, â€Å"I have to invent it.† When I wish as now to tell of critical incidents†¦ Premium Autobiography Of a Yogi: Summary pen of Paramhansa Yogananda, whose teachings my husband and myself have had the pleasure of studying for twenty years.† The value of Yogananda’s Autobiography is†¦ Premium Autobiography 1922 THE QUINN & BODEN CO. PRESS RAHWAY, N. J. CONTENTS Introduction vii The Autobiography I. Ancestry and Early Life in Boston 3 II. Beginning Life as a Printer 21†¦ Premium The Power Of The Pen Gandhi. He read several works by this great leader, including his autobiography, and believed in the non-violent ideals that it promoted. â€Å"The impact they made†¦ Premium n Autobiography Twenty One Years In The Making Autobiography Twenty One Years in the Making Born just two days before Christmas, I started my life in the tender loving arms of my mother, and my ever-guiding†¦ Premium The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin of nearly 30 years and covering his life only until 1759 (he died in 1790), The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin is actually tells approximately half of his life†¦ Premium The Autobiography Of Benjamin Franklin He died on April 17, 1790. The first five chapters of the Autobiography were composed in England in 1771, continued in 1784-5, and again in 1788, at which date†¦ Premium Autobiography Christine Jorgensen Biography Christine Jorgensen (May 30, 1926 May 3, 1989) was the first widely known person to have sex reassignment surgery – in this case†¦ Premium Autobiography Memoir, Spiritual autobiography * Biography * Diaries and Journals * Electronic literature * Erotic literature * Fable, Fairy tale, Folklore * Fiction o†¦

Junk Food Essay

Basically, it’s anything that is high in calories but lacking in nutrition. Hamburgers, chips, chocolate bars and hot dogs fall in this category. Pizzas, although they can have vegetable and cheese toppings, are also included as they contain a lot of fat. Obviously, a diet of junk food is not the best thing for your health, particularly as it is highly saturated fat. In 1993, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reported this type of fat to be associated with greater risk of cancer. Apart from the risk of cancer, another side effect of consuming highly fattening junk food is that you are likely to gain weight. This is especially true because you tend to eat more, as junk food is less satisfying and lower in vital nutrients than healthier food. The best advice, then, for those who cannot live without their hamburgers or chocolate bars, is to limit the amount of junk food they eat. Another alarming thing about people’s lifestyle today is that while the amount of junk food we eat has increased, the amount of exercise we do has actually decreased. Exercise plays an important part in keeping the body fit and healthy; it helps to control our weight and, if taken regularly, can also decrease our chances of having a heart attack in later life. What is more, you don’t have to exercise much to gain visible benefits. Twenty minutes three times a week is all that is necessary. Even though people nowadays are actually far more aware of the importance of exercise and a healthy diet then they were a few years ago. The new unhealthy way of life is surprisingly popular. Recent research has shown that young French people, who prefer burgers and chips to rich gourmet dishes, tend to become overweight. Weight gained in adolescence is extremely hard to lose in later life, so researchers are predicting that the new French generations are not going to be admired for their slim figures as the French have traditionally been. Researchers suggest that the new generation will be much more likely to suffer from heart and liver disease. What can’t be emphasized enough is the fact that a balanced diet and regular exercise bring significant health benefits. You can gain anything from glowing skin to an all-round feeling of good health. One way or another, the vast majority of people seem to be missing out on this, due mainly to the pressures of modern life. Ironically, if they were to make time to exercise and improve their eating habits, they would probably find that they were far better equipped to deal with their stressful lifestyles than they are now.

Australian Aboriginal Culture Essay

Aboriginals lived in Australia for about 40,000 years before European settlement began in 1788. During that time they developed an amazing culture all based on survival. They found all of their food from the land. They developed an amazing religion that is based on the fact that everything was created in the Dreamtime, the time before time began. The Aboriginals connect their origins with the Dreamtime. There were hundreds of different tribes around Australia, all with unique languages. Artwork was traded between tribes and people had to learn many languages to be able to communicate with important tribes. The aboriginals found all of their food from the land. The dreamtime laws affected which foods were eaten and which were left alone. As the dreamtime stories differed from tribe to tribe, the food eaten differed. Some animals and plants were only eaten in ceremonies because these animals and plants were significant in the spiritual part of the people’s lives, these animals and plants were called totems. When there was not enough food, the elders got the first choice of food. Many animal organs were saved fro the elders. For sacred reasons pregnant women, girls close to puberty and boys about to go through an initiation were denied foods. Across Australia many primitive ovens and other creations were used to help cook meat. A lot of the food eaten by the Aboriginals was unsafe when raw and untreated. To make foods safe fire was used for meats and fish, nuts and seeds were ground or roasted on coals. Some other foods were also steamed and boiled. The Dreamtime was the time before anything physical existed, the Aboriginals have many dreamtime stories (stories differed in every tribe) which explain how the physical world was created by a number of spiritual beings. Dreamtime stories nearly always have a moral and they contain laws which Aboriginal tribes all followed. Nearly all important things to the Aboriginals have a dreamtime story connected to them, Uluru was apparently a big flat sand hill that was turned into stone by a deed of some beings. Dreamtime stories were told in many different ways, they were spoken, sung, danced, painted and carved onto rock. Many caves have been found around Australia with Aboriginal carvings on the walls. The Ancestors who created everything are left in the physical world as rock formations, plants,  animals and bodies of water. The Aboriginals believe this is to remind them to follow the laws stated in the Dreaming stories. Many historians and geographers believed that the Aboriginals walked to Australia from Asia about 40,000 years ago when the seas were shallow and there was a land mass connecting Australia and parts of Asia. The aboriginals however, believe that their origins are explained in the Dreamtime. They believe that when their Ancestors created everything, the Aboriginals came from the land. This leads to them believing that they have always inhabited Australia. The Aboriginals believe many important animals moved around in the Dreamtime to create the entire physical world. Every small pebble had been created because of something one of the Dreamtime beings had done. Wherever one of the beings died a sacred place appeared (such as Uluru) and when all of the beings were gone the Sun and Moon were created and Man was left on Earth. Because there were so many tribes around Australia, there were hundreds of different Aboriginal languages. Most people in tribes knew over five languages so that the tribe could communicate with other tribes easily. Most of the languages are very complicated as words have different meanings, depending on the situation. Here are some examples of an Aboriginal language: The Kamilaroi Language (NSW) Giwiirr = man Yinarr = woman Gaay = child Baayina = father Barran = boomerang Yarray = sun It is estimated there were around 700 different languages spoken in Australia before European settlement. Aboriginal tribes made sure their people knew the languages of the nearby tribes, so they could form alliances. Tribes had meetings with each other to discuss when and where trade was to occur, when people could enter other tribe’s land and when meetings and ceremonies would be held. Another reason alliances were important was so that the allies could help tribes in war. This was because many of the tribes around Australia waged war on each other. If tribes were allied then the members of the tribe were free to marry members of the other tribe. In the time that Aboriginals had been in Australia developed a unique culture. They had fascinating ways of finding and cooking food. The social life was very complex with all tribes speaking different languages. Their religion was unique, and controlled a lot of what they did in their lives. Overall, the Aboriginal culture is amazing, fascinating and complex in many ways unimaginable to us.

Lysons and Farrington (2006) propose that at least three drivers have Essay

Lysons and Farrington (2006) propose that at least three drivers have influenced, and are influencing changes to the purchasing - Essay Example It had firmly developed itself as the dominant coffee brand, coffee retailer and coffee bean roaster in North America. It owned more than 1,500 stores in the Pacific Rim and North America and opened new stores at the rate of more than one store per day. The closest competitor of the company had as fewer as 300 retail stores. Since launching its IPO in 1992, the company has seen an increase of nine fold in its stock price (Starbucks Corporation, n.d.). Introduction Originally, Starbucks was formed by three academics – in 1971. They were Zev Siegel, Jerry Baldwin and Gordon Bowker. The founders of Starbucks opened the first store in Seattle to which they called as â€Å"Starbucks Coffee, Tea and Spice†. Slowly and gradually, the company began to pave the ways of growth and by the early 1980s, the company had a plant for roasting coffee beans and four retail stores, which sold whole-bean coffee. Ever since it started trading, Starbucks has been very lucrative (Starbucks Co rporation, n.d.). In March 1987, Gordon Bowker and Jerry Baldwin decided to sell entire operations of Starbucks in Seattle, including the roasting plant, the retail stores and the brand name, Starbucks. Howard Schultz raised capital and instantly bought the company. The new name of the company was Starbucks Corporation. Howard Schultz became the CEO and president of the company when he was 34 years old. In his first few years, Schultz spent most of his time in four Seattle stores – tasting different kinds of coffee, working behind counters, getting to know the personnel, talking with customers and educating himself regarding different aspects of coffee business. Schultz was abundant with ideas for developing and improving the company. Early on, Schultz observed that customers feel uneasy in stores due to their lack of knowledge regarding fine coffee and because store personnel get little arrogant sometimes. In order to resolve these issues, Schultz worked with employees to cu ltivate customer friendly sales skills and developed brochures to make it easier for customers to learn pertaining to fine coffee (Starbucks Corporation, n.d.). The specialty coffee industry began to grow dramatically between the period of 1980s and 1990s. A large number of experts believed that differentiated coffee reinforced by specialty coffee industry would continue to upsurge much faster than traditional coffees. However, the meaning of specialty continued to be refined in United States (Starbucks Corporation, n.d.). In 1991, the company ventured into the licensed airport stores, mail-order catalogue business, expanded to California and has more than 100 stores. In 1992, the company went publicized. By 2005, the company had more than 10,200 licensed and company operated stores in more than 35 countries. The retail stores of Starbucks offered food items, coffee drinks, beans, tea, coffee accessories and music. Starbucks Corporation owned over 5,200 stores in 10 countries, 80% o f which were located in America, primarily in the areas such as airports and shopping centers whereas licensed stores were over 2,800 in 28 countries. In addition to that, Starbucks marketed coffee through local grocery stores and registered its brand for other beverage and food items. The most recent statistics from January 2, 2011 showed the total count of stores of Starbuc

United States police vs Brazilian police Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

United States police vs Brazilian police - Essay Example In both the US and Brazil, police are tasked with arresting, searching, and detaining lawbreakers (U.S. Department of State). There exist different policing branches to ensure that such tasks are completed passably. This paper explores policing in Brazil and the United states, the differences between the two, how policing affects the country, and the different policing branches in both countries. There are diverse distinguishable differences that exist between policing in the United States and Brazilian police. The difference in policing all depends on the training and culture adopted by the police departments. The United States leans more on ethical policing (U.S. Department of State), as compared to Brazil that has a more barbarous system. Brazilian police are termed as being trigger-happy and appallingly violent, and this is mostly because of revenge missions against mobs that may have assassinated members of their workforce. According to Wells, â€Å"in the United States, with a population 60 percent larger than Brazil and more firearms in circulation, 410 civilians were killed during the same year. It compared the number of Brazilians killed to the 89 police killed while on duty during the same period -- the equivalent of 21 civilians dying for every police officer during the course of the year†. Although police brutality is reported in both countries, it is more rampant in Brazil as compared to America (Wells). The Brazilian policing system has been forced into this kind of callousness because of â€Å"high levels of violent crime, broken judicial institutions and a lack of funding and training† (Wells). The US policing is better than Brazil’s because of advanced training, better funding, adeptness in the legal system, and generally lower levels of vicious wrongdoings. Both the Brazilian military police and several departments of the US police have utilized a radio communications system to manage police communications effectively, a factor that has

Major case study Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Major case study - Research Paper Example It has experienced a rapid and dramatic growth in recent year’s world over and is closely connected to eco-tourism along with sustainable-tourism. 1.1 Introduction Wildlife tourism is defined as trips to places with the sole reason of viewing the fauna. According to the definition, it shows that wildlife tourism comprises of different niche markets such as birds watching, exploring marine life like how crocodiles live, swimming and feeding habits of big water mammals such as whales and others. This type of tourism is based upon the animals that are not domesticated. The viewing of animals takes place in different locations; these include animals’ natural habitat or environment where they live. Tourism involves actions that are termed as non-consumptive, these include taking photographs, looking at the places and observing eating procedures, also participating in events that involve game hunting and catching the animals by use of traps, as well as recreational fishing. W ildlife tourism can involve tours, experiences accessible in association with the accommodation of tourists, attractions at fixed sites, or it can come about as unguided meeting by independent travelers (Spenceley, 2012, pp. 85-88). 1.2 Stakeholders in wildlife tourism Wildlife tourism has several stakeholders. The first stakeholders in this sector are the visitors. They have an expectation of accessing experiences that are of affordable high quality. These experiences include interesting activities of wildlife watching and guided excursions. Some tourists would like to have opportunities to familiarize themselves with the local culture through interacting with the people inhabiting those areas (Benson, 2001, p. 132). Another set of stakeholders in the tourism industry includes private and public sectors, such as travelling and bringing together industrial associations. This ensures that there is development in the wildlife sector. They also ensure the individual operators get maxim um short term profits. The third stakeholder is the host and the indigenous community. The indigenous community improves minimal negative social effect of this sector. While capitalizing on profits from the local area, they ensure that there is no disruption on the local wildlife (Lovelock, 2007, pp. 152-156). Another role they play is trying to protect the environment together with the livelihood assets, at the same time minimizing the disturbance that might be encountered by the community, hence, disturbing the culture. It has the capability of adding tourism-related benefits, such as improving the condition of living, creating job opportunities for the locals, improving the infrastructure with the local business opportunities, and this will stimulate revenue generation (Sosinski, 2011, p. 88). Wildlife managers in public plus private sectors are other stakeholders whose sole duty is the conservation, NGOs protection of wildlife habitats, biodiversity, generation of revenues, comi ng up with awareness programs through wildlife tourism so that the locals will understand why the environment should be conserved. They should also show the government, general public and local people the importance of conserving the environment. They make use of tourism in the support of goals of conservation (Newsome, Ross, & Moore, 2005, p.256). The government agencies are a stakeholder

Disability Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Disability - Essay Example As such, the firstterm is referredto as individualism, which renders disability an individual problem and thus ought to be handled individually, an aspect that has led to stigmatization of individuals with disabilities. On the other hand, medicalization is another representation of disability, which has been used to define disability as a medical problem and thus ought to be medically rectified. This has overshadowed a perception of the features of the disabled individuals as characteristicsthat are part of them and thus ought to be accepted, and instead emphasized on the need to increase medical research in the view of changing the disabled. Lastly, another representation involves normality, where society has established certain traits that they deem human, and thus they alienate any individual as disabled if they fail to meet the trait requirements as established. The author concludes that the developed meanings of disability involving all the representations have facilitated the d evelopment of mechanisms of solving individual disabilities medically, when most of them are as a result of social problems and thus measures ought to be directed towards changing the social environment in order to accommodate the varying individual needs. To establish a highly effective and in-depth meaning, disability can be viewed as a social problem that results in the suffering of the body of an individual, because of lack of opportunity, social isolation, and exclusion. There is need for a social model in the place of the medical model in the definition and management of disability. Different individuals have developed definitions of disability over the years, with some of the definitions being termed as stigmatizing. The development of societal view of the disabled individuals lieson the definitions directed towards the concept. Three major representations, namely, normality, individualism, and medicalization, have been used to define disability with contrasting views of

Senior Information Technology Auditor for the consulting firm of Term Paper

Senior Information Technology Auditor for the consulting firm of Comroe - Term Paper Example This paper presents a description of an independent audit conducted on security, governance and business continuity assessment of Adams Brick Communications Company’s Information Technology. Introduction As the Senior Information Technology Auditor, it is my responsibility to ensure that the audit committee undertakes reviews and conduct tests and assessments on Information Technology department of the company that will provide management assurance that the business as a whole is operating effectively. Information Technology audit is basically responsible for reviewing both the operational and technical aspects of existing and planned computer systems in addition to assessing whether the risks they pose are significant or has the ability to add to the anticipated business specific risks. Adams Brick Communications Company heavily depends on Information Technology department in order to meet its goals and objectives as a business entity given that it is a communication company which generates most of its revenue from advertisements. The normal and up to standard functioning of the information technology of the company is therefore considered vital for the company’s survival. ... Â  The corporation is located in the heart of the city, with one satellite office in a nearby suburb. Â  ABC’s primary business is a local newspaper and news website. Â  They also have multiple small niche magazines that support special interests in the community. Â  All of these assets are supported through the advertising division of Adams Brick Communications. The company has its advertising division as its backbone given that it’s the main source of revenue even though its overall goal is to provide services to the community Information Technology governance The Information Technology Group (ITG) is tasked with supporting the endeavors of Adams Brick Communications. Â  It is led by the Chief Information Officer (CIO) and a staff of ten information technology professionals. Â  The CIO reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer, and is on the same level as the other executive officers of ABC. Â   ITG, while being led by the CIO, is split into three groups. Â  A two person networking team, a five person system administration team, and a three person team focused on security. Â  While the security team is responsible for privacy and security matters, it is mostly implemented by the two other teams. Â  The IT governance is handled by the Chief Information Officer. The networking team is responsible for the connectivity of Adams Brick Communications. Â  They are first responsible for ensuring that the business has appropriate bandwidth to support all business operations. Â  As new hosts are added to the network, the networking team must give them the lines needed to connect to the intranet. Â   The system administration team handles the equipment at the host level. Â  They ensure that proper hardware and software has been deployed at each user as needed.

Survival strategy for Chinese immigrants in New York Research Paper

Survival strategy for Chinese immigrants in New York - Research Paper Example I will follow the continued growth of Chinatown and its divided two tier society that formed the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association. I will discuss the ramifications of the Exclusion Act and the construction of the Chinese bachelor society. I will conclude with Ping Dong’s story of her entrance into the United States and the subterfuge she had to perpetuate in order to rejoin with her husband, following the lifting of the Exclusion and the entrance of War Brides after World War II. In the 1850’s and 1860’s, Chinese immigration began with arrival in the Port of New York, which was a passageway for westward expansion and the California Gold Rush. , Many men from China moved west to pan for gold and seek their fortune, but instead â€Å"busted† with little success. Unemployed and unwanted, Chinese workers were hired for manual labor to build the railroads, cook and clean. When the railroads were completed, and jobs were more scarce, animosity quickly developed between the â€Å"yellow peril† and the white workers. Enmity grew so much that racism became legal; the Workman’s Party in California adopted the slogan, â€Å"The Chinese Must Go.† ... Most left their families behind, hoping to make a fortune in the gold mines and to send for them, not expecting the backlash of harsh immigration laws aimed directly at their population. Most were poor and uneducated and worked at odd jobs, laundry, cleaning, and household help. Most were â€Å"unassimilated,† staying within the confines of the community for friendship and family, not easily conversant in English. As they were not allowed to become naturalized citizens, nor were they allowed to bring their wives, they were mostly a bachelor society, with men outnumbering women 27 to 1 (Foner 145). The Chinese community was close-knit, in part due to enforced segregation from the white populace, but also to provide for each other and for financial strength. It was common for a two room apartment to have 5-15 people, each with his own limited space. They slept in tri-tiered bunks, two or three to a bed (Burrows 1128). The Chinese looked to their own selves for self-support, they created a self-sustaining society with a government, social services, businesses, and jobs. In order to protect itself, the Chinese created the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association, or the CCBA (McIllwain 215). It was through this association that one could buy a business, get a job, plan a funeral, or arrange for banking. This was self-governing and self-regulating for the Chinese community, a hierarchical system of courts within the community that also decided law and imposed taxes for the New York Chinese. Each section of Chinatown had representation through the Tongs. The Tongs collected the taxes and imposed the protection within the community. Chinese society was two tiered: Uptowners, or the Elite, mainly comprised of investors and businessmen, and Downtowns, or the Workers, made

Research Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Research - Assignment Example The main problem, which was the reason of the study, was that of lack of such factual evidence through past studies on the facts of the health conditions within a society. The main aim that the study had was estimating the health burden that Germany as a country bore caused by the morbidity as well as mortality associated with obesity and related complications as seen from the perspective of the society. Besides, the study focused on estimating the deaths that occurred within Germany in 2002 being related to obesity as well as the overweight related complications. Moreover, the study was to establish the costs incurred in the country from such deaths that would result and this would be gotten from inpatient records, out patient records. Rehabilitation as well as non-medical costs were also on the check as direct costs while indirect costs were evaluated from sick offs, and early retirement costs among others. The research study format fails to cite distinctly the questions guiding the study as well as the hypothesis under which the study was conducted. This therefore leaves the reader with the liberty of evaluating the study report with presumed line of argument as not guided by clear-cut hypothesis and or questions. The data that was collected from the office of statistics in Germany (German Federal Statistics) and therefore survey method was used as the most appropriate tool for collecting data (Konnopka, Bo ¨demann & Ko ¨nig, 2011). The use of the survey to collect the data from the secondary sources was effective as the study was to use primary data for the year 2002 where collecting the data through other tools would not be possible. Besides, the adoption of the tool was necessitated by the nature of the research as being quantitative and hence factual empirical data for the analysis was necessary. The analysis of the data involved

Banking finance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Banking finance - Essay Example /books.google.com/books?id=Qs38vbHHOtUC&pg=PA128&dq=banking+and+emerging+markets+and+financial+crisis&hl=en&ei=EOiRTO-CMI_eOMHfuYsH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CD8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=banking%20and%20emerging%20markets%20and%20financial%20crisis&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=yozQAazKzKIC&pg=PA213&dq=banking+and+emerging+markets+and+financial+crisis&hl=en&ei=keiRTL-oGsKlOLO6vP8G&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAjgK#v=onepage&q=banking%20and%20emerging%20markets%20and%20financial%20crisis&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=5AVUxdfrYoYC&pg=PA92&dq=banking+and+emerging+markets+and+financial+crisis&hl=en&ei=keiRTL-oGsKlOLO6vP8G&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEQQ6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=banking%20and%20emerging%20markets%20and%20financial%20crisis&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=Zjqh5AH1VAUC&pg=PA75&dq=banking+and+emerging+markets+and+financial+crisis&hl=en&ei=3-iRTKWGOcLfOJSY6N0H&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=3&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAjgU#v=onepage&q=banking%20and%20emerging%20markets%20and%20financial%20crisis&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=J7axGThpaQcC&pg=PA151&dq=banking+and+emerging+markets+and+financial+crisis&hl=en&ei=3-iRTKWGOcLfOJSY6N0H&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CEIQ6AEwBDgU#v=onepage&q=banking%20and%20emerging%20markets%20and%20financial%20crisis&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=O99_n-1hLGgC&pg=PA212&dq=banking+and+emerging+markets+and+financial+crisis&hl=en&ei=LumRTOmuLo2AOK_xyIYI&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDgQ6AEwAzge#v=onepage&q=banking%20and%20emerging%20markets%20and%20financial%20crisis&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=Y5nFJXzfsZ4C&pg=PA98&dq=banking+and+emerging+markets+and+financial+crisis&hl=en&ei=XumRTMS8NYzyOYTjoOIH&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CDIQ6AEwATgo#v=onepage&q=banking%20and%20emerging%20markets%20and%20financial%20crisis&f=false http://books.google.com/books?id=NUsoeeI7O8sC&pg=PA199&dq=banking

Apples Organisation Learning Essay Example for Free

Apples Organisation Learning Essay This paper is the report of the research done on Apple as a learning organization, the purpose of the assignment is to understand how you can identify the organization which learns, what their business is, and map out their learning cycle. Other objectives of the researchers are to understand how learning theories are applied in real world and to identify which theory is most suitable for Apple’s learning style. 1. Introduction This paper discuss about learning organizations, the case subject for this paper is Apple computer. The purpose of this study is to understand the real example of learning organization and to clarify the organizations which are flexible and adaptive from rigid organizations, this clarification help one to understand the advantages and disadvantages of organizational learning. Furthermore while doing this research one will learn how to do company analysis, and make a company profile which is vital for every organizations to have one. Also we will look at how Apple is implementing organizational learning, assess it, and what are other strategies Apple uses to implement and maintain organizational learning. Company profile ; Background Apple, founded in 1976 by Steven P. Jobs and Steve Wozniak, is the world’s largest technology company in terms of market capitalization, taking the lead from its long-time rival Microsoft in 2010. Steven Wozniak and Steven Jobs had been friends in high school, they had both been interested in electronics, and both had been perceived as outsiders. They kept in touch after graduation, and both ended up dropping out of school and getting jobs working for companies in Silicon Valley, Woz for Hewlett-Packard, and Jobs for Atari. Wozniak had been dabbling in computer-design for some time when, in 1976, he designed what would become the Apple I. Jobs, who had an eye for the future, insisted that he and Wozniak try to sell the machine, and on April 1, 1976, Apple Computer was born. Sculley became the de facto head of Apple in May 1985. Over the next few months, Apple was forced to lay off a fifth of its work force, some 1,200 employees. The company also posted its first quarterly loss. All this

Role Of Registered Nurses In Ambulatory Care Setting

Role Of Registered Nurses In Ambulatory Care Setting The primary purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of Lewins change theory in introduction of modified role of Registered Nurses in ambulatory care. In particular, discussion will focus on role change from coordinating role to clinical role while utilising Lewins theory of transitional change. BACKGROUND Lewins theory of change was implemented to bring innovations in traditional roles of nurses at ambulatory care by introducing an ambulatory care nursing conceptual framework adopted by AAACN/ANA in 1998. Three main roles were introduced, clinical role, professional role and organization/system role. Nurses capacity buildings by professional and clinical education, empowerment and role and assignment modifications were key strategies to achieve this change. CONCLUSION: The change process is greatly enhanced by the application of a logical process through the identification of a problem, development of an implementation plan and clear monitoring and evaluation at all stages. The choice of a suitable change model/theory aided the course of development of role of ambulatory care RNs, which was visibly noted in the project with use of Lewins (1951) theory of transitional change. Developing the role of Registered Nurses in ambulatory care setting: A change management project AIMS: The primary purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of change process implementation in lieu of Lewins theory of transitional change to implement new roles of RNs in ambulatory care setting. INTRODUCTION: The concept of change may simply be defined as to make or become different (Mc Leod and Hanks, 1982, p. 72). Change is an inevitable phenomenon of the universe. For evolutionary purpose as well nothing remains constant. Change brings new life and energy in the existing systems which otherwise can be redundant over period of time. Baulcomb (2003) said that planned change represents an intentional attempt to improve operational and managerial effectiveness. The transition of changing from one practice to another is never easy. The literature stresses that the effective management of change includes empowering the people involved in the change and not utilizing an autocratic or top-down approach (Crotty 1996, Baileff 2000). However, it has been a common observation that usually change projects are forced from higher management to the employees which many time results either in unsuccessful project outcome or dissatisfaction of the employees. Ulrich, et al (2002) said that two thirds of quality projects fail because of the prevailing culture and the resistance of the people to change. (p. 211). Therefore, any successful change project requires honest commitment from leadership which leads the team with courage and motivation. Schifalacqua and Costello (2009) said: It is important that management practices are aligned to support and reinforce the change, such as clinical systems, staffing, and rewards. The changing of systems and structures are vital to lasting change. (p. 27). Todays healthcare is very different from what it was a just a decade ago. It has taken a shape of an industry/business which is growing at an incredible speed. This fast paced growth keeps the healthcare managers on toe to meet the challenges of rapidly changing world around them. Ferrara-Love (1997) said: Health care is not immune from the impact of change, and is still in its infancy of downsizing, mergers, and corporate buyoutsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The changes health care is experiencing are not unique, but are reflective of changes in society. (p. 12). This can explicitly be seen today where everyone wants to have cost containment due to which institutional level changes are made at a rapid pace. Healthcare industry is not an exclusion from this change phenomenon, which many times put the employees at stress that may affect their work performance as well. Factors that can affect change also include: the attitudes of people, lack of perceived support during the change process, worker reluctance or resistance to change, lack of consideration of attitudes and beliefs of staff, fear, anxiety, uncertainty and loss of control (Crotty 1996, Telles 1996, Willmot 1998, Baileff 2000, Carney 2000, Tingle 2002). Any change process requires utilization of resources in terms of human, finance, and material; hence the change process needs frequent monitoring and evaluation for its applicability and effectiveness. Schifalacqua and Costello (2009) said the transition of moving from one practice change to another is never easy, and the people side of change is a dominant aspect that needs to be incorporated into the overall implementation plan. (p. 27). This can be seen in daily routines as people get accustomed to the practices over a period of time and usually it is difficult to change the practice which they ingrain in their daily lives. Hence, the successful change implementation depends upon the communication and shared values between the team members responsible for the change. Therefore, one should not expect a successful change to be implemented overnight. This requires thorough planning, critical thinking and engagement of relevant stakeholders which requires energy, dedication, time commitment and mutual respect between two parties that is the change agent and the client. Smith-Bla and Bradle (1999) said: Although health care organizational change is a constant phenomenon, little is understood as to how staff experiences this change. Unsuccessful change efforts have suggested the possible important relationship between understanding staffs experience and improved results. (p.340) This is a vital consideration to be taken into account by change management leaders as healthcare is growing at an incredible pace; the demand and supply ratio needs to be balanced by implementing innovative change strategies which should be cost effective as well as user friendly. If the clients input is not considered then the leaders might not be able to have a successful outcome from a change process which they might desire. BACKGROUND: The subject of change is not new. Poggenpoel (1992) affirms that change may lead to real innovation, providing abundant opportunities for creating a better way forward. This is particularly true in healthcare setting. Todays evidence based medicine and evidence based nursing practices primarily bring innovation and change in the field of health sciences which ultimately help in improving quality of life whether of patients in specific or society in general. However, the process of leading successful change requires effective communication, wide participation, facilitation and manipulating different interests towards the agreed goal (McLaren and Ross, 2000). Successful change cannot be a one man show and needs team effort which cannot occur without effective communication between team members who need to work with mutual understanding towards shared vision. The ambulatory clinics are an integral part of any hospital; clinics are the bridge between the hospital and the community, and are utilized as a pre-hospitalization center. Null and Bonser (1997) stressed: The outpatient /ambulatory services can be a vital stage in many patient journeys. It may be a patients only place in the hospital setting where they visit on continuous basis. So far this has been a department staffed by nurses who have no proficiency in any clinical specialty. Hence, they gain experience in several and expertise in none. (p. 325). The affirmation above was very true for staff nurses working at ambulatory care setting in my organization. Role of Registered Nurses (RNs) at ambulatory clinics had been a real discussion at my organization due to a general perception that there is no active clinical role of registered nurses in clinics thus they are underutilized. In addition due to cost containment projects, highly paid employees efficiency was also closely monitored therefore registered nurses being highly paid among other staff categories were objected for being underutilized at outpatient clinics. Out of 215 staff in ambulatory care setting, 75 (34.8%) are RNs who cover all the specialties. These registered nurses have gone through general nursing training in their graduating school of nursing. They develop clinic based competencies during their competency based orientation conducted in the unit within first three months of their job. This on-job training is supervised by Clinical Nurse Instructor (CNI) and Cli nical Nurse Specialist (CNS) of ambulatory care services. Haas (1998) said: Ambulatory care nursing is a unique realm of nursing practice. It is characterized by rapid, focused assessments of patients, long-term nurse/patient/family relationships, and teaching and translating prescriptions for care into doable activities for patients and their caregivers. (p. 16). However, at my institution this role was limited to initial assessment and giving some very basic education to patient like on diet and medication. While reflecting the factual nursing roles and practices at ambulatory care services of our setting in the light of definition by AAACN/ANA, a big room for improvement and innovation was seen to re-conceptualize RNs roles and practices. The existing roles and responsibilities carried out by clinic RNs were much more general than the efficient clinical roles which they should have been playing. It was now the responsibility of nursing management of ambulatory care services to relook at the roles and re-assign tasks so that the true need of registered nurses and their proper utilization could be justified. Literature search on RNs roles in outpatient clinics revealed that internationally there are RN-managed clinics, telephone medicated care by RNs, specialty based nurse educators, practitioner, consultants, and clinical nurse experts such as pre-operative nurse, oncology nurse, wound specialist nurse etc (Hamner, 2005). American Academy of Ambulatory Care Nursing (AAACN, 1995) categorized roles of ambulatory care nurses as clinical, management, educational, and researcher roles. DISCUSSION: The goal of the management plan was to address the issue of strengthening the role of registered nurses at ambulatory care services, to justify their need in outpatient services; Lewins three stage model was chosen to introduce the change in RNs role. Lewins model has intuitive appeal and became an enduring influence because it was taken up as one of the foundation stones of the organizational development (OD) movement during the 1960s-1980s (Burnes 2000, Cummings Worley 2001).The reason behind choosing Lewins change theory was its easy and simple implementation and efficacy in bringing modification in existing practices by analyzing driving forces, restraining forces, and by targeting new innovations and implementation. The literature supports the effective use of said theory in various organizational change management projects (Mrayyan et al, 2007; Huber, 2006; Marquisand Huston, 2005). Fetherston et.al (2009) emphasized the importance of major change and endorsed that: Where a major change is implemented, models such as Lewins (1951) model of unfreezing, changing and refreezing can be a useful guide (p. 2586). As the alteration of RNs role at ambulatory clinic was a significant major change Lewins model proved to be a useful and effective guide for system modification. The system perspective of the Kurt Lewins theory suggests that the process of change occurs in three stages: unfreezing, moving and refreezing. For change to occur, a motivational factor should arise in order to break the ice. Baulcomb (2003) states that This theory places emphasis on the driving and resisting forces associated with any change, and to achieve success the importance lies with ensuring that driving forces outweigh resisting forcesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦The intention is to reach a state of equilibrium. (p. 277). Green (1983) stated within every change situation forces exist either to push the system toward changing (pro-change forces), or push it away from changing (anti-change forces). (p.1623). Pro-change forces act to alter the status quo and are considered important aspects of change motivation. Anti-change forces, on the other hand, work toward maintaining equilibrium and are usually manifested as habits, rituals or policies. Unfreezing occurs when the driving forces (pro-change) become stronger than the restraining forces (anti-change). Stage 1: The unfreezing phase-becoming motivated to change: Schifalacqua and Costello (2009) said: Communication is vital to any change process. If the change is on the unit level, a question-and-answer format on the impact on patient care and/or the caregivers is very effective. (p.29). The key to this phase was to answer following questions: What is the problem which needs to be addresses by the change management project? Who needs to be involved in the change process? What will be the post change benefits to the organization? What would be the likely cost of the change? Huber (2006) asserted that the first stage is cognitive exposure to the change idea, diagnosis of the problem, and work to generate alternative solutions. (p.811). Discussion with the in charge nurse and staff nurses of ambulatory care services was held in which desired change and of role modification was highlighted. Majority was in consensus of the need of this change as they were also dissatisfied due to peoples perception of their role and lack of clinical utilization of them in their workplace. It was also shared that changing the nurses role would be potentially stressful for those taking the new role as well as for those with whom they work. Fetherston et.al (2009) stated that: When change is managed in systematic steps with adequate evaluation and communication throughout the process, it is more likely to result in successful outcomes. (p. 2582) From a broader perspective there was an impulsion for developing RNs to meet the need of multispecialty tasks at outpatient setting, with a need to demonstrate the effectiveness of any new roles created. This multispecialty tasking required RNs to gain competency in multispecialty. Miller, Flynn, Umadac (1998) said: Competency is the assessment of the employees ability to perform the skills and tasks of his or her position as defined in his or her job description. A competent staff member has the knowledge, skills, ability, and behaviors to perform required tasks correctly. (p. 10). Hence, in order to evaluate the competence of ambulatory care RNs baseline knowledge and practice assessment was done for 40 RNs to assess their insight related to clinical, professional and system roles in ambulatory work setting (please refer appendix A). Audit results showed only 41% involvement of nurses in clinical related knowledge and patient care tasks. Cork, A (2005) said: When examining the introduction of competencies in relation to force-field analysis it can be seen that one of the main drivers would be an improvement in nurses practice and a defined level of achieved competence for individual nurses. In addition, the projected benefit to patient care, through the acquisition and application of knowledge, would be a major driver. (p.40) The audit proved to be very useful in identifying gaps in the required standards of nursing knowledge and practice of RNs working in the clinic setting. Hence, it ultimately helped in planning and implementing educational strategies to overcome the identified gaps. Stage 2: The moving phase-change- what needs to be changed? Once mutual agreement for a desire for role modification was obtained, ambulatory care nursing conceptual framework by Haas, S.A. (2006) was searched from literature (please refer appendix B). The framework was liked by higher authorities and approved to be incorporated and introduced in the ambulatory care nursing model. Flannigan (1995) states, If you can define an ideal culture in terms of your strategy and leadership, particularly how the culture would be different from the way it is currently, then you have the basis for changing the culture. (p. 60). In order to gain shared vision for proposed changed culture the model was introduced to all ambulatory services RNs to obtain their feedback and open discussions were held through meetings with nursing management, ambulatory care nurses and medical colleagues. On this occasion, information concerning the change was provided through a discussion and presentation of research findings regarding development of outpatient nurses specialty based practices. Indeed, this increased knowledge about specialty based roles created dissatisfaction with the current system. Tross and Cavanagh (1996) claim that dissatisfaction with the status quo is the most influential factor in the initiation of change. However, rather than being an education issue, four nurses argued that it was an experiential issue and subsequently suggested that it may cause the difficulties in implementing specialty based roles. Being mindful of the normative re-educative strategy that was employed in the change process, provi sion was made to appreciate the resistors feelings. Nevertheless, it was asserted that if nurses did not have the theoretical knowledge, which underpins the specialty skills, they would be unlikely to be competent practically in this area (Reece and Walker, 1997). Accordingly, the resistors argument was diluted by providing them with abundant amounts of evidence to support the introduction of the project. A consensus was then reached and actions were prioritized for the change initiative in specialty based training. Smale (1998) highlights the benefits of actively involving staff that are closest to the problems, by explaining that they are closest to the solution. Consequently, Rigorous training sessions were arranged for nurses for clinical concepts such as triage, health assessments, specialty based diseases and case presentations, specialty based skills assistance, patient and family education and counseling techniques etc. Applicability of RN roles taken from the framework: Within pre-admission assessment, the aim was to develop the RN role so that s/he could get the patients medical history, and perform pre-consultation assessment accordingly. Nurse-led pre-admission assessment has shown to be effective and safe (Whiteley et al. 1997). The issue of developing advanced assessment skills was resolved through special courses by clinical nurse specialist. There is an evidence to suggest that developing the role of the nurse specialist or practitioner can increase the continuity of care whilst still maintaining clinical standards; examples include nurse-led rheumatology follow-up (Hill 1997) and breast care follow-up (Earnshaw 1997). Such a development not only enhanced stability but also free up consultants time within their clinic to see patients with more complex needs and to potentially increase the number of new patients that could be seen. A group of seven senior RNs was formed from different sections of ambulatory care, to be included in a review of ambulatory care related policies, protocols and work instructions. This group was also trained for supervisory skills to cater evening shifts and weekends in absence of head nurses of respective units. This role proved to be productive and satisfactory for nurses as well. Stage3: The refreezing phase-making the change permanent: The introduction of role changes were well appreciated by the consultants, management and RNs. Enhanced patient safety, patients and nurses satisfaction and most of all effective time utilization was evident. To fix these changes, slight modification in RNs job descriptions (JDs) was done to introduce these role aspects in their JDs. Furthermore, their schedules and assignments were fixed for three months period and then rotations were pre-planned. In this instance, Lewins (1951) force-field analysis also served as an assessment of the driving and restraining forces that impacted on the implementation of this change process. Driving forces facilitate change because they push employees in the desired direction (Kritsonis, 2004). These were RNs motivation and enthusiasm, pressure from higher management and doctors acceptance, patients safety and satisfaction. There was little resistance to change in first three months of the project. Those whoclosely working with RNs in out-patient setting were supportive of the project and worked with the team for achievement of goals. In fact, the slower than anticipated development meant that key stakeholders such as consultants did not feel threatened by the pace of the change. Evaluation: The outcome of the strategies through implementation of conceptual framework as a change agent was assessed through measurement audits. Audit of the nurses practices was carried out concurrently, while the patients experiences were being surveyed. The literature contends that change is not consolidated without continuous monitoring and observation (Smale, 1998). Furthermore, Dale (1994) asserts that internal auditing, scrutiny of records and objective observation help discover what is currently taking place. An audit tool was developed with 19 criteria, 80% nurses were evaluated on conceptual framework through this audit tool, 74.2% compliance was observed for knowledge and new role implementation. 50% of ambulatory nurses were trained for health assessment, performing health assessment of patients with clinical emergencies as a daily clinical task. 100% patients with clinical emergencies were identified by RNs of assigned clinics and received timely interventions and transfer to appropriate care facilities. 80% patients received education on disease, treatment plan and lifestyle modification from nurse educators in specialty based clinics. Other gains were safe and complex patient care delivery, evident by no clinical errors and incidences in that period. Increased patient satisfaction indicated by no clinical complaints reported by patients. Consequently nurses satisfaction was largely enhanced, assessed by subjective verbalization of nurses in open forums and meetings. Formal surveys for nurses and patient satisfaction need to be conducted to evaluate objectivity of these outcomes. CONCLUSION: The change process was greatly enhanced by the application of a logical process through the identification of a problem, development of an implementation plan and clear monitoring and evaluation at all stages. Furthermore, the selection of an appropriate change model aided this process, something clearly demonstrated in this project with use of Lewins (1951) theory of transitional change. It also discovered some very hopeful aspects with regard to professional development and team working. However, it was also experienced that change is not easy, sometimes filled with unwary troubles and sometimes intimidating. 3,304