Economic Analysis of Crop Diversification Essay Example for Free

Economic Analysis of Crop Diversification Essay There is a dramatic change in the earning, spending and saving pattern of the people of India in the post reform (economic) period that is post 1991. During this period, income generating mechanism in this country underwent massive changes. With a sustained economic growth, rising per capita income along with an ever increasing population, the dietary pattern in India is also changing very fast. The Indian food basket is diversifying in favour of high value food commodities like fruits, vegetables, dairy products, poultry products and fish products from staple food such as rice, wheat and coarse cereals. This raises a challenge to Indian agriculture. On the other hand the modern agriculture dominated by chemical and irrigation intensive farming system has not only raised productivity but simultaneously has also resulted in soil erosion, water contamination, pesticides poisoning, land degradation through water logging and soil salinity, depletion of bio-diversity, etc., forcing farmers to apply ever-increasing doses of fertilisers and to make water supply available on a continuous basis, in order to maintain the productivity levels. This again raises another challenge to Indian agriculture. It may not be wondering if we assume that organic farming system may generate such situation to address both the challenges mentioned above. This paper is concerned with an analysis of crop diversification under organic and inorganic farming in West Bengal. Crop diversification is different from the concept of multiple cropping or succession planting over the growing seasons. Moreover, it implies the use of environmental and human resources to grow a mix of crops with complementary marketing opportunities. Thus, it implies a shifting of resources from low value crops to high value crops such as fruits, vegetables, etc. The concept of crop diversification in globalized market of agricultural produce refers to increase the total crop productivity in terms of quality, quantity and monetary value under different specific agro-climatic situations across the world. There are two approaches to crop diversification in agriculture. First is horizontal diversification, which is the primary approach to crop diversification in production agriculture. The approach takes place through crop intensification by adding new high-value crops to existing cropping systems. Thus, the approach facilitates the improvement of overall productivity of a farm or farming economy of a region. The second approach is the vertical diversification. Under this approach, farmers and others add value to products through processing, regional branding, packaging, merchandising or other efforts to enhance the farm-product. The opportunities for crop diversification may vary depending on risks, opportunities and the feasibility of proposed changes within a socio-economic and agro-economic context. However, crop diversification through substitution of one crop or mixed cropping / inter-cropping may be a useful tool to mitigate problems associated with aberrant weather to some extent, especially in the arid and semi-arid drought-prone / dry land areas. Impact of crop diversification Crop diversification is intended to practice of growing more than one crop (or enterprise) in any year to increase financial and biological stability of the farm. In the agricultural context, diversification can be regarded as the re-allocation of some of a farms productive resources, such as land, capital, farm equipment and paid labour, into new activities. These can be new crops or livestock products, value-adding activities, provision of services to other farmers, etc. On the other hand, diversification of agriculture refers to the shift from the regional dominance of one crop to regional production of a number of crops, to meet ever increasing demand for cereals, pulses, oilseeds, fruits and vegetables, etc. It aims to improve soil health and a dynamic equilibrium of the agro-ecosystem. Crop diversification takes into account the economic returns from different value-added crops. Crop diversification can better tolerate the ups and downs in the market value of farm products and may ensure economic stability for farming families of the state. The adverse effects of aberrant weather, such as erratic and scanty rainfall and drought are very common in a vast area in agricultural production of the state. Incidents of flood in one part and drought in the other part are a very frequent phenomenon in the state. Under these aberrant weather situations, dependence on one or two major cereals (rice, wheat, etc.) is always risky. Diversification in agriculture has tremendous impact on the agro-socio-economic condition and uplifting resource-poor farming communities. It generates income and employment for rural youth year round for the ultimate benefits of the farmers in the state. It implies the use of local resources in a larger mix of diverse cropping systems and livestock, aquaculture and other non-farm sectors in the rural areas. Problem statement The yield as well as farm income is the essential part for crop diversification for the farmer of an agricultural based economy like West Bengal. Normally, the farmers diversify farm enterprises to meet the cash requirements of the family and to mitigate risk associated with mono-cropping, depending on conventional wisdom over the years. The crop diversification in the state is also considered with greater emphasis from the view point to price response, market infrastructure, availability of resources and public interventions (price and credit policies of farming business, research and development in farming activities, etc.) in agriculture. The judicious crop mix has facilitated increased farm incomes. It has also contribution towards the utilization of under employed resources to mitigate seasonal and under unemployment of rural labour force. The crop diversification has also helped to reduce risks and uncertainties in crops yields due to climatic and biological vagaries. Thus the study was conducted to analyze the extent of crop diversification at different levels of farm size as well as crop growing seasons in West Bengal for both inorganic and organic farming systems, commonly followed by the farmers in the state.

Gambling in College Football Essay Example for Free

Gambling in College Football Essay Today’s new generation has accepted gambling more than any previous generation. People are playing poker and betting on games one the internet and even on college campus. According to them it is a social activity and there is nothing wrong in gambling. This negative attitude has made this problem seep down to the highest level of human population, its intellect (Oregon Department of Human Services, 2005). Gambling is a social problem which not only threatens the academic success of a student but also depletes the financial resources. Risking money in the hope of winning is called gambling. Gambling includes lottery tickets, online betting games, cards, dice, dominoes etc (University of Texas, 2004). In past few months various football gambling stories have created a chaos among the coaches and administration of various colleges. Colleges are constantly trying to find new ways of finding and punishing the culprits. The main concern however, is to create such rules which can prevent students from placing a bet and hence getting involved in this organized crime. In past few years gambling incidents have been recorded from quite known and influential colleges. These include Arizona State University, Boston College, University of Colorado, Columbia University, Fresno State University, and Northwestern University etc. According to a research done by a student from the University of Michigan, almost 72% of the students had gambled in one way or the other. Almost 80% of these were male students (Cross Vollano, n. d). In order to understand the issue of student athlete gambling in more than an anecdotal way, this study was developed to learn the extent and nature of student athlete gambling. According to The National Association of Student Personnel Administration (NAPSA), gambling is a problem not just in athlete students but in all students. They constantly urge college management to develop programs which aware students about the potential hazards of gambling (The National Association of Student Personnel Administration, 2007). In 1874, college professional sports had its first scandal. Louisville college football players were accused of gambling against their own team. According to Arnie Wexler, who was a former College football gambler, and is now a recognized expert on compulsive gambling; â€Å"Its easier to place a bet on a college campus than it is to buy a can of beer or a package of cigarettes, you just pick up a telephone and call a bookie on campus. You dont even have to leave your room† (Kindred, 1996). This is absolutely true. The college administration usually does not care about such things. They burry their heads in the sand and if asked pretend as if nothing is wrong is happening. For past half century the college football and basketball has been full of wagering incidents. The National Collegiate athletic Association (NCAA) did a survey in 2003. According to that survey almost one percent of the total college football players accepted money for poor performance. Moreover, half the time they played, they were able to change the outcome of the game by their performance. It was also found that almost 15% of the non athlete students also gambled. It is not just the gambling part, but the players usually provide inside information to the gamblers and help them win (National Collegiate athletic Association, 2003). Students who gamble risk their careers to fulfill their need and obsession to gamble. Such activities do not necessarily occur in the isolation of college but the culprits might get together in a friends place in order to place the bet. Bets can be placed in the internet and in some cases via phone also. In 2004, two student bookies were caught. They were convicted of sports bribery. Stevin Hedake Smith owed almost $10,000 to a student bookie. In order to pay him back he agreed with the bookie to play poorly at the game. The FBI became suspicious and later caught him and his friends. After this incident the NCAA changed quite a few rules of the game. Though before gambling was always condemned, but it was never a definite rule. However, after this event, the NCAA has anti gambling rules in black and white (Gabriel, 2004). Sometimes even a simple thing as accepting gift certificate can be termed as gambling too. In a simple event, few women participated in a simple ‘pick a winner’ game and earned gift certificates of $50. When the college administration found out about this they banned those students from playing in the football team. Due to this event, accepting gift certificates was against the rules (National Endowment for financial education, 2004). According to the NCAA; â€Å"You may not place any bet of any sort on any college or professional sports event. You may not give information to anyone who does place bets on college or professional sports† (National Endowment for financial education, 2004). Moreover, the NCAA further explains these rules as: There can be no betting on any sport, whether it involves your college or not. There can be no wager for any item i. e. cash, shirt, dinner etc. No sports pools No internet gambling No fantasy leagues (this means no fee for participation and no prize for winning) No information exchange about your or any other team (including injury, or anyother problems) (NCAA, 2005; NCAA, 2003). Looking at the table below it can be determined how many students playing college football engage them selves in wagering activities and how many think that the rules above have really made a difference. Figure: Comparison of proportion of S_As who gamble on college sports versus proportion who says that NCAA Rules discourage sports wagering Source: NCAA, 2004 The change in the rules of college football has certainly reduces the amount of bets placed. Though at some level students are still gambling, but if caught they know that their careers will come to an end. The amount of shame and humiliation caused by the media coverage also has an impact on the number of bets placed every year. According to the new rules by NCAA, any student who is caught violating the game rules will not be allowed to play in any of the plays he has formerly registered too. This means his entire career comes to a halt. Such strict rules have helped in the reduction of wagering issues (NCAA news release, 1999). In August 2007, several students complained that the coaches were using text messages to gamble or place bets. Almost 75% of the people voted in favor of banning text messaging. Due to the gambling problem, yet another rule had to be placed. According to the New York Times, the NCAA has now placed a ban on text messaging. The president of NCAA was disappointed so much that he called this â€Å"an embarrassment to all of intercollegiate athletics† (Thomas, 2008). The coaches have tried to work around this rule too. According to many coaches as there is no ban for e-mailing they can place bets on the e-mails. Many cell phone companies allow e-mailing also, so coaches are now trying new ways without breaking any rules (Miller, 2008). The administration should always clearly state the rules, as not doing so means leaving a loop hole, with the help of which the students can gamble. Sometimes, the committee can accuse somebody of gambling, but such a person might not have understood the rules properly. In 2004 a former football coach was accused of gambling. He later sued NCAA for accusing him and later firing him. According to him he did not understand the way NCAA operates. Hence it is not just about defining rules, but explaining them in such a way that everybody understands them (Yaeger et al, 2004). Gambling in college football has very grave consequences. A student can get expelled from college, get humiliated in news stories, can become an embarrassment for himself and his family, get banned from all professional sports, become a victim of organized crime, ruin his financial resources and sometimes even end up in jail. To summarize, wagering can destroy a person’s life. It is not only the responsibility of the students themselves, but the responsibility of the college administration to help create awareness among students so that no student get involved in these matters and does not become a victim of bookies. Even though the generation today has certainly got more involved in gambling, poker, wagering etc, but measures can be taken in order to help these students. Many organizations are working and are constantly trying to help these students break their habits. It might be difficult but not impossible. The management and the administration of the colleges should also instead of ignoring these things, in order to help prevent scandals and create a bad name of their schools, should help students get over this habit. Rules should be devised which are clear and strict. College students are the most important part of any population, and if they get involved in these things, this means that the human intellect has been affected. References Cross, Michael E. Vollano, Ann G. (n. d). Gambling Education. University of Michigan. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. umich. edu/~mgoblue/compliance/gambling/summary. html Gabriel, Walter (2004). Gambling common at colleges during March Madness: Office pool cost coach his job. Louisiana State University. The Daily Reveille. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://media. www. lsureveille. com/media/storage/paper868/news/2004/03/11/Sports/Gambling. Common. At. Colleges. During. March. Madness-2048935. shtml Kindred, David. (1996). Ignoring gambling wont make it go away gambling at college campuses – Column. The Sporting News. November 18. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_n47_v220/ai_18869994 Miller, Phil (2008). Like Water Around A dam. Retrieved January 2, 2008 from: http://marketpower. typepad. com/market_power/college_football/index. html National Collegiate athletic Association (2003). Sports wagering; study on collegiate sports wagering and associated behaviors. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/library/research/sports_wagering/2003/2003_sports_wagering_study. pdf National Endowment for financial education (2004). Don’t bet on it: put your money on a real winner, yourself. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/gambling/dontbetonit/2004. pdf NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). (2005). NCAA rules and regulations. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. iupui. edu/~athlete/handbook/rules. html NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). (2003). Protect: Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/library/general/general_brochure/2003/2003_gen_info. pdf NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association). (2004). Comparison of proportion of S_As who gamble on college sports versus proportion who say that NCAA Rules discourage sports wagering. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/gambling/2003NationalStudy/slideShow/sld028. htm NCAA News release (1999). Report Of the NCAA Division I Working Group to Study Basketball Issues. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. ncaa. org/releases/basketballissues/1999082001bi. htm Oregon Department of Human Services (2005). Gambling and College Students: Literature Review. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. oregon. gov/DHS/addiction/gambling/collegestudents-gambling. pdf Thomas, Katie. (2008). N. C. A. A. Ban on Text-Messaging as Recruiting Tool Will Remain. The New York Times. 13th Jan. Retrieved January 3,2008 from: http://www. nytimes. com/2008/01/13/sports/13ncaa. html? _r=3ref=ncaafootballoref=sloginoref=sloginoref=slogin The National Association of Student Personnel Administration. NAPSA. (2007). Students affairs administrators in higher education. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. naspa. org/pubs/index. cfm University of Texas (2004). Gambling; You bet your life. The councelling and mental health centre. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://www. utexas. edu/student/cmhc/booklets/gambling/gamb. html Yaeger, Thomas, E. Benjamin A. Converse, Doug Ulrich, David Codron, Ryan Restivo (2004). Your turn. Retrieved January 3, 2008 from: http://findarticles. com/p/articles/mi_m1208/is_46_228/ai_n6362465

Components Constituting A Business Environment Commerce Essay

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

England :: essays research papers

History of England The Ice Age ended about 8000 BC, during which the Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons lived in Great Britain. Because of the melting ice the water level rose and the English Channel was created, making Great Britain an island. The Middle Stone Age passed in this new forest and swamp, followed by the New Stone Age when the practice of farming began. During this period a lot of new people came to Britain. By 2500 BC the Beaker people had moved there. They were named after their pottery, and noted for their bronze tools and huge stone monuments, like Stonehenge. These Monuments prove they had an excellent economic organization as well as their technical skill and ability. Around 1000 BC the Celts took over the British Isles, they also took over most of western Europe. Because of their iron plows, iron weapons, and horse-drawn chariots, they were able to take over the inhabitants of the islands. Their priests dominated their society. King Alfred became king of Wessex in one of England's darkest hours. The Danes, viking forces that had raided the English coasts in the 8th century, planned to take over England. All that stood in their way were Wessex and Alfred. After Alfred's victory at Edington in 878 AD he made the Danish king Guthrum accept baptism and a division of England took place. The two parts were Wessex and Danelaw. By creating a navy, reorganizing the militia, allowing warriors to switch between farming and fighting, and building forts, Alfred was able to take over London and begin to take over tthe Danish. The battel to take over the Danish was completed by Alfred's son, Edward the Elder, and by his grandson Athelstan. Athelstan won a battle at Brunanburth in 937 AD and most of the rest of the century was peaceful. Saint Dunstan, Archbishop of Canterbury was able to restore the Church. The conquest of the Danelaw meant the creation of unified government for all of England. Despite this the Danish invasions came again during Ethelred II's reign. In 1154 Henry II took the throne. During his reign he strengthened the government, developed the common law, created the grand jury, and attempted to reduce the jurisdiction of church courts. He was opposed by Thomas Becket, his former chancellor, who King Henry had made archbishop. His anger at Becket led to his murder. His empire included half of France and lordship over Ireland and Scotland.

Maquiladoras & NAFTA Essay -- essays research papers

MAQUILADORAS AND THE NAFTA'S IMPACT: Introduction In this paper I will discuss the history and practices of the Maquiladora industry. I will discuss its background, its problems, the benefits it offers to United States companies, and the impact the NAFTA has and will have on the industry. In addition, I will make a suggestion on a possible strategy the Maquiladoras can adopt in order to address the challenges brought on by the NAFTA, to ensure it remains a strong force in the future. Background Mexican agricultural workers had been granted temporary work visas allowing them to work in the United States' agricultural industries through a program called the Bracero Program until 1965 when this program was terminated. As a result of this termination, the unemployment rate had exceeded 70% in certain border cities. In May of 1965 the Border Industrialization Program was established as a replacement for the Bracero program. It was later renamed the Maquiladora Program. The program was established by the Mexican government to provide employment for Mexico's rapidly growing population along its border with the United States. This Program was utilized to keep Mexicans from entering the United States. The idea was that Mexican workers would be kept on the Mexican side of the border if they were given factory jobs on the Mexican side. The Maquiladora program also wanted to attract foreign manufacturing facilities, technology, and know-how by giving a permanent tax holiday to manufact uring companies that would set up "twin plants" on the Mexican side of the border. In the beginning of the program, all foreign-owned operations had to be located within a 20-kilometer strip along the US-Mexican border. Since 1972 they can be located anywhere in Mexico. In 1996 there were around 2,500 Maquiladoras - 35% of them were located in the interior states of Mexico. Last year there were over 3,000 and more and more of these operations are being located outside of the border regions. Each of Mexico's 31 states has at least one Maquiladora. What is a Maquiladora? Maquiladoras, also referred to as "in bond" or "twin" plants, are allowed to temporarily import into Mexico (free of tax) machinery, equipment, replacement parts, raw materials, and just about anything that was used in the assembly or manufacture of semi-finished or finished products... ...on between the non-Maquiladora and Maquiladora industries I feel the inefficient producers will be wiped out. Therefor, Maquiladora employees will need better training, education, incentives as well improved working conditions and higher wages. Operations will also have to be streamlined in order to reap the benefits of economies of scale and scope. In addition, Mexicans as well as US citizens will start to demand more accountability from the Mexican government and the Maquiladora industry. They need to be more responsible for their actions. What will the U.S. corporations do when human rights activists and environmentalists start lobbying and protesting on their US sites? Do they want to risk losing their shareholders to this type of negative attention? References Benitez, Gerardo, Latin American Perspectives: The Maquiladora Program Its Challenges Ahead, THE WHARTON JOURNAL, December 11, 1995. Clifford, Frank and Mary Beth Sheridan, Borderline Efforts on Pollution, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES, June 30, 1997, 1. Naumann, Ann K. and Mireille Hutchinson, The Integration of Women into the Mexican Labor Force Since NAFTA THE AMERICAN BEHAVIORAL SCIENTIST, June/July 1997, 950-956.

How Digital Processes Change Photography Essay -- Essays

How Digital Processes Change Photography New technology is an ever present, always advancing force in today’s world. For this reason it is no surprise that in the last decade we have begin to see the rise of digital imaging in our lives. Put simply, digital imaging is the process of changing a visual imaging into a format that a computer can understand and interpret. Whether or not the image is captured by a digital device, such as a digital camera or camcorder, or it is transformed into a digital file after its development, such as by scanning, digital processes are changing the face of photography and the way we interpret it. However, as with any new change or development, digital imaging comes with its own set of advantages, and its own set of vices. Before the era of digital imaging the process of creating a photographic image had gone on for nearly a century with relatively little advancement. Besides from improvements in film quality and development every few decades, photography was, for the most part, becoming a stable form of art. Not only could people go and get professional photographs taken, but the technology was easy enough to understand that with Kodak’s introduction of a consumer friendly camera in 1888 people could begin producing their own photographs as well. (US News, p49.) Soon followed the 35mm camera, then color film and so- on and so-forth but the primary idea never changed. However, just prior to the 1980’s the world began to see the advancement of digital imaging with the introduction of computer programs that could edit an image after it had been scanned into digital format. This was a dawning of a new era in photography, even though the world would not see the birth of the digital cam. .. ... to the cover of a national press. As fore-mentioned, this brave new world of digital imaging was showing its good and bad side. As time marches on so does the flow of new technology. Even though the old form of analog photography may never become obsolete it is abundantly clear that digital imaging is here to stay. WORKS CITED 1) Curtin, Dennis P. Choosing and Using a Digital Camera. New York: Curtin. 2001 2) Mills, Lara. â€Å"Fast and flexible: digital photography may revolutionize the creative landscape, although not for everyone.† Marketing Magazine 101 (1996): 16-17 3) â€Å"Photography’s Storied History.† US NEWS & WORLD REPORT 131 (2001) : 48-9 4) Webb, Warren. â€Å"A Digital Picture is Worth†¦Ã¢â‚¬  EDN 45 (2000) 71-8 5) Chinnock, Chris â€Å"Low-end Digital Cameras still Poised for Rapid Growth.† Electronic Design 47 (1999) 56

My journal

Teacher Some say being a teacher is one of the noble professions of all time. They serve as a friend, as a counselor and as a second mother. Nowadays a lot of students In college are taking up education courses because of the benefits and high salary they can get once they've passed the LET. If that would be the case, then maybe some of those teachers are not holistically Inclined and passionate or effective enough to touch the lives of the next generation. Based on my experience, I have met 5 kinds of teachers.First is a teacher that spoon-feeds his/her students with the knowledge and skills he/she has. Second is a teacher who terrorizes her students and pressures them to get high grades and to pass her subject. The third teacher is what I call, the missing in action' teacher. Why? Because he/she is always absent and usually assigns the class to do some reports about the next subject next meeting (this happens in undergraduate students but then I guess It's a normal thing in graduat e school. The second to the last is a teacher who Just reads her lectures in a power point presentation without adding anything to explain the topic further and lastly, the teacher with a long lasting energy, which makes the environment and learning, fun and enjoyable. Now, as I go with the topic, â€Å"My Effective Teacher† I am thinking on how will I become one? The courage standing before a crowd is a challenge for everyone who is not exposed in an environment where different kinds of people are in.Being effective teacher is not about the lesson plan she makes every day, not about the exams she prepares to give every lecture, not about the visual aids she makes but rather the active participation of the students in class, the high scores they get every exams and more importantly, when the student passes the board exams. Being remembered by a student after four years of feeding their minds with knowledge Is one of the best proofs that you've been an effective and efficient professor. I hope 2 years from now, I would be able to be remembered and be a huge art of my student's lives. Y journal By Jennifer Jane-Gangs a friend, as a counselor and as a second mother. Nowadays a lot of students in can get once they've passed the LET. If that would be the case, then maybe some of those teachers are not holistically inclined and passionate or effective enough to then I guess it's a normal thing in graduate school. ) The second to the last is a importer, I should also reach out to my students in order for us to have a harmonious relationship inside and out of the classroom. My fourth element would be knowledge is one of the best proofs that you've been an effective and efficient