Culture Of Poverty Essay

Culture is a set of values and beliefs that influence the effectiveness also strategy formulation. It is a pattern of shared basic assumptions that people learn to produce behavioural norm. Poverty is being unable to provide yourself with comfort and material needs. Culture of poverty shows that those who are poor stay in poverty due to adapting the poverty burden. The world eliminates the culture of poverty through education and get their priorities straight and create micro-culture where the whole world will belong (Bass, 2005) I agree with the position that the poor are largely responsible for their own poverty because when they realize they are poor instead of working hard they start feeling helpless and not belonging and they feel that the society do not serve their needs. They feel they have no power therefore can not try to change their situation for the better and feel they are inferior and think that the rich are superior which make them not put effort to change their situation for the better. The poor also feel that they are unworthy and do not form any racial group and feel that they are unworthy and do not form any racial group and feel that they are discriminated by the members of the society. People who are poor do not know any history o becoming rich and acquiring wealth, they only know heir problems and shortcomings; they recognize only the poor conditions and only their neighborhood which is also living in poverty. Poor people have no knowedge, vision or ideas to compare themselves with other people who are rich for example they do not care whether they are in high class or low class. The poor should be encouraged to work hard and not accept the poverty burden in order to improve their lifestyle. CAUSES OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY RACISM This is the existence of a higher race and a lower race due to the higher race having superiority complex. This is as a result of having supernatural gifts that others do not have or being gifted in hunting and being courageous and being known to excel in war. this is recognized by possession of trophies gained after being a winner. The looser becomes the victim of the conqueror. When an individual experience personal superiority and see others as inferior social inequality will always be experienced (Fanning, 2000) SOCIAL STRATIFICATION This is where women politically and socially feel inferior. Old people are respected only when they are strong. In some tribes people rank high when they are initiated and also when they are granted new names. people are grouped together and accorded status depending on which group they belong either poor or rich. There are caste system where each individual is born in for example in India Brahmin is the caste at the top and untouchables is the bottom caste which is based on good or bad conduct. In Britain land was owned by nobility depending on family tradition, conduct or privileged who were the ruling group. SEXISM This is discriminating one another basing on gender for example women discrimination. These are attitudes or behaviours that make social roles to be stereotyped basing on gender. this also involves abusive behaviour to a person of opposite sex. In work place women are excluded in employment to the benefit of men. Employers fail to recruit women even though they have same or even higher qualifications than men. Women are also denied positions in politics whereby men dominate parliament with women being the minority. Sexism causes social inequality because women feel inferior to men and belief that they are weak and unproductive, they regard themselves with low esteem . they fail to use ideas they have and are not innovative. This makes all the work to be left to men to do and social inequality will always affect the society. EFFECTS OF SOCIAL INEQUALITY It brings about difference in religion where we have Christians, Muslims or Hindus of different religion and beliefs. Social class arises whereby those who belief they belong to same social class work together and leave out those of different social class (Bowen, 1948) Some people think they are inferiors and other superior leading to division and lack of unity. In terms of skin colour, there is radical distinction between black and white people. It can cause mental illness due to lack of improved technology and skills in treating illness. Low income earners lack basic needs due to lack of enough money to finance their basic needs. Unequal distribution of wealth between rich and poor in areas which are more productive than others for example mountain regions are more productive compared to lowland regions. REFERENCES 1. Madden Janice Fanning; Changes in Income inequality within US; W. E Upjohn Institute, 2000 2. Bowen Howard; Toward Social Economy; Rinehart, 1948 3. Bass Stephene; Reducing Poverty and sustaining the Environment; Earthscan,2005

American Core Cultural Values

I grew up in a very liberated yet bonded family. Mom and Dad are working, my siblings have their own worlds, and I am busy with school. However, we still find time to sit and relax and chat every night, and know the latest in each and everyone of us. I am also raised in a wonderful community which I call my second home. I met a bunch of people, of different tongue and color, whom I consider friends; and neighbors, who burst out of their houses ready to greet you with a warm smile.For me, everyday is a new day – learning new things, getting excited with minute things, seeing beauty in the world. Since then and now, America has changed a lot – it has dramatically transformed from something so simple, into a great nation of complexity. This often make me stand, gaze in oblivion and ponder – of the diverse American values, a hundred or so cultural diffusion if not acculturation, countless experiences, rich and unique history, are there any left native to us?Are there values that we can proudly call â€Å"heraldic† and â€Å"ours† since time immemorial? I discover many, but for the purpose of this paper, I will focus on four American core values I found significant and got to live with since I was born – Individualism, Time Management, Equal Opportunity and the so-gone issue on Racism. At a very young age, I was trained by my workaholic parents to stand on my own feet which simply began with learning to dress myself alone, to tie my shoe lace, to prepare my school bag and cook my own breakfast.I was trained to be responsible with my actions, words and decisions that if failures arose, I have no one to blame but myself. I grew up having sense of being an individual – independent, resourceful, hardworking. I tend to be self-reliant, not giving myself much attachment to other people except for social purposes. I had envision myself to be this or that person, or to have this or that belongings and I strive (and is still s triving) to reach the goal that I have designed and formulated.Like most of my co-citizen, I want to be known not as the son of Paul Miller or a brother of Louise Brown – I want to be known as a separate, unattached entity named Robert Walden. Like the Africans, the Americans live with the value of Individualism – a concept which stresses human independence and the importance of individual liberty in terms of morality, politics, economics and society. It opposes the general concepts of communism, holism, socialism and the likes which view communal relationship as more important than individuality. Being self-reliant, Americans believe in the ability of the â€Å"self.† One is responsible for himself, and most likely, you won't find a person who will generally lend a hand to you, because as an individual, with determination and own way of thinking, you are expected to seek solution or find someone else who can aid you. Americans also have a very strict work ethic . As most of us notice, American businesses are most likely to stick to deadlines and seldom would it be extended for an individual's sake. Often, when an employee arrived late, the employer wouldn't scrutinize the former since he has nothing to do with it and the employee is responsible for his tardiness.Also, businessmen strongly value the concept of â€Å"healthy† competition. Americans believe that competition brings out the best in an individual, and in this case, in a business. Having a â€Å"free market† economic system, companies are strongly encouraged to compete resulting to the lowering of product prices while increasing its quality, thus, the concept of â€Å"free enterprise. † Not only in the workplace is competition highly visible – it is as well a common value at school. Students also do compete – they study well, participate in class activities, etc.Seeing other students doing the same way make them strive even harder so they would end up being the best among the rest. If schools award and honor students who have worked harder than the others, companies also reward those who showed industry and dedication, especially those employees who achieved the greatest goals. The state promotes liberty and equality, not just of the individual but of all aspects of life – from the family to the society, from local government to the entire city, from a single entity to a nation.Liberty is defined as the condition that provides an individual to act according to his own will, giving him the freedom from external compulsion. This again falls to the initial value of individualism – one being solely responsible for himself. The combination of these two ideals refines an American to act and work efficiently and in the most practical way. From liberty resurface the concept of equality. Americans regard â€Å"equality† as significant, if not, vital for the nation's survival, and the citizens' harmonious relati onship. To quote paragraph 2 of the US Declaration of Independence:We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That to secure these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed (US Congress, 1776). But the pursuit of equality in the United States took many years of efforts and struggles from different social groups – innumerable bullets soared in the air, blood flooded the countryside, protests and social movements impaired the hearing of those who wouldn't listen.Racism has, ever since the coming of the â€Å"colored† people, been the most debatable and undying issue in American history. The entry of the Blacks during the â€Å"Slave Trade† commenced the years of discrimination since they came primarily to work in the plantation, construc tion sites and other brawn activities that require strength and endurance. As workers, they were viewed lowly by the society – as inferior to their professional office activities. But as the society slowly becoming liberated in ideas and open to changes and transformation, so are the people's behavior and attitude towards their so called â€Å"other people. †This understanding resulted to the dawn of the concept â€Å"equal opportunity,† another significant American value that has been continuously advocated by the U. S. Government. Equal opportunity is said to be synonymous with racial harmony – the elimination of all forms of violence and discrimination between different races, thus, giving everybody equal access to politics, economy, spirituality, and other common necessities and needs. One way to promote such ideal is by creating and passing laws that prohibits, for instance, job discrimination and elevates the international understanding of human rig hts and human rights violations.Some laws and provisions against job discrimination are discussed and incorporated in the Civil Rights Act of 1964; the Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967; the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990; the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and Civil Rights Act of 1991. The United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or EEOC) enforces these and other laws related to the protection of people from job alienation, particularly those of non-American race. Before, I found it really difficult to befriend other nationalities, as personally, I have no idea on how to approach them in utmost respect.However, feeling at ease in a diverse and complex environment that I grew up with gave me the courage (and in some way, disciplined me) to act normally with and treat other races in a manner that I would want them to treat me. And as such, it is now a taboo to see a White man cursing and pouncing on a Black man simply because of the latter's color. Last ly, what I regard as among the most important values of the Americans is their reverence with time. Cliche as it may seem, but the quotation, â€Å"Time is Gold† is an understatement.For Americans, time is more than precious – it is almost â€Å"invaluable† in the sense that you can't add-on value to time. They have this attitude of maximizing the day so as to make themselves a productive person in as many hours as possible. In that case, it is normal to see most Americans, even students my age, working in a cafeteria, gasoline stations, and the like so that, while learning, they are as well earning. Being time-oriented, wasting time is a â€Å"no no! † In a signboard hanging along a commercial avenue I passed through reads, â€Å"Being early means being on-time.Being on-time means coming late. And coming late means being dead! † As we value time for being productive, so as to relax and pamper ourselves. Most Americans, especially those with better jobs, spend their year working as hard as they can so that by the time of vacation, they have more money to spend and a lot more time to reward themselves with a luxurious and satisfying vacation. We don’t just work to earn, we work to have fun. An Asian friend once told me that it’s really difficult to understand an American – or to grasp the core of a true-to-the-blood American.I ask him why and told me that the country is too diverse and totally mixed-up. American culture is too complex that it seems like its entire culture is a result of the mixing of this and that foreign culture, he added. Again, it made me wonder – are we really that hard to understand, or don’t we really have a â€Å"trademark† that would particularly identify us? This paper prove them wrong. And I've proven them wrong. Americans have their own identity, and treasure a set of values they call their own. What I've discussed in this paper are but some of our core valu es, which in my opinion, are the most vital of all.I may have not fully exercised some of these values now but I intend to when the right time and avenue comes. Entertainment media has successfully portrait the life of a true American through the many local and international films. However, what foreign viewers grasp is our more obvious character, that is, being liberated in words, actions and decisions. We practice and enjoy liberty that it almost overflow or over portrayed in movies. Liberated is equated to Americans. But we are more than just being liberated.We are more than a bunch of people who have our own free-will. We are not simply those Whitemen who exhibited liberty for the sole reason of being free. We are more than what they thought of us. In one word, we are â€Å"deeper. † Still in doubt? Just read this paper again and you'll surely understand what I mean. Works Cited Smedley, Brian D. and Alan Jenkins. All Things Being Equal: Instigating Opportunity in an Ineq uitable Time. New York: The New Press, 2007. US Congress. The Unanimous Declaration of the Thirteen United States of America. Retrieved on 15 April 2008 at

Chadwick Inc Essay

The business strategies that are included in the balanced scorecard for Norwalk Division are: maximising return on all development spending, satisfying customer needs, and the development of employee skills. The strategy that is not embraced in the balanced scorecard is the one in regard to driving management responsibility to the lowest level. This strategy was not included because there needs to be a balance in responsibility through the organisation. Employee targets and incentives are closely linked to the  performance of the division; more responsibility given to staff at lower levels could increase the possibility of managers setting strategies for their own benefit and division. This could lead to discrepancies between organisational goals and the goals set by management for a specific division. New measures that need to be developed and included in the balanced scorecard are return on research capital, product profitability, product development time, number of products under development, and number of employees participating in training programs. The measures developed need to be directly related to the objective and have the ability to provide feedback for that particular area. (b) A Balanced Scorecard developed for the organisation will differ to one that is specifically developed for a certain division in an organisation. The objectives of an organisation as a whole are marginally different to the objectives that are set for a division or department. Organisational objectives which are statements that articulate what the organisation hopes to accomplish will include all of the objectives across the different divisions of the company; where as divisional objectives are aimed explicitly at that division. This may result in different measures used in the scorecards to evaluate performance relating to the specific objective. For example, Chadwick Inc. operates in many businesses including personal consumer products and pharmaceuticals. The organisations overall objective is to produce high quality products and get them to the market faster at lower costs. For its part, the Norwalk Pharmaceutical Divisions objective is to increase the yield of new products and to reduce the time and costs of the product development cycle. This divisional objective becomes a part of the company’s current objectives and is the objective that is focused on when developing the divisional scorecard. The divisional balanced scorecard was decided by the president of Chadwick Inc. to be developed in a way ‘that was right for the division’. This decentralised decision-making and authority approach may create conflict  between divisional scorecards and those of the corporation. This approach to developing a divisional scorecard may give rise to negative consequences. Managers may focus too narrowly on their own units performance and strategies rather than attaining the overall organisations goals. It could also lead to inconsistencies at the organisational level. The advantages of decentralisation outweigh its limitations and should be adopted in the organisation. However, to overcome the conflict of discrepancy between organisational and divisional scorecards, top management needs to allow for decentralisation only to a certain extent and ensure that each division is being mindful and taking into consideration the overall organisational objective. (c) The business strategy of a company or division is used to illustrate how all the individual activities are coordinated to achieve a desired result. Developing a strategy is vital as it is used to set the overall direction of the business. The business strategy for Norwalk was developed by one individual and within a few minutes. For optimal results and clear direction, a strategy should be developed over a longer time period and the balanced scorecard should not be created until all the participants involved have a clear understanding and vision of the business. From the beginning of the project it could be said Greenfield was not committed to the development of the balanced scorecard for the Norwalk division. He did not believe how dedicated Chadwick Inc. was to the concept. Any Balanced Scorecard project will fail if it is seen as just another â€Å"management fad†. It needs sponsorship through active communication – communication that explains why the organisation needs the Balanced Scorecard and how it will benefit both the division and individuals. During the process there was also a lack of commitment from all the members, it took them several weeks before meeting and focusing on the project. The time spent developing a balanced scorecard is important, if it is rushed it could lead to negative consequences when it is implemented. The divisions of Chadwick were advised that only hard data (financial data) is to be used in the balanced scorecard. Financial data alone only provides short-term strategies; non-financial data offers a closer link to long-term  organisational strategies. Therefore by encompassing only financial data the balanced scorecard will provide only a short-term measure to evaluate the division’s performance.

Juveniles should be tried as adults when committing major felony Research Paper

Juveniles should be tried as adults when committing major felony crimes - Research Paper Example Trying juvenile delinquents as adults for major felony offenses is a response to this distinct category of juvenile offenses. As a sound solution, trying juveniles as adults is a process with legal basis. Moreover, the juvenile justice system is not equipped to handle cases of juvenile felony crimes. In addition, protocols and standards of practice in place ensure the proper handling of juvenile delinquency cases transferred to the criminal justice system by considering the distinct psychosocial characteristics of juveniles. Keywords: waiver, transfer, major felony crimes, juvenile delinquency, juvenile court, criminal court, psychosocial characteristics Juveniles Should Be Tried As Adults When Committing Major Felony Crimes Debate over trying juveniles as adults for committing major felony crimes persists. Those who oppose the treatment of juvenile felony offenders as adults assert the differences in the psychosocial characteristics of juveniles and adults as a justification for tre ating juvenile offenders distinctly from adults as well as the harshness of imposing penalties on juveniles similar to those imposed on adults. Proponents of treating juvenile felony offenders as adults cite the need to firmly address the alarming statistics on serious crimes committed by juveniles and the graveness of the violence involved in these crimes through legal protocols and standards. Both sides offer valid arguments. However, there are valid reasons that justified the enactment of laws and development of policies allowing for the treatment of juvenile felony offenders as adults. Violent crimes committed by juveniles made way for the wider adoption of processes allowing juvenile felony offenders to be tried as adults (Griffin et al., 2011). Moreover, protocols are also in place to ensure that the criminal justice system properly handles the cases of juvenile felony offenders (Nunez et al., 2007). Standards of practice also continuously evolve with developments in laws and jurisprudence that govern the process of transferring delinquency cases to the criminal courts (Keller, 2012). With these in mind, juveniles should be tried as adults when committing major felony crimes within a system of legal protocols and governing standards. Supporting the treatment of juvenile felony offenders as adults is not akin to saying that the system is the absolute solution to juvenile delinquency. Despite developments in recent years, the process of trying juvenile felony offenders as adults remains imperfect. However, it is a developing system. Future developments in legislation, jurisprudence and best practices are likely to enhance the role of this system in addressing juvenile delinquency. Juveniles should not be Tried as Adults Opposition to the practice of trying juveniles as adults when they commit major felony crimes revolve around the assertion that juveniles are different from adults so juveniles should not be adjudicated in the criminal justice system meant for adults. In a study, the psychological maturity of juveniles who just reached 18 was compared with that of adults aged 25 in terms of their assumption of responsibility and foresight of the consequence of their actions. The results showed that those who just reached

Play report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Play report - Essay Example Attending this show made for an unforgettable experience because it helped me acknowledge the Filipino Americans’ experience in the US. The play mainly illustrates â€Å"the difficulties of assimilation† (Valois). It is impossible to remain oblivious to the highly significant cultural idea behind the play. I really liked how watching the performance caused me to reminisce about my own coming of age experience. I am sure every audience member must have reflected on their coming of age celebrations during the show. This was one of the most powerful aspects of the play because it made every viewer relate with the show regardless of sociocultural differences. Since each family is different and has its own way of celebrating things, I realized how different my coming of age celebration was from what I saw in The Debutante’s Ball. One good thing that came out of this realization was that it opened my eyes to many cultural differences around me which I did not notice be fore. The merge of Filipino and American cultures is not a very common thing to see in theatre in the American culture. It is claimed that the play captures highly â€Å"interesting details of the Filipino-American community in which the tale is set† (Valois). During the play, I found myself significantly influenced by the way this melting-pot aspect of the US culture was demonstrated. The actors played this aspect quite intelligently which helped to immerse all audience members in the show. This feature of the play is very influential given the way my mind reacted to it. I could not remain unaffected by the way the girl who played Ana demonstrated her frustration when trying to fit in the US culture while being under the pressure to hold on to her original roots as well. I can now easily relate with such cultural struggles which form an important part of the play I watched. It can be

Transformational Leadership style Research Paper

Transformational Leadership style - Research Paper Example People love working for businesses where they feel motivated and greatly inspired. A transformational leader is always inspiring, energetic, enthusiastic and passionate person who can influence the followers to change their perceptions, expectations and ultimately motivate them to work towards a common goal. This article analyses some of the transformational leadership styles evident in Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz. Schultz has learnt the art of transformational leadership which has really steered his business to a higher level in the recent past. According to Schultz, leadership is more than just winning or becoming triumphant but it is a continuation process which involves a number of people working towards achieving a common goal. He thinks that celebrating everyone in a company is a vital thing regardless of the position held in the business. Schultz further things that shared success is very important and that businesses requires team spirit that is highly inspired. Schu ltz believes that business itself is a team that requires highly motivated team spirit to catapult it to success. Inspiring employees is one thing that Howard believes in as it motivates them to share the company’s common goal (Bussing-Burks 76-83). ... The company gives modest paychecks, healthcare packages and stock options to her employees as a way of motivating them. He feels that by offering such kind of benefits that also involve career counseling ties the employees into the business and further creates the sense of belonging. Schultz believes that people are motivated to work even harder because they are part of the results of the company (Burke, Graeme and Cooper 183-185). Additionally, the Starbuck CEO treats his employees as one family thus prompting them to give their all to the company. Treating workforce like a family is a tool of maintaining loyalty amongst employees thus reducing even turnover rate. The warm and family treatment initiated by Schultz is one of the reasons most customers also remain loyal to the retail company due to hospitable treatment by employees. The culture is so much engrained in the company that the company does not call their workforce employees but as partners. He further provides training, le arning and some acknowledgment packages such as coffee education and learning to lead as a way of building confidence amongst the partners and boosting degree of attachment (Strauss 162-163). Schultz also gives hear to his partners’ needs and continuously consulting them and carefully receiving feedback relating to the company’s vision. He takes his time to communicate with employees via phone calls or sending emails enquiring about feedbacks of what the organization offers as well as seeking advice. What Starbuck CEO has successfully done is to communicate his vision so well that it sticks in the mind of all the partners as well as asking for their feedbacks and understanding of the vision (Cassidy & Kreitner 30-31). He further passionately

FARC - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia Essay - 1

FARC - Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia - Essay Example The Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarios de Colombia (FARC) is one of the largest and most well organized rebel military forces operating in the world today. Based in Columbia, South America it has reached a global level of influence through its worldwide cooperation with other terrorist groups around the world. Though the organization was started as a militant human rights organization that had the purpose of fighting for the rights of landless peasants, they have since become more violent and have expanded their sphere of operations. The FBI, CIA, State Department, and United Nations all agree that to attain the label of terrorist they must target the civilian population (Beres n.d.). It may be an individual, a group, an organization, or a country that funds and advocates terrorism. Terrorism must use misappropriated violence or the threat of violence against the civilian populace to alarm or intimidate a government. The Unites States Department of Defense further defines terrorism as, "...violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives" (Beres n.d.). The activities of FARC in recent decades have seen the graduation from a rebel army fighting a right wing government to an organization that routinely attacks civilian targets and uses violence indiscriminately. A study of the history and structure of FARC can illustrate the strategic changes an organization can go through when faced with frustration in the political arena.

Three things i learned after i came to USA as a international student Essay

Three things i learned after i came to USA as a international student from china are independence, self-control and know more about the cultural diversity - Essay Example And more importantly, in today’s world, it is difficult to expect that an act of violence will not receive the similar treatment from the victim. In other words, violence creates violence. In order to avoid this savage behavior and to support and work for the collective coexistence, it is highly essential that difference must not be used as a point for hatred but it should be celebrated as a form of diversity. United States of America is a multi-cultural society where people from different countries, different nations and from different ethnic, social, social and economic and religious backgrounds live together (Chandra and Mahajan 31). And this experience has been very unique and interesting for me for various reasons as I have made so many local friends and have experienced that such negative attitudes are not common as they are told, informed and considered internationally. For example, internationally it is assumed that both China and the United States of America do not have friendly or cordial relations as both do not have similar or favorable attitudes towards each other. And more interestingly, the global media and the national media do not take time to portray this type of relationship between America and China in such a way to highlight intense and deep animosity between them. Consequently, people living in countries follow media and nurture hatred against each others. In other w ords, there are certain â€Å"vested interests† who earn through fuelling negative sentiment in the relationship between both countries. However, the ground reality is always totally different. Before coming to the United States, the effect of such media news was very much on my mind and the subsequent result was that I was unable to have positive and constructive opinion about people. Later on, after entering into the United States, my mindset suddenly changed after meeting with my American

Conspectus and Collection Mapping Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Conspectus and Collection Mapping - Essay Example There are a lot of individuals who are using the libraries and among them are children who are going to schools or professional individuals that are in need to be guided by a certain library system that would make their library experience a bit easier and would further guide them as they surf through different services that the aforementioned library renders. A library system is a must in order to cater the needs of the users in a manner that is not stressful to them considering the fact the library should meet the demands of its users to be effective in meeting the needs of the people who are using it. In the case of the aforementioned library, the conventional method should have at least been altered in partial in order for the people and the administrator to utilize the library to the fullest. In this case library materials should be recorded subject by subject in order fro the users and the administrators not to be lost in utilizing the materials in the library. The collection of the library should develop a certain program in order to guide the people who are utilizing the library. Upon analyzing these things, Conspectus Method came into picture. Library, University of Auckland (2006) described that "According to the conspectus, library resources are divided into 24 broad subject divisions, and within these divisions each subject is further divided according to the Dewey classification system used by most of the libraries on campus. Each subject area is graded by using a code from 0 (out of scope) to 5 (comprehensive). Language coverage is defined by further codes. These codes are described on the following pages." - This means that library resources should be divided into divisions and classifies them accordingly with the use of Dewey classification system in order to group the materials accordingly. In the case of the aforementioned library where it caters approximately 650 students excluding those professional people and by-standers who are also utilizing the library, this method is really a necessity in this library considering the amount of people who are using this library. If we are to analyze, classifying the materials in the library is a big help in order for the people to be guided. Conspectus and Collection Mapping 3 For instance in the history classification of this library where it houses a little over a hundred of history books, classifying these books into a smaller fragments of classification is beneficial for the users considering the fact that a certain subject and classification has their differences from volume, the essence of their uses and the likes so it is important to have these classification in order for the users to be guided. For instance in the classification History, it was subdivided into smaller classification such as World History, American History and the likes, in the same thing, these books are also divided into volumes, years, and editions in order to locate them without hassle. If we are to look into

Marketing Principles Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing Principles - Coursework Example The idea holds that achieving the goals of the company lie squarely in finding the needs of the market targeted. The company should come up with ideas that will persuade the customer’s needs by offering better products. Marketing concept relies on research carried out in the target market. Elements of the marketing process are sets of convenient tools. Such tools help the company’s blends to produce the impact it needs in the target market. There is a perception that if a company lowers the prices of the various commodities, the sales involuntarily increases. Such situations may be different. This is because customers may be looking for other components such as quality, cost effectiveness and value added services. An airline company which reduces its price by cost cutting in areas such as; airport charges, direct sales to the customers and lowering the advertisement costs may get profit in the long run (Pride & Ferrell, 2003). Placement involves all activities of a particular company that makes the products available to the target customers. A good example is the emirates airline that has continuously advertised its services to attract more customers. Promotion entails the means through which the companies communicate to its customers about their product’s values and benefits. Most companies in London have websites. Such websites act as a communication channel between the customers and the company. Market and product orientation are the two approaches of market orientation. Product-oriented approach involves a company developing products without having to focus on the customers’ needs. This kind of approach may often lead to unsuccessful ventures. A gas company in London may decide to introduce some new services without necessarily focusing on customers’ needs (Pride & Ferrell, 2003). Market-oriented approach; the company develops a product with a focus on the customers’ needs. The products developed lie squarely on the information obtained

Five Years Strategic Plan Essay Example for Free

Five Years Strategic Plan Essay Executive summary You are employed by a Swiss subsidiary of a transnational company in the processed food business whose products are sold via retailers and direct to the food service industry in a number of countries. Recently in Swiss subsidiary has been allocated responsibility for the Asia-Pacific Region and you have been assigned the task of spearheading the firm’s push into china and adjacent countries. In the light of opportunities and constraints to be awaited on the chinese market, the evaluation of alternative entry options showed that our best opportunity was on health food products related to the dairy products actual massive trend. We also decided to adress chinese cultural sensitivity issues by entering in long term close relationship with customers instead of being too focused on quick deals and to adapt our networking strategy to chosen entry strategy. We also examined how we should select a strategic partner, should the Chinese government advise us to do so, and how we should be adapting our global marketing processes to the issues raised by national sovereignty in China. Finally, we decided to include as adjacent market either Thailand or Vietnam in order to benefit from the existing trade relationship between them and China, even if countertrade obligations are to be met. INTRODUCTION The overall purpose of this paper is to present our five years strategic plan which objective is to enable our firm to become a major player in the processed food market adressed to retailers and food service industry. Among our very wide range of products, we will examine alternative market entry options in the light of potential opportunity and constraints, then examine the question of the influence of cultural sensitivity on negociations and on introduction of our product to chineses market. The next step of our analysis will be to examine the impact of adhesion of China to WTO on market environment and the consequences of cultural sensitivity to network and relationships. Our next field of investigation will be to examine the threat represented by a potential obligation to enter a strategic alliance with a local player and by our global company culture regarding national sovereignty issues. And we will finally include perspective of developping an adjacent market with eventually compulsory countertrade involved. Section 1 Alternative chinese market entry option for breakfast cereals and cereal bars in the light of potential opportunities and constraints. The recent huge success of dairy products in China, although a majority of the population is lactose intolerant and milk was never part of the traditional chinese food is showing that chinese market has become increasingly open to adopting foreign fooding habits. This is even reinforced by the success encoutered by Mc Donald’s and Starbucks. But one very interesting element of dairy products success is that its main reason and marketing idea is to value its good impact on health. This is what makes us think that the best way to introduce our firm’s product range is to be highly positionned on health benefits to be awaited from consuming our products, their total safety through high level controls. In terms of politics, China is a stable country, which has invested huge efforts into modernisation of its institutions and legal framework in order to enter the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001. Contract enforcement and business matters involving foreigners are to be brought before high courts specifically trained. Intellectual property protection is still a broad problem through counterfaiting and brands like Starbucks are now facing parasite competitors who sell similar products to much lower prices. Chinese market is a huge opportunity but the country still lacks infrastructure and geographic entry has to be limited to main big cities, with a view of extending to the ever increasing number of middle sized cities growing all around the country. The idea of staying in urban areas is linked to two factors: our products are distributed through retailers networks, and food service industry which can only be found in big cities in China at the moment. As we work with retailers and food service industry, indirect market entry strategy through intermediary could prove worthy, at least at the beginning, as long as our products are not known. We could benefit from the intermediary’s network and his expertise on selling foreign products to chinese market. However, using and intermediary is not the prefered solution as it would increase our costs, and as chinese market is very price sensitive due to copycats, keeping good price/value ratio is a key strategic point. With direct market entry methods, we would have more control on market reactions and be able to lower our export costs. Alternative solutions to enter market range from specialised trade fairs (on dairy products, health products, breakfast and snacking products, etc) to a campain of trial gifts to be organised with either yoghurt or milk distributors, or by giving free samples in school, university and working areas cafeterias. We could also reach agreements with already installed foreign companies who would be interested in distributing our products on their shelves. Considering our objective of becoming a major player on processed food within the next 5 years, it would probably be worth it to make a large upfront investment to develop internal expertise in chinese market, in order to maintain our own relationships in the target market, which could be later used in order to introduce other product range on the same market. Therefore, and in the context of a long term investment, prefered market entry would be on health safe products targeting families and young working singles. SWOT Analysis Opportunities: Economic climate : a double digit economic development favourable to high quality trendy foreign food processed products with an attraction to health promising food. Demographic changes turning a rural population into city office working people whose life standards have increased dramatically over the last few years. Market opening through China’s entering WTO system and making legal and administrative environment more import friendly Threats: Competitive activity: other global firms are already on the market and Mc Donald’s, Vuitton and Starbucks experience of the market show that any brand valuation generates its army of copycat making it difficult to keep up with very low prices in a very price sensitive market. Culture: Reluctance to adopt new foreign fooding habits in a very traditional culture Pricing: chinese market is very sensitive to pricing and client segment will have to be chosen carefully and matched to pricing range. Strength: Health food image connected to dairy products Processed food in a booming ever increasing market Product adaptability: Cereals can be flavoured according to Chinese market tastes Networking: Company’s excellent ethic reputation Large target: Product attractive to kids and adult alike Weaknesses Not enough differentiation in products Need high advertising budget to gain trendy attracting image Section 2 How culture might impact on (i) negotiating in china and (ii) introducing your firm’s product into china. The usual tip when you prepare a business trip to China is to carry business cards, bring an interpreter, wear a conservative suit. These advice are easy to follow and have proven usefull, but they are too superficial to get you into the kind of association with chinese you need to be able to negociate agreements and introducing on a long term perspective the firm’s products in China. Graham and Lam (2003) have described the roots of chinese culture which have bound chinese people for 5,000 years and show through chinese business negociation: agrarism which superseedes business(survival depends on group cooperation and harmony, loyalty and obdience to familly hierarchy), confucianist morality (relations of ruler and ruled between husband and wife, parents and children, older and younger, and of equal between friends), being more concerned by means than by end in negociations, the fact that chinese tend to see easily the big picture, and finally that chinese people are very cynical about rule of law and rules in general, only trusting their families and their bank account. The elements that are important in chinese negociation are: have personal connections (friends, relatives and close associates), use an intermediary in order to avoid suspicion and distrust, be formal in order to show social status, pay attention to interpersonal harmony (smile, be nice and friendly), see the big picture and leave the detail to a later stage, be patient in order to get concessions on prices, never embarrass or provoque a lost of composure to a chinese (equivalent to loosing face), value endurant work more than talent. As a result of the above, introducing our products into China will probably require either a very long time necessary to build a trusted network, or the use of an intermediary. It is of first importance to try to establish close contact with significant actors of the retail and food service industry. The pricing of the products will probably also be of concern, as, if too low, it might not have the value effect, but, too high, it might repell consumers more tempted by a local copycat.    Impact of recent access of China to the WTO on other environmental variables which can be encountered when doing business in China and how it might benefit to our ability to establish worthwhile business in China. When China joined WTO in 2001, it made a transition from a centrally planned economy to a market driven economy. The institutional framework for foreign trade was inexistent, the information transparency culture still to be invented, existing judicial and administrative system inadapted. A tremendous amount of work was requested before China could integrate WTO system. China agreed with its major trading partners to open chinese market within 3 to 4 years to foreign companies in various sectors, including telecommunications, distribution and wholesaling, financial services, and banking and insurance. The change in laws included codifying existing administrative practices into written laws and regulations, therefore increasing transparency and predictability, covering around 200. Foreign trade law had to be modifyed. Regulations on international trade of goods and rules of origins were created. Regulations on transnational mergers and acquisitions and franchising were developped according to their new objectives. Anti-dumping, subsidy, countervailing and safeguard measures were prepared, and altogether, the capacity of the Government to provide legal information to the public was strengthened. Under the China’s central planning system, foreign trade was administered with both tariff and nontariff controls, including quantitative controls which WTO rules require to eliminate. To ensure that the WTO’s nondiscrimination principle is met in the judicial process, China issued an order that took effect on 1 March 2002 to elevate the jurisdiction over commercial cases involving foreigners from the primary courts to the higher level of courts, the question of training the judges to the appropriate regulation still being an issue at the moment. (Mitchell:2004). Altogether, when entering WTO system China had the tools to a market economy. These modifications created a foreign investment friendly framework, but the cultural reluctance to rules and the natural reliance to human bonds are still to be watched when doing business in China (Usunier Lee:2005). It had a great impact on having major competitors entering the chinese market with success and provides market with the stability and rules needed to establish worthwhile invesment. Section 3 Significance of the focus in China on relationship and network on our chosen entry strategy. As, in China, all business is subject to relationship and network, and as we have chosen to invest into a direct market entry strategy, we will have to rely on building our network with key players. Relationship marketing involves creating, maintaining and enhancing strong relationships with customers and other stakeholders. This type of marketing is moving away from focusing on individual transactions and moving towards to focusing on on building value-laden relationships and marketing networks. This type of marketing is long term oriented, very demanding as it is aimed at delivering long term value and satisfaction to customer (Kotler al:2005) It also involves building relationships at different levels: economics, social, technical and legal resulting in high consumer loyalty. Kotler (2005:476), distinguishes five different relationships that can be formed with customers: basic (sale is made but no follow up on satisfaction) Reactive (salesman encourages customer to come back if any question arises) Accountable (salesperson contacts customer shortly after the sale to check that product meets expectations) Proactive (salesperson or company person phones customer from time to time to suggest other products) Partnership (company works with its customers to discover ways to deliver better value) Considering that we intend to sell our product to a large number of customers with medium profit margin, the adapted relationship level would be â€Å"accountable†. Therefore, salesperson would phone retailer or food service company shortly after the sale to check if product meets expectations. Of course, identifying key customers and being more proactive with them would also enhance efficiency of such relationship marketing. Company would probably take advantage to using other marketing tools as giving special treatment and reward to good customers, or inviting them to special events. Chosen strategy network map and discussion on focal and subsidiary relationship involved. First step is to identify key player in retail networking and food service industry, like main wholesalers to be met at trade fair, mass retailers like supermarkets, trendsetters to be identified on TV or sports like football. Next step is to initiate contact with them with a focus on long term relationship and not on result. These relationship, due to their weight on market and the advantage that can be gained from being referenced with them have to be favoured at a first stage. Then, once this network is established, and in order to continue expansion, identify other distribution channels than wholesalers or mass retailers and initiate subsidiary relationship with them, as smaller restaurants, or hotels. Section 4 Adressing the issues related to rumour that Chinese government might request that we enter into a strategic alliance with a Chinese owned firm: selecting and managing strategic alliance partners in china. As in many asian country there is a rumour that we may have to enter a strategic alliance with a chinese partner in order to be allowed to market processed food in China. As Charles Revson, founder of Revlon cosmetics said once â€Å" I don’t meet competition, I crush it† and this should be remembered when entering a strategic partnership with a chinese partner. In fact, as cultural analysis hereabove showed, chinese only trust their family and their bank account, so, in order to enter a sound alliance, a few criterias must be met. Criterias for selecting strategic partner in China should be: good reputation of loyalty and integrity on the market, but also of product quality for reputation purposes natural feeling and common values, understanding of what our goals are and willingness to collaborate extensive network on our targeted customers, on the areas where we have the greatest growth or the most profitable areas proven synergy opportunity between our two companies instead of competition long term relationship seems possible through mutual cooperation (strategic alliance must be a win-win situation in order to be sustainable on the long term) Impact of the issues of national sovereignty in China on application of our standard marketing approaches in order to enhance global image and additional profits through economy of scale. China is very sensitive on the issue raised by separatist claims by   Taiwanese nationalists, Tibet and Xinjiang separatists. Our standard marketing approaches, designed to enhance global image and enable additional profits through economy of scale, mustn’t be a threat to our main objective which is to become a major player in dairy products in China. Therefore, our standard marketing approaches should be amended in order to avoid any differenciation between the average product sold within China and the ones sold in these three areas. The main market should be priviledged against the particularism of the three separatists areas. No marketing argument that our product would be specifically adressed to the separatists areas should be set forth and it should under no circumstances become a selling argument or even be mentioned, because it would probably cause us to loose main market. Section 5 Criteria to select an adjacent market between Taiwan, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam The first criteria to take into account is capacity to use both markets to enhance presence on each other. Creating synergies in a market entry phase might be vital and the level of trade relationship already existing between China and that country is the right measurment. The second one is to choose a market which might be governed by the same cultural trends in order to be able to adopt the same marketing approach to both. A third criteria, maybe more operational, is distance and accessibility (custom tariffs, roads, etc) between both territories. This might enable to base product in one country and ship to the other from thereof. Fourth criteria might be existing trade relations with Switzerland which might make it easier for us to start networking, as the swiss image would already be a commercial advantage. Myanmar being subject to economic sanction from China due to compulsory labor is not a valid adjacent market, though it has entered the asian liberalisation trend and was even acknowledged by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in 2001 as a member that performed ‘well to better’ in the trade liberalisation process under the WTO’s principles It also does not have the right development stage to be interesting and human rights issues might be damaging our image. It has very little commercial bonds with Switzerland. Thailand had rather recent diplomatic relations with China (dating 1975) but shows since then a real will to become a partner of choice of China. Both nations have common roots and share common ancestors. The commercial agreement between the two countries (Sino Thai Free Trade Agreement) only covers fruits and vegetables at the moment but could possibly be extended. Thailand is also member of the WTO. Its main advantage is to already have strong network trade connections with Switzerland (on machinery, watches, etc), where we are based, which could be a decisive advantage for us in terms of network. Taiwan is actually administrated by China which makes it a priviledged area to invest in. It also has a long tradition of trade with China which makes it a good candidate due to the need for trade network to enhance each others, and as a little dragon, it also has the wealth to be interesting, but choosing it would probably not be the best in terms of advantage on chinese market as it does not really add anything different to being only present in China. Also it does not have any specific links with Swiss market. Vietnam has a common frontier with China and is following more or less the same path towards becoming a market economy and entered WTO in january 2007. Though it does not have the same laws, it has a similar development trend, close traditions and the close commercial links with China in all sectors that makes it a suitable adjacent market. It is also a so called little dragon, a booming economy that could be a very profitable market. The trading network between Vietnam and Switzerland is not too developped though Switzerland is present in Vietnam with a swiss embassy in Hanoi. Finally, in order to develop a global brand image in asia, it might be a good choice to choose between Thailand and Vietnam. How to turn the risk of being obliged to countertrade into a profitable trade More than 80 countries nowadays use or require countertrade exchanges. A concensus of experts opinions (Okaroafo, 1989) has put the percentage of the value of world trade volumes related to countertrade at between 20 to 25%. Counter trade usually occurs when countries lack sufficient hard currency. There are five main variants of countertrade which could be of different value to our firm. Entering a barter (exchange of goods or services directly for other goods or services without the use of money as means of purchase or payment) could eventually be interesting if we manage to find good quality bulk products that could be integrated in our products, like fruits or packaging. Using the switch trading practice (in which the country would exchange allowing our importations against an obligation to make a purchase on the domestic market) could also be of interest to us for the same reasons. A buyback (buying machinery necessary to our production in exchange for products) agreement is not a really interesting deal for us as it involves very heavy transportation. Finally, entering an offset agreement (offsetting a hard-currency purchase of an unspecified product) would be a very dangerous operation as we would have to cover currency exchange variations. Proactive strategy to trade profitably with the selected country In order to be ready when the ban on import occurs, we will implement a proactive strategy by identifying products that could be of use in our production process. Then we will start making contacts with producers of these products and gain market knowledge of prices and quality available, identify suitable suppliers that meet our quality requirements and are able to supply us with the adequate quantities. Therefore, when we will be forced to countertrade, we will already have our network in place. Conclusion: As stated in this document, our five year strategic plan on entering Chinese market involves: entering market with health food linked to dairy products mass trendiness with direct marketing tools Always keep in mind the cultural sensitivity of China in order to use it as a competitive advantage instead of a falling trap. Utilise the huge work done by China to be able to keep up with WTO entering necessary standards in terms of transparency and legal framework to our profit in developping our business Invest in developping extended network and long term relationship marketing in order to open the route to introducing our other products on the market later If needed, choose carefully strategic partners Amend global marketing policy in order to avoid sovereignty issues Choose between Thailand and Vietnam as adjacent market, even if countertrade is involved. Reference Table SunfaithChina Ltd,September 2006,†Market Analysis report on China Yoghourt industry†, http://www.mindbranch.com/listing/product/R521-158.html Chen, C, February 2003, â€Å"Got Milk?†, Wall Street Journal http://www.mindfully.org/Food/2003/China-Dairy-Drinks28feb03.htm John L. Graham and N. Mark Lam, 13 october 2003, â€Å"Negotiating in China†, Havard Business School, Excerpted with permission from The Chinese Negotiation, Harvard Business Review, Vol. 81, No. 10, October 2003 Mitchell, A â€Å"Implementing WTO rules: The Importance of Law Reform, Remarks of Arthur M. Mitchell, General Counsel Asian Development Bank, February 2004, apeC Workshop on Best Practices in WTO Capacity Building, http://www.adb.org/Documents/Speeches/2004/sp2004050.asp Vertariu, P., (1992), Trends and Developments in International Countertrade, Business America, (November 2), 2-6. Okaroafo, S., (1989) Determinants of LDC Mandated Countertrade, International Management Review, (Winter), 1624 â€Å"Interview: Thailand aims to further enhance Thailand-China strategic partnership† People’s Daily, Beijing, 28 June 2005, http://www.bilaterals.org/article.php3?id_article=2180 Swiss Federal State Secretariat for Economic Affairs, 2005, â€Å"Report on Swiss Economic Development Cooperation with Vietnam† Kotler,P, and al: (2005), â€Å"Principles of Marketing†, Pearson Education Ltd Usunier, J-C and Lee, J (2005) â€Å"Marketing across cultures†, Pearson Education Ltd Buksbaum, L (1999), â€Å"Choosing strategic partner that really partner†, press release on Inc.com, (http://www.inc.com/articles/1999/11/19511.html)

Orruption in Primary Education in Bangladesh Essay Example for Free

Orruption in Primary Education in Bangladesh Essay Introduction The adult literacy rate is 51 percent The average number of teacher per primary school is only 4 Average number of students per primary school is 273 The primary teacher-student ratio is 67:1 Source: Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics 2 Development in Primary Education Adoption of an education policy in 2000 Five-year cycle to an eight-year cycle by 2010 Free and compulsory primary education for all children; Free education for girls up to grade eight; Free books for all children at primary level; 3 Development in Primary Education A food-for-education programme Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP) Creation of a separate Primary and Mass Education Division (PMED) A proliferation of non-formal education programme by NGOs, and 4 Achievements in Primary Education Net enrolment rate has reached 80 percent Over 70 percent of the students now complete the five-year primary cycle 60 percent are present in school on an average day Source: Campaign for Popular Education The University Press Ltd. 5 State of Corruption, Mismanagement and Irregularities in Primary Education All these programmes are infested with endless flaws and irregularities. TIB Household Corruption Survey identified the education sector as fifth corrupt sectors (2002) TIB Corruption Database identified the education sector as the third most corrupt sectors (2004) TIB and Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) conducted a Report Card Survey in the primary education to identify the gaps and flaws in our basic education level as well as to locate and dispose of corruption. 6 Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) TIB developed six Committees of Concerned Citizens (CCCs) Mymensingh Kishoregonj Nalitalari Madhupur Muktagacha, Jamalpur The main objective of the formation of the CCCs is to create local groups which would serve as local lobbyists seeking to curb corruption, instigate reform and promote integrity in the public service delivery system. 7 Sources of Data Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey, TIB (2001) Report card survey is a simple approach for organizing public feed back Report Cards are designed to assess the nature, types, extent and implications of corruption, and at the same time facilitate stakeholders participatory movement for improving the quality of service in the sector. 8 Name of Areas and number of different respondents for the Report Card Survey (2001) Respondents Area Mymensingh Muktagachha Jamalpur Kishoregonj Nalitabari Madhupur Gouripur Sharishabar Total Headmaster 23 25 20 21 19 20 21 22 171 Student 115 124 120 120 120 120 113 134 966 Guardian 115 124 120 120 120 120 113 134 966 Total 253 273 260 261 259 260 247 290 2103 9 Sources of Data Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey, TIB (2002) Information from 3030 Households Corruption Database: TIB (2004) Information from 26 Dailies Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey, TIB (2005) Information from 3000 Households Quality with Equity: The Primary Education Agenda, Campaign for Popular Education Bangladesh (2005) 8212 Respondents 10 Corruption in admission in primary education TIB Report card Survey (2001) shows that 6. 52% of the primary students paid Tk 63/- on average as admission fees . TIB Household Corruption Survey (2005) showed that 40% primary students had to pay 209 taka as admission fees 11 Irregular subscription/fees TIB Report Card Survey (2001) revealed that each student of primary schools had to pay 47 taka on average subscription for at least nine purposes which is illegal TIB Household Corruption Survey (2005) revealed that each student of primary schools had to pay 58 taka on average subscription for at least nine purposes which is illegal 12 Percentage of students who paid illegal fees 100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0. Sp or ts Bo ok s rit ua ls m ot io n ex am ex ta in m lE po se s th er pu r am . xa en t En te r Pr om 2n d Re lig io us m 1s tT er Te Fi na rm 2001 2005 Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) O 13 Amount of average illegal fess 2001 30 27 24 21 18 15 12 9 6 3 0 m ion ok s . ex am or ts t en ls r it ua us io O th er inm lE Bo ex Sp os es pu rp am xa ot om Pr te En 2005 er m Fi na tT Te rm rta 1s d 2n Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005). Re l ig 14 Corruption in Food for Education Program 16 % of the cases the criterion was not observed 15. 5% of the students paid on an average Taka 32 to be included in the programme Subscription was collected by teachers, Dealers and from Others On average every student received 2. 47 Kgs food grain less every time Missing 1241 tons of food grain in 8 Upazillas equivalent to 12 million taka (1USD=52 taka) Source: Corruption in Primary Education:A Report Card Survey (2001) 15 Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP). Started from July 2002 substituting the former Food for Education Programme (FFE). Aim of attracting and keeping more children, especially of the poor Forty percent of the students in rural area are eligible to receive Tk 100 stipend per month Identification of 40 percent of pupil enrolled in grades 1-5 from the poorest households by School Management Committee (SMC) To remain eligible for the monthly stipend, a student has to attain minimum 40 percent marks in term examinations and have 85 percent monthly class attendance. 16 Corruption in Primary Education Stipend Programme (PESP). Over two-thirds of the children from the poorest category were not selected to be recipients of stipend; 27 percent of children from affluent households received the stipend 32. 4% primary school students who have been enrolled for stipend had to pay 40 taka for their enrolment 46 percent of the stipend holders did not receive the full amount of stipend Source Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) Source: Campaign for Popular Education The University Press Ltd. 17 Corruption in Upazilla Primary Education Offices 34% of the responding headmasters said that bribes are occasionally required to be paid 13% said that they have to do so every time. Source: Corruption in Primary Education:A Report Card Survey (2001) 18 Consequences of corruption Concerned officials of primary education collected 19. 85 million taka (1USD=52 taka) as illegal subscription from 8 areas (out of 500 areas). Concerned primary education officials collected 546 million taka (1USD=60 taka) as illegal fees from all over Bangladesh Concerned PESP officials collected 25 million taka from primary students to enroll them in the PESP from all over Bangladesh . Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) 19 Perpetrators of Corruption 1. Teachers 2. Food dealers 3. Management committee of institutions 4. Employees of institutions Source Corruption in Primary Education: A Report Card Survey (2001) Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2005) 20 Causes of corruption 1. Absence of accountability 2. Discretionary power 3. Lack of transparency 4. Monopoly power 5. Influence of powerful people Source Corruption in Bangladesh: A Household Survey (2002) 21 The objectives of CCCs advocacy activities on Primary Education. Ensuring quality education in all classrooms implying that there shall remain no room for pursuing any kind of ill motives for personal gain of any concerned party; Promoting collection of reasonable and standard fees in all primary schools; Ensuring that schools keep proper record of official fund collection and expenditure; Promoting the effectiveness of School Management Committees (SMC) and the Parent-Teacher Associations (PTA) to work as watchdog bodies for the betterment of local-level education; Suggesting strategies for meaningfully reducing the rate of dropouts. 22. TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs The advocacy undertaken by CCCs for achieving the above objectives are at three level; Firstly, the CCCs are working to increase mass people through mobile theatres, mothers’ gathering and parents-teachers gathering etc. Secondly, the CCCs are trying to build coalition with School Management Committee (SMC), Upazilla Education Committee, and with the Civil Society. Finally, the CCCs are working with the concerned officials including Upazilla Education Offices, District Education Offices, Upazilla and District administrations etc. 23 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs Most of the upazilla primary education offices have taken initiatives for curbing corruption in their offices. As a result, corruption has somewhat reduced in the offices of the upazilla primary education offices. A number of teachers informed the CCCs that they are not giving bribes in the education office for their services. Because of CCC advocacy, a number of education offices decided on a fixed amount of fees for various purposes. The teachers are no longer collecting illegal fees from the students. 24 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs The CCCs have been invited by the Upazilla Education offices to participate in preparing yearly plan. The concerned education officials have requested the CCCs to help them to form the School Management Committee (SMC); The CCCs obtained formal consent to work with two Primary Schools for turning them into â€Å"Islands of Integrity† in each area; Many facets of the local education system appeared to have acted on the CCC-designed recommendations. 25 TIB initiatives to curb corruption from Primary education: Success of CCCs TIB’s suggestions, voiced via CCCs, were taken seriously and changes to record-keeping systems were made as per CCC recommendations; the CCCs had 15 specific reform-oriented recommendations; CCCs have been successful in persuading school authorities to clearly specify the school tuition fees, the rate of stipends, and supplying books on time, at no extra cost to guardians. It was made clear that the CCCs would continue to act as watchdogs for ensuring transparency and accountability; 26 Further Information Md. Sydur Rahman Molla Senior Programme Officer Research Department Transparency International Bangladesh Progress Tower (5th Floor), H # 01, R # 23, Gulshan –1, Dhaka –1212 PH: 880 2 9884811, 8826036, Fax: 880 2 9884811 Email: [emailprotected] org Web: www. ti-bangladesh. org 27 Thanks 28.

Managing Quality in Health Care

Managing Quality in Health Care Total quality management: a way of managing people and business processes to ensure complete customer satisfaction at every stage internally and externally (Department of Trade and Industry, DTI 2010). Although different quality experts emphasize different experts of this methodology, its major components can be summarised as follows: processes, people, management systems and performance measurement. According to Ross and Perry (1999), in addition to creating delighted customers through empowered employees, total quality management processes also lead to higher revenue and lower cost. In our Nursing home, every department is involved in implementing quality management to offer the best quality of service; we always work as a team and ensure we have offered the best quality of care that our residents need. Continuous quality improvement: is a system that seeks to improve the provision of services with an emphasis on future results (Marshall, 2003). In our nursing home, the manager ensures that every service provider receives training, implements what they have learnt and they are supervised if there is need for retraining again we are retrained this ensures that we receive updated information to offer the best quality of service. Quality standards: The Care Quality Commission for England has produced a guidance to help providers of health and adult social care to comply with the Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2010 and the Care Quality Commission (Registration) Regulations 2009 (CQC, 2010b). This guide contains the regulations and the outcomes that the CQC expects people using a service will experience if the provider complies. This forms the basis for the quality standards in care homes. There are 16 core ones range from respecting people receiving the services to safety and suitability of premises and staffing levels just to mention a few. In my care setting, we get an annual inspection from UKAF over and above inspections from CQC and have been given a star rating of three. All activities this year are geared towards a rating of four. Quality cycles: According to QCC (2010b) quality cycles represent periods within which care homes should be reviewed to determine compliance in its service provision. This may be annually. However private organisations like the United Kingdom Accreditation service also offers a quality cycle inspection called the Residential and Domiciliary care Benchmarking (RDB). The RDB annual quality cycle supports strategic planning by providing comparative feedback on a homes care provision and enables the identification of performance gaps and cost/benefit assessments to be made (UKAF, 2010). In this model we have four major aspects to be looked into namely: planning, doing, checking and acting. Quality and principles of care Legislation -these are laws and rules set by the government on how the provision of care should be for example protection of vulnerable adults. In our nursing home, every service provider should be ready to protect all residents from any form of abuse we attend mandatory trainings such as safeguarding vulnerable adults according to regulations by the CQC (2010b). Safety- in our nursing home we always do risk assessment on every service user and put measures in place like using bed rails to prevent falls by doing this we have protected residents from accidents and this ensures quality service to our residents. Independence-service users should be made in control of their lives by allowing them to do some of the things like arranging their wardrobes, making and tidying their rooms by themselves because some of the residents are very active and would like to do what they used to do before and we always encourage them to do while we supervise them and this makes them happy hence promoting the quality of service as they are satisfied. Rights- service users should continue to enjoy the same rights when in nursing homes like they used to when they were living independently. Every service user supported in nursing homes has the right to say NO, right to have a relationship and the right to have a say in their care plan. Service providers always tend to balance service users rights against their responsibilities whether both are at risk or not. 1.4) External agencies: These are bodies that regulate quality of care including: The Care Quality Commission an independent regulator for health and social care in England (CQC 2010a; 2010b). They regulate care provided by NHS, local authority, private company and voluntary organisations. Their aim is to make sure better care is provided for everyone. In our nursing home Care Quality Commission makes a minimum of three inspections annually (two announced and one unannounced) on such things as how we provide care in terms of cleanliness of the home and to service users.. It has a wide range of enforcement powers to take action on behalf of service users if services are unacceptably low. The CQC makes sure that the voices of service users are heard by asking people to share their experiences of care services. It makes sure that users views are at the heart of its reports and reviews. The CQC takes action if providers do not meet essential quality standards, or if there is reason to think that peoples basic rights or safety are at risk (CQC, 2010) through a wide range of enforcement powers, such as fines and public warnings, and can be flexible about how and when to use them. It can apply specific conditions in response to serious risks. For example, it can demand that a hospital ward or service is closed until the provider meets safety requirements or is suspended. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE)- this is an independent organisation responsible for providing national guidance on promoting good health preventing and treating ill health (NICE, 2010). In our Nursing home, residents who have anxiety, panic attacks request for sedatives in order for them to sleep they are usually reassured and instead a government practitioner is consulted to review and advice them accordingly. Service providers take NICE guidelines trainings on different medical conditions for example diabetic foot (identification and care of the foot). 2.1) Quality Standards Benchmarks: According to Philip B. Crosby (1999) benchmarks are indicators of best practice including access to care environment and the culture of a home. The Benchmarks is one of the most comprehensive sets of social and environmental criteria and business performance indicators available (Daniels et al 2000). Our nursing home is accessible publically, to wheel chairs, a spacious car park and a section for activities for residents and relatives. We also have a signing in visitors book stating whom they are visiting. Code of practice for social care workers and employers for social care workers This document is developed by General Social Council and it contains agreed codes of practice for social care workers and employers of social care workers describing the standards of conduct and practice within which they should work ( GSCC, 2002). Employers use this set of code of practice to make decisions about the conduct of staff and support social care workers to meet their code of practice. Service users and members of the public use the codes to help them understand the behaviour of social workers (how they should behave towards them) and also how employers should support social care workers to do their job well. It is the responsibility of social care workers to make sure that their conduct does not fall below the standards set in the code of practice and no action or omission harms service users (NCSC, 2010). Social care workers must protect the interests of service users, maintain confidence, respect rights, promote independence, be accountable for the quality of their wor k and take responsibility for maintaining and improving their knowledge and skills. The general social council expect social care workers to meet the codes and may take actions (deregistering) if registered workers fail. 2.2) Different approaches to implementing quality Communication is a means of passing information from one person to another. In our nursing home we have different ways of communication like when doing care plans we always document what we have done for a resident so that whoever takes over knows what to do next to ensure continuity of care. Also when handing over is done during change of shifts information about residents is shared and everyone is aware of any changes in care plans in accordance to CQC guidelines (CQC, 2010). We also have staff meetings where certain information is passed on and in cases where staffs have a problem it is addressed and solutions are given out. For effective communication systems there should be a language that everyone understands. Policies and procedures These are guidelines set on how to do things often informed through regulations as outlined in various government documents (GSCC, 2002; NICE, 2010; CQC, 2010a. 2010b). In our Nursing home we have different policies and procedures for example in cases of accidents to residents we are required to fill a resident incident report and pass it on to the supervisor families, friends and relatives are informed about the accident then precautions are put into place walking frames, to avoid future occurrences of similar accidents. Infection control policy helps to prevent spread of infections within our nursing home. We always use personal protective equipment when offering personal care to residents, handling of any infectious wastes. We also use the proper technique for hand washing. There are also hand gels in each residents room, in public toilets and at the entrance of the building for sanitation purposes and all wastes like clinical and kitchen wastes are usually put in the bins ready for collection. In cases of disease outbreaks like diarrhoea and vomiting residents are isolated and managed separately and proper hand washing techniques are used to prevent further spread of the infection. Whistle blowing policy is designed to deal with issues that do not directly affect the employee and their employment but are a cause for concern in relation to the harm that may be done to other employees, residents or the wider community. Any employee who is concerned about their personal situation should raise their concern with their line supervisor or manager. This policy is for reporting issues like elderly abuse, misuse of drugs, faulty machinery that may cause accidents, illegal dumping of waste. The policy protects not only employees but the wide community. Confidentiality- all residents or service users information is private and confidential. It is not a proper practice to discuss residents information in public like their conditions and behaviours by doing that is breaching the policy and legal action should be taken. In nursing homes all information is kept safely and only accessible to relevant persons. This promotes quality of service 2.3) Quality systems ISO 9001 involves a set of procedures that cover all key processes in the business, monitoring processes to ensure they are effective, keeping adequate records and facilitating continual improvement. They have certain requirements like internal regulations, claims and procedures for residents, suggestion box and contract with uses. It also covers the importance of understanding and meeting customer requirements, communication, resource requirements, training and products, Leadership, Involvement of people, Process approach, and System approach to management and Continual improvement (Tricker and Sherring- Lucas, 2001). In our nursing home for the provision of all these elements and reporting them on day to day basis for example there is a clear procedure for residents complains. Carers, residents and relatives are informed and logged in a special complaints book and complains are followed up. When all this are put into practice, there is employee and customer satisfaction, resulting from better defined and implemented business processes. As a result of this we have motivated staffs, who understands their roles and how their work affects quality, improved product and service quality, happier customers, and improved management and operational processes, resulting in less waste (both time and materials) Business excellence is a widely used framework that helps companies to review their performance and practices in a number of areas and identify targets and actions for improvement based on principles of customer service stakeholder value and process management ( British Quality Foundation, BQF 2010). Managers develop the mission, vision and values and are role models of a culture of Excellence. Studies in Taiwan have shown that in care homes where this model is applied, managers are personally involved in ensuring the organisations management system is developed, implemented and continuously improved are involved with customers, partners and representatives of society and also motivate, support and recognise the organisations people (Cheng B, Chang, C and Sheng L. 2005). In our nursing home we use a balanced score card to keep track of activities by staff and measure consequences arising based on the British Quality Foundation model ( BQF, 2010).Service users families and relatives m easure in a scale of 1-5 where one is poor and five is excellent. We work hard in poorly rated areas to improve the quality of service. At the same time managers set a number of targets on key areas of each staff members roles which are then assessed on monthly review and awards are given to the best. This motivates other team members to work hard and best to attain the best and by doing so they provide best quality and we excel. 2.4) Trainings this refers to a learning process that involves the acquisition of knowledge, sharpening of skills and concepts (Stevens, 2004. In our nursing there are mandatory trainings offered to service providers before commencing to work like basic food hygiene, manual handling Healthy and safety is ensuring that the environment where we are working is safe for service users, other staff and others in general by our actions and omissions. It is a responsibility to all staff to ensure that the environment is safe to work on. For safety purposes in our nursing home we do not use equipment unless it has been checked and serviced. Also default equipments are labelled DO NOT USE to prevent and avoid accidents. We also have controlled cupboards where substances that are hazardous to health are stored and locked away. When there is a defect on the environment like chipped floors, loose hanging electricity wires we report to the maintenance coordinator and they are rectified immediately to avoid accidents. Again when housekeeping team are doing cleaning they always display cleaning boards and everybody is aware that cleaning is on progress or the floor is wet and they avoid using it until it is dry by doing this they minimise chances of accidents like falls 2.5) According to Marshall (2003) and Stevens (2004), external and internal barriers to delivering quality are any obstacle which prevents a given policy instrument being implemented or limits the way in which it can be implemented. They include: Resources: lack of adequate resources hinders quality of service for example inadequate or shortage of staff affects the quality of services offered and this leads to unsatisfaction of service users as they get services that are not adequate and for service providers because they are overworked. In nursing homes when there are staffs shortages they arrange cover shifts earlier by either bank staff or some agencies registered with the home. Financial barriers include budget restrictions like food supplies and other supplies like incontinent products limits the overall expenditure and this leads to inadequate provision of quality services to residents Personal Appearance: Hygiene and grooming, eating habits and attire can vary from country to country and culture to culture. For example, some people may wear attire such as a headdress as part of their custom and beliefs. To remain true to their beliefs, some workers may want to continue to wear this dress at their workplace. Employers may view this as inappropriate or unsafe. It is particularly problematic in workplaces where workers wear uniforms. Religion: In many cultures, religion dominates life in a way that is often difficult for employers to understand. For example, workers from some cultures may want to pray while at work times in accordance with their values and beliefs. There may also be religious holidays on which people of certain religions are forbidden to work. These differences need to be respected, where possible, and not ignored and they affect the quality of service. Language barriers often go hand-in hand with cultural differences, posing additional problems and misunderstandings in the workplace. When people cannot communicate properly they are frustrated when communicating with supervisors, co-workers and residents this can be dangerous because people may end up performing poorly in their work thus affecting quality of service offered. Legal and institutional barriers -these include lack of legal powers to implement a particular instrument and responsibilities which are split between agencies limiting the ability of an institution. Like the law states that students should work for twenty hours only which creates shortages at work affecting quality of services. 3.1) According to Business Dictionary.com (2010), policies are principles, rules and guidelines formulated or adopted by an organization to reach its long term goals. They are designed to influence and determine all major decisions, actions and activities take place within the boundaries set by them and procedures are specific methods employed to express policies in action in day to day operations of the organization. For example, in nursing homes the National Care Standards Commission for England, NCSC (2010) has outlined requirements that these homes must meet which in effect guide their policies and principles. These policies include, but not limited to: manual handling procedures, Risk assessment and Infection control. Manual handling These are techniques used to handle or move service users like hoisting, using belts and sliding sheets to move residents these are safe procedures for both residents and service providers as they minimise accidents to both cases and this promotes quality of service (CQC, 2010). On the other hand, they have disadvantages like time consuming when doing procedures like hoisting which requires two or three persons and also residents may not like the experiences of hoisting and thirdly it needs trainings to be carried out. Risk assessments According to healthy and safety at work act (1974) the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulation (1999) states that it is the responsibilities of managers to do risk assessment to employers and employees. to reduce and prevent risks to them in future and they are included in their care plan so that quality of care can be improved for example residents with risks of falling have walking frames, falling mats and bed rails put in place to avoid falls but again things like bed rails have caused accidents in that residents are trapped and some sustain fractures which affect quality of service 3.2) factors that influence the achievement of quality of personal care Quality is a difficult concept to capture directly. However, resident or organisational outcomes are often used as a proxy for quality (Marshall, 2003). There is considerable debate about the relationship between quality of care and quality of life as joint, but not necessarily competing, measures of quality. A study for the Joseph Rowntree Foundation indicates that residents perceptions of nursing staff are a good indicator of quality of care (JRF, 2008).The importance of measures of social care and of homeliness epitomise the divide between health and social care provision in care homes. Factors influencing residents satisfaction with care are discussed below: Team working Heath care workers working in teams has been recognised as an improving the quality of care (Stevens, 2004; Borill et al 1999). According to Stevens, the intention is for carers to share tasks and learn from each other and possibly improve based on their experiences. This can be illustrated by the quotation below: The best and most cost-effective outcomes for patients and clients are achieved when professionals work together, learn together, engage in clinical audit of outcomes together, and generate innovation to ensure progress in practice and service. (Borill et al 1999 p.6). Stevens has for example reported from a number of surveys from UK nursing homes to suggest that there is a reduction in carer burden and significant reduction in stress when staff work in teams resulting in better coping and satisfaction. Both these studies (Stevens, 2004; Borill et al 1999) found that service users surveyed showed more satisfaction when carers and health workers worked in teams Healthy and safety at work The responsibilities of care home proprietors are subject to a range of health and safety legislation among them the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974, the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 which require employers to assess the risks to employees and other who may be affected by their undertaking, (residents) and the control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations ( Care Quality Commission, 2010). These regulations have led to dramatic improvements in the safety of residents and people working in care homes according to the care quality commission. For instance, guidelines requiring minimalist manual handling has significantly reduced the numbers of health workers staying off work due to illness which has a positive effect on the level of personal care of residents ( CQC, 2010a). However, a report for the Joseph Rawtree Foundation (JRF, 2008) showed that the percentage of medication errors and adverse events in nursing homes have increased despite regular inspections by the CQC. Stevens (2004) has also reported survey results from 27 residential homes with dementia patients where 19% cases of medication errors were reported. In my care setting, clear improvements can be seen from less harm to residents when using the hoist but not many service users like to use the hoist. Some risk assessments in care homes have made it very difficult to take residents outdoors or even for activities outside the home for fear of not meeting the Health and safety requirements and this ends up reducing the quality of care. 3.3 The following recommendation can improve the quality of care in Nursing homes Training /education This means acquiring knowledge and skills or new information on how to do things according to the recommended regulations and standards ( Stevens 2004). This is a very important aspect in nursing homes all trainings as it provides ongoing trainings to update service providers and equip them with relevant and current information that enables them to provide the best quality of care that will be satisfactory to service users. In our nursing home trainings are offered and need to be implemented then supervision is done and in cases where need for retraining arises, arrangements are done and they are offered for the benefits of service users, service providers and the community at large as it reduces or minimises preventable accidents and this promotes the quality of service Review This means going through the set of targets or planned activities to see the progress whether it is improving or getting worse. This alerts and actions or precautions are put in place to make the situation improve for better quality of service ( Stevens, 2004). For example in our nursing home there are always monthly reviews of care plans of service users this includes individual or family interviews to determine whether residents are improving or need some improved care plans like in moving and handling procedures (use of hoist or belts) and then action is taken accordingly. Also for staff there is quarterly staff meetings or when need arises and previous discussed or current issues are raised and a way forward on how to carry on is agreed. There are always individual supervisions done by allocated persons and each employee identifies areas that need improvement and good performing areas by doing this there is improvement of quality of service Conclusion It has been shown that in order to improve services to users in the social care sector, it is important to follow principles, guidelines and procedures set by government, industry bodies or even individual homes. There is also need for planning, doing and checking and then reviewing to assess shortcomings in order to design improvement regimes. Similarly, it has been shown that although there is legislation and care industry standards, it will require long term commitments in developing methods, instruments and communication procedures involving all stakeholders at care or residential home level.

Personal Perspective on the Science Versus Religion Debate :: Theology

Personal Perspective on the Science Versus Religion Debate In Alfred North Whitehead’s â€Å"Religion and Science†, he nullifies the argument between the religious factions and scientists of the world by eliminating all grounds for the argument. Although debated to the â€Å"ends of the Earth†, Whitehead points out that these two subjects are actually based upon events that are unrelated. He states â€Å"Science is concerned with the general conditions which are observed to regulate phenomenon; whereas religion is wholly wrapped up in the contemplation of moral and aesthetic values†(Whitehead, Religion and Science). Through his definition of both viewpoints, he is able to explain one will never see the other, thus no argument exists. This topic is quite personal for me at this point in my life. I have always lived as if everything could be explained. I tortured myself with the whole idea of â€Å"heaven†. I was scared that not believing would sentence me to eternal death, but my logical side just couldn’t fathom the idea. My religious side was in a â€Å"fight to the death† war with my logical side. However, my internal war is now over. The battle is done. And, yes one side did come out waving the proverbial white flag. To make a long story short, eighteen months ago my husband suffered a broken neck due to a swimming accident. We as a family had been in debate over our family’s relationship with God. As we discovered, ones religion is often decided during the darkest times of our lives. It was at that time we discovered that there was something more to life than money, possessions, or â€Å"facts†. The specialists couldn’t explain what had saved Shane’s life. Their science failed them. Luckily, the neurologist was a Christian, and her only explanation was God wasn’t finished with him yet. We realized that for once there was no other answer. Without hesitation, my husband and I both committed our lives to serving the Lord Jesus Christ to the best of our ability. To get back to the point of this, as a new Christian I thought the Science vs. Religion debate would be completely over for me. It isn’t. I still catch myself trying to explain things that don’t need to be explained. I have spent many restless nights fighting my guilty conscience for doubting my faith.