Nursing - Critically Reflective Account of a Leadership Issue Research Paper

Nursing - Critically Reflective Account of a Leadership Issue Pertinent to Your Own Work Role - Research Paper Example Research supports the concept that there is no one specific method or style that works all the time. Rather, the leader of a healthcare organization should understand and identify with employees and tailor his or her approach accordingly. Recent reforms have required healthcare organizations to implement new ways of operating and to redefine their purposes, the nature of their work and the relationships between employees. Old-style, top-down bureaucracies are being replaced by organizational structures and cultures in which shared the vision, partnerships, patient empowerment, and collaboration across professions and agencies, are emphasized. â€Å"Effective clinical leadership is essential in delivering the high-quality, person-centered care envisioned by health minister Lord Darzi in the final report of the NHS Next stage review, High-Quality Care for All† (department of health (DH) 2008). Lord Darzi says in his report, that â€Å"it is through unlocking talent that we will achieve high-quality care across the board†. ‘Unlocking talent’ involves tapping into the leadership abilities and potential of all front line staff to deliver high-quality, safe and efficient care to patients and service users. There are four key ideas that should be understood and explored in the creation of an appropriate workplace for health professionals in the new environment. They are patients, management, staff performance, and leadership. The changing requirements and concerns of patients demand that healthcare is delivered in integrated care patterns spreading across some clinical disciplines. (Edmonstone 2005, 10-11) A look into the future of healthcare points clearly toward an integrated approach to the dispensing of health services, from hospital care to health and community agencies. Healthcare in future will be considered from a whole systems approach with the appropriate inter-agency partnership to ensure faultless care. The new workplace must allow for  project-based teams, with core teams and provisional specialists who move from one core team to another.  

The long-term effects of unemployment on a person Essay - 1

The long-term effects of unemployment on a person - Essay Example Spending is reduced to buying basic items because of the uncertainty of getting a new job. Apart from cutting back on buying certain items the individual may also suffer some personal loss. Especially during this global recession a significant number of persons have lost their homes to foreclosure. It is likely that they may also suffer other financial loss. It is difficult to keep up with car payment, for example. In large families where the recently unemployed is the sole breadwinner the financial effect is more chronic. This can affect the lifestyle of everyone including children. Normal situations such as schooling, entertainment and extracurricular activities can be disrupted. Research has shown that long-term unemployment is experienced more among older as well as blue-collar workers. Many persons in these two categories sometimes do not have enough savings to sustain themselves during the jobless period. In the case of the older worker many of them have to use money from their retirement funds. Another effect of long-term unemployment is strained family relations. The sudden loss of unemployment puts a burden on other members of the family. It causes separation and broken relationships in many families that were already on the verge of break-ups. It takes time for both the unemployed and other family members to adapt to the new situation and status. Although they may realize that it is an uncontrollable situation it is difficult to accept the reality of it. Some persons have reported that they have lost contact with friends during their period of unemployment. The inability to socialize with persons due to lack of extra cash can be a factor. Some persons may have to borrow money from family and friends and the inability to repay these loans can destroy friendships and other relationships. Long-term unemployment can also have rippling effect on other aspects of the family such as the health of the children. In many

Data Mining Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Data Mining - Research Paper Example Data mining tools are vital because they have significantly reduced the time taken in answering business questions, which were traditionally too much time consuming to analyze. Currently, most organizations have adopted and implemented the existing data mining software and hardware platforms to improve the value of their stored data. These hardware platforms can be integrated with new products and system as technology advances. Integrating data mining hardware platforms with other parallel processing computers or high performance client/server improves the analysis of massive databases (Hoptroff & Hoptroff, 2001). Foundation of Data Mining Data mining techniques emerged as a result of product development and a long process of research. This idea was first developed when businesses began storing business information on computers. Significant improvements have been witnessed in data access and generated technologies, which allow users to search their data, in real time (Williams & Simo ff, 2006). Data mining software is currently available for use, in the business world, because of the three technologies that support it, and they include data mining algorithms, massive data collection, and powerful multiprocessor computers (Williams & Simoff, 2006). The amount of raw data stored in business databases is currently exploding. A database is measured in gigabytes and terabytes. In the current, competitive business environment, raw data alone does not provide enough information for studying and predicting the market environment. This has called for the need to convert these terabytes of raw data into other significant insights that easily provide a guide for their investment, marketing and management strategies (Prabhu, 2004). Data Warehouses Significant improvements in data transmission, data capture, storage capabilities, and processing power are enabling companies to consolidate their various databases into data warehouse (Prabhu, 2004). Data warehousing is the proc ess of centralizing data retrieval and data management. Data warehouses store large amounts of data based on certain categories that make data more easily to sort, retrieve, and interpret. They also enable managers and executives to manage a series of business transactions, and other information that help in making informed business decisions. Researchers have predicted that all companies shall have adopted and integrated data mining tools, in their business, by the year 2020 (Prabhu, 2004). Companies benefit from data mining when meaningful patterns and trends are extracted from the stored data. How Data Mining Works Data mining tools employ modeling as a technique for performing data analysis. Modeling involves the creation of a model in one situation that is known, and applying the results in another situation where the results are unknown (Kargupta, 2007). Computers are equipped with lots of information about a number of situations, whose answers are known. The data mining softw are, on the computer, runs through the data, and filters the aspects of data that match the designated model. Once the model is developed it can be applied in similar situations, whose answers are unknown. This technique has been in use over the past centuries, but it recently became applicable, in the business field, when communication and data storage capabilities required the collection and storage of huge amounts of data, and the ability to automate

Nestles Changes in Organizational Architecture and Strategy Case Study

Nestles Changes in Organizational Architecture and Strategy - Case Study Example But in 1990s they started their globalisation and the best way for them to do that was to purchase local subsidiaries in foreign markets. The launch in American markets was around the First World War when there was an increase in demand for dairy products; they constructed a lot of different factories in US at that time period. The underlying objective of moving into foreign markets was to increase efficiency and productivity in the company. In 1974 they diversified into the completely different branch of cosmetics by becoming a major shareholder in Loreal. This was a very bold and daring move and till today investors doubt whether this was a correct financial move or not. The other diversification Nestle engaged in was the purchase of Alcon Laboratories, a U.S manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. The diversification and constant restructuring the firm did was to make it more flexible and adaptable to rapid market changes. Restructuring is a continuous process of Nestle and their restructuring charges run up to $300 million a year. The company has done well over decades, which is why a lot of people often wonder if they are doing everything right why try to change? But that is just Nestles culture and what sets the company apart. The change is often slow in nature as one has to consider the magnitude of the multinational, yet it still happens. Nestle greatly relies on its intrinsic corporate culture to reform employees and make them think the same way. Everyone wants to increase the longevity of the organization rather than focus on solely short-term profits. Nestle has also developed a list of â€Å"untouchables†, which comprises of the companies strengths and should never be changed. One example of this is that nestle understands the importance of IT yet they don’t consider is as a sole tool for implementing successful strategies. It is important to reinforce and focus on the strengths and leave them as is. R & D is one of nestles strengths, which is why the company is so open to change. They constantly come up with innovative practical ideas to succeed. Innovation is in fact the first pillar of Nestles corporate strategy. They recently implemented an â€Å"Innovating the future† leadership strategy which is based on: Continuous improvement in consumer research, to find out exactly what they want and to build superior products to satisfy that demand. Using the vast expertise that Nestle has in its R&D network. Recruiting the best open-minded and passionate innovators are included in this strategy. This also includes working closely with leading universities to find out the latest in technology. Lastly the innovations should meet the core demand of nestle which is Nutrition, health and wellness. In 2008, nestle was struck hard by the Chinese food scandal. Even though the company has developed a great reputation over the years when something this serious happens the images takes a huge hit. Nestle however responde d well by announcing changes and new operations.

How does a free market prevent a monopoly Essay Example for Free

How does a free market prevent a monopoly Essay We often listen to this statement that there are no monopolies in a free market or a free market prevents monopolies. Though there are some arguments about if the statement is completely true and, if a government plays a part in making or preventing a monopoly. To understand and to validate the statement first we need to understand few terms used in the statement and concepts of market. Types of market economies There are majorly four types of market economies namely: * Free-Market Economy (or Liberal Market Economy). An economic system comprised mainly of privately-owned enterprise (businesses), low levels of regulation and relies heavily on the free-price system to allocate resources. This is distinguished with a planned economy based on private enterprise. * Social Market Economy A free-market system that utilizes heavy taxation and regulation and recognizes organized labour at the national level, but relies on the free-price system rather than economic planning to allocate goods and services. * Market Socialism and Socialist Market Economies An economic system comprised of state-run or worker-run enterprises and either a free-price system or a directed and regulated market to allocate resources. This is distinguished with a socialist planned economy. * Mutualism and Cooperative Markets A form of participatory economics where enterprises are run as worker and consumer cooperatives (socially-owned) which compete with each other in a market economy. This is distinguished from participatory and cooperative planning. To describe free market economy in a nutshell, it is the kind of economy in which the system of prices is a result of a vast number of voluntary transactions, rather than of political decrees as in a controlled market. The freer the market, the more prices will reflect consumer habits and demands, and the more valuable the information in these prices is to all players in the economy. Through free competition between vendors for the provision of products and services, prices tend to decrease, and quality tends to increase. Types of Competition There are namely four major kinds of competition * Perfect Competition * Monopolistic Competition * Oligopoly * Monopoly Monopoly exists when a single seller controls the supply of a good or service and prevents other businesses from entering the field. Being the only provider of a certain good or service gives the seller considerable control over price. Monopolies are prohibited by law however; government-regulated monopolies do exist in some business areas because of the huge up-front investment that must be made in order to provide some types of services. Examples of monopolies in the India are public utility companies that provide services and/or products such as gas, water, electricity and railways. To talk about monopoly in detail while single-firm monopolies are rare, except for those subject to public regulation, it is useful to examine the monopolist’s market conduct and performance to establish a standard at the pole opposite that of perfect competition. As the sole supplier of a distinctive product, the monopolistic company can set any selling price, provided it accepts the sales that correspond to that price. Market demand is generally inversely related to price, and the monopolist presumably will set a price that produces the greatest profits, given the relationship of production costs to output. By restricting output, the firm can raise its selling price significantly. The monopolist will generally charge prices well in excess of production costs and reap profits well above a normal interest return on investment. His output will be substantially smaller, and his price higher, than if he had to meet established market prices as in perfect competition. The monopolist may or may not produce at minimal average cost, depending on his cost-output relationship; if he does not, there are no market pressures to force him to do so. If the monopolist is subject to no threat of entry by a competitor, he will presumably set a selling price that maximizes profits for the industry he monopolizes. If he faces only impeded entry, he may elect to charge a price sufficiently low to discourage entry but above a competitive price—if this will maximize his long-run profits. Though monopoly has its advantages like in some industries it is the most cost-effective way of providing services, example is public utilities, as it would obviously be inefficient to have 2 or more competing sewer or power distribution systems in a city, monopoly has many disadvantages like Poor level of service as there is no fear of competition, No consumer sovereignty. Consumers may be charged high prices for low quality of goods and services. Lack of competition may also lead to low quality and out dated goods and services hence making it necessary to check a market from becoming monopolist to safeguard the interests of consumers. Now coming back to the question ‘how does a free market prevent a monopoly? ’ In a free market, competition drives away bad ideas. What stops monopolies? Small companies being allowed to set up and compete, without loads of regulations and fees making it impossible for them to afford to keep costs down. The free market prevents people from cornering the market, because there is always someone else that is capable and willing to make the same product for the same or lesser price. Eventually, if that keeps going, everything will be free in the free market, or rather, people will start trading for goods and services again, like they used to. Of course, along this path to free produce, you have the interruption of the Laws of Supply and Demand, where you eventually have too much product for the demand, and can no longer make a profit because of your losses. Price Wars eventually even themselves out, because at a certain price, everyone will be able to buy your product, and then no one else will need it anymore. When you have a high demand for a product, the price is naturally high. This obviously attracts investors and manufacturers to that field in order to make as much profit as possible. As more competitors enter that field of production, the prices for the product fall accordingly, until the supply meets the demand, and prices regulate based on 1. The cost to produce, and 2. The fact that everyone already has one and likely doesnt need another right now. For e. g. in the early days of the automotive market, Ford used to say You can have the Model-T in any colour you want, as long as its black. Then Chevrolet came in with more colour choices, and to compete, Ford had to change its policy or they would have fallen off the face of the Earth. Though there is an argument that exists, which says government sometimes does enable formation of a monopoly for example corporate trusts. Government supports an entity to a level that it becomes very big and later, in order to keep a check on the entity from preventing it to become a monopoly, government lays down set of rules and regulations which make it practically impossible for new budding competitors to grow up to the level of first organisation and compete efficiently, resulting in formation of a monopoly. But in the end, No matter how successful a company is, it is never immune from competition. It always faces at least potential competition, as well as actual competition from companies that offer substitutes. References: http://wiki. answers. com http://www. britannica. com http://answers. yahoo. com http://www. physicsforums. com.

Function of Water in the Human Body

Function of Water in the Human Body Water mainly enters the human body through the food and drink we consume. A small proportion of water is obtained from oxidative metabolism e.g. in respiration. Human beings mainly lose water by excretion in urine and faeces. Water is also lost through evaporation e.g. as sweat (Campbell N. A. et al. 1999, Frederic H.M. 2006) The kidneys are highly specialised organs of the body and play an important role in homeostasis. The kidney maintains homeostasis by regulating water balance, waste removal and blood composition and pressure. The kidneys dispose of waste by-products of metabolism and hence prevent the build up of toxic products in the body and to regulate the chemical components of the bodys fluids by responding to any imbalances of body fluids. These functions are fulfilled by a process of filtration of blood, which mainly includes the movement of solutes between the internal fluid and external environment. The movement of solutes is normally through a transport epithelium, in the case of the kidney it is in the form of a tubular channel; this tubular channel gives the kidney a large surface area. The kidneys weigh less than 1% of the human body, they receive approximately 2 % of blood pumped with each heartbeat. Urine exits the kidney through a duct called the ureter. The ureters of both kidneys drain into a common urinary bladder. Urine leaves the body from the urinary bladder to the urethra which empties near the vagina in females or through the penis in males. (Campbell N. A. et al. 1999, Michael F. et al. 2001) At one end the nephron forms a cup-shaped structure called glomerulus From the glomerulus a tube runs towards the centre of the kidney first forming a twisted region called the proximal convoluted tubule and then a long hair-pin loop in the medulla, it runs back upwards into the cortex where it forms another twisted region called the distal convoluted tubule, this then joins a collecting duct which leads down the medulla and into the renal pelvis The functional unit of the kidney is a nephron. Microscopic sections of the kidney show that the kidney is made up of thousands of nephrons. Fig1b shows the location of a nephron and Fig2 shows the detailed structure of a nephron. Each renal capsule is supplied with blood by the afferent arteriole a branch of the renal artery this splits into many capillaries in the capsule which then rejoin to form the afferent arteriole. The nephrons structure is closely related to its function of regulating solutes Osmoregulation is maintaining constant levels of water in the body. Cells cannot survive a huge deviation from its osmolality. Hence, cells have a continuous movement of water across their plasma membranes. A net gain of water will cause the cell to swell up and burst, while a net loss of water will cause the cell to shrivel up and die. Water is transported by osmosis around the body. Osmoregulation is accomplished by creating an osmotic gradient; this requires lots of energy and is done by maintaining solute concentrations in the body fluids. The osmolality of the body is fixed at a mean of 2905 mosmos/g. The kidney is able to maintain a constant osmolality as its able to adjust the rate of water excretion over a wide range. The volume of the extra-cellular fluid is mainly determined by the concentration of sodium ions, hence slight adjustments to the renal excretion rate have a major impact on the extracellular fluid volume. Changes in tubular sodium transport is accompanied by parallel movements of water, this results in no net change in body fluid osmolality (Campbell N. A. et al. 1999, Frederic H.M. 2006, Michael F. et al. 2001) The loop of Henle creates a longitudinal osmotic gradient across the medulla; this aids the reabsorption of water and other important solutes. Ascending and descending limb are parallel and adjacent to each other with a layer of tissue fluid in between. Fluid enters from the proximal convoluted tubules flows down the descending limb and then up the ascending limb. This is known as a counter-current flow. Thewalls of the descending limb are permeable to water, while the walls of the ascending limb are impermeable to water. The ascending limb of the Loop of Henle is made up of a thick walled tubule which is impermeable to the outward movement of water but not salt. The red arrows on fig3 show the movement of water amd solutes along the loop of Henle and the collecting duct. Also, the walls of the ascending limb contain pumps to remove sodium chloride from the lumen and add it to the surrounding interstitial fluid. Hence sodium and chloride ions are actively transported out of the ascen ding limb. This is the site of reabsorption in the kidney, here fluid from theenters and the kidney reabsorbs all the useful solutes and water. The permeability of the loop and the collecting duct depends on the osmolality of the blood and is controlled by a negative feedback mechanism by osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus A high concentration of salt builds up in the medullary tissue, this together with urea retention by these tissues, helps build up a high osmotic pressure in the medullary tissue. This creates a gradient of 200 mosm/g across the tubular wall at any point and causes a loss of water from the descending limb. The loss of water concentrates sodium and chloride ions in the descending limb. Salt concentration in the medullary tissue is highest at the apex of the loop, the tissue in the deeper layers of the medulla contain a very concentrated solution of sodium ions, chloride ions and urea. The fluid leaving the ascending limb is hypo-osmolar as compared to the fluid that enters and has a osmolality of approximately 100 mosm/g .Sodium and chloride ions diffuse out in the lower part of the ascending limb. Fluid passes down the collecting duct through the medullary tissue of increasing salt concentration, water can pass out of it by osmosis. The reabsorbed water is carried away by blood capil laries (Campbell N. A. et al. 1999, Frederic H.M. 2006, Michael F. et al. 2001) Control of water regulation Osmoregulation by the kidney involves a negative feedback mechanism. The osmoreceptors are in the hypothalamus and the effectors are the pituitary gland and the walls of the distal convoluted tubules. Osmoreceptors detect alterations of water levels and send impulses to the pituitary gland which then increase or decrease the production of antidiuretic hormone (ADH). In the case of a low osmolality,when the nerve cells are stimulated by osmoreceptors action potentials travel down them, this causes ADH to be released from their endings into the blood capillaries in the posterior pituitary gland from here it is distributed throughout the body. ADH acts on the plasma membranes of the cells of the collecting ducts. ADH is picked up by a receptor on the plasma membrane which then activates an enzyme. This causes vesicles with water permeable channels to fuse with the plasma membrane hence ADH makes the membrane more permeable to water than usual. Hence more water will be reabsorbed by the collecting duct and more concentrated urine will be produced. On the other hand, when the blood water content rises the osmoreceptors are no longer stimulated and hence do not lead to the secretion of ADH. Hence, ADH secretion slows down and the collecting duct cells become less permeable to water, so less water is reabsorbed and more diluted urine is produced  (Campbell N. A. et al. 1999, Frederic H.M. 2006, Michael F. et al. 2001) In conclusion, the regulation of water is essential for the survival of human beings and is carried out by the kidneys and monitored by osmoreceptors in the hypothalamus and controlled by the pituitary gland. Each of these plays an equally important role in the regulation of water and without any one of them the body will not be able to function in a normal manner. [Words: 1328]

Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway Essay examples -- Hills

"Literature is a luxury: Fiction is a necessity" (Chesterton). Literature is a single phenomenon that will always remain in the lives of people throughout the years. According to Andre Maurois, "In literature, as in love, we are astounded by what is chosen by others." Fiction Literature is one of the most fascinating types of Literature. There are many types of Fiction Literature read across the world and with much selection, the greatest are short stories. Out of those, one very memorable short story is called "Hills Like White Elephants". The author, Ernest Hemingway, has created many intriguing stories with his recognizable syntax. The specific style he is known for may be childish and use only a few small lines, but nevertheless his writings are continuously read by many people. Like any exceptional author would, Hemingway manipulates his text to get across certain themes in the plot of his stories. A couple themes found in "Hills Like White Elephants" are doubt, choices, conseq uences, and decision-making. These themes are noticed by Hemingway's use of various different literary elements in the story. They help the reader better understand the true meanings behind "Hills Like White Elephants"' seemingly empty plot. The characters in this story are very believable because they play very realistic roles. For their situation, these characters are appropriately casted. The protagonist of this story is a girl named Jig. She is portrayed as a flat character where we only see one side of her throughout the story. We only see her doubt and worry over not being able to make a decision. The decision she is trying to make is whether or not to go through with an 'operation' that is not directly stated. We later infer that she... ...about life itself. May we all learn from this reading experience as well as gain knowledge about the world as we know it. Works Cited Akers, Tim. â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants.† Short Stories for Students. Ed. Vol. 6. Detroit: Gale Group, 1999. Short Stories for Students. Gale. Web. 8 Apr. 2015. Hemingway, Ernest. "Hills Like White Elephants". LitFinder for Schools. Gale. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.. Henningfeld, Andrews Diane. Overview of Hills Like White Elephants, for Short Stories for Students, The Gale Group, 1999. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. Johnston, Kenneth G. "'Hills Like White Elephants' Lean, Vintage Hemingway," in Studies in American Fiction, Vol. 10, No. 2, Autumn, 1982. Web. 12 Apr. 2015. Weeks, Lewis E. Jr., â€Å"Hemingway Hills: Symbolism in â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants,† in Studies in Short Fiction, Vol. 17, No. 1, Winter, 1980. Web. 4 Apr. 2015.