HR's Role in an Organization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

HR's Role in an Organization - Essay Example Huge responsibility is laid on medical staff, whom we entrust with the most important thing that we have – own health. In this respect, the process of choosing and recruiting the right employees becomes the most initial for medical establishments. Effective and correct work of personnel influences on the customer’s satisfaction, which in its turn affect competitiveness, reputation and profits of the hospital. Sometimes one little mistake of medical employee is able to cause drastic and destructive consequences, which also not always can be remediable. For avoiding such situation and providing clients with highly qualitative treatment, it is recommended to take the recruitment, development and training of human resources into careful consideration. It is important to realize the significance of appropriate personnel, which is able to become the biggest competitive benefit of the organization only on conditions that a company implements various programs of constant develo pment and improvement of workers’ productivity. ... Human recourses as competitive advantage Today more and more companies start to realize that human is the most significant factor for pushing own business to effectiveness and profitability. However, only few of them pay much attention at personnel development, considering such action as money-loosing. In reality numerous practical examples show that the more entrepreneur spends up on own staff the bigger return comes later on. Competition can be rather unsteady phenomenon, which depends on various elements. The most considerable of them is highly professional service that makes clients content and creates customer’s loyalty. Frequently one detail of personnel’s work can affect customer’s attitude to the whole company. And with a help of word of mouth one unsatisfied consumer is able to influence on groups of people, which in own turn can proceed the chain of negative review. But if a company has a qualified team of real specialists, who posses deep knowledge alo ng with good interpersonal skills and comprehend the significance of customer’s satisfaction, then such enterprise will be in demand on the market. That is why effectively used human resources can become a huge competitive advantage that manages to attract new customers and affect the financial results of company’s performance later on. Despite developed equipment and new techniques used during medical procedures, the personnel of Laurel Surgery and Endoscopy Center guarantees a good old-fashioned patient care. Medical staff of the center looks after each client extremely attentively, ensuring pre- and post-operative treatment, the questions about which potential patients may find out from the

Research Methods Essay Example for Free

Research Methods Essay The main factors that influence a sociologists choice of research method depend on two different theoretical approaches to the study of society; positivism and interpretivism. Positivism is an approach in sociology that believes society can be studied using similar scientific techniques to those used in the natural sciences, such as physics, biology and chemistry. Interpretivism is an approach emphasizing that people have consciousness involving personal beliefs, values and interpretations that influence the way they act and that they do not simply respond to forces outside them. These two theoretical approaches often use different research methods because they have different assumptions about the nature of society, this influences the type of data they are interested in collecting. Practicality, ethics, theory and subject of study also contribute to the methods used for research. There are various methods sociologists use to carry out a research on society. The two common forms are quantitative and qualitative research methods. I will begin by analysing the meanings behind the words, qualitative and quantitative. Quantitative methods are used by people that support the use of scientific investigation, it usually includes numerical statistical methods; the purpose is to expand and utilize mathematical techniques, conjecture and hypothesis. In contrast to this the qualitative research method. This is usually used by sociologists that support the use of humanistic research. It differs from quantitative methods in the sense that, qualitative research methods depend on specific reasons behind the way some people in society behave. Using the qualitative method however, they are prone to ask questions like, ‘why? or ‘how? ’ compared to the quantitative data which would more likely ask straight forward questions like, ‘what? ’ or ‘where’. In qualitative methods the research usually focuses on small samples instead, unlike quantitative research on the other hand, focus lacks and the methods usually inhabits a large, random sample. Unlike a quantitative method where the research depends restrictedly on the investigation of arithmetical or quantifiable statistics, data from qualitative research comes in many medium e. g. moving images, text or sound. Qualitative research was first recognised in the 1970s. Examples of Qualitative data are participant observation, direct observation, unstructured interviews, case studies etc. Examples of Quantitative data are questionnaires, surveys, attitude scales or standardised tests. They are practical issues that affect the methods sociologist may use. These can come from a range of financial issues to ethical issues. * Coaching Interviewers is comparatively clear-cut and economical however it cost more to merely redistributing questionnaire to people. Surveys that resort to structured interviews can cover great group of people with restricted resources because they are moderately cheap to administer however they cannot match the huge numbers reached by postal questionnaire. * Questionnaire and interviews collect straight forward factual information * Questionnaire results are quantitative because they are closed-ended questions with coded answers. This makes them suitable for hypothesis- testing. Sometimes there are specific factors could cause problems amongst certain research methods. Such as: * Time Questionnaires would be more time consuming while the workload of surveys can be shared by a team * Money -researchers need an income and costs large scale. Social surveys are more high-priced than small focus groups. * Characteristics and skills of the research some situations may be risky and not all sociologist could cope handle this, a woman may have difficulty doing P. O in a monastery access and opportunity. If there is no access to certain groups then secondary sources may have to be used as an alternative. An example of this is when you get researchers hoping to cover a survey on a specific gang or cult. This could be dangerous especially if that gang may have a record of crime and callous behaviour. The researcher may find it really hard if not impossible to get access into the gang or cult; and if he was to get access he could be in immense trouble especially if he went under cover. * Some issues include ethical issues, sometimes certain research is taken on an undercover basis. This could be seen as illusory. Some people would argue that researchers should be 100% honest with the people they are researching on, it is only ethical, moral and honest that this form of sincerity is shown amongst whom the research is based on nevertheless when doing a research as an undercover researcher the questions of ethics arises. Is it morally correct that someone should be studied and researched on without consent or acknowledgement of such thing? The law is that undercover research can only be approved as long as there is no other alternative that is available. Posivists like their research to be scientific whereas Interprevists like to get into the shoes and go through the situation. Feminists, Ann Oakley decides her choice of methods and topic according to her own experience of childhood and motherhood. As a feminist she avoided methods which she described as having a male-stream bias (positivism). She selected the more qualitative and intimate methods of unstructured interviews and participant observation. She deems that the commission of sociology is to include the lives of the respondents.

Impact of Chronic Pain on Suicidal Thoughts

Impact of Chronic Pain on Suicidal Thoughts Abstract This research paper discusses the impact of chronic pain on the suicide attempts. It includes the prevalence and risk of suicidal ideation associated with chronic pain. The paper implicated the selection of work which identifies the psychological processes which are implicated in both the suicide literature and pain in relation to increased rate of suicidality. Although, this paper investigates impact of chronic pain on suicide[H1]; there is an immense need of programmatic research for the investigation of both pain and general specific factors of risk for examining the processes of psychology associated with it, and for the development of enhancing intervention to facilitate the patients in pain. How Does Chronic Pain Impact Suicide Victims Introduction The paper is intended to research the impact of chronic pain on suicide attempt. Throughout the world, suicide is endemic with varying methods and rates. The World Health Organization estimated the recorded suicide deaths in all over the world which represents 1.8% of all the deaths and is approximately 873000 per annum[1]. Rates of prevalence for suicidal ideation and fatal suicide attempts are very high. In a survey conducted in USA, the population indicated that 13.5 percent of respondents have had some kind of suicidal ideation experience in past, and 4.6 percent attempted suicide. These statistics give both the indication of the major issue of management and the index of distress. It signifies the increased consumption of health care, the economic costs related to the lives which are lost, and the immense personal suffering. The risk factors of suicide associated with pain and the behavior of suicide are remained difficult to differentiate as which one is most vulnerable. It is due to the fact that individuals completing and attempting suicide are represented by heterogeneous group which encompass to those with some disorders related to psychiatry like schizophrenia or depression, those with personality disorder or substance abuse issues, and those depilating and experiencing physical and chronic illness[2]. For maximizing the potential identification of the impact of chronic pain on suicide and preventing the deaths which could be avoidable, it is required to study not only the commonalities but also the risk factors which contribute to the suicidal ideation development across suicidal individuals. Chronic pain One out of every five adults, who attend basic medical care during any stage of a year, has been found suspected of having chronic non-malignant pain and it has been a common health related problem[3]. This problem is associated with lack of physical fitness, lower health conditions and poor quality of life. This problem has also been linked with the risks of increasing depression. After negative results of all medical treatments, the impact of chronic pain affect patients’ lives drastically, therefore, the patients of chronic pain convince themselves for committing a suicide attempt as they feel limited or no other choice. The suicide attempt concerning with these patients has been one out of seven solutions to their problem that are conceivable. Unluckily these facts have some truth. Some suggestions have been reviewed in the existing literature and these suggestions have proposed that the ideation of suicide is common in people who suffered from chronic pain. The occurrence of suicidal ideation has been found three times higher in chronic pain patients as compared to those who did not suffer from chronic pain[4]. There are a number of studies that avoid collective explanation of the findings due to the varied samples and suicide assessment methods. But some studies have indicated the existence of suicidal ideation at the rate of 7% in individuals having chronic pain, who were observed during a multi-disciplinary rehabilitation program in a hospital[5]. The researchers also observed the out-patients of hospital and recorded between 5 to 24 percent rate among chronic pain patients. The lifetime existence of suicidal ideation has been observed in 20 percent of patients, which shows no major difference between a community sample and treatment seeking individuals’ results. Another study revealed more significance and observed a group of members of a chronic pain self-help organization. The study resulted that around 50% individuals of that group had serious consideration of suicidality. Four different studies have recorded the existence of suicidality among chronic pain patients. These existing inadequate and limited data related to suicidality in chronic pain patients reveals that contribution of pain has been 4% of all the deliberate self-harm patients in UK’s general hospitals. The data also reveals that 60% of the patients were those who had been suffering from pain for the last six months or more[6]. The lifetime existence of suicidality has been observed from 5% in patients with musculoskeletal disorder, up to 14% in patients with chronic abdominal pain. The rate of suicidality has been recorded as high as double in patients with chronic pain, as compared to those who did not have chronic pain. According to a pain centre in the United States, the prevalence of suicidality was calculated and recorded with a rate of 23 patients out of every one hundred thousand people every year[7]. This rate does not seem to be as high as has been in psychiatric patients, but it is 2 to 3 times higher the rate found in general public. Two different studies related to suicidality have related the pain with the existence of high risks of suicidality in patients who had pain. The first study that was based on a ten year longitudinal observation of farmers revealed that patients of back pain had nine times higher risk of committing suicide as compared to those who did not have back pain. The results remain unchanged even after controlled usage of smoking, social status and getting older[8]. The second study that was based on an eight year longitudinal observation, revealed that patients with wide spread body pain or complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) had twice the risk of suicidality, violence and accident. Impact of Chronic Pain in Suicide Attempts Family History of Suicide A number of studies related to suicidality have recognized a strong relationship between the existence of suicidality and family history in patients[9]. Another study revealed that the there was 7 to 8 times high risk of occurrence of suicidal ideation in patients with chronic pain who had a family history of existence of suicidality as compared to those chronic pain patients who did not have a family history of suicidality and this remained unchanged even after significant adjustments in other covariates such as depression. Despite this relationship, the suicidality has not been significantly evaluated in other studies, in connection with the affects of family history[10]. The available data about suicidality has been unsuccessful towards the assessment of family history of suicidality which is another risk element for completed and attempted suicidality in patients with chronic pain. Previous Suicide Attempt A number of studies have confirmed that previous attempts of suicidality have played a major role in the development of consequent risk of suicidal attempts in chronic pain patients, in addition to depression’s effects or other covariates. The results observed converse results in depressed patients who did not have chronic pain. The studies established the outcome by stating that depressed patients who had chronic pain were twice as likely to have attempted suicide at least once in the past[11]. Different available studies related to suicidality have confirmed that previous suicidality attempts might be the cause of motivation towards further suicidality attempts and completed suicidality. However the available data has not been successful in assessing the patients with chronic patients. Being Female According to two different studies, female chronic pain patients have been more risks of suicidal ideation than male chronic pain patients[12]. These findings have been surprising because of the fact that ratio of suicidal attempts have been more found in men than women in the western world. However two different studies with comparatively smaller data samples have presented no significant statistical difference in data during the observation of suicidality in both genders[13]. Another possibility of higher occurrence of suicidality in females might be because of the fact that these data samples of population had overrepresentation of female with pain or rheumatoid arthritis disorder. Presence of Co-Morbid Depression According to four different studies, depression has played a major role in developing the risk of suicidal ideation in patients who had chronic pain[14]. In fact, the high co-morbidity between depression and pain; and between depression and suicide has not been a surprising finding because the depression has not always been helpful in predicting the suicidality in chronic pain patients[15]. Studies have also revealed that some of the patients with chronic pain, who also had depression, did not have suicidal ideation. Pain Specific Risk Factors Location and type of pain Location and type of pain might increase the risk of suicidality in patients. Several studies have confirmed that location of pain such as presence of back pain or widespread body pain have been among several causes of higher risk of suicidality as compared to those who did not have pain. Different types of pain with diverse characteristics and level of severity have been recognized as convincing in predicting the suicidal ideation. Patients who had migraine with aura have been found to be twice at risk of having suicidal ideation as compared to those who had migraine without aura, regardless of the existence of co-morbid depression[16]. Patients with abdominal pain have more risk of having suicidal ideation while patients with neuropathic pain were less vulnerable in terms of suicidal ideation. A study based on a mixed group of chronic pain patients revealed higher suicidal risk when compared with controls. But the data presented no difference between fibromyalgia patients and contr ols when each one of the group was separately examined[17]. The available data confirm the vitality of the studies in relation to the effects of different subtypes of pain on suicidality of patients. High Pain Intensity There has been a reasonable assumption that the high intensity of pain has a relationship with the degree of suicidality. Two different studies have observed the pain intensity in relation with suicidality. The first one revealed a significant relationship in both of them, while the other study found no relationship between pain severity and suicidal ideation[18]. Therefore, this shows the need of more clearer and helpful research so that the relationship between pain intensity and suicidality could better be understood. Long Pain Duration Long pain duration in a patient is likely to increase the risk of suicidal ideation. Patients with longer than three months duration of pain were examined against another group of patients with less than three months duration of pain on a range of psychological variables such as patients’ likelihood of suicidal ideation[19]. The study revealed that the risk of suicidality was higher in patients who had prolonged rheumatoid arthritis whereas those with less than three months of rheumatoid arthritis were comparatively at lesser risk of suicidality. Presence of Co-Morbid Insomnia Insomnia has been one the significant factors towards existence and absence of suicidality in patient with chronic pain[20]. The study also confirmed that patients with severe insomnia along with associated daytime dysfunction and greater pain intensity were more vulnerable to suicidal ideation. The severity of sleep-out insomnia has been found with 67% of the variance. The studies have been consistent in confirming the earlier researches that presented higher existence of insomnia and sleep disorders towards suicidality and give extra weight to the significance of the study of interaction present between the non pain specific and pain specific factors of risk while suicidality is investigated among patients of chronic pain[21]. Conclusion Patients who have suicidal ideation generally utilize primary health care services at a higher rate than those who have psychosocial health problems without suicidal ideation. Some health problems specific to patients with suicidal ideation are sleep disorder, bad smoking habits and more psychiatric symptoms than those who have not suicidal ideation but have psychosocial stressors. All of these associated problems and habits tend to contribute towards more discomfort in patients and more repeated visits. This research paper has given an overview of the features and the prevalence of the inter relationships existed between mental ill health and physical ill health along with suicide. It is clear that the chronic pain has a significant impact of suicide attempts therefore greater attention of policy is required and the provision of service is needed for the improvement of condition. Chronic pain has been identified as a major risk factor for patients towards suicidality, causing 13% of patients to have suicidal ideation. Around 19% of patients were those who reported non-suicidal morbid ideation. There is an urgent necessity of programmatic research to investigate both the pain and general specific factors of risk for examining the processes of psychology associated with it, and for the development of enhancing intervention to facilitate the patients in pain. Result In relation to controls, the risk of reaching to death by suicide is found to be doubled at least in the cases of chronic pain. There was life time prevalence of suicidal attempts between 5 percent and 14 percent of individuals which have experienced chronic pain, and suicidal ideation prevalence is about 20 percent. There are eight factors of risk for suicidalty in the chronic pain, inclusive of duration, intensity and type of pain and the sleep on set insomnia associated with pain, hence it is pain specific. References Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Jill Theresa Messing, Melissa Del-Colle, Chris O’Sullivan and Jacquelyn C. Campbell. Prevalence and Correlates of Suicidal Behavior among Adult Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 2011. 372-383. Igor Elman , David Borsook, and Nora D. Volkow. Pain and Suicidality: Insights from Reward and Addiction Neuroscience. Progress in Neurobiology, 2013. 1-27. Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. Current Pain and Headache Reports, 2014. 1-7. Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. CNS Neurological Disorders-Drug Targets (Formerly Current Drug Targets-CNS Neurological Disorders), 2013. 936-940. Kowal. John, Wilson Keith G., Henderson. Peter R., McWilliams Lachlan A. Change in Suicidal Ideation After Interdisciplinary Treatment of Chronic Pain. Clinical Journal of Pain, 2014. 463-471. Amy R. Murrell, Rawya Al-Jabari, Danielle Moyer, Eliina Novamo, Melissa L. Connall. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Adolescent Suicide. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BEHAVIORAL CONSULTATION AND THERAPY, 2014. Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe CourtetTop of Form Bottom of Form . Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. In Mental Health and Pain. Springer Paris, 2014. 183-190. Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. Lancet, 2012. 2318-2319. [1] Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe Courtet. Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. [2] Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. [3] Kowal. John, Wilson Keith G., Henderson. Peter R., McWilliams Lachlan A. Change in Suicidal Ideation After Interdisciplinary Treatment of Chronic Pain. [4] Igor Elman , David Borsook, and Nora D. Volkow. Pain and Suicidality: Insights from Reward and Addiction Neuroscience. [5] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [6] Amy R. Murrell, Rawya Al-Jabari, Danielle Moyer, Eliina Novamo, Melissa L. Connall. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Adolescent Suicide. [7] Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Jill Theresa Messing, Melissa Del-Colle, Chris O’Sullivan and Jacquelyn C. Campbell. Prevalence and Correlates of Suicidal Behavior among Adult Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence. [8] Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. [9] Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. [10] Igor Elman , David Borsook, and Nora D. Volkow. Pain and Suicidality: Insights from Reward and Addiction Neuroscience. [11] Courtenay E. Cavanaugh, Jill Theresa Messing, Melissa Del-Colle, Chris O’Sullivan and Jacquelyn C. Campbell. Prevalence and Correlates of Suicidal Behavior among Adult Female Victims of Intimate Partner Violence. [12] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [13] Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe CourtetTop of Form Bottom of Form . Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. In Mental Health and Pain. [14] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [15] Amy R. Murrell, Rawya Al-Jabari, Danielle Moyer, Eliina Novamo, Melissa L. Connall. An Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Approach to Adolescent Suicide. [16] Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. [17] Afton L. Hassett, Jordan K. Aquino, Mark A. Ilgen. The Risk of Suicide Mortality in Chronic Pain Patients. [18] Michael R Philips, and Hui G Cheng. The Changing Global Face of Suicide. [19] Johannes Krause. Tim,Bogerts. Bernhard, andGenz. Axel. Risk Factors for Suicide–An Alternative View. [20] Kowal. John, Wilson Keith G., Henderson. Peter R., McWilliams Lachlan A. Change in Suicidal Ideation After Interdisciplinary Treatment of Chronic Pain. [21] Emilie Olià ©, Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Philippe Courtet. Pain in Suicidal Ideations and Behaviors. [H1]How the heck does pain struck suicide?

Euthanasia: A Painless Deaceful Death Essay -- Argument for Euthanasia

Euthanasia is a painless peaceful death. Euthanasia is defined as the deliberate putting to death of a person suffering from a painful, incurable disease(New Standard Encyclopedia Dictionary). People use other terms to describe euthanasia: mercy killing, assisted suicide, and physician assisted suicide. Euthanasia can be unresponsive, (inactive) or active. Unresponsive euthanasia occurs when an incurably ill person refuses life sustaining medical support. Active euthanasia happens when another person deliberately causes the death of a terminally ill person, such as when someone gives a terminally ill person a lethal injection. Euthanasia can also be voluntary or involuntary. Voluntary euthanasia occurs with the consent of the dying person, while involuntary euthanasia happens when the dying person doesn’t give their consent. The right to die term used in the support of euthanasia started in the 1970s. It describes the rights of those that are terminally ill or those that are seriously injured. It started in the 1970s with the case of Karen Ann Quinlan from New Jersey. Karen fell into a coma from the use of drugs and alcohol. Being kept alive with a respirator and feeding tube, her parents decided on pulling the plug and ending her life. In 1976, Karen was hospitalized in a Catholic Hospital. The hospital refused the parents request to end her life. The Supreme Court of New Jersey ruled that the parents of Karen Ann Quinlan had the right to decide their daughter’s fate. This decision started the â€Å"right to die† issues (Charles E Hughes). Neutralization who’s against it and who’s for it, some of the arguments against euthanasia are that suicide no matter how or why is wrong. Under special conditions even the Catholic Church... ...e is a quote: â€Å"The care of human life and happiness and not their destruction is the first and only legitimate object of good government† (Thomas Jefferson). â€Å"There is no quality of life when the patient is dead† (Nurse). Conclusion There are good sides and bad sides to euthanasia. It all depends on which side you’re on. The main idea is that a patient should have a choice and that choice can’t be taken away from them. People make choices everyday, sometimes those choices are difficult, but those choices should not be taken away by the government, or buy a physician who thinks their patient cannot make a competent decision. The elderly and the terminally ill should be able to make their own choice. It seems as if everything else is taken away, so their rights should not be an exception. Given the choice, seniors might feel as if they are dying with dignity.

Strategy Formulation

Yeo’s compete directly with one another at what is called the business level of strategic management. Competitors may be individual business units of a larger corporation or they may be stand- alone businesses. Because competition takes place at the business level, strategic management here is crucial to the overall success for Yeo’s . Accordingly, the concept of competitive advantage is both the focus of the three subsequent on strategy formulation. There is three parts that reflect the three major considerations in formulating a business- level strategy.The first part is to discuss alternative competitive advantages (Overall cost leadership, differentiation and focus group) and the strength and limitation of each. Yeo’s company has competitive advantage whenever it can attract customers and defend against competitive force better than its rivals. Successful competitive strategies usually involve building uniquely strong or distinctive edge over rivals. Some exa mple of distinctive competencies are superior technology and product features, better manufacturing technology and skills, superior sales and distribution capabilities and better customer service and convenience.Competitive strategy is about being different. It means deliberately choosing to perform activities differently or to perform different activities than rivals to deliver an unique mix of value. (Michael E. Porter). The essence of strategy lies in creating tomorrow competitive advantages faster than competitor mimic the one you possess today. (Gary Hamel & C. K. Prahalad). Overall cost leadership strategy The classic cost leadership strategy involves offering a no-frills product aimed at the most typical customer in a large target market.Anything to do with cost which related to money example raw material is cheap, workers salary is low facilities that Yeo’s can bite with the competitor. Because cost can usually be lowered as a product become more standardized, low-cos t manufacturing strive for long production runs and low- cost uniform packages. By targeting broadly defined markets with standard products, production technique can be used to create the greatest possible benefits from economies of scale and experience curve effect. Such as price sensitive customer do not mind about the price but customer care about the taste and uality like Maggie and Kraft. In this case Yeo’s should apply leadership strategy low- cost producers are protected from customer pressure to lower prices. Competitors cannot consistently price below what is known as their survival price, that which allow profit margins just adequate to maintain a business. The low- cost leader has a lower survival price than other competitor does, so customer will not be able to play one competing supplier against another to force prices below a level at which the cost leader can still make profit.Yeo’s would force less efficient suppliers out business, leaving the low-cost supplier with a monopoly. New entrants competing on the basic of price must face the low-cost leader without having the experience necessary to become efficient. Yeo’s company cumulative volume of production increase and the company gains experience in providing a particular good or service, production costs tend to decrease the experience curve effect. To the extent that experience affects costs in a particular industry, the low-cost leader is likely to have already moved far down its experience curve.New entrants lacking this experience will not enjoy a comparable cost reduction benefit and may be forced to enter market using some of the competitive advantages not related to low pricing. Holding the low-cost position may convince rivals not to enter a price war. Price wars can be ruinous to all competitor involved. Customer do not mind of the price whether is cheap or expensive, they only care about good quality and good taste which they trust on Yeo’s product. Diffe rentiation Differentiation strategies can help the company to differentiation their products offering by customizing product to suit consumer specific requirements.Appealing to broad cross- section of the market through offering differentiating features that make customer willing to pay premium price. Example quality, prestige, special features, service and convenience. Success with this type of strategy requires differentiation features that are hard or expensive for competitor to duplicate. Sustainable differentiation usually comes from advantages in core competencies, unique company resources or capabilities and superior management of value chain activities. Some condition that tend to favor differentiation strategies by Yeo’s company: * There are multiple ways to differentiate the product and ervice that buyers think have substantial value. * Buyers have different need or uses of the product and service * Product innovations and technological change are rapid and competit ion emphases the latest product features. Corporate Level Strategy In this aspect of strategy, we are concerned with broad decision about the total organization scope and direction. Basically, we consider what changes should be made in growth objective and strategy for achieving it, the lines of business we are in, and how these lines of business fit together.It is useful to think of three components of corporate strategy a) growth strategy b) portfolio strategy and c) parenting strategy. Growth strategy All growth strategies can be classified into one of two fundamental categories: concentration within existing industries or diversification into other line of business. When Yeo’s company current industries are attractive, have a good growth potential and do not face with serious threats, concentrating resources in the existing industries make good sense.Diversification tends to have a greater risk but is an appropriate option when a company current industries have little gro wth potential or are unattractive in other way. When an industry consolidates and becomes mature, unless there are other markets to seek, a company may have no choice for growth but diversification. Portfolio Analysis The experience curve is based on the concept that costs are a direct function of accumulated market share. Market share equates to profitability and cash flow.Market share equates to profitability and cash flow. Yeo’s company that successful in sub business unit and product lines will generate large cash flow as the sub business or products move toward maturity as contrasted to large cash requirement of sub business units and product lines in Yeo’s growth and development stages. As sub business units and products lines decline, cash flow will diminish and fade away. Effective utilization of cash flows and the nurturing of the most productive units requires management constant surveillance.The diversified company with multiple product lines has the opportu nity to balance cash flows and channel investment into the most promising areas of its portfolio. Diversified portfolio enables a company to control its internal allocation of resources. The ability to utilize tax losses from one units as an offset against a profitable one is an important advantages. Investing funds from a profitable maturing unit and product into the growing and cash- demanding part of Yeo’s, which show a tax loss, effectively lower the cost of the capital and provides an avenue for future growth through internally generated funds.The basis for portfolio analysis and the channeling of available investment funds into the most promising and productive units of the firms is based on the structure and philosophy of management. Its approach to control sub business unit and product lines, its attitude toward risk and growth and its interpretation of its life- cycle position are factors which have an impact on the effective use of portfolio management.Yeo’s which structure its diversified units into separate independent profit center entities with each area depending on its own resource may factors out the flexibility and advantages inherent in its diversification. Concentration on short-run profit and ignoring the potential growth sectors of the portfolio because of the initial lack of cash flow and profitability can lead to cash-draining in the defensive stage of the company Yeo’s life cycle and eventual movement into the decline. International strategy Mergers The threat of takeover was management of companies targeted for acquisition.The threat of takeover was more likely for companies which had low price and earnings ratios. The relatively low prices of the stock of Yeo’s company in relation to earning was attractive to aggressive expanding enterprises, particular the conglomerates. These predicated Yeo’s growth mainly on effecting financial synergy by trading the stock, which had high multiple of price to ear nings, for the stock of Yeo’s company with significantly lower price. Many effective strategies were developed by vulnerable companies to prevent unwanted takeover.Compatible mergers in such instances may provide an increase in the economies of scale and an increase in market share for the combined unit without the fear of cutthroat competition. The nature of the industry is an important factor determining the likelihood of acquisition and mergers. The mature industries which are generally dominated by large companies are less likely to have industry acquisitions and mergers. The new industries, which still lack dominant size in individual companies and are technologically oriented and most likely to have industry acquisitions and mergers.

1996 Mount Everest Disaster - Death on Top of the World

1996 Mount Everest Disaster - Death on Top of the World On May 10, 1996, a ferocious storm descended upon the Himalayas, creating perilous conditions on Mount Everest, and stranding 17 climbers high upon the tallest mountain in the world. By the following day, the storm had claimed the lives of eight climbers, making it- at the time- the greatest loss of life in a single day in the history of the mountain. While climbing Mount Everest is inherently risky, several factors (aside from the storm) contributed to the tragic outcome- crowded conditions, inexperienced climbers, numerous delays, and a series of bad decisions. Big Business on Mount Everest Following the first summit of Mount Everest by Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953, the feat of climbing the 29,028-foot peak had for decades been limited to only the most elite climbers. By 1996, however, climbing Mount Everest had evolved into a multi-million dollar industry. Several mountaineering companies had established themselves as the means by which even amateur climbers could summit Everest. Fees for a guided climb ranged from $30,000 to $65,000 per customer. The window of opportunity for climbing in the Himalayas is a narrow one. For just a few weeks- between late April and late May- the weather is typically milder than usual, allowing climbers to ascend. In the spring of 1996, multiple teams were gearing up for the climb. The vast majority of them approached from the Nepalese side of the mountain; only two expeditions ascended from the Tibetan side. Gradual Ascent There are many dangers involved in ascending Everest too rapidly. For that reason, expeditions take weeks to ascend, allowing climbers to gradually acclimatize to the changing atmosphere. Medical problems that could develop at high altitudes include severe altitude sickness, frostbite, and hypothermia. Other serious effects include hypoxia (low oxygen, leading to poor coordination and impaired judgment), HAPE (high-altitude pulmonary edema, or fluid in the lungs) and HACE (high-altitude cerebral edema, or swelling of the brain). The latter two can prove especially deadly. In late March 1996, groups assembled in Kathmandu, Nepal, and opted to take a transport helicopter to Lukla, a village located about 38 miles from Base Camp. Trekkers then made a 10-day hike to Base Camp (17,585 feet), where they would stay a few weeks adjusting to the altitude. Two of the largest guided groups that year were Adventure Consultants (led by New Zealander Rob Hall and fellow guides Mike Groom and Andy Harris) and Mountain Madness (led by American Scott Fischer, assisted by guides Anatoli Boukreev and Neal Beidleman). Halls group included seven climbing Sherpas and eight clients. Fischers group comprised eight climbing Sherpas and seven clients. (The Sherpa, natives of eastern Nepal, are accustomed to the high altitude; many make their living as support staff for climbing expeditions.) Another American group, helmed by filmmaker and renowned climber David Breashears, was on Everest to make an IMAX film. Several other groups came from around the globe, including Taiwan, South Africa, Sweden, Norway, and Montenegro. Two other groups (from India and Japan) climbed from the Tibetan side of the mountain. Up to the Death Zone Climbers began the acclimatization process in mid-April, taking increasingly longer sorties to higher elevations, then returning to Base Camp. Eventually, over a period of four weeks, the climbers made their way up the mountain- first, past the Khumbu Icefall to Camp 1 at 19,500 feet, then up the Western Cwm to Camp 2 at 21,300 feet. (Cwm, pronounced coom, is the Welsh word for valley.) Camp 3, at 24,000 feet, was adjacent to the Lhotse Face, a sheer wall of glacial ice. On May 9, the scheduled day for the ascent to Camp 4 (the highest camp, at 26,000 feet), the expeditions first victim met his fate. Chen Yu-Nan, a member of the Taiwanese team, committed a fatal error when he exited his tent in the morning without having strapped on his crampons (spikes attached to boots for climbing on ice). He slipped down the Lhotse Face into a crevasse. Sherpas were able to pull him up by rope, but he died of internal injuries later that day. The trek up the mountain continued. Climbing upward to Camp 4, all but only a handful of elite climbers required the use of oxygen to survive. The area from Camp 4 up to the summit is known as the Death Zone because of the dangerous effects of the extremely high altitude. Atmospheric oxygen levels are only one-third of those at sea level. Trek to the Summit Begins Climbers from various expeditions arrived at Camp 4 throughout the day. Later that afternoon, a serious storm blew in. Leaders of the groups feared that they would not be able to climb that night as planned. After hours of gale-force winds, the weather cleared at 7:30 p.m. The climb would go on as planned. Wearing headlamps and breathing bottled oxygen, 33 climbers- including Adventure Consultants and Mountain Madness team members, along with a small Taiwanese team- left at about midnight that night. Each client carried two spare bottles of oxygen, but would run out at about 5Â  p.m., and would, therefore, need to descend as quickly as possible once they had summitted. Speed was of the essence. But that speed would be hampered by several unfortunate missteps. Leaders of the two main expeditions had supposedly ordered Sherpas to go ahead of the climbers and install lines of rope along the most difficult areas in the upper mountain in order to avoid a slowdown during the ascent. For some reason, this crucial task was never carried out. Summit Slowdowns The first bottleneck occurred at 28,000 feet, where setting up the ropes took nearly an hour. Adding to the delays, many climbers were very slow due to inexperience. By late morning, some climbers waiting in the queue began to worry about getting to the summit in time to descend safely before nightfall- and before their oxygen ran out. A second bottleneck occurred on the South Summit, at 28,710 feet. This delayed forward progress by another hour. Expedition leaders had set a 2Â  p.m. turn-around time- the point at which climbers must turn around even if they had not reached the summit. At 11:30 a.m., three men on Rob Halls team turned around and headed back down the mountain, realizing they might not make it in time. They were among the few who made the right decision that day. The first group of climbers made it up the famously difficult Hillary Step to reach the summit at about 1:00 p.m. After a brief celebration, it was time to turn around and complete the second half of their laborious trek. They still needed to get back down to the relative safety of Camp 4. As the minutes ticked by, oxygen supplies began to dwindle. Deadly Decisions Up at the top of the mountain, some climbers had been summiting well after 2:00 p.m. Mountain Madness leader Scott Fischer did not enforce the turn-around time, allowing his clients to stay on the summit past 3:00. Fischer himself was summiting just as his clients were coming down. Despite the late hour, he continued up. No one questioned him because he was the leader and an experienced Everest climber. Later, people would comment that Fischer had looked very ill. Fischers assistant guide, Anatoli Boukreev, had inexplicably summited early on, and then descended to Camp 4 by himself, instead of waiting to assist clients. Rob Hall also ignored the turn-around time, staying behind with client Doug Hansen, who was having trouble moving up the mountain. Hansen had tried to summit the previous year and failed, which is probably why Hall made such an effort to help him up despite the late hour. Hall and Hansen did not summit until 4:00 p.m., however, far too late to have stayed on the mountain. It was a serious lapse in judgment on Halls part- one which would cost both men their lives. By 3:30 p.m. ominous clouds had appeared and snow began to fall, covering up tracks that descending climbers needed as a guide to find their way down. By 6:00 p.m., the storm had become a blizzard with gale-force winds, while many climbers were still trying to make their way down the mountain. Caught in the Storm As the storm raged on, 17 people were caught on the mountain, a perilous position to be in after dark, but especially so during a storm with high winds, zero visibility, and a wind chill of 70 below zero. Climbers were also running out of oxygen. A group accompanied by guides Beidleman and Groom headed down the mountain, including climbers Yasuko Namba, Sandy Pittman, Charlotte Fox, Lene Gammelgaard, Martin Adams, and Klev Schoening. They encountered Rob Halls client Beck Weathers on their way down. Weathers was stranded at 27,000 feet after being stricken by temporary blindness, which had prevented him from summitting. He joined the group. After a very slow and difficult descent, the group came within 200 vertical feet of Camp 4, but the driving wind and snow made it impossible to see where they were going. They huddled together to wait out the storm. At midnight, the sky cleared briefly, allowing guides to catch sight of the camp. The group headed off toward camp, but four were too incapacitated to move- Weathers, Namba, Pittman, and Fox. The others made it back and sent help for the four stranded climbers. Mountain Madness guide Anatoli Boukreev was able to help Fox and Pittman back to camp, but could not manage the nearly comatose Weathers and Namba, especially in the middle of a storm. They were deemed beyond help and were therefore left behind. Death on the Mountain Still stranded high on the mountain were Rob Hall and Doug Hansen at the top of the Hillary Step near the summit. Hansen was unable to go on; Hall tried to bring him down. During their unsuccessful attempt to descend, Hall looked away for just a moment and when he looked back, Hansen was gone. (Hansen had likely fallen over the edge.) Hall maintained radio contact with Base Camp through the night and even spoke with his pregnant wife, who was patched through from New Zealand by satellite phone. Guide Andy Harris, who was caught in the storm at the South Summit, had a radio and was able to hear Halls transmissions. Harris is believed to have gone up to bring oxygen to Rob Hall. But Harris also disappeared; his body was never found. Expedition leader Scott Fischer and climber Makalu Gau (leader of the Taiwanese team that included the late Chen Yu-Nan) were found together at 1200 feet above Camp 4 on the morning of May 11. Fisher was unresponsive and barely breathing. Certain that Fischer was beyond hope, the Sherpas left him there. Boukreev, Fischers lead guide, climbed up to Fischer shortly thereafter but found he had already died. Gau, although severely frostbitten, was able to walk- with much assistance- and was guided down by Sherpas. Would-be rescuers had attempted to reach Hall on May 11 but were turned back by severe weather. Twelve days later, Rob Halls body would be found at the South Summit by Breashears and the IMAX team. Survivor Beck Weathers Beck Weathers, left for dead, somehow survived the night. (His companion, Namba, did not.) After being unconscious for hours, Weathers miraculously awoke late on the afternoon of May 11 and staggered back to the camp. His shocked fellow climbers warmed him up and gave him fluids, but he had suffered severe frostbite on his hands, feet, and face, and appeared to be near death. (In fact, his wife had been notified earlier that he had died during the night.) The next morning, Weathers companions almost left him for dead again when they departed camp, thinking he had died during the night. He awoke just in time and called out for help. Weathers was assisted by the IMAX group down to Camp 2, where he and Gau were flown out in a very daring and dangerous helicopter rescue at 19,860 feet. Shockingly, both men survived, but frostbite took its toll. Gau lost his fingers, nose, and both feet; Weathers lost his nose, all of the fingers on his left hand and his right arm below the elbow. Everest Death Toll The leaders of the two main expeditions- Rob Hall and Scott Fischer- both died on the mountain. Halls guide Andy Harris and two of their clients, Doug Hansen and Yasuko Namba, also perished. On the Tibetan side of the mountain, three Indian climbers- Tsewang Smanla, Tsewang Paljor, and Dorje Morup- had died during the storm, bringing the total of deaths that day to eight, the record number of deaths in one day. Unfortunately, since then, that record has been broken. An avalanche on April 18, 2014, took the lives of 16 Sherpas. A year later, an earthquake in Nepal on April 25, 2015, caused an avalanche that killed 22 people at Base Camp. To date, more than 250 people have lost their lives on Mount Everest. Most of the bodies remain on the mountain. Several books and films have come out of the Everest disaster, including bestseller Into Thin Air by Jon Krakauer (a journalist and a member of Halls expedition) and two documentaries made by David Breashears. A feature film, Everest, was also released in 2015.

Free Essays on Disengagement Theory

Disengagement Theory Book Def: Elaine Cumming and William Henry introduced this theory to explain the impact of aging during one’s life course. My Def: Turning away from the social norms of everyday life to embrace old age, terminal illness, and possibly death. Activity Theory Book Def: This theory argues that elderly people who remain active and socially involved will be best adjusted. My Def: Elderly persons who stay socially and physically active in the mainstream of society will be better off than withdrawing from society. Defending The Better Of The Two Personally, I feel that the Activity Theory is the better of the two. This theory is better for elderly persons because it doesn’t put up a barrier between generations socially or in the workplace. I argue that this theory is the better of the two because it pushes for a more healthy society. I feel that the â€Å"withdraw† of elderly persons from a society is harmful for both the elderly persons themselves and society as a whole. An example of this would be: Elderly persons withdrawing from a society’s workforce to embrace old age causes them to find another means of income, forcing that income to come from the remaining society’s workforce. Many of the elderly whom withdraw from society have to find a means by which to pay for medical problems, forcing society’s workforce to pay more money into medicade, drawing more money away from society’s workforce. From the conflict perspective’s viewpoint, I agree that social interaction â€Å"must† change or decrease in old age. The upper class does not have to worry about the side effects of withdrawing from society due to more wealth, pension plans, retirement packages, and insurance benefits. Also from the conflict perspective I have to defend the disengagement theory due to new trends and new technologies in society as the years move on. This causes a social gap for the elderly and th... Free Essays on Disengagement Theory Free Essays on Disengagement Theory Disengagement Theory Book Def: Elaine Cumming and William Henry introduced this theory to explain the impact of aging during one’s life course. My Def: Turning away from the social norms of everyday life to embrace old age, terminal illness, and possibly death. Activity Theory Book Def: This theory argues that elderly people who remain active and socially involved will be best adjusted. My Def: Elderly persons who stay socially and physically active in the mainstream of society will be better off than withdrawing from society. Defending The Better Of The Two Personally, I feel that the Activity Theory is the better of the two. This theory is better for elderly persons because it doesn’t put up a barrier between generations socially or in the workplace. I argue that this theory is the better of the two because it pushes for a more healthy society. I feel that the â€Å"withdraw† of elderly persons from a society is harmful for both the elderly persons themselves and society as a whole. An example of this would be: Elderly persons withdrawing from a society’s workforce to embrace old age causes them to find another means of income, forcing that income to come from the remaining society’s workforce. Many of the elderly whom withdraw from society have to find a means by which to pay for medical problems, forcing society’s workforce to pay more money into medicade, drawing more money away from society’s workforce. From the conflict perspective’s viewpoint, I agree that social interaction â€Å"must† change or decrease in old age. The upper class does not have to worry about the side effects of withdrawing from society due to more wealth, pension plans, retirement packages, and insurance benefits. Also from the conflict perspective I have to defend the disengagement theory due to new trends and new technologies in society as the years move on. This causes a social gap for the elderly and th...