Thursday, November 28, 2019

AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa and in San Francisco

Key Drivers of HIV/AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa and in San Francisco Introduction HIV/AIDS continues to be a leading cause of alarm globally. New infections and deaths due to HIV/AIDS related complications are major issues that need to be dealt with urgently. It is particularly alarming in the sub-Saharan Africa where an average of 10% HIV prevalence in adults has been recorded. This is very high compared to the global average of 1%. The Southern Africa region accounts for about 40% of the global population living with HIV.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Key Drivers of HIV/AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa and in San Francisco specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More However, the female gender is more affected by the pandemic with women and girls accounting for about 60% of this population. Although the records indicate optimistic results, there is still need to enhance the campaign. In San Francisco, the new infections and death tolls may be on a down slope but the marginalized groups are still at a risk and this needs to be addressed. In this paper the key drivers of HIV/AIDS in Southern Africa and San Francisco will be discussed. HIV/AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa The extent of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in the region can be attributed to such things as; Sexual behavior-many men and women in the region have different sex partners concurrently; these may be in cases of polygamy, small houses (side partners apart from spouse) and prostitution. Many of them do not use condoms consistently meaning that safe sex practice has not been cultivated in them (Jana et al, 13-16). Secondly, male circumcision is practiced in very low levels and as we know, male circumcision is a major boost in the prevention efforts so lack of it is on the contrary. A third driver is the stigma associated with infection. This lack of acceptance by the individual and the community forces an infected person to keep their status secret which leads to further spread of the virus. In some cases some people d o not want to know their status for fear of stigmatization and this brings down the efforts of treating the infected persons. Also many sexually transmitted infections go untreated mainly due to this fear and they are a factor that encourages HIV infection. Male attitudes towards gender related issues such as reproductive health is also another contributing factor. Men do not involve themselves in such issues and therefore many of them lack the knowledge to curb the pandemic. They involve themselves in intergenerational sex, gender based violence and sexual violence. This means that the women and girls are the major victims of the men’s ignorance hence the high number of infections in females (Expert Think Tank Meeting on HIV Prevention in High-Prevalence Countries in Southern Africa 5-7). HIV/AIDS in San Francisco In San Francisco, the efforts of prevention and treatment have born fruits since the number of new infections and HIV/AIDs related deaths is on a downward trend. T he reduction in these numbers can be highly attributed to the change of sexual behavior in heterosexual men and women and non-injecting drug users.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Cases of new infections in these groups of people are very rare. However, there are still other driving forces in the spread of the disease and these include; Homosexual behavior; men who have sexual relationships with other men are at a major risk of infection. Transfemales are also another group of people who are on the higher side of the risk and hence their behavior is a key driver for the epidemic. Injection drug use is another major driving force. HIV transmission among this group of people is very likely and so the risk of new infections is unacceptably high. Disparities and unequal treatment for different groups of people may have been a major drawback on the efforts but it is now on the downward slope. This is as a result of the efforts by different care groups to involve representation of all the communities; including the marginalized groups, in the decision making process (San Francisco HIV Prevention Plan 1). Comparison between the key Drivers in the two regions The driving forces in these two regions are very different since they are driven by the people’s lifestyles which in these cases are worlds apart. As a comparison of the key drivers in these regions, we look at the drivers the way they affect the efforts made to eradicate the disease. As we have seen in the discussion earlier, the major driving forces in the sub Saharan Africa can be attributed to the regions position in terms of development. Most countries in the region are developing countries; and factors such as gender and sexual violence, poverty which leads to intergenerational sex and prostitution especially in women are inherent in these countries. This makes the prevention and treatment processes very hard since some people are driven to the wall by circumstances; meaning that they may be willing to change their ways but the situations they are in cannot allow that. In San Francisco however, the major driving force is the sexual orientation of individuals as well as drug and substance abuse. These can not be attributed to under development, therefore, the efforts to curb the epidemic can only be strengthened by the people’s willingness to change their ways. If the high risk groups of people are willing, they can put in their efforts; for instance, the gay community can accept to learn and use preventive measures, the drug users can accept rehabilitation plans or in extreme cases they should take precautions in their sharing.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Key Drivers of HIV/AIDS in Sub Saharan Africa and in San Francisco specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The Response o f the Church to the Key Drivers of HIV/AIDS The church has made a lot of efforts in the fight against HIV/AIDs; However, this has not prevented the spread of the disease. This continued deterioration can be attributed to the churches ethical, liturgical and ministerial practices. These have encouraged the spread of the disease both passively and actively. These factors include the lack of an open, realistic way of involvement due to the shyness in addressing sex education and sexuality issues which are involved in prevention of HIV spread. Exclusion, theological interpretation of scriptures and definition of sin have contributed to increase stigmatization and suffering. A plan has been put forward to add an ecumenical dimension to the church’s effort and if implemented, it is bound to yield better results (Global consultation on the ecumenical response to the challenge of HIV/AIDS in Africa 9) In the US, the church’s involvement is mainly through faith based organizati ons. These have continually offered support to the infected and affected in terms of medical care, food supplies, cancelling and the general support needed morally and spiritually. They have also offered care to the care givers and education to the communities on the risk factors and prevention services. The government has since supported these organizations through federal funding. Laws have also been put down to prevent discrimination against such organization, the beneficiary or volunteer on the basis of religion. Also, it ensures that nobody should be forced to get involved in any religious activity involuntarily. These partnerships ensure that the church’s efforts are delivered painlessly and the beneficiaries are satisfied. Conclusion From these findings, we can conclude that the spread of HIV is highly dependent on a people’s lifestyle. This covers the level of development, the cultural beliefs and religious beliefs. The Church and the various arms of government can play a major role in the effort to curb the pandemic especially when they work together. Expert Think Tank Meeting on HIV Prevention in High-Prevalence Countries in Southern Africa. SADC 2006: 5-10. Web. â€Å"Global consultation on the ecumenical response to the challenge of HIV/AIDS in Africa.† The Ecumenical Response to HIV/AIDS in Africa 2001: Web.Advertising Looking for research paper on health medicine? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Jana Mere, Nkambule Paul and Tumbo D; One Love: Multiple and concurrent Sexual Partnerships in Southern Africa: A Ten Country Research Report. 2008:13-36 Web. â€Å"San Francisco HIV Prevention Plan.† San Francisco HIV Prevention Planning Council 2010: 1-3. Web.

Sunday, November 24, 2019

Jones-Blair Case Anaylsis Essays

Jones-Blair Case Anaylsis Essays Jones-Blair Case Anaylsis Paper Jones-Blair Case Anaylsis Paper Strategic Issues and Problems: The Jones Blair Company competes in a 50-county country throughout Texas. Oklahoma. New Mexico. and Louisiana. Their major concern and fiscal centre is located in 11 county Dallas-Fort Worth metropolitan countries. Jones Blair Company is a in private held corporation that produces and markets paint under the Jones-Blair trade name name. A big part of the maturating pigment industry. $ 10 billion. is established from architectural coatings and the one-year growing rate is expected to be that of general rising prices in the coming old ages. Dollar gross revenues have increased at an mean one-year rate of 4 per centum per twelvemonth over the past decennary. The company has been really successful in keeping their borders even with increased research and development stuff and labour costs. A little figure of regional pigment makers have competed successfully against pigment maker that distribute their merchandises national. Major manufacturers of pigment fo r the architectural coatings sections account for 60 per centum of gross revenues in the architectural coating sections. The competition is reasonably stiff when it comes to private shop trade names or forte shops. Even with the turning success of Jones Blair it is non adequate and in order to make their concern ends at a clip when growing is nonexistent. Jones Blair must take immediate action and billow their gross revenues squad and alter their gross revenues energies. Mass merchants pose a serious menace to the hereafter achieved gross revenues degrees of Jones Blair Company. Jones Blair Company is presently looking for solutions for deriving more consumers through marketing their architectural coatings and sundries in the southwesterly United States. Market Segmentation The market of Jones Blair can be divided to two groups: Dallas-Fort Worth country and Non Dallas-Fort Worth. Among these two countries. there are the contractors. the DIY families and the professional painters. From reading instance. I gathered that the estimated dollar volume of architectural pigment and allied merchandises sold in Jones Blair’s 50 states service country in 2004 was $ 80 million ( excepting contractor gross revenues ) . The DFW are accounted for 60 per centum or $ 48 million. while the staying 40 per centum or $ 32 million is sold in the other countries outside the DFW country. 70 per centum of the DFW gross revenues are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 30 per centum is sold to professional painters. In the other countries outside of the DFW country 90 per centum of gross revenues are accounted for by do-it-yourselfers while the other 10 per centum is sold to professional documents. ( See Exhibit 2 ) . This would means the per centum of the market section is as following: DFW ( $ 48 1000000s ) Non-DFW ( $ 32 1000000s ) Professional Painters 70 % ( $ 33. 6 1000000s ) 30 % ( $ 9. 6 1000000s ) DIY households 30 % ( $ 14. 4 millions1 ) 70 % ( $ 22. 4 1000000s ) Plan of Action The senior direction squad has examined the pigment industry. particularly the architectural pigment markets. and they have yet to come to a decision. The president of Jones Blair. Mr. Alexander Barrett. is be aftering to hold another meeting with his executive squad where they will each show their suggestions and he has exclaimed a determination must be made. Recommendations Jones Blair executives have developed four options to alleviate the company’s selling job ( which are outlined as follows ) : a ) Cut monetary value by 20 % B ) Spend extra $ 350. 000 on corporate advertisement ; degree Celsius ) Hire one extra gross revenues representative vitamin D ) Do Nothing ( Status Quo ) a ) Cut monetary value by 20 % Compared to other taking national trade names. Jones Blair is priced comparatively high. This is based on the highly high quality and public presentation of the merchandises. By cutting monetary value. Jones Blair will be able to remain competitory in monetary value with other the other merchandises on the market. B ) Spend an extra $ 350. 000 on corporate advertisement This money will be used to increase consciousness. Most of it will be spent on telecasting ads targeted chiefly in the Dallas Fort Worth ( DFW ) country at the do-it-yourself market. Brand image is of import to consumers and telecasting ads are a great manner to acquire their name out. Most of this population is cognizant of this merchandise and merely some of this population would buy it. degree Celsius ) Hire an extra gross revenues representative Hiring an extra gross revenues representative will let Jones Blair to concentrate on new markets. These markets should be outside of the DFW country and let for new metropoliss and provinces to acknowledge Jones Blair. vitamin D ) Do Nothing ( Status Quo ) Since Jones Blair has continually seen net incomes each twelvemonth ; they should keep their current selling aims and make nil. Jones Blair has done an first-class occupation of this in the past by watching the borders and commanding costs. By making nil. the company will non necessitate to pass any extra money. vitamin E ) Alternate Recommendations a. ) Cut monetary value by 20 % In 2004 architectural merchandise gross revenues volume was $ 12. 000. 000. Jones Blair has a current net net income of $ 1. 14 million. and to remain profitable it must keep this sum. $ 12. 000. 000* . 35= $ 4. 200. 000 If Jones Blair reduced its monetary value by 20 % the part border will drop to 15 % . ( $ 12. 000. 000 ) * . 15 = ( $ 1. 800. 000 ) If the company drops the monetary value by 20 % the company will see a 33 % addition in gross revenues. ( $ 1. 800. 000 * . 33 ) = $ 4. 200. 000 ( $ 594. 000 ) Strength: Jones Blair will sell more merchandises. because it will be able to vie with its rivals in monetary value. WEAKNESSES: May non be able to sell plenty in volume to cover cost of goods sold. If the monetary value is more competitory with other companies it may non be looked at as superior quality. b. ) Spend extra $ 350. 000 on corporate advertisement. The selling section proposes a telecasting run targeted at the DFW do-it-yourself market. This will be an extra $ 350. 000. but will significantly increase the consciousness of Jones Blair merchandises. Research has proven that trade name consciousness is a major factor in buying determinations. If Jones Blair does hold to utilize this method the company will necessitate to do at least $ 122. 500 to interrupt even and cover the cost of this new publicity ( $ 350. 000/ . 35= $ 122. 500 ) . Most of the DFW consumers are do-it-yourselfers. so a telecasting ad will be good in this market. Strength: Consumers will go cognizant of Jones Blair. Do-it-yourselfer’s history for 70 % of volume in the DFW country. Ad is proven to increase consciousness. and consciousness is a critical factor in consumer buying determinations. Failing: About duplicating current advertisement costs ( $ 360. 000+ $ 350. 000 ) . This recommendation requires a big budget and has small warrant of consequences b ecause about 75 % of the sing audience does non purchase pigment. Consumer purchasing procedure shows family purchasers choose a shop foremost. non a trade name ; hence. concerted ad is required. non trade name advertisement. c. ) Hire an extra gross revenues representative. Gross saless outside of our place district DFW are important for keeping competition in the market. A gross revenues rep would be the company $ 60. 000 a twelvemonth. So the company would necessitate ( $ 60. 000/ . 35 ) about $ 171. 428. 58 of extra net incomes to cover this. 120 retail merchants are located outside of DFW. If we look at our current dollar sum needed to remain profitable $ 4. 200. 000 and split that by shops $ 4. 200. 000/120= $ 35. 000 So $ 171. 428. 58/ $ 35. 000 = about 5. So the company would necessitate a new gross revenues rep to get at least 5 new histories a twelvemonth to breakeven. STRENGTHS: New clients may convey more chance to the tabular array through word of oral cavity. Doesn’t cost the company a important sum of money to make. WEAKNESSES: Does non assure new clients. It’s merely concentrating on most profitable market. DFW. d. ) Do nil ( Status Quo ) Jones Blair will non alter any of their selling schemes. Strength: Does non be the company any excess money to keep current aims. Jones Blair is presently doing money. why alteration? WEAKNESSES ? Jones Blair will non ever be profitable in the hereafter ; the cost of research and development will merely increase. Needs to remain competitory in the market and non looking into long term vision of the company. Concluding recommendation Jones Blair needs to look into the hereafter and envision the company viing with rivals. Its best stake is to concentrate on the consumers in its chief place market. DFW. If they can derive consciousness of the place market. sooner or later word will distribute throughout all of their markets and concern will din. Making a $ 1. 000. 000 minimal income expressions like pocket alteration. Right now Jones Blair can afford this and still hold a $ 400. 000 net income. Target Market The mark market for Jones Blair is consumers in its chief place market. DFW. Specifically the consumers in their architectural coatings and sundries arena. Marketing Mix Promotion: Jones Blair Company advertisement can potentially hike their patronages conveying more consciousness to the DIY section in the southwesterly country of the United States. This was basically the aim of the executive meeting and advertisement is proven to increase consciousness. and consciousness is a critical factor in most consumer buying determinations. Topographic point: The Company distributes its merchandise through 200 independent pigment shops. timber paces and hardware mercantile establishments. With the expanded advertizements Jones Blair can spread out to their selling range linking with more consumers. particularly in the southwesterly country of the US. Monetary value: About duplicating current advertisement costs ( $ 360. 000+ $ 350. 000 ) . advertisement would be the best manner to make the multitudes in the parts that are traveling unnoticed. Merchandise: Architectural coatings and sundries supplied throughout the southwesterly United States.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Development of International Organizations Essay

Development of International Organizations - Essay Example An international organization†¦represents a form of institution that refers to a formal system of rules and objectives, a rationalized administrative instrument and which has ‘a formal technical and material organization: constitutions, local chapters, physical equipments, machines, emblems, letterhead stationery, a staff, an administrative hierarchy and so forth.’† (Archer, 2001, p. 2) There has been a common tendency to confuse between ‘international organizations’ and ‘international institutions.’ In this context, writers and scholars need to remember that an internal institution actually refers to ‘the detailed structure of an international organization†¦for international organizations is more restricted than the sociological meaning of the word.’(Archer, 2000, p.2) According to the historical references, formation of the international organizations commenced during First Word War at the Versailles Peace Conference (1919). Formation of international organizations in nineteenth century was propelled due to certain social reasons. Political scientists widely agree to the point that in order to formation of such organizations development of sovereign states as well as ‘a relatively stable system’ was necessary in Europe. Moreover, the Great War and its horrific consequences did cast such a tremendous effect over the nations that they immediately understood if harmony between the nations could not be maintained it will not be possible to avoid tragedy of such great dimension. In addition to such factors, the social and economic issues also played a great role in the formation of international organizations. Almost at the end of the nineteenth century the European nations witnessed that they were fighting amongst each other trivial poli tical issues and it was affecting social as well as economic stability of the countries. Consequences of those issues were also reflected in the international relationship of the countries. Thus, the

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Efforts at containing cost in health care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Efforts at containing cost in health care - Essay Example cally due to heavy expenses that are being spent on the treatment that they don’t visit hospitals or physicians who charge them a hefty amount (Robinson & Timothy, 2013). Personal health care services in the U.S are provided by State of the provider, they provide healthcare facility to the citizens of 50 states in the D.C (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2014). There are profitable as well as non-profitable hospitals, both of them have different ways of charging the patients, However, there are some approaches, one of the approach is that the insurance policies should encourage the insurance consumers to get treated from a less expensive hospital, that will make the expensive hospitals less in demand and more approachable by the general public, other than this the unnecessary costs of the pharmaceuticals should be tapered off(Weinstein & Stason, 1977). With this approach, the hospitals policy will start to be altered in the long term, it will take time and the benefits will be less expensive medicines, and more feasibility of the treatment in the hospitals for the general public. The undesirable effects of this approach will also be there, for instance, the hospital policy makers might not find it a right approach, a more professional team of health care managers will have to look into the matter, which might ultimately increase the cost of the whole process. Along with the cost reduction effect, there should also be a cost-containable effect, in which the overall cost should be consistent. The cost containment effect might lose the market value of a specific product, there is also a chance that the medical staff’s income faces a downfall, which will lead to another problem, that is, the medical professionals will be discouraged to work under low wages. The approach is feasible enough, the Govt. should look into the matter and think about the patient’s and a U.S citizen’s benefits. Reduction of overall costs can be extremely difficult as well but it should be

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Civil War Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Civil War - Research Paper Example Revolution is actually a change whereby legitimacy of one system is terminated and another originated within the same society, however, this change may not necessarily brought about by force or violence. History narrates the stories of several important revolutions e.g. revolutions in England and France of 1688 and 1848 respectively had not observed any military conflict. Scope of civil war is broad and it may accompany revolution, but in the great French Revolution, it only played a secondary part. Like revolution, civil war can also be distinguished from insurrection, which is a struggle from the bottom up, an uprising of a more or less politically unorganized group against an established authority. Civil war is horizontal, insurrection vertical, conflict which may result in huge numbers of fatalities and ineffective use of valuable resources (Hironaka, 2005, p.3). Classifications of Civil Wars The concept of war is as old as the human being is attached to religion, politics, and s ocial reforms. Likewise, civil wars may also be classified in terms of these three aspects i.e. religion, political or strategic objectives, and social reforms. The rise of Protestantism caused a whole series of religious civil wars between 1550 and 1648. The civil wars in England between during the years 1641 to 1651, in the United States from 1861 to 1865, and in China from 1921 to1928, were political. The history of ancient Greece and Rome shows a whole series of social civil wars between rich and poor, aristocrats and plebians. The Russian civil war from 1918 to1921was primarily a social war between the upper class on the one hand and the city proletariat aided by the peasants on the other. Religious civil wars have usually been very bloody and ruthless. Social civil wars tend to resemble them in this respect; while political civil wars are commonly humane, as years ago. The Thirty Years War (1618-1648) primarily fought in Germany was indescribably ferocious; the recent civil wa r in Russia was marked by much cruelty; while the American Civil War was comparatively well controlled (Hironaka, 2005). Characteristics of Different Civil Wars The character of civil war varies considerably according to the type of political organization in the country in which it occurs. In unitary states civil war is likely to be amateurish and bungling in its early stages. The old government is weakened by the withdrawal of large numbers of its trained personnel, who then proceed to improvise an opposition government which does not at first function very efficiently. The English civil war of 1641 to 1651 and the American Civil War are cases in point (Keegan, 2009). In federated states, civil war closely resembles international war. Here organized functional governments already exist and the task of generating a civil war between them is relatively simple, especially when the nature of the federal bond approximates a league rather than a closer union. The Thirty Years War, the Wa r of the Sonderbund in Switzerland in 1848, and the American Civil War afford varying instructions of the nature of the civil conflict in federated states. In his second inaugural address, Abraham Lincoln said â€Å"slavery was some how cause of the war† (Brook and Nurphy, 2009). Civil wars in colonial states are in general much like civil

Friday, November 15, 2019

What Stimulates Entrepreneurship In Large Organizations Commerce Essay

What Stimulates Entrepreneurship In Large Organizations Commerce Essay This paper discusses how large organizations deal with entrepreneurial activity. Entrepreneurship Is often associated with small firms. These small firms are more flexible, they dont have problems with bureaucratic structures and as a consequence they are more speedy in coming up with new inventions. On the other hand, Peter Drucker (innovation and entrepeneurship) states that entrepreneurship is based upon the same principles, whether the entrepreneur is an existing large institution or an individual starting its own venture. So the nature of entrepreneurship is the same in both cases. To succeed in todays unpredictable world, companies large and small must be agile and able to respond quickly to fast-moving markets (Taylor 2001). In this case we will focus on the large companies who have to encounter a lot of problems if they want to implement corporate entrepreneurship. In the first part, we do a literature review concerning corporate entrepreneurship. Here we will look for constraints of and solutions to corporate entrepreneurship. In the second part we combine theory with practice. Through in depth interviews I would like to learn how a large organization (Barco) manages corporate entrepreneurship, what problems they have and if they get result from their actions. ( A big ship isnt easy to turn). I will do this by following a structure based on the framework of Morris (1998). This framework includes the following aspects: systems, structure, strategic direction, policies, people and culture. For every aspect I would like to have an interview with a responsible to get insight on how Barco applies corporate entrepreneurship. By considering every aspect I want to learn which methods Barco applies and which it doesnt apply and why this is the case. Taylor Bernard (2001), From corporate governance to corporate entrepreneurship, Journal of Change Management, 2:2, 128-147 Literature Review Definition: What is corporate entrepreneurship? Definitions of corporate entrepreneurship vary a lot. Some authors speak of intrapreneurship (Gifford Pinchot, 1985), others form corporate venturing (Chesbrough, 2002). von Hippel (1977) defines corporate venturing as an activity that aims at creating new businesses for the corporation through the development of external or internal corporate venture. Corporate entrepreneurship is a term used to describe entrepreneurial behavior inside established organizations (Guth Gingsberg, 1990). Damanpour (1991) states that at a basic level corporate entrepreneurship involves the generation, development and implementation of new ideas and behaviors by a company. Zahra (1991) argues that corporate entrepreneurship can have formal and informal activities aimed at creating new businesses inside of established companies through product and process innovations and market developments. From all the definitions we may conclude that there is no real consensus of what corporate entrepreneurship exactly is. Maybe a definition is to narrow to describe the whole process of corporate entrepreneurship. Corporate entrepreneurship is not an exact science and every firm adapts it in other ways. This is why we may not see this definitions in a strict way. Therefore we will look at corporate entrepreneurship as a system-wide activity undertaken within the context of existing firms. Pinchot, Gifford III, Intrapreneuring: Why You Dont Have to Leave the Corporation to Become an Entrepreneur (1985). University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaigns Academy for Entrepreneurial Leadership Historical Research Reference in Entrepreneurship. Chesbrough, H.W. (2002) Making Sense of Corporate Venture Capital, Harvard Business Review, March von Hippel, E. (1977). The sources of innovation. New York: Oxford University Press. Guth, W. D., Ginsberg, A. (1990). Guest editors introduction: Corporate entrepreneurship. Strategic Management Journal, (Summer),11, 5-15. Damanpour, F. 1991, Organizational Innovation: A Meta-Analysis of Determinants and Moderators, Personnel ( September): 28-36 Zahra, S. (1991). Predictors and financial outcomes of corporate entrepreneurship: An exploratory study. Journal of Business Venturing, (July),6, 259-285 Motivation: Why engage in corporate entrepreneurship? Today firms are struggling to reinvent themselves and find ways how they could survive. For some companies its already too late but for others corporate entrepreneurship may be the key to survive. The way of doing business has tremendously changed in the 21st century. Today companies must survive in a fast changing global environment where uncertainty is higher than ever. Firm nowadays need to become flexible and adaptive. One way by doing this is by stimulating entrepreneurship within the organization. Authors argue that entrepreneurship becomes key in the sustainability of large firms ( Baumol, 1996; Audretsch Thurik, 2001). The dynamic that drives real competitive advantage is entrepreneurship and innovation. Previous research also supported a positive relationship between intrapreneurship and growth, profitability, or both ( Covin and Slevin, 1986) for large firms in general, as well as for small firm performance in hostile environments ( Covin and Slevin, 1989) Other reasons for stimulating entrepreneurship are that you take advantage of the in-house genius ( Adams 1996 ) and that you can exploit new market opportunities ( Eggers 1999 ) Baumol, W.J. (1996), Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, and destructive, Journal of Business Venturing, 11(1), 3-22 Audretsch, D. B., Thurik, A. R. (2001), Whats new about the new economy? From the managed to the entrepreneurial economy , Industrial and Corporate Change, 10(1), 267-315 Covin, J.G., and Slevin, D.P. (1986), The development and testing of an organizational-level entrepreneurship scale , In R. Ronstadt et al., eds., Frontiers of Entrepreneurship Research. Wellesley, MA: Babson College. Covin, J.G., and Slevin, D.P. (1989), Strategic management of small firms in hostile and benign environments, Strategic Management Journal 10(January):75-87. Adams, R. V. (1996). Inspiring innovation. International Business, 9, 56-58. Eggers, J. H. (1999). Developing entrepreneurial growth. Ivey Business Journal, (May),63, 76-81. Obstacles for corporate entrepreneurship A lot of large companies started to see the importance of corporate entrepreneurship. These companies were mostly used to work in old bureaucratic ways with a lot of control and hierarchical structures. Nowadays these companies realize that they have to change into entrepreneurial entities. The change from corporate governance to corporate entrepreneurship could be seen as a large problem because it has to deal with all the organizational aspects. To bring in corporate entrepreneurship in an organization everything has to be right. There are a lot of obstacles for corporate entrepreneurship. Given the large number of potential constraints, it is helpful to identify general categories into which they can be grouped. Morris ( 1998) captured obstacles and divided them in six groups: culture, strategic direction, structure, systems, policies and people. This way of structuring seems interesting because we can then think of solutions in a planned way. By considering every aspect we are more focused and keep an overview of different processes who often work together. In this paper I will use and extend the framework of Morris to handle most constraints of corporate entrepreneurship and look how a large company applied solutions to these problems. Let us look at each of the categories in more detail. CULTURE Cornwall and Perlman (1990) define culture as an organizations basic beliefs and assumptions about what the company is about, how it members behave, and how it defines itself in relation to its external environment. Many authors have identified the critical role that corporate culture plays in the organizational process (e.g. Deal Kennedy, 1982; Martin 1992; Sackmann 1992). Cornwall and Perlman (1990) have written that culture is a key determinant of, and the first step in fostering, entrepreneurial activity within an organization. For instance, Sonys success in product innovation has been largely attributed to the success with which the company has inculcated its Sony Spirit in employees (Quinn, 1985). Although setting up a culture may not be that straightforward. Firstly, a culture that is risk averse, or very process driven, is almost by definition discouraging employees from being entrepreneurial. ( Morris, Kuratko Covin, 2011). Kriegesmann et al. (2005) have noted a tendency within companies to develop zero error cultures as competitive strive to meet high performance standards in a hypercompetitive marketplace. Managers therefore wrongly believe that zero errors are proof of high performance standards. Secondly, companies often cant make clear what they stand for, or do not achieve a consensus over value priorities (Morris, 1998). To stimulate entrepreneurship there should be a clear focus on what the company is about. The elements of a culture should be in line with the vision, mission and strategies of an organization. Thirdly, culture itself is very complex and cannot be easily changed. For example, a non-innovative firm could bring in an extremely entrepreneurial CEO, and it could take seven to ten years (or more) to realize a substantial cultural change (Morris, Kuratko Covin, 2011). Fourthly, The culture itself may be too strong or too commanding. In this manner, homogeneity is stimulated and people are not allowed to think outside the cultural box. This can lead to stagnation and a reduced ability to adapt changes in the environment (Cloke and Goldsmith, 2002). As corporate entrepreneurship asks for change and diversity, a culture that is too imposing could be tremendous for corporate entrepeneurship. Lastly, individualism-collectivism would also appear to be an important dimension of organizational culture (Morris, Davis Allen, 1994). A culture that focuses too much on individualism or collectivism may not be encouraging for corporate entrepreneurship. The result will be modest levels of entrepreneurship (Morris, Davis Allen, 1994). A high individualistic culture may produce strong incentives for entrepreneurial behavior, but will also result in gamesmanship, zero-sum competition, sequestering of information, and the chaotic pursuit of tangential projects having little fit with the organizations competencies or overall direction. (Maidique 1980; Quinn 1985; Reich 1987; Rosenbaum et al. 1980; Steele 1983). Furthermore, individuals will more likely use organizational resources to satisfy self-interests and many tasks will be left incomplete as individuals are unable to obtain cooperation from those have the expertise. (Morris, Davis Allen, 1994). On the other extreme, a strongly collectivist atmosphere may actually give rise to an anti-entrepreneurial bias. Companies therefore may suffer from free-riding or social loafing syndromes. (Earley 1989; Jones 1984; Albanese and Van Fleet 1985). The way in which a firm sets up a good corporate culture and handles the above problems will be determining for the firms entrepreneurial success, as culture gives people direction and keeps the whole organization together. Morris, M. H. 1998. Entrepreneurial Intensity ( Westport, CT: Quorum Books) Deal, T., Kennedy, A. (1982), Corporate cultures. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley. Martin, J. (1992). Cultures in organizations: Three perspectives. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Sackmann, S. (1992), Culture and subcultures. An analysis of organizational knowledge. Administrative Science Quarterly, 37, 140-161 Cornwall, J. and Perlman, B. (1990) Organisational Entrepreneurship, Homewood, ///.: Irwin. Macmillan. Quinn, J.B. (1985). Managing innovation: Controlled chaos. Harvard Business Review, 73-84 Cloke, K. et al., 2002. The end of management and the rise of organizational democracy, Jossey-Bass. Michael H. Morris, Duane L. Davis, Jeffrey W. Allen (1994), Fostering Corporate Entrepreneurship  : Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Importance of Individualism versus Collectivism, Journal of International Business Studies, Vol.25, pp. 65-89 Earley, P. Christopher, (1989). Social loafing and collectivism: A comparison of the United States and the Peoples Republic of China, Administrative Science Quarterly, 34: 565-81 Jones, Gareth, (1984) Task visibility, free riding, and shirking: Explaining the effect of structure and technology on employee behavior. Academy of Management Review, 9: 684-95 Albanese, Robert David D. Van Fleet. (1985), Rational behavior in groups: The free-riding tendency, Academy of Management Review, 10: 244-55. Kriegesmann, B., Kley, T., and Schwering, M. (2005), Creative errors and Heroic Failures: Capturing Their Innovative Potential, Journal of Business Strategy, 26(3): 57-64 STRATEGIC DIRECTION Michael Porter (1996) draws a critical distinction between strategy and operational effectiveness, arguing that managers are increasingly preoccupied with the latter and ignorant of the former. As operational effectiveness could be effective in the short run, it fails in the long run. Therefore, firms need to find strategies for long run survival. Firms that want to engage in successful corporate entrepreneurship need to have an entrepreneurial orientation. Entrepreneurial orientation refers to the strategy-making practices that businesses use to identify and launch corporate ventures (Dess and Lumpkin, 2005). In the absence of an entrepreneurial orientation, the goal of corporate entrepreneurship may not be reached. Furthermore, entrepreneurship in a firm may not be achieved if there is no meaningful direction from the top. This requires good leaders with a clear vision and commitment to entrepreneurship. Instead, top management is often more cautious with new opportunities. This could be a major problem because with no top management support, nobody will feel to engage in entrepreneurial activity and take risks. Hence, middle-and lower-level employees are strongly influenced by the role models found at the top of the firm. In the absence of specific goals for product and process innovation and a strategy for accomplishing such goals, entrepreneurship will only result accidentally or by chance (Morris, Kuratko Covin, 2011). Besides that, firms could also have problems to define a strategy that encounters both exploration and exploitation. As exploration and exploitation are often two opposing forces, the strategy of a firm needs to find a balance between these two. This mental balancing act can be one of the toughest of all managerial challenges -it requires executives to explore new opportunities while working on exploiting existing capabilities (OReilly Tushman, 2004). A final note is that strategy formulation itself is not enough. The actual execution of a strategy is as important as the strategy itself. Implementing the strategy requires adequate structures, systems, procedures and human resource practices. Gregory G. Dess, G.T. Lumpkin (2005), The role of Entrepreneurial Orientation in Stimulating Effective Corporate Entrepreneurship. OReilly C. Tushman M., (2004), The ambidextrous organization, Harvard Business Review, 74-81. Porter, M.E. (1996), What is Strategy?, Harvard Business Review, 74(6): 61-78. STRUCTURE Structure typically depends on a number of factors such as the nature, the size, the strategies and environmental conditions of a firm (Burns, 2005). Although there is no one best structure, it is generally argued that a companys structure follows from the strategy. If entrepreneurship and innovation are integral part of the companys strategy, then inconsistencies with certain general types of structure can be problematic. Morris, Kuratko Covin (2011) state that a hierarchical structure is a typical problem in large organizations. A hierarchical structure seems to be problematic because this reduces the ability to identify market opportunities and to take risk. Entrepreneurship suffers the farther away decision making becomes from everyday operations. Other entrepreneurial barriers within a hierarchical structure are top-down management and restrictive communication channels. In contrast, as an organic structure may be more preferred to stimulate corporate entrepreneurship (e.g. Morris and Kuratko, 2002) , organic structures may also have some pitfalls. For instance, if teams almost work autonomously, this can result in anarchy. Additionally, there is a tendency to continually narrow the span of control of managers over subordinates. The result is over-supervised employees with little room for creativity. To finish, structures that give responsibility for entrepreneurial activities to managers without delegating a certain amount of authority also constraints corporate entrepreneurship as managers will feel frustrated. Therefore, some hierarchy, that gives managers some authority could be desired. Burns P., (2005), Corporate Entrepreneurship: Building an Entrepreneurial Organisation, Palgrave Macmillan Morris, H.M. and Kuratko, D.F. (2002), Corporate Entrepreneurship, Fort Worth: Harcourt College Publishers. SYSTEMS Large organizations typically depend on a number of formal managerial systems that have evolved over the years. These systems were needed to coordinate the increasingly complex corporate environment and were focused on stability, order and coordination. Within this focus, entrepreneurship is discouraged (Morris, Kuratko Covin, 2011). The question here arises in what way the old systems are obsolete for corporate entrepreneurship. As corporate entrepreneurship requires other systems, companies are forced to try new things. In what way could the old system be used and in what way are new systems required? For example, how do companies use control, budgeting and planning systems that foster innovation and entrepreneurship? Control systems have historically placed a heavy emphasis on efficiency, sometimes ignoring or even undermining effectiveness (Morris, Schindehutte Allen, 2006). Probably, control systems may be too strict for corporate entrepreneurship. Budgeting systems provide no flexibility for the funding of experimental projects and tend to reward the politically powerful. Planning systems are often too harsh and become prescribed, they focus on the planning document rather than the planning process, and often use professional planners instead of relying on the people who really are involved (Morris, Kuratko Covin, 2011). Lastly, these systems could be supported by new technologies. The way in which firms use information and communication technologies could help them achieve a better environment for corporate entrepreneurship. If information systems are absent or deficient, innovation could be slower. POLICIES AND PROCEDURES First of all, it should be clear that policies and procedures are a smaller part of the larger control system. Policies and procedures are in fact the underlying elements of how control systems work. For example, inflexible policies and strict procedures will result in rigid control systems, which, as I have discussed, are tremendous for entrepreneurial activity. The procedures that people have to follow when they want to introduce new entrepreneurial activity may be too strict. Two of the most costly side-effects of detailed operating policies are complex approval cycles for new ventures and detailed documentation requirements (Morris, Kuratko Covin, 2011). This could be seen as red tape for entrepreneurial activity. If procedures are very complex, people are blocked and give up their ideas. Nevertheless, some procedures are definitely required for making decisions about which project may be initiated and which may not. The fact is that those procedures are often too severe. For example procedures often impose unrealistic timetables and performance benchmarks on entrepreneurial programs (Morris, Kuratko Covin, 2011). They way in which firms can overcome these strict policies and procedures will lead to better corporate entrepreneurship. PEOPLE Al of the entrepreneurial activity depends on the people, it are the people who have to do it. The treatment of people is done by human resource management. Human resource management is responsible for the recruitment, training, motivation, evaluation and rewarding of people. When a firm engages in corporate entrepreneurship, human resources also need to apply new methods. The main problem with people is that they have a natural tendency to resist change. This is a big problem as entrepreneurship requires a lot of change. How does HR helps to change people minds in the direction of corporate entrepreneurship? What problems do they face? Next to that, people are afraid of failure. It is important for HR to see failure as a process of learning. The way in which HR treats failure may therefore be important for the entrepreneurial people. Another people-related aspect is the lack of skills and talent in the entrepreneurial area. Therefore recruitment and training of qualified people may be very important. A different aspect of corporate entrepreneurship is that people should have some freedom in their work. For example 3M was the first company that introduced organizational slack as a key factor for corporate entrepreneurship, enabling their engineers and scientists to spend 15% of their time on projects of their own design. As a result of this many inventions came out of 3M (e.g., Post it Notes and Scotch Tape). CASE Google. How do other companies do this? Do they also give some time to work on own projects or do they use other methods? How does HR deal with autonomy of their people. Autonomy is necessary for people to work on entrepreneurship. But what is a good autonomy. Shouldnt there be some control? Furthermore, corporate entrepreneurship often requires to work in teams. How does HR helps to form decent teams? How do they encounter the problem of free-riding? One more aspect of HR is that they are responsible for rewarding people. How does HR give bonuses for new entrepreneurial activity. Especially the rewarding of teams may not be that easy. Breaking through the obstacles The way in which an organization can deal with the above obstacles will be determining for their entrepreneurial success. In this section we will look at research that offers solutions to overcome the problems and constraints of corporate entrepreneurship. CULTURE In this section we will look at the literature concerning solutions to set up a decent culture that stimulates entrepreneurship within a firm. First of all, an entrepreneurial culture should have some basic values concerning entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurship therefore requires a culture built around risk, innovation, emotional commitment, autonomy, and empowerment, among others (Cornwall and Perlman 1990; Peters 1987; Pinchot 1985; Waterman 1987). It is important that a culture is open for risk-taking and sees failure as an opportunity to learn from. In that way, culture can help to overcome peoples natural tendency to fear failure. For example Nokias culture states that you are allowed to have a bit of fun, to think unlike the norm, where you are allowed to make a mistake (Leavy, 2005, p. 39). In the factories of BMW there is a flop of the month award, given by the senior executive for successful failures (Kriegesmann et al., 2005). Here it is recognized that failure is needed to innovate and learn. Next, a culture needs a clear vision about what the company stands for. It is here that leadership comes into place. It is difficult to build a culture without someone having a vision about the future. According to Covin Slevin (1991), top management values and philosophies are essential variables of firm-level entrepreneurship. There should be a clear voice from top management that gives direction towards an entrepreneurial culture. Moreover, vision, mission and strategy should be aligned. For example, you cant have an entrepreneurial vision when your strategy is imitating competitors. As a final point, the culture should find a good balance between individualism and collectivism. Corporate executives must recognize and proactively manage this dimension of culture. The highest levels of entrepreneurship will occur when a fairly balanced amount of consideration is given to the needs of the individual and the collective (Morris, Davis Allen, 1994). Individuals are needed to provide the vision, commitment, and internal salesmanship because otherwise nothing would be accomplished. But as the process unfolds, the entrepreneur requires teams of people with unique skills and resources. Cornwall, Jeffrey T. Baron Perlman, (1990), Organizational entrepreneurship. Homewood, ///.: Irwin. Peters, Thomas. (1987), Thriving on chaos, New York: Alfred A. Knopf. Pinchot, Gifford, ///. (1985), Intrepreneuring, New York: Harper and Row. Waterman, Robert H, (1987), The renewal factor: How the best get and keep the competitive edge, New York, Bantam Books. Leavy, B. (2005), A Leaders Guide to Creating an Innovation Culture, Strategy Leadership, 33(4): 38-45. Jeffrey G. Covin, Dennis P. Slevin (1991), A Conceptual Model of Entrepreneurship as Firm Behavior, Baylor University STRATEGIC DIRECTION Many fast-growing young corporations attribute much of their success to an entrepreneurial orientation. By illustration, 3M is a good example of how a corporate strategy can induce internal venture development. Every aspect of 3Ms management approach is aimed at new venture creation and 3Ms policies create a climate of innovation and entrepreneurial development. (Dess and Lumpkin, 2005). Dess and Lumpkin (2005) emphasize the role of entrepreneurial orientation towards successful corporate entrepreneurship. The dimensions of entrepreneurial orientation include autonomy, innovativeness, proactiveness, competitive aggressiveness and risk-taking. Moreover, Geller (1980) argued that a risk-taking, highly venturesome, and innovative top management style is appropriate in invest/grow situations. In a study of Barringer and Bluedorn (1999) a positive relationship was found between corporate entrepreneurship intensity and scanning intensity, planning flexibility, locus of planning, and strategic controls. These are all part of the strategic management practices. Environmental scanning refers to the managerial activity of learning about events and trends in the organizations environment (Hambrick, 1981). Planning flexibility refers to the capacity of a firms strategic plan to change as environmental opportunities/threats emerge. Flexible planning systems allow firms to adjust their strategic plans quickly to pursue opportunities and keep up with environmental change (Stevenson and Jarrillo-Mossi, 1986). The term locus of planning refers to the depth of employee involvement in a firms strategic planning activities. A deep locus of planning involves a high degree of employees from all hierarchical levels in the planning process (Barringer and Bluedorn, 1999). Strategic controls base performance on stragically relevant criteria, contrasting to objective financial information (Gupta, 1987; Hoskisson and Hitt, 1988). Examples of strategic control measures include customer satisfaction criteria, new patent registrations, quality control, etc. Next, the challenge to balance exploitation and exploration could be seen as a major task for the top management. The companys leaders must decide if they should house mainstream and newstream activities in physically separate units within the organization (spatial separation approach) or if major innovative activity should be periodically performed within mainstream units (temporal separation approach) (Baden-Fuller and Volberda, 1997). According to Morris, Kuratko and Covin (2011) organizational ambidexterity is encouraged when top-level managers assume direct responsibility for both mainstream and newstream. By placing themselves in roles where they directly interact with both the exploitation-focused and exploration-focused sides of their organizations, top managers can more effectively balance the resource commitments needed to achieve current and future competitiveness. Finally, top managers help create ambidextrous organizations by setting explicit goals for innovative outcome. For example 3M wants at least 25 percent of its annual sales coming from products introduced over the preceding five years. Lastly, the implementation of a firms entrepreneurial strategy relies largely on middle-level managers. According to Kuratko et al. (2005), Middle-level managers endorse, refine, and shepherd entrepreneurial opportunities and identify, acquire, and deploy resources needed to pursue those opportunities. Baden-Fuller, C., and Volberda, H. 1997. Strategic Renewal: How Large Complex Organizations Prepare for the Future, International Studies of Management Organization, 27(2): 95-120 Geller, A. (1980), Matching people to business strategies, Financial Executive, 48(10), 18-21. Bruce R. Barringer, Allen C. Bluedorn, The relationship between corporate entrepreneurship and strategic management, Strategic Management Journal, 20: 421-444. Hambrick, D.C. (1981), Specialization of environmental scanning activities among upper level executives Journal of Management Studies, 18, pp. 299-320. Gupta, A.K. (1987), SUB strategies, corporate-SBU relations, and SBU effectiveness in strategy implementation, Academy of Management Journal, 30, pp. 477-500. Hoskisson, R.E. and M.A. Hitt (1988), Strategic control systems and relative RD investment in large multiproduct firms, Strategic Management Journal, 9(6), pp. 605-621 Kuratko, D.F., Ireland, R.D., Covin, J.G. and Hornsby, J.S. (2005), A Model of Middle-Level Managers Entrepreneurial Behavior, Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice, 29(6): 699-716. STRUCTURE Structural context, according to Burgelman (1983) refers to the various administrative mechanisms which top management can manipulate to influence the perceived interest of the strategic actors at the operational and middle levels in the organization. The corporate entrepreneurship and the innovation literatures indicate that one method of managing the uncertainties of innovation is through organizational structure (Burgelman, 1983, 1984; Nielsen, Peters Hisrich, 1985; Tornatzky et al., 1983). In general, results indicate a link between higher levels of innovation and more organic structures (rather than mechanistic structures) characterized by decentralization, lack of formalization, open communication, broader span of control and high levels of complexity ( for example: Covin Slevin, 1990; Burns Stalker, 1961; Pierce Delbecq, 1973; Tornatzky et al., 1983). Supporting a flexible/fluid organizational structure that minimizes bureaucracy and maximizes adhocracy; and by evaluating innovative schemes in terms of their contribution to a coherent str

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

Essay --

The Crucible will forever be a classic due to its intriguing story line that is based on a true event. The Salem Witch Trials of 1692 are represented as an adulterous romance turned into a vicious plot for vengeance. The Crucible touches on the horrible fates that led to death of so many innocent people, but Arthur Miller does not portray the entireness of the blood bath that was the Salem witch trials. The once Broadway play, that captured the hearts of millions doesn’t hold justice to the anguish the people of Salem endured. However if his goal was to entertain us, he most definitely succeeded. In Salem, nineteen accused witches were hanged in Gallows Hill, four more died in prison and a lone man was pressed to death when he failed to plead guilty. The Salem Witch trials were an absolute travesty. At one point in February a young girl fell seriously ill, her symptoms cause scientist now to believe that she had a disease called "convulsive ergotism" brought on by â€Å"ingesting rye--eaten as a cereal and as a common ingredient of bread--infected with ergot.† This scientific conclusion explains the child’s chaotic behavior. However in the 1600’s science wasn’t nearly as sophisticated as it is now, and thus when her symptoms were similar to an Irish women in Boston who was suspected of witchcraft, people began to believe the worst. When other playmates began showing the same symptoms, a doctor was brought in to examine the girls. His conclusion was that the problems was of a â€Å"Supernatural Origin†, or in simpler words, witches were targe ting the children. The number of girls showing symptoms continued to grow until it reached seven. Similar to the play â€Å"The girls contorted into grotesque poses, fell down into frozen postures, and comp... ...he entire story of John Proctor the young farmer and Abigail having an affair was only a way for Miller to creatively explain why there was enough hatred for these hangings and torture to occur. When in reality, Abigale never worked for John and they lived quite far apart. John was actually a 60 year old tavern keeper, all making the affair quite unlikely. While the story flowed and managed to capture us with sentiment. It’s impossible to disregard the ability he had to use the language of the time period, making the story come to life in such an authentic manor. His purpose was to entertain and he succeeded, however with a lack of some truths it lost some validity with the more critical readers. On the other hand no one can blame him for doing so, some of the best books, films, plays, or even television shows are grounded on real events and turned into nonfiction.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Birth Control vs. Contraception

According to Kippley & Kippley (1996), birth control is defined as a procedure of one or more medications, devices or actions followed so as to intentionally reduce or prevent the possibility of a woman being pregnant or giving birth. The term birth control is frequently used synonymously with such terms as contraception, family planning and fertility control. However, birth control includes abortion to prevent a birth, while family planning methods clearly do not consist of abortion.Methods that are meant to reduce or lessen the possibility of the fertilization of an ovum by a spermatozoon might be more particularly be called contraception. Contraception is different from abortion in that contraception prevents fertilization whereas abortion ends an already recognized pregnancy. Procedures of birth control that might prevent the implantation of an embryo if fertilization takes place are medically considered to be contraception but typified by several adversaries as abortifacients. R iddle (1999) said that oral contraceptive pill is considered to be the most popular kind of birth control.There are various brands of the pill and they come in packs of 21 or 28 pills. One pill is taken every day. The first 21 pills have a combination of synthetic estrogen and progesterone hormones. The oral contraceptive pill stops ovulation, stopping the ovaries from releasing eggs. Moreover, the pill likewise thickens cervical mucus, making it harder for sperm to enter the uterus. Then, the hormones in the pill prevent fertilization. The pill is 92-99. 7% effective as birth control. In addition, it does not protect against reproductive tract infections, including HIV/AIDS.Meanwhile, Riddle (1999) also maintained that condoms are called barrier methods of birth control because they put up a block, or barrier, which keeps the sperm from reaching the egg. Only latex or polyurethane (because some people are allergic to latex) condoms are proven to help protect against STDs, including HIV. HIV/AIDS Greener (2002) asserted that human immunodeficiency virus or HIV is considered as a retrovirus, which causes acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS). AIDS is a condition in humans wherein the immune system starts to fail causing life-threatening opportunistic infections.Infection with HIV happens by means of the transfer of semen, vaginal fluid, blood, Cowper's fluid or breast milk. Within these body fluids HIV is present as both free virus particles and virus within infected immune cells. The three primary routes of transmission are unprotected sexual intercourse, contaminated needles and transmission from an infected mother to her baby at birth or by way of breast milk. Screening of blood products for HIV in the developed world has largely get rid of transmission by means of infected blood products or blood transfusions.HIV has been discovered at low concentrations in the urine, tears, and saliva of infected humans; however, the risk of transmission by these secr etions is insignificant. At present, there is no vaccine or cure for HIV or AIDS. The only recognized means of prevention is evading exposure to the virus. Nevertheless, an antiretroviral treatment, known as post-exposure prophylaxis is said to reduce or lessen the risk of infection if started instantly after exposure. Recent treatment for HIV infection includes highly active antiretroviral therapy, or HAART.This has been extremely beneficial to numerous HIV-infected individuals since its introduction in 1996, when the protease inhibitor-based HAART initially became available. Present HAART options are combinations (or â€Å"cocktails†) consisting of at least three drugs belonging to at least two types, or â€Å"classes,† of anti-retroviral agents. According to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), HIV infection is now pandemic. In fact as of January 2006, UNAIDS and the World Health Organization (WHO) approximate that AIDS has killed over 25 million individuals ever since it was first identified on December 1, 1981.This makes the disease one of the most destructive pandemics in recorded history. In fact, in the year 2005, AIDS claimed a projected 2. 4 to 3. 3 million lives of which over 570,000 were children. References Greener, R. (2002). â€Å"AIDS and macroeconomic impact†, S, Forsyth (ed. ): State of The Art: AIDS and Economics, IAEN, 49-55. Kippley, John, Sheila Kippley (1996). The Art of Natural Family Planning, 4th addition, Cincinnati, OH: The Couple to Couple League, 108-111,148.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Open Class Words - Definition and Examples

Open Class Words s In English grammar, open class refers to the category of content words- that is, parts of speech (or word classes) that readily accept new members. Contrast with closed class. The open classes in English are nouns, lexical verbs, adjectives, and adverbs. Research supports the view that open-class words and closed-class words play different roles in sentence processing.   Ã‚   Examples and Observations All the words in a language can be broadly divided into two categories, open and closed. The closed category is so called because it does not easily accept new words. Its members are fixed and do not usually change . . .. The open category . . . contains nouns, verbs, adverbs, and descriptive adjectivesexactly those parts of speech that remain open to new additions . . ..Words in the open category are usually further divided into simple and complex words. Simple words contain just one morpheme (house, for example, or walk, slow, or green), whereas complex words contain more than one (houses, walking, slowly, or greenest).(Thomas E. Murray, The Structure of English. Allyn and Bacon, 1995)Open-Class Words in Telegraphic SpeechExamples of open-class words are those belonging to the major part-of-speech classes (nouns, verbs, adjectives, and adverbs), which in any language tend to be quite large and open-ended. that is, an unlimited number of new words can be created and added to these c lasses. . . .One familiar variety of language in which the distinction between open-class words and closed-class words is important is known as telegraphic speech. The term telegraphic derives from the kind of language used in telegrams, where considerations of space (and money) force one to be as terse as possible. HAVING WONDERFUL TIME; HOTEL GREAT; RETURNING FLIGHT 256; SEND MONEY; STOP. Generally speaking, in telegraphic forms of language the open-class words are retained, whereas the closed-class words are omitted wherever possible.(Adrian Akmajian, et al., Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication. MIT, 2001) Open Class Words  Ã¢â€ â€ Closed Class Words[O]pen-class words can evolve into grammatical words over time (grammaticalization). It is an essential part of the dictionarys task to describe this evolution. For example the verb ought (ought v.) has evolved from being the past tense of to owe to the condition of a pure auxiliary. Moreover, open-class words can develop senses that constitute fully grammaticalized lexical items, while retaining their original character in their other senses. For example, the verb to let (OED let v.1), the original meaning of which is leave or allow to pass (Branch I), and which retains a number of lexical meanings, developed in Middle English and still has an imperative auxiliary use with the infinitive (let us go).  Or an inflected form of an  open-class word  may develop an independent use as a grammatical word, for example the conjunction providing. Additionally, grammatical words can develop from compounds that start out as straightforward  syntactic constructions: for example, as and also from all so.(Edmund Weiner, Grammatical Analysis and Grammatical Change.  The Oxford Handbook of Lexicography, ed. by  Philip Durkin. Oxford University Press, 2015) Other Relevant References Complex WordsGrammaticalizationMental LexiconMonomorphemic WordsWhat Are Word Classes, and Whatever Happened to the Parts of Speech?

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

Free Essays on Vertical And Horizontal Integration In Health Management

Distinguish between vertical and horizontal integration Discussion about the need for improved, integrated health-care services is sweeping the province in the same way that utilization review and management hit hospitals a decade ago. The two are also similar in that they have been driven by the same force - a desire to spend less money while improving, or at least maintaining, health outcomes. Many organizations have embraced the concept of vertical integration, where hospitals, physician groups and health plans are owned and operated by a single entity. The belief is that the integrated delivery system will be able to reduce costs, improve quality and increase market share by owning and coordinating components of the health care system. While certain benefits may be realized through vertical integration, this asset-based method of organizing health care delivery has some drawbacks. According to the Physicians News Digest (1998), purchasing the organizations that make up the system is very costly. Hospitals, medical groups and HMOs wil l have to spend, on average, the following amounts to purchase components that make up integrated delivery systems: independent practice associations/managed care networks- $ 1.2 million, physician-hospital organizations- $2.2 million, staff-model physician organizations- $7.8 million, management services organizations- $9.6 million, freestanding medical groups- $19.7 million, foundation-model medical groups- $20.0 million. (D. Zimba, 1998) Another way to look at Vertical Integration is the degree in which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its down stream buyers. Because it can have a significant impact on a business unit's position with respect to cost, differentiation, and other strategic issues, the vertical scope of the firm is an important consideration in corporate strategy. Expansion of activities downstream is referred to as forward integration, and expansion upstream is referre... Free Essays on Vertical And Horizontal Integration In Health Management Free Essays on Vertical And Horizontal Integration In Health Management Distinguish between vertical and horizontal integration Discussion about the need for improved, integrated health-care services is sweeping the province in the same way that utilization review and management hit hospitals a decade ago. The two are also similar in that they have been driven by the same force - a desire to spend less money while improving, or at least maintaining, health outcomes. Many organizations have embraced the concept of vertical integration, where hospitals, physician groups and health plans are owned and operated by a single entity. The belief is that the integrated delivery system will be able to reduce costs, improve quality and increase market share by owning and coordinating components of the health care system. While certain benefits may be realized through vertical integration, this asset-based method of organizing health care delivery has some drawbacks. According to the Physicians News Digest (1998), purchasing the organizations that make up the system is very costly. Hospitals, medical groups and HMOs wil l have to spend, on average, the following amounts to purchase components that make up integrated delivery systems: independent practice associations/managed care networks- $ 1.2 million, physician-hospital organizations- $2.2 million, staff-model physician organizations- $7.8 million, management services organizations- $9.6 million, freestanding medical groups- $19.7 million, foundation-model medical groups- $20.0 million. (D. Zimba, 1998) Another way to look at Vertical Integration is the degree in which a firm owns its upstream suppliers and its down stream buyers. Because it can have a significant impact on a business unit's position with respect to cost, differentiation, and other strategic issues, the vertical scope of the firm is an important consideration in corporate strategy. Expansion of activities downstream is referred to as forward integration, and expansion upstream is referre...

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Thomson One - Business School Edition - Walt Disney Prospectus Essay

Thomson One - Business School Edition - Walt Disney Prospectus - Essay Example The sale of common stock is an opportunity for the new stockholders to invest in the share of the company with a long term plan. The existing shareholders could also purchase the common stocks of the company by using the dividend proceeds allocated the company on each of the existing shares. The approach undertaken for marketability of the offered securities includes the engagement of independent brokers and dealers who would purchase the purchase the securities on behalf of the participants of the investment plan (Coyle, 2002). The initial responsibilities of independent broker and dealer have been awarded to Citigroup which is subject to change from time to time. The Disney Shareholder services department plays the function of resolving any queries on the sales of securities and also undertakes post sale service like dispatching of the statements, allocation of dividends, etc. The contact numbers of the plan administrators are also made available for the purpose of contact as desir ed by the investors. These are systematic approaches undertaken by the Walt Disney Group in order to ensure better marketability of the securities. Question 2 The dollar amount that Disney proposed to sell the public in 2008 is included in the features of the plan as given in the prospectus. The investment plan is offered for sale to the public in order to issue common stocks valued at certain dollar price. The securities were decided to be sold to the public either at initial investments for a 0ne time period or under the payment of a monthly interest from a recognized bank. The Walt Disney Group proposed to sell the securities to the potential new shareholders or to the existing shareholder at an initial investment of $250 per share of Walt Disney. Apart from the initial investment, the Disney also proposed an alternative option for sale of the securities through a payment of $50 on a monthly basis through a recognized commercial bank. The proposed dollar value for the sale of the securities has increased from 2008 to 2010. The increase in the dollar value of sale could be attributed to the increase in demand of the securities over the years (Nevitt and  Fabozzi, 2000). The increase in performance efficiency of the Walt Disney Group led to the increase in revenue of the company as a result of which the retained profits of the group increased over the years. The profits allocated to the shareholders per share increased from 2008 to 2010. The rise in earnings per share and the dividend payout ratio led to the flow of market information that the Disney is looking at long term future prospects for growth and is expected to offer a higher return on equity over the years. The rise in demand of the securities raised the market prices of the security. As a result of this, he proposed sale value in dollars increased from 2008 to 2010. Question 3 The net amount obtained by Disney after the sell of shares approximates to around 51% of the sale price of each share in the investment plan. The amount netted by Disney from the sale of these shares under the Investment Plan takes into account the discounts and the commissions involved in the process of sale. The discounts and commissions are subtracted from the price of sale to determine the net amount obtained by Walt Disney. The sale of the shares of Disney involves the role of an independent broker dealer who executed the transaction for purchase or sale of the shares on behalf of the participants of the investment pl

Friday, November 1, 2019

Recent Writing on Marriage Has Explored the Notion of Sacrament in Essay

Recent Writing on Marriage Has Explored the Notion of Sacrament in Relation to Marriage - Essay Example The sacrament of marriage depends on the graceful acts associated with it. This may be in the will of god or the will of the Holy Spirit. Marriage can be viewed as an institution or experience depending on the description given with reference to it. All the same, the church considers man and woman mutually in a relationship as per the will of God. The description of this may also vary with time and civilisation which influences legislation and action of man. The way in which the Christians viewed Christ’s perfection became applicable in cases involving marriage of baptised individuals. This brought the spirituality of these couples was kept away from any blemish acts instead of a sacrament becoming the full realisation of it as the nature of the marriage. Marriage has been viewed by Christians as a sacrament of vocation. The structure of the Christian matrimonial bed defines the identity of marriage as a sacrament. The sacrament takes place as convenient to the convent involvi ng God and revealing the salvation mysteries. The love in a woman man relationship, in accordance to the needs of the Holy Spirit defines the sacrament. Marriage was traditionally viewed to be a contract based institution contrary to the Christian view of marriage as a sacrament. In this context, it was meant to gain mutual rights and possession of partners. In the contract, and sacrament identity of a marriage, relationship became apparent as various people made descriptions of the same (Carlo 76). In the view of marriage as an institution, the husbands view their spouses and the relationship separate from the sacrament of marriage. The end of marriage becomes the end aim of marriage as it comes in the subsequent marriage generations. There was a turning point in the Vatican council that described the marriage as a structure where man and woman receiving from one another as established by the creator. Laws regulating how they carry themselves are in a manner that the partnership is rooted in agreement of both parties in the biblical terms. The sacrament of marriage can also be viewed as a consecration which reflects God's love for man the matter of sacrament was to be found in a mutual understanding made between the two in the relationship. The priest took part in qualifying the partners in the sixteenth century, which, however, was described by Cano that it recognised marriage as a contract. But the priest becomes the minister of the sacrament and gave priestly blessings. In this way, the marriage in Christianity religion get a description from the book of John that describes the spirit calling whoever feels thirsty to take the water of life. The Holy Spirit cannot be seen, and the sacred silence, therefore, should be kept by conjugal community for them to receive the language of the Holy Spirit through praying. They intern get the gift of sacrament and life as a true spiritual generation of marriage The idea of marriage has been conceptualised by the church as being natural. Those who do their marriage in the church do it before God just like he constituted the marriage between Adam and eve at the beginning of creation. Humans, however, have taken control of various events in marriage such as reproduction, which has been manipulated by science. Humans are expected to rep[reduce in the most effective manner thereby passing their genes to the subsequent generations. the mating process has been intervened by human events. biological