Nurse Burnout and the Work Environment Effects Essay Example

Nurse Burnout and the Work Environment: Effects Paper However, there has been many researches done on Magnet hospitals being able to decrease their nurse burnout rates and job satisfaction, but there hasnt been a study done on emergency nurses in Ireland on nurse burnout and their working environment (Mahoney, 2011). A review of research study published by Inurn Mahoney (201 1) is able to provide insight by data from a group of Emergency Room nurses in Ireland. This paper will provide information reviewing the background of the issue, the methods used, the researchers findings, ethical considerations, and the impact this study may have on urging practices in hospitals around the world. Background This research study focused determining if nurse burnout and the characteristics of the work environments of emergency nurses in Ireland went hand in hand. The researchers identified that previous research focused on hospitals that held Magnet Status attracted and retained nurses better that others (Mahoney, 201 1, p. 0). Its important to determine the relationship between burnout in emergency nurses and emergency department working environments due to the increase in nurse turnover and poor job satisfaction cores. (Mahoney, 2011). Methods Mahoney (2011) utilized literature and quantitative reviews to describe the relationship between nurse burnout and the work environment of the emergency nurses at Cork University Hospital Emergency Department. Wi th the recent nurse turnover rate being 40 percent the research study was limited. We will write a custom essay sample on Nurse Burnout and the Work Environment: Effects specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Nurse Burnout and the Work Environment: Effects specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Nurse Burnout and the Work Environment: Effects specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer There were 86 studies sent out to the emergency nurses. Both men and women participated in the study but the majority was women with experience between 6 and 10 years of service. The ages of the respondents averaged between 30 and 40 years of age. The literature review consisted of retrieving multiple articles pertaining to emergency room nurses burnout and contributing factors (Mahoney, 2011, p. 31 Multiple databases were explored by using key terms related to emergency nurse, stress, work environments and many more. There were 21 articles used. The researcher used The Mammals Burnout Inventory (MBA) Manual created by Mismatch and Jackson to identify three dimensions of burnout, they were: emotional exhaustion (E), diversification (DIP), and reduced personal accomplishment (as cited by Mahoney, 2011 Out of the three dimensions f burnout Mahoney (2011) kept emotional exhaustion and diversification because they related more to nurse burnout and the work environment. The second part used was the quantitative method which consisted Of using a form with two series of 22 statements about nurse burnout and 30 statements about the working environment. The MBA pertained to burnout and the statements about the working environment came from a 31- item from Lakes (2002) Nursing Work Index Practice Environment Scale (NNW-PEES) (as cited by Mahoney, 2011). The respondents, which completed the MBA, were able to indicate how often each of the 22 statements best matched their individual beliefs (Mahoney, 2011). The respondents that completed the 30 statements of the NNW-PEES were broken down into subcategories including adequate staffing nurse-physician relationship, leadership support, and nurse participating in hospital affairs (Mahoney, 2011, p. 1 Analysis Mahoganys (201 1) research shown that emergency departments nurses in Ireland were overburdened, ignored, undervalued by administration and that nurse burnout is somewhat related to nursing work environment. Respondents involved in hospital affairs went coincidentally with emotional exhaustion, which meant that participation in hospital affairs were less likely going to happen. The re lationships respondents had with physicians that were perceived as collegial were shown to be less emotionally exhausted and less dependencies. Mahoney, 201 1, p. 34). Increase teamwork, collaborate and reduce levels of burnout by encouraging and developing good relationship skills between nurses, leaders, and physicians. Teamwork was also part of the study but wasnt of any concern between the exponents and physicians. One of the last major items from the working environments was if administration listens to and responds to their employees gained a negative response of 89 percent of respondents (Mahoney, 201 1). The respondents results also shown to be overburdened, ignored inadequately staffed, undervalued by administration, but yet are expected to provide quality care to patients (Mahoney, 201 1). Respondents also noted that administration was punitive with learning from mistakes and lacked in recognizing nurse (Mahoney, 2011). Emotional exhaustion and personalization was significantly associated with the working environments suggesting that the better the nurses working environment the less likely they would suffer from nurse burnout (Mahoney, 2011 , p. 5). Nurses are vulnerable to physical, interpersonal, and social effects of burnout that could have serious implications for the nurse and the patient. It is the duty of health care organizations to maintain a healthy work environment for all healthcare professionals including nurses, to minimize the risk of burnout , provide quality care to patients, and ensure patient safety (Ballard, 2003). Nurse burnout and the work environment impact all areas of nursing so if there isnt a solution then organizations will always have a problem. Ethical Considerations Cork University clinical research ethics committee gave ethical approval regarding the research. A letter describing the purpose, duration and method of research accompanied each copy of the form. Respondents received information, which made them aware that their consent to participate in the study implies consent. This study was coded using Statistical Package for the Social Science Software to ensure their privacy was protected. Conclusion This research study implies that with an overall burnout level of 60. Percent is worrisome and could be closely tied to the work environment (Mahoney, 2011 This writer suggests that organizations including nurse administration can benefit from this information and should listening to their nurses frequently. Administrators need to be encouraged to work toward developing systems supporting nurses ability to experience and manage emotion in ways that improve the quality of patient care and reduce the possibility of burnout (E rickson Grove, 2007). Administration should make sure that when an issue is addressed or a concern is brought up that they truly follow through. If nurses fail to achieve providing quality care to their patients with excessive workloads it will lead to exhaustion, diversification, and demutualization and will most likely increase nurse turnover reducing the organizations capacity to meet the needs of the patients by providing quality care (Mahoney, 201 1 , p. 36). This writer sees the benefit of future studies of obtaining Magnet Status Hospitals in Ireland to see if the percentage of emotional exhaustion will drop from the reported rate of 67 percent.

Where people look online - Emphasis

Where people look online Where people look online Recent eyetracker research reveals that users of news websites look at the headlines first, rather than the images. The study, called Eyetrack III, from The Poynter Institute in the US, looks at how peoples eyes move, focus and skip while reading news websites. It found that people zoomed in on headlines first, although they tended to read only the first few words of the headline. Similarly, they scanned down the left-hand menu of headlines until something prompted them to read on. This and other findings from the research have important implications for those involved in creating online content. That people are attracted by headlines first online (as opposed to in print, where photos are generally viewed first, according to a 1990 study from the same institute) highlights the importance of gripping online readers in the first few words. The research also found that people devote less than an average of one second to scanning a headline, so your words need to captivate visitors almost instantly. Short and snappy headlines are clearly the order of the day when it comes to attracting and more importantly keeping website visitors. There are implications for email writing too. Subject lines should be fairly short and as self-explanatory as possible, with the key words first. Text: bigger is not always better Surprisingly the study found that smaller fonts encouraged people to focus and read content, rather than just scan it. This finding seems a little counter-intuitive, but suggests that if you want people to read closely, making the text size smaller may be a good idea. Obviously, this could be taken too far: try not to induce squinting, but choosing a small(ish) font may encourage your visitors to read more closely. People tended to just scan those news websites using large fonts. Paragraphs, too, should err on the side of short. The research found that people focused on shorter paragraphs twice as often as they did on long ones. Images: faces and click-throughs Although they werent the first thing the study participants looked at, pictures did tend eventually to draw the eye. And the bigger the image, the more attention it got. Seventy per cent viewed an average size photo, compared with a postage stamp sized picture, which caught the eye of only ten per cent. Pictures of clean, clear faces were the biggest draw (though not on stamps, presumably). Many of the test subjects tried to click on photos even though it got them nowhere. Picture links that lead somewhere useful could be a good way to cash in on this apparent reflex. And its an area that is often underutilised or overlooked when creating online content. Be careful with visual breaks Those participating in the study often didnt read blurbs beneath an underlined headline, and researchers found a similar phenomenon with adverts. Adverts were read less frequently if they were separated from editorial content and preceded by white space or a rule. So use lines, rules and other visual breaks with care. Eyetracking and the future The process of eyetracking, which youve guessed it tracks and records a persons eye movements while they are reading, has advanced greatly in the last 20 years. Where subjects once had to wear cumbersome (and, frankly, unflattering) camera headgear while under observation, now the technology consists of a small video camera, which is placed under the computer monitor being viewed. From there it locks onto and records the subjects gaze, making for a more natural experience and therefore providing more realistic results. The researchers themselves point out that research in this area is far from exhaustive (test subject groups tend to be quite small and variables are not always tightly controlled), but theyd like to see it continue. We hope that Eyetrack III is not seen as an end in itself, but rather as a beginning of a wave of eyetracking research that will benefit the news industry, say Steve Outing and Laura Ruel, the studys project managers. And with over 1.73 billion people currently logging on worldwide and the paperless office potentially just around the corner, it looks like this area of research is definitely something we should all keep an eye on. Emphasis runs a one-day course, called Writing web content with clout, which explores the specific skills required to write compelling web copy. Call us on +44 (0)1273 732 888 or email us to find out more.

Ice Breaker for Classrooms - The Name Game

Ice Breaker for Classrooms - The Name Game This icebreaker is ideal for almost any setting because no materials are needed, your group can be divided into manageable sizes, and you want your participants to get to know each other anyway. Adults learn best when they know the people surrounding them. You may have people in your group who hate this icebreaker so much they’ll still remember everyone’s name two years from now! You can make it harder by requiring everyone to add an adjective to their name that starts with the same letter (e.g. Cranky Carla, Blue-eyed Bob, Zesty Zelda). You get the gist. Ideal Size Up to 30. Larger groups have tackled this game, but it becomes increasingly harder unless you break into smaller groups. Application You can use this game to facilitate  introductions in the classroom or at a meeting. This is also a fabulous game for classes involving memory. Time Needed Depends entirely on the size of the group and how much trouble people have remembering. Materials Needed None. Instructions Instruct the first person to give his or her name with a descriptor: Cranky Carla. The second person gives the first person’s name and then his own name: Cranky Carla, Blue-eyed Bob. The third person starts at the beginning, reciting each person before her and adding her own: Cranky Carla, Blue-eyed Bob, Zesty Zelda. Debriefing If you’re teaching a class that involves memory, debrief by talking about the effectiveness of this game as a memory technique. Were certain names easier to remember than others? Why? Was it the letter? The adjective? A combination? Additional Name Game Ice Breakers Introduce Another Person: Divide the class into partners. Have each person talk about himself to the other. You can offer a specific instruction, such as tell your colleague about your greatest accomplishment. After switching, the participants introduce each other to the class.What Have You Done Thats Unique: Request each person introduce himself by stating something hes done that he thinks no one else in the class has.  If someone else has done it, the person has to try again to find something unique!Find Your Match: Ask each person to write two or three statements on a card, such as an interest, goal or dream vacation. Distribute the cards so each person gets someone else’s. The group has to mingle until each person finds the one who matches their card.Describe Your Name: When people introduce themselves, ask them to talk about how they got their name (first or last name). Perhaps they were named after someone specific, or maybe their last name means something in an ancest ral language. Fact or Fiction: Ask each person to reveal one true thing and one false when introducing themselves. The participants have to guess which is which.The Interview: Pair up participants and have one interview the other for a few minutes and then switch. They can ask about interests, hobbies, favorite music, and more. When finished, have each person write three words to describe their partner and reveal them to the group. (example: My partner John is witty, irreverent, and motivated.)

Present Value Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Present Value - Assignment Example The monthly profits of this business seem not to be any stable. In this case, the profits vary a lot through high ranges, hence show possibility of not remaining stable at any moment. In as much as the yearly profits show steady increase, the monthly profits show staggering values that may make the business not that stable during the year. The gross margin of this project also shows a high monthly decrease. This shows that revenues increase but at a decreasing rate. The cost of sales also increases even as the sales increase. Therefore, the project experiences a reduction in its net profits from 24.19% to 16.38%. There is also a staggering increase in the net cash flow as shown in the graphs. The monthly profits of Shaved Ice Beverage project seem to be fairly stable, hence not so much risky. The yearly profit for this business seem to be stable and increasing each year. The gross margin will increase in the first year, but get back to normal in the third year, showing staggering growth. Operating expenses, however, increases yearly, hence reducing on the profit. The net profit percentage, however, increases at some significant rate, hence the business is not hat risky. A problem only sets in during its net cash flow where the values are very low, and sometimes go to negative. The third project, the Truck stop business, show fairly stable cash flows throughout the year except for the first two months of the year when the net cash flow becomes too high and too low. Income received from operations, however, increases steadily year after year. The monthly profits is also very high and very stable throughout the year. This is one significant reason that shows that this business is free from risks. However, when one looks at its net profits, it is clear that it increases on the second year, but not with a big range, then gets back on the third year. This probably shows indications of

Managerial Enterprise Theory Presented by Alfred Chandler Essay - 5

Managerial Enterprise Theory Presented by Alfred Chandler - Essay Example The report starts with a short description of the theories proposed by Chandler followed by a discussion of how the theories proposed by Chandler are applicable in the modern corporate setting. The relationship between the strategies proposed according to the theory and the structure of modern economies are identified and explained. Also, a section of the report includes drawing references from the national patterns of management enterprises so that a parallel can be drawn between the theory proposed by Chandler and the importance of these theories in the 20th century corporate and managerial enterprises. The advantages, as well as the shortcomings of the theories proposed by Chandler, are identified and analyzed in detail. The report is concluded by drawing suitable inferences from the analysis and by proposing suitable arguments in favor of the views as per the analysis. The theory postulated by Chandler deals with the functioning of managerial enterprises. As per the view of Chand ler, the managerial enterprises refer to the big scale industrial companies in which the crucial investment and operating decisions are taken in a hierarchical manner in which a number of salaried executives and managers propose the basic decision propositions and the final decisions are taken by a governing body which is the board of directors of the company. The key logic behind Chandler’s theory of managerial enterprise is that the necessary investments in the production, management, and distribution of the enterprise are made with the aim of achieving economies of scale and benefitting from the learning curve for organizations. The main strategic intent of investment decisions is based on creating a dominating presence of the enterprise within the industry in which it operates. In this context, the economies of scale refer to the benefit of a company that the cost of production per unit decreases as the production output volume of the enterprise increases.

Metabical Case Essay Example for Free

Metabical Case Essay The weight loss drug vailable in three four-week packages. The four week packaging was at the specific point where the consumer did not have to spend too much money to buy it, yet got invested in the product enough that they would come back to buy the second and third portions Marketing Research According to the US survey 34% overweight 25. % obese 4. 7% severely obese Health care providers were positive about the prospects of weight loss drugs. Responses of individuals: indicates 12% would immediately opt for such a solution. Focus group: Need of Prescription-strength drug with FDA approval clinical results o backup weight loss results. Decision making The process of decision making for the consumers would follow the hierarchy of effects and would include the following steps Users involved in word of outh publicity First prescription drug to be approved by the FDA specifically for weight loss of overweight individuals credibility First prescription drug for BMI of 25-30 It worked on low dose formulation hence stress on liver and heart was lesser Side effects were less severe and conditional Behavioral modifications and healthier eating habits Results were seen on an average in 12 weeks More comprehensive support plan The above advantage could be used for positioning in the following ways: Premium pricing as it is the only FDA approved prescription drug for weight loss. Strikingly different from dietary supplements for weight loss Segmentation Targeting multi cluster segmentation Demographic Income levels High Income group, since they are ready to pay out of their pockets. Gender- Females are more weight conscious. Age: 35+ Education: college plus Psychographic : Based on, Physical activity, Food preferences, Nutrition, Self image, Overall health l want to be healthier I want to fit into my skinny Jeans Geographic : US is the largest geographic segment where 65% of the entire adult population is over-weight, obese or severely obese . Targeting customers with a BMI of 25-30 Positioning Strategy Positioning as a ?Life saving drug Those 20 extra pounds can kill you. Being overweight leads to heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes Its time to get Healthy- Metabical can help. Positioning as a ?Motivational Therapeutic drug Discover a happier and a more attractive you Increases confidence Boosts self- esteem Marketing Communication Strategy Electronic media TV Radio Social media Print media NEWS Magazines Viral media DTC and prescriber advertising ?Free lunch pre launch program Metabical Challenge Biggest looser contest Medical education events Thank you

The American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Novel The Great Gatsby :: Essays Papers

The American Dream in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Novel The Great Gatsby Since July 4, 1776 Americans have had the opportunity to pursue whatever they can think of. This has given the people the opportunity to become whatever they want. A person who works hard can become successful; this is what the American Dream is centered around. A person who is a hard worker and persistent can reach any goal he strives for. The American Dream changed as America did. People became more and more infatuated with possessions. The characters in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby each work for their own American Dream. Jay Gatsby, the central character of the novel, has worked from nothing to become a very successful man. Jay is successful in the meaning that he is very rich and has everything most of the people in the novel would want. This is not what Jay is striving for though. Jay doesn’t care about the money, cars, and enormous house he has. Love is Jay’s goal, he worked for all the wealth and popularity to get to the love of his life, Daisy. Daisy is a woman that Jay had a love affair with when he was younger, but he could never have her because he was not in her social class. Jay then began to do anything to get the money that it would take to get in her class, even illegal activities. Once he reached this level of wealth, he moved close to Daisy to try to get her. â€Å"Gatsby bought that house so that Daisy would be just across the bay†(83). The only thing that really mattered to Jay was Daisy. To try to meet Daisy, Jay threw enormous parties. He finally re unites with Daisy and he begins to show off how rich he is to try to impress her. Jay is convinced that Daisy is now in love with him, and is willing to do anything for her. Even after she kills a woman with his car, he says he will said he take the blame. In pursuit of his dream, Jay ends up being killed. Jay’s American Dream may seem to be one filled with riches and possessions, but it really isn’t. He works for all the things for his one true dream, Daisy, a goal that he never could have possessed.

The Lost Symbol Chapter 98-101

CHAPTER 98 Robert Langdon regained consciousness with a crippling headache. Where am I? Wherever he was, it was dark. Deep-cave dark, and deathly silent. He was lying on his back with his arms at his side. Confused, he tried moving his fingers and toes, relieved to find they moved freely with no pain. What happened? With the exception of his headache and the profound darkness, everything seemed more or less normal. Almost everything. Langdon realized he was lying on a hard floor that felt unusually smooth, like a sheet of glass. Stranger still, he could feel that the slick surface was in direct contact with his bare flesh . . . shoulders, back, buttocks, thighs, calves. Am I naked? Puzzled, he ran his hands over his body. Jesus! Where the hell are my clothes? In the darkness, the cobwebs began to lift, and Langdon saw flashes of memory . . . frightening snapshots . . . a dead CIA agent . . . the face of a tattooed beast . . . Langdon's head smashing into the floor. The images came faster . . . and now he recalled the sickening image of Katherine Solomon bound and gagged on the dining-room floor. My God! Langdon sat bolt upright, and as he did, his forehead smashed into something suspended only inches above him. Pain exploded through his skull and he fell back, teetering near unconsciousness. Groggy, he reached up with his hands, groping in the darkness to find the obstacle. What he found made no sense to him. It seemed this room's ceiling was less than a foot above him. What in the world? As he spread his arms to his sides in an attempt to roll over, both of his hands hit sidewalls. The truth now dawned on him. Robert Langdon was not in a room at all. I'm in a box! In the darkness of his small, coffinlike container, Langdon began pounding wildly with his fist. He shouted over and over for help. The terror that gripped him deepened with each passing instant until it was intolerable. I have been buried alive. The lid of Langdon's strange coffin refused to budge, even with the full force of his arms and legs pushing upward in wild panic. The box, from all he could tell, was made of heavy fiberglass. Airtight. Soundproof. Lightproof. Escape-proof. I am going to suffocate alone in this box. He thought of the deep well into which he had fallen as a young boy, and of the terrifying night he spent treading water alone in the darkness of a bottomless pit. That trauma had scarred Langdon's psyche, burdening him with an overwhelming phobia of enclosed spaces. Tonight, buried alive, Robert Langdon was living his ultimate nightmare. Katherine Solomon trembled in silence on the floor of Mal'akh's dining room. The sharp wire around her wrists and ankles had already cut into her, and the slightest movements seemed only to tighten her bonds. The tattooed man had brutally knocked Langdon unconscious and dragged his limp body across the floor along with his leather bag and the stone pyramid. Where they had gone, Katherine had no idea. The agent who had accompanied them was dead. She had not heard a sound in many minutes, and she wondered if the tattooed man and Langdon were still inside the house. She had been trying to scream for help, but with each attempt, the rag in her mouth crept back dangerously closer to her windpipe. Now she felt approaching footsteps on the floor, and she turned her head, hoping against hope that someone was coming to help. The massive silhouette of her captor materialized in the hallway. Katherine recoiled as she flashed on the image of him standing in her family home ten years earlier. He killed my family. Now he strode toward her. Langdon was nowhere to be seen. The man crouched down and gripped her around the waist, hoisting her roughly onto his shoulder. The wire sliced into her wrists, and the rag muffled her muted cries of pain. He carried her down the hallway toward the living room, where, earlier today, the two of them had calmly sipped tea together. Where is he taking me?! He carried Katherine across the living room and stopped directly in front of the large oil painting of the Three Graces that she had admired this afternoon. â€Å"You mentioned you liked this painting,† the man whispered, his lips practically touching her ear. â€Å"I'm glad. It may be the last thing of beauty you see.† With that, he reached out and pressed his palm into the right side of the enormous frame. To Katherine's shock, the painting rotated into the wall, turning on a central pivot like a revolving door. A hidden doorway. Katherine tried to wriggle free, but the man held her firmly, carrying her through the opening behind the canvas. As the Three Graces pivoted shut behind them, she could see heavy insulation on the back of the canvas. Whatever sounds were made back here were apparently not meant to be heard by the outside world. The space behind the painting was cramped, more like a hallway than a room. The man carried her to the far side and opened a heavy door, carrying her through it onto a small landing. Katherine found herself looking down a narrow ramp into a deep basement. She drew a breath to scream, but the rag was choking her. The incline was steep and narrow. The walls on either side were made of cement, awash in a bluish light that seemed to emanate from below. The air that wafted up was warm and pungent, laden with an eerie blend of smells . . . the sharp bite of chemicals, the smooth calm of incense, the earthy musk of human sweat, and, pervading it all, a distinct aura of visceral, animal fear. â€Å"Your science impressed me,† the man whispered as they reached the bottom of the ramp. â€Å"I hope mine impresses you.† CHAPTER 99 CIA field agent Turner Simkins crouched in the darkness of Franklin Park and kept his steady gaze on Warren Bellamy. Nobody had taken the bait yet, but it was still early. Simkins's transceiver beeped, and he activated it, hoping one of his men had spotted something. But it was Sato. She had new information. Simkins listened and agreed with her concern. â€Å"Hold on,† he said. â€Å"I'll see if I can get a visual.† He crawled through the bushes in which he was hiding and peered back in the direction from which he had entered the square. After some maneuvering, he finally opened a sight line. Holy shit. He was staring at a building that looked like an Old World mosque. Nestled between two much larger buildings, the Moorish facade was made of gleaming terra-cotta tile laid in intricate multicolored designs. Above the three massive doors, two tiers of lancet windows looked as if Arabian archers might appear and open fire if anyone approached uninvited. â€Å"I see it,† Simkins said. â€Å"Any activity?† â€Å"Nothing.† â€Å"Good. I need you to reposition and watch it very carefully. It's called the Almas Shrine Temple, and it's the headquarters of a mystical order.† Simkins had worked in the D.C. area for a long time but was not familiar with this temple or any ancient mystical order headquartered on Franklin Square. â€Å"This building,† Sato said, â€Å"belongs to a group called the Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.† â€Å"Never heard of them.† â€Å"I think you have,† Sato said. â€Å"They're an appendant body of the Masons, more commonly known as the Shriners.† Simkins shot a dubious glance at the ornate building. The Shriners? The guys who build hospitals for kids? He could imagine no â€Å"order† less ominous sounding than a fraternity of philanthropists who wore little red fezzes and marched in parades. Even so, Sato's concerns were valid. â€Å"Ma'am, if our target realizes that this building is in fact `The Order' on Franklin Square, he won't need the address. He'll simply bypass the rendezvous and go directly to the correct location.† â€Å"My thoughts exactly. Keep an eye on the entrance.† â€Å"Yes, ma'am.† â€Å"Any word from Agent Hartmann in Kalorama Heights?† â€Å"No, ma'am. You asked him to phone you directly.† â€Å"Well, he hasn't.† Odd, Simkins thought, checking his watch. He's overdue. CHAPTER 100 Robert Langdon lay shivering, naked and alone in total blackness. Paralyzed by fear, he was no longer pounding or shouting. Instead, he had closed his eyes and was doing his best to control his hammering heart and his panicked breathing. You are lying beneath a vast, nighttime sky, he tried to convince himself. There is nothing above you but miles of wide-open space. This calming visualization had been the only way he had managed to survive a recent stint in an enclosed MRI machine . . . that and a triple dose of Valium. Tonight, however, the visualization was having no effect whatsoever. The rag in Katherine Solomon's mouth had shifted backward and was all but choking her. Her captor had carried her down a narrow ramp and into a dark basement corridor. At the far end of the hall, she had glimpsed a room lit with an eerie reddish-purple light, but they'd never made it that far. The man had stopped instead at a small side room, carried her inside, and placed her on a wooden chair. He had set her down with her bound wrists behind the chair back so she could not move. Now Katherine could feel the wire on her wrists slicing deeper into her flesh. The pain barely registered next to the rising panic she was feeling over being unable to breathe. The cloth in her mouth was slipping deeper into her throat, and she felt herself gagging reflexively. Her vision started to tunnel. Behind her, the tattooed man closed the room's lone door and flipped on the light. Katherine's eyes were watering profusely now, and she could no longer differentiate objects in her immediate surroundings. Everything had become a blur. A distorted vision of colorful flesh appeared before her, and Katherine felt her eyes starting to flutter as she teetered on the brink of unconsciousness. A scale-covered arm reached out and yanked the rag from her mouth. Katherine gasped, inhaling deep breaths, coughing and choking as her lungs flooded with precious air. Slowly, her vision began to clear, and she found herself looking into the demon's face. The visage was barely human. Blanketing his neck, face, and shaved head was an astounding pattern of bizarre tattooed symbols. With the exception of a small circle on top of his head, every inch of his body appeared to be decorated. A massive double-headed phoenix on his chest glared at her through nipple eyes like some kind of ravenous vulture, patiently waiting for her death. â€Å"Open your mouth,† the man whispered. Katherine stared at the monster with total revulsion. What? â€Å"Open your mouth,† the man repeated. â€Å"Or the cloth goes back in.† Trembling, Katherine opened her mouth. The man extended his thick, tattooed index finger, inserting it between her lips. When he touched her tongue, Katherine thought she would vomit. He extracted his wet finger and raised it to the top of his shaved head. Closing his eyes, he massaged her saliva into his small circular patch of untattooed flesh. Repulsed, Katherine looked away. The room in which she was sitting appeared to be a boiler room of some sort–pipes on the walls, gurgling sounds, fluorescent lights. Before she could take in her surroundings, though, her gaze stopped dead on something beside her on the floor. A pile of clothing–turtleneck, tweed sport coat, loafers, Mickey Mouse watch. â€Å"My God!† She wheeled back to the tattooed animal before her. â€Å"What have you done with Robert?!† â€Å"Shh,† the man whispered. â€Å"Or he'll hear you.† He stepped to one side and motioned behind him. Langdon was not there. All Katherine saw was a huge black fiberglass box. Its shape bore an unsettling resemblance to the heavy crates in which corpses were shipped back from war. Two massive clasps firmly locked the box shut. â€Å"He's inside?!† Katherine blurted. â€Å"But . . . he'll suffocate!† â€Å"No, he won't,† the man said, pointing to a series of transparent pipes that ran along the wall into the bottom of the crate. â€Å"He'll only wish he could.† In total darkness, Langdon listened intently to the muffled vibrations he now heard from the outside world. Voices? He began pounding on the box and shouting at the top of his lungs. â€Å"Help! Can anyone hear me?!† Far off, a muted voice called out. â€Å"Robert! My God, no! NO!† He knew the voice. It was Katherine, and she sounded terrified. Even so, it was a welcome sound. Langdon drew a breath to call out to her, but he stopped short, feeling an unexpected sensation at the back of his neck. A faint breeze seemed to be emanating from the bottom of the box. How is that possible? He lay very still, taking stock. Yes, definitely. He could feel the tiny hairs on the back of his neck being tickled by air movement. Instinctively, Langdon began feeling along the floor of the box, searching for the source of the air. It took only a moment to locate. There's a tiny vent! The small perforated opening felt similar to a drain plate on a sink or tub, except that a soft, steady breeze was now coming up through it. He's pumping air in for me. He doesn't want me to suffocate. Langdon's relief was short-lived. A terrifying sound was now emanating up through the holes in the vent. It was the unmistakable gurgle of flowing liquid . . . coming his way. Katherine stared in disbelief at the clear shaft of liquid that was progressing down one of the pipes toward Langdon's crate. The scene looked like some kind of twisted stage magician's act. He's pumping water into the crate?! Katherine strained at her bonds, ignoring the deep bite of the wires around her wrists. All she could do was look on in panic. She could hear Langdon pounding in desperation, but as the water reached the underside of the container, the pounding stopped. There was a moment of terrified silence. Then the pounding started again with renewed desperation. â€Å"Let him out!† Katherine begged. â€Å"Please! You can't do this!† â€Å"Drowning is a terrible death, you know.† The man spoke calmly as he paced around her in circles. â€Å"Your assistant, Trish, could tell you that.† Katherine heard his words, but she could barely process them. â€Å"You may remember that I almost drowned once,† the man whispered. â€Å"It was on your family's estate in Potomac. Your brother shot me, and I fell through the ice, out at Zach's bridge.† Katherine glared at him, filled with loathing. The night you killed my mother. â€Å"The gods protected me that night,† he said. â€Å"And they showed me the way . . . to become one of them.† The water gurgling into the box behind Langdon's head felt warm . . . body temperature. The fluid was already several inches deep and had completely swallowed the back of his naked body. As it began creeping up his rib cage, Langdon felt a stark reality closing in fast. I'm going to die. With renewed panic, he raised his arms and began pounding wildly again. CHAPTER 101 â€Å"You've got to let him out!† Katherine begged, crying now. â€Å"We'll do whatever you want!† She could hear Langdon pounding more frantically as the water flowed into his container. The tattooed man just smiled. â€Å"You're easier than your brother. The things I had to do to get Peter to tell me his secrets . . .† â€Å"Where is he?!† she demanded. â€Å"Where is Peter?! Tell me! We did exactly what you wanted! We solved the pyramid and–â€Å" â€Å"No, you did not solve the pyramid. You played a game. You withheld information and brought a government agent to my home. Hardly behavior I intend to reward.† â€Å"We didn't have a choice,† she replied, choking back the tears. â€Å"The CIA is looking for you. They made us travel with an agent. I'll tell you everything. Just let Robert out!† Katherine could hear Langdon shouting and pounding in the crate, and she could see the water flowing through the pipe. She knew he didn't have a lot of time. In front of her, the tattooed man spoke calmly, stroking his chin. â€Å"I assume there are agents waiting for me at Franklin Square?† Katherine said nothing, and the man placed his massive palms on her shoulders, slowly pulling her forward. With her arms still wire-bound be hind the chair back, her shoulders strained, burning with pain, threatening to dislocate. â€Å"Yes!† Katherine said. â€Å"There are agents at Franklin Square!† He pulled harder. â€Å"What is the address on the capstone?† The pain in her wrists and shoulders grew unbearable, but Katherine said nothing. â€Å"You can tell me now, Katherine, or I'll break your arms and ask you again.† â€Å"Eight!† she gasped in pain. â€Å"The missing number is eight! The capstone says: `The secret hides within The Order–Eight Franklin Square!' I swear it. I don't know what else to tell you! It's Eight Franklin Square!† The man still did not release her shoulders. â€Å"That's all I know!† Katherine said. â€Å"That's the address! Let go of me! Let Robert out of that tank!† â€Å"I would . . .† the man said, â€Å"but there's one problem. I can't go to Eight Franklin Square without being caught. Tell me, what's at that address?† â€Å"I don't know!† â€Å"And the symbols on the base of the pyramid? On the underside? Do you know their meaning?† â€Å"What symbols on the base?† Katherine had no idea what he was talking about. â€Å"The bottom has no symbols. It's smooth, blank stone!† Apparently immune to the muffled cries for help emanating from the coffinlike crate, the tattooed man calmly padded over to Langdon's day-bag and retrieved the stone pyramid. Then he returned to Katherine and held it up before her eyes so she could see the base. When Katherine saw the engraved symbols, she gasped in bewilderment. But . . . that's impossible! The bottom of the pyramid was entirely covered with intricate carvings. There was nothing there before! I'm sure of it! She had no idea what these symbols could possibly mean. They seemed to span every mystical tradition, including many she could not even place. Total chaos. â€Å"I . . . have no idea what this means,† she said. â€Å"Nor do I,† her captor said. â€Å"Fortunately, we have a specialist at our disposal.† He glanced at the crate. â€Å"Let's ask him, shall we?† He carried the pyramid toward the crate. For a brief instant of hope, Katherine thought he was going to unclasp the lid. Instead, he sat calmly on top of the box, reached down, and slid a small panel to one side, revealing a Plexiglas window in the top of the tank. Light! Langdon covered his eyes, squinting into the ray of light that now streamed in from above. As his eyes adjusted, hope turned to confusion. He was looking up through what appeared to be a window in the top of his crate. Through the window, he saw a white ceiling and a fluorescent light. Without warning, the tattooed face appeared above him, peering down. â€Å"Where is Katherine?!† Langdon shouted. â€Å"Let me out!† The man smiled. â€Å"Your friend Katherine is here with me,† the man said. â€Å"I have the power to spare her life. Your life as well. But your time is short, so I suggest you listen carefully.† Langdon could barely hear him through the glass, and the water had risen higher, creeping across his chest. â€Å"Are you aware,† the man asked, â€Å"that there are symbols on the base of the pyramid?† â€Å"Yes!† Langdon shouted, having seen the extensive array of symbols when the pyramid had lain on the floor upstairs. â€Å"But I have no idea what they mean! You need to go to Eight Franklin Square! The answer is there! That's what the capstone–â€Å" â€Å"Professor, you and I both know the CIA is waiting for me there. I have no intention of walking into a trap. Besides, I didn't need the street number. There is only one building on that square that could possibly be relevant–the Almas Shrine Temple.† He paused, staring down at Langdon. â€Å"The Ancient Arabic Order of Nobles of the Mystic Shrine.† Langdon was confused. He was familiar with the Almas Temple, but he had forgotten it was on Franklin Square. The Shriners are . . . â€Å"The Order†? Their temple sits atop a secret staircase? It made no historical sense whatsoever, but Langdon was in no position at the moment to debate history. â€Å"Yes!† he shouted. â€Å"That must be it! The secret hides within The Order!† â€Å"You're familiar with the building?† â€Å"Absolutely!† Langdon raised his throbbing head to keep his ears above the quickly rising liquid. â€Å"I can help you! Let me out!† â€Å"So you believe you can tell me what this temple has to do with the symbols on the base of the pyramid?† â€Å"Yes! Let me just look at the symbols!† â€Å"Very well, then. Let's see what you come up with.† Hurry! With the warm liquid rising around him, Langdon pushed up on the lid, willing the man to unclasp it. Please! Hurry! But the lid never opened. Instead, the base of the pyramid suddenly appeared, hovering above the Plexiglas window. Langdon stared up in panic. â€Å"I trust this view is close enough for you?†The man held the pyramid in his tattooed hands. â€Å"Think fast, Professor. I'm guessing you have less than sixty seconds.†

Success, challenges and future prospects of IS outsourcing in the UK: A case study of an UK company outsourcing most of its IS activities.

Outsourcing has become increasingly attractive for many organizations. In such relationship, a company contracts with a vendor that rents its skills, knowledge, technology, service and manpower for an agreed-upon price and period to perform functions the client no longer wants to do. Much attention has focused recently on the outsourcing of IS/IT services to countries such as India and the Philippines. Indeed outsourcing any business activity creates potential risks as well as benefits.Companies can find themselves overly dependent on suppliers, and they can lose strength in strategically core competencies. Interestingly, given the importance of the outsourcing decision and the amount of academic and practitioner literature on it, there is surprisingly little consensus about the topic, probably because of the multiplicity and complexity of the factors involved. In this section, the authors identified six key factors that companies should consider when making outsourcing decisions. Th e framework, which helps assess the pros and cons of outsourcing, can be applied specifically to IS/IT functions.Changes in the broader business environment are affecting nearly every aspect of how companies manage their human resources, altering the balance of pros and cons for outsourcing IS/IT business process. First, conflicting pressures in the labor market have brought the role of human resources to the fore. On the one hand, the 1990s bought the so-called war for talent for IT professionals. On the other hand, intensifying competitive pressures have forces companies to be more aggressive in cutting costs, often by reducing head count.Human resources have had to manage such downsizing, while also trying to be innovative in attracting and retaining valuable employees. Second, IS/IT themselves have become the target for belt-tightening efforts, and they must now find ways to provide more value at lower cost. Many have argued that the key is to focus on activities that are essent ial and outsource the rest. Third, the growing complexity and increasing regulatory changes in the legal environment for human resource management, in particular in the areas of health care, stock-related compensation, overtime-pay calculations, pension reform, and eligibility for contingent workers.This has driven demand for outsourced IS/IT activities from vendors that are subject-matter experts. Globalization poses a comparable challenge, requiring IS/IT departments to address the needs of the business and moving between different countries and markets. Lastly, mergers and acquisition have become increasingly frequent, creating huge IS/IT integration challenges. Often, IS/IT is charged with the simultaneous tasks of integrating and managing the technologies and business processes in the face of continuous change. Problem StatementThe primary objectives of this dissertation will be to investigate the issues involved in factors affecting the success or failure of outsourcing IS/IT activities. Before doing this however there will have to be a thorough examination of the current state of global IT outsourcing services. The main task of the research is to find out what actually makes outsourcing work for Welsh Water. Challenges of having multiple suppliers and the steps Welsh Water undertakes to make outsourcing success. The following is a list of objectives which the author aspires to accomplish in the dissertation:– To analyse the objectives for outsourced services, selecting outsourcing suppliers, benchmarking. – To research contractual aspects of ‘multiple suppliers’ outsourcing, problems and risks associated with it. Assessment of contracts/SLAs: structures, similarities and differences between contracts/SLAs – What steps Welsh Waters undertakes to make outsourcing success (outsourcing program management, contract management, building outsourcing relationships, partnership, mutual benefits, communications, change control, h ow performance is measured, what constitutes for success/failure, etc)– To investigate if any proven/best practices have been adopted by Welsh Waters to mitigate the risks and manage the suppliers effectively. – To look at the ‘uneasy’ relations between the Welsh Waters IT management and some of the suppliers – To research relations between suppliers themselves (possible hostile behavior towards each other, rivalry, hidden conflicts, etc). The Overview of the Study The remainder of this study is as following statement: Chapter 2, Literature Review, will provide first a concise concept and explanation of IT outsourcing.We will examine the competitive landscape within the IT outsourcing industry. We will also define critical success factors and key trends for IT companies operating in this market. We also look different related literature on supplier management and sourcing decision framework for clients. Chapter 3, Methodology, will describe the rese arch design of this study. The research design of this study is empirical research method using secondary data for quantitative analysis. The researchers administered a case study framework to understand the factors affecting the IT sourcing decisions of clients.Chapter 4, Results, will demonstrate the results of this study. The authors will provide a brief description of the company under study, highlighting IT sourcing decision of the company. The research also will employ statistical data such as frequency distribution, mean and standard deviation on the different factors that affect the success and failure of IS/IT outsourcing. These data will be tabulated and analyzed to examine the effect of the various variables. The findings will then be generated from these analyses will be presented and interpreted.Chapter 5, Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations, the â€Å"Summary† section will first provide a comprehensive summary of the major findings of this study. The â€Å" Conclusion† section will highlight the implications of the research findings. Finally, â€Å"Recommendations† will be proposed to help companies improve IT implementation with partner suppliers and avoid pitfalls and traps. In next chapter, we will discuss the environmental analysis on Global outsourcing highlighting process management services, IT management, and data processing. REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATUREThe literature review will first define nature of business process outsourcing. This section will offer a concise definition of IT outsourcing and its ability to thrive in a globalized economy. Then, the review will consist of three parts: (1) Environmental Analysis of the Outsourcing Industry and competitive landscape in the industry, (2) define the common IS/IT activities that are outsourced, (3) identify the key success factor of IT outsourcing and define the maturity stage of the company, and (4) the importance of customer-vendor relationship in providing innova tive solutions to the clients.Defining of Business Process Outsourcing Given the potential headaches of managing IT, it is tempting to hand the job over to someone else. Indeed, outsourcing once appeared to be a simple solution to management frustrations, and senior management teams at many companies negotiated contracts with large service providers to run their entire IT functions. At a minimum, these providers were often able to provide IT capabilities for a lower cost and with fewer hassles than the companies had been able to themselves.But many of these outsourcing arrangements resulted in dissatisfaction, particularly as a company's business needs changed. Service providers, with their standard offerings and detailed contracts, provided IT capabilities that were not flexible enough to meet changing requirements, and they often seemed slow to respond to problems. Furthermore, a relationship with a supplier often required substantial investments of money and time, which entrenche d that supplier in the company's strategic planning and business processes.The company then became particularly vulnerable if the supplier failed to meet its contractual obligations (Ross and Weill, 2002). Problems arose because senior managers, in choosing to outsource the IT function, were also outsourcing responsibility for one or more of the crucial decisions they should have been making themselves. Companies often hired outside providers because they were dissatisfied with the performance of their own IT departments—but that dissatisfaction was primarily the result of their own lack of involvement.In light of this track record, most larger companies, at least, are deciding to keep their main IT capabilities in-house. But many engage in selective outsourcing. Good candidates for this are commodity services, such as telecommunications, in which there are several competing suppliers and specifications are easy to set, and services involving technologies with which the compa ny lacks expertise. Unlike decisions to outsource the entire IT function, selective outsourcing decisions are usually best left to the IT unit, assuming that senior management has taken responsibility for overall strategy.Beaumont and Costa (2002) studied IT outsourcing in Australia. They found that almost 40% of Australian organizations outsource one or more IT applications. Large organizations tended to outsource more than small ones. The three most important reasons for outsourcing were access to skills, improved quality and focus on core business. Four factors contributed to successful outsourcing: a tight contract, a partnership, a change process, and the IT manager's role changing from managing projects and operations to acquiring and managing the internal and external resources required to do the organization's IT work.Successful IT outsourcing relationships enable participants to achieve organizational objectives and to build a competitive advantage that each organization co uld not easily attain by itself. Outsourcing success can be viewed as the level of fitness between the customer's requirements and the outsourcing outcomes. Outsourcing success can be measured in terms of both business and user perspectives. From a business perspective, outsourcing is motivated by the promise of strategic, economic, and technological benefits.The success of outsourcing, then, should be assessed in terms of attainment of these benefits. From a user perspective, outsourcing success is the quality level of services offered. A decision to outsource on the basis of saving costs without analysis of the quality of services frequently leads to higher costs and lower user satisfaction. Therefore, it is imperative to conduct a proper analysis of the service quality before building a relationship with a service provider for a successful outsourcing arrangement (Lee & Kim, 1999).In this paper, we define outsourcing as the process of turning over an organization's computer cente r operations, telecommunications networks, and/or applications development to external vendors is called outsourcing (Laudon & Laudon, 2005). Loh and Venkatraman (1992a) define IT outsourcing as the significant contribution by external vendors in the physical and/or human resources associated with the entire or specific components of the IT infrastructure in the user organization. Vendors may contribute computer assets for the user from outside the organization.Alternatively, the ownership of certain computer assets of the user may be transferred to the vendor. Similarly, vendors may utilize their personnel to provide the required services, or the vendor may employ existing staff of the user. In their research, they attempted to explain the degree of IT outsourcing by using cost structures and economic performance. They found that the degree of IT outsourcing is positively related to both business and IT cost structures, and negatively related to IT performance.IT outsourcing was fr amed as a make-versus-buy decision, where contractual modes differ in the domain of influence within the corporation (Loh & Venkatraman, 1992a, 1992b). Environmental Analysis of Outsourcing Market In the global front, the increasing trend towards outsourcing is evident from the high year-on-year growth of the global market for data processing and outsourcing, a sector, which consists of the provision of commercial electronic data processing and/or business process outsourcing services.Since 2001, the market has expanded by almost 50%. The global data processing and outsourced services market reached a value of $265. 5 billion in 2005, recording a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9. 7% in the 2001-2005 period. The rise in credit card use and Internet banking/payment has created new types of problems for operators in this area; firms in this market are engaged in developing and refining data protection techniques to fight against money laundering and fraud.

Article of Confederation Essay

Article of Confederation Essay Article of Confederation Essay To Amend or Not to Amend The Articles of Confederation is the first governing mechanism devised for the United States. As the precedent, many Americans, especially the Foundering Fathers, knew that it had many weaknesses, but that’s precisely what they intended: a Confederacy. Out of fear of replicating another British monarchy, the colonists attempted to construct an extremely weak government and avoid concentrating powers in the hands of a few individuals. However to assess the effectiveness of the government set up by the Articles of Confederation it is paramount to discuss the problems faced by the country during the post-Revolutionary decade from 1781 to 1789 and to what how effectively and to what extent those issues were dealt with. However, by doing this more problems were created than the government could solve. Additionally, the word â€Å"effective† is a bit ambiguous. In terms of securing personal liberties and continuing the American lifestyle, the Articles did a fantastic job but in terms of national security and building world superpower country, the Articles failed miserably. In other words, while the Articles may have its advantages inherent to a Confederacy, the various problems facing the country such as an economic crisis, foreign threats, and a lack of general unity inevitably created an ineffective and feeble method of governing the new nation. Primarily one of the main causes of the Revolutionary War was to become political independent from the British Crown and instate a form of a weak central government to protect individual state rights. However, the Coalition of States have yet to actually become economically independent. Both before and after the Revolutionary War, states have continued to export millions of dollars worth, averaging around 5 million pre-revolution and 4.5 million post-revolution. (Doc B). In addition, the interstate commerce between states were more like 13 different nations with 13 different currencies floating around. Even more, Congress and the States shared the ability to coin money and issue currency, which quickly prompts inflation as too much money was floating around with no gold or sliver to back up the currency. Shays’ Rebellion was actually caused by the lack of trust and instability of the Massachusetts dollar prompting a downward spiral of farm foreclosure and making farmers even less able to pay off the debt. Furthermore, because Congress itself was denied the right to tax, they were also denied the power to excise regulatory tariffs or taxes. State tariffs within the states would have caused prices to skyrocket every time it caused a merchant to travel state boundaries. Urban artisans would have favored tariffs to protect their profits and merchants would have enjoyed open markets around the world both of which Congress was incapable to achieving. Even when Congress recommended some impost on imported goods, Rhode Island unanimously decided to ignore that act ion, because it harmed state interests, even those it might have helped national interests. (Doc A). On top of that, since Congress had no ways of raising revenue or steady sources of money besides â€Å"requesting money from state legislature,† which rarely occurred, the U.S. wasn’t able to pay back the war-related debts, make good on public bonds, or even properly pay veterans. (Doc C). The current economic situation was extremely precarious between a national deficiency of assets and a fluctuating dollar; it’s almost to conduct business within the United States or with other nations. In fact, because the nation was so splintered nations would probably sign treaties or other types of agreements with multiple parties besides one single state. On the other hand, relations with foreign powers were especially hazardous. Spain controlled the Mississippi thus impeding Western expansion and depriving colonists of a major transportation and trade route. In addition, S pain like other major powers looked down on the

Analysis of Alpha Response Technology Solutions versus Positivo

This paper provides a quantitative assessment for the creation of Alpha Response Technology Solution (ARTS), a Taiwanese Technology firm. The quantitative assessment is meant to provide critical data that would enable the company to break into the Rwandese market and be successful. Alpha Response Technology Solution (ARTS) intend to compete against Positivo BGH, accompany which is already established in the country of Rwanda. The main product solution for ARTS is GT80S Titan SLI 18.4in Core i7 Notebook. This kind of Notebook is specifically built for use in the analysis of Western Business Market. It retails at 4999 or 3792.37(82 Rwandese francs). ARTS’s Chief Executive Officer happens to have shared the same classroom with the Chief Executive Officer of Positivo BGH during their time in University. The two officers also share an emotional rivalry regarding ownership of CPU designs. The CEO OF ARTS claims that his CPU designs were copied by his former university classmate who is currently the CEO of Positivo BGH. The claimed computer design was used by Positivo BGH Company when it made its first entrance into the Rwandese Computer market. Rwanda is a landlocked country located in the eastern part of Africa. It is bordered by four countries. There is DRC on its western side, Tanzania to the East; Uganda is located in its northern part whole Burundi is located on its south. The nation has a total population of about 11.64 million. Out of the population, 48% are males while 52% are females. The nation has made huge strides in economic development with the support that it has obtained from the World Bank and IMF. As a result, it has been able to enjoy a stable economic growth over the last 10 years. Description of the incentives to enter the Rwandan Special Economic Zone Alpha Response Technology Solution (ARTS) intends to introduce Notebook computers into the Rwandese market. The brand of the Notebook will be is GT80S Titan SLI 18.4in Core i7. The notebooks would retail at 4999 or 3792.37(82 Rwandese francs).   The notebooks would have the following specifications; Intel i7 6920HQ CPU, NVIDIA GeForce GTX980M graphics in SLI, 1x HDMI, 32GB DDR4 memory, Super Raid 4 512GB solid state drive, 1TB hard drive, 1x USB Super Port Type-C, 18.4in Full HD anti-glare display, Windows 10, 5x USB 3.0, Blu-ray writer, Gigabit LAN, Dynio 7.1io, 1x Mini DisplayPort,   Ã‚  Bluetooth 4.2. There is currently a laptop manufacturing company in Rwanda. The company is known as Positivo BGH and it originates from Argentina. The company has so far produced many laptops in the tiny country. The aim of the company when it first entered the market was to supply the government of Rwanda with digital devices (Asaba , 2016, p. 3). It was expected that production of the laptops locally would greatly reduce the shortage of digital gadgets which has been experienced in most of the learning and teaching institutions in the country. Many schools had complained of the shortage and there was a need for the improvement of the teaching of ICT programs in the learning institutions. Positivo BGH led by the CEO Mr. Juan Ignacio Ponelli started its operations in the country in July 2014 (Eleni & Parke, 2016, p. 1). As at late 2015, the company had assembled a total of 7,800 computer units. According to the Chief Executive Officer of Positivo BGH, he believes that his company has brought one of the best technology to the African country of Rwanda. The manufacturing firm for Positivo BGH is located in Special Economic Zones (Positivo BGH, 2017, p. 9). The area is geographically and physically secured. There is a single body that administers the entire area. The government has supplied some incentives in these areas that have promoted the work of the foreign investors. There is a simplified and liberal business economic regulation in the area There are a number of factors that have motivated ARTS to enter the Rwandese market. They include; The country is very stable politically. The Rwandese people learned a lot of lessons from the 1994 genocide and they don’t wish to be dragged into such a situation again. They have been very tolerant and peaceful since the genocide occurred. In the country’s general election of 2013, female candidates won 64% of the total contested seats (Balakrishnan, 2016, p. 3). That was evidence that the country’s democracy has tremendously grown. The country has a set vision which they are looking towards. It is entitled as vision 2020. There are goals that the people of Rwanda would like to achieve by the year, 2020 (Darid , 2016, p. 5). The government of Rwanda intends to transform the economy of the country from agriculture based to an economy that is knowledge-based. The country also hopes that it would be able to fall under middle-income country by then (Kanamugire & Afadhali, 2016, p. 12). The government has therefore put in place economic development strategies. There are also measures that have been put in place to ensure that poverty is eradicated in the country. Since 1994, the Rwandese government has focused on economic transformation, youth empowerment, productivity and rural development. The country managed to meet the majority of the 2015 and 2016 Millennium Development Goals that it had set (Balakrishnan, 2016, p. 3). There was a huge improvement in the standards of living among the people of Rwanda. There was a drop in the mortality rate. The government of Rwanda has also put a lot of focus on development policies. The news of the introduction of ARTS into the Rwandese market would, therefore, be received with a lot of joy (Eleni & Parke, 2016, p. 13). There is a bitter rivalry between Positivo BGH and ARTS. The CEO of the two companies was once classmates in the university. In addition, The Chief Executive Officer of ARTS Claims that Positivo BGH copied his CPU designs. As a result, he is willing to enter the same market with Positivo BGH and compete against it. The CEO of ARTS would be willing to outdo his rival company, Positivo BGH so as to prove that he was the mastermind behind the design of the CPU of the notebook that was being produced by Positivo BGH (Positivo BGH, 2017, p. 64). Power buyer refers to the possibility of customers shifting from the products of Positivo BGH to those of ARTS. How possible will ARTS convince the customers so that they can shift allegiance? There is a number method that can be used by ARTS to win Rwandese customers. The first method is through the production of better products than those of Positivo BGH. The company must also strengthen their service delivery. The second method is through convincing influential customers that their products are the best ( Miller, et al., 2011, p. 23). Influential customer are able to convince the rest of the customers In this case, ART company has to keenly assess the possibility that suppliers of items used in the manufacturing process can raise the prices of the items. If there are few suppliers, then they are likely to raise prices at will. However, if the suppliers are many then they would not be able to raise easily. Suppliers are more powerful when they are few than when they are many ( Miller, et al., 2011, p. 32). It is important for any business company to note the number of its competitors. They should also be aware of the competitor’s capacity. A company would have very little power in the market if I am faced with many competitors that are offering similar products. Buyers and suppliers would have many alternatives in case they are not satisfied by the products of the company. However, if there is no other company that is capable of matching you in the market then you would have great control. As a result, ARTS would only face one competitor in the market that is PositivoBGH. If ARTS is capable of producing products that exceed those of Positivo BGH, Then it would have full control of the Rwandese market ( Miller, et al., 2011, p. 39).   Substitution comes about when people discover a different way of carrying out a duty that you do. Your power would hence be weakened. For example, if ARTS come into the market and produces expensive notebooks which are used to perform some duties, then the people may resort to a manual way of carrying out the duties. Substitution may come about very easily. Every business company is afraid of substitution (Asaba , 2016, p. 43). Threat from new entry into the market The possibility of other players entering the market is likely to affect the power of other players which are already in the market. A company that has little protection in regard to its technology is likely to lose its position with the arrival of other players. Positivo BGH is likely to be threatened by the arrival of ARTS since it had copied its CPU design from the CEO of ARTS (Mindtools, 2016, p. 27). ARTS, therefore, has the capacity to improve on the design. ARTS produces technology design for its products Copied its technology design from the CEO of ARTS. ARTS intends to enter the Rwandese market so that it can be able to produce Notebooks Positivo BGH has already started manufacturing computers in the African country of Rwanda Likely return for producing and releasing Titan for sale to the Rwanda domestic market versus Western market There is a high return for realizing titan since there are few competitors There is low return for the release of titan because there are many competitors There would be low return for producing titan because most of the raw materials would have to be imported. The importation process would hence be expensive. Skilled labour would also need to be imported. There would be high return for producing titan since there would be readily available raw materials and skilled labour. ARTS must put in place strategies that it would use to win customer in Rwanda. At the moment all the customers buy their computers and computer products from Positivo BGH. ARTS and Positivo BGH would be the only companies in Rwanda. As a result, they would be able to dictate the market since they are few. They would have full control of the market. However, they should be aware that future entrance of any other company into the market would reduce their control power in the market. ARTS must, therefore, ensure high quality of its products in order to remain competitive in the market even when another company enters the market. Miller, F. P., Vandome, A. F. & McBrewster, J., 2011. Porter Five Forces Analysis, s.l.: VDM Publishing. Asaba , S., 2016. Tech News, Rwanda, s.l.: New Times Rwanda. Balakrishnan, K., 2016. Rwanda. Washington: World Bank. Darid , F., 2016. Rwanda Foreign Direct Investment, s.l.: Trading economics. Eleni , G. & Parke, P., 2016. Why this South American Company is making laptops in Rwanda, s.l.: CNN. Kanamugire, J. & Afadhali, J. P., 2016. Positivo now produces new computers in Rwanda, s.l.: The East African. Mindtools, 2016. Porter’s Five Force, s.l.: Mindtools. Positivo BGH, 2017. Create your own experience, s.l.: Positivo BGH.

The role of insurance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The role of insurance - Essay Example Broadly defining the term, it is the transfer of risk from one owner to another. This exchange from one entity to another is done by paying a premium to one party who is undertaking the contingent risk. In return, the person who is giving up on the loss and paying the premium gets the benefit of knowing either the extent of risk that is present and or preventing the loss at all.Insurance is one of the basic forms of risk management. In terms of position, an insurer is the person who undertakes the risk of loss; the policy holder is the person who buys the insurance and let's go of the risk that is associated. There is another term that is present, called the insurance rate; this factor is used to determine the charge that is charged for a certain kind of insurance. This extra charge is called the premium that the policy holder has to pay to let go of the risk that is present. All in all, the field of insurance and related risk management has evolved as a science. Insurance, along wit h risk management goes hand in hand. In other words, insurance is a product that is used to manage the risk that is associated with an expected event such a death, or an accident in which the prospective risks associated with the death and the accident would be the risk of the family losing a family member and the income that he or she brings. Also, the damage of the car in the accident will have to be paid. In such a case, where one knows the prospective hazards of something, it is better to insure the event so that the weight of paying for that risk at a later stage decreases. The risk premium that the policy holder has to pay depends upon the kinds of risk that the insurance company is covering. In short, the higher the risk, the higher the premium is to be paid to the insurance company and the events with a lower risk have to be adjusted with a lower premium. In evaluating the risk of an event, the insurance company makes sure that they take into account every quantifiable and qualitative factor that is present in the environment to come at a compensation that can be good enough today in order to cover the expenses in the future, if the event happens. Therefore, they insurance company greatly increases its value when the event that is being insured doesn't happen at all. For all this to take effect, the insurance providers undertake massive research regarding the insurance holder and the event that might take place. They insurance company also makes sure that they use statistical tools to evaluate the occurring of the events that may be insured, for exam ple the loss of an earning family member or an illness. Risk profiling is another major aspect of insurance. Companies who provide insurance makes sure that they do adequate risk profiling and consider it an important part. According to research and the Pareto principle, more than 80% of insurance claims arise from less than 20% of the profiles that are present. Thereofre, risk profiling helps the insurance companies understand which areas provide them greater risks of claims and which don't. Insurance providers' major aim is to develop an understanding regarding the subject that is being insured and gathering maximium possible and relevant knowledge so that they are able to better evaluate the potential risks that are present and also the likelihood of the occurrence of such events. Co-relations between different events, different factors, and summaries are presented to help the insurance providers with sound conclusions. Today, even artificial intelligence is being used in order to understand the correlation that is present between even ts that would help the insurance providers gauge the risk of an event happening. For example, the correlation between people having high amounts of alcohol everyday and