Hypothesis Testing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Speculation Testing - Assignment Example The invalid speculation is basic an explanation that demonstrates that nothing is occurring to the populace. It shows that there is no relationship or contrast in the populace and the fundamental realities despite everything remain constant. The elective speculation then again is an explanation that shows that something is going on to the populace. It plainly shows that there is a distinction or relationship in the populace under investigation. Parametric tests gauge populace boundaries, for example, the mean while the nonparametric tests then again help in the positioning and requesting of perceptions and information (Christensen and Johnson, 2011). It is significant that a decision be made between the utilization parametric and nonparametric tests. In the event that there is adequate proof to find out that there is ordinary conveyance in the populace then it is fitting to us parametric tests. At the point when the populace doesn't have an ordinary dispersion then it will be fitting to utilize nonparametric tests. A genuine case of a parametric test is the ANOVA while that of the nonparametric test is the Kruskal Wallis (Vogt,

How to Boost Engagement on Your Facebook Page

The most effective method to Boost Engagement on Your Facebook Page In the event that you as of now have a Facebook profile, you might be asking why you would even need a Facebook writer page. Heres my answer: Facebook profiles are for individuals. They are a setting to associate with companions and colleagues to share data about your lives. A Facebook profile can’t be utilized to showcase organizations or items, for example, your books and workshops. On a Facebook writer page, you can advertise your books, advance your readings and workshops, and advise fans about your limited costs and Goodreads giveaways. To put it plainly, this is the place you can convey important substance that your fans will need to know just as advance books and different items and administrations you may offer. What's more, a Facebook page will assist you with building your image, connect with your perusers, and improve your web index results, which thusly will support deals of your books and participation at your workshops. Here are a portion of my preferred tips for expanding offers and Likes on my page. 1. Concentrate on delivering quality substance, composing short posts (80 to 190 characters), and continually including pictures that are vivid, novel, and convincing. 2. React rapidly to your fans’ remarks, advance their distributing victories, and simply appreciate the experience. 3. Parity the commonplace with the important. Adorable little cat pictures are ordinary while presents with joins on strong substance are important announcements. I balance my page 4. Apparatus your messages towards your crowd. On the off chance that your crowd adores YA books, don’t post data about artistic fiction. Keep to the themes they care about. 5. Utilize heavenly pictures. Facebook clients love them. 6. Post recordings. They are well known on Facebook. 7. Trial with your posts, study your Insights †Facebook’s free logical element †and realize what works best for your crowd. What works best on your Facebook page?

8 Financial Tips for Freelancers

8 Financial Tips for Freelancers 8 Financial Tips for Freelancers 8 Financial Tips for FreelancersWorking freelance means being prepared to hustle for your next gig, save money to cover late payments, and maybe even becoming a corporation!We’re going to let you in on a little secret: The “we” who collectively bring you the OppLoans Financial Sense blog have some experience with freelance writing. And that’s how we can definitively tell you that freelance writingâ€"and freelance work in generalâ€"is truly a land of contrasts.On the one hand, you’ll likely have a higher degree of freedom about how you structure your time. On the other hand, your situation will likely be much more precarious. A salaried position might be more restrictive when it comes to your work week, but the regular paycheck and (if you have them) benefits can lead to more financial freedom overall.That’s why we spoke to the experts to find out how freelancers can even the odds and improve their financial situation.1. Track your spending.Everyone should keep track of wh at they spend. But it’s especially important if you have irregular income, as many freelancers do.“You should start tracking your spending with whatever method you’re most likely to stick withâ€"write it down, use an Excel sheet, or install a convenient app,” advised Michael Minter, managing partner of Mintco Financial. “At the end of the month, you can view your financial history and determine where you could have saved more.”And speaking of saving more…2. Build up your savings.As with tracking your spending, everyone should have an emergency fund, but it’s absolutely vital for freelancers. You may not always know when your next check will come, and financial emergencies can happen regardless of the whims of your clients’ payroll departments.“Create an emergency fund so you dont have to borrow at high rates when an unexpected expense comes up,” suggested Ilene Davis, CFP(R), MBA, and author of Wealthy by Choice:  Choosing your Way to a Wealthier Future. “Pu t enough into savings to cover two months of bills.”Lacking an emergency fund is one of the main reasons people find themselves stuck with no credit check loans,  payday loans, and cash advances during times of financial stress. The more you can save, the more secure your finances will beâ€"whether youre a freelancer  or  not.3. Always be outreaching.When work isn’t guaranteed, you want to create as many possibilities for yourself as you can. You’re essentially always applying for jobs, and as is the case whenever you’re applying for jobs, it comes down to a numbers game. You may have to send out dozens of messages to get one response.“The most important tip is to market even when youre busy,” Linda Formichelli, longtime freelance content writer and journalist, told us. “Too often, freelancers do a lot of marketing, get busy with work, and stop marketing. Then they turn in all the assignments and … they have no more work on their schedule. At all. Its key to carve o ut time for marketing no matter how busy you are, so youll always have money coming in.“If youre truly overwhelmed with paying assignments, you might just reach out to old clients letting them know your schedule will be opening up soon, connect with prospects on LinkedIn, or repurpose pitches that never sold.”But dont just go harder with your outreach. Work smarter, as well, be prioritizing outreach to some potential clients over others.“Target clients that will provide work on a regular, repeated basis,” suggested Janet Attard, founder of BusinessKnowHow.com. “These will vary depending on what you do, but if you manage social media for companies, for instance, you’d want to look for companies big enough to needâ€"and be able to pay youâ€"on an ongoing basis for some substantial number of hours of work a month.The reason: startups and small businesses that want small jobs done on an occasional basis often take up a lot of unbillable time, partly because of the number of small invoices you’ll need to send out and then make sure you collect. They may also need a lot of handholding.”4. Dont shortchange yourself.You can’t be afraid to make your quote as high as it needs to be.“Price your services to cover your overhead,” advised Abbey Woodcock, creator of The Business of Copy. “Just because you made $20/hr at your full-time job, doesn’t mean you should price your service at $20/hr. You need to factor in things like payment processing fees, software and tech you maintain, etc.Understand your numbers. How much of your fee goes to taxes? What percentage of your time are you spending finding clients? (You don’t get paid for this time so your rates need to cover it). Are you saving for retirement? Do you have a plan for time off/vacations?”Oh, and speaking of taxes 5. Tax attacks.When youre a freelancer, your client/employer likely wont be deducting anything from your check to cover taxes. Youre expected to do that yourself. As such, being a freelancer can mean getting hit with a huge bill come tax time.One way to offset the pain at tax time is to have a separate fund in addition to your emergency fund you can use to prepare for said tax bill. Here’s how Minter put it:“When you’re self-employed, you’re in charge of sorting your own taxes, the last thing you want is a huge tax bill to hit you by surprise. Put a percentage of your earnings away and don’t touch them, so when it comes to that time of the year, you’re ready with the money.”6. Go corporate.  If youre looking to minimize your tax burden, you could also look into becoming a corporation.“I’m an attorney, and also work to help businesses get started,” Deborah Sweeney, CEO of MyCorporation.com  explained. “We work with many freelancers who are finding it a financial benefit to incorporate (S-Corporation) so that they can have write-offs and put themselves on payroll for FICA tax savings.Many freelancers also see the benefit in protecting t heir personal assets by forming a separate corporate entity under which they perform their business services. This is a great way to protect yourself, manage your assets, and save on taxes.Organizing your business structure is also a great way to obtain more business and present a professional business to potential clients and customers. Freelancers give a professional sense about themselves when their business and corporate structure are established.”Of course, regardless of whether you officially incorporate or not, each freelancer is a business in some sense. And that means…7. Get your money.No business can survive unless it is actually getting paid for the services it offers. Which is why, above all else, you need to make sure you’re actually getting paid for the work you’re doing for clients. And, unfortunately, it isn’t always easy.Paul Gordon, a consultant with the Kinum  collection agency, gave us a detailed overview: “Getting paid is a resource-intensive task fo r most businesses. For most businesses that I work with, providing a convenient way for customers to pay is a critical step in receiving that payment. This generally means an online payment method like a web portal or payment system.Also necessary for this is enough communication with the customer to get the customer to take action and pay their bill. One statement every 30 days in a mailbox is a recipe for disaster. Customers with balances due need to be communicated with every few days, using more than one communication channel.“There is no substitute for acting early for both collecting the amount due and keeping the customer. In order to collect a debt (regardless of how old it is) there are only three ways to communicate with that customer: phone, mail, or the customer comes into the business.“It is always a good idea to get an agreement on payment in writing and signed by the customer. If the customer challenges the debt with an agency, the agency will typically ask for do cumentation. A signed agreement carries more weight than a ledger.”8. Be strategic with your invoicing.When youre a freelancer, youre basically your own collections agency. And while you have to remain persistent, you also dont want to be so aggressive that the company decides to not work with again. Maintaining that balance will be key.“If you’re doing work for   or bigger clients, ask, how long they normally take to pay,” suggested Attard. “And be sure you know who needs to get the invoice, so you get paid on a timely basis. If you’ll be doing a big job for a company (ie, something that will tie up a significant amount of your time) ask to be paid in stages. Get money up front to start the job, another payment halfway through the job and the final payment made when you finish the job.“Send out invoices as soon as a job is done. Don’t wait for the end of the month. The sooner you send out invoices the sooner you’ll be paid. Plus, if you wait until the end of the month you may miss the window during which the company cuts checks for vendors and have to wait an additional month for payment. Consider accepting credit cards. Some customer will pay sooner if they can charge your services.”Being a freelancer is tough. But hopefully, these tips will help you keep your money on track. To learn more about managing your finances, check out these related posts from OppLoans:What’s the Quickest Way to Fix Bad Credit?From Budget to Baller: 6 Tips to Grow Your MoneyThe (Comprehensive) Couple’s Guide To Budgeting8 Ways To Save Money Today, Tomorrow and Every Day AfterWhat are your best tips for living the freelance life? We want to hear from you! You can find us  on  Facebook  and  Twitter.Visit OppLoans on  YouTube  |  Facebook  |  Twitter  |  LinkedINContributorsJanet Attard (@JanetAttard) is a small business expert, author, and CEO of the  website Business Know-How ®.Ilene Davis is a CFP(R), MBA and author of  Wealthy by Choice:  Choosing your W ay to a Wealthier Future. She has 35 years experience as a financial professional helping clients create a more secure financial future, better understand investing, and make wealth enhancing choices.Linda Formichelli is has been a full-time freelance writer and journalist since 1997.Paul Gordon  has worked in both insurance and healthcare industries.  First with insurance, building systems and process for paying health insurance premiums to employee plans to building a call center for all enterprise employees. In healthcare, Paul has been a practice administrator for multi-provider and location practices, responsible for all aspects of practice operations. Now, Paul is helps practices with all nature of operational consulting including, revenue cycle and improved workflow processes.Michael Minter is a managing partner of  Mintco Financial (@MintcoFinancial). He has written a book, been on TV, written articles, spoken at seminars, schools, and colleges. His dream is to reach as man y people as he can to teach about a Personal Financial Plan.Deborah Sweeney (@deborahsweeney) is the CEO of MyCorporation.com (@mycorporation). MyCorporation is a leader in online legal filing services for entrepreneurs and businesses, providing start-up bundles that include corporation and LLC formation, registered agent, DBA, and trademark copyright filing services. MyCorporation does all the work, making the business formation and maintenance quick and painless, so business owners can focus on what they do best.Abbey Woodcock has been a direct response copywriter since 7th grade when she wrote a 30-page sales letter asking her crush to the dance with dismal results. Since then, shes converted better writing sales pages and emails youve probably read from some of the biggest names online. Now she helps other freelancers build and grow amazing businesses at  BusinessofCopy.com.

Facts About the Greek Mythological Creature Cyclops

The Cyclops were represented as strong, one-eyed giants in Greek mythology. Their name is also spelled Cyclopes, and, as usual with Greek words, the letter K may be used in place of the C. Pronunciation:  /saÉ ª.klaps/Also Known  As:  one-eyed giantsAlternate Spellings:  singular:  kyklops,  kuklops.   plural: cyclopes,  kyklopes,  kuklopes.Common Misspellings:  syclopsExamples:  When the volcano at Mt. Aetna smokes, it is, mythologically speaking, the result of the cyclops working at their forge. Who Were the Cyclops? According to the Greek epic poet Hesiod, the Cyclops were the sons of Uranus (Sky) and Gaia/Ge (Earth). Hesiod names the Cyclops Argos, Steropes, and Brontes. The Titans and Hecatonchires (or Hundred-handers), both known for their size, may have been other offspring of Uranus and Gaia. Even though Uranus was their father, he lacked paternal instincts. Instead, he had the nasty habit of keeping all his children imprisoned -- inside their mother, Gaia, who wasnt very happy about it. When the Titan Cronus decided to help his mother by overthrowing his father, Uranus, the Cyclops helped. But they were no better off with Cronus than Uranus. Instead of rewarding them for their assistance, Cronus imprisoned them in Tartarus, the   Greek Underworld. Zeus who, in turn, overthrew his own father (Cronus), set the Cyclops free. Since they were metal workers and blacksmiths, they repaid Zeus with a thank you gift of thunder and lightning. The Cyclops also gifted the gods Poseidon with a trident and Hades with the Helmet of Darkness. Their time in fortunes favor was limited, though. Apollo slew the Cyclops after they struck his son or were blamed for striking his son Asclepius with lightning. Pseudo-Hyginus, Astronomica 2. 15:Eratoshtenes says about the [constellation] Arrow, that with this Apollo killed the Cyclopes who forged the thunderbolt by which Aesculapius died. Apollo had buried this arrow in the Hyperborean mountain, but when Jupiter [Zeus] pardoned his son, it was borne by the wind and brought to Apollo along with the grain which at that time was growing. Many point out that for this reason it is among the constellations.Ut Eratosthenes autem de Sagitta demonstrat, hac Apollo Cyclopas interfecit, qui fulmen Iovi fecerunt, quo Aesculapium interfectum complures dixerunt. Hanc autem sagittam in Hyperboreo monte Apollinem defodisse. Cum autem Iuppiter ignoverit filio, ipsam sagittam vento ad Apollinem perlatam cum frugibus, quae eo tempore nascebantur. Hanc igitur ob causam inter sidera demonstrant. Cyclops as Described by Homer Besides Hesiod, the other major Greek epic poet and transmitter of Greek mythology was the storyteller we call Homer. Homers Cyclops are different from Hesiods, starting with their origin since they are the sons of Poseidon; however, they share with Hesiods Cyclops immensity, strength, and the single eye. The giant Polyphemus, whom Odysseus encounters in his ten-year return sea voyage from Troy, is a cyclops. Here are some passages from Theoi with less well-known information about the various Cyclops:​Tiryns Walls, by the CyclopsStrabo, Geography 8. 6. 11 :Now it seems that Tiryns [in the Argolis] was used as a base of operations by Proitos, and was walled by him through the aid of the Kyklopes, who were seven in number, and were called Gasterokheirai (Bellyhands) because they got their food from their handicraft, and they came by invitation from Lykia. And perhaps the caverns near Nauplia [in Argolis] and the works therein are named after them.TowersPliny the Elder, Natural History 7. 195 (trans. Rackham) :[On inventions :] Towers [were invented] by the Cyclopes according to Aristotle.In Dionysus War Against IndiaNonnus, Dionysiaca 14. 52 ff (trans. Rouse) :[Rhea summoned the rustic gods and spirits to join the army of Dionysos for his campaign against the Indian nation :] Battalions of Kyklopes came like a flood. In battle, these with weaponless hands cast hills for their stony s pears, and their shields were cliffs; a peak from some mountain-ravine was their crested helmet, Sikeloi (Sicilian) sparks were their fiery arrows [i.e. sparks from Mount Etna]. They went into battle holding burning brands and blazing with light form the forge they knew so well--Brontes and Steropes, Euryalos and Elatreus, Arges and Trakhios and proud Halimedes.

Racism In The Movies Essay - 621 Words

Spike Lee’s, Do The Right Thing is a comtemporary look at racism in a ordinary city urban neighborhood. The movie is seen through the eyes of the main character, Mookey, we are shown the multiple relationships and often typical stereotypes of racial groups. This movies is filled with symbolism and imagery that feeds to the story’s plot. Throughout the movie, the scorching heat is always being refereed to. As the movie goes on , the heat rises. I think this is done to represent the increasing racial tension within the neighborhood. The movie uses many situations to paint a picture of the racial tension and inequality. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The main plot of the movie involves the relationship that a black neighborhood has with an†¦show more content†¦They are all blacks. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;Yet a third conflict occurs between residents of the neighborhood and the Korean owners of convenience. Here there is a small language barrier that leads to some of the frustration. Another, larger part of the problem is that residents see the majority of the business in their (black) neighborhood as being owned by non blacks. This serves to create anger toward the owners of these business. The residents think that unfair that things are this way. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;A fourth incident occurs when a white male is walking his bike across the street and accidentally scuffs the kicks of one of the neighborhood blacks. The black guy get very upset because the white man did not apologize,and begins to chase after him. The black guy catches the white guy and starts to reprimand him and threatened him. The white man then responds by saying that the neighborhood is his. nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;nbsp;The movie ends in a final confrotation at Sal’s in which the police are called and a local black resident of the neighborhood is killed by the police while they are trying to restrain him. This actoin by the police sets the other black residents off. They begin to riot and proceed to destroy Sal’s pizza joint. They almost destroy the Korean store too, except that the owner keeps yelling that he is one of them (black). This act seems to satisfy the mob.Show MoreRelatedRacism in Disney Movies Essay5488 Words   |  22 PagesSullivan 30 March 2010 Racism in Disney During the last several decades, the media has become a strong agent in directing and controlling social beliefs and behaviors. Children, by nature, can be particularly susceptible to the influencing powers of the media, opening an avenue where media created especially for children can indoctrinate entire generations. Disney movies, like all other media â€Å"are powerful vehicles for certain notions about our culture,† such as racism. (Giroux 32). Racist scenesRead MoreAmerican Sport Movies Dealing with Racism6989 Words   |  28 Pages1. American Sport Movies There are few countries in the world in which sports permeate national life to the degree that it does in the United States. Sports are a big part of the fabric of American life. The centrality of sports in American life is amply reflected in the American cinema. For decades movie makers have successfully mined sports to produce some of the most inspiring, poignant, exciting and memorable American movies ever made. The genre of ‘Sport Movies’ established in the FiftiesRead MoreMovies Control: Sex and Violence1436 Words   |  6 PagesNowadays, the media has a greater influence than ever on what the public believes and accepts. Research shows that the amount and realism of violence and sex in movies has skyrocketed, influencing the views of our generation. However, little to no attention is placed on the effects of movies on our views of racism, sexism, classism, and heteronormativity. Before watching a movie, you can get a general idea of how much sex and violence it will contain, in order to decide if it is appropriate for youRead More Comparing the Movies A Time to Kill, by John Grisham and To Kill a Mockingbird1285 Words   |  6 PagesHollywoodized, modern-day version of To Kill a Mockingbird. Both movies employ many of the same themes and plot elements; but the former movie is one-dimensional and predictable while the latter is innovative and purposeful. The movie version of Harper Lees novel To Kill a Mockingbird is considered a classic film, whereas John Grisham?s adapted novel is merely another example of the money making efforts of Hollywood. Some of the movies more prominent themes are the same. Both focus on the familyRead MoreA Time to Kill and to Kill a Mockingbird1314 Words   |  6 PagesHollywoodized, modern-day version of To Kill a Mockingbird. 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Naturalized racism is especially dominant in aspects of pop culture including television, and movies. Racism has been commodified and depicted as an act of celebration, which adds to the invisibility. Pop culture has an influential role in constructing and producing the celebratory and commodified ideology of racism. Stuart Hall claims that to understand the ideology of race it isRead MoreCultural Aspects Of American Culture1345 Words   |  6 PagesThree cultural aspects that I observed in the movies are assimilation, acculturation, and enculturation. I saw assimilation in both Spanglish and Crash. In Spanglish, Cristina was the one who went through assimilation. She adapted the American culture and left behind her Hispanic culture. She learned English, Mrs. Clasky took her shopping, and she was able to go to a private school. In the movie Crash, assimilation is seen through all the different people who have adopted the American lifestyle.Read MoreAnalysis Of The Movie Get Out787 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"Im T.S... motherfuckin-A. We handle shit. Thats what we do. Consider this situation... fuckin handled.† Get Out(2017), a modern-day twist on the ongoing issue of racism. It follows the story of an interracial couple, Chris Washington(Daniel Kaluuya) and Rose Armitage (Allison William s) visiting Rose’s parents for their annual labor day party. Jordan Peele, the director, captured the audience by having them at the edge of their seats from all of the suspense but added comedic relief to break

Alzheimer s Disease A Progressive Disease - 925 Words

Alzheimer s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other vital mental functions. Alzheimer s disease is the most common cause of dementia, a group of brain disorders that cause the loss of intellectual and social skills. AD can eventually render a person unable to function in society and to even care for themselves. Since the disease is the 6th leading cause of death in the United States constant research is being done to try to prevent it and to find a cure. Alzheimer s disease (AD) is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions and is the most common form of dementia. Alzheimer s disease is the most common cause of dementia — a group of brain disorders that cause the loss of†¦show more content†¦Unfortunately, the effects on the patient’s brain has been found to develop years before the first symptoms become noticeable. By the time the behavioral and mental symptoms appear, permanent damage to nerve cell s in certain areas of the brain may have already happened. There are currently no specific tests for AD. A physician will perform several tests on a patient, beginning with a physical and neurological exam. The Mayo clinic has a set of criteria they use when determining if someone has AD. They will test reflexes, sense of sight and hearing, muscle tone and strength, ability to get up from a chair and walk across the room, coordination and balance. Blood test will be done to rule out other disorders. Doctors will also perform tests on memory and cognition. They will also perform brain imaging through magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computer tomography (CT) scan, or a positron emission tomography (PET) scan. The last one that is used in only rare occasions is the testing of cerebrospinal fluid. In special situations, like progressive dementia or very young onset dementia, a cerebrospinal fluid exam may be done. The spinazzl fluid can be tested for biomarkers that indicate the likelihood of Alzheimer s disease. Two structural abnormalities ha ve been found in the brains of Alzheimer patients. The first is Amyloid plaques which are clusters of protein fragments (AÃŽ ²-peptide) that come from a protein called amyloid precursor protein (APP), which isShow MoreRelatedAlzheimer s Disease : A Progressive Disease1663 Words   |  7 Pages Alzheimer s disease is a progressive disease that destroys memory and other important mental functions. At first, someone with Alzheimer s disease may notice mild confusion and difficulty remembering. Eventually, people with the disease may even forget important people in their lives and undergo dramatic personality changes. 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Eventually, it terminates the person’s ability to do everyday tasks and requires the person to be under around-the-clock care. Alzheimer’s disease is named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer. In 1906, Dr. Alzheimer noticed changes in the brain tissue of a woman who had died of an unknown mental illness (â€Å"Alzheimer’sRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease : A Serious Progressive Disease1058 Words   |  5 PagesAlzheimer’s disease is a serious progressive disease. There is no cure for it. There have been an estimated 5.3 million people that had this disease in 2015. 5.1 million of those people were 65 years old or older. 200,000 of those people where under 65 and had the detection of the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Alzheimer’s Association (2015) Early detection of this disease is important and imperative in the treatment. Many patients that are suffering from Alzheimer’s Disease don’t find out from theirRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease : A Progressive Neurodegenerative Disease2372 Words   |  10 Pagesdementia is brought forward. Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a brain d isease, is the most common type of dementia, and affects majority of people 60 years or older (1,14). It is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which only continues to worsen over time. Each individual is affected differently with symptoms and the progression. As of right now there is no cure for it (14). Biology of Alzheimer’s Disease Alzheimer’s is a progressive neurodegenerative disease, which attacks the brain. It is not knownRead MoreAlzheimer s Disease : A Progressive Degenerative Disease2632 Words   |  11 PagesIntroduction Alzheimer s disease (AD) is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain from which there is no recovery. There are three brain abnormalities that are the hallmarks of the Alzheimer’s disease is initially caused by plaques buildup in the brain’s neurons as illustrated in figure 1. The support structure that allows the flow of the nutrients through the neurons gets damaged and ultimately there is loss of connection among the neurons and they die off (National Institute of Health,Read MoreAlzheimer s Disease : A Progressive Degenerative Disease Of The Brain981 Words   |  4 PagesAlzheimer’s disease is a type of dementia that gradually destroys brain cells, affecting a person’s memory and their ability to learn, make judgments, communicate and carry out basic daily activities. The disease is a progressive degenerative disease of the brain. It was first described by the German neuropathologist Alois Alzheimer in 1905 (Selkoe, 2016). 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Competitive and Global Strategy Borders

Question: Discuss about the Competitive and Global Strategy Borders. Answer: Introduction: The first material is based on the clear description of strategy that is the integral part for the organisational success. The discussions of this material are highlighting some of the key features associated with the concept. These key findings are stated further: The material specifies that the well-known definition of strategy used by the organisations these days are quite different to the actual meaning. The origin of the term strategy was the Greek word strategos, which signifies the role of the general in the war (com 2016). The material clearly compares the business process with the war field and the business leaders with the general of war. It suggests that the leaders must see what the other commanders or employees cannot see. It is necessary for the leaders to make the right choice and shape up the business tactics to grow by directing the associated employees (Gobble 2012). The material also highlights that in order to achieve the determined goals, it is necessary to keep the focus on four major factors. The first factor is the place where the business will compete in and adopt the business activities by comparing products. Second factor is to determine the efficient unique values that can be attractive enough to draw the attention of the customers. The third factor is to determine the necessary resources for implementing such value added and differentiation services (Kryscynski Ulrich 2015). The focus on the tangible and intangible resources is necessary to add the organisational functionalities. The fourth factor is indicating the process of sustaining the ability of providing unique values to the customers (Somaya et al. 2015). The material thus reflects the idea of maintaining the proper strategic decision making process in order to sustain in this competitive world. The acceptance of such techniques would be beneficial for the organisations to win over the business battles in this current situation. Example of the Organisation Concentrating on the tactics of business strategy presented in this material, it is seen that if the companies can implement such techniques, it will derive more benefits in this competitive world. The example of IKEA is appropriate in such case. If concentrated on the previous business strategy, it is noted that IKEA maintains the contemporary Scandinavian style while manufacturing the furniture. It is noted that IKEA provides the stylish home furniture in an inexpensive rate. Moreover, the company has the greater scale if compared to the local furniture retailers (Grant Jordan 2015). However, even though the company is selling the stylish and designed furniture at low cost, it is necessary for the company to shape the mass-production techniques and the shipping facilities in flat boxes (Youtube.com 2016). On the other hand, it is noticed that the extreme low shipping costs are much beneficial for the suppliers. However, such complex strategic values are difficult for the competito rs to imitate. Therefore, the strategy brings more benefits to the organisation. Key Ideas derived from the Material The week 5 material depicts the underlying concept of international trade through the implementation CAGE framework. The framework is developing the idea about the research and international economics that are creating impacts on the trades between two countries. The key ideas derived from the material are listed below: Depending on the trading behaviour between two countries, the CAGE model is developed. The CAGE model includes four different dimensions and each of the letters stands for different values. Such as C stands for cultural, A stands for administrative, G represents geographic, and E stands for economic. The framework determines that during the international trade, these factors are needed to be taken into considerations. The diversifications of culture, political scenario, locations, and economic structure create the significant impact on trade businesses (Youtube.com 2016). These differences are clearly affecting the interactive purposes among the countries. If the two countries share the similar perspectives, such as same official language, income rate, and common border, it becomes easier for the countries to trade with each other. Due to the commonalities foreseen between two countries strengthens the trade relationships and helps in establishing the strengthened economic structure (Ghemawat 2015). However, it is also needed to considering that each of the country holds the special significance, which is needed to be prioritised (Ghemawat 2013). This priority is needed to be taken into account while undertaking the trading functionalities. The establishment of the effective global strategy helps in strengthening the brnad reputation in a competitive scenario. Moreover, when the business partners will be able to conduct the business functionalities, it increases the future opportunities. The above features of the international trade based on the CAGE model are implying the significance of commonalities between two countries. It helps in understanding the business requirements and regulations more specifically. Example of the Organisation The key ideas derived from the material are indicating that sharing commonalities is much helpful for two countries to trade more than 10 to 15 times. It is noticed that Mexico and Canada are sharing maximum equalities in considering the dimensions associated with CAGE framework. Walmart is one of the largest retail companies in Mexican market. The company is trying to expand the business in other countries due to which the proper economic environment is necessary. It is noted that Canada is renowned as the largest bilateral trading partner in United States (Youtube.com 2016). Moreover, Canada shares the commonalities in geographic location, cultural values, economic structure, and administrative regulations with Mexico. Hence, if Walmart decides to expand their business in Canada, it will be beneficial for the company to earn more profitability for upcoming years. The company will be able to understand the cultural values and the political scenario, which are the major focus for con ducting a business. In fact, it is even stated that the company will be able to strengthen the reputed position in the competitive market. References Ghemawat, P. (2013).Redefining global strategy: Crossing borders in a world where differences still matter. Harvard Business Press. Ghemawat, P. (2015). From International Business to Intranational Business. InEmerging Economies and Multinational Enterprises(pp. 5-28). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. Gobble, M.M., 2012. Innovation and strategy.Research-Technology Management,55(3), pp.63-67. Grant, R. M., Jordan, J. J. (2015).Foundations of strategy. John Wiley Sons. Kryscynski, D., Ulrich, D. (2015). Making strategic human capital relevant: A time-sensitive opportunity.The Academy of Management Perspectives,29(3), 357-369. Somaya, D., Coff, R., Zenger, T. D., Wright, P. M., Mindruta, D. (2015). Strategic Human Capital. Youtube.com, 2016. Pankaj Ghemawat: CAGE framework to evaluate international trade opportunities. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7FpUJaG7uMk [Accessed 26 Dec. 2016]. Youtube.com, 2016. What is Strategy?. [online] YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TD7WSLeQtVw [Accessed 26 Dec. 2016].

Marketing Strategy Models, Tools and Techniques

Introduction Marketing refers to the activities and procedures used in developing, conveying and exchanging various offers that are valuable to the targeted population. Thus it helps in formulating strategies that facilitate sales and business development.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Strategy Models, Tools and Techniques specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More This paper focuses on two marketing strategies namely, blue ocean strategy and guerilla marketing. It also analyzes two marketing tools namely, the â€Å"porter’s diamond model for competitive advantage† and BCG matrix analysis. The objectives and applications of these concepts will be illuminated in the paper. Blue Ocean Strategy Definition This is a strategy â€Å"that enables firms to realize high growth and profits by creating new demand in an uncontested market space† (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 4). The market that is yet to b e discovered is thus referred to as the blue ocean. The existing markets that are characterized by competition are referred to as the red oceans. There are enough growth opportunities in the blue ocean due to lack of competition. The blue ocean strategy is based on three concepts namely, â€Å"value innovation, tipping point leadership and fair process† (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 4). Objective The main objective of this strategy is to help firms to identify new market space. This enables them to eliminate the risk associated with cutthroat competition associated with existing markets (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 5). Implementation steps The implementation of this strategy is based on six principles. The first four principles deal with the development of the blue ocean strategy and can be explained as follows. Formulation of the blue ocean strategy is based on the concept of value innovation. Value innovation is â€Å"the simultaneous pursuit of differentiation and low cost† (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 6). The first principle involves reconstructing the boundaries of the market (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 47). This means that the firm moves from the red ocean to the blue ocean. This transition is illustrated in figure 1. It is the first stage in formulating the blue ocean idea. The transition involves considering six options referred to as the six paths.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The options include identifying new opportunities â€Å"across the industry, buyer groups and strategic groups† (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 48). For example, the firm can identify a need that has not yet been satisfied in the market. The other options involve identifying opportunities â€Å"across time, scope of product or service offering and functional-emotional orientation of the industry† (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 49). â€Å"Focusing on the big pictureâ €  (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 81) is the second principle. This is the planning stage and is achieved through the four action framework. The application of this framework is illustrated in figure 2 and can be explained as follows. The first element involves creating new factors that do not exist in the industry. For example, a new product that satisfies an existing or an emerging need. The second element involves identifying the most valuable needs or factors and satisfying them through superior services or products. An example of this element will involve focusing on superior products by significantly improving their quality. The third element is characterized by the identification and elimination of the factors or needs that are no longer relevant in the industry (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 92). For example, product features that are no longer useful to customers can be eliminated. Finally, the firm is expected to indentify and reduce the factors that should be maintained below the industry level. For example, the price can be maintained at below the industry level in order to facilitate market penetration. These elements facilitate the process of value innovation. The third principle involves creating new demand. This involves aggregating demand by focusing on the commonalities of noncustomers. Getting â€Å"the strategic sequence right† (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 117) is the fourth principle. The strategic sequence refers to the manner in which the blue ocean idea should be executed in order to ensure stable and consistent growth. Thus the firm must properly address the utility and cost concerns. Besides, it must formulate effective pricing policies and meet the adoption requirements in order to realize a feasible blue ocean strategy. The fifth and the six principles deal with the implementation of the blue ocean strategy. The fifth principle involves surmounting the organizational barriers. It is based on the concept of tipping leadership which deals w ith the management of organizational risks. The organizational risks that should be addressed at this stage include â€Å"cognitive, motivational and resource risks† (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 147). The last principle involves incorporating the execution into the strategy. It is based on the concept of fair process which addresses management risks such as attitudes. It helps in ensuring cooperation at the implementation stage.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Marketing Strategy Models, Tools and Techniques specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Example The mobile phone money transfer services in East Africa can illustrate the strategy. The low segment of the market had been taken for granted by local banks in the region. Thus Safaricom, the dominant mobile phone services provider, looked across its product line and consumer groups and identified the opportunity. It was the first firm to launch mobile phone money transfer services (blue ocean idea) in partnership with banks in the region (Safaricom 2011). It also targeted the low income earners who had no bank accounts. Due to the value added by the new service, the firm’s customer base tripled in one year. Strengths and Weaknesses The strategy has two strengths which are as follows. First, it provides consistent and reproducible procedures that can be used by all firms to formulate a blue ocean strategy (Welhrich 2010, p. 125). Second, its tools are visual oriented and this facilitate clear understanding of the concepts. The main weakness of the strategy is that it does not emphasis the role of brand and communication. It assumes that value innovation is realized automatically (Welhrich 2010, p. 126). However, this might not be the case due to external factors such as legal requirements. Guerilla Marketing Definition This is a â€Å"form of marketing which relies on the use of innovative, unexpected and quirky techniques to familiar ize people with a brand† (Levinson 2005, p. 5). Thus it is an unconventional marketing strategy that depends on time, energy and creativity instead of financial capital. Objective The objective of guerilla marketing is to gain publicity through unconventional marketing methods (Levinson 2005, p. 10). Thus it focuses on the formulation of a unique and engaging marketing strategy. This helps in attracting and retaining customers. Implementation Steps Guerilla marketing is meant for the small or medium sized firms. However, the large sized firms can also use it to market their products. It can be implemented as follows. The first step involves setting the marketing objectives. Under normal circumstances, the main objective should be to get as many referrals and transactions as possible from the existing clients.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The marketer should also aim at cooperating with his competitors instead of outperforming them. The second step involves formulating the marketing strategy. The marketing strategy should be â€Å"based on human psychology† (Jay Jannie 2007, p. 13) and informed by creative and unique ideas. The third stage involves selecting the marketing communication channel. A number of channels should be used in order to maximize results. The marketer’s messages should target individuals in order to engage the customers effectively (Levinson 2005, p. 37). Modern technology such as the internet should be used to enhance effective communication (Baltes Leibing 2007, vol.109, pp. 46-55). Planning for the implementation is done in the fourth stage. The plan should focus on time, energy and creativity instead of financial resources. This is followed by the implementation of the marketing plan which involves rolling-out the marketing campaign using the chosen communication channels. The final stage involves measuring the success of the strategy. In this case, profit is the main success indicator. Example An example of guerilla marketing involves a video advert that does not conform to the usual procedures. For instance, the advert can be made unique by defying the recommended color choices, contrast and the balance between pictures and words. Another example involves issuing free samples to the public. Strengths and Weakness The main advantage of guerilla marketing is that it requires little resources but maximizes results (Levinson 2005, p. 56). It also helps companies to establish long-term relationships with their clients since it focuses on individuals. The main weakness of the strategy is that profits might not be the best measure of success (Levinson 2005, p. 67). This is because a rise in profits could be as a result of any other factor such as improvement in efficiency instead of the effectiveness of the marketing strategy. Porter’s Diamond of Compe titive Advantage Definition This is a framework that illustrates the â€Å"manner in which an organization’s ability to create competitive advantages at the international level is influenced by its home base† (Walker 2003, p. 117). The base (country) is associated with the factors that enable or prevents a firm from creating competitive advantages in the global market. Objective The objective of this technique is to provide the information that is needed to identify the available resources and how to develop them in order to create advantages (Walker 2003, p. 120). The information also influences the innovation process. Implementation Steps According to Porter, a country’s competitiveness is determined by four factors namely, â€Å"firm strategy, structure and rivalry, demand conditions, related and supporting industries and factor conditions† (Morschett, Schramm Zentes 2010, p. 78). The interrelationship between these determinants is illustrated by figu re 3 (the diamond) and can be explained as follows. Factor condition is the first element on the diamond. According to this element, a nation usually generates its own factors of production. The impotence of these factors depends on the degree to which they are developed and used in a country. The shortage of the factors thus necessitates innovation (Walker 2003, p. 145). In the context of marketing, this element helps in planning for resource allocation. For example, a firm in a country with cheap internet technology will focus on e-marketing in order to reduce costs. The demand condition is the second element. In this case, local firms will be more interested in a product than foreign firms if the demand for that product is higher in the domestic market as compared to the overseas market. Thus competitive advantages are created when the product is exported. A â€Å"strong trend setting local market helps local firms anticipate global trends† (Walker 2003, p. 158). This is b ased on the fact that the local market has a greater potential to determine the ability of the firms to identify customer’s needs as compared to international markets. Thus this element helps a firm to understand the demand for its products in order to formulate the right marketing strategy. The third element relates to the effect of the related and supporting industries. According to this element, firms will benefit from relatively cheap and innovative inputs if the supporting industries in the domestic market are competitive. This effect is reinforced if there is a strong competition among suppliers at the international level (Morschett, Schramm Zentes 2010, p. 97). â€Å"Firm strategy, structure and rivalry† (Walker 2003, p. 171) is the last element. It relates to the management style and the manner in which companies are organized. This determines the work morel and the operation of the firms. Thus a country whose business laws support an effective company structu re will have more advantages. Figure 3 indicates that the four factors are interdependent. For instance, innovation can not be realized due to factor disadvantages in the absence of rivalry. The role of the government is to encourage firms to be more competitive. It does this through regulation and facilitating the creation of factors of production. Example The Japanese motor industry illustrates the application of this technique. Car manufacturers from Japan have dominated the global car industry due to the following advantages. Factor condition is represented by the large number of highly skilled mechanical engineers in the country. The demand condition in the country is characterized by â€Å"a demanding market due to the written language† (Sally 2005, vol. 10, pp. 341-356). There is a large number of supporting as well as related industries that supply car parts at low costs and high quality. Rivalry in the country’s car industry led to innovation as well as cost r eduction. Finally, the government supports the industry through incentives such as tax holidays. Strength and Weaknesses The main strength of the strategy is that it provides a comprehensive analysis of the factors that determine the competitiveness of a firm at the international level (Walker 2003, p. 25). The information provided by this analysis informs the process of formulating the marketing plan. The disadvantage of the strategy is that it focuses only on the industry. It ignores the contributions of individual firms in regard to the process of creating competitive advantages. BCG Matrix Analysis Definition This is a marketing tool â€Å"that uses a chart to analyze the performance of products or business units† (Kurtz Snow 2009, p. 65). The analysis focuses on the market share as well as the growth rate associated with a brand or a business unit. Objective The main objective of the BCG matrix analysis is to provide the information that is needed when allocating resour ces. It enables managers to identify the brands that should be funded and those that should be eliminated (Kurtz Snow 2009, p. 71). Implementation Steps The BCG matrix is illustrated by figure 4. Drawing the graph is the first step in using the technique. The graph is then used to rank the â€Å"products or business units according to their market share and growth rates† (Grant 2005, p. 488). The circles on the graph (figure 4) represent the products. The size of the circle corresponds to the product’s market share. The graph (figure 4) is divided into four parts which can be explained as follows. The cash cow represents the brands whose market shares are high (Grant 2005, p. 488). Besides, the industries of such brands are characterized by a slow growth rate. The revenue generated by products in this category exceeds the amount needed to sustain the firm. This means that such products are profitable and every firm strives to own them. The dogs represent products asso ciated with â€Å"low market share in a mature and slow-growing industry† (Grant 2005, p. 489). Products in this category are only capable of breaking-even. This means that the revenue they generate is hardly enough to sustain the firm. Thus they should be sold since they lower returns on assets. Question marks denote the products associated with rapid growth and thus maintaining them requires a lot of financial resources. The products in this category do not generate a lot of revenue since their market share is low. They are expected to attain the â€Å"status of cash cows if the market growth rate declines† (Kurtz Snow 2009, p. 92). Stars denote products whose market shares are high and their industries are characterized by rapid growth. They usually attain the status of cash cows when the growth declines (Kurtz Snow 2009, p. 93). Example The British Airline illustrates the application of BCG matrix analysis. The company has four product lines namely, long-haul fli ghts, regional flights, domestic flights and mail services (British Airways 2011). Regional flights (within Europe) accounts for 70% of the firm’s revenue (British Airways 2011). This is therefore the cash cow since the industry is also mature. The long-haul flights market (intercontinental) is mature and dominated by major airlines such as Lufthansa. British Airways’ market share is thus low (British Airways 2011). Consequently, the firm discontinued some of its long-haul flights and opted for an alliance with American airlines in order to connect its passengers to the discontinued routes. The long-haul flights are thus classified as dogs. British Airways being the largest airline in UK has the largest market share in the domestic aviation industry. The industry is growing rapidly as more firms join it. Thus the domestic flights are classified as stars. The mail services are classified as question marks. This is because even though their market is growing rapidly, the cost of offering the services is high due to the rise in fuel prices. Strengths and Weaknesses The main strength of the BCG strategy is that it facilitates rational allocation of resources. Such allocations are based on the performance of a product line. However, the strategy is associated with two weaknesses which are as follows. First, it only concentrates on â€Å"market share, industry growth rate and profitability† (Grant 2005, p. 489). Thus it ignores other aspects of the industry such as competition. Second, it is not very accurate since ranking of the products is done subjectively. Appendix Figure 1 This figure illustrates the factors that facilitate the transition from the red ocean (marked red) to the blue ocean (marked blue). The factors that facilitate this transition are listed in the white region (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 4). Figure 2 This figure illustrates the framework for achieving value innovation that is denoted by the new value curve (at the center) (Kim Mauborgne 2005, p. 4). Figure 3 Porter’s diamond This figure shows the interrelationship between the factors that determine the competitiveness of a country (Walker 2003, p. 117). Figure 4 BCG matrix analysis This figure illustrates how the performance of products is analyzed according to their market share and growth (Kurtz Snow 2009, p. 91). References Baltes, G Leibing, I 2007, ‘Guerilla marketing’, New Library world, vol. 109, no. 2, pp. 46-55. British Airways 2011, Annual reports, https://www.britishairways.com/travel/home/public/en_ua. Grant, R 2005, Contemporary strategy analysis, John Willy and Sons, New York. Jay, L Jannie, L 2007, Startup guide to guerrilla marketing, Entrepreneur Press, London. Kim, C Mauborgne, R 2005, Blue ocean strategy: how to create uncontested market space, Harvard Business School Publishing, New York. Kurtz, D Snow, K 2009, Contemporary marketing, Cengage Learning, New York. Levinson, J 2005, Guerilla marketing during tough times, Morgan James Publishing, Boston. Morschett, D, Schramm, H Zentes, J 2010, Strategic international management, Gabler Verlag, London. Safaricom 2011, Products, https://www.safaricom.co.ke/. Sally, S 2005, ‘Does Porter’s diamond hold in the global automobile industry?’, Advances in Competitiveness Research, vol. 10, no. 3, pp. 341-356. Walker, G 2003, Modern competitive strategy, McGraw-Hill, New York. Welhrich, H 2010, Management, McGraw-Hill, New York. This report on Marketing Strategy Models, Tools and Techniques was written and submitted by user Juan V. to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Simpsons Essays - Television, Series, Entertainment, Free Essays

Simpsons Essays - Television, Series, Entertainment, Free Essays Simpsons Who watches The Simpsons? Composition and Rhetoric For this assignment I watched the show The Simpsons, which comes on the Fox network on Sunday nights at eight. The show is about an animated nuclear family and their everyday lives. The Simpsons targets the middle class families that live in the suburbs of America. The show mainly appeals to families that composed of parents who work at blue-collar jobs and have children, between the ages of 10-18. You can tell this from the commercials, how The Simpsons life style is portrayed and the jokes contained in the show. The commercials seen along side the Simpsons apply to the middle class family. These commercials are meant for both the adults and the children who watch the Simpsons. One such commercial is for Toys R Us. The commercial shows a mom and dad taking their son to the local Toys R Us. Inside the store we get shots of the newest toys to appeal to the kids who are watching the commercial. The commercial then states that it has the most toys for the lowest price. This statement is meant to appeal to the parents who have a low income and can only buy toys that are inexpensive. Among other commercials that are viewed during The Simpsons are family vacation advertisements. One such one is of a family going to Disney world. The commercials states that Disney world has everything for everyone in the family. The advertisement shows the Dad playing golf, which is meant to appeal to the dads who watch the Simpsons. The commercial also shows the mom buying something at the gift shop, which is meant to appeal to the moms who watch the show. And finally the commercial shows the children going on the rides, which is meant to appeal to the kids who watch the show. Another commercial seen with The Simpsons is a commercial for a mini van. In this commercial the mini van is compared to a standard two-door car. The commercial asks, How are you going to fit your family in that two-door car? This commercial is meant to appeal to people who have a large family that needs all that extra space only a mini van can provide. Also the min van comes equipped with a small T.V, and shows kids watching it. This is meant to appeal to children who now instead of just sitting there can watch TV on long trips. All these commercials deal with families. So that means that the television channel is trying to advertise to families who watch The Simpsons. Also the Simpsons mirrors the lifestyle of the people who are watching the show. The show always deals with middle class situations that the viewers can relate to. The family in the show consists of a middle class family with two parents and three kids. Both of the parents graduated from high school and that is the extent of their education. The dad holds a job at the local nuclear power plant. His wife is a housewife and the two kids attend public elementary school. Many of the problems seen in The Simpsons are similar to those, which occur to middle class suburban families. This would appeal to middle class families because they can identify with problems facing The Simpsons. In one episode Bart the eldest son has problems with school bully. He gets into a fight and is beaten up. Later his parents find out about his problem. His mom tells him to tell on the bully while his dad tells him to fight back and shows him how to fight. The parents watching can really relate to The Simpsons. They have dealt with similar situations with their own kids being bulled or getting into fights. While the kids who watch The Simpsons can identify with Bart and his problems with the bully. One other episode The Simpsons had to move because Homer lost his job at the nuclear power plant and showed how the family had to readjust to living in a new town. The episode showed how both the parents and children had to meet new people. Middle class families can understand the frustration that comes along with moving to

The Argument for Managed Care Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

The Argument for Managed Care - Research Paper Example Long-term managed care often involves the care of chronically ill individuals. As the term implies, the chronically ill often spend a significant amount of time in long-term care facilities or under constant supervision and care in the community setting. Such long-term care also implies various health needs including medicines, health personnel, and rehabilitation, and similar needs. This health needs all add up to significant financial costs for health insurance and for health authorities, and most especially for families. In the current climate of economic hardships, the health sector has not been spared from the financial crisis. In fact, in the past few years, budget cuts have been made for health allocations. Health rationing and rationalization practices have been considered in order to establish effective ways of health financing. With the significant costs of long-term care, health authorities review the possibility of reducing long-term health costs. The implications of this decision impact on the quality and on the availability of health services for those who are under long-term care. These patients would likely impact them negatively, and yet, the financial burden of long-term care is a significant issue which is weighing heavily on the health care industry as a whole. In applying health care rationalization processes, budget cuts to long-term care in relation to other health services would seem more rational. Based on these assumptions, this study shall then consider the financial burden of long term managed care and the implications of health rationalization on the delivery of adequate long-term managed care. Tentatively, this study answers the query posed by expressing that long-term managed care has a significant financial burden on the health care system and that based on health rationalization, long-term managed care would have to suffer financial cuts. Discussion of Findings The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (2008) discuss th at long-term care is the blanket term for various services which are meant to meet the medical and social needs of a patient. Patients under long term care mostly include elderly patients and the patients with permanent disabilities or those who are terminally ill. These care facilities include assisted living facilities; these are facilities meant to cater to those who need assistance with their daily activities, but are otherwise able to live on their own (DHHS, 2009). The Continuing care communities are small communities which include various housing apartments, small houses, and nursing homes. These communities cater to the needs of those who are still active and healthy. Home care includes care which is offered by private agencies delivering care in the patient’s homes. Hospice care is also considered long-term care. This type of care is usually offered to those who are terminally ill, helping make the patient and his family as comfortable as possible during the last day s of his life. Long-term care involves numerous activities and services. For nursing homes, the care includes room and board, meals, assistance in activities of daily living, housekeeping, 24-hour supervision, skilled nursing

Project management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 18

Project management - Essay Example 1b) The second difference is the work of Sprints that Hill describes. This is achieved through regular iterations of work, known as Sprints which enhance the product as depicted by the team. It is clear to understand that Agile enhances the churn by reducing defects and defining the product resourcefully. The team evaluated by practicing this technique to steer the direction of the product via this methodology. When a team stops and re-evaluates the direction of a project every two weeks, there’s time to steer it in another direction without spending quality time. 1c)The third difference is the change of scope that is prominent according to Hill 2.The closest role as defined in the Scrum Guide is The Project Manager itself, who must verify these deliverables are those items that have been finished. 2a)However, upon the end of implementation phase, closing a project becomes a necessary point. Closing a project requires careful analysis and often misunderstood from a project management standpoint. 2b) It is the best role because Keeping in track with their progress on day to day basis can be truly helpful in the long run. This become problematic as the project due date comes closer since many smaller tasks may not be captured in the WBS itself. One of the biggest concerns for closing a project is the end the finer details of the store. This becomes more problematic the project does not achieve optimal results. In the Scrum Master Toolkit, the 3 reasons it is supreme is because it is Agile. 3a) Agile allows organizations to harness growth, breed innovation, and define products that can be tangible and intuitive. 3b)Secondly, it allows organizations to one can prototype. Prototyping allows Agile engineers to draft an idea in a constructive manner. This allows organizations to capture interface requirements as depicted by Hill as a central mechanism. 3c)Lastly, props are used in non-tangible sense that allows Scrum Masters to excel in their

The role of the European Parliament

The role of the European Parliament INTRODUCTION The division of powers among an executive, a legislature and a judiciary (Montesquieus tripartite system, The Spirit of Laws, 1748) is the common feature of the national democratic systems. The Parliament/National Assembly as a voice of the people can be considered as the institution that legitimizes system as a whole. Every country has its own parliamentary system, recognized and identified by the citizens. The European Parliament as the EU level legislature was created on the model of its counterparts. However its perception is significantly different. One can compare the internal organization of both, national and European Parliament, status of their members or party system but what undermines all the comparisons is the context in which these bodies are placed. The role of the European Parliament is determined by the nature of the EU and its sui generis character ‘a political system on its own right. It decides on the role of the institutions, division of competences and in ter-institutional relations that differ from those at the national level. Lack of traditional government has a significant impact on the position of the European political parties within the system. There is no executive to identify with nor to oppose to. The European party system is based on two competing principals that posses different resources to shape behavior of ‘their MEPs [agents]- national parties and the European political parties. EU is very often contested because of the lack of the legitimacy. The importance of the European elections is diminished because of the lack of electoral connection with the public and dominance of the national issues (second order elections). The internal procedures as well as decision making process are too complex to be entirely understood by an average citizen. As a consequence there is a different environment for the parties to operate in at the national and the EU level. It generates diverse level of cohesiveness, abilities to control, sanctions and rewards. All these factors decide on the way political parties organize at each level collectively or individually and what are the incentives that determine their choice. Are they in fact weaker in the European Parliament if compares to those in the domestic parliaments in Europe? If it is the case what are the main reasons that make them weaker? Which of the lsquo;principals has more influence? I will argue that due to the different constitutional structure of the EU lack of government performance of the European parties is less apparent than those at the national level. As a consequence the incentives for collective party organization can be indeed considered weaker than it is a case for the domestic parliaments. However evaluation of these incentives cannot be oversimplified. These two levels are interlinked and mutually dependent. Growing cohesiveness within the political groups can be a merit of both: national and European party levels. Importance of the EP (especially after the Lisbon Treaty) draws more and more attention to what does happen in the EP. Its growing power provides national parties with additional incentives to organize collectively at the supra-domestic level in order to maximize effectiveness of their actions. Firstly I will emphasize the main features of the European party system, its structure, mechanisms and levels of collective organization. The first part will be divided in two sections: brief presentation of the nomenclature used in the context of the European parliamentary system and theory of two principals the system is based on. Secondly I will present common incentives for collective party organization, that can be found at both levels. In the third part, I will focus on European dimension of these incentives. Forth part will contain a comparative analysis of two levels: national and European presenting the main differences. Given to the information, presented in the prior chapters, in the fifth one, I will answer what determines voting behavior of the MEPs and internal-party cohesiveness. In the last, sixth part, I will come to concluding statements. I. EUROPEAN PARTY SYSTEM STRUCTURE AND MECHANISMS Structure of the party system in the European Parliament is characterized by its multiplicity of organization levels and actors involved. First of all there are national party delegations which join the European political parties (transnational parties or Europarties) which then create European political groups. These two first levels may result in third although less official one at which political groups cooperate together in order to minimize the influence of other political groups or to build a common front against the other EU institutions such as the Council or the European Commission. Thus one could describe internal organization of the European Parliament as two and a half or three level transnational party system (see Figure 1.1). I.1. DEFINITIONS The European party system is characterized by the complexity of nomenclature which needs to be clarified in order to understand the party organization. Starting from the first component of the structure. National party delegations can be defined as entities within the transnational parties in the EP consisting of MEPs from the same national party. Transnational parties are the group [s] of representatives within a given institution that typically come from the same party family. According to Lindberg et al., in the EP, these transnational parties are also commonly referred to as (transnational) party groups. However, it has to be mentioned that these transnational parties, albeit they create transnational political groups, they are not the equivalent of the latter. In most cases political groups are composed of more than one political party. Not every MEPs belongs to the party that creates the group unaffiliated members. Political groups are not allowed to take part in the campaign for the European elections and cannot be established if the proposed membership consists of MEPs from only one member state. Functioning and organization of the European parties has its legal basis in the Regulation (EC) No 2004/2003 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 4 November 2003 on the regulations governing political parties at European level and the rules regarding their funding. I.2. TWO PRINCIPALS THEORY The principal-agent theory is frequently used by the scholars to describe the relations among the actors involved in the EU policy-making process, namely: institutions and members states. The central problem analyzed [in this theory] is that one actor (the principal) needs to delegate tasks and resources to another actor (the agent) who will take action on behalf of the principal but who has interests and objectives of his or her own. Agent cannot observe the actions of its principal, thus its control abilities are very limited. It creates a serious incentive problem and a necessity of the sanction mechanism to ensure expected outcomes. Principal-agent interaction applies also to the European Parliament. There are two party principals that possess specific resources to shape the behavior of their MEPs. Quality of these resources determines the influence and efficiency of the principals. National parties (principal 1) can use their control of candidate reselection and their control of the process of European elections to influence whether an MEP is elected to the parliament in the first place. European parties (principal 2), in turn, can use their control of resources and power inside the parliament to influence whether an MEP is able to secure his or her policy and career goals once elected. What does the two-principal theory mean for the effectiveness of the European party system? What does it say about the interactions within the system? According to David Marquand, European party system, in order to be fully democratic and effective has to be based on Europe des partis where politics is structured through a party system, and not on Europe des patries where politics is structured around national identities and governments. It would guarantee a higher level of internal cohesiveness and secure the policy objectives. In the European Parliament, there is however a significant pressure from the national parties which may have a strong impact on the final decisions of one MEP or another. When the power of the EP is at stake, MEPs have strong incentive to vote together to acquire more power relative to other EU institutions , to ensure a counterbalance. However, the national parties may be encouraged to exert more influence over their MEPs because of the growing legislative power of the EP. Hence, it can be argued that there will be an increased intervention by national parties to control the activities of their European re presentatives. The functioning of the EP depends to a great extent on the interactions between two principals and the influence of one or/and the other. These interactions are, in turn, determined by a lot of factors. Among the others one can mention: issue covered, circumstances, institutional context and strategies applied by the particular groups. Different incentives offered by them evoke different behavior. Incentives for collective party organization can be common for both levels: national and European, separate or may create a sort of   toolbox of the incentives that are taken out of the box, when there is such a need. II. COMMON INCENTIVES FOR COLLECTIVE ORGANIZATION Collective organization is one of the concept which can be applied to a lot of spheres of political and social science. It refers to the logic of collective action of Mancur Olson and its theory of groups. The main purpose of the collective organization is to reduce transaction costs of what can be achieved by joining the group whose members share the same interests. The most evident form of collective organization in political parties context is the coalition-building. According to John H. Aldrich, political parties are institutional solutions created by rational utility-maximizing legislators to reduce the transaction costs of collective decision-making and solve the internal collective action problems they face in the legislature. There are two main common incentives for collective organization: reduction of transaction costs and solution for collective action problem. Building a coalition is a very time-consuming and demanding process that includes the costs of putting together a proposal, identifying coalition partners and forging a compromise acceptable to a sufficient majority. Going through all these stages every time a party looks for an ally is too risky and does not guarantee sufficient level of influence after all. The existence of political parties reduces these costs by allowing the actors concerned to ‘pre-pack like-minded legislators and form more stable coalition patterns. Coalition-building solves also the problem of collective action in decision making process. Through organizing themselves into a majority party, legislators can receive a higher pay-off in terms of policy then they could achieve as individual legislators. Being a part of a majoritarian coalition is the only way to have enough influence in order to pass a legislation that would secure the policy objectives. Every coalition, once built, has to be cohesive, otherwise it will not play its expected role. Voting behavior of the coalition members determines its power and effectiveness. Transnational character of the political groups, however, can easily impede the internal cohesiveness. There two groups of the reasons that can be mentioned. First one, having its sources in systemic differences as to the political culture, traditions, habits, mentalities, political scene stability (bi- or multipolar), level of dependence on national authorities, attachment to domestic parties, importance of national issues etc. Second one concerning individual features such as personality, knowledge about the issues concerned, language barrier which can hinder the access to informal source of information as well as the informal inter-MEPs relations. The list of the reasons is not exhaustive one. It shows, however, the importance and influence of the national system on the behavior of the MEPs who have been brought up by each particular system. The question arises what can be done in order to ensure a satisfactory level of cohesiveness? What are the instruments that can be used to control voting behavior? The EU party system does not have such an advanced sanction mechanism as it is the case in the domestic parliaments in Europe. Therefore, establishing party leadership seems to be the most effective, if not the only one, solution to compensate this deficiency. There are two possible scenarios that can be applied by the parties. According to the first one, parties can establish a transnational party together with like-minded legislators in order to reduce transaction costs of legislative decision-making. There is no centralized party group leadership and collective action problem of maintaining party unity can be solved through repeated actions. Alternative option assumes the establishment of party group leadership with monitoring capabilities and disciplinary power. These two scenarios give the legislators incentives to fo rm transnational parties at the European level in order to increase their influence over policy outcomes. Apart from having influence on policy-making ‘policy seeking incentive, scholars distinguish two others: ‘re-election and ‘office-seeking. Together, they form a sort of the incentives triangle which defines the collective party organization (see Figure 2.1). It depends on the particular system which incentive is more likely to be used. In the domestic parliamentary system ‘re-election is particularly important one due to a great impact of national parties on future career of their MEPs. It has to be born in mind, that this incentives triangle is characterized by mutual dependence on the one hand and inequality on the other. According Thorsten Faas, their relations can be described ‘clear lexicographic order. He underlines importance of re-election goal as the one that decide on the existence of the two others. ‘Without re-election, there is neither office, nor policy. It confirms the importance of the domestic parliamentary system and preliminary incentive it offers. Once, however, re-election is achieved, it creates further incentives that can be applied at the EU level. III. INCENTIVES FOR COLLECTIVE PARTY ORGANIZATION AT THE EU LEVEL ‘Transnational parties are (†¦) a product of national parties, who created and sustain the transnational parties to serve their own policy goals in the European Parliament. Thus, it is in the national parties interest to ensure the cohesiveness in once created supranational platform. ‘Each national party is unlikely to obtain its policy objectives by acting alone. They need an access to transnational level which would open a ‘window of opportunity through which they could pass their goals. Transnational parties ‘help national parties and MEPs, structure their behavior. These two levels of party organization are characterized by interdependence based on mutuality of interests and benefits. National party as an essential subcomponent of transnational party on the one hand. Transnational party as a useful platform and a source of behavior structure on the other. Apart from these inter-related incentives, falling partially in Principal 1 and Principal 2 resources, one can mention other, reserved only for MEPs once they have been elected (See: II.2. Two principal theory; Principal 2). The most important one is allocation of leadership position within the EP. Party groups ‘control important assets within the EP such as committee positions, rapporteurships for writing legislative reports, and plenary speaking time. ‘The most salient reports are allocated to the most loyal MEPs. Another incentive, however less important, is the control of the parliamentary agenda by the MEPs. They do have an influence on what can be included in the agenda, but they cannot decide on whether one issue or another can be kept of the agenda. The larger party group is, the greater influence on allocation of leadership position and agenda control it has. Using the allocation position power as well as (limited) agenda control one can argue that European poli tical groups are able to ‘enforce party line and mobilize its members to unified voting. While analyzing incentives for collective party organization at the EU level, institutional context has to be mentioned. Behavior of the institutions and their members is to a great extent determined by inter-institutional competition. Each of them seeks to preserve its position on the institutional arena and ensure its influence on the issues concerned. In other words, the inter-institutional competition system is based on counterbalance mechanisms that help the institutions prevent the dominant position of one of them. This is the case also for the European Parliament, whose power has been systematically enforcing by the treaties, moving the EP form its position of purely consultative body (Treaty of Rome) and to the one of an active player the decision-making process (veto power). The ordinary legislative procedure introduced by the Lisbon Treaty, entered into a force in 2009, makes the role of the EP even more significant. Collective organization within the EP as well as voting c ohesiveness help the EP to reduce the importance of two other institutions, namely the Council and the Commission. Another level of the competition which is very present in the EP concern party groups. Inter-party group competition determines voting behavior within the groups increasing cohesiveness. It is in the interest of the political groups to ensure a strong position vis à   vis other groups. Following the general rule bigger can more, creating bigger and more influential platform enables the groups to be more competitive and to constitute a counterbalance to the others. As S. Hix et al. argue, ‘the incentive to form and maintain powerful transnational party organization is fundamentally related to political competition inside the European Parliament (†¦) It pays to be cohesive because this increases a partys chance of being on the winning side of a vote and thus to influence its final outcome. IV. DIFFERENCES BETWEEN INCENTIVES IN DOMESTIC PARLIAMENTS IN EUROPE AND IN THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS Among the consequences of the distinct nature of the nation state on the one hand and the European Union on the other (see: Introduction, pp. 1-2) one can find differences between incentives for collective party organization accessible at both levels. The reasons maybe divided into groups which touch upon different aspects: nature of the European election, re-election capabilities, sanction instruments, constitutional structure and general perception of political parties performance at both levels. Domestic parliaments are perceived as the ones that offer their deputies more incentives than it is the case of the European Parliament, where ‘the role of the political parties is much less apparent.Reif and Schmitt coined the term of ‘second-order national elections to underline the importance of the national issues in the election campaigns in Europe. One can also mention very low turnout, ‘weak electoral connection between citizens and European legislators, no ‘brand name at the EU level ‘since candidates do not use a common European label, but the label of their national party. Taking into account these factors, ‘the nature of elections does not [seem to] provide an incentive to act within a cohesive party group that is as strong as in genuine national election. Internal functioning of the EP shows an important role played by the national electoral systems as well as strong a ‘connection between the MEPs and their national parties. The national parties constitute ‘the main aggregate actors in the European Parliament. There are lots of aspects justifying this statement. These are the national parties that nominate the candidates to the European elections. They decide also ‘which of their MEPs will be returned to the European Parliament. ‘National party leaderships have a dominant influence on the future career prospects of the MEPs, both within and beyond the EP. National parties decide which of their MEPs they will support for key committee position and offices inside the parliament and also whether MEPs will be chosen as candidates for national legislative and executive office. There is a clear list of incentives and goal that may be achieved. The most important one is ‘re-election. The lack of this particular incentive to offer at the EU level weakens significantly the position of transnational parties in comparison to their national counterparts. Level of the voting cohesiveness determines the effectiveness of the transnational groups once they are established. It decides if they are able or not to ‘ensure political accountability and consistent decision-making.Domestic parliamentary systems have at their disposal greater sanctions for the behavior contradictory to the party lines. Taking into account what national parties can offer, there is too much to lose if one decide not follow their instructions (cost and benefits analysis). One of the relevant instruments available at the domestic level is the confidence vote attached to a legislative proposal. It can be used by the governmental party or coalition in order to ensure (party) voting cohesion.On top of that, ‘the cabinet, with its prerogatives in the legislative process, is formed along partisan lines and the portfolios are distributed by party leaders. It shows that political parties ‘are crucial at all stages of the making of public policy. The sanctions mechanism within the European Parliament is developed enough to exert an effective influence on voting behavior of the MEPs. There are two instruments which has to be mentioned. Political groups can control their members through ‘whips or by ‘group coordinators in case of the committees. The second one at the disposal of the political groups is ‘the ultimate sanction of expelling an individual MEP or national party delegation from the group. However, political groups make use of this possibility only in extreme cases.Decision of the expulsion ‘has to be supported by a majority of all MEPs in the group and is only credible if expelling the party would not weaken the political group compared with its opponents in the parliament.Importance of the available instruments is limited by their rather theoretical dimension. If we assume that the transnational parties are responsible for the growing cohesiveness within the political groups, the threat of us e of the sanction itself should be sufficient in order to ensure an obedience of the MEPs. However, if these are the national parties which determine the voting behavior, these sanction instruments lose their raison dà ªtre and should be regarded as rather simple provision. Differences between two levels concern to a large extent the constitutional structure. The one of the EU ‘does not (†¦) resemble the structure of a parliamentary system.First of all, there is no traditional government to support, discredit, refer to: identify with or oppose to. No executive ‘which can enforce party unity via a vote of confidence.Only possibility at the EPs disposal is ‘the power to vote the European executive (the Commission) through vote of no confidence. However, the necessary majority (two-thirds majority of the votes cast, representing a majority of the component MEPs, art. 234 TFEU) is very difficult to achieve. Furthermore, the Commission ‘[is not] recruited from a majority coalition within the EP.It has no power to dissolve the Parliament, even for the budgets rejection which would normally have happened in the national systems. One can say that both positive and negative incentives from the part of the ‘executive are very li mited. Nothing to be afraid of and nothing to strive for. Performance of European political groups is weakened by limited abilities of agenda control (in comparison to the domestic parliaments). ‘No transnational party can use agenda control powers in order to keep policy issues which divide the party from arising in the legislative decision-making process (†¦) even if [this particular party holds] a sufficient majority of votes'(see Section III, p. 7). It is the European Commission that has an exclusive right to initiative. The European Parliament can only submit the proposal for legislative act, which then is considered by the Commission. The same applies to the transnational parties in the Council. Thus, Lindberg et al., argue that ‘partisan control of the legislative agenda is only possible if a political camp dominates all three legislative bodies in the EU, namely: the Commission, the Council and the Parliament. Table 1 Party effects on legislative decision-making National parties Transnational parties Electoral arena Selection of representatives European Parliament Yes No Council Yes No Commission Yes No Legislative arena Legislative organization European Parliament Mixed Mixed Council No No Commission No No Intra-institutional decision-making European Parliament Yes Yes Council Mixed Mixed Commission No No Intra-institutional decision-making Mixed Yes (preliminary evidence) Source: B. Lindberg, A. Rasmussen, A. Warntjen, ‘Party politics as usual? The role of political parties in EU legislative decision-making, Journal of European Public Policy, Volume 15, Issue 8, 2008, p. 1114. V. DETERMINANTS OF THE VOTING COHESIVENESS INSIDE THE EP Different factors that determine the voting behavior inside the EP refer us to the theory of two principals mentioned in the second part (see pages 3-4). Which of them has a greater impact on how the MEPs vote: national parties of transnational groups? What does prevail: national loyalty or partisan alignments? Do they necessarily oppose to each other? One can assume that MEPs take their decision being well informed and fully aware of the context of the decisions, their content as well as their consequences. However, a significant part of them are being taken without this knowledge and rationally based analysis. Instead of it, other factors influence the MEPs and their final decision. Three of them seem to be the most important. First, personal relations among the MEPs established as a result of socialization. It concerns especially those first-time elected deputies who are not very familiar with organizational structure of the EP. They are often forced to rely on somebody else while taking the decision. Somebody who, for different reasons, they decide to trust while taking decision. Second, content of the issue discussed and its impact on a vote. If the outcome of the decision is particularly important from a countrys perspective, one could expect that MEP to be well informed about the issue. Then probability that he or she will vote in accordance to the national party line is higher, either. Third, time the decision is taken. One can argue that MEPs are more likely to vote in line with their European party/political group when the leadership positions have not been allocated yet. In other words, it is difficult to apply the well know rule of ‘stick and carrot if the carrot does no longer exist. ‘Despite frequent criticism of the lack of strength of the EP party groups, it is shown that they achieve relatively high and rising levels of cohesion.However, there is no clear answer on ‘whether it is mainly the transnational or the national parties that act as the principals of the MEPs.At least three observations can be made to show the relations between them. First, ‘national political parties make up the European parties strategically choose to vote together and impose discipline on their MEPs even when their preferences diverge. Doing so, they want to secure their ‘long term collective policy goaland not necessarily ‘the immediate outcome of particular vote.Second, MEPs rarely vote against the European party line. Mostly because a ‘high level of consensus between European political groups and national parties rarely forces them to make that choice. Third however, if the conflict between two principals appears they will chose the national on e. One can say that ‘MEPs are ultimately controlled by their national parties rather than European political groups. Importance of the national actors in determining the cohesion of the European parties depends on ‘how closely [nation parties] follow Parliamentary debates and how often the offer guidance to their own members. The national parties are more likely to be directly involved ‘when they are opposed to the group vote or when the issue is of particular national concern.Voting against the majority within the political group does not simply pay if the rate is not high enough. The same applies for the roll-call voting where votes (Yes, No, Abstain) are published in the parliaments official minutes.Votes that are usually taken by roll call concerns decision of rather political nature (not technical one). It gives an extra incentive to ‘show loyalty to the European political groups. Existing studies of roll-call voting confirm this statement showing that ‘MEPs are likely to vote along transnational party lines than national lineswhen such a method is applied. ‘Though the Parliament is organized