Franchise Support

UNIVERSITI MALAYSIA SABAH BG33303 PENGURUSAN PEMASARAN FRANCAIS Chapter 20 Summary NAME| MATRIX NUMBER| Safrina bte Ahmad Shah| BB10110567| Julianne Wing| BB10110274| Mohammad Harith b. Elias| BB10110334| Norhanim bte Hj. Yasin| BB10110442| Norhafizah bte Kasman| BB10160784| Ching Siok Chun| BB10110093| Franchise Support Constructive support of franchise is important for effective operation and overall success of the franchise system. Franchise support of franchises is important because it will develop and maintain sufficient and improve communication skills between the franchisee and franchisor.The franchise support service will ensure profitability, self-employment, striving to be successful, opportunity for growth, and a success or failure story. Opportunity to earn profit is the major driving force for people to start a franchise business. Franchise service support act as an intermediaries in between the franchisor and franchisee in providing training, suggestions to maintain str ong sales and improve profit margin to the franchise business. Regarding the self-employment matter, this franchise support service provides methods, programs, and suggestions for improving and assists in solving problem.In order to become successful in the franchise business, the franchise support staff should offer praise, encouragement, and instruction to the franchisee because working in the positive environment will ensure success to the franchised business. Franchise support services help franchise business to grow by introducing new product and services, marketing techniques, and carefully planned promotional campaign will help franchisees to keep a positive outlook on the business and continue to look for alternative to expand business and increase profit margin.The success or failure story of the franchise business is determined by the management team on how they manage their business properly. Getting the right employees with good discipline, giving good hospitality servic es, working environment is comfort and relaxing, and others show that the franchise supports service assists them in order to maintain the high standard of the franchise system and vice versa. COMMUNICATION As we know, communication is very important factor in daily business activities.Communication involves individual or group in particular businesses. In franchising, a good communication process is very important for the franchisor and the franchisee. Information system that been used by franchise system should be clearly and easy to link with other function and decision making as well. The more effective the communication, the more effective the supervision. There are several communication tools that are typically been used to deliver the information First is telephone.It is highly effective mode of communication, because it is more faster and get 2 way communication. Telephone contacts are important to keep the franchisee informed about the plan and activities for parent company , to evaluate franchise performance of record and also to let the franchisee know what assistance to expect from the franchisor. Phone contact can be set up in many ways, such as through planned telephone calls. These actually to develop interrelationship between franchisor and franchisee in order to retain the support between them.Usually planned calls are to discuss the sales level, product and service support, promotional plans and also to raise any questions given by the franchisee. Second are spontaneous telephone calls. It is actually to boost the morale and feelings of interdependence of the franchisee and the franchisor These kind of calls actually can help the franchisor to understand the immediate concerns of the franchise, get a feel for the franchisee’s general attitude over time and determine if there is nything the parent company could or should be doing over and above the regular services its providing. While the third one is conference calls. These calls being conducted by contacting several franchisees at the same time. Letter or earlier phone contact should be prearranged to ensure the attendance of franchisees within a district area or region. These calls usually to inform the franchisee about the current plan of franchisor such as promotional activities, new product and services, and new contest or customer relation project.Another communication method is internet websites. It helps people to get connected with other people around the world. Same goes to franchise, all business activities can be conducted through internet such as processing orders from suppliers and channel members and do promotion. For franchise, it can expand internet into intranet where it allows the franchisees to access their information system by using secret password. By this way, franchisees can read the report and also any updated issues or activities provided by the franchisor.Chat room is available for them to do the conversation and discussion about certa in issues. Moreover, franchisor and franchisee also can work together through extranet, where they can make their order after review the supplier’s products. Next is email. Email is more convenient to use in order to send any documents or messages to other functional members, suppliers, staffs, different companies, family member and also between franchisor and franchisee. This is because, email can save their costs and required less time compared to other communication methods.Through email, the messages can deliver faster to the other parties and also get their feedback. Moving on to the next communication tool is mail contacts. Mail contacts are mails that are in forms of newsletters and activity reports that are distributed for the purpose of providing instructions, supplying advertising, promoting materials and discussing any legal matters that arises. In other words, mail contacts communication are follow-up information that are resulted from conference calls, issues or questions raised by franchisee, spontaneous calls or suggestions for advertising promotions.These letters are sent by sales manager or the president of the franchise system all for the purpose of assuring a continuing support and service from the main office. Last but not least are visits. Visits are one of the communication tools that come in the form of personal, support-service and training visits. Personal visits are very important to a franchisee when it is especially done by a representative of the main franchise home office such as the president, vice president, franchising directors and many more.Personal visits can be known as an excellent public relations tool which is effective for solving and addressing problems that may arise from the company. Whereas for support-service visits, the purpose of these visits are for helping and aiding the franchisee in order to resolve the problems in its operations by providing hints in dealing with the rapid change in competitive condit ions. As for training visits, it is where visits are made by home office staffs that are involved in the preopening and grand opening training of respective franchises solely for the purpose of the value of royalty fees being returned to the business.FRANCHISEE TRAINING To developing a training operation involves three major actions by a franchisor: designing and implementing a training unit or function, establishing a training location, and developing the training program, including the philosophy, learning and skills to be achieved and the methods to be used in providing the training. Usually a person who was in charge of training program has experience in each major function.There are two critical requirements that must be met by anyone put in charge of a franchisee training program: The person must have knowledgeable about effective training process and must have both depth and breadth of understanding of the operational needs and characteristics that will ensure success in the particular franchised business that necessary because need to be able to incorporate into training program (1) production/operations methods of the franchised business, (2) accounting, marketing and personnel practices and (3) effective methods of developing and maintaining constructive franchisor-franchisee relationship.Training function was important to continuity and growth of the franchisee system, the head of training is part of the upper management of the organization. The center is the original location of the franchisor that can locate almost everywhere or can locate regionally. Example insurance company that provided located for training program in their regional in headquarters. It’s because to enhance their control of the training process and ensure continuity of subject matters to be presented.Training program usually will take at least five days long and may last for up to two months and vary considerably from one franchise system also provided that vary in lengt h, complexity, and subject matter. This training will teach the franchisees and other employees the skills necessary for them to more successful in this business. The objective for training is the skills to be learned, and the training methods to be utilized are carefully put together. From the book or manuals the franchisees can learn the business rather than be taught.Franchisor also provided lectures, group discussions, situational problem analysis, and an independent, hands-on performance under the guidance of experienced trainers was the best business. Other than that the focus in this program is self-application through actual performance of operational required within the franchised system, whether the training takes place in a training center or on the job at the franchisees own franchised business. Three major component of franchisee training:- ) Preopening Training ( Formal ) Preopening training was a first general franchisee training that we will explain. Usually preopeni ng was the most intensive training period. Most franchised require one week or 300 hours of opening training. For preopening the training will consists in classroom that include planning the franchised business, hiring, purchasing, merchandising, advertising, business management, cash and inventory control, and production/operational methods.Franchisees have the opportunity to meet three and twelve or limited number of franchisees to discuss their expectations, desires, strengths, and worries with other franchisees as the individually and collectively anticipate running their own operations. After meet for the training franchisees will feel the advice was very helpful in developing loyalty to the franchise system, creating individual within the franchise organization, and learning or improving skills of operations for the franchise.Manual for the operations usually include finance, operations, marketing, management, and service/production. Will include audio or videotapes, that can descriptions of all franchise operations and usually include operating procedures suggested or required by the franchisor. A manual was an important thing to both franchisor and franchisees because franchisor not only offers a training approach, but also affords protections incase any dispute or questions arises regarding appropriateness of methods used in training franchisees.But for franchisees, the information they need to know on order to function effectively within the business environment of the franchisor was in the manuals. Lastly, references was already provides to refresh the memory or to solve some problem that arises during a workday. 2) Grand Opening Training ( On-site ) For the grand opening of a franchised business, most franchisor sent either the training manager or a member of the training unit to work with the new franchisee. Grand opening training consists of one to two weeks of in-depth work experience in which the trainer assists the franchisee with grand openin g of business.They are trains the staff in operating procedures associated with service/production, finance, marketing, and operation. The franchisor representative often stays with the franchisee until the newly opened unit is running smoothly, which may take from several days to several weeks. The length of time can vary considerably as a result of the normal difficulties of any grand opening or because of unexpected problems or complexities. For the service-oriented businesses, franchisors provided between two and seven weeks from the time the training begins to the actual grand opening business.This period includes one to three weeks of intensive training at headquarters as well as one to three weeks on on-site training to prepare for forthcoming grand opening. At the time of grand opening, the franchisor representative stays with the new franchisee for the first full week of operation. In this way help both parties, franchisor and franchisee in builds a good business relationsh ip, as the evidence of franchisor commitment and as a return, hopefully earning loyalty, enthusiasm, and team spirit from the franchisee. ) Continuing Training Program ( Postopening ) Some franchisors provide training at quarterly, semiannual or annual meetings between the franchisor and franchisees. Others hold seminars on specific topics of current interest to franchisees as the need arises. Most of the national or international franchise systems provide a regular schedule of training at their headquarters or at the site of the franchisee requesting the training.The training is given during the regular weekly or monthly visit by the field representative to the franchise site and addresses such areas as quality control, financial or accounting methods, advertising or marketing developments, or new methods, equipment, or products and services being introduced by franchisor. There are some franchisors are provided specialized training and advice to some franchisees. In example, a fra nchisee who has a territory that appears ripe for expansion may receive training in location analysis, market analysis, lease negotiation and construction services.There are many franchising firms provide ongoing training to their franchisees and the employees of the franchisees. Ongoing training varies widely from franchisor to franchisor and from industry to industry. Regional and national meetings for franchisees are often loaded with training opportunities such as marketing updates, industry trends, new product and service developments, franchisor policy and procedure changes, or informal exchanges of ideas among franchisees themselves or between franchisors and franchisees. The most important role in the delivery of continued training is field representative.They often work directly with the franchisee at the business site, providing expert counsel, giving on-the-spot management and operational suggestions, providing instructional video or audio materials for the franchisee and employees and serving as a channel for sharing new ideas that a developing across the franchise system. Ongoing training is the primary method for most franchisors to initiate new products or services into the franchise system and also as the ideal vehicle for transferring the knowledge and skills required to keep the franchise system be more efficient.

ITStrategy and Positioning for Volkswagen Financial Services (UK)

Introduction This assignment is constructed to consider a case study of an existing business and analyse its IT strategy and positioning for competitive advantage. A few hours were spent researching ideals into companies of interest to which I had to make sure it fitted in line with the assignment objective. The organisation that sparked my interest was Volkswagen Financial Services (UK). This was because they are a large organisation which is vastly growing year by year and have a major influence in them motor industry. I also got the privilege of working within their customer experience department as a customer service advisor. Background Volkswagen Financial Services is a financial services provider in the Volkswagen Group. The company deals in a broad spectrum of automotive products including financing dealers and customers through leasing, corporate financing, vehicle fleet management to banking and insurance products. According to the 2013 report, the company has experienced a rise in the number of contracts in their portfolio from just under-8 million to over 8.8 million, a 10.9 percent rise. The Management Board Chairman Frank Witter attributes this growth to a 5 percent increase in number of vehicles delivered to more than 9.7 million. The company was also able to attract more customers with their financial services. As a leading financial provider for all things automotive sales within the umbrella of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, the company has developed key strategies to ensure they achieve their mission, which is â€Å"to support the sales of all Volkswagen Group brands worldwide and increase customer loyalty in a sustainable manner along the entire automotive value chain† (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Volkswagen strategy statement is based on â€Å"customer-focus†, â€Å"pioneering† and â€Å"getting things done†. To ensure sustainable growth, the company pursues its strategy in three fronts: brands, markets and products. That is, developing new brands for Volkswagen Group, establishing new markets, and developing new products in existing markets. Volkswagen Financial Services continue to adopt a consistent customer relationship management (CRM) strategy in its customer care. As such, structures of the company and its processes have been aligned with customer groups and their unique requirements (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Johnson et al (2013, p.69) describes strategy as the â€Å"long-term direction of an organisation.† A leading strategy theorist Michael Porter would refer to this as a competitive strategy that seeks to be different from comp etition, by â€Å"deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value† to the intended consumers (Porter, 1996, p.31). The Volkswagen Financial Services strategy can be considered to be based on what Porter (1996) describes as variety-based and needs-based positioning. However, Volkswagen Financial Services continual pursuance of consistent CRM strategy in customer care led the company to rethink its organisation structure and customer groups as aligned by the customer requirements. In attempt to support this organisational restructuring, the organisation required an IT structure to allow the company have a standard of customer data, standard and continuous process support right from customer support to subsequent processing and transaction execution, integrating existing transaction-related banking system without any additional extensive conversions. In order to meet these requirements, a product and division-oriented IT environment was imple mented. Core applications and systems related to transaction-related banking systems where clients’ accounts and contracts could be managed were implemented. The implementations of these applications and systems isolated the various specific client data from each other making an integral view much more complicated and cumbersome. But the company solved this problem when they installed customer-oriented IT architecture in SAP CRM for a standard customer care and SAP NetWeaverTM as a system integration platform. Although Volkswagen Financial Services may have considered this a triumph in its efforts to strengthen their CRM-oriented strategy in customer service, it’s not a unique strategy that can strengthen their competitive advantage given its ease of adoption by competitors or new entrants. Le Pest C for Volkswagen Financials Services In order to comprehensively understand Volkswagen Financial Services strategic capabilities, it is significant to use the Le Pest C model (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002): LePestC Possible Issues at VW FS (UK) Legal Data security and privacy legislations and legal challenges Economic Low profitability due to decreased consumer spending power and inability to expand to emerging markets Political VW Financial Services AG, which inevitable controls its strategic decisions making process Environment/Ecologic Environmental pressure from regulatory authorities Social Change of consumer preferences, e.g. study shows that more consumers in Europe prefer to travel via train rather than personal cars Technological New technology that are likely to render the current ones obsolete and requires upgrade regularly Competitiveness Competition from financial companies and other auto dealers Legal: Data security and privacy have become serious challenges to many businesses, raising concerns with rise in big data and cloud computing initiatives. Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services Company collect and store highly confidential and sensitive customer data that may be at risk from data breaches. It must be noted that the company is networked not only internally but also externally through internet or other telecommunication connectivity. As such, the company needs to have a robust information security practices not only well documented in the form of information security policies but also ensure strict adherence to ethical standards to avoid legal suits. Moreover, the company needs to develop internal ethical standards in line with their business principles and treat it as part and parcel of the CRM strategies (Barreto, 2010). In case the company wants to use big data, it must strive to develop policy that informs the clients in advance to agree or disagree wit h such plans. Failure to develop such policies may attract legal suits from clients disputing the use of their personal data. The outcome of legal suits may be extremely costly to the company in terms of legal fees, unfavourable strict government regulations and reputation damage. Economic: Volkswagen Financial Services Company has experience the challenges associated with the economic financial crisis that started at the onset of 2008. Although the company considers rise in sales and number of client subscribed in the latest reports, the reduced disposable income is likely to affect the company negatively in the long run, given financial challenges affecting its major European market. Environmental/ Ecological: Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services face various challenges in maintaining extra-regulatory compliance with contractual clauses. Some of these clauses often require them to certify that the car parts of sale are free of asbestos, lead paint, chromium, and blood minerals among other banned elements (Mintzberg, et al., 2002). These regulatory compliance requirements are meant to ensure sustainability and protection of environment. Issues such as greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and waste management increases cost of production. Socio-cultural: Studies have shown that public transport in Europe is becoming more popular than passenger cars (Tyrinopoulos and Antoniou, 2013). This kind of finding may suggest that the change in trend is more associated with change in social preference. More significantly, the company has not managed to break into Chinese among other emerging markets with its financial services considering that Chinese consumers are cash-buyers rather than credit buyers, as noted by the company’s 2013 Annual Report. This cultural barrier has affected the company’s financial front in terms of sales return. Technological: there are technological challenges associated with auto and financial industries. The challenge with technology is that it changes every day, with new ideas propping up that may provide fast-moving competitors with better competitive advantage (Maritan and Brush, 2003). VW FS (UK) is one of the companies in this sector that suffers from the technological challenges. Competitive: competition from other auto suppliers is real. Although the company has gained competitive advantage with multi-brand CRM, there is likelihood that their major competitors will do the same. Strategic Capabilities of Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Strategic capabilities of a firm are those capabilities that lead to a competitive advantage. Mintzberg, et al. (2002) defines strategic Resources and competencies as the two components that define resource capability. Further, resources are those assets that an organisation own or can call upon to aid their progress. Competencies are the ability to deploy those resources effectively or to make use of the available resources to achieve a certain goal (Teece, 2007). In others words, resources are what is available and competencies are the ability to use these resources. Table: Representation of strategic capability of Volkswagen Financial Services Resources Competencies Machines, raw materials, products, patents, database, computer systems Physical The company has the means to achieve utilisation of plant, efficiency, productivity, flexibility, marketing Balance sheet, cash flow, revenue Financial That company has the means to raise funds and manage cash flow, debtors, creditors, etc. Managers, employees, partners, suppliers, customers Human The company has experience, skills, knowledge, and ability to build relationships, motivate others and innovate. However, it’s yet to exploit this ability to the maximum. (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002). If fully used, the above representation would lead to long term survival of VW FS, and subsequently strengthen their competitive advantage. Although the strategic capabilities should be dynamic enough, there is a clear indication that Volkswagen Financial Services’ is not as dynamic as required. The company should be able to recreate and renew its strategic capabilities according to the changing business environment. For example, while tangible assets, cost control, and quality maintenance are important capabilities that the company has embraced, there are more long term capabilities such as sensing, seizing and reconfiguring that are significant Using innovation to spur entrepreneurship Innovation and entrepreneurship is about creating the new- both new products and services and new business models and organisations (Johnson, et al., 2013). Creating value for firms and customers, innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental to today’s highly competitive economies. But the decision to innovate and pursue new market leads through innovation can be a hard choice for organisations as has been demonstrated by Volkswagen Financial Services’ attempts to enter Chinese market. The company ought to have asked various fundamental questions such as: Will it be appropriate if they too pioneer in new technologies or rather be a fast follower (timing and relationship)innovation dilemma How should they react to radical innovations that threaten to destroy its existing revenues? In such a highly competitive industry, entrepreneurship is a significant aspect of any business. In other words, entrepreneurship is fundamental aspect of any business that wants to keep up with the changing business environment. It’s entrepreneurship that drives innovation. Innovation dilemma However there are innovation dilemmas that may affect a firm’s decision-making process. Many corporations face strategic dilemma on whether to innovate or note. Johnson et al. (2013,p. 239) describes innovation as the process of converting new knowledge into a new product, process or service and the putting of this new product, process or service into actual use. Another aspect of innovation dilemma facing VW FS is whether to adopt open or closed innovation. Porter (1996) describes open innovation as the process of deliberate importation and exportation of knowledge by a firm in their attempt to speed up and intensify innovation. Open innovation advocates for open exchange of ideas for quick better products to keep ahead of competition. Closed innovation is based on a firms insistence on making every innovative ideas internal, keeping everything secret from outside people. Volkswagen Financial Services Company seems to focus on closed innovation, which inevitably limits their ability to source for ideas. There is likelihood that this limits their ability to attract external skills or innovative ideas. Technological or business model innovation Most successful and progressive innovative activities do not necessarily rely on the latest or new science or technology, but involve reorganizing into new business by combining every aspect of a business (Johnson et al., 2013). A business model describes how an organisation manages incomes and costs through the structural arrangements of its activities. For example, when Ryanair decided to adopt the ultra cheap airline tickets, its business model innovation involved the generation of revenues via direct sales through the internet, thereby cutting out intermediary travel agents, while also using cheap secondary airports. Cheap airports and internet sales proved more significant than technological innovation. There are various ways of analysing a business model innovation, including the use of value chain, value net or activity network frameworks (Johnson et al., 2013). Typically, these frameworks are meant to direct managers and entrepreneurs to two primary frameworks for potential i nnovations: The product – a new business model may redefine what the product or service is and how it is produced. This concerns technology in relation to the value chain. The selling – a new business model may change how an organisation generates its revenue, with implications for selling and distribution. In the perspective of Volkswagen FS, the company’s value chain in terms of emerging markets has not picked up as anticipated. The emerging markets, unlike the developed markets are generally cash buyers. The company may consider using instalments payment model to establish its value chain within the emerging markets like China and India, with attractive product packages targeting the growing middle class consumers in these countries. Innovators and followers There are those who choose to lead innovations and those who follow. Barreto (2010) argue that first-movers often start from a positive note where because they get easy and quick sales early, experience f ast growth and have the ability to establish the dominant positions. Examples of first-movers who have succeeded in this line are Coca Cola in soft drinks and Hoover in vacuum cleaners. However, there are many first-movers that have failed such as the powerful Microsoft which failed with its tablet computer launch in 2001. Nine years later, Apple swept the market with its iPad tablet computer. First-mover advantages and disadvantages First-movers are generally temporary monopolies. Their advantage exists where they appear better off than their competitors as a result of being first to market with a new product, process or service (Teece, 2009; Teece, 2007). There are five potentially more robust first-movers advantage: They can build on experience in a market and benefit from the accrued market knowledge and skills; They can scale faster and enjoy the early benefits; They have the opportunity for pre-emption of scarce resources; They can build early reputation, particularly because consumers have little ‘mind-space’ to recognise new brands that follows; They can exploit the buyer switching costs, by ensuring that their customers are locked with privileged or sticky relationships that later challengers may find too costly to adopt (Teece, 2009) However, Mintzberg (2002) observe that there are disadvantages for being first-movers as seen with Microsoft’s earlier failure with tablets. First is th e free-riding factor. Late movers may find it easy to imitate first mover’s technology and other innovations at less expense than originally incurred by pioneers. Research indicates that the costs of imitation are only 65% of the cost of innovation (Teece, 2009). In addition, late-movers have the ability to learn from the errors made by first-movers, picking on what worked well and avoiding what did not work for their pioneer competitor. In other words, they may not make so many mistakes and be able to get it right first time unlike their pioneer competitor. Should Volkswagen Financial Services be a first or second? Managers and entrepreneurs often find it hard to choose either to be a first-mover or a follower. However, London Business School’s Costas Markides and Paul Geroski argue that the most appropriate response to innovation, especially radical innovation, is often not to be a first mover but to be a ‘fast second’ (Mintzberg, 2002). A first second strategy involves being one of the first to imitate the original innovator. According to Porter (1996) there are three contextual factors to consider in choosing between innovating and imitating: Capacity for profit capture. If a follower can imitate faster and efficiently, it can capture good profits. It’s more effective where the pioneer is not able to define the boundaries for intellectual property; Complementary assets. An organisation in possession of the assets or resources have the ability to scale up the production and marketing of the innovation; Fast-moving arenas. In situations where markets or technologies are moving very fast, and especially where both are highly dynamic, first-movers are unlikely to establish a durable advantage. The incumbent can respond to new entrants into the market by adopting disruptive innovation. As has been shown earlier, disruptive innovation can create substantial growth by offering a new performance trajectory that, even if â€Å"initially inferior to the performance of existing technologies, has the potential to become markedly superior† Winter, 2003). Incumbents can follow two policies to help keep them responsive to potentially disruptive innovation: Develop a portfolio of real options and new venture units. References Barreto, I. (2010). Dynamic capabilities: a review of past research and an agenda for the future. Journal of Management, 36 (1): 256-80. Brooks, I. and Weatherston, J. (2002). The Business Environment: Challenges and Changes. NJ: Prentice Hall. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D., and Regner, P. (2013). Exploring Strategy Text & Cases. NJ: Pearson Education. Maritan, C.A and Brush, T.H. (2003). Heterogeneity and transferring practices: implementing flow practices in multiple plants. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 945-60. Mintzberg, H., Ghoshal, S., Lampel, J., and Quinn, J.B. (2002) â€Å"The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases†,4th Edition, Prentice Hall. Porter, M. (1996) â€Å"What is Strategy?†, Harvard Business Review, November- December: 61-78. Tyrinopoulos, Y. and Antoniou, C. (2013) Factors affecting modal choice in urban mobility. European Transport Research Review. 5 (1). pp. 27-39. Teece, D.J. (2009). Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic management- organising for innovation and growth, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Teece, D.J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of sustainable enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28 (1): 1319-50. VW FS Annual Report (2013). Volkswagen Financial Services AG: The key to mobility. Winter, S.G. (2003). Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 991-5.

Perception about consumer behaviour with respect to the environmental Research Proposal

Perception about consumer behaviour with respect to the environmental issues, is there influence of the environment courses of - Research Proposal Example (Ayres, 2012) Over the period of time, consumers have become ethical in nature with their buying decisions mostly being affected through their ethics. Global consumers now understand the consequences of their actions more clearly due to availability of more information and globalization effects. Environmental as well as ethical issues which were initially not highlighted are now being highlighted and discussed in public to better inform the consumers. There have been serious discussions regarding consumers in developed countries buying such diamonds and consequently helping finance war in such war torn countries in Africa. Considering the overall improvement in the consumer perceptions and knowledge, this research will attempt to explore and understand as to whether the industry has an impact on the consumer behavior. This research will further explore the efforts undertaken to stop this process and the overall degree of success achieved in this regard besides exploring as to how it can be stopped and whether awareness should be raised about it or not. (Campbell. 2004.)Â   The overall rationale for choosing this topic is based upon the fact that diamond industry generates more revenues by selling less therefore the overall flow of funds through blood diamonds may be higher and can be used extensively to finance the war. Further, this research is also significant in the sense that it presents a real life example of how industry wide phenomenon can actually have an impact on the consumers and their buying decisions. Literature Review There are many countries within Africa which depend upon diamonds as one of the key source of economic progress and revenue. For such countries, the revenue generated by selling diamonds in international market can help them achieve economic development and progress. However, for some countries, the revenues generated through selling these diamonds are diverted towards the purchase of guns and ammunition to support the war in many A frican countries. The diamonds which are sold for the purpose of financing the war are called blood diamonds or conflict diamonds. (Campbell,. 2004) In the wake of development in the product development and technology, today’s consumers are faced with multiple choices to buy a large number of goods and services at relatively affordable prices. The variety as well as the prices therefore allowed consumers to buy large volumes of such products and services and resultantly their supply also depends upon how much demand is being generated in international market. (Fram, and Baron, . 2004) The overall history of blood diamonds originates from Sierra Leone wherein a group with the name of Revolutionary United Front (RUF) attempted to capture the diamond mines to fund their struggle to restore democracy within the country. However, this trend flourished in other countries also wherein warlords used it as a credible source for earning revenues to fund their war efforts. Diamonds are considered as luxury goods and buying them at higher prices often involve an uncompromising consumer behavior from the buyers given the luxury and degree of prestige attached with it. Over the period of time, this issue and ethics related with

Macro & Micro economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Macro & Micro economics - Essay Example The report also comments on the Government of China’s policy actions that are aimed at boosting the growth rate of the country’s economy (BBC, 2013). China's economy is the second-largest economy in the world. Currently, the country’s GDP has been estimated to be $12.38 trillion (according to the 2012 estimate) (CIA, 2013). However, recently the growth rate of the economy has slowed down significantly. After noting the declining performance level of the economy for the past few months, government has adopted certain policy prescriptions to improve the health of the economy. This paper discusses the main causes that lead to this issue and the level and pattern of impact that the problem casts on Chinese economy and society. The aggregate demand as well as the supply of goods and services in the economy is affected by this change in growth rate. The government is following expansionary monetary policy to improve investment climate in the economy and has increased l evel of public spending in order to increase domestic demand in the economy. Discussion on the economic problem issue China has depicted â€Å"soft growth momentum in the first quarter† (BBC, 2013) of 2013. ... Causes of the problem The article on BBC highlights two major concerns over the declining growth rate of the Chinese economy. Firstly, the economy has been heavily dependent on the export of various commodities and the major exports markets for the country are the USA and the European countries. The major items exported by the country are transport equipments, garments, accessories, toys, plastic products, machinery, rubber, textile, metallurgical products, Chemical products, fuel materials such as crude oil and refined oil, and food items (Peopledaily, 2001). China follows an export led growth and it has remained the largest contributor to the output of the global economy and accounts for nearly 3 percent of the global output. Although according to the International Monetary Fund, Chinese contribution to the global output is set to exceed that of USA, Germany and Japan; some economists have claimed in the past that the country would not be able to sustain its growth rate on the basi s of exports for a long time. After the financial crisis of 2009 that had hit the USA and the European countries hard, economic growth in these countries slowed down. These countries faced serious financial crunch and their import demand decreased. Therefore, the Chinese economy experienced a loss of in export market. This had a major impact on the economy and its performance. Since the exports in the Chinese economy weakened, different sectors in the economy slowed down their production rates and the total output in the economy decreased that is reflected in the country’s gross domestic product. The constant sluggishness of economic performance in these advanced countries,

The Main Causes of World War I. (Militarism, Alliances Imperialism and Research Paper

The Main Causes of World War I. (Militarism, Alliances Imperialism and Nationalism) - Research Paper Example The street celebrations that accompanied the war declaration between French and British gave historians the impression that the move was really popular. Politicians, known to follow the popular side were in support of this move. Historians yet believe that the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand, the heir of the Serbian empire sparked war between the Austria-Hungary, which prompted the allied nations to join. The First World War having started in Central Europe, begun in 1914 and ended in 1918. During its progression time, it rapidly spread to other parts of the world and involved many countries. The war that had devastating effects is believed to have been caused by a number of reasons according to historians. However, they anonymously agree on the four major causes of the war which include Militarism, Alliances, Imperialism and Nationalism. This paper will look at these four as the major causes of World War I and their effects to the fighting nations. Imperialism Various scholars a ttribute the start of World War 1 to imperialism that was sparked in the European continent. Since countries such as United Kingdom had accumulated a lot of wealth in the late 19th century and early 20th century from the control of foreign resources and markets, territories and people, other empires too started gaining hopes of economically benefiting from acquiring empires such as Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy and Russia1. However, this totally flopped as things did not turn out to their expectations leading to a lot of frustrations that increased the levels of anxiety and rivalry among powers. Increasingly, the natural resources in the European continent were diminishing at a fast rate, negatively impacting on trade balance. This development made it necessary for companies to seek for new raw materials elsewhere, thus settling for Africa and Asian continents. Vested economic interests by various European nations were the major contributors of the Anglo-German rivalry when the sc ramble for Africa intensified. This scene created the sharpest conflict between German and British interests that had been in a heated competition. The rivalry was however not based on colonies alone. Colonial trade and trade routes was also part of the major issues that caused the outbreak of the war as experts observe. Different emerging economic powers and the incumbent of great economic powers in the African continent saw an increased rise in the broader disputes2. From the 1980s, the rivalry among great powers due to colonial territories intensified and kept growing. Hatred between conflicting powers was evident, while war was imminent. This period witnessed the acquisition of both the African and the Asian continents by the European powers. However, the increased conflicts that arose between the various powers of the European origin saw the spark of the war. The scramble for African and Asian continents increased the tensions between Anglo-French and Anglo-Russian powers, as w ell as the crises that had sought to prevent British alliances with either of the two until the wake of the twentieth century. Not only was the overseas empire a problem to some countries such as Germany, she was also faced with yet another predicament. Otto von Bismarck was not in favour of overseas empire building, and more so acquisitions of Africa. His only support for the African scramble and colonization was that to him, it served as a bite which diverted the attention of governments away from Europe

Company profile for the media company HBO (Home Box Office) Term Paper

Company profile for the media company HBO (Home Box Office) - Term Paper Example The channel is expanding its broadcast continuously by licensing its broadcast to television networks and presently people of about 151 countries around the world are enjoying its original programs. At the same time, HBO’s branded premium pay and basic cable networks are operating in about 50 countries of Latin America, Central and Western Europe, and some parts of Asia as well (http://www.timewarner.com). At the end of 2011, it had about 81 million global subscribers out of which 42.5 million are international premium pay and basic cable subscriber while rest of 39.4 million are nationwide premium pay subscriber. HBO is available in HD on number of multiplex channels like Direct TV, Cox Communication, Xfinity, Time Warner Cable, and Dish Network etc. The year 2011 is the fourth consecutive year when HBO has won 4 Golden Globes award more than any network while it has been the 10th consecutive year when it has won 8 Sports Emmys and 19 Primetime Emmys in 2011 (HBO Annual Repor t, 2010). Strangers No More, a documentary film of HBO received Academy Award for the category of Best Documentary. 1. What do they do in media? HBO mainly operates television films, comedy shows and concerts, motion pictures and original series, and occasionally boxing matches via cable, direct broadcast satellite (DBS), C-band satellite, and microwave (MMDS). The network has offered HBO On Demand. It means HBO has given a wonderful option to its subscriber to watch its programs according to their own schedule. A big share of HBO’s programs consists of egalitarian theatrical motion pictures. For this purpose, HBO acquires license agreements from the producers or distributors of such recently released films. Under such agreements, HBO gets exclusive rights to broadcast and distribute recently released or old films. The license agreement always depends on the performance of films on the box office. High-quality award winning original comedy and theatrical series is another bro adcast segment of HBO e.g., Boardwalk Empire, Curb Your Enthusiasm, True Blood, and Boardwalk Empire. Besides these, HBO also shows boxing matches, family programs, sports news, and commentaries. 2. How long has this business been in operation, what is their history? Charles Dolan, one of the pioneers of cable networks systems in United States of America, presented the business plan of ‘Green Channel’ to Time Life Inc. On 8 November, 1972 the channel became Home Box Office or HBO (Forsyth, 2002). ‘Sometimes a Great Notion’ was the first ever program aired on HBO. In 1973, Time Life Inc took over the control of newly established channel as Gerald Levin became the first President as well as CEO of HBO. Initially churn rate from subscribers was so high. HBO was tumbling and any debacle could have been occurred. At that time, Levin introduced the broadcasting in Massachusetts. Here a preview of service was offered for free on Channel 3. This offer showed promis ing results as HBO gained a good number of subscribers. Later on the same strategy was applied in other states. On 30th September 1975, HBO put on air the first ever live boxing match between Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and thus became the first television channel which delivered the telecast through satellite medium (http://transition.fcc.gov). HBO launched its companion network Cinemax in 1980 which is still very popular and known for its late night soft-core adult shows and series. In 1981, HBO extended its broadcast from 09 hours to 24 hours. In 1983, HBO presented its first kids’ show. Until 2001, HBO showed number of programs for children when these programs were shifted entirely to HBO Family channel. The decade of 80s

Industry Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Industry Practice - Essay Example This form of leadership has been successful in some organizations though it has also failed in others. It allows quick decision making and therefore less time is wasted on decisions. It requires a leader who is knowledgeable and experienced otherwise wrong decisions might be made (Goethals, Sorenson & Burns, 2004). Autocratic leadership style is more applicable where control is required. These are situations where the margin of error is either very small or is not there at all. In such a situation, decentralized decision making is likely to cause organizational failure. It therefore becomes necessary for experienced leaders to make decisions so as to avoid or minimize the chances of any error (Daft & Lane, 2008). This form of leadership is very applicable and is actually used in rigid organizations. These are organizations whose rules are rigid and do not easily adjust their policies as situations changes. In addition, autocratic leadership can also be used where the conditions are thought to be dangerous or are likely to cause harm to people. Among the organizations where the leadership is used include; military manufacturing organizations or in a construction (Daft & Lane, 2008). The theory is useful at the workplace in situations where quick decisions have to be made. In such situations, there is no much time to consult. Decentralized decision making is time consuming and therefore cannot be applicable in urgent situations. Therefore, the leaders take the initiative to make such decision to save time. This is important because if time is wasted in urgent situations, the overall goal achievement of the organization maybe affected (Gitman & McDaniel, 2009). The leadership style is also useful where strict deadlines are required. There are some activities which have to be completed within a specified time. According to Douglas McGregor in one of his theories, (Theory X) people generally dislike work. Therefore, they

Multicultural Field Experience Observation Reflection Report Personal Statement

Multicultural Field Experience Observation Reflection Report - Personal Statement Example The room also had a kitchen area which had equipment like; a vending machine, a refrigerator, a microwave, a sink, a countertop and a cabinet storage. The room had a playful feel to it through the different games on the site which the children engaged in. Utensils used by the children got washed in the sink, left to dry on the countertop and stored away safely in the cabinet. The vending machine was for soda beverages. The room was painted colorfully with an attractive color shade of yellow, blue and red. The colors provided the room with an exciting and welcoming feel which the children could associate with. Diversity The clientele at the YMCA was richly diverse in terms of religion, race and socioeconomic status. Their clientele got made up of black, white, Hispanic and Asian race. The socioeconomic gap was also wide, ranging from subsistent income to wealthy professionals. From my personal relations with some of the clientele, they ranged from dentists, doctors, business owners, t eachers to students. From the supervisor, it became clear to me that they had no clue what religious backgrounds their clientele got comprised of. They did not care or mind what religious affiliation they belonged to. The immense differences in race, religion, and socioeconomic backgrounds proved the sheer diversity present at the YMCA. Age level of students I observed children aged 5-12 years. This age group became mainly made up of elementary school going children comprising of both boys and girls. It provided the base for the majority of my observation group focus. The children were present in the observation room most of the time. Number of students The number of students I observed differed tremendously since I did not conduct the observation at once. I divided the number of hours of observation to two different days which were a Monday and two different Fridays. I conducted both these observation hours in the month of February. I observed the children on a Monday from 4:30 to7 :00pm. On the two Fridays, I observed them from 4:30 to 8:00pm. Time division during my observation hours led to the number of students, their gender, ages, and ethnicity substantially differing. This was so because I did not conduct the observation at one time. The children’s parents dropped off their kids in the room while they went to work out in the YMCA health facility. This proved another obstacle in determining the number of children in the room since the parents arrived at different hours. Population description The number of children I worked with at any time ranged from 5 to 16 children. During the observation, I would work with a minimum of 5 children at the center although the number could rise to 16 children depending on the time. The age group of the children ranged from 5-12 years although most of the children fell between 5 to 9 years. The children were of diverse racial backgrounds from blacks, whites, Hispanic and Asian origin. The children’s gender g ot comprised of both boys and girls. Gender was another example of diversification among the students. The girls outnumbered the boys by approximately 15% through my observation. Simply put, for every 1 boy among children aged between 5-9 years, there were 3 girls. The socioeconomic characteristics of the children ranged and varied significantly. I was able to conclude their socioeconomic backgrounds based on tactically questioning of adults working within the program and through my keen

Midterm paper 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Midterm paper 2 - Essay Example Unique religious, universal views are accepted as certain customs not necessarily by different views of the facts and genuineness, but by their external characters and elements, such as ritual undertakings and modes of dissertation. Under these separate views and rites, there lie the same truth and the common quest of truth. Brook (14), ecumenical view is not obviously syncretism, in as much as it can be practiced without merging individual customs. This can result to logical attempts to synthesize teachings and bring the differences together; however, the obvious conviction of the common element of truth will be an adequate skeleton for ecumenicists to reason out those differences without having to advance to syncretism. In a general understanding, of this issue; therefore, each and every custom and religion being merged should be given the rights to do what they believe is their own truth without any feel of the other religion that they are being suppressed or intimidated. Second, according to Brook (14), it should be noted that syncretism is not inclusivism meaning that ideas and forms of one religion’s traditions are best put forward if they are explained in terms of another one. By so doing, the contents and rules of one religion are reduced into the content of another one. Bringing one religion within the ideational system being practiced by another religion will see the previous religion being regarded accordingly as a low-grade, imperfect, or "failed" representation of truth and custom. Viewing this idea from the side of the dominant religion, this will probably seem like a syncretism combination, yet in particular, nothing has been added or incorporated that might significantly disorient the religion and customs into which the new elements and ideas have been included or excluded. This can; therefore, be an appropriate method of merging two distinct religions without necessarily interfering with the belief of any religion. It is a

Universal Education Essay Example for Free

Universal Education Essay Educate because knowledge is the only thing that can be in life. Let me explain why universal education is one of the most important things in life. There are some reasons that is really important for everybody. Universal Education is an educational project that should involve every country in the world, as education can promote fundamental qualities and values, including ethics, wisdom and responsibility. Thus, being universal means that education can be shared by all people regardless of age, culture, race or religion. The goal is to educate for a meaningful life, and because change begins at home. Education can help to develop the potential and thus achieve happiness and personal excellence. It can also to contribute to the welfare of others and result in a better society and a more harmonious world. Today, most people do not know their own reality, the whole complex of human nature. There are some examples, but one that most impressed me was this: â€Å"The chances of young people who have completed primary education from contracting HIV are half of those who have not received education. Universal primary education would prevent 700,000 cases of HIV each year, approximately 30% of all new infections in this age group†. (Oxfam) Every human being should have the opportunity to build a better life. Unfortunately, too many children are growing up today in the world without that opportunity because they are denied the basic right to even attend primary school. To end up, once and for all, extreme poverty in the world as we know it, we must move to achieve peace and security Citizens of every country should have opportunities and choices to ensure their welfare and their families. References Lama, Yeshe. â€Å"What is universal education? †. [Online]. Available at: www. educacionunivesal. org , June 2012. Bont, Paco. â€Å"Education Front†. [ONLINE] available at: www. elblogpacobono. blogspot. com September 12th, 2011.

The Tragedy Of Macbeth Two Faced Macbeth

The Tragedy Of Macbeth Two Faced Macbeth The Tragedy of Macbeth, a play by William Shakespeare is a tragedy of death and dishonesty surrounded by the noblemen of Scotland. The two main characters are Macbeth, the Thane of Glamis and his wife Lady Macbeth. The play focuses around the conflict in Scotland at the time between the King and rebellious Scotsmen. After hearing about his prophecy from the three witches, Macbeth stops at nothing to accomplish his goal. Macbeth eliminated anyone that is in his path, even his dear friends. Macbeth is facing obstacles in his public life as well as in his private life. In his public life, he is a brave and respected nobleman who has the trust from others as well as King Duncan. In his private life, he ultimately comes face to face with death because of his greed and desire. His private life differs from his public life in many ways; his private life consists of poor decisions as well as greed and guilt, this eventually leads to the downfall of Macbeth. Macbeth is an ambitious nobleman w ho has a tendency to self-doubt; however he is also a two faced, selfish murderer whose gone mad hungry for power. Macbeth demonstrates himself in public to have fair character at the start of the play in difference to his foul self later on in the play. Macbeth characterizes a character of loyalty and heroism that proves the fairness of his character. In the play Macbeth exhibits two different faces; he portrays a different personality in private and in public. Macbeths ambition is his true tragic flaw, it causes his downfall. Macbeth speaks to himself saying, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦On which I must fall down, or else oerleap, / For in my way it lies. Stars, hide your fires; / Let not light see my black and deep desiresà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (1.4.50-56). Malcolm, the son of King Duncan, is proclaimed Prince of Cumberland this means he is also the heir to the throne of Scotland. Macbeth is willing to push all his principles aside. He knows that murdering King Duncan in order to become King of Scotland is wrong. This is why he says it is necessary to conceal his black and deep aspirations. Macbeth also citied tha t, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦To prick the sides of my intent, but only / Vaulting ambition, which oerleaps itself / And falls on th other (1.7.25-28). Macbeth confesses that the he only thing that is motivating him to kill King Duncan is his ambitions. Macbeths conscience bothers him throughout the story it is prohibiting him from forgetting all he knows about right and wrong. Here, ambition portrays as something ugly and dark. Macbeth quoted that, Away, and mock the time with fairest show/ False face must hide what the false heart doth know (1.7.81-82). Macbeth and Lady Macbeth are going over the plan to kill Duncan. Macbeth tells Lady Macbeth to go out there and entertain their guest and make them feel like their having a splendid time. They do not know that this is all part of their plot to kill King Duncan. Macbeth is concealing his true identity and his true intentions. His ambitions ultimately lead to his catastrophic downfall. In private, Macbeth exemplifies a sly and selfish person. Macbeths private self is influence by the three sisters prophecies and by Lady Macbeth in his purpose to kill. Lady Macbeth accuses Macbeth of being weak and not having the guts to kill King Duncan. Macbeth replies to her saying, I dare do all that may become a man; / Who dares do more, is none (1.7.47-48). Macbeth is saying that he can only do what is right for a man to do and if he dares to do anymore than he is not a man at all. He does not want to do anymore, but he is pressured by Lady Macbeth. She even questions his manhood. She thinks Macbeth is à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦too full o the milk of human kindness (1.5.16). Macbeth is mentally weak; this is how Lady Macbeth easily influences him. Her strength encourages him at the start. Lady Macbeth insisted that Macbeth, Look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under it (1.5.67-68). Macbeth is acting innocent like a flower, but underneath that innocent flower be the serpent that is waiting to attack. To King Duncan, Macbeth is his innocent and loyal friend, when actually he is the enemy and a venomous man. This shows that looks can be deceiving. Macbeth is mentally a weak character that undertakes a drastic psychological change through the play. However, Macbeth then realizes what he has done and becomes guilty. He continues his murderous acts to persuade his dream of becoming King of Scotland. His guilty conscience causes him to hallucinate. Macbeth begins to think that he cannot sleep, Methought I heard a voice cry Sleep no more! Macbeth does murder sleep the innocent sleep, (2.2.33-34). Macbeth believes he cannot sleep because he has killed an innocent. Macbeths conscious sees Macbeth an evil person now and the evil Macbeth will only continue do evil actions. Macbeth believes that he still has the blood of King Duncan on his hands, Will all great Neptunes ocean wash this blood / Clean from my hand? (2.2.57-58). The blood on Macbeths hands symbolizes his guilt on him for murdering Duncan. Macbeth thinks that the whole ocean would not be able to wash away evidence of his guilt. His private life and doing causes him to feel guilty he quoted, I am in blood / Steeped in so far that, should I wade mo more, / Returning were as tedious as go oer (3.4.136-138). Macbeth is saying that the situation is already at a bad standpoint and he would like to get the situation over with because he is sick of waiting and living in guilt. He realizes that finding out other bad thing would not make the situation worse because he would still be standing in the same situation. He ends up with a blameworthy sense of right and wrong. His private life consists of poor decisions as well as greed and guilt; this eventually leads to his downfall. In The Tragedy of Macbeth, Macbeth ultimately faces obstacles in his public life as well as in his private life. At the end of the day he comes face to face with death because of his greed and desire. His private life differs from his public life in many ways; his public life consists of loyalty and honor in contrast with his private life that consists of poor decisions as well as greed and guilt, this eventually leads to the downfall of Macbeth. This shows that Macbeth, an ambitious nobleman can also be a two faced, selfish murderer who stops at nothing to become king and gain power.

Expert Systems In Health Care :: essays research papers

A case referring to the beneficial use of the expert systems in the health sector was the attempt of the LDS Hospital in Salt Lake city,Utah to build “ the most complex artificial intelligence system ever created'; according to the words of DR David Classen.Its name was AIC or “Antibiotic Computer Consultant'; and it was part of HELP(Health Evaluation through Logical Processing), which was LDS’s hospital information system. The latter was existed, before the implementation of the Expert System. The role of AIC was to help doctors determine proper antibiotic treatment for specific patients.Achieving the specific purpose,the Expert System followed the above stages: 1) The doctor turned to the system with information on the infection type and site, and also identified the patient to the computer. 2) The system determined the pathogens, which are likely to have caused the infection. 3) The software examined the patient’s medical records( through the HELP information system) and searched for similar cases nationwide. 4) Finally, it displayed the five most likely antibiotic regimens to be effective and the cost of the prescription for each one. Altough,the system was extremely rewarding and expanded to include other cases involving antibiotics, some criticisms were made against it. It was stated that the system was unwieldy and that physicians had to enter much information, which was useless. Of course, the best answer came straightly from the physicians, who highlighted many important benefits of the AIC. The 88% of them believed that the use of AIC was very simple and they would recommend it to other colleagues. Another 85% stated that the program improved their selection of antibiotics, and 81% agreed that it enhanced patient care. Concerning its usability, doctors access into the system 3 times a day.

Electronic Forms of Expression :: Internet Technology Communication Essays

Electronic Forms of Expression The confusion of new forms of media can be overwhelming. For those of us who grew up with the Internet, it may not be all that difficult to grasp its concepts and to tackle its nuances; but for those who grew up with print, the transition between the two could be exhausting. The concepts in new forms of electronic expression are in their developmental stages—still trying to find a dynamic equilibrium between mimicking print and inventing new ways of performance. Electronic media are trying to take advantage of their unique characteristics, while not proving to be too tedious for the audience to understand. Janet Murray explores the virtual swamp of electronic media conventions in her chapter entitled â€Å"From Additive to Expressive Form,† in Hamlet on the Holodeck: The Future of Narrative in Cyberspace. Electronic forms of expression are still in a sort of primordial ooze phase, still clinging on to the life forms that previously inhabited the area, but trying desperately to create an evolutionary creature that is nothing like what a tourist in the area may have seen. In this case, the entire world has access to this digital environment. Murray’s claim is that â€Å"digital environments are encyclopedic† (83), or rather that we have the world at our fingertips: Since every form of representation is migrating to electronic form and all the world’s computers are potentially accessible to one another, we can now conceive of a single comprehensive global library of paintings, films, books, newspapers, television programs, and databases, a library that would be accessible from any point on the globe. It is as if the modern version of the great library of Alexandria, which contained all the knowledge about the ancient world, is about to rematerialize in the infinite expanses of cyberspace. (84). The Internet has encyclopedic capabilities that surpass any previous knowledge collecting endeavors. The pages that we move through seem almost infinite, offering different perspectives and intersecting accounts. These qualities lend a feeling of omniscience to the surfer. â€Å"The limitless expanse of gigabytes presents itself to the storyteller as a vast tabula rasa crying out to be filled with all the matter of life† (84). Filling this â€Å"limitless expanse† is not without complication. â€Å"The reality is much more chaotic and fragmented: networked information is often incomplete or misleading, search routines are often unbearably cumbersome and frustrating, and the information we desire often seems to be tantalizingly out of reach† (84).

Essay --

World Health Organization (WHO) identified quality as crucial element in its framework for health system strengthening. Quality serves as a mediator between the six system building blocks (leadership, health care financing, health workforce, service delivery, information and medical products) and health outcomes. As such, enhancing quality of each building block could lead to improved health outcomes and efficiency. Several quality improvement (QI) approaches have been widely employed to strengthen the health systems globally. Decision making based on evidence is one of the important QI principles used by many QI models and frameworks such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the Baldrige Framework, etc. In order to make more informed decisions, it is necessary to have information about key processes, outputs, outcomes and results. Evidence is one key theme in managing health care quality. The adoption of evidence based practices in health care not only promote high standard of care but also increase client interest in quality of care. This will lead to continuous improvement of overall health system (Sax, 2014). In recent years, the results of many QI projects in developing countries are achieving widespread attention. Noticeable progress in quality could convince donors and governments that their resource are used efficiently and encourage further investment in health care (Leatherman et al., 2010). Thus, there has been growing interest on quality of these QI project results since policy makers, hospital leaders and clinicians make important decisions based on these information. Data Quality Audit (DQA) is one of the initiatives established... ...e clinics, community health centers and hospitals in three districts of the province. It is important to track every sequential steps of diagnostic and treatment services of PMTCT program. Effective monitoring could indicate the performance of the program in identifying HIV infected mothers and providing correct treatment. In South Africa, like many developing countries, health data collecting and reporting system was often stated unreliable (Garrib et al., 2008). As such, the PMTCT program introduced an intervention to improve the completeness and accuracy of the routine data collected in the DHIS. The flow of data begins at the service delivery points and the staffs at each primary care facilities combine these data monthly on paper and report to clinic supervisor. The data are transferred to electronic format by an information officer within the facility.

Nature function of Academic English

IntroductionThere has been an ongoing discourse about different approaches that translates to the best way of teaching the English language and what appropriately constitute to the language itself. Genre knowledge has been the source of much discourse in the academe because of how it affects the disciplinary and professional cultures of teaching Academic English (Berkenkotter & Huckin 24).The academic discourse further covers the features of the language in terms of linguistic, grammatical and vocabulary features. The discussion of such features and how it is affected under the different approaches is evaluated to provide for the grounds for the approach that must be seriously considered in for the academe use. Research about written discourse and text that hold such a prominence in the academy are analyzed according to formal discourse genres, their characteristics as well as the common linguistic features it possess (Hinkel 2).Above the question of the importance of the genre appro ach, there is also a question as to how explicit the teaching instruction must be. Contradicting sides would argue about the necessity of the teaching such approach (Freedman & Medway 193). Others would argue if it is even possible (Freedman & Medway 193). Others would wonder if it would benefit the students or would it prove to be more dangerous (Freedman & Medway 193). There is also a discourse about the right timing by which such an approach should and could be applied to a class depending upon the students’ age and capabilities in writing (Freedman & Medway 193).Genre & Academic DiscourseLiterary genres were discussed as early as in Aristotle’s The Poetics and developed in the Rhetoric that shows how he defined genres as a simple way of classifying text types, this is what was generally accepted over time (Clarke 242). According to traditional views, genre was limited to being primarily literary, defined by textual regularities in terms of form and content, classif ied into simplified categories and subcategories (Clarke 242). Under this definition, genre was not seen as relevant in terms of the discussion of composition and pedagogy (Clarke 242).Most of the linguists advocate that there should be a concentration for mastery of the different genres in the English language and that the teachers should focus on giving specific instruction that teaches the characteristic of each genre (Mercer & Swann 222). The students need a model by which they could follow in keeping with a genre structure (Mercer & Swann 222). They see grammar to play an important role in the process of learning the genres because it enables the students to â€Å"manipulate the text† contradictory to the process approach that sees the trouble in explicit manner of teaching grammar due to its unnecessity and danger to the students’ learning (Mercer & Swann 222).The common misconception would refer to genre and text type to merely be the same aspect of a text but i n reality they actually differ in terms of texts with particular genres having different linguistic characteristics and other literary features (Johns 73). However, different genres can be similar linguistically. Genre can be described as text characterized by external criteria, for instance written or spoken text, different audience, different context or purpose (Johns 73-74).On the other hand, text types can be represented by rhetorical modes such as â€Å"exposition† or â€Å"argument† as different text types (Johns 74). They are seen to be similar in terms of internal discourse patterns despite having different genres (Johns 74). The two concepts then refer to complementary perspectives on texts however they still remain different (Johns 74).Teaching and Writing GenresIn a classroom environment, text types that are written and spoken are related to the different demands by which the school requires and depending upon the subject areas of focus. There are different writing tasks that involve genres that go way beyond the literary realm (Schleppegrell 77). Factual and analytical genres exist under the evolution of the academic English language. The usual technique would be for students to read massive amount of authentic texts to give awareness to the difference of the ranges of genres and determine the registers they encounter for their own chose subject matters (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 303).Students are then made of aware of the differences between academic and non-academic genres. Through the process of being exposed to the different genres, the students are familiarized with the different lexical, grammatical and organizational features of the texts that exist that train them along the way (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 303).Genre KnowledgeThe academic discourse on genre gives two perspectives in terms of structurational and sociocognitive that deals with the activity language undergoes from diverse fields like â€Å"sociolinguistics, cognit ive psychology, educational anthropology and conversation analysis (Berkenkotter & Huckin 24).†Ã‚   This is the new concept that is emerging on top of the rich body of research regarding the genre’s structure from the structurational theory (Berkenkotter & Huckin 24). There is the constant need for the academe to monitor and recognize the changing pattern that language undergoes and thus the changes in the genres as well (Berkenkotter & Huckin 24).Full participation any general disciplinary and professional culture requires knowledge of the written genre and they are referred to as the â€Å"intellectual scaffolds on which community-based knowledge is constructed† thus placing a priority to monitor the pattern changes (Berkenkotter & Huckin 24). At the same time, they are worth examining because the genre of academic discourse also produce criteria like a â€Å"community’s norm, epistemology, ideology, and social ontology (Berkenkotter & Huckin 25)† Linguistic Features of Academic DiscourseAccording to Martlew and Sorsby (1995) â€Å"Written language like spoken language achieves communicative ad conceptual goals by using a complex system of arbitrary symbols and conventional rules†¦ In literate societies, a developed writing system is pervasive in children’s environment and it is likely that each individual child constructs, or re-invents, their own approach to writing from whatever salient experience the environment offers which they can utilize at different levels of development (Mercer & Swann 287).†There are certain linguistic expectations from students who enter into an academic arena and such a language practice can be reflected in most social groups more than others (Schleppegrell 43). Some students can encounter difficulty because of a lack of familiarity to such linguistic standard as there are differences between the registers in an academic scenario and that of an informal interaction (Schleppegre ll 43). Despite the fact that the classrooms can provide for an avenue for the students to develop such a standard and be trained by spoken and written language activities, the teachers need to remember how the forms of language can take its place in the academic context (Schleppegrell 44).For example, academic texts are by nature â€Å"informationally dense and authoritatively presented (Schleppegrell 44).† In order to get the extract the position and information from certain texts, the teachers and students must be able to unpack the meaning and recognize the position and ideologies of the text (Schleppegrell 44). Linguistic choices and the awareness of it enable a wider participation in the contexts of learning (Schleppegrell 44).   Having a clear perspective of the grammatical features that are seen as tools in deciphering school texts then provides as the foundation for a more efficient research of language development in terms of functionality as well as learning new registers (Schleppegrell 44-45).Most research focus on grammatical and lexical features of the student’s language production that produces a language analysis from a systematic functional linguistics (Schleppegrell 45). Deviating from a structural approach to grammar, a functional approach do not just focus on their syntactic category (nouns, verbs, adjectives) or their elements in the sentence (subject, predicate), it focus on identifying the revealing the context of schooling in the language that are used in the text, focusing on the register as the so-called â€Å"manifestation of context (Schleppegrell 45).Studies show how different features are values when comparing writing in writing classes and writing in other academic courses (Hinkel 5). The important consideration if providing the students with linguistic and writing skills that would equip them to handle new information and expand their knowledge (Hinkel 5). Some practitioners say that exposure to a variety of rea ding and experience with writing does not constitute to having a heightened awareness in discourse, vocabulary, grammar and linguistic features of academic writing or having better writing skills (Hinkel 5). They defended explicit instruction in advanced academic writing and text is what can provide the utmost equipment (Hinkel 5).General Nature and Functions of Academic EnglishFurthermore, Martlew and Sorsby (1995) said, â€Å"Writing however is a visible language, graphic symbolic system whose roots we suggest lie in pictographic representation before links are established with spoken language. In this respect, development reflects evolution in that all writing systems which represent sounds of language evolved from pictorial representations rather than from spoken language.† Academic English offers such changing concepts (Hyland 2). The one who coined the definition for English used in academic purposes was Tim Johns (Hyland 2). It was during this time that English became an economic imperative and it has been the leading language for disseminating academic knowledge (Hyland 2).Each discourse community has developed its own mode of discourse. This constitutes to the growth of Academic English. By nature it would expand and evolve to fit and address the different fields of study in need to communicate, basically that points to every discipline (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer). New objects, processes, relationships and others need new terms to be added in the lexicon. There is a need to reinterpret words that already exists to become other words that are defined by their specific fields, like a set is different in conversational English and Mathematical English (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 285).New words are also created as part of an existing word stock, like clockwise or feedback (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 285). There is also a need to borrow from another language. A term called â€Å"calquing† mean having to create new words to imitate a word that a lready exists from another language like omnipotens mean almighty in Latin (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 286). There is also a need to invent totally new words like the time when the word â€Å"gas† was created to be party of the field of chemistry (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 286).There is also creating â€Å"locutions† or sense of phrases and compound words as well as non-native word stocks (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 286). The nature of English is known to be shaped by certain social and cultural functions under the language of academic communities of discourse (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 290-291). The researchers suggest for having more than one valid and culturally based ideology regarding Academic English for it to be open to other cultures and factors (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 291).ConclusionDue to culture, styles of writing differ but this does not make one inferior over the other (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 290). Further research about Academic English should have a greater level of sensitivity for other cultures or for cultural diversity (Hoadley-Maidment & Mercer 290).   It is also necessary to have a proper balance between over-prespecification of the curriculum and planning and the right amount in terms of explicit teaching of genre and other features according the students’ knowledge, abilities and background (Wiley & Hartung- Cole 205). The academe must not loose sight of social-cultural context of the relevance of Academic English in exchange for a more uniform approach or for the search for a common standard for academic discourse (Wiley & Hartung- Cole 205).Works CitedClark, Irene, et al. Concepts in Composition: Theory and Practice in the Teaching of Writing. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2003.Berkenkotter, Carol, and Thomas N. Huckin. Genre Knowledge in Disciplinary Communication: Cognition, Culture, Power. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1995.Hinkel, Eli. Second Language Writers' Text: Linguistic and Rhetorical Features. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.Hoadley-Maidment, E. and Mercer, N. English in the Academic World. Open University course U210 The English Language: Past, Present and Future, 1996.Hyland, Ken. English for Academic Purposes: An Advanced Resource Book. New York: Routledge.Johns, Ann M., ed. Genre in the Classroom: Multiple Perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2002.Freedman, Aviva, and Peter Medway, eds. Genre and the New Rhetoric. London: Taylor & Francis, 1994.Mercer, N. and Swann, J. Learning English: Development and Diversity. Open University course U210 The English Language: Past, Present and Future, 1996.Schleppegrell, Mary J. The Language of Schooling: A Functional Linguistics Perspective. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 2004.Wiley, Terrence & Hartung- Cole, Elizabeth. â€Å"Model Standards for English Language Development: National Trends and a Local Response.† Education. 119. 2. (1998): Page Number: 205.

Comparative Essay: Iphone vs. Samsung Phone

Comparative essay: IPhone vs. Samsung phone Technique: Point by Point In the 21st century, the smart phone has already become an indispensable instrument in human life. Human beings rely on smart phones in recording everything in their daily life. There are different smart phone manufactures all around the world such as Samsung, Apple, Nokia, Motorola and so on. Among the smart phone manufacture, the Apple and Samsung smart phone manufacturer are the leader in the smart phone world. Thus, the products from these two manufacturers are famous among the users, such as the Apple iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2.Therefore, when we decide to buy a smart phone on either Apple iPhone 5 or the Samsung Galaxy Note 2, we should consider several aspects of the smart phone such as the design of the phone, the camera aspect, the life of battery can stand, call quality and the interface and function of the smart phone. First, we touch about the fabulous design of both the phones. The latest d ebuted iPhone 5 has created an entirely new design that thinner and lighter than the iPhones before. It is just 7. 6 millimeters amazing thin and weighs 112g that made out of glass and aluminum.Moreover, its 4 inches screen is palm-friendly and easily to operate with just one hand. It is not only comfortable you can say about the phone when a crystalline diamond is used to cut the chambers which give the beveled edge wonderful sheen, it makes you gorgeous even when you hold it. On the other hand, Samsung Galaxy Note 2 is much bigger than iPhone5 that is 5. 5 inches screen, 9. 4mm thin and 180g weight. It offers perfect and fantastic viewing experience just like cinema like-viewing. As for one-handed operation, it is not impossible.It provides ways to scooch the on-screen keyboard or the dialer which iPhone5 cannot be beat. Besides, it has a non-unibody chassis that allow us to easily swap SIM cards, batteries or expand storage via a microSD slot. Since the design of the phones is in comparable which means they have their own unique design, we would like to compare other features on both of the phones. By comparing the camera of iPhone 5 and Samsung Galaxy Note II, the iPhone 5 mostly takes care of everything on its own. The iPhone 5 has a fast HDR mode and a new option for panoramic photos, which up to 28 megapixels.The picture quality of iPhone 5 has high levels of details and good colour representation, without excessive noise. The iPhone 5 can manage scenes with high dynamic range better, and it also sports more constrast in its pictures, making them more visually appealing. The 1080 videos of iPhone 5 and the Note II exhibit the same great amount of detail and crisp focus as the still scenes, with 30fps inside and outdoors. The iPhone 5 footage comes with higher contrast, and looks less washed out under bright sunlight.For the Note II, it offers most major options like face/smile recognition, Panorama, HDR, low light mode and many others. It also has an abu ndance of scene and focus modes, as well as number of colour effects. The picture and video gallery on Note II split the screen with folders on the left for faster navigation and has richer editing capabilities built into it. The music players on both devices also offer tune categorizations and minimalistic interface. Note II offers more functions via sound modes and equalizer. Note II also has an FM radio.Both handsets also have excellent quality of loudspeakers, but the iPhone 5 unit sounds a tad fuller and clearer. The interface and functionality of these two phones run different operating system, which the Apple iPhone always run on iOS system, and now the iOS is updated to the version iOS 6 while Galaxy Note II runs the latest version of android system that is Android 4. 1 Jelly Bean. Android also offers plenty of customisation on the home screen and users can utilize widgets, custom launchers, custom keyboards and more.Android also doesn’t have to rely on iTunes for con tent synchronising and transfer and the iPhone 5 has the traditional grid of icons and everything else is pretty much neatly tucked away under settings. In terms of customisation, picking a wallpaper and ringtones can be used. Moreover, the processors and memory inside these two phones are different too. Apple using manually designed with 1. 3 GHz dual-core A6 processor with its own core architecture, while the Galaxy Note II is equipped with a quad-core at 1. 6GHz.The Note II can do multitasks efficient than iPhone 5. Besides that, the performance of the two phones also is depended on the user how to function it. Furthermore, the iPhone 5 has 1 GB of RAM, while the Galaxy Note II has 2 GB of the thing, and both have the basic versions starting with 16 GB of internal memory, going up to 32 GB or 64 GB variants. The Note II, however, sports a microSD slot for cheaper storage expansion. In overall, the interface and functionality of Samsung Galaxy Note II is better than Apple iPhone 5 . In contrast on the attery task, the Note II has the largest screen ever placed in a phone, and also the battery match with a 3,100 mAh unit tucked in neatly into its large body. It is rated for 35 hours talk time in 2G mode and 16 hours of talk time in 3G mode, and furthermore more than a month of standby (up to 890hours). However, the iPhone 5 has a 1,440 mAh battery, and is rated for 8 hours of talk time in 2G and 3G mode. Both handsets will deliver more than 10 hours of browsing or video watching on a charge, which are excellent results.On the other hand, the similarity of these two smart phones is discovered by smart users. There is an aspect that quite alike, which, aspect on calls quality. In the aspect call quality, both iPhone 5 and Note II carrying remarkable call quality, with loud and clear voices in the earpiece, even clean sound relay to the other end. The noise-cancelling do a very good job of weeding out the background noisy, with the iPhone 5 sporting a tad better sound capture probably thanks to the tri-mic setup it has going on. In a nut shell, the two phones functioning well in call quality.In conclusion, both Apple and Samsung products, Apple iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 have their own advantages and disadvantages. Thus, it falls upon the user to compare the similarities and differences between Apple iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy Note 2 such as the design of the phone, the camera aspect, the life of battery can stand, call quality and the interface and function of the smart phone before buying the smart phone. Moreover, it’s also depending on the need of the user on the aspect. A- Group members: See Li Min Tan Sheue Ley Tan Siok Ying Chan Yi Qi Pei Leng

Pacific Hospital Essay

MAJOR FACTS: With the death of Thurston Howell it left Barney Rubble in charge of the purchasing of supplies for Pacific Hospital and their subsidiaries. With this being an important responsibility, Mr. Rubble needs to make sure that he is making the right decisions regarding the suppliers of X-ray film. His main responsibility is to make sure that he is getting the best price for quality X-Ray film. Another major fact is that Kodak has been the sole supplier for Pacific Healthcare for a long time and this was due to Mr. Howell and the agreement in place. As the Director of Radiology it was with in his power to make this decision. The last major fact is that Kodak as part of their pricing deal agreed to maintain equipment and services at the discounted rate. They would not offer the same package if they were not the sole suppliers. MAJOR PROBLEMS: Mr. Howell being the sole authority in charge of making buying decisions is a major flaw. Yes he is the Director of the department, but that does not mean that he is the most knowledgeable regarding the best prices for X-ray film. In addition he should not have had the right to refuse the possibility of other suppliers. Reviewing the additional bids provided it appears that Kodak was the highest and cost the hospital additional dollars. As noted in the major facts that Kodak was willing to do the equipment maintenance and there was also the possibility that the other companies may have considered that also, but was never given the option. Kodak films are considerably more expensive than their competitors and this in turn can cost the hospital major dollars fi it is not rectified. POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS: a. With the death of Mr. Howell it left Mr. Rubble in charge to freely explore other options regarding the purchase of X-ray film. Reviewing the current contract he can determine whether or not the current contract is the most beneficial. Is what Kodak offering worth the price that they are presently paying? Mr. Rubble could attempt to negotiate a lower price  since there is already a relationship in place and this could be an advantage. The downside is the price that Kodak would be currently offering would be more expensive than the competition. b. Other options that can be explored is that Mr. Rubble can go with either Kodak or Agfa. They are offering cheaper prices per sheet and this can be an advantage and he cannot go wrong as long as they stay consistent with their pricing. The only way that this would be a disadvantage is if Mr. Rubble cannot get the same deal with either DuPont or Agfa that Mr. Howell had secured with Kodak. Kodak was more expensive, but when you add in the other options that Kodak was willing to offer it leveled out the expenses and this could be an advantage. c. As an alternative option Mr. Rubble could open up the contract for bid. In the bidding statement he could include all the services that are presently being offered by Kodak. This includes maintenance, equipment and service at the most affordable price. The lowest bid with all the stipulations will get the contract. d. Advantages speak for themselves. The winner of the contract secures a contract for the length of time specified. The disadvantage could be the length of time that it takes for the bidding process to be completed. In addition it would not have the input of Mr. Howell who has been in charge for some time and has had a reputation. CHOICE AND RATIONALE: The ideal situation would be option A. As Mr. Rubble I would stay with Kodak because there are the industry standard and provide a great deal. Kodak also needs to be made aware that there are other suppliers that could possibly offer the same. It should also be pointed out that the price per sheet is also cheaper. Kodak has a long time relationship with Pacific Healthcare and if they wish to maintain the relationship it may benefit Kodak to lower their prices to remain competitive. Kodak should be willing to negotiate lower prices to compete in today’s business and make them competitive. Putting the contract up for competition will add time and energy to the process. If Mr. Rubble remains with Kodak it can save the additional time and energy. It also needs to remind Kodak that there may be other companies that may be willing to offer the same. If the open bidding is implemented who knows how long the process will take and how long the X-ray department will be without services. Sometimes if situations  are working and beneficial it is best to leave them alone. IMPLEMENTATION: First line of business would be to examine all the companies and compare all their prices to other companies that offer X-ray film. In addition research the other companies and present them with the same option that is presently being offered by Kodak relating to the maintenance, equipment and service option. In negotiating with Kodak, I would mention to them that the other companies are offering similar offers at a lesser price. This may or may not change the current contract that is presently being offered by Kodak. This could force Kodak to change their present contract if they wish to maintain the same relationship with Pacific Healthcare. APPENDIX: What alternatives should Barney Rubble consider when addressing the problem? Mr. Rubble can simply continue with the present contract that has been on going with Kodak that was implemented by Mr. Howell and continue the same service at the price agreed upon. He could opt to renegotiate a whole new contract with other companies or one with Kodak that will lower the services that are now being offered. The last choice would be an open offer and the lowest price bid would win with the best package offer. Should Pacific’s purchasing policy allow for medical staff personnel to control purchasing decisions? The answer to this question is definitely NO. Pacific should by no means allow medical personnel to control purchasing decisions. That is the responsibility of supply chain management and purchasing agents. There are situations where medical staff personnel have the specialized technical expertise on a particular item that is purchased. If this is the case then their input can be valuable and should be considered and supported. Both the purchasing agent and medical staff should work together to get the best possible outcome. What are the advantages and disadvantages of staying with Kodak or changing suppliers? The advantages of remaining with Kodak are the fact that they are already in familiar territory. They know what to expect from Kodak and  there would be no surprises. It also seems that Kodak has been giving Pacific a huge discount for the equipment used along with maintenance and service. This offer is part of the agreement that Kodak is the sole supplier for Pacific Healthcare X-ray suppliers. An advantage is that the amount time and energy it would save Pacific Healthcare to go through the process all again and come up with nothing. A disadvantage is that they would continue to pay the higher prices instead of opting to explore their options. If the right negotiator is put in charge they may be in a position to get a better deal from another company. This being said will allow Pacific to get from under the thumb of Kodak and save them some money in the bargain. This will not be realized unless steps are taken to see what other deals can be brought into the mix. What actions could Mr. Rubble have taken prior to Mr. Howell’s death to obtain reduced film prices? Mr. Howell was the Director of radiology and in most cases his decisions were final. After exploring other options and found companies that may be willing to give similar deals, Mr. Rubble could have approached Mr. Howell with his findings. Going directly to Kodak while Mr. Howell was alive could have backed fired. Following the chain of command would have been the best option. If Mr. Howell refused to entertain any of Mr. Rubble’s ideas then Mr. Rubble could have gone to the next person in authority to express his concerns. In such a situation Mr. Howell should not have been the final decision maker. References: Pacific Healthcare Case Study. Retrieved from https://edge.apus.edu/access/content/attachment/215506/assignment/10e59ddi-8f03-44a3-aa6d-61478fa8eef7/case%20study%201%pacific%20health%20care.pdf