Role of Marketing in the Non-Business Environment

October 2012 -Role of Marketing in the non-business environment since article â€Å"Broadening the Concept of Marketing† by Philip Kotler and Sidney J. Levy was published in 1969 — Written by Anthony Chi Yuen CHAN 1 Abstract Social economic development over the past 40 years has been drastic over the world. From 1970 to 2010, global GDP has grown over 20 times from 3,288 billion USD to 63,064 billion USDi. Government consumption expenditure per capita increased from 140 USD to 1,640 USD on global bases. In well developed countries and economic zone (like UKii and EU), ocial protection, general public services, health care, education, and national and public order and safety account for over 70% of government total spending. cause the increase of spending in the public sector? What had been changed to While large amount of money had been spent, what has changed in the public sector to ensure the effectiveness of spending? Private sector managerial techniques, practices a nd orientations, marketing strategies and dimensions helped shaping the evolution of public management to be more efficiently and effectively.The purpose of this paper is to state specific examples of the adaptation of marketing management strategies and tactics at the selected areas of public services. Particular case will illustrate how STP, 4P’s, and 3P’s adopted in the decision making process. Understanding the background of social evolution, we will examine how demographic and economic improvement has driven these marketing strategies in these civil services in Hong Kong over the past 40 years. IntroductionEvery organization, private sector or public services alike, depend greatly on marketing strategies and communication to promote their goods and services. Hong Kong Government has evolved its public communication from minimum interaction to highly involvement in planning, researching, consulting, implementing of the new regulations and policies. The objectives a re obvious, better execution, greater acceptance, less rebellious toward administrative power. After Second World War, Hong Kong was governed by British system.One will not be surprised to learn Hong Kong transformation from a small fishing village to a modern business and manufacturing city was greatly benefited by immigrating many British public services and social management policies and experiences. At the beginning of the colonial rule, many of the establishment and policies were implemented through a direct top down approach. British Government at the U. K. assigned Governor to Hong Kong to decide and implemented all policies across the society. Minimum communication was noted from the Government for promotion of new policies. ommunication. External limitation also put barriers to effective At the 1950’s social communication media was very limited. The lack of basic formal communication tools like newspaper and radio broadcasting was one of the challenges at the beginni ng. General population literacy was low also accounted for limitation of communication. As society improved, education level has risen, government new policies were demanded to be explained and rationalized before implementation. Modern government communications have to utilizing all available tradition and modern media. Advertising through multi-lingual newspaper, prime time television advertising at television, radio broadcasting with advertisement and commentary shows; public transportation exterior/interior advertising; mobile phone messaging; smart phone application; internet media (blogs; facebook; twitters; government web sites etc) are fully utilized to let government communication reaching complicated social segments. Likewise, the internet age of marketing communication channels also encouraged faster and direct general public feedback be reverted to the concerned government bodies.Privatization of some public services, like parks and garden management, public area hygiene , and airport security management of non-critical zone etc. , influenced the image of quality services. Service privatization also has a reverse influence back to Government to review marketing strategies. As a result, Hong Kong civil service activities are managed through a more business-like management structure, and commercial marketing strategy and tactics becoming more evidence. We will examine various examples of Government policies and activities where marketing management philosophies are adopted.Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) – Marketing as strategy (STP) While social and economic development enriched, modern social needs becoming complicated, deeper to details, and towards long term stability. Majority of population has their basic humanity needs satisfied, the Government started to consider long term social protection. Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) is designed for workforce to plan for retirement life. Before the implication of the MPF System, only about one-third of the Hong Kong workforce had some form retirement protection.From a marketing strategy point of view, MPF program identified the need for retirement saving for all workforces. Therefore, any employee, no matter full time or causal, at the age between 18 to 65 is included in the segment. The main target groups within this segment are those employee who has no experience nor has knowledge to establish his/her own retirement saving program with financial institutes. Therefore, it is required by law to join compulsory retirement saving plan for a minimum saving level per month. For employee who are not in the main target (i. e. apable and willing to contribute more than the minimum saving level), the MPF program has the flexibility to allow non-target group contributors to put extra money to the mandatory saving level. MPF is a financial saving services that position itself as mass population at a monthly affordable contribution rat e. There are similar retirement saving options offe red by other financial institutions, but most of them are not targeting mass market. A series of TV commercial were made and aired (for example http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=-DcC1pccSTM) for the promotion of MPF.In the video, it is clearly illustrated the segment, target, and position of this program. Intangible (services) vs Tangible (physical) – 4P’s : Products Public management is traditionally considered to be a service oriented sector, and therefore offering intangible products. Public security, national health, emergency assistance, education, 3 and legal justice, just to name a few, are critical services provided by public administrators. Public administration also provides tangible products such as subsided housing, government publication, municipal water supply, and land sale etc.Public Housing Strategy – 4P’s : Price Hong Kong Housing Society and Hong Kong Housing Authority offer government subsidized housing for particular population segmen t. Because of the complexity of housing demand and affordability, Government designed four major types of subsidized housing programs. All of these public and subsidized housing program are targeted to different user groups, and are positioned very differently. Each of the program also has different level of discount rate, either for sale or for rent, when compare with open market value. ange of restrictions and eligibility criteria. Users are generally subjected to a Each of the pricing structure is evaluated based on target group income and affordability. Market researches are done, and public hearing is held before program reveal to public. Public housing prices are designed to balance user affordability and at the same time protect open market housing prices stability. Below are the iii four main housing schemet :. ? Home Ownership Scheme estates are subsidized sale-to-public housing estates for low-income residents.They are usually built adjacent to or within Public Rental Hous ing and nearly identical in construction. They are managed by the Hong Kong Housing Authority and are earmarked for sale to low-income qualifiers at prices which are heavily discounted from market value, and the land value is similarly subsidized. The mortgage and resale of these units in the second-hand market are likewise restricted to eligible low-income residents. Within a public housing estate development, some blocks may be designated by the Authority exclusively for rental while others may be earmarked for sale. ?Tenants Purchase Scheme allows existing tenants in the rented public housing program to purchase their flats. The sale prices are set around 50% to 60% lower than the market prices of private flats due to subsidies and restriction on selling. ? Flat-for-Sale Scheme allows flats under the scheme for sale at concessionary price. ? Sandwich Class Housing Scheme estates were built for sale to lower-middle and middle-income residents, known as the sandwich class, who did not qualify for low-income public housing in the Home Ownership Scheme but still had trouble affording private housing.The quality and market positioning of Sandwich Class Housing were significantly higher than public housing estates and comparable to some middle-class private developments. These units were sold at levels that were slightly below market value and came with a five-year resale restriction. Land development as new source – 4P’s : Place Hong Kong has land size at 1,100 square kilometers, and population grown from four million in 4 1970 to 7. 2 million in 2010. That makes Hong Kong one of the most densely populated city in the world. Hong Kong Land Department holds one of the most scared resources, land.Urban development and local economic highly depend on availability of land sales. Therefore, promotion and marketing communication of land planning become increasingly important over years. Private sectors as well as general citizen concern about future new land supply as well as timeworn redevelopment zone. Land development as well as land source of land affects property prices, and the urbanization development planiv. One good recent example is the Geotechnical Engineering Department confirms the technical capability of underground land and cavern for new source of land.This marks a new era for the possible new â€Å"place† for future property market and industrial zone development. The GED makes use of short video to promote new land supply idea (see endnote’s hyper link)v. Crime prevention – 4P’s : Promotion Police force goals and objective have dramatically changed for the last four decades from mainly law enforcement operation to equally emphasizing the importance of crime prevention. Study have shown in different country that increase of police force does not necessary reverse proportion to the number of crime. i Therefore, a lot of marketing and promotion effort have been dedicated to home security d esign, drug abuse prevention, internet crime awareness, and police force recruitmentvii, proper automobile driving technique etc. As social and communication media develops and widened, communication channels broadened from traditional newspaper advertising to internet social platform such as police force websiteviii, facebook, youtube, tweeter, discussion forum, to personal contact like public relationship division within the police force.Public sector personal and organizational marketing – 3P’s : People After the transfer of sovereignty to People Republic of China, Hong Kong government organization and management became increasing transparent. Hong Kong resident has increasing interest of government departmental leadership, and government operation efficiency. Compare to forty years ago, when Hong Kong was still under British colonial rule, the Governor, Executive Council, Legislative Council, as well as most public politician were all appointed by the Government.De mocratic election slowly started in the 1980’s for local district representatives and a portion of Legislative Council. Personal marketing in the public services became more and more importantix. Two examples are the recent Legislative Council (LECO) Election, and Hong Kong Special Administration Region Chief Executive Election. LECO election is an open democratic election for all qualified citizen. Competitions are big between candidates, and are compared based on their experiences, past contribution to the society, and related political party’s reputation. Education system reform progress – 3P’s : Process While every spot light falls onto the people, in the public sector, the ultimate goal for a government is to implement set policies and procedures. Taking for example, the Education Department just recently introduced a new secondary and territorial school system in Hong Kong. The new system revised the seven years secondary schooling to six years, but extending the normal three years under graduate programmes to four years. New Product (Education System) Development Strategy was use. The education ureau made use of product development concept of idea generation, preliminary analysis, detail investigation and research, planning and development, communication, testing, implementation, and auditing cycle. x xi The result was a smoother implementation, better acceptance by education institutions, students, parents, and prevented political instability in case of adverse situation. Conclusion Social, economic, political, and education development evolves over time. Citizens are demanding more frequent, closer, deeper, and highly transparent participation in public administration.Therefore, non-business organization like public administration and political management spend more resources (time, man power, and money) at the early stage of new social policy development. Citizens are defined as customers or end user in the public administ ration model. Because of the rising demand by the customers for better involvement during the course of public administration, and, at the same time, administrators wants to have higher chance of success and sustainability of new policy, customers involvement of the early part of Stage-gate Processing becoming evident, which is in contrast with public policy development four decades ago.American Marketing Association (AMA) who defines â€Å"Marketing† for its members, have also renew the definition to suit with the ever changing environment. In the letter from Mike Lotti and Don Lehmann, Chairperson of the Board and Committee Chair of AMA, subjected New Definition of Marketing dated December 2007, Lotti and Lehmann said â€Å"(the new definition of) Marketing is regarded as an ‘activity’ instead of a ‘function’ and positions marketing as a broader activity in a company/organization, and not just a department.The new definition also positions marketi ng as providing long term value rather than narrowly as an exchange of money (short-term) for the benefit of the shareholder/organization. †xii European marketing community also published similar notion a few years earlier than its US counterpart, defining that â€Å"long-term customer relationships are considered as the cornerstone of marketing†xiii. This is in line with modern public administrators’ objective, that is to satisfy the needs of different segments and targets of citizens.It is worth to note that this paper is not to argue marketing management strategies, tactics, and concepts in public sector did not exist in Hong Kong at the early years. As a matter of the facts, in the 60s and 70s, Government have organized activities to understand customer (local residents) 6 needs related to long term social development plan and pre-execution hearing sessions with local leaders and legislators, but only at a lot less formal and structured as the society current ly established. In response to Levy and Kotler’s article, DavidJ.Luck had argued that marketing strategies and activities had been in used in various government activities before Kotler and Levy’s article was publishedxiv. When social, economic, and political reforms continue, society should expect to see marketing activities in non-business organization, particularly for public administration sector, to continue evolves alongside with modern marketing management methologies. i Ivan Kushnir’s Research Center, kushnirs. org rd ii UK Public Spending since 1963, Simon Rogers, 3 June 2012, guardian. o. uk iii Milestones: Hong Kong Housing Society Housing Price, Land Supply and Revenue from Land Sales, Raymond Y. C. Tse, 2012 v Enhanced use of underground space in Hong Kong, Geotechnical Engineering Department, http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=jZ_IX0KocNk&list=UUi4fX-nEJseYhlAuY4DJ0wQ&index=7&feature=pl cp vi Law Enforcement Marketing: Perceptions of a police force, Peter Bohan, 1987. vii Hong Kong Police: http://www. youtube. com/watch? v=ckDWtaWNHo0 viii Hong Kong Police: http://www. police. gov. hk/ppp_en/index. tml ix After ten years of transfer of sovereignty: political stability and reform in Hong Kong, Jermain T. M. Lam, 2008 x Stage-gate systems: a new tool for managing new products, Robert G. Cooper, 1990 xi Marketing in the public sector: Inappropriate or merely difficult? : Peter Graham, 2010 xii th AMA Definition of Marketing: Mike Lotti and Don Lehmann, December 17 , 2007 xiii Defining Marketing: A market-Oriented Approach: Christian Gronroos, 1989 xiv Broadening the Concept of Marketing. Too Far: David J. Luck, 1969 iv 7

Is Hamlet a man of inaction? Essay

Humans are creatures of habit, we get into a daily routine, and over time, learning from experience our mind equips itself to dealing with certain situations that we encounter on a regular basis, when this routine is broken by an unexpected event our minds can be inadequately equipped to deal with this because you can only learn from teaching or experience. When a lightening bolt strikes out of the blue; a death of a loved one or such we immediately see things from another perspective, something like this can make us see things in a whole different light, things that you once thought you were sure of can take on a whole new face and cause us to wonder how we were ever so stupid to see what may now appear blatantly obvious. This may be for the better or for the worse but in any case it will almost certainly cause a turnaround in how we may see things in the future, this is what makes us human, are ability to learn from experience and put it into practice to hopefully avoid a similar situation ever befalling us again. A personal tragedy will obviously affect every person differently, it all depends on how many comparable situations we have encountered before, how much we expected it and how much we are willing to accept that bad things happen and move on. For any student away studying at university in a foreign country to be recalled out of the blue for such a matter as the death of their seemingly healthy father, who has apparently lost his life in such an unceremonious way as being bitten by a snake while asleep would be a devastating experience. Even in a modern day world something of this nature has enough potential to cause someone so much distress and confusion that it can be emotionally destroying. Now put yourself in hamlets situation you are a seventeenth century prince, a scholar based in a sheltered world, a world where you are oblivious to the fact that people lie, that people can be two faced and it is unbeknown to you that people are selfish and will put there needs before yours and others and will push as many people out of the way as they have to, to get what they want. None of these are things that would ever be part of his thought pattern, this other world; he has never seen it ; never heard of it, for him his world is the world of a prince, a place where no-one would ever make a remark about you to your face or to anyone that may have the ability to let you know about it, a world with servants and sycophants where your wish is everyone else’s command, a world where the most emotionally distressing thing you are likely to encounter is that maybe your best tunic has not been properly pressed for you by your legion of servants. You can already see even before his discovery of his mothers marriage to his uncle and the appearance of  his fathers ghost, that, for a person so uninformed of real emotional issues as Hamlet, that this would lay waste to all his current feelings and desires, leaving him with nothing on which to cling to support him through this time of hardship and solitude. This is why Hamlet is the perfect lead for Shakespeare’s tragedy, here he is saying â€Å"what if? † what if someone so unprepared as hamlet was to have to face something like this? Would the fibres of his whole human existence hold up to what he is about to face? He is forcing a collision between two different ends a scale, not even the same scale, he is submitting a characters (albeit fictional) mind and emotions to the whim of his most unimaginably ill fated predicament. You can understand that when he makes his first appearance speaking to Claudius and his mother, he has a tangible sense of bitterness towards them, especially when they speak to him in such a way that you would think it not uncommon for a woman to marry her deceased husbands brother within only two months of him passing. They enquire why he still is in his mourning dress, and think it inappropriate for him to still be actively grieving as death is â€Å"common. † They do not seem able to accept that they have had time to mourn, and that to him his fathers memory is fresh in his mind and that he is still besotted with grief not only about the death of his father, but even more so about their marriage. Claudius denounces him as showing lack of respect to their marriage and that â€Å"’tis unmanly grief† (act I scene II line 94 pg 13 OUP) he also lets Hamlet know that it is â€Å"most retrograde of their desire† for him to return to university at Wittenburg. For young Hamlet of course the memory is still green, and he has the added emotional trauma of seeing his mother wedded to his dead uncles brother and we get a strong tone of insensitivity from both of them, especially Claudius, you can imagine that hamlet, after just finding out about their marriage would be in a very fragile emotional state and their lack of consideration of his feelings can only be making him question him trust for anyone and pushing him further away from them, and driving his grief deeper inside him causing him to suppress his anger after not being able to relate this to them.

Succubus Revealed Chapter 8

It was hard to believe that in only a couple of days I'd gone from doubting my transfer was real to suddenly signing on to be in a Las Vegas stage production. Things happened so fast that it was easy to get swept along, and Bastien and Phoebe's gleeful encouragement just made things happen that much more quickly. Shape-shifting took care of my clothing problem, and Bastien soon left us, allegedly to go get a drink and try his hand at the blackjack table. Once he left the theatre, though, Phoebe leaned over to me conspiratorially and whispered, â€Å"Here's a wager for you. How much do you want to bet he comes back with a glow?† I laughed and whispered back, â€Å"I won't take that bet. Are you sure you haven't worked with him before?† Admittedly, an incubus looking to get laid wasn't that far of a stretch, but I liked how adeptly Phoebe was able to pick up on my old friend's personality quirks. â€Å"Nah,† she said with a smile. â€Å"I've just known his type.† Other dancers began trickling in. Phoebe introduced us as they arrived, and most were friendly and excited to have someone new in the group. They weren't yet at their full number needed for the show, so everyone was anxious for that to happen. I brought them one step closer, though it surprised me they were still short. From my experiences, there were always groups of girls lined up to try to make it in show business. Phoebe confirmed as much. â€Å"Oh, yeah, tons have tried out. And you should have seen them at the beginning, when they first did the open casting. Matthias is just really selective, that's all. Cornelia – the head choreographer – is just as bad.† â€Å"And yet he took me on a five-minute audition,† I pointed out. Phoebe grinned. â€Å"Sweetie, he just knows talent when he sees it. Besides, he's in charge of this gig. If he says you're in, you're in.† Matthias wasn't the only one running the show, of course. Along with the dancers came other management and staff, like the aforementioned Cornelia. Everyone had a part to play. The rehearsal was fast-paced and aggressive – but also lots of fun. Phoebe hadn't been joking. The other dancers were good – really good. It had been a very long time since I'd danced with any sort of group, even longer since I was with one of such caliber. I was used to being the standout at anything dance related, and it was a surprise – a good one – to find myself surrounded by so many equals. I had to work to keep up with them on the first day, and even if I didn't walk out as an instant star, I left confident that I'd held my own. Before I could go, one of the show's costumers asked to take my measurements backstage. Phoebe told me she'd go hunt down Bastien and meet me at the casino's central bar. The seamstress appeared with her tape measure, and I made a mental note of my height for future shape-shifting. Matthias came by, carrying his notes, and paused when he saw us. â€Å"You did really well today,† he told me. â€Å"It's like you've been with us from the first day.† â€Å"Hardly,† I said. â€Å"I've still got a lot to learn. Especially in the fourth song. The steps are deceptively simple . . . but there's a certain attitude you've got to hold to pull them off. No, maybe not attitude. Grace? Vibe? I can't explain it, but the simplicity's what makes it so genius. It seems like such a basic pattern, but how it's executed is what truly brings out the beauty.† I was thinking aloud, just sort of rambling, and realized that I sounded kind of ridiculous. â€Å"Sorry. That probably doesn't make any sense.† â€Å"No, no.† Matthias stared at me wonderingly. â€Å"That's exactly it. That's how I intended it. I was inspired by watching classical ballet, how all the moves are amplified by the emotion put into the routines. Cornelia said it was crazy to try to think that deep for a show like this, but it just felt right.† â€Å"It's beautiful,† I said honestly. â€Å"I can absolutely see where you were going with it. Reminds me of something from La Bayadre.† â€Å"You know La Bayadre?† he asked, wide-eyed. â€Å"Of course,† I said. â€Å"It's a classic. Who doesn't?† â€Å"You'd be surprised.† I realized then that the seamstress had left, having achieved her goal. Matthias was still regarding me in amazement. Now that they weren't focused on the clipboard, I was able to see how blue his eyes were. They were like the sky on a clear, crisp day. â€Å"Are you busy tonight?† he asked a few moments later. â€Å"Would you . . . would you like to go get dinner? Or even just a drink? I'd love to talk dance more with you.† For a succubus, I could be surprisingly na?ve sometimes. Because for half an instant, I almost accepted. I was so keyed up after the rehearsal and so excited to talk more about the show that I actually briefly thought that was all he wanted to go out for. Now, I don't mean to imply that his motives were totally base either. He wasn't using this as a ruse to simply get me into bed. But he also wasn't treating this as a meeting of colleagues. Bottom line: he liked me. I'd peaked his interest, and he wanted to go out on a date. Normally, that wouldn't have been a problem . . . except, there was something I sincerely liked about him. He was cute, and I found his passion for his work endearing. I loved how he kept getting wrapped up in it, totally consumed and distracted like – Seth. And there was the problem. This guy was the choreographer version of Seth. A one-night fling with some sleazy guy who meant nothing wasn't cheating in the eyes of our relationship. But for me to go out with a guy I liked, that I found intriguing and attractive in the same way I found Seth . . . well. That was wrong, especially since Matthias was obviously interested in me. It was a strange situation to be in, one I hadn't expected. â€Å"Oh, that would be great, but my friends and I already have plans,† I told him. â€Å"We're trying to make the most of my trip since it's so short.† â€Å"Oh.† His face fell a little, then brightened. â€Å"But you'll be back for tomorrow's rehearsal, right? It'd be great if you were able to get in the steps one more time before you left town. You know, give you something to practice.† â€Å"Sure,† I said. â€Å"That'd be great.† The rest of the evening went by in a blur of activity. Phoebe joined Bastien and me in a whirlwind tour of Vegas highlights, which included a lot of casino and club hopping. Phoebe and I both donned skimpy, glamorous dresses, playing up our succubus sex appeal to its maximum. We draped ourselves on Bastien's arms, and he swaggered around even more than usual, smug with the envy he got over showing us off. After hours of this, I was ready for some downtime. Phoebe and Bastien had a quick consultation and decided that if we hurried we could make the late performance of a magic show they knew. â€Å"Magic?† I asked, more than a little tipsy from vodka gimlets. â€Å"Don't we live a magic show?† â€Å"Damn near,† said Bastien. He was ostensibly still being gallant in offering me his arm, but it was unclear who was really holding whom up. â€Å"There's something special about this show, I've heard.† There was a mischievous glint in his eyes. The three of us made our way to a modest, off-Strip hotel I'd never heard of. It still had alcohol and slot machines in its casino, which was probably all that mattered to most of its customers. Bastien bought us tickets to see The Great Jambini, and we hurried into the small theater – which was about half-full – just as the lights went down. A mediocre comedian did the warm-up act, and soon the star attraction himself came out. He had graying hair and a bright purple silk turban, along with a sequined cape that could have come straight from the wardrobe department at Sparkles. He kept tripping over its hem, which led to my first observation: he was totally drunk. A second observation soon followed, once I realized there were more immortal signatures in here than just mine, Phoebe's, and Bastien's. The Great Jambini was an imp. He started off with some standard card tricks, receiving half-hearted applause from the audience. These were followed by juggling, which I found remarkable simply because of the concentration it required from someone so obviously intoxicated. He didn't miss a move. I think the other members of the audience shared my opinion because their applause warmed up. Inspired by this, Jambini then made a great show of setting his juggling pins on fire. This brought the applause to a standstill, and some of the people in the front rows shifted uneasily. â€Å"Is that a good idea?† I murmured to my friends. â€Å"It never is,† remarked Phoebe. â€Å"What do you mean nev – â€Å" Within thirty seconds after lighting the pins, Jambini had begun juggling . . . and promptly set his cape on fire. People gasped and screamed as he flung it off him onto the stage. Considering its cheap material, I was kind of surprised the cape hadn't ignited faster. He stomped on it until the flames were out, and I saw a few stagehands on the periphery ready with fire extinguishers, just in case. Once the cape was a black, smoldering mess, he lifted it up. A dove emerged from underneath it, flying up into the air, much to the awe and delight of the spectators. â€Å"It was part of the show,† I breathed, equally impressed. â€Å"Yup,† said Phoebe. Jambini reached for the dove, which just barely slipped past him. It circled around the room, then swooped low into the audience. Along the way, it sideswiped a woman whose hair was elaborately French braided. The dove's foot got tangled in her hair, and it soon became trapped, beating its wings frantically to escape as she leaped up and began screaming. â€Å"Was that part of the show?† I asked. â€Å"No,† said Phoebe in awe. â€Å"But it really should be.† Within seconds, the stagehands were out in the audience, where they were able to remove and confine the dove. They escorted the woman off as well, heads bent low as they murmured apologies. The Great Jambini made a flourish-filled bow, much to the delight of the crowd. Everyone loves a wacky mishap. He performed a few scarf tricks, most of which went off without a hitch, and then came to stand in the center of the stage, face grave. â€Å"For my next trick, I need a volunteer.† His eyes fell on our corner. â€Å"A lovely volunteer.† â€Å"Oh, he noticed us,† said Phoebe, with a sigh. She raised her hand, along with others in the audience. When I did nothing, she elbowed me until I raised my hand as well. After a great show of examining all the volunteers, Jambini strode up to our table and extended his hand to me. Bastien and Phoebe whistled and cheered, urging me up. I was a little nervous about being set on fire or attacked by birds, but it was hard for me to refuse an audience. I accepted Jambini's hand and let him lead me up to the stage, while thunderous applause rang out around us. â€Å"Just shape-shift into any outfit that comes to mind,† he muttered in my ear, his breath heavy with the scent of gin. Once we were on center stage, he took the microphone and kicked into showman mode. â€Å"Now, my lovely assistant here . . . what is your name, lovely assistant?† I leaned toward the microphone. â€Å"Georgina.† â€Å"Georgina. What a lovely name. And so, lovely Georgina, all you have to do is allow yourself to be receptive to the awe-inspiring, truly mystical powers of my magic. If you do, wondrous transformations will occur.† I nodded in agreement, and more cheering ensued. Jambini walked over to his prop table and returned with a curtain attached to a hoop and a handle. When he held it up by the handle, the curtain hung down in a way that created an enclosed cylinder, completely concealing the person inside. I obligingly stepped forward, letting the folds of fabric hide me while Jambini gave a â€Å"magical countdown.† In those brief seconds, I shape-shifted my sparkly cocktail dress to the first thing that came to mind: my green foil elf dress. Jambini whipped the curtain away dramatically, revealing me in my new attire. People gasped and clapped with delight, and I gave a bow almost as showy as his. Encouraged by the response, Jambini declared, â€Å"One more time.† I stepped back into the curtained enclosure and changed this time into black jeans, a silver-sequined top, and a woman's tuxedo jacket. When he pulled back the curtain, the applause faltered a little bit before increasing to a frenzy. I'd seen these types of tricks performed before among those not gifted with shape-shifting, and usually performers simply shifted between loose dresses, items easy to get on and off. My choice of clothing kind of defied the logic of those familiar with how the trick worked. But, hey. This was magic, right? â€Å"Show-off,† Bastien told me when I returned to my seat. â€Å"Hey,† I whispered back, watching Jambini attempt to swallow a knife. He'd gotten about a third of the way there before he started coughing. With a shrug, he finally gave up and simply bowed to delayed applause. â€Å"These people deserve something for their money.† Jambini – or Jamie, as I later learned he was really named – was much more appreciative of my performance. My group met up with him in the hotel's drab bar after the show. â€Å"Switching to pants was genius,† he told me, knocking back a glass of gin. I had a sneaking suspicion that the show's actual performance was the longest he went without a drink on a given day. â€Å"People are going to be scratching their heads over that one for days.† â€Å"Maybe too much,† warned Bastien. â€Å"You'll make mortals suspicious.† I shrugged, unconcerned. â€Å"This is Vegas, baby. No one'll question it. Besides, weirder things happen all the time.† Jamie was nodding along eagerly. â€Å"And that tacky holiday dress too? That was great. Really god-awful. You know, if you're moving here, I could totally hook you up with a job as my assistant.† He chuckled. â€Å"People would probably get more out of seeing you than my tricks.† â€Å"That wouldn't surprise me in the least,† said Bastien, straight-faced. â€Å"Well, thanks,† I said, â€Å"but I think I've got more jobs than I need. Phoebe already set me up with something.† â€Å"Poacher,† said Jamie. The other succubus laughed as she stirred cherries around in her cocktail. â€Å"Hey, I can't help it if I – â€Å" A familiar aura spread through the room, and Phoebe fell silent. We all turned as one, watching as Luis entered the bar. Even mortals, who couldn't feel him like we could, paused and watched him stride through the room. There was just something that powerful and compelling about his dark presence. â€Å"Boss man,† said Jamie, holding up his glass in a mock toast. â€Å"You just missed my amazing performance.† â€Å"I've seen your shows before,† said Luis, sitting down and beckoning the bartender over. â€Å"I don't think I really missed anything.† â€Å"Georgina was his ‘lovely assistant,' † teased Phoebe. â€Å"Oh?† Luis paused to place his order and then turned toward me. â€Å"Pray tell, what did you do to wow them? Set some scarves on fire?† â€Å"Just some run-of-the-mill shape-shifting,† I said modestly. Jamie started in on his second gin glass. He'd ordered two when we sat down. I guess he didn't want to risk waiting the extra few minutes it would take to pour another. â€Å"That trick is always best with succubi. Even with a plant and a prepped costume, it never goes off quite as well. I used to have this girl who worked with me when I lived in Raleigh, and she did okay, but you could tell people knew how the whole get-up worked.† Alcohol was buzzing through me pleasantly, and I'd slowed down my consumption so as not to lose my head. Somewhere in that warm haze, Jamie's words tickled a memory. â€Å"Raleigh . . . when were you in Raleigh?† â€Å"I moved from there a few years ago. I was there about . . . oh, I don't know.† He took a sip of gin, perhaps to help his math skills. â€Å"Not that long. Twenty years. I did some good soul brokering, but really, my talents were better appreciated here, you know?† â€Å"When you were there, did you know a vampire named Milton?† I asked. Remembering my conversation with Hugh while I was in the middle of a cheap Vegas bar was weird – but no weirder than hearing Raleigh mentioned twice this week. â€Å"Milton?† Jamie's eyebrows rose, and some of his good humor dimmed. â€Å"Yeah, I know him. Scary son of a bitch. Looks like – â€Å" â€Å"Nosferatu?† I suggested. Jamie nodded solemnly. â€Å"How anyone as blatantly vampire as him got by as a covert operative is beyond me.† Phoebe frowned. â€Å"Did you say ‘covert operative'?† The waiter appeared then with Luis's drink. Luis motioned for him to stay and glanced around at the rest of us. â€Å"Refills? Another gimlet or cosmo? Jamie? You're drinking Tanqueray, right?† Jamie looked offended. â€Å"Beefeater.† Luis rolled his eyes. â€Å"That's ridiculous and disgusting. Bring him some Tanqueray.† â€Å"No!† exclaimed Jamie. â€Å"Beefeater. I'm a purist.† â€Å"You have no discrimination,† countered Luis. He looked back at the confused waiter. â€Å"Bring one of each. We'll have a taste test.† The waiter looked relieved and hurried off before someone else contradicted the orders. â€Å"It's a waste of time,† said Jamie. â€Å"No offense, boss man. You'll see.† Luis was unmoved. â€Å"Beefeater's for peasants.† â€Å"Jamie,† I tried, â€Å"about Milton – â€Å" â€Å"Peasants!† I don't think Luis could've insulted Jamie more if he'd called his mother names. â€Å"Beefeater is a refined drink, for a refined palate. You know I have infinite respect for you, but clearly, despite your years of worldly experience . . . well . . .† Jamie drunkenly groped for an eloquent way to finish his speech. â€Å"You're wrong.† Luis laughed, something I couldn't help but think Jerome most definitely wouldn't have done if one of his subordinates said he was wrong. â€Å"We'll see, my friend. It's a complex matter really, coming down to an analysis of both base ingredients and the distillation process.† â€Å"Jamie – † I attempted again. â€Å"That,† declared Jamie, â€Å"we can both agree on. And Beefeater is vastly superior in both.† â€Å"Give it up, Fleur,† Bastien told me in a low voice, eyes twinkling. â€Å"You can't compete with gin. Better luck tomorrow.† I started to protest, but further listening to Luis and Jamie's debate told me Bastien was right. Jamie was so fixated on defending his gin's honor that I doubt he would've even remembered me asking about Milton. â€Å"Will he be sober tomorrow?† I asked skeptically. â€Å"No,† said Phoebe. â€Å"But he's usually a little less drunk during the first half of the day.† The gin arrived, and Luis and Jamie became totally consumed with conducting â€Å"scientific† examinations on it, involving scent and surface tension. I didn't really see how the latter made that much of a difference in a taste test, but they seemed to think it was a pretty serious matter. â€Å"Dear God,† I murmured, amazed. Bastien finished off his cocktail. â€Å"When things turn serious, it's time for me to leave. What do you say, ladies? Would you like to go search out the clubs for some companionship ?† â€Å"I've got an early day tomorrow,† Phoebe said with regret. â€Å"I should probably just go home now. But you'll be at practice tomorrow, right?† â€Å"I guess so,† I said. â€Å"I told Matthias I would.† Despite ostensibly being involved in liquor analysis, Luis glanced over at the sound of the company manager's name. â€Å"Oh? Did you arrange the introduction?† I nodded. â€Å"Phoebe got me signed on.† Luis looked pleased. â€Å"Excellent. Are you happy with it?† The question surprised me, but then I remembered his earlier comment upon my arrival, about how he wanted happy employees. â€Å"I think so. I think it'll be a lot of fun.† â€Å"Good. And what did you think of Matthias?† That one was really a surprise. â€Å"I thought he was nice. Do you know him?† â€Å"Only by reputation,† said Luis. I was about to use the interruption to ask Jamie about Milton again, but before I could, Luis effortlessly slipped back to gin science, effectively blocking me from the imp's attention. Tomorrow, I decided. â€Å"You know,† said Phoebe slyly. â€Å"I could help you find Matthias if you wanted to see him tonight.† Even afloat on vodka gimlets, I still knew the right and wrong surrounding any sort of casual romance with Matthias. If I was going to hook up with anyone while I was here, it wasn't going to be anybody I would ever consider seriously. I flashed her and Bastien my best saucy succubus smile. â€Å"Nah, too tame. I'm not here to settle down yet. Let's find something wilder and do this Vegas weekend right.† Bastien whooped with joy and caught hold of my hand. As he led me away, telling me about â€Å"this perfect dance club,† I caught sight of Luis's face. He was nodding at Jamie, still seemingly interested in their debate . . . but there was something about the satisfied, knowing smile on Luis's lips that made me think it wasn't just the gin he was so happy about.

Annotated Bibliography Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 4

Annotated Bibliography - Essay Example The interests of the developed countries have not only remained protected, but have further explored. The level of competition has never distracted the economic and trade activities of the developed countries, much because the level of competition among the developed countries is diluted. Dell (2001) has concluded that the globalization has however resulted in the era of greater interdependence of the economies due to the provisions of the free trade and relaxed taxation policy, therefore the pace of political and economic convergence increased dramatically over the past few decades as states appear increasingly similar in terms of their political structures and economic functions. In the view of the above listed facts, the US Presidential candidates Republican John McCain and Democrat Obama have emerged in the field in quest for the presidential throne. Roger (2008) has supported Obama’s stand, the presidential nominee has adopted liberal economic policies with non-specific mentioned of taxation policies. Roger (2008) reported that the Democrat candidate, globalization of economy has weakened the states, control over their societies; thus, globalization promotes civil liberties and, eventually, democracy, through socioeconomic development, and this caused has resulted in the independence of the United states, therefore the globalization commenced soon after the independence of the United states, the integration of national economies into the global market place has served as a catalyst to the states political liberalization Republican Senator McCain has warned that the globalization has certain limitations; however the extent of those has diminished with the passage of time. Tom (2008) reported that the convergence on the economic and trade agenda has motivated the United States to develop mutual and cordial understanding with the developing countries, and such collaboration has

Management research project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Management research project - Essay Example These strategies should take into consideration factors like outsourcing activities and the development of leadership skills. These steps can be incorporated in an organization in order to develop the training processes of the employees. The purpose of the research is to investigate the experiences and perceptions of the training department staffs in a multi service healthcare firm based in New York. The main objective of the research is to identify the leadership practices that are involved in the development of a positive work culture in a setting where the internal and outsourced employees work concurrently. The selected qualitative research work is done with the aim of identifying the different leadership factors that if cultivated would lead to the development of a positive work culture in a company with outsourcing arrangement. The paper identifies the leadership skills and culture existing in the training department of the chosen healthcare services company which has an established outsourcing arrangement. The name of the company is kept confidential by the researchers because of the sensitivity of the information related to children’s services provided by this healthcare organization. The rationale of the report is that there are many complex challenges associated with leadership within an organization in which outsourcing management is done. Since, there remains a factor of continuous introduction of innovative technologies in the outsourcing systems and solutions, the complexity of leadership challenges become more in these types of organizations. The increase in the multi-generational and multi-cultural composition of the employee base makes the training and leadership challenges more evident in a workplace. But if a company can navigate through these challenges in an efficient way and bring out the best of the outsourcing, it would ensure that a skilful and well trained workforce is established. The chosen company which is an

Relationship Between Organizational Structure and Culture Essay

Relationship Between Organizational Structure and Culture - Essay Example Hence, it is arguably true that operations of any organization define its culture. Culture is thus a powerful human tool and its importance in the management of any organization is unquestionable (O'Neil, 2006, p.1). Most significantly is the fact that culture develops with time and easily passes from one group of people to another within the same setup. The way our ancestors used to speak, believe, behave, and act is tradition that passed to us with time. Similarly, the ethical behaviors condoned in a given organization, the mode of communication, the relationships between the management, customers, and employees and method of making decision in an organization are attributes that passes from the management and employees to the new employees and new managers upon joining the organization. Consistent practice of these attributes develops a culture within an organization. Hence, all old and new stakeholders adopt this cultural way of doing things in an organization hence developing an organizational culture. Moreover, it is extremely hard to change an organizational culture one it has developed because the process is long, tedious and in most cases expensive. Just as there are distinct operations in variant organizations, so there exists different organizational culture. An organization can have or a combination of cultures. Many academicians have classified organizational cultures with different characteristics. Organizational cultures depend on function, products, geography, and matrix. The classifications of organizational culture includes process culture, bet your company culture, macho culture, work hard culture, club culture, normative culture, baseball culture, pragmatic, academy culture (McNamara,2000, p.1), adhocracy work culture, collaborate work culture, and fortress culture, role culture, task culture, person culture. However, the list is not exhaustive since the difference between any two organizational cultures is very minute. Variant cultures adop ted by organization have distinguishing advantages and disadvantages. The work hard culture is dominant in large-scaled organizations. It involves less risks and fast feedback. Additionally, it has a steadfast customer help service. However, it uses specialized jargons only known to a few and involves multiple team meetings. Bet your company is dominant in organizations dealing with experimental projects. It has an advantage of making huge and important decisions over high stakes endeavors. It has a disadvantage of delayed results that can take months and years to come. It takes time to realize any feedback in this culture. The most important aspect of this kind of culture is big rewards, and quick feedback. On the other hand, a macho culture is dominant in organizations with quick financial services as brokerage firms. The culture is advantageous in that it involves quick feedbacks and high rewards. However, it is stressful to the employees and requires quick actions and a strong m entality to survive. Process culture is beneficial in the public service as it ensures consistency of results. Unfortunately, people in these cultures are obsessed with the process to the extent of neglecting the organization goals. The culture has no feedbacks, requires caution and adherence to the law. It is one of the poorest cultures. Baseball, Team Culture is dominant in advertising and investing organizations. In this culture, it is easy

The contemporary hospitality industry qcf 5 Assignment

The contemporary hospitality industry qcf 5 - Assignment Example In absence of an appropriate definition, hospitality has been defined differently by various authors, where the definitions range from philosophical to commercial perspective. Brotherton (1999) defined hospitality as: â€Å"A contemporaneous human exchange, which is voluntarily entered into, and designed to enhance the mutual well being of the parties concerned through the provision of accommodation, and/or food, and/or drink†. Lashley (2000), on the other hand, defined hospitality as a relationship between guests and hosts, which is neither platonic nor extremely economic in nature. Then again, O’Connor defined hospitality in terms of behaviour and experience. According to the author, consumers are hardly interested in buying service delivery, they rather purchase the experience associated. The quality of service defines memories of the experience and quality of overall event is related to the fact that consumers are buying an occasion. The hospitality industry is one of the major sectors within the service industry that include accommodation, event panning, theme parks, catering services, transportation and various aspects of tourism industry. The development of the hospitality industry is mainly dependent on disposable earnings of individuals and their leisure time (Hemmington, 2007). In this paper, major aspects of the hospitality industry will be discussed in a detailed manner highlighting on current scope, role and diversity in the same and organisational structure of various hospitality organisations. Recent studies by several organisations suggest that the hospitality industry is one of the largest and rapidly growing industries in the global business sector. According to a report, ‘Global hospitality insights’ by Ernst & Young (2014), investment in the hospitality industry has increased considerably in recent years, despite growing economic and political uncertainty in the business industry. The report suggest that among the various

Great Philosopher Aristotle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Great Philosopher Aristotle - Essay Example Aristotle had been very influenced by Plato although he did not agree with all his thinking, such as his theory of forms. As Michael V. Wedin claims in The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy â€Å"Aristotle early on developed a keenly independent voice that expressed puzzlement over such Platonic doctrines as the separate existence of Ideas and the construction of physical reality from two-dimensional triangles.† Aristotle replaced this with his own theory of substance and further elaborated this into his theory of knowledge via his thinking on sensation and reason and the way in which he linked these properties of â€Å"man†. He also formalized abstract thought when he developed his universal method of reasoning. Not only does Aristotle’s philosophy underpin much of today’s Western thought and politics, but it also lays the foundations to modern Scientific Method. His system of inferential logic, or syllogistic reasoning, or categorical logic, has remaine d the major logical system of the Western world for many centuries. As the online Stanford Encyclopaedia says, â€Å"Although today we recognize many forms of logic beyond Aristotle's, it remains true that he not only developed a theory of deduction, now called syllogistic but added to it a modal syllogistic and went a long way towards proving some meta-theorems pertinent to these systems.†In his Prior Analytics Aristotle says that a syllogism is â€Å"a discourse in which, a certain thing being stated, something other than what is stated follows of necessity from being so†.... Not only does Aristotle's philosophy underpin much of today's Western thought and politics, but it also lays the foundations to modern Scientific Method. His system of inferential logic, or syllogistic reasoning, or categorical logic, has remained the major logical system of the Western world for many centuries. As the online Stanford Encyclopaedia says, "Although today we recognize many forms of logic beyond Aristotle's, it remains true that he not only developed a theory of deduction, now called syllogistic, but added to it a modal syllogistic and went a long way towards proving some meta-theorems pertinent to these systems." (2) Aristotle's other achievements include the fact that he taught and influenced Alexander the Great. Although Aristotle is given credit for developing, again according to the online Stanford Encyclopaedia, "a systematic treatment of the principles governing correct inference" (2) the idea of sound argumentation existed before him. What he did that was so unusual was to "codify the formal and syntactic principles at play in ... inference". (online Stanford Encyclopaedia 2) In his Prior Analytics Aristotle says that a syllogism is "a discourse in which, a certain thing being stated, something other than what is stated follows of necessity from being so" (Aristotle 24b 18). Three kinds of syllogism have emerged: the categorical syllogism, the hypothetical, and the disjunctive syllogism. The study of Prior Analytics and of what constitutes a syllogism is necessary for an understanding of Aristotle's foundations to scientific knowledge. As David Ross points out in the online excerpt from his book Aristotle, "Whatever other conditions it must satisfy besides, science

Governments Should Not Run Businesses But Only Provide Regulatory Essay

Governments Should Not Run Businesses But Only Provide Regulatory Framework For The Business - Essay Example These ideologies positioned themselves towards left, right or center way of political thinking. Several combinations of the political and economic ideologies have taken shape with a proper mixture of what was believed to be ideal at that particular point of time. These combinations took the form of Elitism, Pluralism and Corporatism, the purpose of these theories being to define and describe the relationship between Government, Business and Society. These theories, concepts and ideologies had also given rise to certain economic terms explaining the relationship between government and business, which are important and need an understanding to pursue our further discussions on this paper. They are: Classical Economics - implying a minimal role for the government with greater independence for the business to act and interact on its own with the forces of demand and supply to bring in equilibrium of the economy. Keynesian Theory of Economics - advocating a higher rate of interaction by the government on the market forces at a macroeconomic level, so that the advantages of such interaction can be possessed by the business. According to this theory no equilibrium of the economy will be brought by, without the interaction of an external force like that of the government. Neo Classical Economics - identified the inefficiency the Keynesian theory to recognize the importance of economic infrastructural inputs like transport, ports, education, competitive market etc., which are vital micro economic factors to be considered for the wellbeing of the society. Any inefficiency creeping into these sectors because of the intervention of the government would result in the weakness of the total economy of the nation concerned. "The framework of neoclassical economics is easily summarized. Buyers attempt to maximize their gains from getting goods, and they do this by increasing their purchases of a good until what they gain from an extra unit is just balanced by what they have to give up to obtain it. In this way they maximize "utility"-the satisfaction associated with the consumption of goods and services" - (Roy Weintraub 1985 pp1) Although these principles provide different degrees of governmental interference in the businesses, to determine exactly the role of the government in bringing about the discipline into the business would be rather difficult and would depend upon the infrastructural and natural resources in reserve for the country. This paper attempts to bring about a comprehensive answer to the question, whether the government should extend its presence more into the various businesses or limit its role to a mere regulatory body so that it oversees that the business run smoothly and achieve the goals for which they had been established. The analysis of the answer to this question is being carried out by a review of arguments against the government owning businesses and also a review of the regulations by the government on the conduct of the businesses. 2.0 WHAT ARE THE GOVERNMENT BUSINESS ENTERPRISES AND THEIR ROLE IN BUSINESS PROMOTION: The Government Business Enterprises can be defined as" agencies and organisations which are established by government- usually

Annotated bibliography Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Annotated Bibliography Example Journal of Sport Management, 27(6); 439-452. In this study, Daniel and Jeremy cover the role of running in creating self-sufficiency for homeless individuals through a community based running program. Running programs are one of the sports that these homeless youths can use to become self-sufficient. Communities can organize different sports in their localities to engage these categories of youths. In the recent years, much attention has focused on sports for development programs as it is viewed as the solution to many socials problems that happen in the society. Some of these sports are designed to help improve the lives of disadvantaged populations across the world such as immigrants and the homeless. The United Nations has also recognized sports as the best avenue to help in the development of goals and peace building. Therefore, the best way that these homeless youths can be able to nurture and even identify their talents is through sports. Running competition allows the youths to participate and through the same, their mi nds are engaged and even opened up to realize that they have a potential to nurture themselves and become self reliant. The reason for selecting the article is because it is credible and peer reviewed. Its main point of discussion is related to the topic of study. The article is credible because of the intensive research that was done. It expounds on the question raised as it provides a perspective on how the homeless youths can become self-sufficient. It proposes involvement in community games such as running. It also provides a very concrete backing of why running and involvement in sports is a recommendable thing for such group of people. It refers to the reports of the United Nations and other researches already done on how involving in sports help in achieving the goals pursued. McInnes, D., Li, A., & Hogan, T. (2013). Opportunities for Engaging Low-Income, Vulnerable

Women's Baseball in the 20th Centry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Women's Baseball in the 20th Centry - Essay Example However, the name All-American Girls Professional Ball League (AAGPBL) eventually stuck due to its popularity. The league was later purchased in 1950, and a Player's Association introduced in 1986, which was soon followed by recognition through induction of the girls in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1988. One of the major issues facing the new league was its hybrid status between softball and baseball, so rules of both games had to be incorporated and modified, including ball size, pitching techniques, number of players, but mostly in order to level the gender differences for the sake of interest. The new rules were drafted by Jack Sheehan of the Chicago Cubs, Vern Hernlund, supervisor of recreation for the Chicago Parks Department, and Ken Sells. Then they scouted the U.S and Canada for talented female softball players, and the response was phenomenal, as literally hundreds of women wanted to join the League. The field was narrowed to 60 women who formed the first professional baseball League. Each team included a female chaperone, plus a famous male sports figure as their manager. It was

Motivation and Compensation Essay Example for Free

Motivation and Compensation Essay Attrition problems occur when an organization is going through changes. Magic Graffix seems to be having problems with recruiting, training, and retaining employees. The gradual reduction of a workforce by employees leaving and not being replaced rather than by their being laid off is called attrition. Attrition can be explained after a little digging to see where the problem actually occurs. The problem of diminishing employees for Magic Graffix is happening because the employees are not motivated to complete the task at hand. HR has been assigned a budget to come up with a plan to correct the problem. A number of steps must occur to correct the attrition such as finding out why the problems exist and trying to see how to make it better gradually. Attrition starts when employees start to leave an organization. The question is when it is first noticed what can be done to correct the issue so that it does not get any worse. The Magic Graffix simulation enables suggestions that would help in escalating the problem and correcting it. Conducting an employee survey, as well as commissioning, â€Å"Who is Smiling† is the first steps to combating the problem. The employee survey will allow the organization to get a feel or sense of how the employee thinks and what he or she is feeling towards the organization. The survey will also allow for seeking any areas that need improvement as the employee see it. Commissioning, â€Å"Who is Smiling† will allow the organization to see how other employees in similar organizations feel about the industry and his or her organization. The next step was to determine the needs of the employee in each area of the organization. I have decided that employees are less concerned with his or job descriptions or the training provided; however they are concerned with benefits and compensation so this is an area that needs to be looked into closely. Our employees want to be compensated for a job well done; he or she would like to have a salary that is comparable to others in the industry. Pay is a key motivating factor for the employees, so correcting the pay scale is a good place to start. The employees are also not concerned with the recruiting techniques. In the future after correcting the pay scale and making the pay more in-line with similar organizations Magic will look into other aspects of training for upward mobility. The next task was to identify Business Delivery needs. What I have chosen should boost morale throughout the department. Game credits will allow the developer to see that he or she is valued by the organization. It will also boost self-esteem and awareness of his or her skill in the industry. Personal projects will allow the developer to showcase his or her skills. This will allow him or her to flaunt the creative mind that he or she was hired for. Telecommuting opportunities in today’s industry is crucial to the success of an organization. As a gaming developer they need to feel comfortable when working. It may be feasible to offer telecommuting to the software and developer personnel. Telecommuting will allow for personal freedom to get the task completed in a timely manner. Developers and software personnel get burnout therefore it may be nice to offer a mini sabbatical. This will allow him or her time off to get things put in order. Time to get his or head in the right place is always a necessity. If allowed the mini sabbatical the employee will come back refreshed and invigorated full of new ideas. Compensation and benefits is an instant motivator for an employee. It would be a wise decision to structure pay and incentives around the type of job that is done by the employee for the organization. Spot performances, group incentives, individual incentives, and lump sum merit awards are the choices to support compensation and incentives. Magic has people that work as a part of a team and also individually therefore the pay, rewards, and incentives should be set up around the job title. The simulation has great ideas to correct the attrition problem however there are a few ideas that should be looked into. The first idea is the recruitment techniques. Magic has done the homework and analyzed the needs of the organization as well as the employee, putting this to use is the key to success. A recruitment plan to hire the best employee would include group or series interviewing techniques because this will allow for the organization to get a feel for the candidate and the candidate a feel for the people he or she would be working with. I would also recommend testing on the software the organization is currently using, because this will allow the organization to determine the individual skill level to complete the task. Once the person is hired it would be beneficial to sit with him or her at intervals along the way to determine if the organization is meeting his or her individual needs. At each interval the person is evaluated on his or her production and also areas are pointed out that need work. The employee will also be allowed time to give feedback to the organization. Magic Graffix is currently in a position to improve the way they utilize the employees. Magic is currently faced with trying to retain its employees as they are leaving for better jobs within the industry. Magic needs to make itself more competitive in the industry. Making the organization more competitive and offering key incentives will allow Magic to recruit the best candidates for the job.

Nursing Reflection | Inequalities in Health Case Study

Nursing Reflection | Inequalities in Health Case Study Introduction Reflection is a process in which we go over the events that we have been through and think over what happened, what we have done, and what we could have done better if we had to find ourselves once again in that situation. Reflection can happen either as we are going through something, or afterwards when we stop and reflect. Reflection helps us to gain insight as to why we act the way that we do and so help us to understand better how we behave in certain circumstances. Reflection is a dynamic method whereby a specialised person can gain awareness and achieve an understanding of how shared, social and individual experiences have contributed to professional training and knowledge (Wilkinson, 1996). ‘We can regard it as having three elements: return to experience, attending to feelings and re-evaluation of experience’, (Boud 2001)., Reflection is a way of developing practical knowledge and students can start using reflection as their knowledge of nursing mounts up. There a re two focal points of significance: unawareness and socio-political significance (Heath, 1998). Knowing is a self-motivated process and a product of individual thinking and changes as the person survives and interrelates in the world. Its qualifications are knowledge, cognizance and reflection. The results are to understand the behaviour and making sense and altering the behaviour, (Bonis, 2009). Reflection is being wary of what you do and say, either when you are experiencing something or afterwards, like when the person is looking through a window and sees himself within the perspective of a specific experience in order to challenge, comprehend and try to solve conflicts amid his own idea of what is right and what he actually practices, (Johns, 2005). Account Whilst on one of my placements at the Commcare I was asked to accompany one of the staff to the multiple daily assessment visits that they do. Commcare is an assessment unit which delivers support to the community by assessing individual needs and then acting accordingly, while at the same time providing assistance and care plans for the individual needs. Assessment is done to calculate the essential needs, to develop care plans, watch for timely improvement, and design delivery of the needed services,(Gamble and Brennan, 2006). Commcare’s aim is help the individual maintain his or her freedom while still living in the comfort of own homes. Individuals are referred to other services if needed. Persons can also be referred to the Malta Memorial District Nursing Association, (M.M.D.N.A.), which is a non-paying organisation, offering nursing and midwifery services. Commcare also provides the services of a physiotherapist, social worker, an occupational therapist and carers. ‘The precise organization and content of health services will differ from one country to another, but in any well-functioning health system, t he network of service delivery should have the following characteristics: comprehensiveness, accessibility, continuity, people-centeredness, coordination, accountability and efficiency’ ,(Global Health Observatory,2014) . After visiting some clients who needed some sort of service or other, we visited the last client on the list for the morning. When we rang the door-bell, a lady, who looked like she was in her early sixties, opened the door for us. As soon as we stepped in we could tell that this was an educated family. The house smelled clean and the occupants looked educated. This could be seen by the way that the house was kept, by their verbal communication and through their body language. Non-verbal and verbal hints are smart signals for transmitting and getting information, (Galloway, 1968). A slightly elderly gentleman joined the lady, and since both of them looked healthy and both were over sixties, I was wondering why we were actually there. Both of them asked us to go up the stairs and then we were guided into another clean room where there was this very old gentleman, with oxygen nasal prongs and sitting in a comfortable chair. The room seemed well equipped to the needs of the patient and some structural to build a small bathroom in his bedroom. The nurse started to ask who was everyone and we found out that whilst the elderly gentleman was the father, the other two were his non-married children and that all lived in the same house. The son, who was a priest, was mostly out of the house especially during the day while the daughter took care of the house and her father. However she was finding it difficult to leave the house even to go shopping since her father had returned from hospital and he needed some supervision and so she could not leave him alone. The father, who was quiet a tall gentleman and who was 92 years old, wished to bathe instead of showering . However he needed some assistance to wash the lower part of his body especially his feet and he would not allow his daughter to bathe him. The nurse was interviewing the daughter regarding her father’s needs and the dad interrupted the nurse to tell him that he must be included in the conversation. I smi led silently to myself as I could see that he meant what he said. The nurse nodded and started to address the gentleman as well but somehow once again he ended up addressing the daughter. The gentleman stood on his feet and cleared his voice with all the highest pitch that he could muster told that nurse that he was still here, on this world and since it was him that they were talking about, he wanted to know what they were saying and to be included in the conversation. The opinions and observations of those that we take care of are necessary to allow us to carry out care compassionately, with pride and respect, (Hemmingway, 2012). This home visit highly contrasted with a home to which we had been a few minutes before. The first thing that I noticed when the door was opened was the musty smell that came out and all that I saw at the time were a pair of very dirty shoeless feet even though the weather was very cold. The man who stood before us looked very old and he was by himself. His home was extremely dirty and poor-looking and I felt that I needed to get out as soon as possible. Conditions in which people live effect a person’s chance to be healthy and jeopardize their life expectancy, (World Health Organisation,2014). When the nurse started interviewing this client they found that he had no-one to help him, had no income and he had a multitude of health issues. Deprived people have more risk of developing disease due to their lower socio-economic status, (WHO, 2011). The man was only sixty-six years old and had been jobless his entire life. Although money was a problem he had been smoking and the nur se did ask him why did he spent the little money that he had on cigarettes and not use them to get food. But going through the only room which he occupied was a picture of him when he was much younger. In this picture he was smoking. People develop coping mechanisms to deal with problems and although this was not a good method to deal with his problems, and he had to be discouraged from using cigarettes, I felt that this issue could be handled later, after his more basic needs were met. Feelings and Thoughts The first thing that came to my mind when we visited this house was the difference in social class that exists on our island. Inequalities in health are not only connected to accessibility to health care services; there are other determining factors linked to the conditions in which we work and live (Whitehead et al., 2014). Barely twenty minutes before had we been to another house just a few minutes away, and the difference was tremendous. I could not help the feeling of the great injustices around us. Here was this educated, well dressed gentleman, warm in his house, being well cared for and looked after, while in the other house, the gentleman lived by himself, alone and dirty, with nothing in the house to eat except a piece of a stale loaf and some dried up tomato paste. Unconsciously I was comparing the gentlemen’s houses and way of living. The first house that we had visited was dirty, had no furniture except a bed in a corner and some very spare items, whilst the second house was very well attended to. I could never have imagined that there was so much difference in the way people lived. I was not blaming anyone but I did think about the inequities in health and social detriments I loved the way that the gentleman kept interrupting the conversation. He was very assertive in the way that he said that he had to be involved in the decisions which were being taken regarding his issues. It is true, some of us, me included, sometimes tend to decide about someone’s well-being without including and taking the opinion of the person about whom we are talking. Although the gentleman was very old, he was still very lucid and aware of what was going on and I felt that we were somehow taking away his dignity because we were treating him as if he was not there and we were taking decisions for him until he stopped us. It is by being conscious of individual actions that the health care professional may change his views and actions to develop more corrective measures in the nurse/client therapeutic relationship, (Maude,2012). Both of his children cared for him in their family home. The son spent a lot of time out of home, but the daughter spent all the time at home with her father and did not seem to have any time for herself. She was also not very young and seemed like she could profit from some help. Her father did seem a little demanding and I thought that she needed a break from her routine. I was glad to note that Commcare could offer the services of a carer for a few hours per week, an offer which she gladly agreed to. Something which I admire in the service is that it looks holistically at the needs of the person and the situation as a whole. Whoever goes to assess the individuals does this with an open mind and help is offered holistically. Holistic needs assessment is a procedure of collecting data from the patients and carer to discuss and improve the client’s requirements and ideals with the person as a whole by ‘integrating their physical, emotional, spiritual, social, and environmental well-being’, (National Cancer Survivorship Initiative,2011). Help is offered at all levels and I was impressed by the way that they follow their clients to see that they are getting what they need. ANALYSES During these placements I noted that most people do not know about the services that are provided and even if they know about them, they do not know how to access them. Maybe the local councils can help in this area by providing lists and telephone numbers to a number of government and non-government services and agencies that are available. Another thing that I noted is that we do our best to see that if possible care is provided in the homes and that is a very good thing, however we do not seem to offer a lot of support for those people who care for their elderly. Emotional illness affects both the way that carers provide the care as well as their private lives. Two of the most common disorders of the carers are anxiety and exhaustion, (Penson et al., 2000). I think that even in this area, local councils can help. They can create groups of local volunteers who could offer their services for a few hours to these people who in return would be able to take care of themselves for a few hours. These placements have reinforced my beliefs that being is nurse is not just helping with the medical and nursing advice. Assessing the patients in their own environment is also important if we are to treat the patients holistically. We are the patients advocate and as that we have to make sure that the treatment that they are getting is adequate. It is also essential to be empathic and supportive. Sometimes we need to put ourselves in that patient’s shoes or maybe ask the question ‘How would I treat this patient if she or he were my mum or dad?’ Practising empathy helps us feel stronger and less stressed because we will understand that we are somehow connected, (Dinkins, 2011). Going through some sites to research for this assignment, I came through an article which really had an impact on me. The article by Rhonda Nay,(2013), is about how our modern civilization has put apart our senior citizens and how this is our problem and that we should value senior citizens ‘and make care of older people and people with dementia an issue of high importance’. Most times we tend to think that old people cannot think for themselves, that they are no longer useful to the community. While it is true that they might not be as agile as they once were, it is also true that they can still contribute to society. ‘ The economic and social contribution offered by older people – in employment, volunteering, or caring for partners, children and other family members– is rarely acknowledged’, (Commission on Dignity in Care for Older People, 2012). Working with helpless people has helped me to improve my skills in handling delicate issues. They have helped me become aware of certain problems which I had not been aware of before, like poverty and like how important it is to look at the clients in a holistic way and without any prejudice. In other words, both the staff and the clients have helped me comprehend the concept of holistic care and the importance of looking at a client’s lifestyle as well as his history and not just focus on his medical condition. We are there to see past the illnesses and we are there to teach patients on how to adopt better lifestyle choices which can positively affect their health. I am sure that having more insight will help me to continue to offer the best service to our clients. References A. (Eds.) Promoting Journal Writing in Adult Education. New Directions in Adult and Continuing Education No. 90. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 9-18. Bonis, S. (2009). Knowing in nursing: a concept analysis. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 65(6), 1328-1341. doi:10.1111/j.1365-2648.2008.04951.x Boud, D. (2001). Using journal writing to enhance reflective practice. In English, L. M. and Gillen, M. Charles Galloway, C., (1968), Theory into Practice, Vol. 7, No. 5, Workshop in the Analysis of Teaching), pp. 172-175, Published by: Taylor Francis, Ltd. Article Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org.ejournals.um.edu.mt/stable/1475983 Commission on Dignity in Care for Older People, pg 6, http://www.ageuk.org.uk/Global/Delivering Dignity Report.pdf?dtrk=true Dinkins, C. (May 10, 2011) Ethics: Beyond Patient Care: Practicing Empathy in the Workplace OJIN: The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 16 No. 2. Gamble and Brennan, 2006, Working with serious Mental illness. Global Health Observatory, 2014, Service Delivery, http://www.who.int/gho/service_delivery/en/ Heath, H. (1998). Reflection and patterns of knowing in nursing. Journal Of Advanced Nursing, 27(5), 1054-1059. doi:10.1046/j.1365-2648.1998.00593.x Hemingway,A., (2012), â€Å"Humanity, respect and dignity are the foundations of practice, www.nursingtimes.net / Vol 108 No 40 / nursing times ,Pg 11 Johns,C., Transforming Nursing Through Reà ¯Ã‚ ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡ective Practice; Chapter 1., Expanding the Gates of Perception, Pg 2. Maude,P., (2012), Utilising Reflective Practice Journals to Explore Student Fears and Feelings during Psychiatric Nursing Clinical Placement, International Journal of Modern Education Forum (IJMEF) Volume 1 Issue 1,August 2012, Pg 21 National Cancer Action Team, London: NCAT; 2011. Holistic needs assessment for people with cancer: a practical guide for healthcare professionals, http://www.ncsi.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/The_holistic_needs_assessment_for_people_with_cancer_A_practical_Guide_NCAT.pdf nals. Nay,R., (2012), An age-old problem: society fails to truly embrace its seniors., http://theconversation.com/an-age-old-problem-society-fails-to-truly-embrace-its-seniors-16299 Nonverbal Communication Penson, R.T., Dignan,F.L., Canellos,g.p., Picard, C.L., Lynch,T.J., Burnout: Caring for the Caregivers , The Oncologist 2000; 5:425-434 Whitehead, Povall, S., Loring, B., WHO, (2014), The equity action spectrum: taking a comprehensive approach; Guidance for addressing inequities in health, Pg 3, http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/247631/equity-action-090514.pdf?ua=1 World Health Organisation, 2004, Social Detriments, http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/social-determinants/social-determinants World Health Organisation, 2011, 10 facts on health inequities and their causes, http://www.who.int/features/factfiles/health_inequities/en/

Teaching Essays Objective of Curriculum

Teaching Essays Objective of Curriculum Objective of Curriculum The main focus of this curriculum is to incorporate elements of children’s developmental domains which contribute to the holistic being. Our activities are designed by taking into consideration the children we have observed for our child study. Although we recognize the concept of play in the curriculum, we feel that it is also important to provide pupils with a structured curriculum that would supplement their developmental needs. The curriculum aims to develop the children’s socio-emotional development, cognitive – language development and physical development through the integration of play as well as the inquiry, project and thematic approach. In doing so we have ensured that children are provided with an avenue for aesthetic and creative expression, language and literacy development, practice for numeracy skills, motor skills development along with creating an awareness of the self, the environment and the social sphere. As part of our design objective, we aim to ensure continuity from what children have learnt in preschool to the primary school curricula. We feel that this would ease pupils into making the transition from an environment which they have developed a sense of familiarity (i.e. the kindergarten setting) and the one which they are being initiated into. Partnered with the other key approaches, our team firmly belief that by encompassing our curriculum around play, it would supplement children’s developmental needs which in our view have been neglected in the current school curricula. Our Curriculum Having observed the children at the various kindergarten settings, our group have decided to build our curriculum around the concept of â€Å"learning through play†. We recognize that play is an integral part of a child’s holistic development and it should not be omitted as the child progresses into the primary education system. From our child study we observed that each of these children displayed varying interests and abilities which can be extended through a curriculum centered on the concept of play. Play, as we know it, has been defined in many ways by various theorists. One of the many definitions is by Van Hoorn (2007) who affirms that â€Å"[p]lay plays a big part of young children’s development and expression of the child’s developing personality, sense of reflect, intellect, social capacity and physicality.† (p. 4). The activities that surround our curriculum are aimed to address these vital domains of the developing child. Van Hoorn (2007 ) also theorizes that the concept of play exists in a continuum which ranges from â€Å"spontaneous† to â€Å"guided† to â€Å"teacher-directed play†. We have adopted this concept throughout the entire design of this curriculum. Through the integration of both individual and group activities, we are taking into consideration each child’s learning needs as we acknowledge their different learning styles. In our planning, we aim to invigorate this concept of play into our curriculum by integrating other key approaches used in the current school curricula. The curriculum is designed such that it is centered on the concept of â€Å"learning through play† while at the same time utilizing the thematic approach, inquiry approach and the project approach. We have developed the following tripartite diagram to illustrate how we have incorporated the various approaches in our curriculum. Thematic Approach We have chosen to implement the thematic approach as it keeps our curriculum design focused. In view of what has been stated by Wortham (2006), we agree that since the â€Å"thematic curriculum is completed over a period of time, there is opportunity for exploration, investigation, and representation of learning in an unhurried environment† (p.299). Ideally, the curriculum should be executed through a span of eight weeks, within a term. This is to ensure that children would be given ample time to develop skills and knowledge surrounding the adopted theme. We felt that the thematic approach would also aid in children’s learning as they build up experiences based on an ongoing theme which stimulates children into meaning-making as they acquire skills and develop in the different domains. Inquiry Approach The inquiry approach has also been interwoven into this curriculum because we believe that pupils should be given the opportunity to explore for themselves the learning possibilities through inquisitive questions. Much of the activities designed in this curriculum has been targeted at children in honing their inquiry skills. Pupils are encouraged to seek solutions using the open resources made available to them. Project Approach The project approach was also adopted in this curriculum as a way of assessing pupils’ learning. Through this mode of assessment, where pupils are given free reign of the project that they could work on, pupils would be exposed to a variety of activities that taps on their various abilities. Both Vygotsky and Piaget believed that it is through personal manipulation and discoveries that children are able construct an understanding of their learning experiences. Additionally with this project approach pupils will be able to work in a social context where they can learn through a partnership with the teacher. Suggested Activities As an illustration the suggested activities in the framework we have included is based on the theme of Occupation. We planned these activities with the assumption that it is theme which the children have collaboratively decided on as a whole class. The activities incorporated in this curriculum development takes into account the interests and strengths of the children we have observed during our child study. For instance, we have given pupils the choice of their mode of presentation for the role play which can be done through dramatization or a musical performance. Moreover this would encourage pupils to form a self awareness of their personal strengths and interests. The Career Day is essentially a whole day event where children will be given an opportunity to exhibit the product of the projects in which they have undertaken within their groups. We have implemented this concept of a career day as we feel that this would encourage children to take responsibility and pride of their achievements and what they are capable of creating.

Macbeth was Sane Essay -- Macbeth essays

Macbeth was Sane      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Although Macbeth may have suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, his suffering does not constitute insanity.   Macbeth was in a healthy mindset when he embarked on his murderous spree and treacherous rule of Scotland.   His actions and reactions prior to and throughout his tenure as King of Scotland were normal considering the circumstances.   The following evidence will prove that Macbeth was indeed sane.  Ã‚      The first thing I would like to point out is Macbeth's clear understanding of his motives and their consequences.   After he heard the prophecies of the weird sisters, his ambition got the best of him.   He immediately considered murdering Duncan and the morality of the murder.   Macbeth knew his thoughts were wrong and said to the stars, "hide your fears, let not see my black and deep desires (I.4.50-51)."   This acknowledgment of the sinfulness of his desires shows that Macbeth's mind was functioning properly.   Macbeth also acknowledges that there would be consequences if he murdered Duncan.   He thought to himself, " if the assassination could trammel up the consequence, and catch with his surcease, success (I.7.2-4)," the decision to murder Duncan would be easier.   These examples prove that Macbeth was not impulsive with his thoughts.   Instead, like anyone else, he realized the gravity of his desires.   If Macbeth was insane, he would not have tho ught twice about the murder and its consequences.    Macbeth also demonstrates guilty feelings when he considers murdering Duncan.   These guilty feelings came about when he analyzed the relationship between himself and Duncan.   Not only was he Duncan's subject and soldier, he was Duncan's host.   He realized that ... ... I firmly conclude that he was a sane man.   He acted the way any human being would if presented with the same situations.   I feel that his behaviors that seemed to be due to insanity were really the result of Macbeth's fears, anxieties, and stress.   Macbeth should be held fully accountable for his actions because he was not the victim of a mental illness.   He clearly understood what he was doing and the consequences of his actions.    Works Consulted: English 366: Studies in Shakespeare Introduction to Macbeth http://www.mala.bc.ca/~johnstoi/eng366/index.htm Accessed June 2003       Shakespeare, William.   Tragedy of Macbeth . Ed. Barbara Mowat and Paul  Ã‚   Warstine. New York: Washington Press, 1992.        Shakespeare's Macbeth, a Play for our Time Found at   http://www.uky.edu/ArtsSciences/Classics/mac/intro.html   Accessed June 2003

Keeping it Real :: Education Teaching Learning Essays

Keeping it Real Why teach students non-applicable skills? Why teach them using boring lessons that won't be memorable? Why not 'tap into students natural curiosities?' (Daniels and Bizar 1998). Throughout the readings, these were the underlying questions I repeatedly asked myself about education. I came to the conclusion that education must be authentic. As educators, we have to make students feel as if their education is a living, breathing thing. It's something alive that they can cultivate and grow. We have to constantly be assessing our teaching in order to find ways to keep education real for our students. I'm a firm believer that students come to class with a great deal to offer both peers and educators. They are resources that other students can access. They each have their own cultures, own communities, families, and life experiences that may differ from their peers'. As educators, we must utilize this, helping our students cultivate their own education from each others' and their own lives. Authentic education is just one way to help students 'access' each other in and out of the classroom. Authentic education is hands-on, real application to life. When students find information meaningful and relevant to their lives, or when they find their education practical and usable, they tend to engage more. Why not draw upon community resources, authors, artists, and other professionals outside of the classroom? This is just one way to get students involved in what's really going on in the world- which is where they spend a majority of their time. There are so many exposable issues in the real world that students can connect to in an English classroom. For example, today we are faced with ecological concerns and environmental issues in which action must be taken. There are also so many great writers that have written about nature and its fragile existence. Why not take students outdoors to read? Why not have them connect to nature, develop an appreciation for the environment, and learn at the same time?

Course Project †Privacy, Security & Confidentiality Training Essay

As we are all aware the Medical Records department has changed by leaps and bounds over the past 20 years with The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) and The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act/The Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (ARRA/HITECH) Act 2009 the face of HIT is forever changed. Told we as Health Information Professionals have a plethora of individual patients’ private information at our fingertip and it is paramount that we handle this information with the utmost care. During this training session we are going to go over some of the most important privacy and security components to insure that everyone knows what the rules are, and how to protect the not only the patients information, but also the HIT department and you as the HIT professional. Today we will cover the high points on: * Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality * Regulations that have impacted privacy and security * The Privacy Rule The Security Rule * HITECH Privacy and Security * HIM Role in Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality Privacy, Security, and Confidentiality It is our jobs as health information management (HIM) professionals to ensure the privacy, security and confidentiality of our patients’ personal health information. This has been the fundamental principle for the health information profession throughout its eighty year history. Today the HIM professional must continue to face the challenges of maintaining the privacy and security of the patient information. Although this might sound like a simple task, it grows in complexity as information becomes more and more technical and is distributed through electronic systems. The challenge of this responsibility has also increased due to the constantly changing legislative and regulatory environment. Regulations that have impacted privacy and security  The two regulatory acts that have impacted the health information department the most are: * The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) * The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) * Modifications to the HIPAA Privacy, Security, and Enforcement Rules the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act; Proposed Rule According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) â€Å"the major goal of the HIPAA privacy rule is to assure that individuals’ health information is properly protected while allowing the flow of health information needed to provide and promote high quality health care and to protect the public’s health and well-being. The Rule strikes a balance that permits important uses of information, while protecting the privacy of people who seek care and healing. Given that the health care marketplace is diverse, the Rule is designed to be flexible and comprehensive to cover the variety of uses and disclosures that need to be addressed. † (Summary, 2003) Where HIPAA was written in an attempt to protect the patients’ medical records by imposing regulation to address the patient confidentiality the HITECH Act added the necessary requirements concerning the privacy and security for the health information that is so frequently being passed through technology in more diverse ways through third party administrators, businesses and individuals. With the rapidly growing use of technology it became necessary to write rules that would also address the information being sent to all business associates as well. The Privacy Rule The privacy rule set the floor in the necessary safeguards to be implemented in protected health information (PHI) across all media. It protects individuals’ medical records and other individually identifiable health information created or received by individuals or others. It protects the individuals’ health information by regulating the circumstances under which covered entities may use and disclose protected health information and by requiring that everyone have safeguards in place to protect the privacy of the information. In addition it states that covered entities are required to have contracts or other arrangements in place with business associates that perform functions for or provide services to the covered entity, and that required access to protected health information to ensure that these business associates likewise protect the privacy of the health information. Lastly it gives individuals rights with respect to their protected health information, including rights to examine and obtain a copy of their health records and to request corrections. The Security Rule The security rule applies only to protected health information in electronic form. It requires covered entities to implement certain administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to protect this electronic information. And also that covered entities have contracts in place with their business associates that the business associates will appropriately safeguard the electronic protected health information they receive, create, maintain, or transmit on behalf of the covered entities. HITECH Privacy and Security The purpose of the HITECH act was to strengthen the privacy and security protections through * Extending privacy and security protections to business associates of covered entities * Establishing new limitations on the use and disclosure of protected health information for marketing and fundraising purposes * Prohibiting the sale of protected health information Requiring the consideration of a limited data set as the minimum necessary amount of information * Expanding individual’s rights to access of their protected health information * Expanding individual’s rights to receive an accounting of disclosures of their protected health information * Expanding individual’s rights to obtain restrictions on certain disclosures of protected health information to health plans HIM Role in Privacy, Security and Confidentiality As the demands for health information become more diverse, health information management (HIM) professionals use their expertise to protect health information and ensure the right information is available to the right people at the right time. Successful privacy, security, and confidentiality programs depend on HIM professionals, the experts on the applicable rules and regulations who are skilled in managing healthcare data. For example, HIM professionals ensure privacy and security programs meet regulatory requirements. Once a program is in place, HIM professionals use their expertise to monitor and audit the program to ensure compliance. HIM professionals hold diverse roles such as organizational and corporate privacy officers, compliance officers, and are change agents in policy development. Sample job descriptions include: Privacy Officer and Security Officer. HIM professionals advocate for strong privacy and security programs as electronic health record (EHR) systems are implemented and upgraded. HIM professionals provide the functional requirements for electronic health information, taking into account federal and state laws, including e-discovery, to ensure appropriate access, use, and disclosure of health information. HIM professionals also impact privacy, security, and confidentiality standards, laws, and regulations outside of their organization. Volunteering on state HIT and HIE initiatives, responding to public comments periods, and looking for ways to participate on standards development groups such as HL7 and HIEs are a few ways HIM professionals may influence and affect change. Organizations count on HIM professionals’ skill sets. The convergence of people, processes, regulations, structure, standards and system design is vital to the organization. Sound privacy, security, and confidentiality practices lead to more effective management of health information, contributing to safe, high-quality patient care. (AHIMA, 2011) Conclusion: We as health information professionals are given the task of protecting thousands of individuals’ private health information every year. We have taken an oath to protect this information and to show the patient respect and reverence when relaying any amount of information to other individuals, be it an inside entity or a business associate. It is up to each of us to do our duty and insure that we follow the guidelines to the letter. We must be vigilant in our daily tasks as well as seeing that we are constantly learning new things to help us do our job better. The Code of Ethics each HIM professional must adhere to states that â€Å"The HIM professional has an obligation to demonstrate actions that reflect values, ethical principles, and ethical guidelines. The American Health Information Management Association (AHIMA) Code of Ethics sets forth these values and principles to guide conduct. The code is relevant to all regardless of their professional functions, the settings in which they work, or the populations they serve. These purposes strengthen the HIM professional’s efforts to improve overall quality of healthcare. † (American Health Information Management Association Code of Ethics, 2011)