Nestles change management report

Executive summary Competitive advantage and commercial success are very important aspects of modern day businesses and without this two factors, businesses often fail at some stage. Due to the volatile nature of the commercial environment businesses through their managers are required to be quite radical in the way they operate so that the current change management structures are able to assist the organization effect any strategic changes if necessary.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Nestle’s change management report specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Nestle is a good example of an organization which put in place a good management structure that made it very possible for the organization to embrace change because the organization identified the exact needs that were to accompany the change and therefore when managers initiated the change the entire organization was able to swiftly adopt to the new strategi c changes. When Nestle finally discovered that change is part and parcel of the organization they put in place change management strategies and also assisted organizational members to accept change more effectively making change management efforts from managers more successful. Introduction The current business environment is very volatile and dynamic and what is happening today will most likely change tomorrow, hence every organization needs proper change management. Change is inevitable in an organization and organizational managers are expected to behave like change agents who champion and advocate for change within the organization. Change must be accompanied by reason since organizations do not just change because other organizations are changing but because they need to change and if they do not change they will most likely not achieve their commercial objectives (Eden 2002, 804). The nature of changes from organization to organization always varies and therefore every organiz ation is expected to carefully monitor and manage the entire change process in order to ensure corporate, business and functional levels of strategies are not negatively affected (Wheelen Hunger 2002, 76-78). The main purpose of change in most instances is to rejuvenate the organization and improve its performance and hence managers are expected to ensure that the entire change process within the organization is quickly accepted within the organization so that both short-term and long-run performance is not affected negatively.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Change strategies therefore provide managers with numerous options which they can use to successfully marshal organizational members to quickly accept and adapt to strategic changes without negatively affecting the performance of the organization (Feldman 2000, 618). Change management is consequently part of the curre nt business atmosphere that commercial organizations exist in and this require that they dedicate significant resources and therefore it makes more sense if these organizations put up the necessary change management systems so that all organizational members can be in the same page as far as welcoming organizational change is concerned. The nature and need for change within Nestle The entire change process of Nestle was only successful because the organization identified the exact needs that initiated the change and also went forward to develop the appropriate change management strategies to usher in change. Emerging business trends and decisions have prompted Nestle to experience changes in its business model. Due to the fact that the organization is venturing into foreign markets and stepping out of isolation and venturing into new territories, this introduces a lot of complexities and may lead to ambiguity, which may often be fatal if not well managed. The nature of the change wi thin Nestle involves divesture of Strategic Business Units (SBU’S), which are not profitable and serve as a disadvantage to the company. Divesture normally requires organizations to sell existing business units and invest those funds in other more important business processes such as corporate restructuring or expanding to other business territories. Moreover, Nestle also considers growing its business structure by venturing into the pharmaceutical and cosmetic industry, and these kinds of changes are not easy. Expanding businesses often require change in management structure and approach and that is why the organization is also dumping the entrepreneurial way of management and adapting a corporate management business format which heavily depends on managers (Wheelen Hunger 2002, 244). All these changes have been triggered by the organizations desire to grow in size by going multinational and stepping out of isolation. Moreover, the management desires to step up sales and re venue hence stepping of using sales agents in the global market and entering into agreements with local subsidiaries in foreign markets by acquiring them or entering into contracts.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Nestle’s change management report specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The C.E.O, Brabeck-Letmathe, believed that change is very appropriate for the company because it will enable the company to realize efficiency and also increase productivity within the organization. Additionally, the entire corporate restructuring which costs almost $300 million annually is a type of change that is initiated by the need attaining a good and effective business structure whereby managers can be incomplete control of the entire businesses of the organization. The C.E.O believes that the organization’s desire/need to have a competitive advantage, grow, become flexible and highly flexible within the market dep ends on how well the organization can be able to respond to change. The nature of change requires the commitment of the entire organization and should therefore have a long-term approach therefore requiring managers to involve all organizational members. Moreover, managers are required to be highly critical of the nature of change and not just rush into changes such as technological change unless they are fully sure that the change is most likely to be for the benefit of the organization. Challenges Change in most instances within organizations, Nestle being an example in this case, is not always welcomed for the reason that it definitely demands that human resources and organizational personnel to commence a cultural change which is not easy because it involves removing people comfort zones to new unfamiliar territory and for an organization such as Nestle which has over 220,000 employees the entire change process should be a product of careful planning. Change is not easy and simp le and employees may often refuse or rebel against regimes that champion for change and this usually affects the performance of the organization. Additionally, change may end up being expensive and exhausting to organizations therefore affecting performance of the organization negatively (Eden 2002, 803). Organizations and managers are faced with a lot of challenges especially during the change phase in organization especially due to the fact that employees often do resist then it automatically becomes hard to maintain the vigor and passion of employees all the way through the change process and this results to negative consequences within the organization. Additionally, if all organizational members are not on the same page this may sabotage the entire change process because the organization may most likely backslide into old ways of operation (Hughes 2007, 41-43). Hence, change management is a must if an organization is to survive and ensure its objectives are met without compromi sing the stakeholders involved in the organization.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More It is not easy managing cultural shifts within organizations and managers are required to come up with the most appropriate culture changing initiatives for organizational members to accept change. Change is not only complex but also costly for organization restructuring and most of the time it becomes hard for managers to prioritize the numerous organizational projects and resources, and this is one of the reasons why the C.E.O Brabeck-Latmathe insisted that it is sometimes better to adopt a slow and steady approach when it comes to issues of expansion and divesture because nestle spent well over $300 million annually in restructuring costs (Steiner 1997, 128). Prior to implementing change initiatives within organizations, it is vital that managers who are change champions/agents for the companies to understand the resulting effects and consequences of the changes process on the workers (Eden 2002, 805). By doing so, the managers will appropriately prepare for any challenges and th is will see the organization formulate better change policies and strategies in order to avoid many of the potential pitfalls that may arise as a result of the challenges which accompany the entire organizational change process. When managers get to comprehend the cognitive change process then they are likely to managing the entire process more effectively and marshal the corporation of other organizational members Change Management Change is always received with hostility because it is accompanied by uncertainty and people usually fear uncertainty and the entire change process was not smooth and easy for an organization such as Nestle. Therefore, this is the reason why managers such as the C.E.O Brabeck-Letmathe of Nestle become champions of change within the organization and hence come up with the more appropriate strategies that will make it possible for a smooth transition to take place to allowing organizational members gradually and successfully accept organizational changes a nd therefore welcome in the new era that will assist the organization become better in terms of performance. Contemporary Management theories hold on to the belief that organizational change must take place whenever organization themselves in complex / ambiguous situations that necessitate the organization to move from ordinary ways of doing business to a much more radical business model in order to improve the performance of the organization (Wheelen Hunger 2002, 78). This fact was reflected in Nestle when the company decided to shift its focus from the local Swiss market to other parts of the world such as North America. The main endeavor during the organizational change phase is for the organizational change managers to maintain some balance and tranquility by working together with other organizational members so that the organization can ultimately progress (Steiner 1997, 203-204). Current operations should be carried out in such a way that the organization will respond in the most effective way to unpredictable commercial and non commercial events when they occur according to the organization adaptation theory. The organizational adaptation theory insists that organizations are more likely to become more successful only if the organizations gives up rigid business structures and decide to put in place the necessary framework to usher in change more effectively making them flexible. Managers often use numerous strategies to enable their organizations accept change within their organizations. Figure 1. A pictorial diagram indicating what organizational change normally involves Change Management Strategies Whatever change management strategy is pursued by managers it is necessary that the organization dedicates the required resources that are required to implement the changes. Implementing change is not simple for an organization such as Nestle as it expands and divest and therefore the organization should most of all make sure that it develops clear goals and communication systems and also go ahead to offer rewards and incentives in order to encourage organizational members to accept the change without altering their motivation (Tovstiga 2010, 49-54). Despite stand of organizational members as the organization moves into North America and other non-related business industries a non biased support system should be formed, so that organizational members can get the necessary help as far as the change process is concerned. Facilitation Organizational change is not simple and managers are required to be change agents and also use other organizational members to bring about change. Often one of the best approaches that managers can use is to work hand in hand with other organizational members in the process of creating the change. When managers decide to work hand in hand then the possibility of the change being successful goes up. Facilitation often involves educating employees and creating the best communication systems that encourage the flow of information and feedback loops (Wheelen Hunger 2002, 38-44). When managers decide to work together with other organizational members by communicating their intentions and vision and giving clear reasons why change is inevitable within the organization and the intentions of the change then organizational members will likely be more receptive to work with the manager. Facilitation offers a good way under which when organizational members are willing to welcome change and desire collaborate but they lack the capacity to effectively blend in into the new change regime (Hughes 2007, 42). Education Often employees refuse change because of information asymmetry and it hence becomes necessary for management to educate them on the main reason why change is important. Education enables organizational members understand the reasons of the change, the benefits, and all variables of the entire change process. As a result of proper education systems organizational members are able to rationalize change and what is expected for them (Eden 2002, 802). Because sometimes the resistance to organizational change is triggered by perceptual issues, the education programs can make employees less rigid especially if they understand that change can be rewarding. Education offers an avenue under which employees can be empowered to understand what the entire change process entails and how it can be easy for both them and the organization (Cascio 2002, 84) Involvement Sometimes the change process within the organization does not only emanate from the higher levels of the organizational hierarchy. When organizational members are not involved physically or intellectually, or emotionally then they may feel as if their opinions are not respected and therefore this could ultimately affects their motivation and this may sabotage the entire change process. Allowing organizational members offer their suggestions and become involved in the process of change offers an avenue under whi ch all organizational members become change agents and own the change process (Wheelen Hunger 2002, 243). When the change is a brainchild of the organizational members then there is no way that the employees themselves can sabotage the change process. Negotiation When management and the organizational change agents discover that the other party the other cannot easily be persuaded, it therefore becomes necessary to reach a consensus through negotiation. Organizational managers will hence be required to enter into conference/board rooms and ask them to discuss with each other in order to ensure that the change process is accepted (Eden 2002, 804). Especially when change involves mergers and acquisitions in unrelated industries which are common for Nestle resistance to change is most likely to be very high and negotiation may often be the best way for change to be accepted. Negotiations are a way under which mutually agreeable solution that works for both the organization and organiz ational members can be arrived at (Wetlaufer 2001, 115). Manipulation Manipulation is an art used by managers and involves controlling a person’s environment so that a suitable outcome can be arrived at. Despite the fact that manipulation is considered as morally questionable, organizational managers are forced to use it especially when the stakes are high and change is required to take place quickly. Some ways of manipulating employees may involve using psychological and monetary awards to force them accept change regimes faster (Watson 2006, 72) Coercion Change management strategies fail managers are often forced to take extreme measures and often coercion is the only option. If manipulation fails those managers might decide to use threats and force to enable organizational members change. Some of the threats may involve threatening employees will lose their jobs, allowances and job related benefits (Wetlaufer 2001, 114). Unorthodox managers may often go as far as humiliati ng and threatening employees or even public sacking in order to create fear and make examples out of organizational members who have not yet adopted change. This should only be used as a change management strategy of last resort especially when change is to be implemented in a hurry. Conclusion The role of change management in commercial organizations is directly related to the success of the organization. Managers are required to justify the need of the change, the nature of changes, the challenges that will accompany the change and pick the most appropriate strategy to implement change and make it acceptable among organizational members. Managers should not ignore the important role that change management plays and therefore should dedicate the necessary resources and support to organizational managers in order for organizational members to accept change in the most appropriate timeframe. References Cascio, W., 2002. â€Å"Strategies for responsible restructuring.† Academy of Management Executive 16(3): pp. 80–91. Eden, C., 2002. â€Å"Strategy development as a social process.† Journal of Management Studies, vol.29: pp.799–812. Feldman, M., 2000. â€Å"Organizational routines as a source of continuous change.† Organization Science 11(6):pp. 611–29. Hughes, M. 2007. â€Å"The Tools and Techniques of Change Management.† Journal of Change Management, 7(1): 37-49. Steiner, G., 1997. Strategic planning: what every manager must know. New York: Simon and Schuster. Tovstiga, G., 2010. Strategy in Practice: A Practitioner’s Guide to Strategic Thinking. New Jersey: John Wiley Sons. Watson, T., 2006. Organizing and managing work, 2nd edn. London: Penguin. Wetlaufer, S., 2001. â€Å"The business case against revolution.† Harvard Business Review, 79(2): pp.113–119. Wheelen, T. L. Hunger J. D., 2002. Strategic Management and Business Policy. New Jersey: Prentice Hall. This report on Nestle’s change management report was written and submitted by user Man-Thing to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. 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Free Essays on Advertisings Affect on Kids

The effects of 2 People see advertisements all around the globe that attempt to lure consumers to buy products. Advertisements are placed in newspapers, magazines, schools, and on billboards everywhere. According to marketing consultants Stan Rapp and Tom Collins, on a typical day, an average American sees over 5,000 advertisements a day (Gay, 1992). Many questions arise about these advertisements, such as â€Å"Is advertising deceptive? Does it create or perpetuate stereotypes? Does it create conformity? Does it create insecurity in order to sell goods? Does it cause people to buy things that they really don’t need?†(Alexander & Hanson, 1993, p. 240). Advertisers use specific methods to target teen consumers, but these methods are not always successful or ethical. Advertising is giving the general public information about new goods and trying to increase overall sales, which increases the efficiency of the nation’s economy. It is supposed to be a significant way of getting the point across about a product and create motivation for people to buy. Advertising alone, however, does not get customers. It simply catches consumers’ attention, gets them to walk up to a shelf, and make an impulsive purchase. However, getting the customer back requires a more creative marketing approach. There are several ways to research consumers’ behaviors, likes, and dislikes. The most popular method is tests and surveys, both before and after a product is introduced. Telephone surveys are very common, but they take several thousand calls to get a substantial number of responses to work with. Along with those, written questionnaires and samples, either handed out in stores or sent by mail, are effective tests to see if consumers like a product or not. The reactions to the samples, results of questionnaires, and number of participants are all recorded as The effects of 3 a part of the researching process to come up with effective ads. All of this da ta ... Free Essays on Advertising's Affect on Kids Free Essays on Advertising's Affect on Kids The effects of 2 People see advertisements all around the globe that attempt to lure consumers to buy products. Advertisements are placed in newspapers, magazines, schools, and on billboards everywhere. According to marketing consultants Stan Rapp and Tom Collins, on a typical day, an average American sees over 5,000 advertisements a day (Gay, 1992). Many questions arise about these advertisements, such as â€Å"Is advertising deceptive? Does it create or perpetuate stereotypes? Does it create conformity? Does it create insecurity in order to sell goods? Does it cause people to buy things that they really don’t need?†(Alexander & Hanson, 1993, p. 240). Advertisers use specific methods to target teen consumers, but these methods are not always successful or ethical. Advertising is giving the general public information about new goods and trying to increase overall sales, which increases the efficiency of the nation’s economy. It is supposed to be a significant way of getting the point across about a product and create motivation for people to buy. Advertising alone, however, does not get customers. It simply catches consumers’ attention, gets them to walk up to a shelf, and make an impulsive purchase. However, getting the customer back requires a more creative marketing approach. There are several ways to research consumers’ behaviors, likes, and dislikes. The most popular method is tests and surveys, both before and after a product is introduced. Telephone surveys are very common, but they take several thousand calls to get a substantial number of responses to work with. Along with those, written questionnaires and samples, either handed out in stores or sent by mail, are effective tests to see if consumers like a product or not. The reactions to the samples, results of questionnaires, and number of participants are all recorded as The effects of 3 a part of the researching process to come up with effective ads. All of this da ta ...

Film Genre Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Film Genre Analysis - Essay Example Horror films are meant to create some negative emotions like fear, shock and tension among the audience or viewers. This discourse is about genre analysis of Near Dark, produced by Kathryn Bigelow, in 1987. Horror films incorporate various aspects beyond human imaginations to inflict some sort of fantasy, supernaturalism and the thrilling effects among others. Majority of horror films incorporates the evil and scary scenes through ghosts, serial killers, ogres, zombies, demons, aliens and cannibals among others. This film genre is however restricted to adults above the age of 18 or 21, who can deal with their fears or nightmares without compromising their social and spiritual lives (Wilkins, 2009). Horror films have various influences in the society. It is one of the most selling or marketable genre after sci-fi and animations. The horror films are the opposite of the old movies where the main theme was to satisfy men’s desires. The horror movies incorporate both men and women 's roles in the society and thus are good attribute to gender equality. Women are also the main audience and actors, or the main contributor to the ideas behind the horror films. The majority of female horror films usually begins as a vulnerable scared being to who develop to be strong and confident as the films come to an end. This has really impacted confidence and the strength to endure life frustrations among several women and men facing some sort of difficulties (Plaisance, 2008). Horror films also include the elements of motherhood, pregnancy and lesbianism to attract more female audience. However, it is being revealed that the evil and scary scenes in the horror films have compromised the spiritual and social lives among several audiences. For instance, the Christian clergies have lamented that the movies inflict fear and social withdrawals among teenagers. They also lament that movies based on Halloween celebrations are not in accordance with the Biblical teachings, but some sort of an evil cult. Some social and psychological studies indicate that a pregnant woman could miscarry when shocked or frightened by the evil and scary scenes in the horror films. The films also kill the sense of humanity in frequent audiences, for instance, Children who watch horror films are likely to adopt some criminal minds when they become of age. This is because their humanity and affection is replaced with anger, terror and revenge among other undesirable characters. Near Dark is a horror movie produced in 1987, directed by Kathryn Bigelow but produced by Steven-Charles Jaffe. It was written by Eric Red alongside Kathryn Bigelow. Its main actors and actresses are Adrian Pasder, Jenny Wright, Lance Henriksen, Jenette Goldstein and Bill Paxton. Its music and cinematography was done by Tangerine Dream and Adam Greenberg respectively. The 95 minute movie was based in the United States, and the entire script is in English. Near Dark is about a young man who tries to choose be tween the normal human family life and the vampire family. The main struggle is attributed by the fact that each choice has its consequences. In 1980, there was need to revive the vampire movies and Near Dark was one of the releases. The movie begins with Caleb Colton (Adrian Pasdar) meeting a young beautiful woman Mae (Jenny Wright). This happens before the morning sun appears. Mae bites Colton’s neck before running away. The sun rises and Colton realizes his body system is not the same anymore, his flesh burns when exposed to

The advantages and disadvantages of the monster Essay

The advantages and disadvantages of the monster - Essay Example This paper shall analyze various beliefs about the existence of demons as a category of monsters. The thesis statement shall be: demons are real monsters mostly attributed with lies and evil deeds. The question in the existence of demons as monsters has been questioned over time. Jenkins (1) explores what she calls â€Å"ten terrifying cases of demonic possession† to demonstrate that demons do exist and that all they do is to cause human suffering. Similarly, an article by Robert Lawrence Kuhn also attempts to shed more light on the existence of angels and demons. Finally, an article by an organization called truth for the world also explores whether demons still do possess people today. This paper shall analyze demons as a category of monsters. The article by Beverly Jenkins argues that demons are real and that they do possess people. In many cases when demons possess a person, they transfer their monstrous appearance and behaviors to the person. Jenkins observed that even during the time when Jesus was living on earth, he cast out demons from people. The author points out that when this type of monsters called demons possesses a person, they torment the body. For example, she gives the example of Clara Germana Cele, who was possessed with dark spirits. The author also demonstrates that when one is possessed by this spiritual category of monsters, the disadvantage is that they cause much suffering to their victims. She gives the case of Roland Doe whose body contorted in pain when he was possessed by demons. Jenkins also demonstrate that when one psychiatrist came across a patient who was later possessed, demons seemed to speak through her. She notes that some of the most common words spoken were phrases such as â€Å"Leave, leave her alone. She is ours.† That happened simultaneously with levitation off the bed as items in the

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2 questions - Assignment Example Furthermore, if this business is new or small, then this method is very unsuitable. In choosing maxmin criterion, the management will be looking at the worst possible situation in all the options and then adopting the option that provides the least bad results; that is, they adopts the option that optimizes the least profits. As already discussed, this criterion will not be attractive to this particular company if its owners are risk averse decision makers because the method is based on excessive watchfulness. However, while adopting Laplace method, the management should be sure that they are not conversant of chances of different conditions and have no reason to decide otherwise. From the calculations, the most central location is B; therefore, the most frequented department (4) should be placed there. The department that makes more trips to department 4 is department 2, therefore should be placed at the locations closest, for instance A, which is 40 yards from A. Second priority should be offered to department 1, which makes 80 trips to department 4. This department should be placed at location C, which is 40 yards from location B. Automatically, the last department, which is 3, will be located at location D, which is the most distant location at 50 yards from department D’s location (Stevenson, 2008). Following the revised trips schedule, minimizing travel costs will be best when the departments are placed as described below. The highest number of trips are made to department 4, therefore, it should be placed at the most central location. Therefore, taking the distances indicated in part a, department 4 should be placed at location B, which is 40 yards from location A; 40 yards from location C; and 50 yards from location D. However, priority should be given to department 3, which does 60 trips to department 4. Department 3 should be placed at either location C, then department 2, which makes 50 trips to

Consumerism And Sustainable Development Environmental Sciences Essay

Consumerism And Sustainable Development Environmental Sciences Essay Sustainable development has been a goal widely pursued by all nations, globally. Citizens lifestyle has an important effect on the sustainability of a city. A sustainable lifestyle will promote the development of a society; on the contrary, an unsustainable lifestyle will hinder the development of economy and society. At the same time, globalization also has vital effect on development of a society including positive and negative. In human living environment area, the Agenda 21 was held up and adopted, in the agenda, people tried to find the appropriate way to achieve a sustainable living lifestyle. According to Agenda 21, the reason why the global environment becomes deteriorated is mainly the unsustainable pattern of production and consumption, especially in industrialized countries, which needs serious concern, aggravating poverty and imbalances. However, with the increase of global population, how to balance the relationship between resources supply and demand to achieve the goal of sustainability is complicated. For communities and individuals, special attention should be paid on the use of natural resources which generated by unsustainable consumption and reduction of pollution. In other words, the communities and individuals should look for an appropriate living style of environment-friendly, energy conservation towards achieving sustainable goal. Although government has been put much efforts to encourage people to do some reduction of pollution, reduction of energy consumption, and waste recycling, actually there is still a long distance to reach the goal of sustainability, and there should be a series of fundamentally changes for individuals to adopt to pursue a green, sustainable society. Globalization Globalization means different things to different people. In general, globalization is a process that promotes world-wide exchanges of national and cultural resources. It has many aspects including economic globalization, social cultural globalization, and environmental globalization. In recent decades, the world markets have become integrated (Simone Borghesi 2001) As Lindert and Williamson 2011 pointed out, world market integration is not a new phenomenon, but it has steadily increased since the 1820s if we exclude the period between the two World Wars. (P.H.Lindert 2001)The increasing economic globalization could promote the society to be sustainable in one hand because the objective of sustainable development is the development should meet the needs of all people, however, this could not be realized in a limited environment. As we all know the carrying capacity of environment is limited, but the globalization increased the trade between nations in terms of the productions. Howeve r, on the other hand, the globalization of markets also brought about globalization of environmental problems. A long-term correlation between the globalization of international markets and environmental degradation is quite obviously (R. Looney 2003) Global climate change, ozone layer becomes thinner, reduction of biodiversity, over consumption of natural resources, desertification are all global environmental degradation brought by the economic globalization. The industrial revolution use large amount of natural resources as materials in the process, this led to the deterioration of environment and pollution. The acceleration of economic growth led to the increasing of world population that also promoted the deterioration of environment. In order to achieve much profit, companies extend the use of land, damage the habitats of living organisms, thus, decrease the biodiversity. In addition producers focus more on the economic values of products instead of their environmental values, this will lead to the imbalance of environment. Lifestyle and sustainability Concept of sustainable development The concept of sustainability means that something is maintained for a period of long time. The concept of sustainable development first came out of the United Nations Conference on Human Environment in (1972) Since the publication of the UN Brundtland Commission report  Our Common Future  in 1987, the concept of sustainability has become associated with the integration of economic, social, and environmental development to meet the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs(Development 1982)In this definition, we should focus on two key points, one is the needs and the other is meet the generation needs need the efforts of all nations. Thus, the conference required the cooperation of all nations to act to reduce the environmental pollution and protection of resources. Since then, it has become clear that what we do has an impact on the environment, from the climate change, desertification, and the destruction of forests to the disappearance of species. By discussing the impact of human beings behavior on the environment, it should be in a social and economic dimension, especially the North- South dialogue and the rights of future generations. This finally led to the United Nations Convention on Education and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. In this conference, the Convention on Biological Diversity, the Framework on Climate Change, the Rio Declaration and 38 of the 40 chapters of Agenda 21 were agreed. (Development 1992) After that the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD) was set up to review progress in the implementation of Agenda 21 and other UNCED documents. There are more than 1000 NGOs are accredited to participate the Commission work(Nations 1987) Concept of lifestyle The concept of lifestyle comes from social science and refers to a bundle of practices or ways of behaving that are meaningful for individual as well for the community. Lifestyle includes different ways of socializing with others and different types of consumption of everything, from houses to clothes, food, and leisure time activities. Lifestyle could reflect individuals attitude and values and at the same time signals these to others through visible, or conspicuous, consumption. Sustainable lifestyle can thus be defined as bundles of practices that are tied together by attitudes related to sustainable development, or as ways of living that in practice lead to sustainable development. In 1992 at the UN Conference in Rio de Janeiro, there was an international agreement on promoting sustainable development and thus also promoting sustainable lifestyle. Following the line of the Brundtland report, the conference reached consensus on the so-called Agenda 21 programme, which contains detailed guidelines and objectives, in a non-legally binding language, and advice on how NGOs, citizens, and other actors can be involved in the process. The slogan was act local -think global and during the 1990s Local Agenda activities were started in many countries by both governments and NGOs. In 2007-08 such initiatives received high attention, with global climate being highlight on the political agenda. Local Agenda 21 was no longer a slogan, though the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles were then used together with climate discussions. The processes of Local Agenda 21 build on the idea that changes must come from below, from changes in the everyday life o f ordinary consumers. Current lifestyle When talking about living lifestyle, smoking, poor nutrition, obesity, elevated stress, and suboptimal sleep will come into ones mind, these are major contributors to the general of lifestyle-related conditions, morbidity, and premature death (Dean 2008) Preventable lifestyle-related conditions such as ischemic heart disease, lasting bronchitis, and emphysema, hypertension, stroke, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and some cancers, are not only leading causes of disability and premature death in high-income countries, but increasingly in middle and low-income countries (Tal Gilbert 2004) Compared to the impact of environment brought from lifestyle, the bad lifestyle seems to have much effect on individuals health. However, from long-term sight, bad lifestyle will bring waste of resources, pollution of environment and at last hinder the development of society. When considering the relationship between lifestyle and consumerism, green consumerism should be advocated (Andrew Gilg 2005) Then what is green consumerism? In short, who buys and why. Current global levels of domestic energy consumption and waste production have been acknowledge as important contribution to the detriment of environment (Nations 1998) This reflects a abnormal consumerism that who needs so much energy and whether they really need. This caused the debate of how we will live in the future(De Young 1993) and response there has been a call for the development of national policies and strategies to encourage changes in consumption patterns(UNCED 1992:64). One approach has been the promotion of environmentally-friendly lifestyles which often take the form of media or community campaigns. These campaigns encourage individuals not only to decrease the amount consumed, but also to alter the nature of goods consumed (lUCN/UNEPAVWF 1991). Many studies will discuss in later sect ion. Changing Lifestyles towards Sustainability In discussion of sustainable lifestyles above, how to achieve sustainable lifestyles is important. There are two ways of changing lifestyles: bottom-up and top-down. (Hanssen 2012) The so-called bottom-up means people themselves try to find sustainable lifestyles with their knowledge and experiments, and the second way means changing the lifestyles by enforcement of government. Authorities can promote changes by political initiatives such as economic incentives or green taxes and through information and labeling of green products and campaigns focusing on changing attitudes. Furthermore, authorities can focus on establishing the physical infrastructure which supports sustainable lifestyles: public transportation, renewable energy production, recycling waste system, and so on. As the discussion above, it is the needs for individuals and government to change the lifestyle and the lifestyle needs to be sustainable. Many countries have been implemented sustainable lifestyles. The global climate change has caused the attention from all over the world, and many countries have been done for it. For example, the non-motorized in Amsterdam. Today, due to the lack of natural recourses, the transportation system becomes unsustainable. The carbon emission from the combustion of fossil fuel is the contribution to the air pollution. Therefore, it is encouraged encourage people to use more bicycle or walking instead of motors in order to not only to reduce the carbon emission but also to get a healthy lifestyle. The picture shows people in Amsterdam riding a bicycle (Figure1) Another example is a car dependent city of UK-Belfast. This is a city depend seriously on cars. The research was done to see the citizens response to the measures of limit the use of cars and their attitudes and awareness of climate change. Sweden is adopting the measures to reduce carbon emission from transportation to decrease the climate change. And in Malaysia, the government wants to do the similar to reduce the air pollution especially global climate change, however, the climate in Malaysia may be a challenge for implementation of this. Because the climate in Malaysia is the tropical rainforest climate, the temperature there is also higher for people to ride bicycles(M. R.Mat Yazide 2011) Therefore, this programme needs to be evaluated in Malaysia. From these examples, we can see that the sustainable lifestyle is a main stream for each country. There is a research about the carbon emission of each nation, from the chart ,we can see that those nations with high income have higher emission(Figure 2). Figure 1. People are riding bicycles in Amsterdam source:(M. R.Mat Yazide 2011) 1-s2.0-S1877343509000396-gr1.jpg Figure 2. Country-wise emission per capita source:(Pal 2009) Those countries which have high income have the high carbon emission (Figure 2) It is unequally for those low income countries who to share the deterioration environment. It is not the responsibilities of one or two countries, but the world-wise efforts to reduce the carbon emission globally. In the recent decades, some nations have been tried to change their citizens lifestyle through public participation, and associated with some NGOs develop some environmental protection programmes. These activities are all design to increase the citizens awareness to let them know the living environment has become deteriorated. Water should be recycled, waste should be classified, energy should be produced from renewable resources, and the community building in neighborhoods to strengthen and revitalize local social life. In order to look for a new, environment-friendly lifestyle, eco-village was born (Hanssen 2012) The people deciding to build and live in these eco-villages thus establish other physical, social, and cultural structures around their everyday life as part of living a sustainable lifestyle. However, this type of lifestyle was questioned that whether this really can lead to the global sustainable lifestyle or only the pursuit of a small part of people. In addition, this raises the question of whether sustainable lifestyles are only for those who want to live an alternative life or whether they should be acted as a mainstream trend and made available for a broader audience. In order to find a more sustainable lifestyle and examine which type is more effective for people and society to implement, many studies were done by researchers. In general, social science is used to deal with such issues and divided into two directions, psychological and sociological approaches. As an example of the psychological approach, there was a study done to look the effects of an Internet-based tool that used a combination of tailored information, goal setting, and feedback on households direct and indirect energy consumption in Netherlands. An evaluation lasts 5 months showed that households gained a significant direct energy saving of 5%, whereas there was no measurable effect on indirect energy consumption. It is thus possible to document a small but significant relation between knowledge and action. From a sociological approach, the Action at home of UK, which is part of the Global Action Plan that originally developed in the United States during the late 1980s, has been evaluated by Hobson to find the simple relation between knowledge and change of behavior (Hanssen 2012)The Action at home programme lasted 6-month where households were provided with information, support, and feedback in a local setting enabling local support and networking between participants. An evaluation based on qualitative interviews suggests rethinking the ideas on information, barriers, and behavioral change. Information should be seen as a much more constructivist approach, where people use and develop arguments through conversations with others, rather than by receiving objective knowledge. The focus should be on the whole array of social structures sustaining specific behaviors, rather than on only barriers to action, and finally the understanding of behavioral change should rather focus on how debat e can bring unnoticed routines that are never consciously thought of. Though there are disagreements in the understanding of behavior and the role of information between the social and the psychological approach, it is possible to draw some general recommendations on how to best persuade people to change to a more sustainable lifestyle: Communication should be as specific and personalized as possible, and information should be as adjusted to the lifestyle of the citizens as possible, thereby making the advice meaningful and useful for the citizens attitudes and practices. Conclusion In order to achieve a global, green, sustainable development, the efforts needed from all over the world. For governments, based on the Agenda 21 and the characteristics of city, they should formulate the local strategy to meet the needs of development is the most important thing. Such as in Hong Kong, due to the limitation of land and high building density, government should make some strategies like economic incentive to encourage local citizens to reduce the private cars and increase use of public transportation. However, the premise of implementation of reduction of private cars should be the sound transportation system. A sound transportation will bring more convenient to citizens like time saving. For citizens in Hong Kong, time is money, to save time equals to earn money. Thus, for cities like Hong Kong with fast life, using of public transportation instead of private cars will bring amount of saving of energy and reduction of air pollution. Sustainable development is a long-term process that getting more from less, for longer and for all. For people, they should start from changing their daily life. As the analysis above, people could do to reduce the stress of environment from these following aspects: Resources conservation Resources conservation including reduction of using natural resources to make sure the limited resources could use longer for more people. Such as water conservation in daily life. Water is the source of life. People could not live on earth without water. Another important resource is biodiversity. Biodiversity conservation should be paid much attention because the whole earth includes people, animals, atmosphere, land and water stays in a stable system. Lacking of one of these factors, the system will damage, and we human beings could gain the benefits from the biodiversity such as food, fibers and even medicine. These are the necessities for human beings life. Rich biodiversity will offer the ongoing resources for future generations to reach the sustainable goal. Resources recycling The resource recycling is mainly about the waste classification. There will be amount of domestic waste production in our daily life. The compound of the domestic waste is so complex and difficult to deal with. And the process of dealing with the waste will bring the pollution of environment such as release the greenhouse gas, sewage discharge into river and marine. Waste classification could reduce the difficulties in the process of dealing and increase the effectiveness. The most common waste in our life is plastic bags and bottles. And the material of the plastic bags and bottles is too difficult to deal with, so it is important to distinguish it from other types of waste and deal with centralized. Resources reuse Resource reuse means using again especially in a different way. This could help increase the effectiveness a resource. For example, the can could use to keep the screws that we do not need to buy another container. This will help saving not only money but also resources. In our life, especially for children, because of their growth, their clothes will become too small to wear. At this time, some parents will consider throwing them out then buy new ones. This is an unsustainable behavior. On the contrary, many parents will consider passing the cloth to other children who can wear them. Giving things to those people who need them is better treated as litter. This behavior reduces the production of waste. The three aspects above are what we can do now in our daily life to help construct a sustainable society. In the process of changing lifestyle, however, citizens attitudes play a vital role. This related to their awareness to the environmental and social risks. It is need to increase citizens awareness through formal and informal education. However, sustainability is a contested concept, and developments in the structures and practices of everyday life continue to change and thus provide new challenges for what a sustainable lifestyle is or should be. In the future, there is also a need to continue experimenting, debating, and developing new approaches to sustainable lifestyles

computers in classrooms :: essays research papers

The Benefits of Classroom Computers With the rapid growth of technology in America’s society today, the use of computers in school classrooms has increased tremendously—an action that certainly has become beneficial to students, educators, and parents. The use of computers has positively skyrocketed over the past ten years. Not only are computers utilized daily in large companies across the world, but the everyday use in classrooms has also become prevalent. Using modern technology to assist school instructors with his or her daily lessons should definitely be regarded as a positive, acceptable method of instruction and not definitely does not prohibit students from understanding or critical thinking. The discipline, commitment, and responsibility standards that are required for an exceptional learning experience in school systems today are very consistent with those necessary fifty years ago. For example, the tools an educator were provided then were utilized to the best of his or her ability, which can easily be comparable with the circumstances of today’s uprising culture of computers. The world’s technology advancements are quickly developing, thus, unquestionably, contributing to the extraordinary benefits obtained by students, parents, and educators. Students are provided an enhanced understanding of diverse subjects due to presentations, use of the Internet, and various programs, assisting them with projects, homework, tests, or merely general interest. Classroom computer use is certainly beneficial to parents as well. If a student does not have computer access at home to complete a project or essay, it could easily be completed on the classroom’s computer. This avoids any conflicts that may arise from families that do not have access to a personal computer. Teachers are able to easily compose a multimedia presentation to, not only help teach the class, but also to assist the pupils while taking notes and ensuring their understanding of the topic. The â€Å"learning is fun† motto which has been declared for centuries is still true today. Although particular subjects are not so interesting, there is always a way for the educator to make the topic appealing. The Internet websites, interactive games, video clips, presentations, and animated cartoons are coupled with facts and taught daily. This is the chief technique in which many teachers educate their students. The standard lecture is somewhat considered outdated, while this â€Å"new† manner of teaching has become the modern tendency. During a debate on PBS, Damon Moore stated the following: â€Å"The computer is a perfect tutor.

Ap Government Chapter 15 Study Guide

1. Why was the bill of rights added to the constitution? a. The framers thought a bill of rights was not necessary because the constitution spelled out the extent of the feds power. Blah blah blah (now at the top of page 487) In 1791 the states ratified 10 amendments and the nation had a bill of rights. The BOR imposed limits on the national gov but not on state gov. b. So†¦ all in all I’m really not sure what the exact answer is. Sorry bro 2. Difference between civil liberties and civil rights c. Civil liberties (sometimes referred to as â€Å"negative rights†) are freedoms that are guaranteed to an individual.These are restraints on the gov. Civil liberties declare what the government cannot do. d. Civil rights (â€Å"positive rights†) are powers and privileges that are guaranteed to the individual and protected against arbitrary removal at the hands of the gov or individuals. Like the right to vote or free expression and stuff. 3. The First Amendment guar antees freedom of religion in two clauses: e. The establishment clause- this prohibits laws establishing religion. f. Free exercise clause- which prevents the government from interfering with the exercise of religion. g.Together, these ensure that the government can neither promote nor inhibit religious beliefs or practices. 4. Know where phrase â€Å"Wall of separation between church and state† appears and comes from h. In 1879, the Supreme Court contended, quoting Thomas Jefferson, that the establishment clause erected â€Å"a wall of separation between church and State. † 5. Lemon v. Kurtzman bottom of 490-491: in 1971, the court struck down a state program that would have helped pay the salaries of teachers hired by parochial (parochial means of or relating to a church or parish) schools to give instruction in secular subjects. . The justices proposed a 3 prong test for determining the constitutionality of gov. programs and laws under the establishment clause: i. T he must have a secular purpose ii. Their primary effect must not be to advance or inhibit religion iii. They must not entangle the government excessively with religion. j. The program in Lemon v Kurtzman did not satisfy the last prong of the test. The government would have had to constantly monitory the program which would have cause and excessive entanglement with religion. 6.Engel v Vitale (bottom on 493) in 1962 the court struck down the daily reading of a 22 word nondenominational prayer in New York’s public schools. Justices stated that official state approval of prayer was an unconstitutional attempt on the part of the state to establish a religion. This decision drew a storm of protest that has yet to subside. k. In class I wrote down that he told us we needed to know the difference between freedom of beliefs and freedom of practice but I really don’t see how that has anything to do with this court case.. like whateverrrr coach sybert. l.He also said to note the â€Å"Certain things you can’t do and hide behind religion. The one we talked about in class was the guy with the snakes† So I’m clueless yet again. 7. Strict scrutiny- A neutral law that burdens the free exercise of religion is subject to strict scrutiny. This means that the law may be upheld only if the government can demonstrate that: m. The law is justified by a â€Å"compelling governmental interest† n. The law is narrowly tailored to achieve a legitimate goal o. The law in question is the least restrictive means for achieving that interest p.That was on page 496 and you may need to read the paragraph to understand the definition in context 8. Scheneck v U. S. (pg 498)- Charles Scheneck and his fellow defendents were convicted for attempting to disrupt WWI military recruitment by distributing leaflets claiming that conscription (conscription is enlistment for state service, typically the military) was unconstitutional. The gov believed that this beh avior threatened public order. q. There’s supposed to be a famous quote we get out of this case but the quote is a whole big paragraph. Here is an excerpt from the quote: iv. The question in every case is whether the words used are used in such circumstances and are of such nature to create a clear and present danger that will bring about the substantive evils that Congress has a right to prevent† v. That’s known as the clear and present danger test. Duh. r. Because the actions of the defendants were deemed to create a clear and present danger to the US at that time, the Supreme court upheld their convictions. 9. Tinker v Des Moine Independent County School District (pg 500)- involved 3 public school students who wore a black armbands to protest the Vietnam War.Principles in their school district had prohibited the wearing of armbands on the ground that such conduct would provoke a disturbance; the district suspended the students but the Supreme Court overturned the suspensions. s. Justices declared for the majority that the principals had failed to show that the forbidden conduct would substansially interfere with appropriate school discipline. t. â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦fear or apprehension of disturbance is not enough to overcome the right to freedom of expression. † 10.Chaplinsky v New Hampshire (500)- In 1942 Walter Chaplinksy, a Jehovah’s Witness, convicted under a state statute for calling a city marshal a â€Å"God-damned racketeer† and â€Å"a damned fascist† in a public place, appealed to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court upheld Chaplinksy’s conviction on the theory that fighting words do not convey ideas and thus are not subject to first amendment protection. u. Fighting words- words that inflict injury or tend to incite an immediate breach of the peace. v. To dumb it down- he was found guilty because the things he said were not protected by the first amendment. 1. Reno v ACLU (501)- the supreme court upheld the lower court’s ruling in June 1997 by unamimously deciding a broad affirmation of free speech rights in cyberspace, arguing that the Internet was more analogous (analogous means comparable) to print media than to television, and thus even indecent material on the internet was entitled to First Amendment protection. 12. New York Times v Sullivan (502)- First off you need to know that libel is the written defamation of character. A person who believes their name and character have been harmed can sue.In this case, the supreme court declared that freedom of the press takes precedence—at least when the defamed individual is a public official. w. The court agreed that the first amendment protects the publication of all statements about the conduct of public officials, except statements made with actual malice. x. Actual malice- with knowledge that they are false or in reckless disregard for their truth or falsity. y. 3 years later, the court extended this pr otection to apply to all public figures, not just government officials. 13. New York Times v United States pg 504- z.Prior restraint case dealing with the pentagon papers {. Supreme court doesn’t believe in prior restraint although you can be punished after the fact. And in order for the supreme court to prevent publication they have to have a really good reason- have to prove immediate, inevitable, and irreparable harm following the publication of the documents. |. First amendment offers protection against government censorship 14. Case in Louisville, Kentucky- a reporter who had researched and written an article about drug related activities was called on by a grand jury to identify people he had seen in possession of the drugs.The reporter refused to testify, saying that freedom of the press shielded him from this inquiry. }. In a closely divided decision, the supreme court rejected his position stating that no exception is permissible to the rule that all citizens have a duty to give their government whatever testimony they are capable of giving. ~. He had to give up the information and some of his freedom to maintain order 15. Bong hits for Jesus. Pg 505- supreme court upheld the suspension of the boy who held up the sign at an outside school event. School officials may prohibit speech if it could be interpreted as promoting an illegal drug use. 6. The 2nd amendment states â€Å"A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed. . If you are a gun control advocate- you focus on the first part and your argument is that everyday citizens are not part of a militia. . If you are NOT a gun control advocate- you focus on the second part that your right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. 17. D. C. vs Heller- (federal level)- was a challenge to the strictest gun control statute in the country. It barred private possession of handguns and required tri gger locks and stuff.The court ruled in a 5-4 decision that it is a constitutional right to keep a loaded handgun at home for self defense. 18. McDonald v Chicago– (state level)- this case had the same ruling as the first one except this one was on a state level. 19. Bill of attainder- a law that pronounces an individual guilty of a crime without a trial. 20. Most freedoms protected in the BOR today function as limitations on the states. The changes have been achieved through the supreme court’s interpretation of the due process clause of the 14th amendment: .Due process clause-â€Å"nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without the due process of law. † This clause has 2 central meanings: vi. It requires the government to adhere to appropriate procedures. vii. It forbids unreasonable government action. . Under this clause you have a trial by jury available to you, if you can’t afford a lawyer they’ll provide you wit h one, etc. Not all states have the same number of jurors. Supreme court says minimum of 6. 21. Gideon vs Wainwright- pg 511 case made due process applicable to the states. The state must provide you with a lawyer if you cannot afford one. 2. Miranda Warnings-protects against self incrimination. comes from Miranda v Arizona 23. Exclusionary rule- Something discovered as the result of an illegal search cannot be used in trial. Mapp vs us on 512 24. The exception is the good faith clause- U. S. vs Leon. Pg 513? 25. Griswald v Conneticut- 517 personal autonomy. Could the state outlaw birth control. Zone of privacy that exists because of the 1st, 3rd, 4th, and 5th amendment. . Birth control is a personal choice. 26. Rowe vs. Wade- extension of Gridwald. You should have choice on child bearing. Blah blah blah. Struck down abortion laws.Due process clause 2 FREE RESPONSE. ANSWER BOTH 1. First amendment and the freedom of speech. Freedom of speech is not absolute. Explain (or give 2 exampl es of) 2 limits on speech and the related cases a. Fighting words- Chaplinsky b. Idk 2. Similar concept. Rules against illegal search and seizure and self incrimination protect your right to a due process. c. One rule regarding illegal search and seizure, and the case. Explain how that protects your due process d. One rule regarding self incrimination and the related case and explain how that protects your right to due process of law.

Medicare Ambulatory Paymant System Essay Example

Medicare Ambulatory Paymant System Essay Example Medicare Ambulatory Paymant System Paper Medicare Ambulatory Paymant System Paper Ambulatory payment system commonly referred to as the Ambulatory Payment Category (APC) was adopted by the United States government in order to facilitate easy, faster and convenient outpatient services for the Medicare program. The federal government through it budget act of 1997, it established a new program under the major medical cover that takes care of the old people to create what is called Outpatient Prospective payment system abbreviated as OPPS. This method is only applicable to hospitals and that physicians could get their payment through other means like the current procedural terminology. The Ambulatory payment category usually come to use when a patient is discharged from the hospital’s emergency department or clinic or get a transfer to another health facility which is not allied to the hospital of origin where the patient was initially treated as an outpatient. Basically the ambulatory payment system begun as a federal government’s initiative and have gained popularity in that the state programs like Medicaid is also considering adoption of the same method. If these programs keep on succeeding, definitely the third part insurance companies in the healthcare system may also adopt it. Establishment The balanced budget act of the year 1997 (BBA) section 4523 gives authority and allows CMS to execute the prospective payment system which operated under the Medicare program and servicing the outpatients. This act was modified in 1999 and all the services that are paid under this prospective payment system are categorized into various groups which are termed as ambulatory payment classifications (APC’s). Generally all the services in the ambulatory payment system have comparable resource requirement and are identical or clinically similar. Services in each APC are reimbursed according to the services provided by the hospital and the hospitals could be paid for more than one APC for a single encounter (Medicare 1998). The modification of the section 4523 of balanced budget led to changes in the method of determining the beneficiary coinsurance for the services provided under the prospective payment system. In essence a coinsurance amount is calculated for every APC depending on the 20% of the national median payment for services in the APC. The coinsurance amount remains constant with any changes until the time when the amount becomes 20% of the total APC reimbursement. The act also provides that not amount of coinsurance would be greater than the yearly deductibles of the hospital inpatient. The two amounts, that is APC payment and coinsurance will be adjusted to indicate the geographic salary variation by use of the hospital age index and the assumption that the part of the payment or coinsurance that is attributed to labor is 60% (Hyman 2005). The proposed changes in the medical program of the United States targets to the Medicaid and Medicare programs since they major bodies that are concerned with healthcare coverage for the old who generally cannot afford a health insurance (third party coverage) US Division of the Federal Register. (2005). The federal operates the Medicare program and it’s the main source of the transformation initiative. Under this, the payment rates in following sections of Medicare will be transformed; payment rates for 2009, ambulatory surgical center 2009, hospital conditions of participation etc. The Previous Medicare Payment System There are three basic methods by which the citizens of the United States take care of their medical bill and they are; Medicare program, Medicaid program and the third party cover by insurance companies. It is estimated that the hospitals in the US receive over thirty percent of their revenue from the Medicare program. Most of the payments made directly to the hospitals by the program come from the inpatient cases and this is approximated to be about 88% while the rest covers the outpatients (Medicare 1998). The method used by the Medicare to cover expenses by the inpatient is as follows, there several disease conditions which are categorized as the diagnosis related groups (DRGs) there are about 600 cases in the groups and the Medicare only pays flat rates for a single hospital session. Each DRG is assigned certain weight and to compute the actual fee to be paid in each of the DRGs for a specific year, the DRGs relative payment weight is multiplied by the monetary exchange factor of that particular year is dollars. The value obtained is further adjusted in accordance to the variations in the labor cost of that region and of other facility inputs and for the local factors that could result in variations in the price of providing care(Hyman 2005). In order to take care of the complicated cases whose resources use significantly excesses that foreseen in the closest DRG, the system gives the outlier imbursement that in principle are meant to imply the estimates by the hospital for providing the extra supplies and services employed. The DRG weight that are being used were initially (since early 1980s) based on the relative average expenses of cases in the DRG’s. Some changes have been made to the calculation including average standardized, paid expenses for all cases that fall into each DRG in the recent Medicare records. The DRGs have since then been adjusted based on the standard, paid expenses of for all the cases that are covered under each of the DRGs in the current Medicare documents (Cleverley Cameron 2006). The outpatients initially compensated the hospital in a retrospective manner for the allowable, costs incurred for which the owners of the Medicare were supposed to make co-payments. These payments increased considerably since the early 1980s and by 1997 they were about 50% of the whole amount of healthcare expenses for the outpatient services. This called for some intervention and in 1997; a balanced budget act was established to drive the Medicare into controlling the apparently inflationary, full cost compensation system with a new one that would adopt a prospective cost schedule, and that the basic unit for the payment would be a specific service or procedure (Hyman 2005). This schedule was meant to be effected in the new millennium. In its efforts to develop new fee calendar, Medicare had to package as much as reasonable the whole set of supplies and services linked with main procedure into one large group. The groups were to contain the main processes that are clinically comparable and used equivalent amount of resources. These groupings were done according to the ambulatory payment categorization (APC) that was designed by researchers in the health services study and investigation undertakings. These APC’s are still developing and expanding as the Medicare program attains greater heights of knowledge and experience as well as with the advent of new technologies (Medicare 1998). Similar to the DRG system that is used in the inpatient system to pay hospital bills, APC dollar amount is also derived by multiplication of the relative cost weight of the specific APC (founded on the median of the particular APC) by a monetary exchange factor. Additional adjustments are made by considering aspects like cost of facilities, salaries and other factors that contribute to the cost of outpatient medication. The Medicare system is very complicated, partly because of the government’s involvement to regulate the operations of the system and ensuring fairness, responsibility, and meeting the social objectives. Most of the critics of the program overlook the fact that these obligations are a driving force to the public medical service and a challenge to the privatized medical care services (Hyman 2005). Nonetheless, the myriad of distinct imbursement schemes for the United States private insurance companies are complicated as well, by the global standards and mostly still founded on paper claims. The Transformations Last year there were announcements by the Medicare program about the new rule to increase the reimbursement rate for hospital outpatient sections and the ambulatory surgical departments by 3% throughout 2009 however those that do not comply with the new quality reporting regulation will see that pay rate increase only by one percent. It’s generally the first time that the services provided by the Medicare program are correlated to the quality of the services. The Medicare intends to entrench a culture of cautious purchasing of medical services from hospitals not based on the quantity alone but also quality and this would be in effect by the strict observance of the rule builds on transforming the program. Researches in the medical sector trends have indicated that more people prefer the outpatient settings as opposed to the inpatient service. For this reason, the center for Medicare administrator (CMS), Kerry Weems last year declared that Medicare would commit itself to work in conjunction with the hospital so as to make sure that their clients (people with Medicare) get the best quality of healthcare and in proper settings(Medicare 1998). The proposed changes for the year 2009 are meant to allow the hospital more fluidity in their operations so that management of the resources is improved and also give them the incentive to enhance the effectiveness where both beneficiaries and citizens (taxpayers) get the best worth for their healthcare expenses. The proposed rule to start operation in 2009 will ensure that there are up to date rates of payment in both the outpatient prospective payment system and ambulance surgery center prospective system (ASC-PPS) which would operational in the second year would seek to put in the same category the ASC rates and ambulatory payment classification groups that are currently used for reimbursement of the outpatient hospital department. The new rule will also address the 3% update on inflation rate per year to Medicare payment rates for most services that would be paid by the outpatient prospective payment system to an excess of over 4,000 hospitals and community mental healthcare centers in Calendar Year 2009. There are more changes in the in the new proposed changes to take care of the outpatient services provided by general acute care hospitals, community mental care facility, inpatient psychotherapy amenities, long-term acute care hospitals, pediatric hospital and cancer hospitals(Medicare 1998). The centre for Medicare and Medicaid projected that hospitals in the United States would receive about $28. 7 billion in Calendar Year 2009 for services provide to people who have Medicare coverage. In addition to that, center for Medicare and Medicaid will pay about $ 3. 9 billion in the year 2009 to over five thousand people who operate ambulatory surgery center program with Medicare. This is a major improvement in the health care sector since in the past years; the payment of the outpatient services was not in accordance with the quality of healthcare provided (Cleverley Cameron 2006). In the new preview, the proposed changes will demand that the outpatient prospective payment system updates be cut down by at least 2% for hospitals which do not comply with the quality reporting demands. For the reports to be fully informative and up to date, for the services provided in the year 2009, the hospitals will be required by the new law to give reports of the year 2008 on seven quality dimension of emergency department and pre-operative surgical procedures. Initially the seven dimensions were not strictly considered because of laxity but the new CMS has introduced four new dimensions of imaging effectiveness to the seven presented value measures for reason that it would useful for 2010 updates. CMS also intends to introduce public comment on other quality measures in sectors like the testing for the probable risk of cancer. Center for Medicare and Medicaid services seeks to improve and reinforce the program and enhance association between the value of care and Medicare imbursement, by obtaining public comment on the various options and contemplations for transforming payment methods for offering treatment to the conditions that are basically preventable if the practitioner follows the established guidelines. Currently, the center for Medicare and Medicaid is working on a policy implementation strategy to offer a similar change to the inpatient services as provided for by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. Under such regulations, the CMS will not make high payment rates to the hospitals for the giving treatment to various disease conditions which are predetermined to be realistically preventable as provided in the guidelines when they are attained during the patient’s stay in the hospital. For this, the hospitals will have an incentive to provide quality healthcare by following the guidelines already in place to cut down the number of cases that get infected by preventable conditions that occur as a consequence of the treatment (Medicare 1998). When these changes are fully followed and strictly observed, then the healthcare will have attained that status that one can comfortably say that it is reliable and of good quality services. Proposed Changes for Imaging Services There are instances when several imaging services are provided in one session, the CMS is also seeking to promote greater effectiveness by changing its way of making such payments for the multiple services in one sitting. This means that CMS will only make single imbursement for the multiple imaging services of a specific type for instance several ultrasound processes done in one session in the healthcare facility. Apart from the ultrasound processes, CMS will also include other services like the magnetic resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computer Tomography scans (CT-scans). The proposal also covers the changes that have to be used to enhance the accuracy of healthcare cost estimates which are used to set up prices for drugs and biologically active substances, United States Division of the Federal Register. (2005). Medical Cost Decrease According the statement by the management of Medicare program, the amount of expenses that the Medicare beneficiary would pay for the outpatient will decrease depending on the strategy put in place by the Medicare regulation which will translate to gradual changeover to 20% coinsurance. Before the implementation of the changes in outpatient prospective payment system (OPPS) for the year 2000, those serviced by Medicare used to take care of about 20% of the hospitals expenses instead of the 20% of the Medicare charges for services given to outpatients(Hyman 2005). Since the medical cost in hospital rose at a faster rate compared to the Medicare coverage for the same services, the Medicare beneficiaries share usually got beyond 50% of the whole amount paid to the hospital for the services. In the estimates made by the CMS analysts, about 25% of all the services that would be provided to the outpatients will be subjected to 20% coinsurance in the year 2009 cutting down from the 23% that was being used in 2008. The Benefits The anticipated transformation in the handling of the outpatient under the Medicare program is expected to bring about some uneasy feelings and also different reactions for different people. However most will agree that it will provide a very effective tool for the management to ensure that the management is efficient and also initiate responsibility and as a result, the profitability of the facilities will increase (Medicare 1998). The introduction of the Diagnosis Related Grouper (DRGs) for the compensation of the inpatients in 1983 was also faced with so much resistance with many critics insinuating that it would be a flop and the prospective payment would result in more problems. Contrary to the prediction of the critics, there were so many improvements in the superseding years in the overall operating margins for the inpatient services in most of the hospitals according to data from American Hospital Association. A similar improvement is anticipated in the year 2009 onwards in the outpatient services which will give the owners a lot of convenience and great assistance. The managers in particular will have a succinct data structure of management which will translate to efficiency because this is a very important tool for addressing product line concerns (Cleverley Cameron 2006). The information obtained will be used for the evaluation of the outpatient services, to practice expense regulation and to precisely bargain managed healthcare contracts. Most of the benefits will be enjoyed by mangers and those serviced by the Medicare program which means the plan is cost effective and that none of the parties involved will be exploited. The major benefits include the following; managers will have a means of spotting and correcting problems in the practice for instance inaccurate coding, unfinished documentation process and unwarranted supplementary services (Hyman 2005); the APC system will provide a method of facilitating cost reduction, comparison of expenses, alleviate instances of payment delays and carry out financial evaluations like the profit and loss calculation and analyses; the financial manger will be in comfortable position when making measurement of there competitiveness, making comparisons of the services with other local or even the national standards; outpatient hospital financial administrator can be able to develop case mix or make other measurements of resources utilization based on the number of people serviced, such kind of information can de very beneficial in the evaluation of the managed healthcare contracts; and finally the execution of the proposed changes in the OPPS section of Medicare w ill enable easy and accurate predictability of the imbursement which means that the manager can authenticate the accurateness of the compensation received (Cleverley Cameron 2006). Conclusion The transition in the needs of the US citizens and the globalization process has led to the increased need to improve healthcare. It such efforts, the health care practitioners and providers can work together to provide services to the clients. The development of the Ambulatory payment system (APC’s) was intended to provide quality healthcare on fee for service terms because of the development of the information sector and free market situation. Furthermore APC’s are also aimed at transferring some of the monetary risk for the services offered to the outpatient from the federal government to specific hospitals that provide the services and in this way, it is cost effective to operate the program. This is considered an inducement to better performance which is economical, efficient and profitable References Cleverley W. O Cameron (2006). Essentials of Health Care Finance. Jones Bartlett Publishers. Hyman D (2005). Improving Healthcare. A Dose of Competition. A Report by the Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice (July, 2004), with Various Supplementary Materials. Birkhauser. Medicare (1998). Prospective Payment System for Hospital Outpatient Services. Proposed Rules. Federal Register. Retrieved on 17th February 2009 from acess. opo. gov/su. docs/aces/aces140html United States Division of the Federal Register. (2005). Code of Federal Regulations. United States Federal Register Division. Office of the Federal Register, National Archives and Records Administration

European leaders Essays - British East India Company, Stamp Act

European leaders Essays - British East India Company, Stamp Act The goals and interests of European leaders diverged from those of colonial citizens, resulting in the colonists growing distrusts and dissatisfaction towards various issues such as territory, taxation, and settlement protection. These clashes between European leaders and the colonial citizens sprouted rebellious behavior that eventually led to war. The conflict that rooted from the differences of motives between the European leaders and colonial citizens was exemplified through the Stamp Act of 1765. The British Parliament had enacted this legislation in order to raise money that was lost in result of the French and Indian War. The British required several kinds of taxes on all items consisted of paper. Although the Europeans saw the act as simply a way to regain lost revenue, the colonists thought differently. The colonists thought the Stamp Act was unfair due to the lack of approval from the colonial legislatures. They felt that the taxes violated their rights as British citizens. The British leaders only cared about earning profit, but the colonists cared about representation and equality. This led to resistance that was demonstrated through boycotting British goods, debates in colonial legislatures, and mob actions such as feathering tax collectors. The different goals and interests between European leaders and colonists resulted in a constant cycle of Parliaments efforts to pass legislatures and the colonists rebelling. After the Stamp Act was eventually repealed, the Declaratory Act was then passed in 1766. The British leaders strongly believed they had full authority over the thirteen colonies and this act affirmed their power. The Declaratory Act was passed to remind the colonists who was in charge. However, many of the colonists gave no care and continued to celebrate over their political victory of the repeal of the Stamp Act; but there were several colonists that were angered because this act hinted that more taxation acts would be coming their way. The British leaders were only interested in money and authority, something the colonists were fully counter to. It was completely evident that the British authority cared solely for capital and complete control over the colonies. Though, the true colonists defiance wasnt fully evident until the Boston Tea Party. In 1773, Parliament passed the Tea Act, which was meant to expand the British East India Companys monopoly on tea trade to all the colonies. This act allowed the company to sell its large tea surplus at a lower price compared to colonial competitors. The Tea Act was the final straw in the series of shunned policies and taxes imposed on the American colonies by the British. Although this act didnt impose new taxes, the colonists were angered with the fact that the British East India Company authorized monopoly on tea. Other tea companies werent happy about this act and the colonists saw Britains efforts to earn more revenue as another mean of taxation without representation because it meant that they couldnt purchase tea from anyone else without spending more money. Once again, British authority and the colonists divergence in objectives sparked yet another riot. The Sons of Liberty, a secret group of protesters, ignited a symbolic act that would change the course of history later that year. They stormed three British ships and dumped crates of tea overboard. This act showed how far Americans were willing to speak out for their freedom. In conclusion, it is apparent that the goals and interests of European leaders and colonial citizens were extremely diverse. While the British leaders focused on wealth and authority to benefit the mother country, the colonists strived for government representation and liberty. Both of these different points of view clashed and led to extreme extents, such as boycotts and rebellions, and eventually the Revolutionary War.

Homeward Bound Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Homeward Bound - Essay Example I decided to run away from home this morning and I did. It was a reckless move on my part and thoroughly stupid. I understand that now if only in retrospect. I bet you want to know why I ran away from home. Well there could be any number of reasons right I could have a sexually abusive stepfather, or perhaps my mother is like that crazy, compulsive character on Desperate Housewives, or maybe I have lousy grades, an eating disorder and a drug problem, I could be on the run from the police (You can really use your imagination here). But the truth is none of these things or perhaps it is all of these things. I'll let you decide. You see, none of it matters. What matters is Leah and what I think happened to her. But I am getting ahead of myself. I was trying to put as much distance as possible between myself and my hopeless, miserable life. I had the compartment to myself, but it would not have mattered if it had been packed to the seams. There was no place for anyone else, wrapped as I was in my own private cocoon of misery. Suddenly, I felt rather than saw her her name was Leah. She was exquisite, like a porcelain figurine.

XMGT Checkpoint Wk2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

XMGT Checkpoint Wk2 - Essay Example This essay stresses that the main, crucial commonality of these values is that the standards of conduct that arise out of these values constitute the ground rules of ethics. It is through this commonality that the element of decision making is easily taken. Further more, these five values have a commonality in that all of them act as a multi-level filter through which decisions are processed. For example, being trustworthy needs to be complemented with the virtue of being caring. Equally, affirming to fairness/justice needs to be complemented by the state of accepting responsibility for one’s actions or inaction. Above all, the five values help individuals detect situations, which help them uphold their moral principles in life. This article has a personal view. Some of the author's organization values include honesty, integrity, reliability, dependability, attention to work, and cooperation. Honesty is being able to speak facts. Integrity is that quality of upholding high morals principles. Reliability talks of the ability of being able to be ‘relied on’. Dependability is someone who is dependable especially when it comes to tasks. These are the five crucial values that I have taken into consideration as per the ethics required. However, there are no major differences between organization values and my personal values since they correlate in some of the areas. This is true because when ethical scandals hit in an organization, it emerges that certain individuals in the organization have allowed their own personal values to interfere and infect the organization.