Checkpoint Styles of Love

The two styles of love I chose to cover are game-playing love (ludus) and selfless love (agape). I choose these particular two styles of love because I have experience them or know someone close to me who has been in a relationship of this kind. Game-playing love; one does not completely commit to one person; they have a main partner but still do whatever they like. A game-playing love relationship is not healthy and leads to unhappiness. In the reading, it states that game-playing is one reason relationships come to an end.For example: my male cousin cannot be serious with a female if someone gave him a million dollars. It is something about commitment that just does not agree with him. Because of game-playing ways he can keep a relationship and has multiple children from multiple women and he still continues to be a â€Å"player. † Selfless love occurs when one thinks only of his or her partner’s happiness and puts his or her own needs last. Couples with this type of love, according to the reading, last a long time.I must admit that I am like this with my fiance’. We both have selfless love for one another and our love has been strong for four years and will continue. This type of relationship is a perfect example of no â€Å"I† in â€Å"we. † The more we are together the stronger our love grows. Game-playing love and selfless love has no similarities. They are the opposite of each other. Game-playing is basically when one plays games with someone else’s heart (ludus) and selfless love is serious and one’s heart is wide open (agape).

Leardership In A Global Environment Writing

A boundaries organization is an association where management has largely succeeded in breaking down barriers between internal levels, job functions and departments, as well as reducing external barriers between the association and those with whom it does business. Developing a business into a boundaries organization might include creating a more horizontal management structure, encouraging interdepartmental projects, and empowering staff members. A complete boundaries organization would be somewhat hard to achieve in my current organization but am sure it can be done.Within my current organization there are different levels because different jobs require different levels of educational backgrounds. Breaking down the job description walls is one step in creating a boundaries organization. For example, in order for a business safety coordinator to be able to perform verification on a clinical trial case they would need to have a life science degree in order to use their medical judgmen t to access causality per our standard of operating procedures. However, a business safety coordinator is able to perform verification on a post marketing case.The explanation that IS given for this is because causality is not accessed for post marketing cases. Accessing causality on clinical trial cases is legally required by the Federal Drug Administration, European Medical Authority and most other Healthcare Authorities for all serious adverse events for expedited reporting. If a business safety coordinator is required to participate in all trainings provided by the organization regardless of whether or not they are actually performing that duty on could assume that a training could be reared to teach them how to access causality in order to verify clinical cases as well.Since they are required to participate in all of these trainings actually being able to perform these functions regardless of educational background it will definitely help with creating a boundaries organization Safety Data Specialists are able to assist the business safety coordinators with data entry only when we are short-handed. The managers only assist the safety data specialists with verification and medical evaluation when they are short- handed.I believe that another barrier that needs to be broken is if everyone assisted with all of the work on a regular basis instead of having specific job functions. We are also divided by country which is another barrier. One department really does not know how the other office locations work or the rules in which they are governed. One idea I have is if We all are forced to handle everything regardless of the location. This way we will learn the rules and regulations of other countries. This will also force more uniformity across the company as a whole.At this point currently everyone handles everything differently. This process will be able allow the company to take the best practices from each office location and apply them to one universal w orkflow. It is definitely still important for our organization to have structure. It provides direction to all employees by laying out the official reporting relationships that manage the workflow of the company. A formal outline of a company's structure makes it easier to add new positions in the company, as well, providing a flexible and ready means for growth.Without a formal organizational structure, employees may find it difficult to know who they officially report to in different situations, and it may become unclear exactly who has the final responsibility for what. Organ conditional structure improves operational efficiency by providing clarity to employees at all levels of a company. So even though the one of the ideas I had was to have the managers assist with verification as well as medical evaluations, it is also important for them to maintain responsibility of overseeing any workflow changes as well as hiring and firing employees as well as evaluations and there manager ial duties.

The challenges nurses are facing with nursing informatics Essay

The challenges nurses are facing with nursing informatics - Essay Example According to Ball (303), Informatics thus refers to the process of modification of a discipline by combining information as well as knowledge to its discipline. In fact, it is an acknowledged specialty for nurses who are registered, but it poses several challenges to the profession of nursing. Nurses have experienced other problems as a result of the innovations in means of communication, improved transport systems as well as the created global economies. This has compelled the nurse to accept the universal perception of health policies, which has led to the changing roles of the nurses, as they have had to incorporate the global phenomena into the primary health care system.The use of technology has been the greatest challenge that the nurses have had to face. They have had to use computers in health caregiving, administration duties as well as in education and research (Ericksen, 1). Basically, informatics is incorporated in every task of a nurse. All these challenges facing the nu rsing profession are caused by advancements in technology, reforms in the healthcare sector, too much workload and little number of professional nurses as well as the increased lifespan of the patients.This is because research has shown that the number of healthcare providers has always been less than that of the health seekers. Technology, therefore, becomes the only solution to this growing burden. Nurses must be kept abreast with the all the advances in technology to enhance the quality as well as the price of care given to patients.

Business Organization, International Business Law and intellectual Coursework

Business Organization, International Business Law and intellectual Property Law - Coursework Example As per the quality and bravura of my garments, I would name my brand as Dress Fitsâ„ ¢. I would try to make my company’s attires highly impressive and a benchmark for the people in Western Region. I would initiate my business as a sole proprietorship, since I believe that in partnership things become confused a bit. Also, I have to share my ideas and in the end the profits with my partner and that is not acceptable for me. Though partnership gives me many benefits as well but I still prefer to go with the sole trading to avoid future ambiguities. As I stated earlier that the main advantage of doing business in Western Region is that people know the latest trends over there and it is easy to introduce new designs and concepts in that region as compared to any other part of the world. Besides being trendy and open hearted, there exists a diversified culture. Many people from all over the world are living in Western Region for good jobs and better life style. They would like t o wear something in their native style and I am thinking to offer all kinds of dresses that will satisfy needs of wide range of clientele. Therefore, I would get a chance to capture a massive market in that region. Another factor that would be in my favor is law and order. In Western Region, it has been observed since ages that people are truly strict in following rules as compared to any other part across the globe. Therefore, I would be doing my business in a region where I would find many opportunities to run my business as per business laws and earn a handsome amount of profit as well. The threats are also almost none in doing business in Western Region. Like every aspect of life has some pros and cons, similarly doing business in Western Region has some disadvantages too. If we closely observe then its advantages can be disadvantages as well if I would not handle them wisely. Since, I said earlier that people in that region are trendier as compared to other parts of the world t herefore I have to be really quick and intelligent while designing the get-ups so that none of my efforts would go wasted. I have to work extra hard to ensure that people would accept and appreciate my efforts in this field. Moreover, again the diversity factor can be a disadvantage too if managed inappropriately. Since, there are people from different parts; therefore with an advantage of a huge market, I have a disadvantage of distinct moods and cultures as well. I have to do a lot of homework to search out what is acceptable and unacceptable for all the people in that region. For my business, different Religions, Cultures, Tastes, Environment, and Beliefs of people can really be a disaster if I would not act sagaciously and swiftly. Besides all these disadvantages, I would still prefer to initiate my business in Western Region because I think that its plusses are more than its minuses. Moreover, I personally like the environment and climate of Western Region and therefore would f eel myself comfortable over there. In Western Region, everyone is so busy in their lives that hardly anyone interferes in anyone’s life. In my point of views such type of atmosphere is perfect for people like me who want to do their business with complete concentration and dedication. That is why no matter what, I would definitely want to target Western Region for doing my business there. As overall all the aspects of doing business are

Compare Financial alternatives for major purchases Speech or Presentation

Compare Financial alternatives for major purchases - Speech or Presentation Example the currently commercially available technologies (Americanrivers, 2011).The construction of dams also allow for the creation of many opportunities for water sports, the construction of campsites, hiking and biking trails as well as hotels, lodges, and many other businesses around the lakeshore. The increase in tourism in the area along with all the improvements in infrastructure around the area will help develop the local economy and benefit all surrounding communities. The subject of dam construction has been a hotly debated issue especially since the 1960’s when the environmental impact of dam construction started to be considered and analyzed. To start with constructing a new dam is an incredibly expensive and complex undertaking, usually with total project costs running into the billions and taking numerous years to complete (Pottinger, 1996). When a dam is constructed in a river system the whole balance of the ecosystem upstream and downstream of the newly constructed dam will be negatively affected or even completely destroyed as a direct consequence of disrupting the natural seasonal flow of the river system. Prior to the construction of the dam, the river has a natural flow that responds to the seasonal changes and brings a constant flow of debris and sedimentation that helps bring food and nutrients for all the natural wildlife living in the river system. After a dam is constructed the flow of the water is artificially limited and c ontrolled so the flow is usually constant and very restricted and only increased to decrease water levels or increase power production and does not correlate natural seasonal fluctuations. Furthermore all the sedimentation and the necessary food and nutrients carried with it will now be deposited in the impoundment upstream of the dam, destroying the ecosystem and killing most of the natural wildlife downstream. The evaporation rate of the river system will be significantly higher because of the vastly greater surface area

McDonald's Advertising Campaign Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

McDonald's Advertising Campaign - Term Paper Example The current Mcdonald’s advertising campaign is referred to as the ‘I’m lovin’ it’ campaign. This campaign extends to international borders and has been implemented in virtually every advertising medium available within the contemporary media climate. While many might have expected this advertising campaign to be developed by an American firm, in actuality it was constructed by an advertising agency located in Unterhaching, Germany referred to as DDB Worldwide Communications Group, Inc. Rather than debuting the campaign in the United States, the ‘I’m lovin’ it’ campaign was debuted in Australia and that later throughout parts of Europe and ultimately the United States. It seems in structuring the campaign in such a way McDonald’s was able to in a sense test out their advertising and fine-tune its various elements before debuting it in the larger Western markets. This strategy has a number of beneficial elements, namel y that despite pre-debut polling and surveys, the actual reception of the marketing campaign is not entirely discernable until after it is received within the public context; as a result numerous logistical and thematic errors can be worked out before it ultimately hits the most pivotal Western market. When it finally did debut in the USA on June 29, 2003 it did so with a large amount of fanfare. During its debut the campaign slogan was accompanied by the music of Tom Batoy and Franco Tortora (Mona Davis Music) and vocals by Justin Timberlake. In including such a large name (indeed, Justin Timberlake was at the top of the pop culture world at the time of this campaign) allowed McDonalds to significantly establish their new message and distinguish it from past advertising incarnations (Dicker 2010). In these regards, the debut functions as more than just a means of drawing significant attention to the product (which is one of the primary concerns), but it also functions to draw atten tion to the significant shift in tone and message from previous McDonald’s campaigns. This is important as it indicates that the campaign often does not simply signify a renewed approach to promotion, but oftentimes represents a philosophical shift in the nature of nature of the company’s vision. As advertising campaigns are implemented they oftentimes have been demonstrated to make subtle shifts within their production mechanisms. The McDonald’s ‘I’m Lovin It’ campaign is ne exception in these regards. Despite debuting with one set slogan and approach to promotion as the campaign progressed new forms of presentation were included; for instance, in 2007 a public casting call was issued which resulted in nearly 15,000 applicants (‘The Latest from McDonald’s’). From this pool twenty-four were selected and integrated into the advertising campaign. These individuals’ images and themes of inspiration were implemented on McDonald’s products throughout the world. This last method was a highly effective means of altering the campaign through becoming more directly involved in the customer’s perspective. Rather than simply relying on ad executives to determine what constitutes effective promotion, allowing actual customers to become involved functions to create a sort of raw and direct appeal to the audience. This method went beyond traditional television and print advertising, truly

MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 2 SLP Essay

MHE503 Survey of Emergency and Disaster Mgt Module 2 SLP - Essay Example 1. STORM: 36095.9 Number of Deaths 2. FLOOD: 3068.3 Number of Deaths 3. MASS MOVEMENT WET: 2710.4 Number of Deaths 4. EPIDEMIC: 571.1 Number of Deaths Columns 4: Rank the disasters in terms of average number affected per disaster during the past 30 years. Use a scale between 1 and 4, with '1' referring to the highest number affected per disaster and '4' referring to the lowest number affected per disaster. 1. STORM: 95717646 Total Affected 2. FLOOD: 14312765 Total Affected 3. MASS MOVEMENT WET: 333895 Total Affected 4. EPIDEMIC: 17803.1 Total affected Columns 5: Rank the disasters in terms of average cost per disaster during the past 30 years. Use a scale between 1 and 4, with '1' referring to the highest cost per disaster and '4' referring to the lowest cost per disaster. AVERAGE COST RANKING 1. STORM: $5502262.3 2. FLOOD: $1256048.9 3. MASS MOVEMENT WET: $34712.2 4. EPIDEMIC: $0 Columns 6: Rank the disasters in terms of expected warning time as follows: 1) no warning, 2) 1-24 hours warning, 3) >24 hours warning. Mass Movement Wet: [possible no warning] Flood: [1-24 hours warning] Epidemic: [1-24 hours warning] Storm: [warning] Columns 7: As a disaster manager for this country, how would you rank these disasters in terms of priority Using the information in the table, rank the disasters in terms of priority, with '1' being the highest priority. Provide a brief justification for your priority rating. 1. STORM 2. FLOOD 3. MASS MOVEMENT WET 4. EPIDEMIC Reasoning: Storm is noted as the most common disaster in the Philippines. Putting it in a high risk note could be hoped to eliminate the possible dangers that flood and mass movement wet... Columns 4: Rank the disasters in terms of average number affected per disaster during the past 30 years. Use a scale between 1 and 4, with '1' referring to the highest number affected per disaster and '4' referring to the lowest number affected per disaster. Columns 5: Rank the disasters in terms of average cost per disaster during the past 30 years. Use a scale between 1 and 4, with '1' referring to the highest cost per disaster and '4' referring to the lowest cost per disaster. Columns 7: As a disaster manager for this country, how would you rank these disasters in terms of priority Using the information in the table, rank the disasters in terms of priority, with '1' being the highest priority. Provide a brief justification for your priority rating. Reasoning: Storm is noted as the most common disaster in the Philippines. Putting it in a high risk note could be hoped to eliminate the possible dangers that flood and mass movement wet could cause the country. Apparently, as reports note it, storm is the basic source of the other particular disastrous events which could or could not include epidemic in the list. 2. Select a high priority disaster for the remainder of your session-long project. Describe the sectors within your country that would be most vulnerable to your selected disaster. Explain why these sectors would be most vulnerable. Storms are likely to occur within the boundaries of the country that faces the ocean where the wind hits

Republican vs. democratic views on a problem Essay

Republican vs. democratic views on a problem - Essay Example Democrats generally tend to take a more short-term approach to fixing the economy. When individuals in the nation are hurt by a weakened dollar or other negative environmental events, democrats begin looking toward ways to stabilize the lifestyles of the majority of citizens in the nation. Republicans support the efforts of corporate in the event of economic problems. This support would generally come in the form of business tax breaks and other economic incentives, designed to stabilize the health and wealth of the contemporary businessperson. Adam Smith, a renowned 18th Century economist, believed that strengthening the economic position of companies creates a trickle-down effect through jobs creation and social improvements. Smith further suggested that companies maintain no other responsibility other than to build a profit so that society can reap the benefits of better products. Republicans appear to believe strongly in the theories proposed by Adam Smith, as each time the nation faces an economic struggle, the Republican Party begins searching for new methods to boost the strength of the publicly-traded (Wall Street)

Health Science and Medicine and CDC Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Health Science and Medicine and CDC - Coursework Example According to the study  the chain management said that they are tracking the handling of their ingredients from the farmer to the restaurant to ensure all standards were followed and improved. The cases of microbial contamination of food are out of control and can be scary hence individuals are advised to cautious. One way of protecting oneself from this situation is through consuming home cooked foods and avoiding manufactured or packaged food.This research highlights that ninety-four percent of soybeans and seventy-two percent of corn grown in the country are genetically engineered. This is done for them to be able to withstand Monsanto’s Roundup herbicide or glyphosate. A study done in 2008 established a link between Roundup and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. An early study made a connection between high rates of DNA damage in populations that had been aerially sprayed. This shows there is a valid reason for concern about GMO foods and the health impacts. Further environm ental concerns have also been raised. On is that, because a majority of GMO crops are engineered to withstand certain types of herbicides, targeted weeds are becoming highly resistant to the herbicides. This means that more of the toxic chemicals have to be used to fight them. Based on the amount evidence presented, environmental concerns seem to be more valid but this is not to say health concerns should be ignored.

Supply and or demand paper on Apple iphone 5 Research

Supply and or demand on Apple iphone 5 - Research Paper Example The features of the iphone 5 are high tech and do very well with technology savvy customers. Iphone’s user friendliness and looks have won complete control over users. The market has seen the peak of apple Iphone 5 demands when just after the three days of release over 5 million of them have been sold, it has been listed on the charts of apple company (2012). A detailed interview from CEO of Apple Company Mr. Tim Cook had said that the success of apple I phone 5 has been brilliant and they are over whelmed with the response. So, he showed an intended desire to make productions rapid and provide apple Iphone 5 in hands of every person who dreams to hold it. The demand is increasing with every passing day and company is under lot of pressure to manufacture Iphone for everyone. Such things consume time, the initial supply has been completely sold out and regular shipment transportations are going on. Also, there is facility for consumers that they can order online and are allotte d a specific delivery date, so this is how demand is being satisfied (Harrison et al., 2012). Table 1.1: The journey of Apple iphone through the years There has been an incredible increase in demand of apple Iphone 5. There has been placing of pre-booking orders by customers for Iphone. Two million was the ratings for demand for apple Iphone 5, which is far more than the Iphone 4’s. Approximately it was double in number then the previous one which is a land mark and a huge success in its own self. There are growing numbers of orders and deliveries everyday and the numbers of lover of apple Iphone 5 range are increasing by the day. The demand and supply charts are rising higher into about 22 major countries over the world. Countries contain Switzerland, Portugal, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Finland, Spain, Sweden and Belgium. (Paczkowski, 2012). Table 1.2: Demand graph for the Apple iphone 5 Cause of Demand Shift The major reason behind the shifting demand of consumer all over is due to the latest technology and high definition real time inspiring features. The reviews are mostly mixed in terms of satisfaction and dissatisfaction of consumers, but the entire blend has resulted into a huge success of time for Apple Company. After the launch of apple iphone 4, there has been a serious competition between the several smart phone companies with regard to the desirability and durability for the working and usage. Still the exclusive release of Iphone 5 has managed to wash all the competitors. The prominent features include the four inch flat interesting wide screen. The length also increased, the wide screen and huge clear displays are already a mark of apple Iphone series. The opening for the headphones has been shifted to the either side accordingly and is extremely useful for the users to handle, and make way out to get to your ears. As compared to the previous version, the speakers are far bigger and sound quality is much more profound, clear and deeper. Then there is lightening connector, which is additional in nature. One the whole it has bigger screen quite prominent, 4G compatibility power race and above all better and improved front facing camera for perfect view (Hughes, 2012). Market reputation and impact is the real developer of status

Farmers dbq Essay Example for Free

Farmers dbq Essay In the late nineteenth century, twenty years after the Homestead Act, farmers used their land in the western plains to produce both crops and profits. The farmers of this time struggled in the agricultural way of life by facing economic and political obstacles that were impossible to avoid, requiring them to do something about their complaints. Although the farmers had plausible arguments for most of their criticisms, their beliefs of the silver standard and overproduction sometimes could not be backed up. However, farmers continued to struggle between inevitable issues like the currency debate, constant debt and rising costs. The debate over United States currency was a huge obstacle for farmers to overcome because they were in direct relation to the money crisis. In 1890 and 1892 with the Ocala and Omaha Platforms, farmers wanted free and unlimited coinage of silver so they could pay off any debt. A chart showing United States Population and Money in Circulation in 1865-1895 (Document C), shows how after a period of less money in circulation in the 1870s was resolved in the 1880s by the Bland-Allison Act which was later replaced by the Sherman Silver Purchase Act in 1890. Both of these acts were passed in Congress to provide free coinage of silver. The reasoning for the silver standard in the Populist platform in 1892 (Document A) was justified by the same reasoning as William Jennings Bryan in his â€Å"Cross of Gold† speech. Both describe how the conspiracy that the gold standard is better because England still uses it questions why America became an independent nation. However, the farmers still remained defeated on the currency debate because of the gold bug president gaining control of office. One of the biggest struggles for the farmers was not being able to pay off debt. They borrowed extravagant amounts of money from the bank at high interest rates, but this complaint was reasonable because one could not be a farmer without taking these risks. During Grover Cleveland’s second non-consecutive year in office a horrible four-year depression occurred called the Panic of 1893. This panic was caused by over speculation in the stock market and over expansion of railroads; both of these decisions made by the eastern president, Cleveland. As depicted in A Farmer’s Voice, a Chicago newspaper, (Document D) an eastern leader, Cleveland, takes his western slaves, the farmers, to the courthouse because the farms have been foreclosed. Farm foreclosures, a twenty percent unemployment rate and the cause for Cleveland to return to the gold standard, were effects of the Panic of 1893. Ultimately, this depression added to the unavoidable obstacle of debt.

Nanogels for Anticancer Drug Delivery

Nanogels for Anticancer Drug Delivery The applications of Nanogels in the field of medicine are currently under rapid growth of interest with more focus given on improving current therapies and diagnostic modalities. Nanogels composed of ionic or non-ionic network of amphiphilic polymer chains, when dispersed in aqueous media swell to considerable volume. Biological agents and drugs can be loaded into the nanogel by physical and chemical interactions between the agent and the functional group in the polymer matrix, resulting in unique class of polymeric nanocarrier with high dispersion stability. The most attractive features of the nanogels include high biocompatibility, versatility in design, and controlled release of payload with wide range of drug loading and release, the specificity and ability to physically protect biological molecules from degradation invivo and have been preclinically investigated for different anticancer drugs. In a study on targeted nanogels done by Baklaushev et al, the therapeutic efficacy of cisplatin loaded nanogels was checked on glioma cells 101/8. Nanogels synthesised using PMAA polymer cross-linked with CaCl2. Nanogels upon EDC activation cross-linked to monoclonal antibodies Cx43 and BSAT1 specific for targeting gliomal cells along with flexible PEG linker resulting in a size of 123 Â ± 5 nm, with a zeta potential of -15Â ±5 mV. Targeted nanogels significantly reduced the intrastriatal glioma compared to the control group receiving 5% dextrose up to the 30th day of the study. But no significance was observed for animals treated with targeted nanogels and free cisplatin. Heparin-polyethyleneimine (HPEI)nanogels loaded with cisplatin along with shRNA were synthesised by Lili Liu et al for targeting CLDN3 gene up regulated in ovarian cancer. These nanogels showed superior biodegradability, excellent blood compatibility and low-toxicity. Western blot analysis and CLDN3 immunostainin g were done to check the knockdown efficiency. Nude mice bearing intraperitoneal ovarian carcinomas were treated with drug loaded nanogels and the results showed that pshCLDN3/HPEI effectively suppressed the expression of CLDN3 in ovarian cancer along with synergistic antitumor activity when compared to cisplatin alone, along with low systemic toxicity. Nukolova NV et al loaded cisplatin into PEG-b-PMAA nanogels conjugated with (D-Lys6)-LHRH. With a loading efficiency of 35%, the nanogel showed receptor based cytotoxicity cells positive for LHRH showed greater uptake and cytotoxicity compared to LHRH negative ovarian cancer cells. Invivo antitumor activity was more for LHRH-nanogels with less toxicity compared to equimolar dose of free cisplatin and untargeted nanogels. A pH and thermal responsive nanogelwas developed for cisplatin delivery by conjugating the MAA, NIPAm, mPEGMA with MBA as the cross-linker. The pH response is achieved with breaking the bond between COOH and cisplati n in presence of the chlorine ion present in the human body. The acidic response is modified by incorporating thermal responsive NIPAm, this will slow down the cisplatin release from the nanogel structure. Cellular uptake was mainly localized in cytoplasm. Invivo antitumor activity using breast cancer mice modals showed better activity with longer circulation time. In the study by Jin et al, controlled delivery of cisplatin to ovarian cancer cells SKOV-3 were achieved using a biodegradable nanogel made by cocondensation polymerization of piperazine with 2,2-bis(acryloxymethyl)propionic acid, PEG 2,2-bis(acryloxymethyl)propionate macromonomer (mPEG). Carboxylic acid-functionalized poly(beta -aminoester)graft-poly(ethylene glycol) nanogels were size of around 200nm, negatively charged with water soluble nature. The cytotoxicity of nanogels on SKOV-3 cells were significantly lower than the free cisplatin whereas the invivo activity towards SKOV3 tumor xenografted immunecompromised mice was same. According to Jin et al, this decrease in cytotoxicity of cisplatin loaded nanogel on SKOV-3 cells due to the drug release kinetics which showed an initial burst release,making the response of cisplatin similar to that of free cisplatin. Also negatively charged nanogel will limit the cellular internalization delaying the cisplatin response. Only with biodistribution studies the similarity in the activity of free cisplatin and nanogel loaded cisplatin be proved. Maeda et al synthesised water soluble ÃŽ ²-1, 3-glucan schizophyllan (SPG) nanogel which can be recognized by an immunocyte receptor called dectin-1. When naphthalene introduced into the side chain of SPG (nSPG), it formed nanogel by physical cross-link and gained capability to ingest hydrophobic compounds such as doxorubicin. The in vitro assay revealed that this nanogel can be used as specific delivery of anti-cancer drugs to immunocytes. A dual-responsive prodrug nanogel system that shows very low unspecific drug leaching, but efficient intracellular release of the payload triggered by the intracellular conditions.This dual-responsive prodrug nanogel was prepared by an inverse nanoprecipitation method, which is mild and surfactant free, and based on a thiol-disulfide exchange reaction and thiol-Michael addition reaction. Highly biocompatible hyperbranched polyglycerol (hPG) was cross-linked with disulfide bonds, to obtain biodegradable nanogels, which could be degraded under intracellular reductive conditions. Doxorubicin (DOX) was conjugated to the biodegradable nanogel matrix via an acid-labile hydrazone linker. Two different prodrug nanogels were prepared with a size of approximately 150nm, which is big enough to take the advantage of the enhanced permeation and retention (EPR) effect in tumor tissue . Cell culture analysis by microscopy and flow cytometry revealed that the prodrug nanogels were efficiently internalized by tumor cells. Distinct release profiles of DOX were achieved by adjusting the nanogel architecture, and online detection of cytotoxicity showed that, unlike free DOX, the dual-responsive prodrug nanogels exhibited a delay in the onset of toxicity, indicating the different uptake mechanism and the need for prodrug activation to induce cell death. To achieve effective intracellular anticancer drug delivery, the polymeric vesicles supplemented with the pH-responsive outlayered gels as a delivery system of doxorubicin (DOX) were developed from self-assembly of the lipid/polypeptide adduct, distearin grafted poly(ÃŽ ³-glutamic acid) (poly(ÃŽ ³-GA)), followed by sequential deposition of chitosan and poly(ÃŽ ³-GA-co-ÃŽ ³-glutamyl oxysuccinimide)-g-monomethoxy poly(ethylene glycol) in combination with in situ covalent cross-linking on assembly surfaces. The resultant g el-caged polymeric vesicles (GCPVs) showed superior performance in regulating drug release in response to the external pH change. Under typical physiological conditions (pH 7.4 and 37 Â °C) at which the ÃŽ ³-GA/DOX ionic pairings remained mostly undisturbed, the dense outlayered gels of GCPVs significantly reduced the premature leakage of the uncomplexed payload. With the environmental pH being reduced from pH 7.4 to 4.7, the drug liberation was appreciably promoted by the massive disruption of the ionic ÃŽ ³-GA/DOX complexes along with the significant swelling of nanogel layers upon the increased protonation of chitosan chain segments. After being internalized by HeLa cells via endocytosis, GCPVs exhibited cytotoxic effect comparable to free DOX achieved by rapidly releasing the payload in intracellular acidic endosomes and lysosomes. This strongly implies the great promise of such unique GCPVs as an intracellular drug delivery carrier for potential anticancer treatment. The tripl e layered nanogel developed by Xiong MH et al, can deliver the drug doxorubicin specifically in the bacteria accumulated tumor environment. The bacteria SBY1 can selectively infect and proliferate in tumors owing to the unique environment within solid tumors, including hypoxia, aberrant neovasculature, and local immune suppression is more in tumor compared to the normal tissue; upon nanogel administration these bacteria will trigger the selective degradation of the PCL fence of TLND resulting in DOX release and thus killing tumor cells. Chitin PLA composite nanogel were loaded with Doxorubicin (Dox) for the treatment of liver cancer. Nanogels were of size of around 270Â ±20 nm with higher swelling and degradation in acidic pH. Drug entrapment efficiency and in vitro drug release studies were carried out and showed a higher drug release at acidic pH compared to neutral pH. The cytotoxicity of the composite nanogels was analysed toward HepG2 (human liver cancer) cell lines.

Interest theory of rights, a summary and evaluation

Interest theory of rights, a summary and evaluation Theoretical Foundation of Human Rights: What is the interest theory of rights? Does this theory fail to answer any important questions? â€Å"If the concept of human rights is universal, that is, possesses a validity which is good for all places and for all times, then it is apparent that there is a significant disparity in the way in which these rights are concretised from place to place and from time to time. While the idea of human rights may have a discernible homogeneity, perhaps derived from some kind of natural law theory or social theory, it is nonetheless clear that the implementation of these rights by states lacks a corresponding identity.† (Davidson, 1993:89) Both international relations and moral theories feature prominent debate on the concept and the purpose of human rights yet there appears little by way of consensus with regards to what these rights mean, where the judicial boundaries of action and inaction meet or how to implement the utilitarian principles first adopted by the United Nations in response to the humanitarian horrors witnessed during World War Two. The crux of this theoretical problem resides in the evolution of the concept of human rights – an evolution that has worked in tandem with the evolution of liberal democracy in the West since 1945 when â€Å"Western tradition required, as a response to totalitarianism, a reassertion of individual liberty, and for that liberty to be protected by an international law rather than diplomacy.† (Robertson, 2006:29) By this we mean to say that whereas historical notions of human rights were underpinned by the spectre of the state and the state’s ability to def end persecuted minorities, contemporary notions of human rights have moved beyond the confines of the state and the public sector to incorporate the private citizen and the defence of his or her individual human rights (as opposed to the collective human rights of a people or a state). This is a reflection of the shifting paradigms that have affected liberal democracy at the dawn of the twenty first century where the merging of the public and the private sectors has created a moral, judicial and ideological black hole into which uncertainty and indecision have stepped. The following essay seeks to look at the ways in which this political sense of uncertainty has pervaded the ideological sphere of human rights where according to Saladin Meckled-Garcia and Basak Cali (2005:10-30) the human rights ideal has become ‘lost in translation.’ We propose to look in particular at the ‘interest’ theory of rights, analysing the ways in which it has helped to shed new light on the topic of human rights in general while at the same time highlighting its theoretical flaws. A conclusion will be sought that attempts to underscore the link between rights, indecision and inaction particularly when we view the issue from an international perspective. Before we can begin, though, we need to offer a definition of the interest theory of rights. The interest theory of rights was first proposed by Bentham (1987) who argued that a person has a distinctive human right when others have duties which protect one of that person’s interests. Thus, viewed from the perspective of the interest theory of rights, â€Å"human rights takes their role to be to protect a person’s basic interests.† (Pogge, 2007:186) This constitutes the most fundamental interpretation of human rights within the liberal democratic ideological framework alluded to in the introduction, falling within the theoretical parameters of what Meckled-Garcia and Cali (2005:10) refer to as the ‘normative rights model’ (NRM) which â€Å"identifies features or aspects of our humanity which contribute to our well being and which are vulnerable to the actions of others.† The interest theory of rights therefore seeks to safeguard these features or aspects of our humanity by protecting a citizen’s rights against wrongdoing from another citizen within the same social, political and judicial framework. That it is to say that if, for instance, it is in one’s interests to not to be physically assaulted then, as far as the interest theory is concerned, it is the responsibility of both the individual and the state to ensure that this does not happen lest the basic interests of another individual be impinged upon. Moreover, there is, as Meckled-Garcia and Cali (2005:11) declare, â€Å"no principled difference is made between individual and collective.† This is in direct contrast to international human rights law (IHRL) where only the state can impinge upon the basic human rights of individuals or groups of individuals living within that sovereign state. As a consequence, we can see that the first and most prominent drawback to the interest theory of rights is that there exists such a wide divergence between theory and practice; between the interpretation of the rights and responsibilities of the individual citizen versus the interpretation of the rights and responsibilities of the sovereign state. This is to say that while the interest theory of rights brings to the fore important concepts relating to the synthesis of the values pertaining to liberty, community and mutuality – concepts which Francesca Klug (2000) refers to as values for a ‘godless age’ – it falls of short establishing important criteria with regards to who these rights apply to (the rights holder), who these rights impose duties upon (the duty bearer) and what exactly these duties entail. Therefore, we can see that, rather than seeking to impose values for a godless age, interest theories relating to rights merely help to perpetuate the mi sunderstanding and the misconception of the ideal of human rights so that the definition, interpretation and subsequent implantation of rights remains an ideological and theoretical quagmire (Cali and Meckled-Garcia, 2005:1‑9). As a result, we can deduce that the first and most prominent failure of the interest theory is that it does not address the concept of establishing a universal concept for human rights and that it fails to address the question of what human rights are and how they are best protected. Addressing the moral aspect of human rights at the expense of the broader legal and judicial imperative only ensures additional questions will be raised as to the purpose of rights as a social, cultural and political ideal. We can also declare that the interest theory of rights is, in its bid to politicise every sphere of human relationships and human interaction, wholly incompatible with international human rights law because â€Å"international law, by its nature, contains traits which alter the nature of human rights provisions† (Meckled-Garcia and Cali, 2005:23). That is to say that, as a branch of international law, international human rights law is distinct from domestic law of sovereign states that act as the defining means of arbitrating power between individuals on a state by state basis. Yet, as is the case with all law, human rights law clearly and identifiably differs when the concept is transferred from territory to territory; state to state. Human rights in the United Kingdom are, for instance, an inherently different moral concept from human rights in the United States where the boundaries between the legal and the illegal are set by democratically elected domestic governments. Lik ewise, there are distinct judicial differences between domestic human rights law and international human rights law, certainly in the application and exaction of these laws on a worldwide basis. â€Å"Unlike domestic legal systems, there is no such legislature (making laws for the entire international community) nor is there an executive which enforces the decisions made by the legislature. There are also no comparable judicial institutions which would try violations of law and award a judgement against the offender.† (Rehman, 2002:15) This ongoing discrepancy between the ideal of the interest theory of rights and the practical application of this theory across trans-national borders where there is a discernible lack of international consensus with regards to enforcing decisions renders the interest theory an ideologically weak hypothesis. More importantly, we can see further evidence of how the interest theory fails to answer the question of how best to bridge the theoretical divide between domestic human rights law and international human rights law. We can also find fault in the interest theory of rights when we pause to consider the flip-side of the argument by looking at those rights that are not in the interest rights holder. If, for instance, we consider the legal rights involved in the exchange of property inheritance we can understand the extent to which unwanted goods can be effectively tithed to a person simply because the interest-based law states that it is in the citizen’s best interest to have the property passed down to them. Likewise when we turn our attention to public officials, we can again see the in-built limitations inherent within the interest based right theory. If, for instance, the handing down of custodial sentences was left to solely the best interests of the judge (as opposed to the best interests of the public community whom the judge is supposed to be representing) then the core structures of the criminal justice system would come crashing down with a sense of arbitrary judgement replacing lib eral, democratic rule. It is for this reason that Meckled-Garcia and Cali (2005:24) note that: â€Å"The transformation of a moral right into a legal right, as desirable as it may be, comes at a price. A compromise must be struck with other principles in law.† In this way we can see how the interest theory of human rights represents a paradox whereby in trying to establish a moral imperative to underpin the concept of human rights, the theory has instead given birth to new conceptual confusions with regards to the blurring of the boundaries of the public and the private and the intermeshing of the paradigms of the individual and the state. With this in mind we must now turn our attention towards establishing a conclusion. Conclusion The concept of human rights by nature implies a deep-seated association with the concept of interest with the best interests of the individual being intrinsically linked to the ongoing strive for the â€Å"state of equality and freedom† between individuals that defines the most basic and fundamental theories of human rights (Freeman, 2002:20). Likewise international law by nature implies a deep-seated association with the concept of interest with the best interests of the sovereign state being the primary determining factor behind the most basic and fundamental theories relating to international relations (Brown and Ailey, 2005:63-77). However, in the final analysis, there is an equally deep-seated chasm between the interest theory of rights and the practice of translating western moral imperatives (which have grown exclusively in tandem with the evolution of western liberal democracy) on both a domestic and, especially, on an international scale. There must, ultimately, be a limit to the freedom of the individual and a point at which the best interests of the individual have to be subjugated in favour of the best interests of the state. For as long as this theoretical and practical divide exists, we should presume that the interest based theory of rights will remain rooted in the realms of utopia as opposed to flourishing in the realms of realism. References Bentham, J. (1987) Anarchical Fallacies, in, Waldon, J. (Ed.) Nonsense upon Stilts New York: Methuen Brown, C. and Ailey, K. (2002) Understanding International Relations: Third Edition London: Palgrave Macmillan Cali, B. and Meckled-Garcia, S. (2005) Introduction: Human Rights Legalized: Defining, Interpreting and Implementing an Ideal, in, Meckled-Garcia, S and Cali, B. (Eds.) The Legalization of Human Rights: Multidisciplinary Perspectives London and New York: Routledge Davidson, S. (1993) Human Rights: First Edition Buckingham: The Open University Press Freeman, M. (2002) Human Rights: An Interdisciplinary Approach Cambridge: Polity Press Klug, F. (2000) Values for a Godless Age London: Penguin Meckled-Garcia, S. and Cali, B. (2005) Lost in Translation: International Law and the Human Rights Ideal, in, Meckled-Garcia, S and Cali, B. (Eds.) The Legalization of Human Rights: Multidisciplinary Perspectives London and New York: Routledge Pogge, T.W.M. (2007) Freedom from Poverty as a Human Right Oxford: Oxford University Press Rehman, J. (2002) International Human Rights Law: A Practical Approach London: Longman Robertson, G. (2006) Crimes Against Humanity: The Struggle for Global Justice: New Edition London: Penguin

The Stereotypical Marshall of the West :: American History Essays

The Stereotypical Marshall of the West The west was a rough and rugged era that needed taming. It was a time of outlaws, gunfights, and cowboys. Some sort of order had to be enforced so that the west could become a productive safe place for everyone. The best way for that to happen was to bring in law enforcement. Someone to be in charge and make things run smoothly. Matt Dillon from the show Gunsmoke was the answer to this problem. He brought balance to the west. Dillon was the Marshall to the city of Dodge. He had all of the characteristics that a Marshall would need to possess in order to keep a city like Dodge to run without too many problems. Dillon was so good at what he did because he was cautious, caring, and honorable. One of the most important characteristics of a lawman back in the western days was to be cautious. Without caution one could get oneself in a lot of trouble. Matt Dillon made sure to show caution in everything he did. He portrayed that in all of his episodes of Gunsmoke. In the episode Crack Up he had to show a large amount of caution. Matt Dillon was faced with an outlaw. A man who was hired specifically to kill people. Marshall Dillon had a few run-ins with the man before he found out the outlaw was after him. Dillon made sure he knew were the outlaw was at all times and personally kept a close watch on him. Being cautious ended up saving his life. The episode ended with a gunfight between Dillon and the outlaw. Matt already new what was going to happen and was prepared for the event because he had been cautious and made sure he new the where a bouts of the outlaw. While being cautious Marshall Dillon had a soft side to him. As the lawman of the area he had to show a tough exterior but inside he was a caring guy. In the episode Kitty Lost Ms. Kitty disappears and no one knows were she has gone. After finding out that she had not shown u for any of her appointments that day Marshall Dillon went out looking for her with his partner Chester. When they found her Dillon did not get mad at her for disappearing but just made sure she was okay and did not ask a lot of questions about what had happened.

steroids :: essays research papers

Q. I have patients previously diagnosed as Asthma who are now classified as COPD. Should I keep them on inhaled steroids? A. If you have a strong suspicion that your patient has COPD rather than asthma (smoking history, progressive shortness of breath), then you should slowly reduce the dose of inhaled steroids (over several months - e.g. 25% reduction every 2-3 months). In most patients with COPD you will be able to withdraw the inhaled steroid completely, without any increase in symptoms or change in lung function. Q. What is a recommended 'steroid trial' for COPD? A. The most frequently used regime for a steroid trial is to give oral prednisolone (40mg daily in a single morning dose) for 2 weeks. It is best to make measurements of peak expiratory flow (PEF) twice a day for 2 weeks before starting oral steroids in order to get a baseline value and then during the treatment period. FEV, should be measured at the beginning and end of the baseline period and after the inhaled steroids. A steroid trial is considered positive if FEV, or mean PEF increase by more than15%, when a diagnosis of asthma is made. It is important to remember that some patients will have asthma and COPD at the same time. Q. What is the role, if any, for oral steroids in COPD? A. Oral steroids are used in a formal trial of steroids and may be useful in acute exacerbations of COPD. They should not be used as a maintenance treatment because of the side effects of long-term steroid therapy. Q. With a newly diagnosed COPD patient should I initiate steroid therapy, if so how? A. If a patient has COPD with no evidence of response to oral steroids (negative steroid trial) then inhaled steroids should not be used. It is possible that inhaled steroids may alter the accelerated annual rate of decline in lung function with age. Q. How will I know if a COPD patient is benefiting from steroid therapy? A. The best way to determine whether inhaled steroids are beneficial is to slowly reduce the dose. If FEV, or mean PEF show no deterioration, the inhaled steroid can be completely withdrawn. Q. Will COPD patients need to be on long-term steroid therapy? If so, what about side effects? A. Only patients who have shown a positive response to oral steroids (steroid trial) should be on inhaled steroids.

Essay on Sophocles Antigone :: Antigone essays

In ancient Greece, men who died in war fulfilled the civic ideal to the utmost.   The women, destined to live out a degrading life, died in bed.   Certainly, not all men died in battle, but every epitaph shows in one way or another, the city would always remember the men who died in war.   Additionally, not all Athenian women died in bed; nonetheless, it was left to her family to preserve the memory of her not the city.   No matter how perfect a woman was she would never receive the same status or level of social expectations from the city that a man received. No accomplishments were allowed beyond living a life of motherhood and submissiveness to a man, namely her husband.   In fact, in early Greece, women were typically viewed as subservient to men, submissive in their actions, and of a status only slightly above slaves; however, Antigone was not your typical Greek woman.   Many ancient Greek Philosophers have written and expressed their views on women’s’ status in ancient Greece.   One author, Sophocles, wrote plays about how you cannot escape fate, because the Gods give fate and men cannot escape what the Gods decide. Sophocles shows his case in point, that human laws can destroy a city, using Antigone as a noticeable illustration to show his points.   Pericles according to the author Thucydides has hardly anything to say about women, but when he does, it is in a demeaning statement.   Socrates never says anything in reference to women, but more to society in a whole.   Finally, Sappho’s writings have been threatened to be destroyed because of her indifferent views towards women and how she portrayed them.   In the play Antigone, Sophocles stretches the role of a woman. There is a battle between what is right and laws of Gods or laws of man.   Sophocles places Antigone in this fight against her Uncle Creon.   Antigone stands up for ancient law and Creon stands up for man’s law.   Creon voices his opinion on how he feels about women in ancient Greece.   Creon states â€Å"We must defend the men who live by law, never let some woman triumph over us.   Better to fall from power, if fall we must, at the hands of a man – never be rated inferior to a woman, never.† (Pg. 77 – line 755-762)   Antigone, with her sharp tongue, challenges Creon with what she feels is right  Ã‚   â€Å"It wasn’t Zeus, not in the least, who made this proclamation – not to me.

Cultural hyrbidity Essay

The fusion of cultural and ethnic identities refers to hybridisation. Most people acknowledge that they can be affiliated with an individual culture. Banton (2000) notes that â€Å"in the contemporary UK ethnicity is becoming increasingly recognised as something everyone has†. 1 Common interests or shared values help form and develop cultural attachment’s (culture, descent, ancestry, religion, languages, food and traditional values) which in turn develops and forges ethnic identities. Migration of ethnic minorities has stirred some of the UK’s population into feeling the British national identity is under threat. Hybrid identity can be attributed to the exchange of culture through globalisation. Sheila Patterson (1965) studied first generation migrants in Brixton, London during the 1950’s. Her study involved interviews, observation and participant observation with 250 whites and 150 Afro-Caribbean’s. Patterson (1965) believes the relationship between hosts and immigrants as not fixed but evolving all the time; â€Å"Whilst adaption through socialisation and acculturation was difficult for immigrants, the host’s experience was a more passive form of acceptance. â€Å"2 Eriksen (2002) points out that â€Å"no serious scholar today believes that hereditary characteristics explain cultural variations. â€Å"3 Patterson (1965) also states â€Å"the incoming group as a whole †¦ adapts itself to permanent membership of the receiving society in certain major spheres notably economic and civil life. â€Å"4 Patterson’s final stage of adaption is assimilation, where migrants or minority groups achieve complete acceptance in society. Patterson observed that physical amalgamation may lead to distinctive features of migrant groups and that of their hosts to be lost. Patterson found the progress of the West Indian migrants in Britain was limited, â€Å"there was still opposition to the employment of West Indians by white workers. â€Å"5 Nick names and jocular references resulted in conflict. A rise in the number of West Indian landlords and the acceptance of West Indian tenants did however help alleviate housing problems. Racism existed with some shops refusing the custom of ethnic minorities due to the colour of their skin. Social relationships between migrants and hosts existed but only on a casual contact basis. Patterson (1965) noted that some of the West Indians had adopted the British way of life however, there were few inter-racial marriages. Paterson concluded â€Å"over the next decades in Britain the West Indian migrants and their children will follow in the steps of the Irish and achieve almost complete assimilation into British Society. â€Å"

Ba Main Transformation Process

Executive Summary The purpose of this report is to discuss the main theories, models, frameworks and issues in the area of operations management, using British Airways as a working model, throughout the report. It was prepares for a coursework assignment as part of a Operations Management Module Academic journals and books from the area of operations management were used to illustrate the main points in the report to give evidence and back up the information provided. Key findings of this report show how quality impacts on the development of the operations strategy in British Airways and how the key elements of design contribute hugely in operations. The importance and role of supply chain was discussed and three quality control methods; Quality Sampling, Total Quality Management and ISO 9000 were evaluated to how they could improve the performance of British Airways. Conclusions were drawn and it was found that operations management, based on the points discussed is a major factor to an organisations success. Contents Page Page Number 1. Introduction4 2. BA’s Main Transformation Process 5 & 6 3. Quality & Operations Strategy 7, 8 & 9 4. Design in Operations 10 4. 1Concept Generation10 2. Concept Screening10 4. 3Preliminary Design 10 & 11 4. 4Evaluation and Improvement11 4. 5Prototyping and final design 11 & 12 5. The Role of Supply Chain 13 1. Quality13 2. Speed14 3. Dependability14 4. Flexibility15 5. Cost15 6. Quality Control Methods16 1. Quality Sampling17 2. Total Quality Management 17 & 18 3. ISO 900018 7. Conclusions19 8. References 20 & 21 1. Introduction This report has been issued by University as part of this Operations Management module, in which a company will be selected and used as a working model throughout the report. The chosen company that will be used in relation to operations management is British Airways (hereafter BA). The various elements of operations management will be researched and applied to BA’s main transformation process. This will be done using academic articles and books in the area of operations management to illustrate the main points. The report will begin with an overview of BA’s main transformation process indicating key inputs and outputs and then investigate how quality might impact upon the development of the operation strategy. Next it will review the key elements of design and how this impacts on the operation. Finally the role of supply chain in BA’s operation will be discussed and three different quality control methods will be evaluated to show how these might improve the performance in operations. Conclusions will be drawn and any overriding management issues identified. . BA’s Main Transformation Process The transformation process is a â€Å"model that describes operations in terms of their input resources, transforming processes and outputs of goods or services† (Slack et al, 2008, Page 8) BA use their aircrafts and staff which allows passengers and freight to travel from one destination to another thus, making this BA’s main transformation process. The operations fu nction of a business is the arrangement of the resources which are allocated to the production and delivery of an organisations goods and services. Three roles that are important for an operations function are the implementer, supporter and driver of the business strategy. In this example the operations functions follows the inputs of the transformation process. BA’s main transformation process inputs are the 238 aircraft in service, 32 million passengers, and 760,000 tonnes of cargo that it carried in 2009/10 along with the pilots and cabin crew. These are the transforming resources which allow the operation to take place and results in the service being provided. This uses the transformed resources which can be split into two types; facilities such as the buildings and equipment, and staff who are all the people involved in the operation in some way. (ba. com) â€Å"The main activities of British Airways Plc and its subsidiary undertakings are the operation of international and domestic scheduled air services for the carriage of passengers, freight and mail and the provision of ancillary services† As BA is one of the worlds largest airlines operating internationally, the transformation process can be complicated with many units or departments interconnecting and contributing to the overall operation. Some of the operations with in BA include British Airways World Cargo carrying freight, mail and courier traffic. (ba. com) They key outputs of BA’s transformation process are the millions of transported passengers to over 300 worldwide destinations and the cargo including dangerous goods and live animals. The outputs are services and therefore intangible. 3. Quality & Operations Strategy Operations strategies plan how the function will achieve future goals which are aligned with the companies overall strategy. This can be done by understanding current capabilities and limitations, exploiting current capabilities in quality and process innovation. The basic role of operations is to implement strategy. â€Å"Operations strategy concerns the pattern of strategic decisions and actions which set the role, objectives and activities of the operation† (Slack et al, 2007, Page 63) Operations are the resources that create products and services. There are four perspectives on operations strategy; top down, market requirements, bottom up and operations resources perspective. BA states â€Å"Meeting the rising expectations of our customers’ remains central to our strategy of transforming British Airways into the world’s leading global premium airline† This includes investment in their staff, aeroplanes and facilities in order to provide a premium quality service to their customers. (ba. com) â€Å"Quality is consistent conformance to customers’ expectations† (Slack et al, 2007, Page 539) Relating this to the above strategy of BA the quality of the service would be the friendly and helpful cabin crew, the flight leaving on time, clean aircraft and baggage arriving at the same time and destination as the passenger. Punctuality ensures other operational processes run smoothly and remains a key factor in whether customers would recommend British airways to other travellers† (ba. com). Therefore if BA produces a quality service to all of its customers, it is likely that they will get more business through recommendation s and giving them an advantage over other airlines. As the quality of service that BA provides is paramount to the customer and can be a deciding factor on repeat business, this will have to be incorporated to the overall operations strategy of the organisation for it to be a success. In BA’s 2009/10 annual report and accounts their strategy and objectives include meeting customer needs and improving margins through new revenue streams. Total Quality Management can have an influential impact on this as quality can reduce costs and increase dependability. â€Å"Lowered total quality expenditures, increased level of quality and reallocation of quality resources to prevention and away from appraisal and defect/failure correction activities† (SAM Advanced Management Journal, 1990, Page 25). This supports the above strategy of BA. TQM enables the developing of strategic thinking due to its inter-disciplinary nature† (Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management, 2004, Page 264) Overall in respect to BA this means that there has to be quality control in place for the overall strategy to be successful. When developing the operations strategy, taking quality into consideration there may be a higher cost initially, however, referring to the research a bove costs may be reduced overall due to less errors and more emphasis being placed on prevention tactics. 4. Design in Operations There are five stages of service design which will be looked at individually in relation to BA; 4. 1Concept Generation If BA were to introduce a new destination to the existing range that they already offer if they decide to follow the market requirement perspective which is â€Å"what the market position requires operations to do† (Slack et al, 2001, Page 65). A lot of people would have to be involved from management at the top down to the customers. Market research would be a good idea to get ideas and suggestions from the customers for the proposed new estination. â€Å"Operations strategy involves translating marketing requirements into operations decisions† (Slack et al, 2007, Page 63) 2. Concept Screening This stage involves the ides going through feasibility, acceptability and vulnerability evaluation. Questions such as are the resources such as aircrafts and staff available, will it be accepted and what may go wrong with it and will it all be answered and evalua ted. At this stage the ideas will progressively get fewer as each one is evaluated until there is only one possibility left. . Preliminary Design Preliminary design is the identifying of component products and services in the package, which in this case is the new flight destination in BA and the process of this will also be defined at this stage. The components of the new flight destination may be the aircraft, cabin crew, pilot, information leaflets and arrangement of new flight path and times. BA is part of a mass service process type in which there are many customers transactions therefore there is limited contact time and not much room for customisation. For example BA cannot put on a special journey for a single person as there are a range of pre-planned journeys for passengers to choose between. 4. Evaluation and Improvement Design evaluation and improvement is used to see if the preliminary design can be improves and this can be done using various techniques including quality function deployment, value engineering and taguchi methods. Looking at Quality Function Deployment (QFD), which is a technique used to ensure that the eventual design of BA’s service actually meets the needs of the customers. For example the new flight destination would have to be where the customers want to go and figure how this can be achieved. 5. Prototyping and final design The final stage of design is to turn the design into a prototype. For the new flight destination this may be running the flight on a trial basis to get reactions and feedback from the BA customers. Through the design process the five performance objectives; quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost will be considered. For example it can be decided if the quality of service will be the same as a regular flight or if it is going to be increased and marketed as a premium flight. Will the flight be dependable and be on a regular basis and will the cost be in relation to the service as mentioned above and if the customers will be willing to pay more. This would be classed as a product layout within BA which â€Å"involves locating the transforming resources entirely for the convenience of the transformed resources† (Slack et al, 2007, page 193). The transforming resources being the people, for example in BA as they can move through the airport in a predetermined route to enable them to get to the aircraft. 5. 0The role of Supply Chain A supply chain can be described as â€Å"A linkage or strand of operations that provides goods and services through to end customers; within a supply network several supply chains will cross through an individual operation† (Slack et al, 2007, page 402) All supply chain management has a common objective to satisfy the end customer and in the case of BA this will be the people travelling on the flight or BA’s World Cargo. As mentioned in the design process the five performance objectives; quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost will have to achieve appropriate levels in the supply chain. These can be looked at individually in relation to BA: 1. Quality For a flight many onboard services are required including the equipment food and drink. By the time the meal reaches the customer on the flight it has gone through many operations in the supply chain. It is important that at each stage there are minimal errors as this multiplies by the time it reaches the customer. Each stage then needs to take responsibility for its own and their supplier’s performance. This can in turn, ensure that the supply chain can achieve a high level of customer satisfaction at the end and therefore increase the chance of returning custom. 2. Speed In relation to BA, speed can mean the time it takes a customer to be served from the time they request the item to when it arrives. For example, receiving a drink in-flight. A fast response may be achieved by ensuring there is enough resources and stock, such as flight attendants and beverages within the supply chain. If there is a large amount of stock then the customers demand will be fulfilled. In order for this to be successful, the products received from further up the supply chain, such as from the manufacturers need to have fast throughput time. Achieving this allows the customer demands to be met if there is stock readily available. 3. Dependability This means that BA has to have to correct stock in the right place at the right time. The airline needs to have the correct number or supplies or more on board at the time of a flight take off to ensure the demands of the customers are met. For example â€Å"If the individual operations in a chain do not deliver as promised on time, there will be a tendency for customers to over order, or order early, in order to provide some kind of insurance against late delivery† (Slack et al, 2007, page 404) A way that BA can control their â€Å"items of low value, fairly consistent usage and short lead time† (Tersine, 1982, page 432) such as beverages is the two bin re-ordering system. This is an effective way of controlling stock levels as it can easily be seen when the re-order point is reached. 4. Flexibility Flexibility is the supply chains ability to manage changes and disturbances. If BA’s stock levels are managed this should allow flexibility so the end customer’s needs are met and done so in a responsive manner. For BA to be flexible all operations in the supply chain must also be flexible. 5. Cost At each operational stage of the supply chain costs are incurred in order to produce the final product or service. A way of reducing costs is through JIT. Just-in-time is a Japanese management philosophy which tries to eliminate waste and always improve productivity. JIT has many roles to play in an organisation as â€Å"Continuous improvement processes are associated with JIT including product quality, process efficiency, information systems and operating value-added activities more effectively while eliminating non-value-added activities† (Wild, 2002, page 61) BA may also incur costs whilst finding the right suppliers or trying to find one supplier of there required costs to cut the cost of their transactions and come to a mutually beneficial agreement for both parties. 6. Quality Control Methods Measures for quality characteristics within BA can include functionality which is how well the service does the job, for example taking people to their required destination safely. Appearance is another which relates to the decor and cleanliness of aircraft, lounges and crew. Reliability, consistency of the flight service and keeping to the allocated times is another characteristic which is important to the service that BA provides. Durability ensures that the service provided is up to date and relevant to the customers needs. Recovery is the ease with which problems can be resolved and contact between airline staff and customers. These characteristics can be measured as variables and attributes. For quality control methods to take place operations must identify how the quality characteristics can be measured and a standard to which it can be checked against. As much of BA’s quality comes down to service it can be difficult to perceive as this has no quantified measure. Quality control uses statistics, process analysis and quality standards, these attempts are to solve the root cause of any quality problems. Quality means â€Å"doing things right, first time, every time† (Slack et al, 2010, Page 505) and in turn this will have a positive effect on revenues costs and customer satisfaction. The techniques of controlling quality that will be looked at in relation to BA are; quality sampling, total quality management and ISO 9000. 1. Quality Sampling This can be done by handing out surveys towards the end of the flight to receive customer feedback. The results can then be used to determine whether or not the quality characteristics mentioned above are up to the correct standards as expected by the customers and what BA wants to achieve. This will not be 100% checking as not every person will take the time to fill this out; however it can give a good indication of BA’s performance. The results of this can then be used to find areas that need to be approved for example the courtesy of the crew or areas that are positive such are the decor and cleanliness of the aircraft. Overall if action is taken this should help to improve the performance of BA. 2. Total Quality Management Total Quality Management, (TQM) means meeting the needs and expectations of customers. This includes all costs associated with quality which are prevention, appraisal, internal and external failure costs. Prevention costs are used to save failures and errors occurring. This can be the training and development of personnel and designing and improving of services and aircrafts to reduce any quality problems. Appraisal costs that could be incurred with BA are the setting of sampling plans as mentioned above and also conducting customer surveys. Internal failure costs, dealt from within the BA may include lost time due to errors. For example if problems occur and a flight is delayed or unable to take off. If a strategy is in place this could prevent this error from happening. Finally external failure costs which are errors going out of the operation to the customer. An example can be an annoyed customer who take up the time of staff at a check in desk. The main aim of TQM is that the processes and products will be continually improved. 3. ISO 9000 Without any quality control methods there is little or no basis to measure and monitor quality performance. Certification to the ISO 9000 standard demonstrates if an organisations quality of service and products are acceptable. This may improve the performance of BA as it gives assurance to customers that the service has to be at a certain standard so therefore there could be an increase of custom. However this could prove costly to train staff and conducing audits. 7. Conclusions The main findings from this report were the effects of quality on the development of the operations strategy and how design also impacts on this within BA. It was shown how quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost form the basis to all the decisions that are made in the area of operations management. It was found that meeting the rising expectations of BA’s customers was paramount and quality control remained central in this. It was suggested that BA could us a survey to receive feedback to work on and improve if appropriate. This could increase the standard of quality of service within the organisation. The five stages of design in operations; concept generation, concept screening, preliminary design, evaluation and improvement and prototyping and final design were identified and evaluated. The role of supply chain was discussed against the five performance objectives; quality, speed, dependability, flexibility and cost will have to achieve appropriate levels in the supply chain. Quality and its importance were shown how it can improve the performance of BA. In final conclusion it as found that operations management, based on the points discussed is a major factor to an organisations success. 8. References LEONARD, D and MCADAM, R. , 2004. Total quality management in strategy and operations: dynamic grounded models, Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management. online]. 15(3). Pp. 254-266. Available from: http://www. emeraldinsight. com/journals. htm? issn=1741-038X&volume=15&issue=3&articleid=851034&show=html www. emeraldinsight. com [Accessed 12th December 2010] www. ba. com [Accessed throughout December 2010] SLACK, N. , CHAMBERS, S. and JOHNSTON, R. , 2007. Operations Management. 5th ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited GILMORE, H. L. , 1990. Continuous Incrementa l Improvement: An Operations Strategy for Higher Quality, Lower Costs, and Global Competitiveness. SAM Advanced Management Journal. online]. 55(1). Pp. 21. Available from: http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detail? vid=10&hid=112&sid=a64d86a6-2b59-4820-89e8-685e3526e9e7%40sessionmgr110&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=4601151 [Accessed 13th December 2010] SLACK, N. , CHAMBERS, S. and JOHNSTONE, R. , 2001. Operations Management. 3rd ed. Essex: Pearson Education Limited WILD, T. , 2002. Best Practice in Inventory Management. 2nd ed. Oxford: Elsevier Science Ltd TERSINE, R J. , 1982. Principles of Inventory and Materials Management. nd ed. New York, NY: Elsevier Science Publishing Co. , Inc TANNINEN, K. , PUUMALAINEN, K. and SANDSTROM, J. M. , 2010. the power of TQM: analysis of its effects on profitability, productivity and customer satisfaction. Total Quality Management & Business Excellence. [online] 21(2) Pp. 171-184. Available from: http://web. ebscohost. com/ehost/detai l? vid=7&hid=105&sid=15499fbe-0026-4e12-b2c1-b55559c94134%40sessionmgr114&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#db=buh&AN=47760259 [Accessed 16th December 2010]

Hovey & Beard Company Case Essay

1. Discuss how the principles of job design and reinforcement theory apply to the performance problems at the Hovey and Beard Company. Principals of Job design exhibited at the Hovey and Beard Company, a production company who made toys. Toy painters were experiencing the following problems: New painters learned at a slower pace (making the other painters lose money on rewards per piece) the assembly line hooks moved too fast, painters blamed management. Incentive pay wasn’t adequate for workers and it was too hot working so close to the drying ovens. One painter, who worked with the company the longest, was appointed by other painters to address their concerns with the supervisor. Supervisor listened and worked closely with painters to address their concerns; he worked well and incorporated the goal setting theory with the painters. Changing the work design of the painters work station, management used a positive reinforcement theory to make the painters part of the solution. Management installed fans, installing a timer on the hook device: fast, medium and slow, letting the workers choose the time of day to change the speed. Managers keep the incentives going with the learning bonus and the per piece reward. Also, update meetings were being held to keep everyone on the same page. Production was 50% higher. Other employees felt the inequity in the company, they were skilled labors and not making as much money as the painters, with this management stopped all incentives for the painters; everything went back to the original work environment, because management felt the negative reinforcement towards the skilled labors. Management should have looked into a more effective process. The supervisor, who managed the painters (equity theory), left the company to seek other employment 2. Analyze the performance problems using the â€Å"performance diagnosis model† in Chapter 7. Exhibit 7.6 Performance Diagnosis Model When analyzing the Performance Diagnosis Model, and answering no to the question â€Å"Do both the boss and the subordinate agree that the subordinates performance needs to be improved?†, leads us to perception, by the subordinate. There are not different views between manager and subordinate. When the answered is â€Å"yes† and a subordinates performance needs to improve, three performance problems arise. 1. Resource problem, subordinate does not have enough resource support; he/she may need material, personnel support and cooperation from interdependent work groups. 2. Training problem, the subordinate may not have enough training/skills to adequately perm his/her job. 3. Aptitude problem, supplying subordinate with more resources for job performance, including more training if necessary. Manager can refit subordinate into different position or release employee from company. If the subordinates performance needs improvement and it is not a result of inadequate ability, it will than become a motivation problem. Lack of motivation from subordinate can stem from three different problems. 1. Expectation problems between subordinate and manager, bad communication can lead to different views on job requirements and goals between manager and subordinate. 2. Incentive problems, subordinate does not feel his/her job performance makes a difference, he/she has not been given enough feed back or reinforcements , no reward system either intrinsic or extrinsic from management. 3 Salience problem, a subordinate questioning whether or not rewards/incentives are worth his/her job performance. Manager may reinforce incentives and rewards, becoming more creative in the nature of the reward. Manager needs to be more flexible and creative with rewards, having his/her subordinates choose which is better for them and their job performance. The â€Å"Performance Diagnosis Model† is an understandable tool for managers to alleviate job performance problems, re-designing jobs, relocating subordinates to different positions if necessary, setting different goals that help job performance and using different methods of motivation, instead of concluding that poor performance from subordinates may stem from personality issues or bad attitudes.

Food waste Essay

Fresh vegetables, ready-to-cook meals, and cheap meat is what a modern consumer’s supposed grocery list comprises of! Dump it all into your fridge full of deals, discount offers and feel happy. This is how the shop keeper gets a loyal customer. At the end o the story, it’s the food industry’s creed that the customer is always right†¦.. If food became it s own pungent country, it would be the world’s third biggest contributor to climatic changes. According to United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, one-third of the world’s total food is wasted around the world, literally to fork direct from the farm. In West, most of the food waste occurs because usually the leftover ingredients are tossed out. The major reason for food wastage is that the harvest of a farmer does not meet the retailer’s specific demand. Considering tomatoes, if too small or even too big to be sold to retailer will be left to rot in fields. Whilst, in developing countries the scenario is a little different because the food rots between fields and markets due to shortage of storage capacity. Awareness campaigns regarding food waste have already begun in the Western part of the world. Organizations are educating people about the waste of food at household level and how can it be eliminated or reduced to an extent. This is just the bit of the whole chunk. Even supermarkets are playing their part by producing recipes to use leftover food and pamphlets to store your food in the best possible manner. Likewise, many grocery stores have initiated redistribution of unsold stocks and excess to charitable organizations. Looking at food waste in local context, Pakistan is also the culprit for this wastage in spite of the fact that underfeeding and food shortage are areas of serious concern. Although we produce adequate food for our nation but still the wastage level is at its peak. This is because of careless attitude of our state and our society’s love for excess food. When we talk about consumption of food, negligence by society also needs to be tackled. At social events as well as weddings, it is quite usual for people to pile up a mountain of food on their plates and eat just a portion of it as if this is the last time they are eating food. Much is needed to done to store perishable items such as fruits and vegetables. State needs to look into this matter with utmost care and also to preserve grains by creating extra facility for storage purpose. On collective basis, way of thinking needs to be changed. It is not only unethical but also an act of being socially irresponsible to waste food when millions around the world sleep empty stomach. According to Tim Lang, professor at City University London, food waste is a symptom, not a problem. So to eradicate these symptom governments, non-governmental organizations like UN can discourage wasteful exercises by producers of the food, farmers, consumers and grocery stores. Food spoiling and wasting is causing physical destruction to mother earth. So let’s join hands to exterminate wastage of food for those who starve and are under privileged.

Cover Letter stating interest and intent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Cover Letter stating interest and intent - Essay Example In addition, as a study student during Seoul Korea educational trip, I acquired effective public administration policies. The leadership and administration skills remain imperious in effective management of Fort Collins community and initiation of economic activities. Besides the aforementioned skills, I have had comprehensive experience in sustainable and successful research as a beneficiary of Seoul Metropolitan Government. Moreover, economic development experience gained as an intern at City of Clermont would be domineering in assisting me establish viable economic activities for improvement of Fort Collins and its community. Furthermore, I would have the greatest ability to initiate efficient planning and management programs that would uplift economy of Fort Collins’ community Moreover, I have acquired exceptional planning, coordination, and management skills as an intern and student. I anticipate to graduate with a masters degree in urban and regional planning and I believe that the course have equipped me with unbeatable organization techniques that would successful execute the outlined duties and responsibilities. Moreover, intern experience at Osceola and City organizations granted me an immediate experience in public participation, interaction, planning, and development skills that I believe would be authoritative in administration and management of the organization. Furthermore, my flexible and accommodative interpersonal skills, natural preference for change and working with people would be indispensable in establishing a result-oriented workforce at your supportive

What makes managers effective with people in the workplace today Essay

What makes managers effective with people in the workplace today - Essay Example In this regard, effective managers are team players who function in an environment that is characterized by changing economic circumstances, rapid technological advances as well as changes in politics which are often challenges to conducting business (Gordon, 2002 as cited in Shultz 2005, p. 10). It can be noted that the 21st century workplace is undergoing immense and permanent changes hence efficiency and flexibility are demanded of organisations, teams have become important whereas participative management and empowerment have become central to effective management of people (Swanepoel, 1998). As such, this report seeks to explore the factors that make managers effective with people in the workplace every day. The report is divided into four sections which include the following: The first part addresses the challenges to managers of managing people during the contemporary business environment. ... This will also include practical examples of effective problem evaluation and resolution through the use of ‘people management’ skills in action. The fourth section specifically deals with evaluating the practical value of management self development. This includes an evaluation of personal ‘people skills’ strengths and weaknesses based on ELLI, the skills evaluation and development questionnaire, the emotional intelligence questionnaire, The Belbin teamwork, on-line questionnaire as well as a critical reflection of interpersonal/teamwork skills in class. The fifth section will deal with conclusions and a brief reflective summary highlighting the lessons learnt from writing the report. 2.0 Evaluation of ‘managing people’ challenges facing managers during the contemporary business environment During the contemporary period, it can be noted that one of the most challenging roles faced by the managers is to manage an organisation that is undergoing a major change process. The business environment in which the organisations are operating is dynamic and constantly changing hence the need for the managers to identify different ways of managing change (Swanepoel, 1998). The way these organisational changes are managed will play a crucial role in the extent to which organisations remain competitive and successful. In this case, the leader plays a pivotal role in ensuring the success of the organisation undergoing a change process. As such, it is important to highlight some of the roles played by the manager as well as the challenges that may be encountered in managing change. Change is about transition by the organisation from its current strategy and operations in order to move the

Should corruption be studied quantitatively or qualitatively Essay

Should corruption be studied quantitatively or qualitatively - Essay Example Furthermore, Kaufmann and Vicente, (2011, p.195) state that there is often the need to determine the â€Å"motivations behind individuals†, especially public officials, getting involved in corrupt deals when they have been tasked with representing and defending the interests of the public. When making a study of corruption, it is best to conduct it qualitatively rather than quantitatively as a means of getting accurate results. When conducting studies on corruption, it should be recognized that qualitative methods have many characteristics that define them and these can be used for the development of ideas, which determine the findings of the studies (Devine, 2002, p.201). One would argue that among the most impressive aspects of qualitative methods, when compared to quantitative ones, is the development of the design which is extremely important because among its contents is the study of real world situations as they unfold in a natural state. For example, in a situation where a study of corruption is being conducted, the researcher is bound by the situation under study as it is and does not get involved in attempting to control the situation to get the results he requires (Vishnevsky & Beanlands 2004, p.236). Furthermore, Castellan (2010, p.5) argues that unlike in the use of quantitative methods, the researcher is not hindered by any ideas that have been predetermined and the findings are as they are di scovered, ensuring that there is a measure of credibility that does not appear in situations where studies are generalized. Castellan further argues that when using qualitative methodologies, the researcher will more often than not be required to â€Å"adapt his findings to the situation as it unfolds,† so that there are no predetermined or rigid designs when conducting a study on corruption. These methods can be extremely useful in a study

Developing a strategic plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Developing a strategic plan - Essay Example Similarly I made a plan for improving students’ perception and satisfaction with transportation. I included two action items; offering buses to commuter students and ensuring the schedule accuracy to facilitate the students and providing private buses and shuttles for the students of Pittsburgh and nearby shopping centers within a radius of 10 miles. This improvement can reduce car traffic and parking issues by 30% and increase student mobility by 75% to Pittsburgh downtown. I did not use trial and error or any redundant old method just to fill in that space with a strategy. I built my strategy based on the information I collected through students’ reviews. Even though the strategic plan is complete and quite comprehensive I would like to add a few things especially regarding public safety. The three action items are very helpful. For instance, they publicize encourage enrollment in E2 campus emergency notification system. Similarly, there are other programs offered under the same category but one thing that I feel missing is the follow-up. There should be a measure or any form of tracking the performance of implementing the strategy. This is to see whether the implemented strategy is giving the output that it is supposed to deliver. Moreover, it is only encouraging students to take part in self-defense programs offered on campus. I believe it should be mandatory for students to take basic training programs for the self-defense. It is quite likely that several students would not want to join but by involving them in the process of constructing the course the program can be more inclusive and productive in the interest of all. This is the first time for me to learn how to develop a strategic plan. The entire process from the beginning to the end has been very helpful and educating for me. The key lessons I learned from this process is how to incorporate the vision and a mission in a plan. I have realized that developing a

Finance Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Finance Management - Essay Example The net profit ratio shows that CLP Ltd was able to retain about 27% of the total revenue after accounting for various costs and expenses in the year 2005. It also suggest that the company loses about 73% of its sales revenue on account of various production, distribution, selling, administrative, operating, and other expenses. This ratio has decreased as compared to the previous year by about 5% even though the revenue increased in the current years. This suggests that the company is confronting with increasing expenses to carry out its activities. Riahi-Belkaoui says that the return on capital employed ratio "indicates how efficiently the capital supplied by the common stockholders was employed within the firm" (11). CLP Ltd utilized the funds provided by shareholders to generate a profit of about only 3% in 2005, which has tumbled from 18.24% in 2004. The analysis of return on assets ratio shows that in 2005, the company utilized its assets towards the generation of profit in a slightly better manner than the year 2004. Hence, profitability analysis suggests that the company is a fairly profitable company. The liquidity analysis shows t... The current ratio for CLP Ltd reveals that the company owns HK$0.65 of current assets to pay off HK$1 of its liabilities in 2005. This indicates a severe shortage of liquid assets in the company to the extent that it cannot discharge its short-term debts out of even all of its current assets. In the current year, this has declined by about 10%, which is not a good sign for its liquidity position. The quick ratio also suggests a falling trend in the company's ability to pay off its short-term liabilities and day-to-day expenses. Efficiency 2005 2004 Receivable Turnover 52 days 42 days Cash Dividend Coverage Ratio 1.75 1.89 The receivable turnover ratio exhibits that in the year 2005, the company's management converted its receivable into cash in 52 days, which has dramatically risen as compared to the previous year. This shows that the company is becoming inefficient in collecting money from its debtors on time. The cash dividend coverage ratio shows how well the company is able to pay off dividends to its shareholders out of available cash funds. An analysis of this ratio for the company suggests that although the company's cash balance is sufficient enough in 2005 to pay the dividends, yet the ratio has declined from that of the year 2004 due to the firm's attempt to pay a higher dividend in the current year out of almost the same operating cash balance. Leverage 2005 2004 Debt Ratio 28.84% 23.23% Gearing Ratio 58.59% 42.47% Riahi-Belkaoui illuminates that the leverage ratios are "used to assess the long-term solvency risk of the firm" (10). The debt ratio reveals that in 2004, about 23% of the company's assets were financed with the