Golden Oaks Rehabilitation Center

Margie Wilson, a 95 year old woman and patient at Golden Oaks Rehabilitation Center located on the grounds of Marion General Hospital, is dealing with some difficult times after losing her son, Williams, this past week. Within the past five years, she has also had to deal with the passing of her husband of 68 years, Earl, and another son who died in a motor vehicle accident, Jacob. Margie is having a very difficult time taking this all in and is not feeling alone. She has come to the conclusion that she no longer wants to live her life alone.She wants to end her life and is requesting that the one thing that’s keeping her alive, her pacemaker, be disconnected. Two years ago Margie suffered a heart attack that almost took her life, which resulted in her having the electronic pacemaker implanted. The pacemaker keeps Margie’s heart rhythm at 100% pace, which is what keeps her alive. With all her family gone, she has no desire to live anymore and is requesting that her pace maker be removed so that she can be reunited with her family.Margie has spoken with Cindy Macklin, the Nursing Home Administrator, and has told her what she would like to happen. She has requested that Cindy call Dr. Vigay, who is the cardiologist surgeon who originally implanted the pacemaker. Dr. Vigay was stunned because in the 20 years of his practice he has never had a request from his patents. He has pretty much declined her request and has asked that she allow time to get her past her current state of mind and back to normal. Margie is now extremely upset and determined and is now requesting to see the Golden Oaks social worker, Jane Robison, MSW.Jane meets with Margie for more than an hour discussing and exploring all her options. In this case, there are morals and conflicts involved. There are certain ethical, moral and legal conflicts that need to be determined. Morals are beliefs and values that conform to normal standards of what is right and wrong and deal with peopleâ €™s habits of conduct (www. ehow. com). The moral principles of ethics that are involved include: Beneficence – doing good, demonstrating kindness, showing compassion, and helping others Nonmaleficence – avoiding the infliction of harmJustice – the duty to be fair in the distribution of benefits and risks Autonomy – recognizing an individual’s right to make his or her own decisions The morals that are in conflict are nonmaleficence, justice and autonomy. The top priority of the doctors, nurses, social worker, and ethics committee is to make sure that nonmaleficence is not being implemented while considering Margie’s right to make her own decision about wanting to live and the risks and benefits that could go along with Margie’s request to remove her pacemaker. The dilemma here consists of Margie wanting her doctor to assist with taking her life by removing her pacemaker.Margie has lost her desire to live because of the loss of her family and wants to be with them. There are several ethical theories that play apart in this dilemma. Normative Ethics – the attempt to determine what moral standards should be followed so that human behavior and conduct are morally right (Pozgar, p 369). Consequential Ethics – emphasizing that the morally right action is whatever action leads to the maximum balance of good over evil (Pozgar, p. 369). Utilitarian Ethics – doing the greatest good for the most people (Pozgar, p. 370).Deontologic Ethics – focusing on one’s duties to others and others’ rights including telling the truth and keeping your promises (Pozgar, p. 371). As the ethics committee chairman, we do agree that there is a dilemma here. We are all on the same accord and have been informed with all the information about the case. Dr. Vigay, Jane Robison, Cindy Macklin, and I have all come together and presented all the information and facts that we know about the dilemma to the members of the committee to ensure that no one was left out about any details of this dilemma.Dr. Vigay informed the committee that removing Margie’s pacemaker would violate the ethics principles of beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. If he followed through with Margie’s request, he would be going against helping others, avoiding or causing harm to patients, and disregarding the benefits and risks of Margie by performing the requested actions. Jane Robison has expressed that doing what Margie has requested would not be good for Margie nor her profession due to the ethics standards that are withheld for all the patients.She believes that with time Margie will have a change of heart and appreciate her life being spared. Cindy Macklin is in agreement with everyone else in not assisting Margie with taking her life due to overwhelming circumstances she has faced within the past few years. Therefore, after all the recommendations and suggestions from all involved and the members of the ethics committee, Margie’s request to have her pacemaker removed has been denied due to the all the ethical standards and the fact that it is not right to allow or assist anyone in taking their own life.

Company Analysis: Sunrise Senior Living Essay

Sunrise Senior Living Inc. is one of the top firms in the rapidly growing long-term care industry. They provided a number of services for senior citizens including assisted living, meals, transportation, housekeeping, and licensed and highly skilled nurses for certain residents who require 24 hour care. The company was started in 1981 in Fairfax, Virginia by married couple Paul and Terry Klaassen who had a vision of creating alternative senior living options that emphasize quality of life. They have started what is now the most recognized company in the industry boasting innovative products and services for senior citizens. Ultimately after thoroughly researching the company’s credentials, I decided that Sunrise Senior Living would be a favorable investment given that it is part of quickly expanding industry, it is the top firm in the industry, and expert analysts believe that it is a smart investment. Introduction and Statement of Purpose The purpose of this report is to provide a thorough analysis of Sunrise Senior Living in order to make a decision as to whether this company is worth investing in. This report will include an analysis of the company’s history and public relations, the company’s financial performance and trends, economic variables that affect the company, and an overview of the industry and competing firms. In order to conduct this analysis, all of the components previously mentioned have been researched in depth. All analysis and suggestions made will be supported with valid evidence from a variety of different sources. Financial analysis will include a glance at the company’s balance sheets and income statements of the past few years along ith their performance in the stock market of the past few years. The basic structure of this report consists of an executive summary, a brief introduction to the report with basic information of the Sunrise Senior Living Inc. , a more sufficient overview of the company outlining the research conducted in order to draw conclusions regarding the objective of the report, a comprehensive analysis of the company under the criteria previously mentioned, my personal recommendations as to whether an individual should invest in this company, and finally, an appendix with all necessary tables, graphs, etc. hat are necessary to support my recommendations and more clearly illustrate some of the company analysis. Sunrise Senior Living Inc. is a company based in Fairfax County, Virginia that provides a number of senior living services in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Sunrise Senior Living offers independent living services which include housing, meals, transportation, housekeeping, and licensed and highly skilled nurses for certain residents who require 24 hour care. Also, these assisted living communities boast nostalgic neighborhoods that provide uniquely designed accommodations, services, and care to support residents who are cognitively impaired or face issues with memory loss, including Alzheimer’s disease. Finally, it provides a medication management program, which includes the storage and distribution of medications as directed by the resident’s physician. As of December 31, 2009, Sunrise Senior Living operated 384 communities, including 335 communities in the United States, 15 communities in Canada, 27 communities in the United Kingdom, and 7 communities in Germany. The company was founded in 1981 by Paul and Terry Klaassen who had a vision of creating alternative senior living options that emphasize quality of life. (Yahoo Finance) Sunrise Senior Living Inc. is in the healthcare sector of the long term care facilities industry. The senior care industry is continually growing because of the increased life-span of the population. With the Baby Boomers entering the age of retirement, the senior citizen population is currently supplying a huge market for companies who provide these service-oriented products (Business Week). In fact, according to an article by Senior Care  Marketer, â€Å"The senior care industry is booming and it’s just getting started as the baby boom generation cares for their aging parents and require care themselves as they transition into their own senior years. People sixty-five years and older represent the fastest-growing age group in the United States, and it is projected that the 75+ population will increase 70% by 2025. By 2030, 70 million Americans will be over the age of 65 – that’s one out of every five Americans! †(Senior Care Marketer). With that said, there a number of competing firms that are seeking to reap the benefits of this growing industry. Sunrise Senior Living is currently the leading competitor in the senior care industry. However, there are number of other firms that are close behind including Brookdale Senior Living, Emeritus, Gentiva, Odyssey Healthcare, and ResCare. Overview Company History and Background As previously mentioned, Sunrise Senior Living Inc. was founded by Paul and Terry Klaassen more than 25 years ago. The idea for this now successful business originated in Holland where Paul Klaassen would visit his grandparents as a child. Paul’s grandparents lived in assisted living homes called verzorgingstehuizen. These assisted living homes are very similar to those offered by Sunrise today. The verzorgingstehuizen allowed its residents to be independent while simultaneously providing support or care for those who needed it. To start this company, a youthful and energetic Paul and Terry Klaassen sold their home and moved into a run-down nursing home in Northern Virginia. Paul and Terry went on to renovate this nursing home and open up their first location of Sunrise Senior Living. Paul and Terry cared for the residents themselves in their first years of business, but word quickly spread regarding their new successful business. As demand for their services increased, they opened up two more locations in the mid 1980’s. Taking on a similar strategy as they did with the old nursing home, they opened up new locations by renovating older buildings and converting them into warm environments that were fit for caring for senior citizens. By 1987, Paul and Terry opened their first Victorian-style mansion which is now a nationally recognized icon for their company. (Sunrise Senior Living) As with any successful business or corporation, it all starts with a vision and mission statement which provides direction and purpose. When founding Sunrise Senior Living, Paul and Terry Klaassen wanted to â€Å"champion quality of life for seniors in a home-like, resident-centered environment, unlike existing, more institutional options. † Their operating philosophy originates from a deep seated certainty in the method in which they accomplish the most premium quality of care of every individual. These convictions that have served as the foundation for Sunrise Senior Living’s mission statement are now also the foundation for Sunrise’s Principles of Service and Core Values. These set of principles and values currently direct Sunrise’s team members and employees at all of their locations worldwide. Sunrise Senior Living’s Principles of Service include preserving dignity, nurturing the spirit, celebrating individuality, enabling freedom of choice, encouraging independence, and involving family and friends. Their core values include passion, joy in service, stewardship, respect, and trust. Each member of the Sunrise Senior Living team is encouraged to follow these principles and core values to ensure that each resident or client receives the most premium caliber service. Sunrise Senior Living) At first glance, one may question the importance of information such as mission and vision statements. However, by evaluating and analyzing a company’s mission and vision statements, it becomes possible to take a deeper look into the company’s culture and goals which can often be an indicator of their success and or failure in various fiel ds. Also, as an investor, it is important to possess a thorough understanding of the company’s purpose and values. Although the primary concern for most investors is the return they will receive on their investment, another factor that investors consider is the company’s reputation which is linked to their morals and code of ethics. For example, an investor may choose not to invest in a certain company even though it would provide large returns on his or her investment because he or she may not agree with the company’s mission and vision statements. Products and Services As previously mentioned Sunrise offers a number of different services and amenities for senior citizens. These services include assisted living, Alzheimer’s and memory care, independent living, skilled nursing, and short term stays. Not to mention that Sunrise also offers different financial options for those residents who have trouble with payments. Under each main service offered are a number of more specific programs as well. For example, one program in particular that Sunrise is known for is their reminiscence neighborhoods, which is part of their Alzheimer’s and memory care treatment. These specially designed neighborhoods were created in order to allow senior citizens to re-live their glory days. To do this, members at Sunrise Senior Living begin by gaining an understanding of the senior’s life stories without overlooking minute details. The reminiscence program encompasses a number of different activities that allows them to retain the spirit of their youth. It includes encouraging residents to participate in common daily practices such as gardening, sewing, office work, and household chores. Additionally, the reminiscence program offers â€Å"Snoezelen† environments which are essentially forms of stimulation for the senses and are used to maintain calmness and serenity among all of the seniors. These â€Å"Snoezelen† environments integrate music, aroma therapy, peaceful sounds, and visual displays for an experience that is incredibly soothing. (Sunrise Senior Living) Although Sunrise Senior Living offers a number of innovative and unique services, their customer and employee reviews are mixed to a certain degree. In order to best find out the opinions of customers and employees regarding Sunrise, I decided that it would be best to examine random personal accounts of both customers and employees. I have examined a number of different websites and blogs in which individuals share their experiences with Sunrise Senior Living. Customer and Employee Reviews Measured up is a website that offers a wide variety of customer reviews and complaints of a number of businesses worldwide. There was recently an instance that occurred on June 19, 2010 in which a Sunrise neglected to aid one of their resident’s who fell and broke her leg and eventually needed a hip replacement surgery. The review off the company was written by the daughter of the woman who fell. She, unfortunately for Sunrise Senior Living, had only the worst things to say about the company. After the incident, Sunrise, according to the daughter of the woman, did not offer fair compensation for the injury of her mother. She also stated that the members at Sunrise did not give any form of apology whatsoever and â€Å"treated the entire affair with as cold a heart as they could muster. † She even went on to say that the â€Å"Sunrise Difference† was cruelty, malice, and disdain. She also strongly advised any individual with elderly loved ones to stay away from Sunrise Senior Living because she thought they were cold and malicious. (Measured Up) As aforementioned, this incident occurred on June 19, 2010. It is especially relevant because of how recent this whole affair took place. As with any company or organization in general, it takes only one mishap to permanently tarnish a reputation. The incident with the woman falling is obviously going to be detrimental to Sunrise Senior Living’s reputation. This is important because it is a tribute of customer satisfaction, even though it was only one incident. This decrease in customer satisfaction, if great enough, will be reflected in the financial performance of the company because clients will no longer demand Sunrise’s services as much. Employee reviews of the company are arguably equally as important as customer reviews given that ultimately, it is the employees who are running these companies. According to Glassdoor, a blog that provides insight and internal reviews of jobs and companies, Sunrise Senior Living received an average employee rating of 2. 6 out of 40 reviews, meaning that employees feel that working at Sunrise is â€Å"Ok. † Also, Mark S. Ordan, CEO and Director of Sunrise since March of 2008, received a 44% approval rate by employees. Although these statistics are from a relatively small sample, considering that Sunrise consists of close to 5000 employees, it is still a testament to the entire company’s satisfaction in their workplace. (Glass Door Reviews) Recent News Recently, Sunrise Senior Living has done some restructuring with regards to their upper level management as well as the relationships they hold with some of their joint ventures. Namely, they have appointed Marc Richards as Chief Financial Officer, Greg Neeb as Chief Investment and Administrative Officer, and David Haddock as the General Counsel. In terms of their joint ventures, Sunrise Senior Living is currently working with Ventas, HCP, and CNL Lifestyle Properties. In order to understand the restructuring of these relationships it is necessary to possess a basic understanding of the function of each of these companies. (Sunrise Senior Living – Investor Relations) Ventas is one of the country’s primary healthcare real estate investment trusts. Their increasing portfolio contains 602 healthcare-related facilities that contain roughly 50,000 licensed beds and senior housing units which are located advantageously in 44 states in the US and two provinces in Canada. Ventas) HCP, a real estate investment trust, was established in 1985 and is a publicly traded company of the S&P 500. Their portfolio contains 673 properties in 42 states and Mexico, and mezzanine loans and other debt instruments. All of which are spread across the healthcare industry including senior housing, life science, post-acute/skilled nursing a nd hospital. (HCP) CNL Lifestyle Properties, also a real estate investment trust, is a company that invests in properties projected to produce income that focus primarily in lifestyle related industries. CNL Lifestyle Properties purchases properties and leases them on a long-term basis with the potential of long-term revenue. CNL Lifestyle Properties owns 10 ski resorts, two former Six-Flags owned and branded parks, two former non branded Six-Flags Parks, and three former Six-Flags owned water parks just to name a few. (CNL Lifestyle Properties) Sunrise Senior Living has restructured with Ventas through sale of joint venture interests which brought forth funds improving their balance sheet as well as reaching a new agreement that allows Sunrise to continue to manage senior living facilities owned by Ventas. With HCP, Sunrise has ended management contracts with 27 communities which has allowed them to reduce their debt. Finally, Sunrise has gained 40% ownership interest, from 10% in the previous year of a wholly owned subsidiary of CNL Lifestyle Properties, offering the opportunity to purchase their new partner’s interest in the venture. All of these adjustments are consistent with their strategy of pursuing sole ownership of the assets they manage.

Is “Sredni Vashtar” a Horror Short Story? Essay

â€Å"Sredni Vashtar† Takes a close look into the life and interactions of and between Conradin; his cousin and mentor, Mrs. de Ropp and Conradin’s Ferret and God: Sredni Vashtar. It can be described as a horror story because of its character’s description, themes and setting. It shows the religious downfall of the protagonist, the death of the antagonist and the lack of coherence in society. Saki emphasises the horror in the main characters, including both the protagonists and antagonists. â€Å"Conradin† is described as a â€Å"ten years old† boy, skinny and sick who â€Å"will not live for another 5 years†. It is not a nice image for a boy, and it can either cause sympathy or apathy. However, the fact that he has a â€Å"rampant† imagination and he uses it to evade reality, intimidates the reader. The antagonist is Mrs. De Ropp, a high-class elder woman, which is Conradin’s â€Å"guardian and cousin†. Even if she does not admit it â€Å"she disliked Conradin†, which becomes obvious with some actions and details she has with Conradin, such as killing his hen and friend. Sredni Vashtar is a ferret, a God and a religion, all at the same time. It’s difficult for a reader, especially if we took into account the social and religious contex, to not feel uncomfortable or intimidated with/by this character. It symbolises Conradin’s religious fail, it kills Mrs. De Ropp and is described as a fierce beast. Also it has complete control over Conradin, even that it’s not a thinking individual. The maid is the other human character described. She is the contact point with society and ordinary lifestyles, in other words reality. She is described as a clumsy and â€Å"foolish† person, who lacked importance. This shows the author’s and protagonist’s opinion of society. Despite the fact that is not described in detail, the setting has a lot of impact on the reader. First of all, the story is set during fall, the horror season in most cultures. It’s also the time when nature begins to die. The Edwardian mansion is described to have â€Å"many windows†, which commonly in literature symbolise eyes. This creates a feeling of constant vigilance, as if Conradin and the reader could not do anything without Mrs. De Ropp knowing. The lack of detail pushes the reader to use his own imagination to recreate the old Edwardian mansion, which can either create more fear or reduce it, depending on the reader. The â€Å"cheerless† garden with â€Å"few trees† represents Mrs. De Ropp arid personality and decrepit physical appearance, which emphasises the regret and fear felt for the antagonist. The two main places Conradin spends most time on are his room and the toolshed. The first one is described as been â€Å"dark† and the second been at â€Å"dusk†. Light represents hope, so Sredni Vashtar, who lives in the tool shed, also represents hope. The main themes are the children role in the high class society, how the protagonists fails to fulfil them and the consecuences. The reader can easily see the closed social and religious views Saki is trying to criticise: The edwardian high class social standards, based on pride, severe rules and inhuman punishments and the lack of everyday devotion for religion, despite which one. The protagonist contrast and completely break these rules: Conradin hated his cousin, lost and changed his faith, did not had manners and rejected society. As we can observe â€Å"Sredni Vashta† represents divinity/God’s fail, in a social context where religion was extremely strong and important in everyday life; This obviously drags reader’s attention. Saki also explores the importance of a close family, which he lacked because, just as the protagonist, he was raised in Burma by hated relatives. In the story Conradin did not have a close and loving family so become into a troubled kid , with psychological, health and social problems. The language used to describe the protagonist includes a series of techniques Saki uses to emphasise specific characteristics or cause a certain effect on the reader. For example the religious downfall: Saki describes how Conradin thinks â€Å"church service was an alien rite† and instead his god was a ferret. Saki foreshadows Mrs, De Ropp’s death with Conradin’s hen death and with the prayers Conradin says to Sredni Vashtar: â€Å"Do one thing for me, Sredi Vashtar† This makes the readers pay attention to any details and do not loose interest, as well as creating a horror and suspense atmosphere. The contrast between the â€Å"cold afternoon† and the â€Å"warming daylight† is a pathetic fallacy which represents Mrs. De Ropp’s hope fading, anticipating her death. The toast is a symbolism for the pleasure death can cause. This is shown when Mrs. De Ropp tells Conradin about his friend’s death and she offers him a toast, and when Mrs. De Ropp is killed, Conradin prepares himself a toast. The fact that is his favourite meal shows the sick mentality of the character, who celebrates his freedom but also death. Humor, sarcasm and dramatic irony are commonly used by Saki in â€Å"Sredni Vashtar†, which develop a creepiness sensation on the reader. For example the maid says after Mrs. De Ropp’s death â€Å"Whoever will break it to the poor child?†, this dramatic irony is used to emphasise the fact that society did not understood Conradin, and it’s humorous because the maid was described as a stupid character.

Strategic Thinking and Entrepreneurial Behavior Case Study

Strategic Thinking and Entrepreneurial Behavior - Case Study Example At the origination Nokia had nothing in common through mobile phones. No doubt, the company was familiar as a business producing authority. Soon after, at the end of last century, more advanced technologies had been brought to light, such as invention of rubber and other related substances used in chemical processes. This led to formation of the Finnish Rubber Works. Moreover, worth mentioning is the rapid innovation in electricity augmentation toward companies and factories, the huge improvement of which contributed not only to the inception of the Finnish Cable Works in 1912, but also to the production of cables for the telegraph business and, in fact, it supported the development of a quite new device- telephone. Then in 1960 Electronic Department was established, this led up the company to a new stage in telecommunication business. In 1967, with the contribution of both Finnish Rubber Works and Finnish Cable Works, the original manufacturing industry founded Nokia Corporation. Th e '60s are considered to be an important period in Nokia's achievements as the initial and very successful approach of Nokia to the telecommunication market. In 1980's Nokia became a well-recognized industry manufacturing... The '60s are considered to be an important period in Nokia's achievements as the initial and very successful approach of Nokia to the telecommunication market. In 1980's Nokia became a well-recognized industry manufacturing not only telephones but also tremendous numbers of TV-sets, computers and monitors of the best quality. The first mobile telephone network was presented in 1981, in Scandinavia. Due to the fact that the primary cell phones were heavy and bulky, in 1987 Nokia came up with a new idea of producing more hand portable mobile devices. From 1987 till July 1st 1991 Nokia and the operators succeeded in adjusting GSM (digital standard able to deliver data with excellent voice level) through the whole Europe. The '80s and '90s were years of further changes in Nokia Industry, such as the appointment of Jarma Ollila to lead the company who from then on concentrated only on telecommunications in new digital era of technology. 3. Products And Services Nokia Corporation offers a well-developed variety of products and services , which completely satisfy consumers' needs and demands. The client is given a choice of products used outdoor, such as mobile phones. Apparently, there are about 40 different models available in the present market. All of the handsets have elegant and modish design. In addition, most of the telephones are small and portable; others include cameras, radios and digital music players. Apart from cellular, Nokia offers also land telephones, pocket radios, computer hardware, digital TV receivers and satellite carriers. Furthermore, Nokia offers Network products and services that are grouped into specific categories : - Broadband Access - Core Network - Narrowband Access -

Corporate strategy case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Corporate strategy case study - Essay Example In those days, cross-Channel travel was not dominated by the leisure business as it is today. It was used for military action and primarily for trade. Even at that time, around 100 years ago there was no dearth of proposals. Many people especially the French suggested highly sophisticated and technical ideas for the new link. However, because this was before invention of railways these tunnels were not surprisingly road tunnels. The Treaty of Canterbury which set the original ambitious objectives for the Tunnel stated that the Tunnel should "greatly improve communications between the United Kingdom and France and give fresh impetus to relations between the two countries, contribute to the development of relations and exchanges between the Member states of the European Communities and more generally between European States."2 2007 marked the completion of 13 years of an epic tale that has continued to shock, delight and confuse many. This is the story of the Euro tunnel which was a dream come true for many and many knew back then that it would be history in the making. The company is currently on a route to restructuring and revitalisation of the Eurotunnel. 2004 saw the company sink in its profits and revenues. Richard Shirrefs, chief executive of Eurotunnel, said that the cross-channel rail industry was working on a "failed business model" and that you can't have a 25bn infrastructure which is not generating enough traffic - this is a big structural problem' The Eurotunnel has disappointed its shareholders and owners. The debt crises have been alarming and the fact that the Eurotunnel has not been able to generate traffic is also hard on shareholders. Since debts amount to over 6 billion pounds it is difficult to see what the future of the company will look like. 4 Industry and Competitor Analysis The Eurotunnel is part of the Cross Channel Rail Industry. This industry is currently plagued with a lot of problems. One of these is overcapitalisation. There is a pound 10 billion Eurotunnel investment and pound 15 billion public investment. Secondly it has also been under utilised. It is suffering from under utilisation of expensive infrastructure and financial losses. The high access charge paid by vehicles using the Eurotunnel is limiting traffic. It is a highly fragmented channel because of a possibility of rail; ferry or air travels on this route and in conflict. Competition is set to soar by 2010. However, great opportunities abound this new invention. This is because it has been found that people prefer travelling by rail than plane across the channel. On the other hand there is a huge global opportunity for the cross channel rail industry as people find this medium increasingly convenient and fast. Current Strategy It was observed that the Eurotunnel has lost 25% of volume since 2000 and approximately 5 points of decline in market share. Secondly, the company has lost share even in the truck market with a fall in revenue as well as average yield per truck. Initially the Eurotunnel believed in premium pricing and established that if it keeps prices above its competition it will create a premium image and will thereby able to reap profits accordingly. This backfired. The competitors' low pricing strategy

After reviewing the history of intelligence, what events have had a Essay

After reviewing the history of intelligence, what events have had a profound impact on U.S. intelligence today - Essay Example One of the most essential events that was crucial for gathering evidence was the civil war. The Civil War was one of the most prominent wars that allowed the nation to create a mesh network of intelligence. As a matter of fact, both sides built intelligence services. Historians argue that North actually relied on the South to gain more advantage and that propelled the information to be execute and analyzed. It was clear that Both sides were greatly interested in what today is called open source intelligence (OSINT). As time progressed, the value of OSINT was never understood until TDR took office. It was under his leadership of OSINT as a president. Roosevelt believed ONI could serve as a valuable tool in solidifying that vision of American as strong military force. Roosevelt took this upon his own hands and used OSINT as a network to promote intelligence. It was heavily utilized to track and monitor possible events that could put United States in risk. Even with all the intelligence tools, the USA got its first reality check during WWI when it had to fight Germany. The fact was clear, intelligence was not sufficient to fight the Germans, who were already intercepting incoming receptions. The United States was completely unprepared for the intelligence. Moreover, much opposition from congress deterred the efforts of the government because of the possible witch hunt, that inevitably followed after WWI. The truth of the matter was that the United States understood this dilemma and began conducting surveillance. As a result, they managed to capture Germany submarines and even intercepted the Zimmerman telegram that changed the whole landscape of events. WWI also signaled the event of the creation of FBI, in which Edgar Hoover was named its director in 1924. Once again as USA relapsed from WWI and WWI, intelligence suffered. It was not until the outbreak of the war in Korea against the communist nations that became a

Four Ways Creative Thinking Can Eliminate Debt Essay

Four Ways Creative Thinking Can Eliminate Debt - Essay Example This problem is further compounded with a high degree of consumerism which is prevalent in the U.S. A good percentage of Americans try to live above their means, be it the car they buy or even the house. This has lead to some very creative debt instruments which they can tap into. If just the minimum payment of a credit card it made every month, the card will not be paid for over thirty years. Then there are housing loans which have a Interest only payment option, which means the home owner has the option of paying only the Interest every month and the principle balance never gets reduced and since most use this option on a frequent basis, the balance on the debt remains at close to the initial level. And in the past few years, a new debt instrument has come up which actually allows debtors to pay less than the interest amount , which means that the principle balance can actually go up. How does this impact anybody wanting to take a loan to buy something Let us suppose a person can a fford a payment of $ 1000 a month towards his house. In a normal loan he possibly could afford a $100,000 house, If he chooses the Principal only option, he could possibly go as high as a $ 150,000 house , a negative amortized loan could get him as much as a $ 200,000 house. American consumers owed a grand total of $1.9773 trillion in October 2003, according to the latest statistics on consumer credit from the Federal Reserve. Thats about $18,654 per household, a figure that does not include mortgage debt. The number is up more than 41% from the $1.3999 trillion consumers owed in 1998.i The Mortgage Debt is about 25 trillion. The figures become even more staggering when you see that 43% of the Americans spend more than they earn each year. These Americans are like the bound prisoners in the Plato's Allegory of a caveii. They see only way to prosperity and that is through accumulation of debt. And that is because they see their neighbors in affluence, little knowing that it hides, most likely a horrendous amount of debt. But these people do not simply know any other way. And the current subprime crisis in the U.S. Mortgage market is because of just such people just wanting to live beyond their means and paying the penalty for that by losing their houses and the very affluence which they wanted. But as much as Plato's Allegory showed the dark side of Human conditioning, Jacob Bronowski's The Reach of Imagination showed us the amazing gift which we have which is the gift of imagination iii Almost everything that we do that is worth doing is done in the first place in the mind's eye. The richness of human lif e is that we have many lives: we live the events that do not happen (and some that cannot) as vividly as those that do. Which actually gives us a unique advantage, we do not have to stuck in any rut, we have myriads of possibilities available to us. And even in an apparently hopeless situation such as overwhelming debt we have many possibilities available to us. In Asimov's Eureka phenomenon there is a reference to intuition as a sense of something beyond that which is evidentiv. These papers and theory's were written well before anybody saw the current debt crisis which the Americans find themselves in. And the apparent hopelessness could never be visualized by anyone before this crisis. But this situation is not hopeless and that is because the creativity of the human mind is such that it can get solutions to a problem , however big it might be. Way 1 :

Creative Accounting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Creative Accounting - Essay Example It has been pointed out that conflicting interests of shareholders and managers often lead to the use of creating accounting. After having successfully assembled the resources, the company is also required to assure all its stakeholders that it is indeed making good use of the resources in a manner benefitting all the stakeholders. In fact creative accounting is done very much within the legal framework and the prevailing accounting standards, but quite often done to camouflage the actual picture. It won't be an exaggeration if we say that creative accounting is done with the help of the weaker points in the law of the land and the accounting standards. Creating accounting has also been termed as 'window dressing', 'aggressive accounting' or 'fiscal gimmickry' by analysts from time to time. People from outside the company as well as stakeholders from within the company make use of financial accounting details to arrive at a decision regarding their decision to continue with the company or look for a better opportunity. The shareholders will go through the financial details in order to figure out the profit margins and percentage their own earnings in the form of dividends, interests or bonus shares. Some of the inferences that could be drawn using financial accounting information include; Creating accounting is therefore an effort to influence all these ind... v. Pointing out the lapses in utilizing the financial resources judiciously vi. Putting a stop to corrupt practices and different types of pilferages taking place within the organization vii. Ensuring that the accounting practices are in tune with GAAP viii. Assessing the need for further inputs in the form of finances, workforce or other resources for ensuring functioning of the organization Creating accounting is therefore an effort to influence all these indicators in order to remain out of immediate trouble. Manipulation in maintaining the account books is one such practice, use of which by some companies has come to light, during the last couple of years. Accounting as such is used for maintaining the account of quantitative information about the transactions involving finances and resources of a company. In other words it is the process of identifying, measuring, handling and communicating the financial information about different economic entities for being used by the concerned parties. Showcasing healthy account books in the public domain certainly helps the company and its management in attracting better reviews and commitments for the future growth of the company. This often results in managements resorting to creative accounting practices, which is mainly done to influence the opinion about the company and sometimes to conceal some unethical practices of the m anagement or the company. Some of the widely used practices for manipulating the account books include; Making use of the depreciation i.e. by profits can be inflated by increasing the useful life of an asset and thus spreading the charge over a longer period of life. For example a company can spread over the useful life of its

Ford Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ford - Research Paper Example The company is deeply concerned about the community within its business operation. Ford motor company operates in many parts of the world. For example, in Australia the company developed a program that provides support to the community within their plants. Community support and corporate initiatives have been Ford Motor Company responsibility since its inception after 1903. The founder of the company, Hendry Ford supported employees working for his company by providing educational support; he did this by building schools. Additionally, the founder believed and supported environmental sustainability. The founder’s legacy has been taken over by the company (Corporate Social Responsibility, n.d.). General Motors is the main competitor of Ford Motor Company in the U.S. General Motors is the biggest manufacturer of trucks and cars. Well known brands for General Motors are Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, Opel, Daewoo and Holden. The company has both local and international operations. However, Ford Motor Company has recently gained more market shares in the U.S. The increase in market share was attributed to consumer preference of their fuel efficient engines. Some of the vehicles of Ford Motor Company in the U.S. that boosted its market share are Fusion, Escape and F-series. Additionally, Ford Motor Company performance currently is well, this evidenced from its rise in New York Stock Exchange by 3%. However, its major rival is down by 16%. The main problem of GM currently is the recalls the company made because of defective ignition switches (Blanc, 2014). Ford is faced with serious competition internationally from Toyota, Nissan, General Motors, Honda and Chrysler. The fact is that, most of the competitors’ brands are cheaper and fuel efficient than Ford Motor Company brands. However, recently, the company showed improvement internationally with an international operation contributing to 35% to stock prices (Trefis Team 2010). Ford Motor Company depends on

Perfect Pizzeria Essay Example for Free

Perfect Pizzeria Essay Perfect Pizzeria Restaurants is a chain of 125 pizza establishments around the country with headquarters in Madison, Wisconsin. There are three locations in Bloomington, Indiana however they have financial and employee problems particularly at the location near the Indiana University campus. Each location has one manager and two shift leaders. The employees are mostly college students, with a few high school students performing the less challenging jobs. Nearly all of the employees, with the exception of some managers, are employed part-time and most earned only the minimum wage or slightly above. To address the financial problems, the Perfect Pizzeria manager’s compensation plan was changed to now being based on food and beverage costs and profit targets. If the percentage of food unsold or damaged is very low, the manager gets a bonus. If the percentage is high, the manager does not receive a bonus; rather he or she receives only his or her normal salary. Their compensation is also reflected in the restaurant’s profit figures which also must reach a certain level for the manager to receive a bonus. Thus the managers knew the criteria being used for their evaluation and therefore where to focus their efforts. These profit and loss figures often fluctuate. Knowing the manager cannot be in the store 24 hours a day, some employees make up for their low paychecks by helping themselves to the food. When a friend comes in to order a pizza, extra ingredients are put on the friend’s pizza. An occasional slice or two of pizza by the 18 to 20 employees throughout the day/evening at the break table also raises the percentage figure. An occasional bucket of sauce may be spilled or a pizza accidentally burned. Sometimes the wrong size of pizza may be made. In the event of an employee mistake or a burned pizza by the oven person, the expense is supposed to come from the individual employee. Because of peer pressure, the night manager seldom writes up a bill for the erring employee. Instead the establishment takes the loss and the error goes unnoticed until the end of the month when the inventory is taken. That’s when the manager finds out if the food loss percentage is high and if there will be a bonus. (Next page) Over time these loss figures increased. To address these problems at the Bloomington location, the manager took retaliatory measures. Previously, each employee was entitled to a free pizza slice, salad, and all the soft drinks he or she could drink for every 4 hours of work. Management decided to raise this figure to 6 hours of work before any free food. Since the employees had received this â€Å"free food after 4-hours† benefit for a long time they frequently ignored the rule and took advantage of the situation whenever the manager was not in the building. Therefore, the Perfect Pizzeria manager decided to create an assistant manager position which could more closely supervise the shift leaders. Each shift leader was now responsible for a team of 3 4 employees who were given specific responsibilities for a particular job such as counter, delivery, food preparation, etc. Employee apathy grew within the pizzeria. There seemed to be a further separation between the store manager and his workers, who were once a closely knit group. The manager made no attempt to alleviate the problem, because he felt it would iron itself out. The employees who were dissatisfied would quit or they would be content to put up with the new regulations. As it turned out, there were many employee resignations. The manager had no problem in filling the vacancies with new workers, but the loss of experienced personnel was costly to the business. It didn’t take long for the new employees to become influenced by the more experienced employees and the unsold/damaged food percentage remained high. Then the manager took a bolder step. He eliminated all the benefits that the employees had – no free pizzas, salads, or drinks. The manager tried still another approach to alleviate the rising unsold/damaged food percentage problem and maintain his bonus. He placed a notice on the bulletin board, stating that: if the percentage remained at a high level, a lie detector test would be given to all employees. All those found guilty of taking or intentionally wasting food or drinks would be immediately terminated. This did not have the desired effect on the employees, because they knew if they were all subjected to the test, all would be found guilty and the manager would have to dismiss all of them. This would leave him in a worse situation than ever. As the manager sat in his office listening to his beloved Cub’s baseball game, he analyzed the month’s profit/loss statements and knew things were not going to be good. What he did not expect was that the percentage was actually increasing from previous months. Another problem developed at the Bloomington campus location when Jennifer, a recently hired night shift counter clerk filed a complaint with the regional manager. She stated in her complaint that she was always required to work the late shift and Bill the night manager was becoming a bit â€Å"too friendly†. In fact her complaint stated, the only way she could get off from work earlier than other employees was if she would agree to meet Bill on their nights off at Hoosier’s, a popular college student club down the street from Perfect Pizzeria. Additionally, there was a formal complaint from a group of male employees that only the attractive female workers were being promoted to assistant managers or shift leaders even though the men had worked at the restaurant longer than most of the promoted women. The case assignment questions follow†¦ PERFECT PIZZERIA – CASE QUESTIONS (Please type your responses by listing the question number/letter and then your answers to the questions.) 1. List two different managerial functions/activities the manager has performed. Then give specific examples or evidence from the case that explains these two management functions the manager has performed. 4. points) 2a. Which of the managerial skills was the manager best at? Explain. 2b. Which of the managerial skills did the manager need to improve? Explain. (4 points) 3. List and/or give examples of four (4) different forces or factors from Perfect Pizzerias’ external environment. Then give a specific example of how each of these could have an impact on Perfect Pizzeria. Please be specific.(4 pts.) 4a. The case mentions that some employees put extra ingredients on their friends’ pizza or take a nibble or two of pizza during their shift. Please discuss whether you feel this is ethical and your reasons why you feel this way. (2 pts.) 4b. What actions could an organization take to prevent these potential ethical violations from happening based on the concepts in the textbook? Explain by applying these ideas to this case situation. (4 pts.) 5. Review the organizational approaches to managing diversity from Chapter 6. Then discuss or give an example of how you would apply two of these concepts to address the complaints of the male employees regarding the unfair promotions? Be specific. (4 points) 6. Give an example from the case of a poor management action and discuss two (2) specific ways you would correct the situation if you were the manager. (3 points)

Beck Depression Inventory vs. Hamilton Depression Scale Beck

Beck Depression Inventory vs. Hamilton Depression Scale Beck The revised Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II), published in 1996 was authored by Aaron Beck, Robert A. Steer, and Gregory K. Brown. Similar to its predecessor, it consists of 21multiple choice questions that assist in determining the severity of depression. Each item consists of four statements arranged in order to ascertain the severity of a certain symptom of depression. BDI-II conforms to the DSM-IV criteria for depression. Clients who are presented with the BDI-II are asked to answer each question based upon the way they have felt for the past two weeks in order to accurately conform to the DSM-IV criteria. The BDI-II is intended for adolescents and adults and should not be administered to those under the age of thirteen. Scoring The BDI-II consists of twenty one questions, all of which correspond to a particular symptom of depression. Each item consists of a four point scale ranging from 0-3. Items 16 and 18 consist of seven items which are used to indicate an increase or decrease in both sleep patterns and appetite. A total score of 0-13 is considered minimal range, 14- 19 is considered mild, 20-28 is considered moderate, while 20-63 is considered to be severe (Beck, Steer and Brown, 1961). The BDI-II may be scored by hand or by using a software program such as Q Local, where the scores may be recorded and monitored by the clinician. The test may be administered frequently, as it is intended to monitor symptoms that have occurred within a two week range. Reliability Becks Depression Inventory II has been used for many years with great success. Its reliability is still questioned by some. Sprinkle, Lurie, Insko, Atkinson, Jones, Logan and Bassada (2002) state that Although the BDI-II manual (Beck, Steer, Brown, 1996) and various other reports (e.g., Dozois et al., 1998, and Steer, Kumar, Ranieri, Beck, 1998) have offered substantial evidence for the instruments commendable split-half internal consistency (with reported coefficient alphas of .91 and slightly higher), there are only two published reports to date on the instruments test- retest reliability (par.6). Sprinkle et al., (2002) further report Beck, Steer, and Brown (1996) reported on 26 outpatients (no diagnostic information is offered) who were administered the BDI-II at the times of their first and second therapy sessions (approximately one week apart), producing a test-retest correlation of .93 (par 6). Validity Validity of the BDI-II appears to be favorable. A study conducted by Storch, Roberti and Roth (2002) examined the psychometric properties of the BDI-II. 414 students from two separate universities participated in the study. Their results supported BDI-II two-factor structure measuring cognitive-affective and somatic depressive symptoms (par.1). They concluded that the validity of the BDI-II was supported by favorable results with self-report measures of depression and anxiety (par.1). The results of this study duplicate past research of a college sample which supported the reliability and validity of the BDI-II. Arnau, Meager, Norris, and Bramson (2001) also conducted a psychometric evaluation of the BDI-II using primary care patients. The study consisted of 340 primary care patients (7 of which were eliminated due to incomplete responses). 68.8% of the participants were female and the age group tested ranged from ages 18-54(M = 36.5, SD = 10.1, Arnau et al., 2001). The average score from the participants was 8.4 (SD = 9.7). They reported that scores of 14 or higher, suggesting at least a mild level of depression (Beck et al., 1996 as cited in Arnau et al., 2001) were observed in 23.2% of the sample (p.3). Arnau et al., (2001) also found an alpha coefficient of .94, which they considered to be excellent internal consistency. They concluded that the BDI-II yielded strong evidence for the factorial validity of the BDI-II in a primary care setting (p.6). They found that the BDI-II could easily be implemented into the primary care setting without disrupting patient flow. BDI-II Reviews Arbisi and Farmer, reviewers of BDI-II indicate that the BDI-II is easy to administer and requires approximately five to ten minutes to complete. Arbisi states concern however, that there are no validity indicators contained on the BDI or the BDI-II and the ease of administration of a self-report lends itself to the deliberate tailoring of self-report and distortion of the results (Beck, Steeler Brown, 1961 par. 5). Arbisi and Farmer concur that the manual BDI-II was well written and provides a multitude of supportive information regarding norms, factor structure, and notably, nonparametric item-option characteristic curves for each item (Beck, Steer Brown, 1961 par. 4). They contend that the BDI-II has improved upon the original by updating the items to reflect contemporary diagnostic criteria for depression and utilizing state-of-the-art psychometric techniques to improve the discriminative properties of the instrument (Beck, Steer Brown, 1961 par. 10). Although the reviewers have noted their concern regarding the lack of room for diversity, Arbisi and Farmer appear to approve of its use as a depression assessment tool. Hamilton Depression Scale The Hamilton Depression Scale (abbreviated as HDS, HAMD or HAD) is used to measure the severity of symptoms of depression. For many years it was considered to be the gold standard. It was developed by Max Hamilton in the late 1950s and was used to evaluate the performance of the first antidepressants. It was released in 1960. Upon its release, Hamilton acknowledged that it had room for improvement (p. 56). He revised the HDS in 1967. The HDS consists of 21 multiple choice questions. The first 17 questions determine the severity of the depression symptoms, while the additional four questions address the areas of paranoia and obsession and their relation to depression .The HDS can be administered to both children and adults. It is considered to be easy to read and interpret; it is recommended that the HDS be administered only by a licensed professional. Scoring The HDS was intended to be administered by an experienced clinician by conducting a clinical interview.   Scoring and administrating the scale may be considered cumbersome as Hamilton did not provide structured guidelines for this purpose. No standardized probe questions were provided to elicit information from patients and no behaviorally specific guidelines were developed for determining each items rating (Health Care Technology Systems, 2010). Seventeen items are rated on a 5-point (0-4) or a 3-point (0-2) scale. Overall scores of 0-6 are considered normal. Scores from 7-17 are indicative of mild depression. Scores from 18-24 represent moderate depression. Scores that are greater than 24 are representative of severe depression. Reliability Bagby, Ryder, Schuller, and Marshall (2004) state that Clinician-rated instruments should demonstrate three types of reliability: 1) internal reliability, 2) retest reliability, and 3) interrater reliability (par.4). They contend that the internal reliability of the HDS estimates ranged from 0.46 to 0.97, and 10 studies reported estimates 0.70 (par.5). They further contend that the majority of items contained in the HDS indicate sufficient reliability .Per their testing, the following items were met in each sample: (Guilt, middle insomnia, psychic anxiety, somatic anxiety, gastrointestinal, general somatic) and an additional five items met the criteria in all but one sample (depressed mood, suicide, early insomnia, late insomnia, work and interests, hypochondriasis) (par.6). A potential problem was suggested with loss of insight, as it had the greatest number of variables. Interrater reliability was considered to be poor. Cicchetti and Prusoff (1983, as cited in Reynolds and Kobak, 1 995) state in a study of interrater reliability of a 22-item version of the HDRS found low levels of reliability for individual items, with 14 of the 22 items demonstrating intraclass correlation coefficients of less than .40 (par. 4). Retest Reliability Scores for the retest reliability of the HDS ranged from 0.81 to 0.98. Williams (1998 at cited in Bagby et al., 2004) argued in favor of using structured interview guides to boost item and total scale reliability and developed the Structured Interview Guide for the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (par.8). Doing so increased the retest reliability to 0.54 in spite of the fact that only four items met the necessary criteria for reliability; i.e.: depressed mood, early insomnia, psychic anxiety, and loss of libido (par.8). Validity The Hamilton Depression Scale is comprised of 1) Content, 2) Convergent, 3) Discriminant, 4 Factorial, and 5) Predicative Validity. Content validity is determined by examining scale items to determine correspondence with known features of a syndrome (Bagby et al., 2004 par. 9). Convergent validity is sufficient when a scale indicates Pearsons r values of a minimum of 0.50 in conjunction with measures of the same syndrome. Discriminant validity is determined by indicating that groups that differ in diagnostic status may be separated through the use of the scale. Predictive validity of symptom severity measures such as the Hamilton depression scale is determined by a statistically significant (p HDS Reviews Bernard Carroll wrote a letter to the editor of the American Journal of Psychiatry in December, 2005 entitled: Why the Hamilton Depression Scale Endures. He offers three reasons why the HDS remains the gold standard. First of all, he contends that Hamiltons HDS focused on patients burden of illness (par.1). He suggests that this is the reason why the HDS contains examples of anxiety that are present in depressive episodes, but are not part of the diagnosis for depression. He further contends that Hamilton intended the use of this scale for clients that are well known by the clinician. In this light, the HDS displays a range from mild to extreme illness (par. 1). Second, Carroll contends that the demand for a revised scale based upon modern criteria of major depression is not realistic. Carroll believes that Current definitions of major depression, instantiated in DSM-IV, for instance, are deliberately atheoretical nominalist conventions that lack unifying constructs, predictive validity, and explanatory power (par.2). He believes that this is the reason why those who are diagnosed with DSM-IV criteria for major depression are so contrasting. He adds: In the future, we might add biomarkers or endophenotypes to clinical symptoms in assessing depression, but that day is not here (par.2). Third, Carroll does not believe that the HDS has been outmatched in performance. He does not believe that the HDS is insensitive to changes in the severity of depression symptoms. When compared to the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, he believes that the Hamilton Depression Scale is superior in its sensitivity to change and in detecting early change with treatment while having the advantage of far more comprehensive symptom coverage (par.3). Carroll concludes his letter by stating The endurance of the Hamilton depression scale is remarkable, considering how many unauthorized, nonvalidated, mutant versions now circulate (Hamiltons original 17 items have expanded to 28 at my last count). This is not progress, however, because the text versions and procedural use in many contemporary treatment trials are corrupted (par 4). Paul C Burnett, a reviewer of the HDS contends that the manual is extensive and comprehensive (par.2). The instructions for administering the test are clear and contain examples of the scoring process. All of the symptoms contained in the test are described and provide examples to be used in the interviewing process. He believes that the symptoms contained in the test conform to the criteria listed in the DSM-IV. The manual, which contains a sample of 202 depressed patients, is comprised of 76% inpatients, 24% outpatients, and 69% female (par.3). The manual contends that the demographics are fair, despite the fact that no data is provided to support this. He contends that the manual did not include data to support the procedure that was utilized to select this demographic. Burnett states that Internal consistency estimates were found to be .79 and .81 for the clinical and self-report forms respectively, indicating moderate reliability (par. 4). Other studies suggest that the internal consistency range from .45 to .95, which is stated in the manual as consistent with the results from the verification sample (par.4). Burnett does not consider a range of .45 to .81 as acceptable internal consistency. Burnett concludes that the HDS consists of a well written and concise manual, which clearly describes the administration and scoring process. He finds that the two scales have moderate internal consistency, sound concurrent validity, and relatively consistent and stable factor structures (par. 7). His only complaint is that the verification sample is minimal and does not sufficiently describe the manner in which it was selected. The Stronger Assessment Tool Both Aaron Beck and Max Hamilton have created an assessment tool to determine the severity of the symptoms of depression. While Hamiltons Depression Scale was considered to be the gold standard, and may be administered to both children and adults, one would have to conclude that Becks Depression Inventory-II is the stronger of the two assessments. It appears that the BDI-II can be administered with ease and does not require an interviewing process. The BDI-II has been revised to monitor the severity of symptoms of depression for the last two weeks, while Hamiltons HDS does not state such strict guidelines. It also appears as though the BDI-II contains a stronger internal consistency with an alpha coefficient of .95 as opposed to the HDS internal coefficiency of .79 and .81. Another reason for this conclusion was the original intention of use of the scales. Hamiltons HDS was developed to evaluate the performance of the first generation of antidepressants, while Becks Depression Inventory was developed to determine the nature of the severity of symptoms of depression without the use of medication. Becks BDI-II appears to have surpassed the HDS as reviewers have considered this assessment tool as utilizing state-of-the-art psychometric techniques to improve the discriminative properties of the instrument (Beck, Steer Brown, 1961 par. 10). It appears as though Becks BDI-II is the preferred choice among todays clinicians.

The Public Relations Theory

The Public Relations Theory According to Johnsten and Zawawi (2004) on the public relations theory, they defined public relations as the principle and a strategic management functions which provides and to maintain mutually beneficial relationship of the company and the public in order to create a develop conditions and policy. In regards of this, public relations as a management functions in the company also has a big role and responsibility to assist the company in significant to achieve companys main objectivity. On top of that, the role of the public relation practitioners can be also classify as the ethical heart in every organization. They seek to be able to communicate with all of the significant publicans, not just in the internal but also external, in the effort to handle the company problems and to preserve the positive image of the company in public. When we talk about the code of ethics of public relations, Patricia J. Parsons on her book has defined ethic as The application of knowledge, understanding, and reasoning to questions of right and wrong behaviour in the professional practice of public relations (2004). The concept of ethics itself is fundamentally important to be kept and practiced by all of the public relation practitioners in carrying out its duties on professional lives. Even said so, there are several code of ethics are having in every public relation organization which every member are expected to abide and need to be understood when they carry out their job as a PR practitioners. Thus, the main objective of these codes of ethics is to perform a guideline to educate their members, so that they can easily to conduct and present themselves in a better way when they do their job in the professional lives. Based on Patricia A. Curtin and Lois A. Boynton (2001), they defined the ethical thoughts into two concepts, te leological and deontological approaches. The teleological concept is basically more into doing actions and by double checking the outcomes, because in this concept it simply believes that the end justify the means. While the deontological approaches, is more into doing a good actions by following the proper rules. Thus, this can be say that the concept is always reminds the public relations practitioners that they should provide the best results for company and society by following up the proper ethics when it comes to solve the problem. In these past few years, the ethical concept is become even more crucial and essential to be followed by the organizations and the companies to deal with the internal and external priorities. Basically, the code of ethics concept is always reminds by the nature of what should be valued and done by the public relation in their professional lives; which includes such as respects, public interest, openness, confidence and privacy, professional reputation, honesty, loyalty, credibility, and integrity towards the company and the society (Curtin and Boynton, 2001). In the professional lives, the public relation practitioners have a heavy task to share the truth and the actual facts to the society, without forgetting their main priorities to protect the companys image. When it comes to the honesty, it would reminds us with the main ethical rule to be observed by public relations is that do not ever tell a lie to anyone. Basically, it comes very naturally to say that public relations in thei r professional practices have a tarnished historical reputation by using some of the unethical way, including manipulative, misleading, spin doctoring, and lying. It comes to everyones mind that either the concept of lying can be identify as an ethical or unethical, moreover some of them may think either public relation practitioners should used the type of white lie to inform people? Are they a part of the ethics which should be followed by PR practitioners? We can not doubt that sometimes people may say lie to cover up mistakes and to protect the images of the company. But, we could not forget that the basic way of communication has taught us that communication is irreversible, which by means once we say something to people then we would not be able to un-say it in the future. However, we understood that the role of the public relation as the main foundation is to always protect the company, but also not to giving any harm or negative effect to society. This become a main reason of why PR practitioners should be able to find a good tactics in solving problems, by always keeping up the benefit conditions for both company and the society. One example of the ethical actions of public relations practices can be seen from one of the issues existed around the year of 2007 in Malaysia. During that time, it was reported that the Malaysians Health of the Ministry Department has announced all of the fast food advertisements to be stopped and banned with the immediate effect; including all of the print and electronic media advertisements from the multinational fast food company such Mc Donalds, Burger King, and KFC. The main reason of why the Malaysians Government was intended to banned all of the fast food advertisement was only to protect children and citizens; since the foods provided by the companies contains with the unhealthiest food, and it has caused the rising rates of the sicknesses in Malaysia, like obesity, diabetes, also hypertension among the people. Even though the issue was still under investigation and consideration, thus, it makes one of a fast food company in Malaysia, Mc Donald, feels aggrieved and unfortun ate caused by the situation. In the mean time, Mc Donald as one of the biggest multinational fast food company which also having a lot of branches in Malaysia, has given their comment in regarding of this problem. Based on the research provided about the case study, it was reported that the Managing Director of Mc Donald Company in Malaysia deplored the thoughts of the Malaysians Government who wanted to ban all of the fast food advertisement in Malaysia. Moreover, the Managing Director also stated that instead of banning all of the advertisement, the Health of Ministry Department should provide more information about the caloric and the nutritional content of the fast food to the Malaysians citizens. On top of that, Mc Donald also claimed that they are actively been promoting the healthy campaign by providing the new set of meals, such Grilled Mc Chicken and Soya Bean to maintain the healthy nutrition of the consumer. Moreover, the Managing Director also stated that in these past few days they would like to pro mote the new-brands of healthy food from Mc Donald, such as salad, fruit juices, and many more. In relation to the ethical concept, in this case, can be say that the PR of Mc Donald company is very professional as they did the right thing to handle the case. Based on Patricia J. Parson theory, she describes the five values of the public relations ethical theory that need to be recognize; which are veracity (truth telling), non-maleficence (no harm doing), beneficence (doing good), confidentiality (respecting privacy), and fairness (social responsibility). By looking out from the ethical perspective, they are trying to handle this case in a professional way as following the code ethics of PR practitioners. Actually, it is a fact that the fast food company is providing us with unhealthy and sell it mostly with the oily food which cause obesity and some other dangerous disease. In the meantime, Mc Donalds Managing Director as a PR did not denial the facts. Instead of that, they are trying to cover up the whole main issue to keep the image of the company, by gathering up the new fa cts that the company now has promoting the new sets of healthy menu for consumer, such the new set of Grilled Mc Chicken and Soya Bean. Another point that can be considered as a PR ethics is that, they are trying to respond the issue with caution and give a positive feedback to the Government by way willingly to attend meetings that have been on schedule by the Health of Ministry to discuss the whole issue. These steps can be says as preventive steps done by the PR practitioners of the company to avoid large losses without having to harm the other party. As a result of using these tactics, Mc Donald did not get much losses and still exists in Malaysia, as well as the consumer still enjoy with the foods provides by the Mc Donald. When we talk about the longer term impacts of either ethical or unethical concept of public relations towards the stakeholder, society, and the public relations itself; it can be say that having a trustworthy especially from society can be the strongest long term impact for either company or for the PR professions. Moloney Kevin (2006) on his theory has argued that, there is a mutual beneficial relationship between the organisations (the stakeholders) and the individuals (the society). He also stated that, The PR producer is involved with corporate ethics in another way as well. So basically, there is an indirect link between the personal ethics to the moral and philosophical values when they carry out their job as a PR, to keep the professional balance between organisational and the society as well. In simply says, society indirectly provides a major influence on the corporate survival. When the company and PR practitioners gained the real trustworthy from the public, it would autom atically help to give more profit to the company. Thus, we can not doubt that to get trustworthiness from the society, public relation practitioners are required to understand the real concept of the PR ethics. As already mentioned above, public relation practitioners during their professional lives are having a bad historical reputation, such by always using spin doctoring. This tactic has caused a bad image of public relations because some people may assume that this profession is just a form to deceit people. From here, it can be seen that ethical theory is very important for PR to create a new standard of good image in front of the public. As for conclusion of the essay, public relation is fundamentally important to establish the mutual beneficial relationship between the company and the society. In regards of this, public relations have a big role in business industries, to build a strong connection between organisation and the public. By seeing it from this perspective, we can say the ethical concepts are very important and still need to be followed by all of the public relations practitioners in every company, in order to obtain trustworthiness from society. Words Count: 1,769

Black Arrival In Canada :: essays research papers

The arrival of blacks in Canada is a very interesting topic. In 1606 Mattieu DaCosta, a translator for a European ship named Jonas was first black man that was recorded in Canada’s history(he was from Portugal). His job was to translate the language of the â€Å"MicMac† Indians during trade on the Pierre deGua expedition. Later in 1628, a British ship went up the St. Lawrence River to arrive at New France. In its cargo was a single Madagascan Black chil. This child, who was six years old at the time, was in possession by David Kirke who was a famous privateer who, with blessings of King Charles 1, was executing raids on young French colonies. The African child was the first known Black resident of Canada. He came as a slave. The subsequent year David Kirke captured Quebec City from, Samual deChamplain, it's founder. In 1713, the French territory of Acadia was ceded to the British by the Treaty of Utrecht. Southern settlers from New England moved north into the area, which was re-named Nova Scotia on July 4th 1776, the war for Canada's Independence. At this time there were approximately 500,000 blacks on which the French and the British counted on to assist them in fighting for their(the blacks) freedom. The first rebel to be killed was black, Chris Pazatex. One fifth of them were killed. After the war was over the British somewhat kept their promise. The promise of freedom and relocation for slaves to Nova Scotia. However, only 1 out of 10 to relocate were black. The promise was land, but only a small few received and owned any land. Most worked in houses of whites at a quarter of their wage. The majority of Black Loyalists were transported between April and September 1783.

Eriksons Psychosocial Theory :: Psychology Sociology Erikson Essays

Erikson's Psychosocial Theory Erik Erikson is possibly the best known of Sigmund Freud’s many followers. He grew up in Europe and spent his young adult life under the direction of Freud. In 1933 when Hitler rose to power in Germany, Erikson emigrated to the United States and began teaching at Harvard University. His clinical work and studies were based on children, college students, victims of combat fatigue during World War two, civil rights workers, and American Indians. It was these studies which led Erikson to believe that Freud misjudged some important dimensions of human development. Throughout this essay, Erikson’s psychosocial model will be explored, discussed and evaluated interms of it’s concepts, theories and assumptions. The theoretical underpinning will be discussed with reference to the nature versus nurture debate and also the continuity versus discontinuity argument. It will then be shown how Erikson has influenced the way psychologists view the importance of identity during adolescents. Firstly, however, Erikson’s work will be put alongside that of Freud’s to establish an understanding of the basis from which it came. Erikson’s psychosocial model was heavily influenced by Freud, and shares a number of central ideas. For example, both Freud and Erikson agree that every individual is born with a number of basic instincts, that development occurs through stages, and that the order of these stages is influenced by biological maturation (Sigelman, and Shaffer 1992). Erikson also believes, as did Freud, that personality has three components: the id, the ego, and the superego. Therefore it is fair to say that Erikson is a psychoanalytic theorist. However, Erikson does argue that social and cultural influences have a critical role in shaping human development, and less significance should be placed on the role of sexual urges. Freud did note however, that social agents such as parents should be regarded as important, but it is Erikson who highlights the forces within a much broader social environment, including peers, teachers and schools which are highly important according to Erikson. Erikson, then, moves more towards the ‘nurture’ side of the nature - nurture debate than did Freud, viewing nurture as equally important in development. This ‘nurture’ outlook highlights the emphasis on environmental forces within Erikson’s model. Experiences in life, changes achieved through learning, the influence of methods of child rearing, societal changes and culture all have an exceptionally important role on human development according to Erickson. In addition, Erikson’s theory encompasses the whole of the human life-span, outlining the stages that occur, which will be looked at more closely later on.

Bad Samarians

Ha-Joon Chang is a Cambridge heterodox economist, who specializes in development economics and the abject poverty of the Third World countries. Trained at the University of Cambridge, he has served as a consultant to the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, and various United Nations agencies. Since 1992 he has also served on the editorial board of the Cambridge Journal of Economics, he is the author and contributor of many researches in economics.The objective of this essay – to review his views described in his controversial new book â€Å"Bad Samaritans: The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism,† and to compare it with the more traditional views where it possible. Bad Samaritans Mostly in his book Ha-Joon Chang appeals to his opponents, orthodox economists, and generalists in particular. Ha-Joon Chang has wide personal experience because he was born in the country that was one of the poorest on Earth that time. The new book starts with the des cription of economic downturn in Korea after the Korean War.It is hard to believe, but the famous Samsung Company that time was subsidized by sugar refining and textile enterprises. Another big company, Pohang Iron and Steel Co. , or POSCO, which now is the third largest steel company in the world, was state-owned and couldn’t get the support from the World Bank. Analyzing the development of other economics in the 1960s, the author notices that Japanese government refused to follow the politics of free trade that time and this decision had a positive impact on Japanese car manufacturing industry.In other case modern famous Japanese companies could be the filials of Western companies, and nothing more. This thonking leads the reader to the concept of what Ha-Joon Chang calls the â€Å"Bad Samaritans. † As the author described, â€Å"people in the rich countries who preach free markets and free trade to the poor countries in order to capture larger shares of the latterà ¢â‚¬â„¢s markets and preempt the emergence of possible competitors. They are saying ‘do as we say, not as we did’ and act as Bad Samaritans, taking advantage of others who are in trouble.† Chang divides â€Å"Bad Samaritans† into two groups: first are the leaders working in the â€Å"unholy trinity† of global financial organizations: World Bank, World Trade Organization and International Monetary Fund, and second are the ideologues – â€Å"those who believe in Bad Samaritan policies because they think those policies are ‘right,’ not because they personally benefit from them much, if at all. † The common feature of both groups is the adherence to a doctrine called â€Å"neoliberalism†, which is dominating in the global economy from 1970s till nowadays.The worst in this doctrine, according the opinion of the author, is the fact that those countries that propagate this doctrine all over the world reject its implementati on in their own economical systems. The key characteristics of neoliberalistic economics were called â€Å"Golden Straitjacket,† which is the only root to economic success according its advocates, like â€Å"unholy trinity†. They actively implement this economic policy in poor and developing countries.As it known from the Nobel-awarded researchers of orthodox economists, the Golden Straitjacket policy struggle for trade liberalization, reducing corruption and state bureaucracy, privatization of state-owned enterprises and pensions, balancing the national budget, intellectual rights protection and other trends and policies which are intended to guarantee the stable economic growth. In real life the implementation of these policies in developing countries leads to creation of economical dependence from global financial organizations.At the same time the most developed countries don’t implement the Golden Straitjacket policy. Ha-Joon Chang writes: â€Å"Practicall y all of today’s developed countries, including Britain and the US, the supposed homes of the free market and free trade, have become rich on the basis of policy recipes that go against neo-liberal economics. † Rich countries protect their manufacturer from the foreign investments and use subsidies and protections to protect their industries. The WTO sanctions are considered by rich countries as the lesser evil.Chang enumerates prominent men from different countries whose economic solutions became the basis of their countries flourishing. All of them struggled for the development of the national production and used protectionists’ politics. Chang notices out that nowadays the most developed countries do the same, especially the USA. He claims the Third World War has already begun and the USA tries to maintain its position as global hegemon. There are already conquered sides in this war, and one of them is the African countries. As the result of neoliberalism poli cy,The living standards in Africa are falling within the recent thirty years, because IMF and World Bank run most of African economies virtually. All the features of neoliberalizm described above were implemented in African countries. As the result the struggle with corruption ruined the system of communities existed before, the struggle with bureaucracy left courtiers without the perfect executive power branch, the intellectual property protection prevented the development of sciences, and pension privatization left the elder people to the poverty.Chang criticizes the struggle with the corruption because, according his words, â€Å"Most of today’s rich countries successfully industrialized despite the fact that their own public life was spectacularly corrupt. † Another object of sharp critics of the author is the concept of cultural influence on the economical performance of the country. The popular idea tells that the culture if the country defined the business metho ds of its people and thus their economic success. First this idea is an intolerant and chauvinists’ one, second, cultural differenced fail be the main explanation for economic success.He claims that the culture of the country is the result of economical development and not the cause. Using the chapters describing the mechanisms of economical development in different countries Chang proves that cultural explanation is just the screen to mask the real reason: the richest countries are afraid of competitors from below and do their best to annihilate the possible competition in the moment of origin. Generally, Chang writes, the policy of protectionism is absolutely normal, because it exists for ages. The problem is in hypocrisy surrounding â€Å"free trade†.According to Chang, â€Å"Belief in the virtue of free trade is so central to the neo-liberal orthodoxy that it is effectively what defines a neo-liberal economist. You may question (if not totally reject) any other el ement of the neo-liberal agenda—open capital markets, strong patents, or even privatization—and still stay in the neo-liberal church. However, once you object to free trade, you are effectively inviting ex-communication. † Analyzing the existing situation on the global market, Chang concludes that the golden straitjacket fits the healthy countries only.This policy allows production distribution between countries, and poor countries are forces to specialize in the sector s that â€Å"offer low productivity growth and thus low growth in living standards. This is why so few countries have succeeded with free trade, while most successful countries have used infant industry protection to one degree or another. † Thus, the free trade, according the Chang, is a fiction and the tool for rich countries and â€Å"unholy trinity† for redistribution of wealth. ConclusionThe views of Ha-Joon Chang to the development of global economy nowadays are contradictory a nd don’t correspond to the mainstream in the economical science. However there are many writers and scientists with the same mind who share Chang’s ideas that the ideology of free trade and its implementation are two different things, and the first of them can be used as the powerful tool of economical influence. Reference Ha-Joon Chang. 2007. Bad Samaritans:The Myth of Free Trade and the Secret History of Capitalism. Bloomsbury Press

Business Information Systems Essay

1. What is a decision? When does a person have to make a decision? A decision is a conclusion or resolution reached after a thought out consideration of variables in a problem. When more than one possible action is involved in solving a problem, a decision must be made. 2. Calculating a complex trajectory of a spaceship to Mars is a structured problem, whereas diagnosing the cause of a rash on a person’s skin is often unstructured. How so? A structured problem is one in which an optimal solution can be reached through a single set of steps. Since the one set of steps is known, and since the steps must be followed in a known sequence, solving a structured problem with the same data always yields the same solution. This sequence of steps is known as an algorithm. An unstructured problem is one for which there is no algorithm to follow to reach an optimal solution— either because there is not enough information about the factors that might affect the solution or because th ere are so many potential factors that no algorithm can be formulated to guarantee a unique optimal solution. Unstructuredness is closely related to uncertainty. 3. DSSs use models to process data. Explain what a model is. Give an example that is not mentioned in the chapter. A sequence of events or a pattern of behavior might become a useful model when the relationships among its inputs, outputs, and conditions can be established well enough that they can be used to analyze different parameters. Models are used to predict output on the basis of different input or different conditions or to estimate what combination of conditions and input might lead to a desired output. Models are often based on mathematical research or on experience. A model might be a widely used method to predict performance, such as best- fit linear analysis, or it might be built by the organization, using the experience that employees in the firm have accumulated over time. 4. Many DSSs are not stand- alone anymore, but are embedded in other ISs. What are those ISs? Many DSSs are now closely intertwined with other organizational systems, including data warehouses, data marts, and ERP systems, from which they draw relevant data. 5. What is a sensitivity test? A sensitivity analysis is conducted to test the degree to which the total profit grows or shrinks if one or more of the factors is increased or decreased. It is often referred to as what- if analysis. 6. The airline and hospitality industries use DSSs for yield management. What is yield management, and what is the output of a yield management DSS? The purpose of yield management DSSs is to find the proper pricing to maximize the overall revenue from selling seats for each flight. The result is often price discrimination. 7. What is the purpose of an expert system? How can it serve as a competitive tool? The purpose of ESs is to replicate the unstructured and undocumented knowledge of the few (the experts), and put it at the disposal of the many other people who need the knowledge, often novices or professionals in the same domain but with far less expertise. It can serve as a competitive tool by the using of a knowledge base, which is a collection of facts and the relationships among them. An ES does not use a model module but an inference engine. The inference engine is software that combines data that is input by the user with the data relationships stored in the knowledge base. The result is a diagnosis or suggestion for the best course of action. In most ESs, the knowledge base is built as a series of IF- THEN rules. 8. Explain how expert systems can distribute expertise. By coupling quantitative data from a database with decision models. An expert system (ES) is developed to emulate the knowledge of an expert to solve problems and make decisions in a relatively narrow domain. 9. How could an ES be used to detect probable fraud committed by a bank employee? Business applications have increasingly combined neural nets and ES technologies in software that monitors business processes and supply chain management. Neural nets have been very effective in detecting fraud of many types. 10. What is the advantage of combining ES and neural net technologies? ES researchers continue to look for ways to better capture knowledge and represent it. They test the results of such efforts in highly unstructured problem- solving domains. Rather than containing a set of IF- THEN rules, more sophisticated ESs use neural networks (neural nets), programs that are designed to mimic the way a human brain learns. An ES is constructed with a set of rules, but as data on real successes and failures of decisions is accumulated and fed into the system, the neural network refines the rules to accomplish a higher success rate. 11. What is a GIS? What purpose does it serve? GISs process location data and provide output. For instance, a GIS could be used to help a housing developer determine where to invest by tracking and displaying population changes on a map, highlighting in color increases of more than 10 percent over the past three years. 12. Name the three major elements that are combined to make up a GIS. A typical GIS consists of (1) a database of quantitative and qualitative data from which information is extracted for display, (2) a database of maps, and (3) a program that displays the information on the maps. Chapter 11 1. What is business intelligence? Business intelligence (BI) mainly refers to computer-based techniques used in identifying, extracting, and analyzing business data, such as sales revenue by products and/or departments, or by associated costs and incomes. 2. What is OLAP, and why is it often associated with visual cubes? OLAP is an approach to swiftly answer multi-dimensional analytical (MDA) queries. It is another type of application used to exploit data warehouses. Although OLAP might not be as sophisticated in terms of the analysis conducted, it has extremely fast response time and enables executives to make timely decisions. Each side of the cube provides another two dimensions of relevant information. 3. What is the advantage of using a dimensional database rather than on- the- fly processing in OLAP? Tables, even if joining data from several sources, limit the review of information. Often, executives need to view information in multiple combinations of two dimensions. 4. Why is online analytical processing usually conducted on warehoused data or dimensional databases rather than on data in transactional databases? To speed up response and summarize that data and organize the information in dimensional databases for OLAP. 5. What is â€Å" drilling down†? A process by which one starts with a table that shows broad information and successively retrieves tables of more specific information. Chapter 12 1. Why is IT planning so important? *  Creating a corporate and IT mission statement.    * Articulating the vision for IT within the organization.    * Creating IT strategic and tactical plans.    * Creating a plan for operations to achieve the mission and vision.  * Creating a budget to ensure that resources are available to achieve the mission and vision 2. As part of their IT planning, many organizations decide to standardize. What does standardization mean in this context, and what are its potential benefits? One major goal— and advantage— of planning is standardization. When management decides to adopt a certain IT resource for all its units, regardless of function or location, it standardizes its IT. Benefits would be: * Cost saving * Efficient training * Efficient support 3. Why is traditional systems development referred to as a â€Å" cycle†? What determines the cycle’s end? Because it consists of several distinct phases that are followed methodically, and the developers complete the phases sequentially. The SDLC approach assumes that the life of an IS starts with a need, followed by an assessment of the functions that a system must have to fulfill that need, and ends when the benefits of the system no longer outweigh its maintenance costs, or when the net benefit of a new system would exceed the net benefits of the current system. 4. Systems developers often use the term â€Å" application development† rather than â€Å" systems development.† Why? It involves fast development of an application based on initial user requirements and several cycles of user input and developer improvements. 5. What are the benefits of using data flow diagrams? Who benefits from DFDs? The use of only four symbols and the simplicity of DFDs are their great advantage. Those who benefit are external entities include individuals and groups of people who are external to the system, such as customers, employees, other departments in the organization, or other organizations. 6. SDLC is usually recommended for developing an IS that will be interfaced to other ISs. Give two examples of an IS that is interfaced with at least two other ISs. The better known methods are Extreme Programming (XP), Adaptive Software Development (ASD), Lean Development (LD), Rational Unified Process (RUP), Feature Driven Development (FDD), Dynamic Systems Development Method (DSDM), Scrum, and Crystal. 7. Recall the discussion of IT professionals in Chapter 1, â€Å" Business Information Systems: An Overview†. Of the following professionals, who does the majority of the systems construction job: the CIO, systems analyst, database administrator (DBA), or programmer? Why? Systems analyst, because it takes a specialist to analyze and determine the type of program made to improve the system. 8. What are the advantages of agile methods over waterfall development methods, such as the traditional SDLC? What are the risks? The differences among the methods are outside the scope of this discussion. However, the major advantage of all agile methods is that they result in fast development of applications so that users can have them within weeks rather than months or years. Users do not have to wait long for system modifications, whether they are required because of programmer errors or because users have second thoughts about some features. However, the benefits of agile methods do not come without risks. First, the analysis phase is minimal or is sometimes eliminated completely. Reducing or skipping a thorough formal analysis increases the risk of incompatibilities and other unforeseen mishaps. Also, the develop-ers devote most of their time to construction and little time to documentation, so modification at a later date can be extremely time consuming, if not impossible. Because of the inherent risks, there are times when agile methods are appropriate and others when they are not. 9. Why are agile methods so helpful when users cannot define system requirements? Agile methods encourage users’ involvement throughout the process and encourage developers to change requirements in response to user input if needed. The purpose of agile methods is not to conform to a static contract with the users but to ensure that the users receive an application with which they are happy. Critics of agile programming in general and XP in particular argue that the relaxed approach to planning as well as ceding decision making and accountability to clients (users) might result in disasters, especially if such methods are applied to large, complex projects. 10. An increasing number of IS professionals prefer to call the end users of their creations â€Å" customers,† even if the developers and users are employees of the same organization. Why? The customers of software development, the users, are not an adverse party and should not be negotiated with but regarded as codevelopers and co- owners of the software. 11. What is systems integration? The process of linking together different computing systems and software applications physically or functionally, to act as a coordinated whole. 12. Why is systems integration more complicated when the systems involve the Web than when they do not? Systems integration is often much more complicated than systems development, because it requires the IT professionals to make different applications communicate with each other seamlessly. The complexity is multiplied when integrating ISs of several organizations that must work together over the Web. 13. The emergence of the Web as a vehicle for business increased the need for systems integration. How so? The web allows for remote access and because more legacy databases are integrated into new enterprise applications it makes for a smooth transition of data traffic.