Medical Assistant Career Paper

The medical assistant profession offers numerous benefits. They include the opportunity to work in a helping profession, the potential for competitive wages and advancement, and generous benefit packages. Benefits for medical assistants vary based on the employer. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, medical assistants' responsibilities vary, depending on the location and size of the practice and the practitioner's specialty. One of the biggest benefits of working as a medical assistant is the reward of helping patients who are hurting or undergoing treatments o have a positive experience.Medical assistants perform a wide variety of administrative and clinical tasks to keep the offices of physicians, podiatrists, chiropractors, and other health practitioners running smoothly. Another benefit of working as a medical assistant is a steady annual salary. The salary can range between $25,000 and $30,000 depending on the employer and type of medical assistant position. General ass istants in surgical hospitals may earn more than assistants in outpatient care centers and smaller physician offices, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Many people use the medical assistant position to advance in the medical field. The U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics explains that medical assistants can advance through working experience and additional training. This can include training to becoming a nurse or another type of health-care worker, or an office manager. A medical assistant may interact with many different patients during a single day. This can include patients of all ages, including the elderly and children.Being familiar with different cultures and nationalities can help the medical assistant ake the experience more comfortable for patients of different backgrounds. Medical assistants also usually will get a set of paid benefits on the Job. This package can include a health plan, vision plan for glasses and contacts, dental insurance, general discount s in the medical office, paid vacation, pension and retirement plan, 401 k matching and free continuing education. All of these benefits may not be available in all workplaces. More benefits may be available to medical assistants working in hospitals.

Drug Abuse in Africa Essay

Apart from cannabis abuse in northern and southern Africa and khat chewing in north-eastern Africa, the history of drug abuse in Africa is relatively short. The abuse of drugs in Africa is nevertheless escalating rapidly from cannabis abuse to the more dangerous drugs and from limited groups of drug users to a wider range of people abusing drugs. The most common and available drug of abuse is still cannabis, which is known to be a contributing factor to the occurrence of a schizophrenic-like psychosis. The trafficking in and abuse of cocaine and heroin are the most recent developments in some African countries that had had no previous experience with these drugs. Efforts should be made to design and implement drug abuse assessment programmes to determine the real magnitude and characteristics of the problem and to monitor its trends. A lack of funds and a shortage of adequately trained personnel have made it difficult to implement drug abuse control programmes. In addition to formal drug control involving the implementation of legislation, there is an informal system of drug abuse control operating through the family, church, school, neighbourhood and work environment, as well as healthy recreational activities. It is suggested that efforts in African countries should be directed towards strengthening not only the formal drug control system but also informal control in order to compensate for the insufficient funds and the shortage of personnel trained in implementing formal drug control measures. It is very likely that the drug problems in African countries will worsen in future unless more effective measures are implemented to arrest the current situation. Introduction Drug abuse is defined as â€Å"†¦ excessive or inappropriate use of a [psycho-active] substance by a person ; such use being considered or judged to be illegal (immoral) by the culture and resulting in harm to the person or society† [ 1] . In defining the phenomenon , therefore , the key determinant is the perception of society of what constitutes drug abuse. It may be stated in general terms that the socio-cultural values and standards relating to drug abuse in Africa have been weakened by the influence of international developments relating to drug abuse , which have given rise to the change in what society considers abuse. Historical background The irresponsible use of drugs and alcohol by college students has always been an issue for university campuses, but the problem has become more and more frequent and has grown in familiarity with every passing generation. In past years, the problem has not only multiplied in frequency, but has also grown in danger. Now students are abusing not only recreational drugs like Marijuana and Cocaine, but also prescription drugs like Ritalin and others like it such as Adderall. â€Å"As many as 20 percent of college students have used Ritalin or Adderall to study, write papers, and take exams†¦ † (Jacobs 2). Medications like Ritalin are used to provide energy and concentration when a person cannot achieve them through regular means. Students take medication like Ritalin to help them deal with loss of sleep so they can stay up all night to cram and still do well in class. Students are now using similar medications like Adderall that are released over long periods of time so they can keep an energy high throughout an entire day instead of just one or two class periods. On some campuses, if you’re not using Ritalin or Adderall, you are just increasing your risk to fall behind. As one Columbia student said, â€Å"If you don’t take them, you’ll be at a disadvantage to everyone else† (Jacobs 3). This previous statement is unfortunately all oo true, these types of prescription medications are so popular and commonplace that students attending certain universities believe that â€Å"now it’s almost cool to take them† (Jacobs 2). Many college students have come to believe that these drugs are essential to their success, many believe that it can expand their intelligence and give them a learning advantage in classes they find difficult. This is false because these medications were only created to help people suffering from A. D. H. D. to maintain concentration and focus on tasks they previously found overwhelming. The rise in occurrence of disorders such as A. D. H. D. and A. D. D. in past years may have a link to this problem, many teens are diagnosed with attention disorders and the commonplace use of medications like Ritalin and Adderall may have led a lot of students to think that taking these drugs is normal. At Columbia University, a student even went as far as to say that â€Å"the culture here actually encourages people to use stimulants,† (Jacobs 2) Doctors have been seeing a rising amount of young adults who have claimed to have an attention deficit disorder in order to obtain medications to help them in college. Another leading cause of drug abuse is â€Å"the belief that drug abuse or the non-medical use of any drug will not have long-lasting effects on their health. † (Health Services 2) Campus health providers frequently see students who have over extended themselves by taking too many pills at once or too often and end up wandering in because they cannot function any further. Surveys and reports have confirmed that these forms of drug abuse have more than doubled in the last decade or so. â€Å"†¦ T]he number of teenagers†¦abusing prescription medications tripled from 1992 to 2003†¦ † (Jacobs 2). The ready availability of these drugs has also led to an increase in their wide-spread use, the â€Å"[T]he abuse of prescription drugs†¦has increased dramatically since the mid-1990s†(Leinwand 1). The majority of abused prescription drugs are either received from a friend or acquaintance that has been prescribed the medication or sold by someone on campus. Although prescription drug use has indeed increased â€Å"Alcohol remains the favored substance by far†¦ (Leinwand 1). Reportedly around 50 percent of college students consume alcohol on a regular basis. Although campus authorities have increased their efforts to put a lid on drinking in recent years, â€Å"in 2005, 83% of campus arrests involved alcohol†¦Ã¢â‚¬  So despite regular efforts, drinking on college campuses has continued to become progressively more common over the years, it is pretty much expected. Drinking is the college norm; almost every college student will consume alcohol before their graduation. Once a student becomes overly dependent on a substance, like alcohol or Ritalin, they can obtain help and possible treatment through their University’s health services and offices. Some of the treatments may be medical or involve a rehabilitation center or a student can seek help through a support network like AA or with a group of supporting family or friends. A student can also opt to go speak with a counselor or possibly a professor about their problems in class or their reliance on a substance that they feel is keeping them from failure in their schooling. Substance abuse can terribly interfere with a students ability to attend class and to achieve any type of learning, students should not let themselves be caught in the use or abuse of any such substance and should always be able to turn to a university advisor for help or support. Fellow stdents, advisors, and professors should always make an effort to reduce substance abuse on campuses every time they get the chance, because even if it does not end a life, substance abuse can and will destroy a life if it is given the chance and not stopped before it begins. With the exception of north Africa, where cannabis resin (hashish) has traditionally been used by members of the Sufi sect , east Africa, where the use of khat has been institutionalized , and perhaps southern Africa , where cannabis (dagger) has been widely used [ 2] , there is no evidence to support the view that the abuse of drugs has been part of the African heritage [ 3] , [ 4] . Other psycho-active substances currently being abused do not have historical antecedents in any part of Africa. Africans, though deeply religious, have not used drugs as a medium in religious rituals, and none of the indigenous herbal psycho-active substances have been used in ceremonies [ 2] . The situation in Africa and the life-styles of the Africans have drastically changed over the past years under the influence of industrial and urban developments. These developments have, in turn, changed the way in which he Africans achieve ataraxia ; at present, the easiest way to achieve it is to resort to psycho-active substances. Khat (Catha edulis), a plant grown mainly in southern Arabia and eastern and southern Africa [ 5] , first received international attention in 1935 at the League of Nations [ 6] . The psycho-active effects of khat chewing , which are derived from cathine and cathinone [ 7] , are similar to the effects produced by using amphetamines. Within the African region, khat has been grown and used in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Somalia and the United Republic of Tanzania. The fact that the pleasurable , stimulating and euphoric effects of khat chewing can only be derived from the fresh leaves and shoots of the plant may have contributed to the low popularity of khat as a substance of abuse beyond the local areas of cultivation The plant Cannabis sativa, from which cannabis preparations such as marijuana and hashish are derived, grows wild in Africa. Certain evidence suggests that the cultivation of cannabis and its use as a drug of abuse were introduced into Africa from India [ 8] – [ 10] by the Sufi sect and by Asian traders and travellers [ 9] , [ 11] . One study indicated that the cannabis plant and its use could have been spread across the Sahara to west Africa around the sixteenth century [ 8] . There is also evidence suggesting that soldiers returning from the Second World War were responsible for the increased incidence of cannabis abuse in west Africa, particularly in Nigeria [ 2] , [ 4] . This is supported by the fact that in west Africa there is no known indigenous name for cannabis, nor has it been used there for mystical purposes. This is also supported by research findings indicating that cannabis is an important factor in the occurrence of mental illness in Africa [ 12] , [ 13] ; this factor is much less known in cultures where cannabis has for a long time been consumed [ 14] . Another possible route was across the Indian Ocean. This may have been the route by which travellers from India brought cannabis from India to east, central and south Africa as early as the second century, but there is no evidence to suggest that the use of cannabis spread at that time from there to the west coast of Africa. Current drug abuse situation in Africa Because of the lack of information on the subject, an assessment of the extent, patterns and trends of drug abuse in all the countries of Africa is not an easy task. There are no systems for collecting and retrieving data on drug abuse in African countries, and drug abuse assessment projects are urgently needed for all African countries. This article has, to a large extent, been prepared on the basis of data provided by various workshops and seminars held on the subject in the course of the past 12 years. The following paragraphs summarize the drug abuse situation according to the most commonly abused substances. Cannabis Cannabis grows wild in most parts of Africa but it is also illicitly cultivated. It is the most widely abused illicit drug in the region. It appears to be less abused in countries of east Africa, such as Ethiopia and Somalia, where the abuse of khat is prevalent. Although cannabis is not indigenous to west Africa, it is illicit ly cultivated and widely abused in that part of the continent. In Nigeria, cannabis is predominantly abused by teenagers, who begin using it at the age of 14. The situation in other west African countries is similar. * In particular, the 1974 Workshop of the Association of Psychiatrists in Africa (held at Nairobi, Kenya), the African Seminar on Problems of Drug Dependence (held at Lagos, Nigeria, in 1980) and the World Health Organization Workshop on Prevention and Management of Drug Dependence through Primary Health Care (held at Lagos, Nigeria, in 1985). Khat The chewing of khat has been practised for years and is, to a large extent, socially accepted in Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar and Somalia ; some of these countries are introducing control measures to discourage the cultivation and use of khat. Apart from the habitual use of khat, Workneh [ 15] reports that it is used by students to improve their academic performance, by truck drivers to keep themselves awake and by labourers to supply the extra vigour and energy they need for their work- It is interesting to note that the same reasons have been reported by cannabis users in west Africa. Amphetamines Amphetamines are imported into Africa, although there is no significant medical justification for using these substances. They are often illegally smuggled into African countries, where they eventually find their way into open markets and patent medicine stores. A few countries, such as Somalia, the Sudan and Togo, have not reported any amphetamine-related problems, but there is general consensus that the abuse of amphetamines in Africa is a problem mainly among adolescents and unskilled labourers, such as drivers and farmers. Opium Opium is reported to have been abused, sometimes in combination with cannabis or alcohol, in Mauritius, mainly among the Chinese ethnic group. Cocaine, heroin and lysergic acid diethylamide These drugs are not manufactured in Africa but have been increasingly present in Nigeria and other west African countries, as shown by recent seizures and arrests- The evidence suggests that African, and especially west African countries, are used by drug traffickers as transit points for heroin trafficking from South-East Asia to Europe and North America. It has recently been reported that some Nigerians have been used as carriers of drugs and some have invested in the illicit drug trafficking [ 16] . Cocaine and heroin have recently been seized for the first time in the Sudan. An increasing abuse of cocaine and heroin has been reported in Nigeria [ 13] . The abuse of these drugs has also been reported in other African countries such as Kenya, Liberia and Mauritius. Sedative-hypnotic For the purpose of this article , sedative-hypnotics include barbiturates, benzodiazipines and other substances, the abuse of which presents similar problems. These substances are imported for legitimate medical purposes, but reports from various African countries indicate that they have also been abused, especially by women. A study in Nigeria has shown that, in order of magnitude , the abuse of these substances is second in rank following alcohol abuse [ 13] . Mandrax (methaqualone and diphenhydramine) was commonly abused in Nigeria in the early 1970s, but since it was banned, its abuse has abated [ 13] . However, some other African countries, such as Swaziland, have reported an increase in the trafficking and abuse of Mandrax. Glue and petrol sniffing An increase in the abuse of benzine by inhalation has been reported among Sudanese children [ 17] . Recent reports from Kenya, Somalia, SwaziIand and Zambia indicate the abuse of glue and petrol by sniffing, though the extent of such abuse varies from country to country. Pela and Ebie [ 13] highlighted the potential for abuse of volatile solvents in some occupational groups in Nigeria. Most recent reports from Ethiopia indicate that the abuse of glue and petrol is prevalent among juveniles.

Hardware and Software Used in Public Bank

Public Bank is currently the largest domestic bank in Malaysia by shareholders’ funds. It is well-known in 1966 by its founder and chairman, Tan Sri Dato Sri Dr Teh Hong Piow. The bank was planned on the Malaysia Stock Exchange in 1967. The Public Bank Group employs more than 14,000 people, with in Hong Kong and China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos and Sri Lanka. Public Bank is one of the most competent banks as reflected by its low cost to revenue ratio in Malaysia.The Public Bank Group has established a strong potential of delivering remarkably high rates of organic growth in its centre business. Over the years, the Public Bank Group has been part of physically powerful catalysts to support Malaysia economic growth. From the start of this, Public Bank has form itself into a strong and successful financial institution, contribution wide range of competitive and innovative products and solutions to meet its customers’ needs. Public Bank is the most recognized brand in the Mal aysia financial services manufacturing for its strong brand guarantee.Public Bank Berhad is occupied in commercial banking, investment banking, financing and Islamic banking business, stock-broking, provision of related financial services, management of unit trust funds and sale of trust units, underwriting of insurance, and investment holding. Complemented by business banking services, Public Bank is a market leader in consumer banking and retail commercial lending to SMEs in Malaysia. The company operates six segments. Hire purchase operations are focused on the stipulation of passenger vehicle financing to all levels of customers.Retail operations focus on producing products and providing services to each and every customer. The Company operates six segments. Hire purchase operations are focused on the provision of passenger vehicle financing to all levels of customers. Retail operations focus on providing products and services to individual customers and small-and medium-sized e nterprises. Corporate lending operations cater to the funding needs of corporate customers. Treasury and capital market operations is involved in trading in treasury related products and services. Investment banking operations caters to the business needs of corporate customers.Fund management operations consist of sale of trust units and the management of unit trust funds. Others refer to non-core operations, such as property holding. 2. 0 Types of contemporary information systems in Public Bank 2. 1 Customer Relationship Management System Introduction Customer Relationship Management System or usually known as CRM is one of the system used in Pubic Bank Berhad. CRM is a type of software application which used organized customer demographic, account and transactional information to obtain a better understanding of customer’s banking and financing needs, relationships and financial behavior..CRM helps improve the quality of customer relationships and offers opportunities to e xtend and cement the customer’s relationship with the Public Bank Group and improve on the company’s customer cross-selling ratio. Hardware and Software requirements To install the CRM system, there are some requirements need to be fulfill before proceed to the installment of the system. Of course beside of the basic hardware requirement such as mouse, keyboard, and monitor, it still need some more powerful hardware tools.First and the most important it should has a processor which is at least more than dual 1. 8 GHz Pentium Xeon to keep the server is usable. Using a lower-grade of processor with CRM system will caused server to freeze. Then, it should has a Random Access Memory (RAM) with at least 1 GB which gives its CRM program enough extra headroom to operate on its most basic level. For a better stability, run CRM on a system with 2 GB of memory or more. For the disk space requirement, it should have 400MB or more free space on the hard disk before installing CRM. Last one is the operating system and IIS.CRM need Windows Server 2003 SP2 or Windows Server 2008 in order to operate the CRM system. Along with operating system, Internet Information Services(IIS) version 6. 0 or 7. 0 need to be installed. While for software requirement, first it need a network interface card(NIC) to allows a client computer to connect to the central location where the CRM applications is located. Besides that, it need network protocol to allow two or more computers to communicate. The most common protocol is TCP/IP protocol which is also used to connect to the Internet. Functions and Core activities performedThere are several functions of CRM in Public Bank Berhad which may deal with every different department in the company. 1. Significance -CRM should serve as the method used by Public Bank to gain insight into their existing and future customer base. It allows them to measure the amount of customer business that already exists along with the product and service s that need to be offered in order to retain customers. 2. Function -The function contained within the CRM system must allow Public Bank to formulate its overall marketing and business strategy plan.This function is based upon calculations performed by the CRM platform that produces profitability by asset and liability type followed by the complete drill down to all basic components such as profitability from deposits and loans. 3. Features -CRM platform should be available to all marketing staff, management and any other sales related area of Public Bank. The monitor screens for these staff members should indicate customers by bank officer, business transactions, total and itemized profitability, contact information and customer profile data.It should also provide â€Å"what-if† scenarios that allow marketing staff the opportunity to develop personalized business plans for each customer. 4. Considerations -The CRM system of Public Bank must be constantly monitored for proper coding, subiness types; income and cost allocations along with rate analysis. CRM system must be updated and changed for the inclusion of a new business line along with all the associated information necessary for functionality. Advantages and Disadvantages There are a lot of advantages of using CRM in banking industry such as Public Bank Berhad.By using CRM, Public Bank can increase their revenue and profitability where bankers can easily see what products is currently used by customers, what products they are eligible for and what additional benefits should be added into the product or service. Besides, it also can improved customer service when CRM give proactive banks access to technology that helped them improve customer retention by using customer feedback to offer conveniences like ATMs and online banking. Next is the highly target marketing. With the captured data from their customer profile and ransactions, bankers are able to better identify target markets or rank custome rs according to lifetime expected value and then tailor the promotional campaigns to individuals. However, disadvantages of CRM will occurred on the same time. CRM is not always profitable so that Public Bank will need to pay a high cost for the continual maintenance or setup of its server which will takes up company resources. In addition, Public Bank need to hire professionals to train their employees in group in order to provide training for their employees.This may takes away time for productivity because most CRMs have specialized functions for managers and executives. Besides that, implementation of CRM may face overhead problem where Public Bank need to pay an amount of money to the software developers whenever a new version of software was applied to their CRM. Lastly is the integration problem faced by CRM because if a certain CRM system is not compatible with Public Bank’s other system such as email or accounting systems, the CRM system will not be effective. Implem entation ChallengesPublic Bank Berhad should consider of lease the CRM system from outside vendors as it may keep their database organized and updated. Customers trend keeps changing from time to time so they may not captured the trends if their CRM systems is not updated with the latest software or facilities and worse it may lead to lose to compete in the market where many of their customers start on choosing other company. 1. One of the biggest challenges facing by Public Bank to implement CRM is the cost associated with purchasing, installing and training employees to use new software.However, properly implemented of CRM will eventually show a good return on performance of the bank. 2. CRM-centric businesses focus on placing customers and their satisfaction before Public Bank and it is typically very complex and span multiple departments. This means that most employees must go through some sort of training to adopt with the system. 3. In-House CRM software will be more effective than supported system CRM but In-House CRM will be much more difficult to implement.Public Bank should consider supported system which means outsourced to another company in order to help them implement CRM effectively. Supported systems typically less costly to implement because it is not as effective as In-House solutions. Security Issues Possible security attacks in a CRM system are: 1. Denial of service (DOS) is a type of attacked in system where it attacked the system and make it unavailable to customers. Some of the possible attackers are angry customers, script kiddies, formal employees, and the competitors. 2.Intrusion of sales automation systems and customer database. Sales Automation systems normally have numerous information about customer so it may effort risk from potential attackers to break into the systems and steal the customer information. 3. Identity theft is a type of crime where someone uses your personal information without your permission to commit fraud or o ther crimes. 4. Malware attacks. Malware includes viruses and worms where their attacks can cause the damage on DOS, hardware and loss of data. 2. 2 Database Management System IntroductionA Database Management System is also known as DBMS is one of the software application used in Public Bank Berhad. A DBMS is best described as a collection of programs that manage the database structure and that control shared access to the data in the database It is a program that lets one or more computer users in the bank to create and access data from a same database. DBMS may use a variety of database models such as relational model or non-relational model. It also can be thought as a â€Å"file manager† that manages data in databases rather than files in file systems.A DBMS provides facilities for controlling data access, enforcing data integrity and maintaining database security as well. Hardware and Software requirements For hardware requirement of DMBS, it needs a basic 32-bits or a 64-bits operating system in order to implement the software. The minimum CPU speed for a DBMS is 1GHz per server but it is recommended to apply a 2GHz, multi-core for each server. Minimum RAM requirement before implement DBMS is 512MB per server. However, for multiple databases which is more than 100GB,it is recommended to apply 4GB for each server. While in disk ubsystem, it must at least enable SCSI or SATA hard disks or SSD which provides minimum 7200 rpm. For a better or high speed database, a SDD or high-speed HDD arrays will be more suitable for the system. Functions and Core activities performed Generally, there are several functions of DBMS in Public Bank which is:1. Support Concurrent Updates -Concurrent updates occur when multiple users make updates to the database simultaneously. So it is important for Public Bank’s database management to ensures that updates are made correctly and the end result is accurate to avoid lost of data or inaccurate data stored. . Recove ry of data -In the event of catastrophe occurs, DBMS of Public Bank can provide ways to recover a database so that data is not permanently lost. If the database is destroyed or damaged in any way, DBMS will able to recover the correct state of database by making a regular backups of information. So in the event of a disaster occurs, the database can be restored to the state that it was last at prior to backup. 3. Able to update and retrieve data -This is a fundamental component of DBMS and essential to database management.Updating data in database includes adding new records, deleting existing records and changing information within a record. Advantages and Disadvantages There are several advantages of DBMS in Public Bank and the first will be storing lots of data in one place. By using DBMS, Public Bank can store a large amount of important and sometimes some confidential information such as pay records and personal details in a database. Besides that, security of data also a major issue where Public Bank will able to keep confidential information, passwords and restricted that data only available for certain high-level employees.Next is a fast query where employees of Public Bank can searched for data by just key in certain keywords and thus will enable all the relevant information to appear on the screen immediately. Lastly is ability to share by more than 2 users. With DBMS, employees of Public Bank will not faced network jammed because the database or the same data can be accessed by multiple users at the same time. While there are some disadvantages of DBMS too which is complexity and costs. The control and administration of DBMS are challenging and hiring administrators who are specialized database experts is also expensive.Secondly, confidentiality, privacy and security risk is another main issue because when information is accessed remotely, the possibilities of information disclosure and leakage are greater than with conventional data processing syst em. Last disadvantage of DBMS is data quality and data integrity risk where when databases are accessed and used by multiple users, it will increase the risks of potential damage to the data. Users who are not database experts may try to update or append data to the database will caused damage of data too. Implementation challengesPublic Bank Berhad should rent or lease the DBMS system from other vendors or outsourced it since managing or build a internal database is much more complex and it take a lot of costs. So they may hire other vendors especially some professional in managing database system in order to help them in the process. Then, the benefits of rent the database from other vendors is the company just need to pay for the amount they used or some maintenance fees. When there is some latest software published, they also may immediately change for it after their license for the system had expired.In addition, they also may just add on extra space for the storage of data by just pay for some extra costs. There are several issues faced when DBMS is implemented: 1. Primary VS Secondary memory -Before a DBMS is implemented, Public Bank should consider whether which memory they would like to use whether a primary memory or secondary memory for a more effective processing. Primary memory is fast and has a low latency but it is non-persistent and its size may be smaller than data size. Secondary memory is opposite in each case.2. Recovery The transaction in Public Bank may face failure or the system also could fail, so implementation of DBMS must be able to recover as much data as possible and it must never leave a transaction â€Å"half done† so it should restore all the data to consistent state. 3. Query processing -The DBMS must able to translate the query into relational algebra (RA) expressions because it likely to be more efficient and indirectly this will minimize the size of intermediate relations. It also must provide different algorithms for each RA operation.Then cost is estimated using statistical information from the database catalog and the cheapest queries should be chosen. Security Issues After DBMS is implemented in the company, it may face some threats to their database which caused loss of integrity, lost of availability and loss of confidentiality. To protect database against these types of threats, Public Bank may 4 methods to encounter the threats which the first one is access control where user accounts and passwords to control login process by DBMS is created.Next is inference control and it controlled the access to statistical database which is used to provide statistical information or summaries of values based on various criteria. The 3rd is flow control. Flow Control is a type of security way which prevents information from flowing in such a way to reaches unauthorized users. The last security method is encryption used to protect sensitive data that is being transmitted via some type of communication network.The data is encoded using encoding algorithm and only authorized users are given decoding or decrypting algorithm or keys to decipher the data. . 3 Enterprise Resourse Planning System Introduction Enterprise Resource Planning systems or ERP are software modules that handle the core functions of a business enterprise which integrates all department is the business including planning, human resource and finance and marketing. In Public Bank, ERP is used to integrate all networks from different department into a single central database for a better data transfer. Public Bank use ERP systems to maximize resources improve customer and vendor relationships and empower decision made.With the implementation of ERP system, the process of the bank will be faster and more effective. Hardware and Software requirements Hardware requirements to install a ERP is it must has a CPU which is running Intel Pentium III 500 MHz or above and minimum hard disk space needed is 30 GB. For RAM, it mu st at least has 256 MB but 512 MB RAM is recommended for a better performance. The PC must ensure it has a CDROM if the ERP system is installing from a CD and at least it has Intel Compatible Ethernet Card for the NIC. While for software requirements, the PC must has at least Windows NT Server 4. or Windows NT Server Pack 6. 0. Then,it needs a internet browser which is at least Internet Explorer 5. 0 or above.Besides that, it also need at least Microsoft SQL Server which is 7. 0 or above. Functions and Core activities performed There are several functions of ERP in Public Bank: 1. Central Database -A central database is essential for an efficient ERP system because it allow for visibility between operating divisions and help improve business processes in multiple departments. All departments in Public Bank may use the same input format so no time is waste in transferring and translating information. . Human Capital Management -ERP software allows Public Bank to manage their employee s more effectively or track their employee’s progress. This means employees can be better awarded for good performance and employees with potential can be targeted for additional training. It also helps to ensure the goals of employees are in alignment with the goals of Public Bank. 3. Operations Management -The operations management provides managers with the capability to manage procurement and logistics, resulting in efficient flow of materials.Managers of Public Bank use this automated process in real time to control the product development and manufacturing life cycles. Indirectly, this will helps them to cut the costs. 4. Performance Measurement -It provides real-time measurements and metrics that assist managers in understanding the business and making decisions. Business monitors key performance indicators (KPIs) are used to measure against expected performance such as employee turnover rate. Using ERP, it can integrate this with other business process such as plannin g, forecasting and budgeting. Advantages and DisadvantagesThere are some advantages of ERP in Public Bank and the most important is integration. By using ERP, all the business departments can be integrating into a single and cohesive platform. In addition to synchronization of work flow, ERP also provide a clearer overview of enterprise functioning and quicker performance. Secondly, ERP help to reduced operation costs because the system facilitate faster information flow between departments and offices so it will help employees to work faster, save valuable time and reduce operational costs. Another advantage of using ERP is data benefits.ERP has ability to streamline data so it reduces redundancy of similar data from different departments. All data is linked to each other and stored in a database so the data will only updated with accurate information and the data from a central database is accessible to multiple departments so it increased information processing time and allowed m anagers to obtain critical information quicker with a better accuracy. Last advantages is aid strategic planning decisions. ERP systems allow Public Bank to access data in real time and due to this it allow them to become more nimble and align it process and operations with their organization goals.So they can quickly captured the situations and come out with a proper solutions to overcome it. Implementation Challenges For ERP system, Public Bank should just purchased or buy the system once they have confirmed or identified that the system chosen is totally meet their requirement. It is because if the company had purchased an effective ERP system for their company, they do not need to pay large amount of money for the new training of their staff or employees and the costs for the purchase of new system. If the company purchased the system, they will only need to pay a little amount of money for the maintenance of the system.Besides that, if the company choose to implement new ERP sy stem, it will take a long period for their employees to adopt with the new system . Indirectly, this will reduce the productivity of the employees and wasted the resources of the company. Several issues need to be concerned before implementation of ERP: 1. Resistance to change -Adoption with ERP system is a major issue before the system is implemented because many units or divisions in Public Bank may resist to ERP due to insufficient guidelines or explanations from top management.If the benefits of ERP are not explained well, the recipients may resist and slow down the successful adoption of the system or refuse to use it correctly. 2. Training -Usually ERP errors result from improper user training. Public Bank should consider provide adequate time to thoroughly train the users because if without a proper training, they might often find themselves struggling to get proper materials. 3. System selection -There are many types of ERP system from different vendors so Public Bank should choose ERP systems base on functionality, scope, price and ease of use of the ERP.If the company fail to address these issues during selection of ERP system, they may face multiple challenges before, during and after the system was purchased. Security Issues There are a lot of issues about the security in ERP systems which include theft, damage, copying, unauthorized access to information, natural disasters and sabotage. But most common forms of security threat to ERP systems are from computer technology which is tapping or hacking. Public Bank may used security controls where authorized user need to log in with a secure username and password he may use the system.Besides that, they can limit a user’s accessibility into a certain level only so employees are only able to find some data regarding to their departments. Then, data encryption also can be used where it limits someone’s ability to export the database. Audit logs is build in ERP systems to track individual tr ansactions or changes in the system but it only provide a little detail about the relevance of the transaction. However, most of the organizations do not configure their ERP system to maintain audit logs because they are concerned about performance, degradation and they think they don’t need it. . 0 Porter’s Five Forces Analysis The Porter’s Five Forces illustrates how the competitive environment in the industry impacted by five forces.These forces are Threat of potential competitors, the intensity competition among existing firms, the power of suppliers, the power of the customers and the easiness of changing to substitute products. Porter’s five forces tool helps understand where power lies in business situation and it is useful, because helps understand clearly about the strength of current competitive position and the strength of a position that need considering to move into.Public Bank has used this porter’s competitive model to developed comp etitive strategies and enhanced performance by using information systems. Next, information systems that used by Public Bank are Customer Relationship Management System, Enterprise Resource Planning and Database Management System. 3. 1 The Power of Customers The power of customers is one of the forces of Porter’s Five Forces. It’s refers to the ability of customers can exert on businesses to get them to provide higher quality products, better customer service, and lower prices. The power of customers is one of the forces that shape the competitive structure of an industry.For example, Public Bank is one of the banks that faced these forces. Customers switching their loans and investment from one commercial bank to another, because banking industry is provide service and customer does not require to pay any large amount of costs. So, when the number of suppliers of investment banking services increase, the bargaining power of customers also increased. Besides that, cust omer power become high also because substitutes are available, threat of backward integration is high and costs switching are low.Porter’s five forces can solve by using information system. Appendix 1) Information system that can solved bargaining power of customer is Customer Relationship Management System (CRM). CRM is a technology and best tool use to analysis customer desires and needs from the firm, it is also a database created for the different type of customer information which helps to have a competitive advantage with others firm. Based on staff opinion, CRM collected and stored customer information to information and business strategy use. CRM helps Public Bank to attract new customer because they can identify what customer needs and wants.Besides that, they also can help bank having a good relationship with profitable customers because they produces efficiency operation compares to others firm. CRM is a unique strategy use to differentiate with competitors, they u sed by the firm for segmentation customers and to concentrate on retaining profitable and valuable customer. CRM store all the details of the customer what they buy and when they buy, so it’s can help reorganize customer details and help Public Bank to satisfaction customer by availability, quality, presentation, image, value for money and fulfill the expectation of customers.In addition, CRM provide staff with the information and processes necessary to know their customers, understand and identify the customer needs and effectively build relationships between the firm and its customer base as a distribution partners. Public Bank use CRM software to help them manage their customer relationship and build customer loyalty to their bank. Next, Public Bank also use Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) to helps managed the important parts of business. ERP software applications can be used to manage product planning, parts purchasing, inventories, interacting with suppliers, provide customer service and tracking order.ERP application modules help Public bank manage their finance department, human resources department and also including manufacturing, sales and marketing. Based on staff opinion, ERP help to shares the data flow from one department to another department across the organization. Besides that, ERP also manage the information flow from organization to the connection with outsiders. For example, customer may get their money from ATM from one bank to another or they get money from other bank use different debit card or credit card. ERP help manage all the money flow and transfer the data to the organization.In addition, ERP system deal with customers as well as other people, they attempt to cover all the basic operations of any given organization and government. Moreover, ERP is easier to use and enables organization get better understanding their business and standardize business process. ERP help organization to attract customer because they manage all information and data systematically and efficiently, this give a nice impression to customers. Database Management System (DBMS) is software system uses a standard method to cataloging, retrieving, and running queries on data.DBMS manages incoming data, organizes it and provides ways for the data to be modified or extracted by organization. Public Bank use this software system to manage large structure sets of persistent data, offering hoc query facilities to customers. DBMS help Public Bank manage their customer data and make staff easier to find the information when they needed. This saved a lot of time and cost to the organization and customers. Besides that, its gives a good impression to customer and make them more confidence to the organization and build a customer loyalty.DBMS also accept the requests for data from the application program and instructs the operating system to transfer the appropriate data. When DBMS used, information systems can be changed easily as the organization required to change. DBMS is design to help organization record the data into different types and related to each others. This makes transaction processing more efficiently and systematically. 3. 2 The Power of Suppliers A bank has three suppliers of its products; it is depositors, the credit market and the central bank.Suppliers is very important and powerful to an organization, in banking industry they provide bonds, and certificate to sell to the bank and bank will sell those things to customers. Without suppliers, organization can’t function well, when supplier less and they provide limit action to the industry then power of supplier will be high and powerful. Large clients, corporation, government agencies are offered packages of services in market orientation in management. The central bank is effectively resources of last resort, its supply liquidity banking system in virtually unlimited quantities at a reasonable cost.Information system can help bank to en hance their performance and run the process effectively. Public bank used CRM to maintain a good relationship with their potential suppliers. They understand anticipate and respond to the needs of an organization to help grow relationship. CRM ensuring the correct people in place, with the correct skills to deliver outstanding personal service and establishing clear material service that supplier need. Based on staff opinion, CRM help organization having a good relationship with supplier can make all things become easier.Staff can easily prove the document from supplier and also can pass the document to customer in short time. This saved cost and time because shorten transaction processing time. Besides CRM, ERP is also a important system to enhance relationship with suppliers. ERP is a set of software application to the organization, its help standardize business processes necessary effectively plan and control. So, supplier can develop their plan and process about the product thro ugh ERP and ERP and shares the information flow inside the organization.By using ERP, banker and supplier can clearly classify information that they need and use for forecasting for their future plan. Moreover, Public bank also use DBMS to enhance their performance in banking industry. By using DBMS, organization can classify their data one by one because DBMS function is determine all the information from various departments and put in different type of document. In addition, DBMS help organization identify what investment should invest and identify federal investment bonds, bills, and short term federal bonds. DBMS is important for organization to interacting with suppliers and customers. .3 Threat of New Entrants Threat of new entrants is a factor that leads to increase the number of competitors in an industry. New entrants is competitive because they having the same activities and business in same market. Normally when one industry making high profit will attract new entrants to compete, when new entrants keep increasing, it’s will causes some firm lose and they will exit in that industry. So, to keep the organization increase profit steadily, organization must have a unique characteristic to attract customers and also have a good relationship with customers.But in banking industry, probability threat of new entrants is less because want enter bank industry is not a easy way. They need a lot of board of director and required a lot of capital. In addition, opening a bank not only need to check by government and also need having license and fulfill all the federal and state regulations. Opening a new bank also need to face changing of technology, strategic planning and expertise problems. Besides that, opening a new bank need a lot of money to buy advanced information system to help bank make transaction process and keep all the data.For example, bank use CRM to maintain the relationship with customers, ERP help manager to planning and forecast and DB MS help bank manage all the data flow from one department to another department. 3. 4 Threat of Substitute Products In the banking industry, they are no real threat of substitute products because all bank are having the same services such as investment, loan and deposit. But based on other view, threat of substitute like non-financial competitors is one of the reasons that faced by bank.Substitute product are the natural of industry competition, they involved the same function of the product that the industry already produces. For example, loan and mortgage is not much different, both is because customers want money and make an investment. In the banking sector, there have several products at the same time, so it counted as substitutes products. For example if someone is looking for a travelers check and that could not be provided, so it might decide to telegraphic transfer. Information system can help to enhance their performance to the threat of substitute products.Information sys tem can help bank solved the threat of substitute. Like CRM, its can help bank have a good relationship and the customers confidence with that bank. With this, banker offer bonds, mutual fund and stock to customer and they will more accept what they prefer because they trust that bank. Main purpose of CRM is help bank to attract new customers, having a good and healthy relationship with profitable customers. Besides that, CRM also increase efficiency process and help to gain competitive advantage over the banking industry. Not only CRM help to solved threat of substitute product, ERP also help a lot in managing the planning.ERP help integrate all departments and functions across a company onto a single computer that can serve all those different department particulars need. ERP help differentiate different type of product and make compare to another products to make a analysis. Its help customer more clear and understand about the product they interest. 3. 5 Competitive Rivalry Amon g An Industry Banking industry is a highly competitive industry. Financial services industry has been around for hundred years and everyone need to save money, make investment and loan the capital.Bank offers lower financing, higher rates, investment services and greater conveniences than their rivals. Rivals always compete by using advertising, introduce new products, more attractive customer services and warranties to enhance their standing and market share in specific industry. Rivalry will causes factors like equally balanced companies, slow growth within an industry, high fixed cost, lack of product differentiation, overcapacity and price-cutting, diverse competitors, high-stakes investment, and the high risk of industry exit.So, bank need to use information system to solve the rivalry problems. Same as ention before, CRM, ERP and DBMS can help bank to compete with rivalry. There not only can help bank gain competitive advantage and also help increase profit and process efficie ncy. CRM helps Public Bank to attract new customer because they can identify what customer needs and wants. Besides that, they also can help bank having a good relationship with profitable customers because they produces efficiency operation compares to others firm. CRM is a unique strategy use to differentiate with competitors, they used by the firm for segmentation customers and to concentrate on retaining profitable and valuable customer.ERP help to shares the data flow from one department to another department across the organization. ERP also manage the information flow from organization to the connection with outsiders and help manager planning and forecasting. While DBMS manages incoming data, organizes it and provides ways for the data to be modified or extracted by organization. Public Bank use this software system to manage large structure sets of persistent data, offering hoc query facilities to customers. DBMS help Public Bank manage their customer data and make staff ea sier to find the information when they needed.4. Strategic System Analysis 4. 1 Structure of Industry and firm location The Public Bank is one of the banks that using a lot of technology and also strategy in order to outstanding in the financial industry. Public bank used business strategy like multiple delivery channels to better serve its large customer base of individuals and business enterprises. The Group has also enhanced its internet banking and mobile banking services and they will continue to tap on its large sales and marketing force and strategic alliance with key partners to deliver high value products and services to its customers.This is one of the reasons why the Public Bank can stand a chance to be one of the leaders in financial industry. Nowadays, the customers more prefer choose the bank that offer several types of the loan and facilities in order to fulfill their needs in any financial problem. Nowadays, there many financial institutions on the market and all of them also come out with a lot of excellent services and products in order to retain their position in the market. So, Public Bank eventually cannot be avoided, will with face a lot of rival banks such as Maybank, CIMB, Hong Leong Bank, UOB and others.Public Bank and their competitors are competing with each other in a similar market, similar products and services such as home loan, credit card, insurance and investment funds. The corporate structure of Public Bank is unique in the financial industry since its structure is regionally decentralized. The corporate structure is generally separated into two parts that is Malaysian companies and Overseas & Offshore companies. For Malaysian companies it mainly focus on financial business such as Islamic banking, Family Takaful, Trustee services, investment banking, sales and management of Unit Trust, Leasing & Factoring and Property holding.On the other hand, for Overseas and Offshore Companies they usually handle business like investment & property holding, stock &share broking, deposit-taking & finance, securities dealing and underwriting, offshore banking and last but not least offshore trust company. Public Bank have many branches throughout Malaysia and also overseas such as Hong Kong, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, China and Sri Lanka. The location of Public Bank is headquartered at 27th floor of Menara Public Bank, 146 Jalan Ampang, 50450 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is located at the capital of Malaysia. 4. 2 Value chainsThe idea of value chain was first came up by Michael Porter (1985) to depict how customer value accumulates along a chain of activities that lead to an end product or service. Porter describes the value chain as the internal processes or activities a company perform â€Å"to design, produce, market, deliver and support its product. † He describes the value chain into three categories which are: business, firm and industry. (Appendix 2) In the financial market now, the customer are more prefer to choose buy goods and services from the bank that are more worth trusted and excellent in service and product provide.As a result, Public bank are aiming this kind of behavior and provide much type of products such as loan, deposit, investment, cards, ATM and insurance to fulfill the needs of the customer. Furthermore, Public bank also focuses in adding in more value with the customers by providing nice services to them. Firstly, Public bank had offer a time saving and more convenience way for their customer to do any transaction businesses that is ATM machine and online banking.For example, there many places in Malaysia are full of ATM machines that offer by Public bank, whether in the bank branches, shopping mall and even inside the school. It gives people to either deposit the money or withdraw money in faster way. Besides ATM machine, online banking also helps customer save a lot of time too. Customers no longer need to step out of their house to settle any transaction at the bank anymore. Next, with its strong customer service culture, the Public bank continues to maintain its superior delivery standards which have been benchmarked against international ISO standards.Public Bank also remains the first and the only bank in Malaysia which has attained bank-wide ISO 9001:2000 certifications for customer service at the front office of its branches and bank-wide loan delivery service. Public bank makes sure that whenever there is a customer walks into any of their branches, customer can expect consistent superior delivery standards that match the best in the world. Furthermore, Public bank also valuing by provided the financial management education to their customers. The purpose is to let them learn how to manage their financial future and make money management more interesting and easy to understand.This help in response to consumers struggling to find relevant, easy to understand and trustworthy financial information and advice. Besides that, Public bank also introducing PB Sharelink for customer learn how to invest. It is a product specifically designed to assist clients with their share trading and margin financing needs on the Malaysia Securities Exchange Bhd (MSEB). It offers the maximum purchasing power through leveraging against existing funds or collateral to enable customers to purchase and invest in shares to capitalize on any emerging opportunities in the stock market. 4. 3 Alignment of IT with Business Strategies and GoalsUntil fairly recently, the traditional role reserved for IT has been fairly subservient in business planning. IT was been merely an implementation tool, not only involved in shaping strategy but also created opportunities as well as a market channels to the new business. IT plays an important role in developing the long-term business strategy. So, organization needs to ensure their IT and business strategy functions are completely synchronized towards their business goals. Previously we have mentioned th at Public bank more focus in business strategy and goals in managing the structure and also valuing the relationship with the customer.In addition, Public bank also utilize the technology in the strategy in order to make their strategy can be perform in faster and efficient way. The international goal of Public bank is â€Å"to sustain the position of being the most efficient, profitable and respected premier financial institution in Malaysia. † Therefore, through the product innovation provide by Public bank, the aligned IT with their business strategies and goals is gradually achieved. The use of Automated Teller Machine (ATM) was one of the technology instruments which help to improve the number of Public bank card user.This is because the transactions are processed in less than a single second which is very convenience and time saving to the cardholder. Besides, it also allowed the cardholder make their fund transaction at any time and place since the ATM provides 24 hour s of the transaction service throughout countries. 5. 0 Conclusion As a conclusion, the implementation of IT has successfully driven the global economy by connecting all the cards, acceptance locations, ATMs and financial institutions around the world to help Public bank become one of the successful bank in financial industry.As a leader in financial service industry, Public bank not only need to focus on how to improve their sales of product and services offered by them but they also need to find out what are the changes out of its company, in order to avoid being eliminate by their rivals as well as the world. So, through the Porter five forces analysis, Public bank can enhance their strength so they can create more market opportunity for themselves and be prepared with their weakness and threat, treat those weakness and threat as a challenge for their company.Besides that, the top management needs to hire a strong and experienced project manager to ensure that the implementation of system will run smoothly. By using advance of technologies, the customer feels more confident with the product and services of the ING Insurance Bhd. Finally, Public bank can become a successful leader in the financial service industry because of the 3 system used, that is Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Database Management System (DBMS) and Customer Relationship System (CRM).

Promoting Innovation and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Promoting Innovation and Change - Essay Example Metcash corporate motto is "the Champion of the Independent Retailer" (see company website) and it actions support this, servicing over 4500, independent stores. It's own franchised IGA stores reached 1,100 in number by 2003 and today numbers around 1,400, Stephen McMahon (2006). That number continues to grow. The company assists these businesses by providing a range of services, including 24-hour retail system support, in-store training, refurbishment, equipment, and via the creation of a specialist service team network. The company is also involved with refurbishing and building new sites, equipment and development services. In 2003 Metcash extended its core store format by introducing the Supa IGA, Sydney Morning Herald, (October 2003). These are mainly situated across the eastern states and have are the redevelopment of 138 stores. They include petrol stations that offer customer discounts and keep up the company's competitive edge with Woolworth's and other supermarket competitors. In consort with the retail side, Metcash has continued to develop the wholesale side of the business, culminating in 2006 when it formed an alliance with the New Zealand supermarket group Foodstuffs, creating a unique buying group with a joint budget of over 15 billion, Australian Financial Review (March 2006) Technology Metcash has not forgotten the operational side of the business either. In March 2006 the Company announced that it would spend millions on a new and up to the minute ERP6 system. It will also extend its Voicepick warehouse management platform technology, The Australian Financial Review (2006). The Company deny that this was a cost saving exercise. Challenges However this is expansion is not happening without challenges. Because of its high-profile position and challenge to other groups in the industry, Metcash has needed to protect its own

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

Oxycodone - Research Paper Example OxyContin is a brand for single-ingredient oxycodone with time-release mechanism. OxyContin was approved by U.S. Food and Administration in 1995 and became available in the market in 1996. Oxycodone belongs to the Schedule II class or controlled substance which means it has high abuse potential. It causes physical and psychological dependence that people often misuse the drug. Oxycodone is a potent pain killer similar to heroin. It elevates dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain that causes pleasurable experiences or euphoria. It also creates artificial endorphins, a chemical that binds receptors in the brain that gives one a â€Å"feel good† effect. It causes elation because the body cannot properly absorb the drug. Some illicit users abuse this drug to experience this euphoric high. Oxycodone is misused in different ways: snorting the powder by crushing the pill, chewing it, and injecting the solution by crushing and dissolving the tablets in water. These methods defeat t he time-release mechanism in OxyContin that causes the active ingredient to take full effect after ingestion. This dramatically increases the risk for overdose. Like other opiates, oxycodone has side-effects that can impair both mental and physical abilities. Common side-effects include nausea, dizziness, lightheadedness, seizures, constipation, blanking of emotions, and mental clouding. Acute overdose also can produce irregular breathing or respiratory depression, respiratory arrest, skeletal muscle flaccidity, low blood pressure and heart rate, coma, and death due to cardiac arrest or slowed breathing. For the last 20 years, oxycodone has been the most abused prescription drug. Oxycodone is highly addictive because use over a long period of time (from several weeks to months) leads to tolerance and the need for higher doses to reach desired effects. Because of its affects similar to morphine and heroin, oxycodone appeals to morphine and heroin users. Some even call it hillbilly he roin. When users stop taking oxycodone, they can experience withdrawal symptoms. These include anxiety, insomnia, nausea, fever, and flu-like symptoms. Like other narcotics, oxycodone is regulated by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). It is an expensive drug when acquired illegally on the black market. Prices may range from $25-50 for a 50 mg. tablet. However, with more generic brands becoming available, it may cost $5-10 per pill. To prevent abuse or excessive use and decrease toxicity, new formulations are being developed. Currently undergoing clinical trials is a new drug called Remoxy. Drug users will go through great lengths to get the drugs. People would sometimes steal the drugs if they didn’t have the money to buy them. There was an incident in South Berwick, Maine, where someone got arrested for robbing three pharmacies for OxyContin. Sometimes, people would get illegal prescriptions of OxyContin. Doctors can also be part of this crime. In Winnepeg, a physici an’s license was revoked for recklessly prescribing OxyContin and Percocet. To satisfy his own addiction, he used his patients to acquire large quantities of narcotics. One woman in Florida was arrested for 23 counts of doctor shopping. She obtained 69 prescriptions from six different doctors who

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Environmental Politics - Essay Example Environmental politics can also play an important role in global governance by finding new ways to hold individual governments responsible for their polluting activities. Turner explains this phenomenon in his article on measuring the carbon footprint. He argues that recent approaches towards measuring carbon footprints can be a useful means of assessing the responsibility of each state for reducing and controlling carbon emissions within their jurisdiction. Furthermore, the new measures also provide greater opportunity for deeper engagement and collaboration between states to develop strategies for reducing carbon emissions in various countries.Despite the promises of environmental politics bringing about greater cooperation, the reality also presents a picture characterized by disagreement and conflict. These fears are described by Skjaerseth, Bang, and Schreurs. The authors chart the course of environmental protection negotiations between the United States and the European Union a nd highlight the obstacles which have prevented a global consensus on emission reduction and climate change. Their findings show that environmental politics can only be an effective test of global governance to the extent that there is congruity or integration between the legislative organs and environmental bodies of the member states. If there is a contradiction between the ideals of environmental politics and what global environmental organizations are empowered to do, then productive results cannot be achieved.

Future Trends in System Consolidation Research Paper

Future Trends in System Consolidation - Research Paper Example System consolidation is continuing to be used due to its advantages and positive technological changes taking place. Some of these changes are like the improvement on the processing power of hardware devices. Reduction in Cost of Doing Business Previously institutions had to acquire a system for each of their offices. Some of these systems did not take into consideration how they would be integrated to other businesses to serve the same purpose. So if the need arose in other departments the businesses purchase a new system for that department leading to higher cost. Organizations automate their different services to reduce cost. Automation will make sure the organization products are uniform and presentable. Reduction in redundancy in hardware Redundancy led to having lot hardware devices which were not utilized to their full capability. Installation of a system required different hardware devices to be purchased to cater for its requirement. A situation is like where a business has a payroll system developed for its offices in the United Kingdom and another one of its offices in the United States. ...   making Companies are trying to make decisions from data they collect over time as Waiter noted (businesses today have data mining systems) 2 to enhance decision making. This data can be a sale, purchases, and wages. Traditionally each of this data was stored on different servers because of the difference in the systems acquisition and usage. The decision maker to come up with a comprehensive decision will have first to try and consolidate the data from the different servers. This consolidation adds some more trouble. System consolidation comes into the place where one server saves all the data. The model builder will have data readily available from a central place. As Mathias notes (The model builder must define the problem, simulate the model, evaluate the model and implement the model) which increases the complexity of the program. The implementation also becomes easier because the system will embed the model into the main system. This reduces cost because there is no need of deploying models into different office location for usage. The building of models adds complexity (modeling for relevance must be considered) 1 due to the need of ensuring relevance. 1. Matthias Felleisen, â€Å"Journal of Functional Programming,† Complexity in Programming 45, no. 20 (2010): 32. 2. Weiter A, â€Å"Information Systems,† Business process mining 32, no. 5(2007): 725. Software construction complexity increases The changes that are coming with system consolidation are leading to a need for an increase in complexity of software. Some of these changes are making of distributed systems to be used by a company and improving on the network to cater for the distributed system.

Quantitative Analysis of Cinematic Statistics Research Paper

Quantitative Analysis of Cinematic Statistics - Research Paper Example Table 1, Appendices A shows total numerical values used for this analysis. The related trend between cinemas and screens as shown in Chart 1 Appendices A is that the number of screens increased over time in correlation with the number of cinema sites; however, as cinema sites tapered off, screens maintained a slight increase. The index number inferences, shown in Index A and B, Appendices A, describe a relative increase for screens of 5.5 percent in 2004 based on 1994, but only 0.3 percent for cinemas. Admissions revenue based on 1994 delivered a price relative average increase of 3.8%, and based on 1999 the price relative was only 2.8% as related in Index C, Appendices A. Furthermore, Chart 2 Appendices A describes the relative increase of admission revenue which can be correlated to the amount of screen increase per cinema. This infers that the more screens per cinema, the higher revenue increase. This is a good indicator for management staff that more revenue is generated the higher the concentration of screens, and for the customers this allows more mo vie options in a singular location, further increasing admissions revenue. Chart 3 Appendices A shows the sharp increase of admission revenue as cinemas increase, which induces the trend of a positive relationship. Using the linear regression equation y = 5.6951x - 3722.7, it can be derived that there is a trend of increase in admission revenue in relationship to cinemas sites. The correlation coefficient equals 0.877, which is a high value which infers a positive relationship between increase in admission revenue and cinema sites. The forecasted admission value for 2005 is 780.6082 m provided that 772 cinemas are built. Admissions and Cinema Screens Chart 4 Appendices A demonstrates a dramatic slope accession of admissions revenue as screens increase/ Linear equation Linear equation y = 7.3519x - 502.72 trends at a higher correlation between admission revenue and screens that noted in admissions and sites, the correlation coefficient with screens is 0.98486, intuitive of an impressive positive growth relationship between these factors. The forecast for admissions in relationship to screens in 2005 would be 25229.1m, provided that 3500 screens are built and the market can support that amount of cinematic screens, if 350 screens are built, the 2005 forecast would be 2070.45m, a more plausible plan of action. Gross Box Office (GBO) and Cinema Sites Chart 5 Appendices A plots the relationship between GBO and cinema sites, showing a sharp increase in GBO in relation to the increase in sites. The linear equation y = 0.0361x = 651.7 concludes to this positive relationship with a correlation coefficient of 0.892993 further demonstrates the solid positive increases in GBC as it relates to cinema sites. Forecasting for 2005 with 772 cinema sites-meaning that one cinema is inoperable-would bring a GBO of 3221.81 m, a slight decrease from 2004, but significant of the relationship between the number of cinemas and GBO. Gross Box Office (GBO) and Cinema Screens GBO and cinema screens also have a correlative relationship as visualised in Chart 5 Appendices A. This chart signifies powerful growth as the number of

Economics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 10

Economics - Essay Example Keynesian economists Before Keynes, the classical school of economic thought prevailed and this school did not develop any integrated macroeconomic theory, there existed mainly postulates which expressed economic ideas. Their key postulates suggested that full employment will prevail in the long run is market forces of demand and supply were permitted to perform freely. Even if unemployment occurs it will be a short run impact. They also suggested that demand will always be equal to output in such a case and equilibrium will continue to exist in the long run. These ideas were proven to be wrong with the advent of the Great Depression of the 30s. The classical laissez-faire doctrine failed to hold. Unemployment (3 percent to 25 percent from 1929 to 1933) began to spread largely in the economies ruled by the free market industrial mechanism leading to fall in Gross National Production (fell by 30 percent) and price level fell by 23 percent (Dwivedi, 2005, p. 13). In an attempt to solve the problem, Keynes developed the modern macroeconomic theory which is associated with employment, growth and stability. According to Keynes, output and employment levels are functions of total resources available in the economy, unemployment is the result of shortfall in aggregate demand as well as economic variations brought about by deficiency in demand. This can be got rid of through government spending. This last aspect was introduced by Keynes as a tool for demand management. Such spending would therefore crowd out private investments and via the multiplier effect it would have favourable impact on income and employment. The time span between the 30s and 90s is known as the period of ‘Keynesian Revolution’ (Dornbusch, 2005, p.443). Keynesian policies were adopted by most nations’ governments in developed economies. However in reality, economic world goes through evolutions from time to time and transits form one system to another. Monetarists In the 1970s Keynesian economic thoughts began to show its loopholes as the fiscal policies did no longer solve the economic problems of developed nations consisting of low growth, high unemployment and inflation levels. Then there was the problem of stagflation in the early 70s. Keynes had theorized that disflation would be brought about with unemployment but the economy witnessed bad performance in both areas. As per Keynes’ suggestion, taxes and interest could be reduced in order to ensure inflow of money into the economy. However that would bring about inflation. A new phase of economists, who were popularised as monetarists, emerged. Monetarism could be known as ‘Counter Revolution’ and this group was directed by Milton Friedman who showed that Keynesian policy failed to forecast gross national output, price, unemployment rate and interest rate. He showed money supply changes could influence inflation levels in future time periods in nonlinear manner. This led to the eme rgence of a new thought of revolution. Where the role of money was the key idea behind growth and national income’s stability in the short run and determines price level in long run. This shifted the idea of aggregate real output’s demand towards the demand and supply of money at aggregate level. This also brought about a long span of debate between the monetarists and Keynesians centring on â€Å"

Rules of high performance Essay Example for Free

Rules of high performance Essay This week our text discusses the definition of organizational behavior and in particular its applied focus, and our lecture focuses on high performance organizations (HPOs). Right at the intersection of those would be the â€Å"Ten Golden Rules of High Performance† listed below. What do you think should be added to the list? Is there anything on the list that you disagree with? Please support your opinion with evidence from our readings and also from your own work and life experience. Please also remember to respond to your classmates’ posts to stimulate further discussion. Ten Golden Rules of High Performance Organizational Dynamics The future of every organization is built around continuous development and improvement as most people are already aware however there are some who forget that one of the most valuable assets in a company are the people that are involved in every day operations. This includes every person no matter what position they might hold within the company whether its the president or service personnel. Each individual brings forward unique skill sets and abilities that can impact the development and direction of a company. Their individual development and well being are important considerations in any change in organizational dynamics. Many people still believe that businesses operate in an employers market though I would tend to disagree with that assessment, but not in the view that most people might have on the state of hiring even in tight markets. I tend to side with individuals like Laura Butler, Vice President of Talent Acquisition for TeleTech. While it is true that it has been more difficult than ever before for unemployed individuals employers are also scrambling to find qualified personnel and even after finding those candidates hanging on to qualified personnel is a difficult task. If you are an employee you are concerned with your individual perspective and effects change have on your personal stability, which is an important consideration in future change initiatives as companies work to maintain a competitive edge in shrinking markets. In order to ensure that a company can sustain itself now and in the future it must be prepared to invest in its workforce. That includes continuing education and employee retention as well as a big picture view of future operations. I personally like to pull a page from Googles philosophy on operation and continued  development as listed below. 1. Hire by Committee Make sure your new recruits talk to their future colleagues I believe that this is an important part of continued organizational development. Ensuring that new hires and existing members of your team and workforce can work well together will ensure that the projects they work on can be performed efficiently and quickly. It is important to remember that the moral and performance of your workforce hinges on the way in which team members communicate and interact. This includes 2. Cater to their every need Make sure it is, not hard, for them to perform Making sure that your employees have the tools and resources they need to perform jobs also ensures that they meet your expectations. If you fail to manage resources effectively operations can quickly grind to a halt and your employees morale will quickly slip as they fail to meet not only your expectations of performance but their own. Building an environment that fosters individual growth can bring forward a variety of unexpected opportunities in the continued growth of an organization and a workforce. 3. Pack them in put people to work close to one another This is certainly a debatable concept but the general idea is that having individuals within reach of each other ensures more effective communication. While it is true that electronic communication systems like email and instant messaging systems can help to unify a large and expansive workforce there is no real substitute for person to person interactions. Electronic messaging systems do not accurately convey the emotional context nor the associated body language the accompanies it. These components of communication can provide an individual with important insights into the true direction and meaning of the information being presented. 4. Make coordination easy use technology to keep people talking together This ties back into packing people together, large organizations need to effectively communicate important information among themselves. This includes email communication, shared calendaring systems, CRM, ERP and highly functional intranet systems that are both internally and externally accessible. Having on-demand access to this information on the go allows your workforce to be  better prepared for change and unexpected shifts in project development. 5. Eat your own dog food make use of company products This is another important one, make sure that the products you sell and produce are also available and in use by your workforce. This is an effective method of quality control, no one wants to purchase or use products of poor quality and your workforce is the same. If you make your products easily accessible to them they will ensure that the products they purchase and actively use or of a quality that meets or exceeds their own expectations. 6. Encourage creativity allow freedom to come up with new ideas Environments that stifle innovation and creativity often lose their ability to maintain a competitive edge in todays rapidly changing business environment. Organizations that allow their employees to provide feedback on processes and bring forward new ideas often achieve higher performance standards, higher workforce productivity, and again often find new and unexpected opportunities emerge for the company. Creativity extends into many areas of development including product development, process modification, and more. 7. Strive for consensus remember many are better than the few Strive to move forward as a group rather than individually, ensuring that everyone from the bottom up is on the same page with what we want to achieve is important. Making changes on your own without the input or approval of those who would implement those changes often result in failure. Almost 80% of all change initiatives fail because the people who were meant to implement those changes did not understand, support, or see a reason to implement the change. 8. Dont be evil live tolerance and respect This is one of the tougher aspects of normal operation, this extends into ethical behavior as well as how your business interacts with the community it is in. Its important to remember that a business is much like living and breathing person and the impact it can have on local as well as regional communities can reach quite far. How your company represents itself also reflects how your workforce represents itself, no one really wants to be part of something no one likes even if there are great incentives. 9. Data  drive decisions do analysis and stay on track This comes back to using electronic systems effectively, while in most cases I tend to focus more in qualitative information it is important to track performance quantitatively so that changes in performance can be reported effectively. There are many easy to use systems that will allow you to follow workforce readiness, project performance, financial performance and a range of other pieces of information that can contribute to making informed decisions both in the present as well as for the future. Whether its decision trees, spreadsheets, or custom DBM systems they all have a role to play into the development of a feature rich intranet and ERP system. 10. Communicate effectively hold many stay-in-touch meetings One of the most important things you can do in attempting to implement change or in managing continued development is to ensure that everyone is heard, whether its lowest man on the totem pole or the president of the company. Meetings both physical and virtual allow individuals to provide feedback on the assessments you make as well as provide direction for future developments. There many different ways to communicate today, far more than there were in history, including teleconferencing, video chat, email, instant messaging, social media, and more.

Explaining exceptions to Dollo’s Law

Explaining exceptions to Dollo’s Law Explaining exceptions to Dollo’s Law a review of the concepts of constraint and contingency. In 1890 Louis Dollo a Belgian palaeontologist, came up with the theory that evolution is irreversible, expanding on the work of Edgar Quinet, a historian who had first pondered this theory (Chopra Rogers, 2013) . Thus explaining that the constraint of evolution that it is irreversible and if certain traits are lost this effects the contingency of evolution, thus past changes having an effect on the present and future of the species, this could by chance may or may not have an effect on the re-evolution of certain traits. The theory states that evolution is irreversible because of the structures and functions lost in the line of evolution cannot return in the lineages that they were once lost in e.g tails in our monkey like ancestors. This therefore suggests that genes formally required to code for adaptive traits during selection pressures will become non-functional when selection pressure is low or non-existent (Marshall, et al., 1994). The repercussions of this are that any trait coded by these genes will be lost forever and cannot ever occur again in the same lineage according to Dollo’s law (Marshall, et al., 1994). In recent times many papers have been published that have disputed this law. There has been some work done on seeing if the constraints of evolution hinder further adaptation and whether this can either facilitate or hinder the re-emergence of the original/ancestral trait (Yedid et al. 2008). This essay will look at some of the cases where this law potentially does not apply and discuss how relevant Dollo’s law is in biology, and if it is relevant at which point does the law either become to ambiguous or too specific. We will discuss Dollo’s law at two different bases; the Genetic and Morphological. Under Dollo’s law the genetic basis of this is that if a gene is lost due to natural selection and bred out of a population, the trait coded by the gene is lost and cannot be regained in the same lineage over evolutionary time. A Study to test the genetics of Dollo’s law was tested on the genome coding for the sex combs in Drosophila bipectinata and its close relative Drosophila malerkotliana (Seher, et al., 2012). The study found that some the genes that code for sex comb may alter the structures dramatically (even in a single inversion) and some that had multiple inversions of the chromosomal structure which had no difference in the sex comb morphology. They then suggested that Dollo’s law should follow molecular pathways rather than just the genes that code for them. This is due to many genes being regulatory genes, which can sometimes when activated; open up many pathways to code for different cellular processes. This can then have an effect in gene expressio n and therefore a trait previously lost in evolutionary time is now being expressed due to these â€Å"nexus† regulatory genes (Seher, et al., 2012). The can be demonstrated in another experiment where mouse inductive signals that gave rise to stem cells providing teeth, where cultured with graphs of chick oral dermis. The result found that the Chicks oral tissue actually started to form enamel organs and even in some case small malformed teeth (Marshall, et al., 1994). In a review published by Bull Charnov it says that In relation to irreversibility there are two generalisation from there analysis. 1) â€Å"selection of intermediate phenotypes is critical to evolutionary transitions whenever the two phenotypes are so different that multiple mutations are required to change from one to another† (Bull Charnov, 1985) , and 2) â€Å"a second principle common to several examples is that the genome may progressively accommodate a character state the loner it is maintaine d† (Bull Charnov, 1985). These two generalities the summary was that irreversible evolution is founded on the dependence of the biological details of the system, with some more general rules that apply at a much less focused level. The constraints with looking at the genetic level are that we are looking literally â€Å"under the microscope† and it is fine picking each detail of gene selection and deletion and applying this to Dollo’s law. But as said before genes can take many pathways due to nexes regulatory genes, so who is to say that a feature i.e. eyes lost in a cave fish (speaking hypothetically) came back in a recent form but using different genes to cause the eye. Is this against Dollo’s law? Or because of the different genetic pathway it is just a natural progression in evolution. Using morphology as a basis with regards to Dollo’s law it states that any morphological trait that is lost in a lineage cannot ever be re-expressed for example the hind legs in cetaceans. We cannot talk about morphological exceptions to Dollo’s rule without mentioning Atavism. Atavism by definition is a revision/reappearance to an ancestral characteristic previously lost in the evolutionary pathway (Biology-online, 2012). Atavisms arise normally due to a gene recombination or a gene mutation that enables a previous trait to be expressed (Hall, 2010). Hind leg extension in vertebrates has been well documented. In a study by Bejder Hall, they mention atavisms and the development of limb bud in cetaceans, snakes and legless lizards (Bejder Hall, 2002). They aren’t as rare as one might think this is due to all these animal species having being evolved from limbed ancestors, and as previously mentioned that genes can code for a multiple of different functions. Atav isms in whales normally occur in the rudiments of the pelvic girdle, the best case of this has been found in sperm and blue whales. The incident rate of atavisms in adult sperm whales is about 1:5000 (Bejder Hall, 2002). In the Individuals found the atavisms skeletal processes are found to be almost complete, even both hind limb have been found in a female humpback whale when normally present is cartilaginous femur (Bejder Hall, 2002). Because these vestigial limbs actually have no function can these actually be considered against Dollo’s law? Or because that previously forgotten traits are being expressed does that counter Dollo’s law? Another morphological feature that contracts Dollo’s is re-evolution of shell coiling in gastropods (Collin Cipriani, 2003). The trait was thought to have died out around 10mya but a study has shown that It can be re-evolved using the same genes that gastropods has at that time. There are two hypothesis put forward by this ide a; either that genes that signal for shell coiling have a number of function have been kept in there entirety, or that Trochita has developed a new pathway to gain the coiling trait completely different to its ancestor (Collin Cipriani, 2003). There has been evidence to support the second theory due to the coiling being superficially different to other gastropod species (Collin Cipriani, 2003). Finally an example that is a little closer to home is that there is new evidence of muscle reversions in the primate phylogeny. There have been 220 character state changes that are optimised in the parsimonious 28 of there have been evolutionary reversions, 6 of these have through evolution have contributed to human musculature and 9 of these have directly gone against Dollo’s law (Diogo Wood, 2012). The one particular case of violating of Dollo’s law for muscle reversion is in the subtribe hominina. In this case both the rhomboideus major and rhomboideus minor muscle are fou nd in an ancestral clade. This was then lost and the Rhomboidus muscles became the more distinct muscle in the Cercopithecinae, the ancestral muscle formation then has re-appeared in the Hominina there by going against Dollo’s law (Diogo Wood, 2012). this constant muscle evolution and re evolution causing the muscle to constantly re configure in primate to truly go against Dollo’s law at both eh morphological and genetic level there must be the same genetic pathways and selection pressures present to make this change a selective and adaptive advantage to truly call this change re-evolution. In summary to this review all of the studies all show great strengths and flaws with the methods and rules abided by in Dollo’s law. Constraints and contingency way heavily on if Dollo’s law is applied, because pathways may be constrained but if they actually help the re evolution of a trait there still may not be a selection pressure for these and this does not apply with the constraints of evolution, there-fore if there is no selection to me it feels like a random mutation with no beneficial attributes to the animal’s evolution. Law I feel is a strong word to use because with law there needs to be the same degree of lenience with this. This is due to papers on the genetic level saying that if the same pathways are used this means that this is against Dollo’s law, but if the same trait appears again but using a different pathway this does not, even if the new trait is a functional advantage. I believe the only way that a species can truly re-evolve traits is that the trait that has been re-evolved needs to be on a functional basis. The functional basis is that under Dollo’s law even if a limb has arisen That limb would need to be functional i.e. have a selection pressure causing this to be an advantage evolutionally. This is the only way that I can see of being able to out rightly say if something is against Dollo’s law. Word count: 1565 References : Bejder, L. Hall, B., 2002. Limbs in whales and limblessness in other vertebrates: mechanisms of evolutionary and developmental transformation and loss. Evolution Development, 4(6), pp. 445-458. Biology-Online 2014. Atavism definition from Biology-Online.org. [ONLINE] Available at: http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Atavism. [Accessed 27 February 2014]. Bull, J. Charnov, E., 1985. On Irreversible Evolution. Evolution, 39(5), pp. 1149-1155. Chopra, S. Rogers, K., 2013. Dollos law (biology) Encyclopedpia Britanica. [Online] Available at: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/168293/Dollos-law [Accessed 24 febuary 2014]. Collin, R. Cipriani, R., 2003. Dollos Law and the re-evolution of shell coiling. Proceeding of the royal society of biological sciences, pp. 2551-2555. Diogo, R. Wood, B., 2012. Violation of Dollos Law: Evidence of muscle reversions in primate phylogeny and their implications for understanding iof ther intigeny evolution, and anatomical variations of modern humans. Evolution, 66(10), pp. 3267-3276. Hall, B., 2010. Atavisms. [Online] Available at: yadda.icm.edu.pl/yadda/element/bwmeta1.elementaab2/main.pdf [Accessed 27 02 2014]. Marshall, C., Raff, E. Raff, R., 1994. Dollos law and the death and resurrection of genes. Proceeding Of The Natural Academy Of Sciences Of The United States Of America, Volume 91, pp. 12283-12287. Seher, T. et al., 2012. Genetic Basis of a Violation of Dollo’s Law: Re-Evolution of Rotating Sex Combs. Genetics, 192(2), pp. 1465-1475. Yedid, G., C. A. Ofria, and R. E. Lenski., 2008. â€Å"Historical and Contingent Factors Affect Re-Evolution of a Complex Feature Lost during Mass Extinction in Communities of Digital Organisms.† Journal of Evolutionary Biology 21, no 5. pp 1335-1357.