Assignment 4 Merger Acquisition And International...

Assignment 4: Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies Rhonda Naldo BUS 499- Business Administration Capstone Professor Clayton Sinclair III May 25, 2015 Merger, Acquisition, and International Strategies This research paper will analyze the acquisition and merger of Pixar by Disney. It will evaluate the strategy that led to the merger and acquisition, and will determine whether or not this merger was a wise choice. This paper will also discuss Target Corporation since it has not been involved in any mergers or acquisitions. It will analyze how Best Buy would be a profitable candidate for Target to acquire or merge with, and will explain why Best Buy would be a profitable target. Since Disney operates†¦show more content†¦Best Buy suffers for its lack of variety and people will rather shop at places such as Target and Wal-Mart to find a better deal. Target could benefit from this merger by acquiring Best Buy’s brand presence and experience in selling electronics and appliances. Best Buy currently operates too many stores, and is in a dire need of a stronger presence online and has a dwindling reputation of taking care of its customers. Best Buy would be a profi table target because Target Corporation could remake its electronics sections into Best Buy mini-stores and utilize its strengths in customer service to strengthen these departments. Replacing Best Buy larger stores could be smaller Best Buy locations in smaller towns and more strategic areas with the backing of a strong Target- Best Buy internet presence. Target could also utilize Best Buy’s biggest asset Geek Squad. Geek Squad being available in Target stores to deal with customer issues would be a huge addition for this corporation. They could expand on the Geek Squad brand and offer in-home services for a variety of its products that are sold. The key to making this merger work would be to create a strong retail presence to rival Amazon. They could also offer customers the opportunity to buy items online and if they needed to return an item, they could just bring it back to the store. In successful mergers both companies will have to integrate its corporate structures. They have an advantage in this situation

Computers in Different Spheres of Lives - 5456 Words

Computers in different spheres of lives A computer is an electronic device, which executes software programs. It consists of 2 parts-hardware and software. The computer processes data through input devices like mouse and keyboard. The computer displays output through output devices like color monitor and printer. The size of a computer varies considerably from very small to very big. The speed of computers also has a very large range. Computers have become indispensable in today’s world. Millions of people use computers all over the world. Computers play a key role in almost every sphere of life. They facilitate storage of huge amounts of data, they enable speedy processing of information and they possess an inbuilt intelligence. Owing to†¦show more content†¦Through E-Mail you can communicate with a person sitting thousands of miles away in seconds. There is chat software that enables one to chat with another person on a real-time basis. Video conferencing tools are becoming readily available to the common man. The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet Protocol Suite (TCP/IP) to serve billions of users worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public, academic, business, and government networks, of local to global scope, that are linked by a broad array of electronic and optical networking technologies. The Internet carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW) and the infrastructure to support electronic mail. Most traditional communications media including telephone, music, film, and television are being reshaped or redefined by the Internet. Newspaper, book and other print publishing have to adapt to Web sites and blogging. 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Home Pharmaceuticals Case Study Strategic Management

Question: Describe about the Strategic Management: Home Pharmaceuticals Case Study? Answer: Home Pharmaceuticals Case Study 1.0 Gap Analysis I 1.1 Capability Gap Analysis Table Functional Area 1 Capability 2 Home Pharmaceuticals (Description of Homes capability) 3 Average the Capabilities of Closest two (2) Competitors (Describe capabilities) 4 Manufacturing Technological superiority The company had much stronger growth in its new innovations with increment on capital injections of US$ 30 million in OTC and US$ 40 million in 2014/2015. Kotra Pharmaceuticals is Malaysias most trusted brands in sales of in vitamins and health supplement category. Hovid Berhad is Malaysias leading pharmaceuticals manufacturers of high quality and innovative medicinal preparations and health supplements in more than 50 countries globally. Research and Development Research intensive approach In past few years Home pharmaceuticals has developed itself through its progress in research and development into new innovative products such as bio-medical and health food supplements (HSF). It has also had innovations in hearing devices (HD). Kotra Pharma supports the state-of-the art research facilities with their main focus on healthcare solutions in therapeutic areas. CCM Duopharma since its establishment has developed and manufactured tablets, injections, haemodialysis and irrigation solutions. Sales and distribution Strong distribution system Pharmaniaga Berhad is working through its subsidiaries; it manufactures markets and distributes pharmaceutical drugs and other medical products in government hospitals and private institutions. Duopharma has exclusive distributorship deal signed for international products and joint ventures for bio-similar products. Human Resource Management Loyal employees The employees are committed, trained and highly skilled employees. Sales staff of Home pharmaceuticals is actively engaged in selling the products of the company to its suppliers like doctors, retailers etc. Pharmaniaga Berhad is working through many subsidiaries so it has a diversity cultures prevailing in the company and have employees from various cultural backgrounds. Hovid Berhad a leading pharmaceuticals company of Malaysia. It is operating in 50 countries globally with highly skilled staff for producing and distributing its 400 quality and innovative medicinal preparations and health supplements. Advertising For promoting its innovative and quality products. The company is spending much for advertising its products in the home market and for that purpose that have even made their products more innovative and highly advanced through continuous technological development. Pharmaniaga Berhad is working for supplying the products to government hospitals and even private clinics on global front so it is essential for the company to spend a considerable amount of its revenue generated in the advertising schemes in all other countries in which they are operating. 1.2 Rate each capability by resource: Tangible resources e.g. Physical Over the counter drugs (OTC) Employees. Food health supplements. Bio-medical products. Intangible resources e.g. Brands Licenses Market share Intellectual property rights. Advertising. Sales and promotion Marketing Processes systems e.g. Decision tools Efficient work culture Strong distribution channel Efficient workforce Organisation culture e.g. Attitudes/work ethic Values Innovative culture Workers with high commitment level and loyalty. Global connectivity. 1.3 Capability Narrative: Capability 1. Manufacturing: Home Pharmaceuticals is doing well in its manufacturing of Its products of varied quality such as OTC, Food health supplement etc. The other competitors are also working well on their own fronts as they are big players of the market and have strong finance background to support the various functioning of their companies. Capability 2. Research and development: Home Pharmaceuticals is working heavily in the development of the products to offer its customers nationally and even to expand its market share by diversifying its business by selling its innovative and technologically advanced products globally. The competitors of Home Pharmaceuticals are also spending on research and development as they also want to expand their market share as they even now are operating in many countries (Zutshi, 2005). So to cater the needs of different customers proper research has to be done to cover large market share and have competitive advantage over the other competitors. Capability 3. Sales and distribution: Home pharmaceuticals have a strong sales and distribution network but it is working within national boundaries. On the other hand the competitors are working globally so have a better state of working with competent sales and distribution network (Wheelen, 2011). For being competitive and even to attain huge share in the market the company has to take proactive steps to keep its working strong and even have to adopt newer means of being in touch with the customers like the other competitors are doing by providing online services for being in constant touch with the customers. Capability 4. Human Resource management: Home Pharmaceuticals is having a loyal and committed staff that are willing to work but the general management staff of the company is not well versed with the global culture and lack experience on that front. Home pharmaceuticals had to develop its competency level so as to work globally (Hendry, 2004). The competitors are already working in various countries and are having competitive staff to work on global level. This is a threat situation for Home Pharmaceuticals and it should be taken care of to remain in competition in the market. Capability 5. Advertising: Home pharmaceuticals are spending considerable amount on advertising for various products within the country and has strong prospects for the future. All the competitors are also spending heavily on advertising as they are working in many countries and secondly government is also providing aids, support and relaxations from the government. 2.0 Gap Analysis II 2.1 Capability matching: Key Success Factors (from case study 1) 1 Capabilities (Take the capabilities from S1.3 above. That is, your choice of 5-10 capabilities). Match each capability with each KSF in Column 1) 2 1.Research Development High rates of Research and Development and strong rates of commercialization are helping Home Pharmaceuticals in conducting its activities of innovative products production and offering it to the customers. Even the subsidies provided by the government are of great help for the company as by that they are gaining much insight in the functioning of the pharmaceutical industry with less financial requirements (Mahoney, 1992). 2. Manufacturing Home pharmaceutical is working with high technological advanced techniques for providing its customers with quality products and even with the products which will form the need of tomorrow such as food-health supplements (Jennings, 2000). Government is supporting those companies that are providing their considerable efforts on innovative biotechnology. 3.Adverising Home pharmaceuticals is spending large amount on the advertising since its establishment but the as they are attaining market share the cost of advertising by the company is coming to a stability level. This shows that customers are well aware about the products offered by the company. 4. Human resource department The employees of Home Pharmaceuticals are loyal, highly skilled and work in a committed manner for producing innovative products. The capacity to work with industry stakeholders, capacity to develop a strong innovation culture and strong regulatory environment. 5. Sales and distribution. Government is providing funds for global partnerships for research. The international market of drugs is very huge and is constantly growing with majority of its sales made by top 10 global companies. 2.2 Capability Rating/Ranking KSFs Capabilities (From Table 2.1 above) 1 2 3 4 5 6 technological superiority Human resources department Advertising Research and development Sales and distribution TOTAL Add each column to complete the exercise 2 0 1 1 1 2.3 Ranking Narrative: Discuss each of the total rankings above. Why was one higher than the other? How did the relationship between KSFs and the capability influence your answer? The most rated capability was related to advertising and sales and distribution as Home pharmaceuticals is working hard with its innovated technique to expand its business out of Malaysia. The answer is influence by the KSF and capability relationship as they both are working with combined efforts for strengthening the growth of the company. 3.0 Gap Analysis III 3.1 Choose five strategies: 1. Digital marketing strategies: Home pharmaceuticals for increasing its market share and availing the opportunities provided by the government should work to become technologically advanced. It should increase the efficiency and effectiveness of its marketing strategy by using digital and social media and make their marketing efforts more integrated (Youndt, 1996). By doing so they can reduce the cost of advertising and even costs related to other overheads and become more effective in being constant touch with the customers. By using this strategy even their sales channels will become more effective. 2. Sales representative approach strategy: Under this kind of strategy the sales representatives of the company conducts regular visits to the doctors, chemists and hospital with free samples of the products produced in their companies. Pharmaceutical companies all over the world are adopting this technique for increasing the number of their clients and even for promoting their brands (Freeman, 2010). Other promotional approach adopted by companies is providing the clients with expensive foreign trips and meals etc. 3. Mobile sales platform strategy: This strategy allows a continuous interaction between the company and the physicians. It is quite an interactive approach conducted through the use of social media platforms through which companies use social media forms for e-detailing. These platforms offer sales integration techniques which results in building strong customer relationships. It even allows the companies to maintain its customer relationship management data which can be very useful in dealing with clients spread worldwide (BurgeSmani, 2004). 4. Market assessment and commercial strategy: This strategy will work with an approach of combining the knowledge of pharmaceutical sector with the future market trends to have a proactive approach for dealing with future scenarios in which the clients of the company will be operating in the near future (Rugman, 2005). This approach will help in laying a base of solid foundation for building factors that will result in the success of business in the market. Leverage is provided by prioritising present assets of the company for maximizing their value and the ways that will fill the gaps between the desired and the actual performances of the company. 5. Product and portfolio management through the life cycle: In this strategy the advice and recommendations are provided for the effective management of the assets of the company. The advice is provided on both on single product basis and even for an overall portfolio with the utilization of intense experience of the company on value management in pharmaceutical sector (Atuahene, 1996). This discussion helps the company in the accurate identification of product or overall portfolio assets strategy which will offer the perfect fit and value adding options for various assets of the company in future. 3.2 Prepare Matrixes: Corporate Level Matrix Products/services Existing New Markets Existing Market penetration Providing its services in the domestic market of Malaysia with its various products. New products/services Health food supplements, Hearing devices and OTC drugs New Market development More research and development in the production of generic drugs and hearing devices. Diversification In global markets and even expanding its operations in Australia. Business Level Matrix Competitive advantage Lower Cost Differentiation Competitive Scope Broad Target Cost Leadership To enter the global market with standardized products at reasonable prices. Differentiation Innovative products with high quality standard. Narrow Target Cost Focus For the customers of Malaysia and Australia. Differentiation Focus For the valued customers of Malaysia but more concern for Australia as from there it has prospects of entering into business in different countries. 3.3 The 5 questions: 1. Does the organisation plan to grow? Home Pharmaceuticals is using the approach of innovation and being proactive he laid the foundation stones of innovative culture in the Home Pharmaceuticals with an aim of expanding itself worldwide. The company is progressing through its research and development into new and innovative products that includes bio-medical and health food supplements (HFS). In recent years it has also worked for manufacturing of radically innovative hearing devices (HD). 2. What product services does it plan to produce? The home pharmaceuticals for now are manufacturing products like health food supplements, OTC drugs and are working for the manufacture of Hearing devices. The company has a potential of manufacturing other products also which are allowed in Malaysia such as prescribed medicines, over the counter products, medicines that are being manufactured in the country since many years. Home Pharmaceuticals also manufactures proprietary drugs and generics that are manufactured locally by the company as these are generally imported in the country (Pearce, 2000). 3. What customers does it plan to service? Home pharmaceuticals with its core products is not targeting any specific segment but due to its varied range of products the such as food-health supplements is for all age people as due to extra health consciousness people are diverting their interest towards food health supplements instead of intake of food in real. The company can easily serve customers of various classes and age groups as the government also is extending its schemes for basic health insurances (Teece, 1997). Home pharmaceuticals can even expand its operations by taking active part in the research and development activities conducted by Australian pharmaceutical industry. 4. Which generic strategies will it follow? 5. i) Cost leadership strategy: This strategy works with a principle of being a low cost producer with the high quality product in a particular industry. The basic of firms adopting this strategy is attaining market share by keeping the prices of the product of the company lower than the prices of the competitors (Ansoff, 1990). The other way of using this strategy successfully is selling the products at averages prices in an industry for having higher profits than the competitors in the industry. ii) Differentiation strategy: This strategy works on the phenomenon of providing the customers with different products with unique attributes that are not being offered by any one especially the competitors in the industry. Due to the unique features of the product the company can charge premium prices with the customers if the customers feel that the product offered is better than the products offered by any other company. In this way the firms can cover the extra costs incurred by them in the manufacture of the products on the basis of the unique features of the product. iii) Focus Strategy: This strategy works with an aim of focussing on a small segment from the large market and within that market segment the companies can attain a situation of cost advantage or differentiation. This strategy if adopted by the firm leads to higher customer loyalty and higher costs can be charged from the customers due to non-availability of any close substitute in the market (Keller, 2011). The success achieved through this strategy will lead the firm in making products of broad range with high level development of products in terms of its qualities and prices. 5. What position in the industry will it occupy? The Home Pharmaceuticals is having a strong position in the domestic market of Malaysia as the company is offering its services to the customers since many years. It has a relatively flat structure of working with a small SBU staff that quickly responds to the attacks of competitors. Home pharmaceutical is holding a different position as it provides major manufacturing facilities in Kuala Lumpur with facilities of manufacturing and product distribution. References: ANSOFF, H. I., MCDONNELL, E. J. (1990).Implanting strategic management(Vol. 2). New York: Prentice Hall. ATUAHENE GIMA, K. (1996). Differential potency of factors affecting innovation performance in manufacturing and services firms in Australia.Journal of Product Innovation Management,13(1), 35-52. BurgeSmani, R. A., Wheelwright, S. C. (2004). Strategic management of technology and innovation.READING,1(1). FREEMAN, R. E. (2010).Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge University Press. HENDRY, K., KIEL, G. C. (2004). The role of the board in firm strategy: integrating agency and organisational control perspectives.Corporate Governance: An International Review,12(4), 500-520. JENNINGS, D. F., ARTZ, K., GILLIN, L. M., CHRISTODOULOY, C. (2000). Determinants of trust in global strategic alliances: AMRAD and the Australian biomedical industry.Competitiveness Review: An International Business Journal incorporating Journal of Global Competitiveness,10(1), 25-44. KELLER, K. L., PARAMESWARAN, M. G., JACOB, I. (2011).Strategic brand management: Building, measuring, and managing brand equity. Pearson Education India. MAHONEY, J. T., PANDIAN, J. R. (1992). The resource based view within the conversation of strategic management.Strategic management journal,13(5), 363-380. PEARCE, J. A., ROBINSON, R. B. (2000).Strategic management: Formulation, implementation, and control. Irwin/McGraw-Hill. RUGMAN, A. M. (2005).The regional multinationals: MNEs and'global'strategic management. Cambridge University Press. TEECE, D. J., PISANO, G., SHUEN, A. (1997). Dynamic capabilities and strategic management. YOUNDT, M. A., SNELL, S. A., DEAN, J. W., LEPAK, D. P. (1996). Human resource management, manufacturing strategy, and firm performance. Academy of management Journal,39(4), 836-866. WHEELEN, T. L., HUNGER, J. D. (2011).Concepts in strategic management and business policy. Pearson Education India. ZUTSHI, A., SOHAL, A. S. (2005). Integrated management system: the experiences of three Australian organisations.Journal of Manufacturing Technology Management,16(2), 211-232.

4 Simple Brainstorming Techniques To Help Write Killer Content

4 Simple Brainstorming Techniques To Help Write Killer Content Brainstorming is supposed to be about harnessing the power of thinking outside the box to solve that  impossible problem.  Its the magic that helps you find amazing, unique ideas. Its not magic,  of course, but when youre desperate- possibly with writers block- magic sounds good. Brainstorming techniques are what you turn to  when youre stuck and dont know what to do next. They can be  great tools because anyone- group or single person- can use them. 4 Simple #Brainstorming Techniques That Will Help You Write Killer #Content via @JulieNeidlinger4 Reasons You Should  Brainstorm If You Want To  Become A Better Writer But why go through the hassle of  using brainstorming techniques at all? There are generally four reasons that people turn to brainstorming: You need ideas. You have a problem to solve. You are looking to improve creative thinking. You want your team to work together better. The first two reasons get the lions share of the attention, but the last two, which lean toward extra-curricular exercises, are just as important. If you want to be ready during go-time for the first two, youd better take a few practice swings at it using the last two. Whether its just you or youre a part of a team, make brainstorming and creative challenges a regular habit. Brainstorming as a group. First, a caveat. Its no secret that Im wary of group brainstorming. That particular method of getting ideas has become a  standard solution for teams trying to solve problems. While it can sometimes create more problems than it solves by encouraging social loafing and rewarding some personalities over others, there are times when your team has to get together and come up with ideas. Brainstorming techniques  are also good for helping teams learn to work together. Brainstorming on your own. Brainstorming isnt reserved for groups of people, though thats how most of us think of it. There are times when youre on your own and need to generate ideas and solve problems all the same. As an artist and writer with deadlines, Im most familiar with brainstorming on my own.  In fact, I did a little solo brainstorming recently, for this very topic. While trying to come up with an idea for my own  blog post, I realized that it might be helpful to readers if I told them how I came up with ideas and got  past creative blocks in my own work- 14 ideas in all. As I looked through those 14 brainstorming techniques, I began to see three basic approaches to brainstorming that I thought would be useful to you. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour. - Mary Kay Ash 4 Brainstorming Techniques That Will Help You Write Creative Content Brainstorming techniques can take a few basic approaches. Once you understand how they work, you can mix and match them for the best results. 1. Use associative brainstorming techniques to get unstuck. Association is a powerful way to get past typical thinking, and to get out of a rut. We generally come up with ideas that are obvious at first, and associative brainstorming is a good way to artificially force yourself past that point instead of hours of work. Its a kind of shortcut that taps into the subconscious, the associations you already know but dont allow yourself to think. Associative brainstorming works best for copy writers, creativity exercises, or when youre stuck in a creative project and dont know what content to create next. This  can also be fun during your regular team building exercises. Word storm. A word storm is where you write down the words that come to mind when you see another word. You might start with a word or two based on your project, and begin writing down any word that comes to mind. These words are then grouped together according to how they are related to each other. Youll quickly create words that are associated or related, according to categories. There is a Word Storm website that can help you get started with word storm techniques. Word association. Word associations are the same as a word storm, except that you dont group according to how the words are related to each other. It works better as a technique to get creativity flowing when you dont want to bother with over-thinking how words are related. Start with a word or two, and write down the first words that come to mind. Dont over-think the process; you should be surprised at the words that pop into your head, particularly as you get warmed up. The goal is to find those hidden words that people associate with a topic that you dont immediately think of. Mind mapping. Using a mind map is a way to visually organize data and information.  Mind mapping has proven popular, particularly if you are better able to understand data visually instead of as lists or outlines. Organized around a central idea, a mind map works like the branch of a tree. Ideas and then sub ideas that are associated with the main idea branch off from the central idea. Word banks. Word banks are collections of words based on the kind of word you need based on a specific topic or theme. This kind of brainstorming technique works well for copywriters who want to find a variety of words that suit a specific project without repeating themselves. You can also use it to build a bank of words to keep on hand when writing your headlines. This is an example of power words we pulled together in a word bank to help you write more emotional headlines. Using a word storm might be one way to start a collection of words for your word bank, though the two techniques are not the same. Visual association. While visual associations aren't a typical tool for content marketers, they can be useful  both in planning beforehand as well as after visual content has been created. Using visual association after a project is completed would make sure that what you've created doesn't raise negative associations in your audience. It is best done by people who weren't on the team so that their associations are honest and not tainted by being too familiar with the project. Visual association is much like word association. Think of a Rorschach test, in which you jot down whatever words or thoughts come to mind when you see an image. The control for this method is what images you will use. I actually have a book where I collect images from magazines and other sources. You might do the same, or use a different image source. Need #brainstorming inspiration? Try word storms, word associations, mind mapping, or word banks.2. Use measurable brainstorming to choose the best solution. In some situations, you need to make decisions that are based on more than random associations. This is where problem solving brainstorming steps in, when you need something concrete. Pros and cons. You probably already use an on-the-fly method of pros and cons to make decisions in life. Writing down pros and cons in a structured manner with a few rules can make this a powerful tool. Write down what you are trying to choose between. Then, list the pros and cons to tally up a total. The option with the most pros is the route to go. You have to be careful to not cheat, though, and purposefully stack the list the way you want it to go. Let's look at an example of cheating. Say that Jim, Todd, and Erica make up Team B.  Cheating would look like this: Con: Team A will be upset. Pro: Jim will be happy. Pro: Todd will be happy. Pro: Erica will be happy. Three pros, one con, the pros have it! Pros and cons help you cut through the gray area where you either aren't sure what to do, or don't want to admit what you know you should do. When done right, the numbers are convincing. Pros and cons (weighted). There are times when some pros and cons outweigh others. In this case, you would need to weight the list because each item is not equally important. To do this, you'd need to start by listing your top goals, the things most important to you. Instead of each list item being counted as one, the more important items in your list of goals would have a higher weight. Pros and cons seem simple, but we have a tendency to cheat. Often, there is a decision we want to be the right one and we try to validate it by loading the pros and cons either way. When pros and cons just don't work, try weighted measurable #brainstorming.3. Take a new view to gain an entirely new perspective. While associative brainstorming helps you find entirely new paths, and measurable brainstorming gives you confidence to make decisions, finding a new view works when you're on the right track but just not able to nail it down. It's that feeling of being so close, but not quite there. Ask, "What if..." By simply asking, "What if?", you can turn everything on its head. Many fiction writers advocate asking yourself "what if" not only when you're stuck, but even when the writing is going well. Wondering what might happen if something changed, and using your brainstorming prowess to run with it, is a good way to get a different view on the project or problem. Think prepositionally. My 7th grade English teacher did me a great service when she helped us understand prepositional phrases by visualizing a box. Prepositional phrases generally tell where something was, and so she said that any time you saw a phrase in a sentence that could be used in relation to a box, you probably were dealing with a prepositional phrase. For example: in the box, under the box, over the box, beside the box, and so on. When it comes to brainstorming, it's not about writing prepositional phrases, but it's about imagining the problem or project you are working on to be like that box. What if you took a swing at it from the other side? From under it? From ahead of it? Now you start challenging yourself to think of something from a different perspective, from a different time (past or present) and all sorts of directions. Ask questions. Oddly, most of us, particularly when working in teams, have the answers we're looking for (or close to it). We feel stuck, though, because we aren't able to sift through all the questions and the rest of the creative noise and pare down to that answer we wanted. By whittling away at what you know and removing the extraneous from the table, you can push aside the curtain and finally see the answer. This is where questions come into play. Write down the questions you have about the project or problem. Then, for each of these questions, start listing the answers quickly. As you begin to answer the initial questions, other questions will come to mind that are associated with the answers you're jotting down. Write down these sub-questions and do the same procedure. In a way, it's like creating an outline that is based on questions.

Health care Essays

Health care Essays Health care Essay Health care Essay Health care Name: Course: Institution: Health Care Describe the process of medical membership, granting of privileges and process of medical staff quality monitoring in an HCO The process of validating a professional’s eligibility for medical staff membership and/or privileges to be granted based on academic preparation, licensing, training, certifications and performance is called credentialing (White 187). This process is also used to ensure medical staff quality monitoring in an HCO. The HCO can validate the caregiver’s competence and proficiency through credentialing. The competence is validated by examining the knowledge and skill obtained through formal education and experience, which is regulated by, licensure and certification bodies while the proficiency is validated by examining the evidence that the clinician’s education and experience are current (White 101). The role of medical staff, management and governance in the credentialing process The role of the medical staff is to meet all the credentialing and re-credentialing criteria. This entails obtaining valid credentials that include licenses and certificates issued by the government. This is usually after a certain level of education, training or experience is attained. In addition, the medical staff has an obligation to provide treatment by practicing good medicine within their training, experience and the capabilities. The role of the management is to verify the validity of all the certificates and licenses issued by the medical staff. This verification process focuses on the medical school, internship and residency completion, board certification, work history and criminal history. The role of governance in credentialing is to set and monitor both the credentialing criteria and process. After the process, the governance grants the professional privileges to the medical staff, which allows them to participate in the physician organization. Describe the differences, duties and key points of management versus governance in an HCO. The difference between the management and the governance of an HCO is that the governance deals with strategic duties of the HCO while the management deals with operational duties of the HCO. That is the governance is responsible for policymaking, decision making and providing oversight for the HCO while the management is responsible for the operational leadership in organizational activities such as financing of the HCO (White 107). The duties of governance include mission and strategic planning, monitoring and assessment of the HCO’s progress, making strategic decisions, executive management, offering financial oversight and providing strategic protection of the HCO from risks. An example of governance performing a task in an HCO, is when the governing board establishes a senior management compensation program that reviews compensation and bonuses for all managers On the other hand, the duties of management include providing fact base for all goal setting and decision-making activities of the governance, financial management of the HCO, human resource management, marketing and internal consultation (White 108). The key points in governance are that governance is responsible for the strategic activities of the HCO. These strategic activities include policymaking, decision making and providing oversight. The key points in management are that the management is responsible for the operational activities of the HCO. These activities include operational management and goal achievement activities. Discuss the expectations and cultural issues with today’s recently graduated physicians and how an HCO can recruit/retain them. Studies have suggested that recently graduated physicians may have different expectations from the preexisting ones that may influence their decision to leave or remain in a community (White 194). Some of the factors that may influence their decision include the collaborative nature of the practice, the organizational culture of the institution and the political environment. The HCO can retain them by using incentives, theories of interpersonal relations like the Peplau’s theory and the application of other organizational behavior theories (White 195). These methods can help the employees understand and appreciate the existing organizational culture. Discuss how an HCO monitors and improves quality. The governance board and the senior management are responsible for monitoring of the quality of health care (White 115). For instance, excellent HCOs that operate under the evidence-based management systems have the ability to retain an accountability hierarchy that aids in monitoring of performance. Improving of the quality of health care is accomplished by research conducted by the ethics committee. This ethics committee is complimented by an institutional review board, which monitors and approves research protocols for involving patients or associates. It is through this research and continuous assessment that health care is improved (White 169). Discuss various external and internal factors affecting HCOs today and explain how the organization can successfully deal with them. One internal factor facing Health care organizations is bad organizational culture. This includes interpersonal relationships, training material, philosophical statements and organizational policies. Bad organizational culture often affects an organization’s productivity by weakening the internal communication links. This can be solved by establishing a good organizational culture that enables the employees to identify with the goals and missions of the organization. Another internal factor is unethical management practices that affect the operational activities of the HCO. These unethical activities include mismanagement of funds, which affect the operating costs of the organization. The HCO can deal with the unethical management practices by formulating an ethics committee whose primary goal is identifying and dealing with unethical management practices (White 65). In addition, technological change is also a factor affecting the HCOs. The increased revolution of technology and its integration into the processes of HCO is a new phenomenon that requires the readjustment of the attitude of the HCO. However, this can be managed by properly preparing the employees for the technological change after critical assessment of the change by the management. An example of an external factor is the presence of strict legislative requirements. The presence of new legislations presents with it drastic changes in patient information disclosure, documentation and record keeping systems. The HCOs can successfully deal with the new legislations by revising their policies and organizational structures to satisfy the provisions by law. Another example of an external factor affecting HCO’s is the increasing diversity among population in the community served which is further supplemented by staff shortages. There has been an increase in the demand for medical care from the community with very little personnel to satisfy the supply. However, this issue can be dealt with by practicing better recruitment and retention practices that ensure there are adequate and qualified personnel. What makes up the well-managed community hospital? A well-managed community hospital is a hospital that has the ability to recruit and satisfy the needs of the medical practitioners while at the same time meet the needs of their local patients at manageable costs. This implies that the hospital is capable of providing financial resources, human resources such as nurse and physicians and any other resources that are necessary to meet the needs of the locals in the community. The factors that characterize such a hospital include a well-defined organizational culture that promotes shared values, empowers associates, supports service excellence and encourages success (White 39). Another factor is a strong cultural, operational and strategic foundation, which enable high performance (White 14). This is usually supplemented by a well-defined operational leadership system that is accountable and sustains improvement in the operational structure (White 69). It should have foundations on clinical performance that ensure accurate diagnosis, excellent care, good implementation of protocols, individualization of patient care, good planning and treatment, improved community health and improved clinical performance (White 141). This should be supported by clinical support services that are responsible for providing excellent health care (White 250). Finally, it should have a human resource management system that is aimed at workforce planning, work force development, workforce maintenance, workforce empowerment and workforce compensation (White 346). If you were planning an initial discussion about goal setting and capital budgeting for newly appointed first line supervisors, what would be the topics you would include? I would include topics like feasibility assessment, resource allocation, capital sources, financial management, risk management and decision-making. Work cited White, Kenneth R, and John R. Griffith. The Well-Managed Healthcare Organization. Chicago, IL: Health Administration Press, 2010. Print.

An Evaluation of Wireless Intrusion Prevention and Protecting Insecure Research Paper

An Evaluation of Wireless Intrusion Prevention and Protecting Insecure Channels - Research Paper Example Now the latest mobile and computing devices such as iPhones also provide considerable support for accessing Internet through wireless computing. Without a doubt, wireless computing offers a large number of benefits and opportunities for both business and individual users but at the same time they also facilitate hackers and attackers to complete their illegal tasks. This paper presents a detailed analysis of some of the important aspects associated with wireless networks. This paper discusses how wireless networks work, what benefits do they offer. This paper also discusses various types and protocols for wireless networks. This paper will also discuss a number of security threats associated with these networks. This paper also discusses various strategies to deal with these security threats. ... This paper also discusses various types and protocols for wireless networks. This paper will also discuss a number of security threats associated with these networks. This paper also discusses various strategies to deal with these security threats. Introduction Wireless networking has emerged as a very useful technology and the majority of organizations have started moving their network infrastructures to wireless networking environments. The basic reason of this transformation is the opportunities and advantages offered by wireless technology at the minimum cost and with maximum convenience. In fact, wireless networks allow organizations to build their communication infrastructures without using wires. In order to enable communications, these networks use radio waves instead of wires. As a result, these networks can be established in areas where wires cannot be used. Without a doubt, wireless technology offers a large number of advantages over traditional networking technologies tha t’s why their usage is continuously increasing with the passage of time, but they also bring serious security issues that affect the quality of communication. Additionally, wireless networks can face a variety of challenges and in some cases people using these networks lose their personal data which can be used to carry out illegal tasks (Neumerkel & Grob, 2006; Klasnja, et al., 2009). The basic purpose of this paper is to present a detailed analysis of wireless technology and issues associated with them. The structure of this paper is as follows: The discussion of the topic starts with a detailed introduction of wireless technology. After that a detailed discussion on wireless security issues has been provided. This

Critical thinking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Critical thinking - Essay Example Its workforce of over 17, 000 men and women voted Iceland Frozen Foods the third most successful company compared with all other companies in motivating them to do their best. Four years before the turnaround, morale was ‘at rock bottom after 40% of staff at the Deeside head office were made redundant’ (The Sunday Times, 2009). It is quite reasonable to assume in retrospect that top management at the time was incapable of motivating the workforce to achieve profitability and ensure the survival of the firm. It is quite likely that ‘scientific management’ or Taylorism as it is also called, may have been, the paradigm under which the top managers of Iceland Frozen Foods worked, in running the day to day affairs of the company. Or, they may not even have given much thought to motivating the workforce, but merely continued on traditional lines, hiring and firing believing that labour was a disposable item. Taylorism is explained as the ‘decoupling of the labour process from the skills of the workforce’, and has been defined as ‘management strategies that are based upon the separation of conception from execution’ Pruijt, 2000). The knowledge and skills of how best to run the enterprise are confined to the heads of the few top mangers. The rest of the workforce merely follows orders to the letter. They have no discretion as to how they do their day to day jobs. They have to follow strictly laid out procedures. This may work well in some industries, say on a car assembly line, but in enterprises with close customer contact, this approach is unlikely to be optimal. Nevertheless, Prujit also acknowledges that McDonalds and call centres (customer service operations) use such strategies and can claim success by ensuring ‘predictability and controllability’ (op. cit.). After Taylorism , Herzberg’s two-factor motivational theory became influential in alerting management to the value of tapping into the need for