Company Analysis of Nike 2014 Essay

INTRODUCTION/ COMPANY BACKGROUND This report examines NIKE Inc. one of the leading sports brand in the world. It uses business analysis techniques such as SWOT, PESTEL, Porter’s five forces, and Ratio analysis to analyse the business environment and performance of this company. NIKE Inc. is one of the world’s biggest sporting brand based in Oregon USA. Founded in 1968, NIKE is the world’s biggest designer marketer and seller of athletic footwear, sports equipment, apparel, accessories and services, by sales revenue of $21.5 billion in 2012 (NIKE, 2013). With 48000 employees, NIKE’s operation cuts across different regions in the world including Canada, Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. They posted revenue of $25313 million in the 2013 financial year ending May 2013, the company has enjoy growth in its revenue since 2010, and this trend is expected to continue as they leverage on top sporting events to boost their brand image (Tefris 2013). PESTEL ANALYSIS PESTEL (Political, Economic, Social, Technological Environment, and Legal) analysis is a business analysis technique that is used to analyse the growth potential of a company. It helps firms identify the environment in which they operate, and can firms predict future circumstances and situations by using information and data it provides (Yà ¼ksel, 2012). This report provides a PESTEL analysis of NIKE in the following paragraphs. Political Political environment have a huge implication on the micro and macro environment of a business, and they can significantly influence a range of business decisions (Leslie and Phillip, 2012). Political environment includes political system, government policies and other trade related regulations. Some of the political factors that can affect NIKE includes the relationship between USA (Nike’s country of origin) and other host countries where NIKE operates (for example China). For example increased tension between US and China can lead to certain aggressive policies that can affect the company’s operations in China. Furthermore recent pressure on US firms to keep jobs in the US can affect plans for future factory locations of NIKE. Economical The economic environment of the countries NIKE operate in is very vital to the overall strategy and decisions of the company. These factors include the state of the global economy, economic incentives from the countries where NIKE factories are cited, the general economic condition of these countries, inflation rates and changing oil prices. All of these factors can affect the revenue of the company, increased economic growth in emerging markets such as Brazil and China presented a huge revenue opportunity for the company, however recent decline in the growth of the Chinese economy will also have some negative impact of revenue projections of NIKE. Social Social factors can influence the business decisions of NIKE one way or the other. These factors includes tradition, customs, beliefs, level of education, corruption, customer’s consciousness, changing lifestyle, and income distribution (Singla, 2007). For example increased consciousness to maintain healthy living will lead to more demand for fitness centres and gyms that in turn could lead to more sales revenues for NIKE. Furthermore clamour for increased better welfare for workers in clothing factories in countries like China, Indonesia, and Bangladesh, and pressure from the civil society groups like Worker’s Right Consortium on companies like NIKE to ensure their suppliers follow health and safety standards are among some of the social situations and issues the company have to contend with. Technological The commercial success of NIKE’s product is based on technical innovation and quality control in the design and manufacturing process of footwear, athletic equipment, and apparel (Nike, 2014). For this reason changes in technological factors can have serious impact on the overall operations of the company. For example new technology can lead to new products, improve the manufacturing process, and improve the distribution network. This implies that the revenue of NIKE can increased, or there could be reduction in the cost of manufacturing due to better technology. To maintain competitive advantage the company need to constantly understand the technological factors that affect them. Environmental Business operations of firms such as NIKE can have huge impact on the environment. Factors such as climate change, waste management, water management, and use of hazardous chemicals are all environmental impact areas the company has identified. NIKE highlights its commitment to reducing the impact of the company’s operations through understanding how related these factors are, and how a coordinated approach in the design of its product and processes can mitigate the impact on the environment, and on their business. Legal The judicial system, consumer rights, trade treaties, and ethical codes are all legal factors that affect NIKE. Constant understanding of laws and regulations is imperative to avoid serious legal implication for the company. Gotham (2013) highlights that one serious legal related issue NIKE needs to constantly deal with is the issue of counterfeit product. Ensuring that fake NIKE products are not wide spread is necessary to keep the NIKE reputation, and avoid lawsuits that can increase the legal cost of the company. Furthermore, keeping ethical standards is very vital in protecting the NIKE brand. SWOT ANALYSIS SWOT is a management tool that is used to build strategic business plans (Amin et al, 2011). It is widely used in business due to its simplicity of its four factors (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threats) and its flexibility (Al-Araki, 2013). The SWOT analysis of NIKE is presented in the next few paragraphs below. Strength One main strength of NIKE is its dominant position in the market, and the strong brand portfolio of the company. According to Forbes (2014a) NIKE’s market share in the global footwear market reached 18.6% in 2012, and it is expected to rise to 27% in the long run. The main source of value for NIKE are footwear and apparel that are sold under the NIKE brand, together they make approximately 70% of the overall value of NIKE (Trefis, 2014). This competitive brand portfolio of NIKE and the dominant position of the company  are key strengths that enables the company outperform the industry. Weakness Watts (2009) asserts that one of NIKE’s weakness is their inability to address problems linked to their labour and factory conditions. The company has been consistently criticised for its lack of control, and dependence on contractors and manufacturers that do not meet labour standard, safe factory conditions in Pakistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and China. This has caused to bad publicity for the company, and increased calls for product boycott in recent years. Furthermore the company’s focus on quality could be a potential weakness as it explore emerging market like Brazil, because its price points will be higher and some customers in these markets could lack the level of income to purchase their products. Opportunities Increased growth in emerging economies presents a huge expansion opportunity for NIKE. The company’s management believes there is high potential for their products in markets such as China, Brazil, and other emerging countries (Trefis, 2011). The growth these economies enjoy expands the global footwear market, and NIKE is in a strong position to tap into this growth opportunity. Furthermore the increasing use of multi-channel platforms such as online and mobile for shopping is an opportunity for NIKE to reach out to more customers worldwide. Threat The company’s main threat is its increasing competition, the intense competition and unpredicted changes in in technology and consumer preference in the industry NIKE operates presents a huge risk that can threaten the operations of the company (NIKE, 2013). Some of the main competitors that remain a threat to the company includes Adidas, Puma, and Under Amour. Furthermore, the strong brand value of NIKE products increases the risk of counterfeiting of their products. This is a constant threat the company needs to tackle to ensure it doesn’t lose brand value and revenues. PORTER’S FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Porter’s five forces analysis helps firms to understand the competition and profitability in an industry, the framework includes potential entrants, industrial competitors, suppliers, buyers and substitutes. According to  Porter (2008) understanding the competitive forces, and their fundamental causes enables companies see the root of current profitability of an industry, while it provides framework that helps anticipate and influence competition over a period of time. The following paragraphs give analysis of the how these five forces influence the competition of NIKE. Potential Entrants Potential new entrants into the market can cause NIKE to lose market share, however in the current situation the risk of potential new entrant to NIKE is minimal because of the high entry barrier because of the established nature of the global sportswear industry. While the risk of new entrants is low, it should be noted that there is a risk of new entrant into NIKE’s existing product line, this can lead to loss of sales and revenue. The company needs to channel its energy into continuously expanding its market share through improving on existing products, and introducing innovative products that will enable them maintain their competitive advantage. Level of competition The level of competition in the global sport footwear and clothing industry is very high. NIKE faces stiff competition from other brands like Adidas and Puma. According to Forbes (2014b) the company faces tough competition in emerging markets and Western Europe, as rival brands like adidas increases their competitive campaign through lunch of products and other related activities aimed at gaining back lost market share. Furthermore, NIKE also faces competition from local brands like Li Ning as they expand to emerging markets like China. The company need to work very hard to continue to protect and expand its brand, for them to be able to maintain the dominant level they are presently. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Suppliers often determine the success of companies selling a product (Bode et al, 2011). However, the availability of commodity items like rubber, and cotton NIKE uses for the production of its goods, and the high amount of suppliers in the industry gives the company absolute advantage over its suppliers. NIKE can choose to switch to any supplier at any time with less cost implication, and low risk of disruption to it supplies due of its brand reputation. Furthermore, every supplier will want to do business with NIKE because of the huge manufacturing ability of the firm. This gives NIKE power over its suppliers, and guarantee of steady supplies. Bargaining Power of customers The loyalty of customers to NIKE brand gives the company bargaining power over its customers. NIKE can decide to set its prices at high levels because it knows customers are willing to pay to be identified with its brand. As long as the company continues offer products that are innovative and appealing to its customers, the company will continue to maintain it strong position, and attract more customer loyalty (Lussier and Kimball, 2014). The bargaining power the company has over its customers gives them a great deal of flexibility in their pricing. Threat of Substitutes There is a high tendency for customers to substitute NIKE products for other brands when they face squeeze in their income during economic downturn. This is due to the fact that NIKE product are considered pricey can could be considered luxury product among certain middle class families if there is a squeeze on their disposable income. Competitors can capitalise on this to release cheaper products that will be appealing to these customer during economic slowdown, therefore NIKE need to constantly monitor the overall economic wellbeing of its customers before introducing any product. ANALYSIS OF NIKE FINANCAL RATIO *Extracted data Ratios Formula 2013 2012 2011 Asset Turnover Ratio Revenue/Total Assets 1.44 1.51 1.39 Return on Assets(ROA) Net Income/Total Assets 14.13% 14.37% 14.22% Return on Equity(ROE) Net Income/Equity 22.28% 21.41% 21.67% Gross Profit Margin (Revenue-COGS)/Revenue 43.59% 43.50% 45.58% Quick Ratio (CA – Inv.) / CL 2.60 2.22 2.19 Current Ratio CA/CL 3.47 3.05 2.85 Debt Ratio Total Debt/Total Asset 7.89% 2.49% 4.42% Debt to Equity Total Debt/Total Equity 12.44% 3.71% 6.74% Inventory Turnover COGS/ Inventory 4.16 4.09 4.35 Receivables Turnover Revenue/Receivables 8.12 7.45 6.65 *P/E Ratio 22.90 22.40 18.90 *EPS 2.71 2.37 2.20 Nike’s revenue increase by approximately 8% in 2013 from 2012 figures, looking at the profitability ratios in the table above, it can be observed that the company’s profit margin reduced from 45.89% to 43.50% in 2012 and slightly increased later in 2013 to 43.59%. The gross profit margin is a reflection what is left after the cost of production is deducted, other profitability ratios such as ROE also shows upward trend from 2011 to 2013 indicating a favourable year for the company compared to its 2012 figures. This according Forbes (2014a), and NIKE was as a result of pricing actions, and reduce cost of material such as cotton, and lower investment activities by the company in 2013. The asset turnover of the company reduced in 2013 compared to 2012, this could be attributed to the fall in sales in China one of the biggest market for the company. Furthermore, looking at the liquidity ratio of the company, it can be observed that its current and quick ratio  have been i ncreasing within the period under review. For 2013 quick ratio was 2.60times an increase from 2.22times in 2011, this is well above the industry average which is currently at 0.77times. The current ratio of the company has also been increasing in the years under review, this reflects a strong financial position for the firm because it indicates that the company will be able to meet up future debt obligations. Other solvency ratios such as debt ratio and debt to equity ratio saw a high increase from 2.49% and 3.71% in 2012 to 7.89% and 12.44% respectively. This is an indication that the company relies on debt to fund its assets, this can be due to the strong liquidity position of the company which is reflected in its quick and current ratios. The company has the ability to meets its debt obligations so the risk of using debt of using debt is low. Finally from the efficiency ratios it can be observed that the inventory turnover for the company reduced from 4.35times to 4.09times in 2012, and later rose slightly to 4.16times in 2013. This indicates that the company is still slow in the number of times its inventories is sold and replaced compared to the 2011 figure. This could be as a result of the slow recovery of most countries coming out of recession, and slow growth in key markets for NIKE. However this is not a problem peculiar to NIKE, and the company is still above the industry average of 3.6times. The receivable turnover of the company has been increasing within 2011 and 2013, it is possible that this also adds to the increasing liquidity position of the company. The EPS of the company has observed an upward trend from $2.20 in 2011 to $2.71 in 2013, also its P/E ratio also increased 18.90% to 22.90% this is an indication of NIKE’s profitability within these years and it reflects NIKE’s strong position among the investing community. The increasing P/E ratio of NIKE also indicates investors’ confidence in NIKE’s future earnings and the growth prospect of the company. In conclusion, from the analysis of NIKE financials it is evident that the company maintains a strong position in the industry, because of its inc reasing revenue despite slight drop in certain emerging market, its liquidity position is strong compared to industry average and their growth prospect is also high as reflected in their growth ratios. ANALYSIS OF SHARE PERFORMANCE Figure : Movement of Nike share price in the past 6 months. The figure above presents the share performance of NIKE for the past 6 months, from the figure it could be observed that in the third quarter of NIKE’s financial 2013 year ending May 2014, the share price of the company observed a sharp drop to $70.51, then rose to $79.64 reaching its peak in the period under review. The share price dropped to $73.2 and since then have been fluctuating within 70 and $71. According to NIKE (2013) fluctuations in NIKE share prices can be attributed to various factors that affects performance in these quarter, they include the seasonality of its products, general economic condition, weather condition, and changes in consumer preference. However, dividend pay-out announcements, expectations of quarterly results and other industry related factors could also lead to the fluctuations of NIKE share price. Overall NIKE’s share performance has been fairly stable at $70-$80 as no highly significant drop have been observed in the period under revie w. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the analysis of NIKE indicates that it remains one of the biggest sports manufacturing brands in the world. The company’s focus on manufacturing innovative products has kept them in a very strong position in the sportswear and clothing industry. Though the global economic growth has slowed down slightly, and this has also affected key emerging markets such as China, growth projections for NIKE remain strong as investors believe the company has the ability to fight off intense competition and continue to expand its dominance in the market. It is very imperative for the company to continue to maintain its level of innovation to ensure continued customer loyalty and increasing revenues. References Al-Araki, M 2013, ‘SWOT analysis revisited through PEAK-framework’, Journal Of Intelligent & Fuzzy Systems, 25, 3, pp. 615-625, Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, [Accessed on 19th June 2014]. Amin, S. H., Razmi, J., & Zhang, G. (2011). Supplier selection and order allocation based on fuzzy SWOT analysis and fuzzy linear programming. Expert Systems with Applications, 38(1), 334-342. [Online] available from Science Direct Platform on: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.eswa.2010.06.071 [Accessed on 19th June 2014]. BanJo , S. (2014) Inside Nike’s Struggle to Balance Cost and Worker Safety in Bangladesh. Wall Street Journal. [Online] available from: http://blogs.wsj.com/frontiers/2014/04/22/inside-nikes-struggle-to-balance-cost-and-worker-safety-in-bangladesh/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Bode, c, Wagner, s, Petersen, k, & Ellram, l (2011), ‘understanding responses to supply chain disruptions: insights from information processing and resource dependence perspectives’. Academy Of Management Journal, 54, 4, pp. 833-856, Available on Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost, [Accessed on 17th June 2014] Forbes (2013) Nike Shares Can Find Some Zip on Emerging Market Sales [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2013/04/11/nike-shares-can-find-some-zip-on-emerging-market-sales/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Forbes (2014b) Nike Faces Tough Competition In Europe and China. [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/04/nik e-faces-tough-competition-in-europe-and-china/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014] Forbes. (2014a) Nike Brand Apparel Division in Focus. [Online] available from: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2014/03/20/nike-brand-apparel-division-in-focus/ [Accessed on 17th June 2014]. Gotham, S. (2013) Nike’s Changing External Environment. Nike.Blogpost [Online] available from: http://philnike.blogspot.com/2013/02/nikes-external-environment.html [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. Hamilton, Leslie & Webster, Philip, (2012) The International Business Environment, Oxford University Press, 2nd Edition. Lussier, R, Kimball, D, (2014), ‘Applied Sport Management Skills’, Elms College, 2nd Edition. NIKE Inc. (2013) Annual Report and Notice of Annual Meeting. [Online] available from: http://investors.nikeinc.com/files/nike2013form10K.pdf [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. ‘NIKE, Inc. (2014) NIKE Inc. SWOT Analysis, pp. 1-8, [Online] Available from Business Source Premier, EBSCOhost , database [Accessed 18 June 2014]. Porter, M. E. (2008) The five competitive forces that shape strategy. Harvard business review, 86(1), 25-40. Singla, R. K. (2007) Business Studies. Prince Print Process, New Delhi. Tefris. (2013) Here’s What Matters For Nike’s $56 Valuation. [Online] available from: http://www.trefis.com/stock/nke/articles/167536/heres-what-matters-for-nikes-56-valuation/2013-02-12 [Accessed on 18th June 2014]. Trefis (2011) Nike’s

Society’s Perception of Affirmative Action

I both agree, and disagree with what the author is saying in this article. He starts by saying that our chances of succeeding are influenced by the generation of our family that came before us, and by our network of friends and acquaintances. He applies the term â€Å"social capital,† to this. He then goes on to say that the government needs to take responsibility for ensuring that everyone has an equal opportunity get a job, be accepted into a university, or move up in their company. The next five paragraphs are spent arguing against â€Å"color-blind absolutism,† that is, the idea that we should ignore race altogether. To this point in the article, I could not agree more. I believe most rational thinking people learn from their parents, older siblings and even their extended families. They see the mistakes that their families made and want to do better. In my family for instance, I am the youngest of six children. My parents grew up in farming communities and had little or no education. I was the first in the family to go straight through high school and graduate. Only the four youngest of six children received a high school diploma or equivalent, and only myself and one of my brothers has had any education beyond that. I see this as a natural evolution that takes several generations. Some of my older siblings did not see the value of an education, or of planning your future and setting goals. While I saw the mistakes they made, it took me several years to realize that my success was dependent on setting goals, and the actions I took to achieve them. I also agree with the author assertion that society cannot be completely colorblind. We do not need to pretend that we are not different, we need to accept and embrace each other's differences. We need to recognize and respect the each other's cultures. Color and race will forever be used, just as height and weight are used to describe people. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging our differences, as long as we do not perceive those differences as negatives. I have to disagree with the remainder of the article. He has taken offense, apparently, to the perception that blacks need to be given preferential treatment to achieve a degree of success. I believe that he is arguing that affirmative action is demeaning to blacks, but what he should be arguing against is not affirmative action, but white society's perception of affirmative action. Used as it was intended, affirmative action does not give minorities preferential treatment, it gives them an opportunity to compete with other applicants of equal qualifications. Human nature being what it is, opportunities do not always present themselves solely because of a persons skills, qualifications, or persistence. I recently read that a high percentage of positions are filled not through newspaper ads, or recruiting agencies, but through word of mouth. The best place for employers to look for new employees is often from their current employees. If this is true, then unless your work place is already racially diverse, most of your new hires are likely to come from similar racial or ethnic background as the majority of your workforce. Breaking this cycle takes a conscious effort. I believe this is the case in organized labor organizations. Perhaps there is no conscious effort to keep blacks or minorities out, but a desire to get one's family and friends in, so that they too may enjoy the benefits of a good job. I believe I benefited from affirmative action when I joined the union apprenticeship program. Had it not been for the pressure applied on unions to diversify, there is little doubt in my mind that someone's son or nephew would have received that position. And that person would most likely have been a white male. The intention of affirmative action is to level the playing field, not to tilt it in the direction of minorities. If it is improperly used, we must not blame the program; we must blame the people that are administering it. Universities should not lower standards, but encourage academically qualified minorities to apply and support programs that help increase the pool of qualified applicants. While it is true that an individuals success depends largely on that individuals own drive and self determination, history has taught us that things are not going to get better without some governmental intervention.

The Medical and Social Model of Health

The medical model is not only useful as an academic tool at the critical or theoretical level, it also appeals to health care practitioners at a practical level. The medical model is a scientific view on health and body functioning that was originated in the 19th century. This was when people were beginning to understand the functions of the human body and the ways in keeping the body healthy. The medical model of health was first based on the idea that the human body is like a machine; a car broke down, then it would need to be fixed. The concept of the medical model of health is highly supported by health and social care practitioners that focus on curing illness, rather than the inhibition of illness. They would focused on producing medicines, which would treat numerous diseases and surgeries, this could renovate different parts of the body. The health and social care practitioners value specialist medical services highly because health is viewed as the absence of diseases and illnesses. If someone was to become ill they would make an appointment to see a doctor because they see the doctor as someone to help cure them. The person involved in the treatment process has very little say. This means that whatever the doctor concludes about the health of the person would be final and the person is expected to carry out the advice of the doctor. http://www.marco-learningsystems.com/pages/david-zigmond/medical-model.htm (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.med.uottawa.ca/sim/data/Health_Definitions_e.htm (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.simplypsychology.org/medical-model.html (accessed on 26/10/2015) The medical of health is associated with the negative definition of health because the model focuses on the individual physical body and explains diseases or illnesses and its symptoms as a physical restraints, an example would be accidents. The medical model of health does not look at the psychological factor as the social model does. The concept of the social model of health is that people are not disabled because of illnesses or injury, but how society is constructed. The medical model disagrees with the social model because injury is seen as the cause of disability and that the person with the disability is expected to learn how to adapt within society, instead of society adapting to them. In the medical model disabled people as an issue, they should be adjusted to fit into the world as it is. On the off chance that this isn't conceivable, then they should be shut away in a particular institution or isolated at home, where only their most elementary needs are met. https://www.pol ity.co.uk/shortintroductions/samples/bury-sample.pdf (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/191/5/375 (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.healthknowledge.org.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publichealthtextbook/healthpromotion/2h1_c.jpg The social model can be understood, in part, as a reaction to the limits of the medical model. This model is carefully linked with positive definitions of health. In the social model the health of individuals and communities is seen as the consequence of complex and interrelating Communal, economic, environmental and personal factors. The social model of health is the direct opposite of the medical model. This is because the social model tries to prevent people from becoming ill rather than waiting for them to become ill and then treating them. The model attempts to address the larger influences on health. These are social, cultural, environmental and economic factors rather than diseases and injuries. The social model of health shows that for health and wellbeing to be achieved, the social, environmental and economic factors that affect health need to be addressed alongside biological and medical factors. The social model of health discards the impartiality and scientific self-importance of the bio-medical model and regards reliance upon the scientific method as only one way to measure health. The social model of health acknowledges that health and illness are created socially and that the health we experience relates to the way society is organized. According to Gillespie and Gerhardt (1995) states that health has an historical, cultural and social context and cannot be understood unless we appreciate. http://uk.ask.com/question/what-is-the-social-model-of-health (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.nwci.ie/download/pdf/determinants_health_diagram.pdf (accessed on 26/10/2015) https://knowledge.sagepub.com/view/key-concepts-in-health-studies/n3.xml (accessed on 26/10/2015) Culture is a factor that can have a negative or positive impact on a person’s health. Catholics are strongly against the use of contraception, which can lead to sexual transmitted diseases or infections and unwanted pregnancies. This is because Catholics believe that God has created each human for procreation and this means that a catholic person should not use contraception because they are interfering with God’s creation and stopping the procreation from occurring. Another example of the impact culture can have an impact on a person’s help is the Jehovah Witness disagreeing with blood transfusion. This is vital because it can lead to serious life-threatening diseases or infections. http://cugh.org/sites/default/files/content/resources/13_Social_And_Cultural_Factors_Related_To_Health_Part_A_Recognizing_The_Impact%20-%20Copy.pdf (accessed on 26/10/2015) https://sustainingcommunity.wordpress.com/2015/06/02/social-model-of-health/ (accessed on 26/10/2015) Education is another factor that has an impact on a person’s health and assertiveness towards health. If someone is taught about how to prevent various infections and diseases by taking measures, such as washing your hands before and after eating is essential for not passing diseases to other people. The social model of health has a link with the view that people can deal with their health responsibly if educated. https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lc-ccr/centrepublications/workingpapers/WP03_Development_Critique.pdf (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.slideshare.net/jkonoroth/321-models-of-health (accessed on 26/10/2015) Most service users believe that a medical model founded on deficit and pathology still controls public and professional understanding of mental health issues, influential attitudes and policy. The service users largely see such a medical model as harmful and unhelpful. The labelling and stigma subsequent from a medical model of mental illness emerge as major fences for mental health service users. Service users see social tactics to mental health issues as much more helpful. The service users feel that broader subjects need to be taken more into account to stand the individualisation of mental health issues. They have diverse and complex opinions about the social model of disability and how co-operative a related social model of insanity and suffering would be. Read also Six Dimensions of Health Worksheet http://www.whatissocialmodelofhealth.com/ (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.wchm.org.au/social-determinants-model-of-health (accessed on 26/10/2015) Differences of the Social and Medical Model of Health http://images.slideplayer.com/11/3201900/slides/slide_8.jpg The table above shows the differences between the medical and social model of health. The first point written for the medical model of health is that it has a â€Å"narrow or simplistic understanding of health.† This would suggest that the medical model of health is not reliable because it lacks detail and therefore it is vague. The words ‘narrow’ and ‘simplistic’ is associated with imprecise and unclear. Furthermore, advocating that the medical model of health is not dependable. The second point made for the social model of health is â€Å"broad or complex understanding of health.† This is automatically different from what was stated by the medical model of health because the social model is claimed to be in more detail. The words ‘board’ and ‘complex’ is associated with profundity and detailed. Another point of medical model of health is that the model is a â€Å"biased definition focusing on the absence of disease or disability.† This means that the definition of the medical model is disregarding disability. People who are disabled are seen as the cause of the disability. They are blamed and are not valued for their abilities. However, the social model of health is more holistic and looks at the overview picture of the situation by taking a wide range of factors into account for why a person is disabled. The social model of health does not blame the person for being disabled. The third point is that the medical model of health does not take in account the wider factors that can affect a person’s health. This is because the medical model of health focuses on the physical factors rather than social, environmental or economic. This differs from the social model of health because the social model focuses all the factors. It looks into the environmental, physical, social and economic factors that can have an impact on a person’s health. The social model of health also looks into the impact of inequalities, which is mentioned in the table above. The last point is that the social model of health takes account to knowledge and understanding. This means that the social model of health is more focused on the community as the cause of the individual having the health problem and therefore, would consider the knowledge and understanding the individual had learnt from their community. However, the medical model of health is highly influenced by scientific and expert knowledge. This means that the medical model of health only focuses on how to treat a person that has a health problem, rather than the cause of the health problem. The person would first have to be ill in order for the doctor to treat them. http://slideplayer.com/slide/3201900/ (accessed on 26/10/2015) https://www.youngmindsadvocacy.org/in-plain-english-epsdt/ (accessed on 26/10/2015) The Medical Model of Health is parallel to Machines The medical model of health views people as machines; the various body systems are seen as systems which can be repaired, replaced and tampered. For example; if a person was to feel ill, they would make an appointment to see their doctor. Then the doctor would provide some medication or treatment options, such as operations. The diagram below is a parallel between machines and the medical model of health. This is because medical model of health sees the cause of diseases by bacteria, virus or genetic factors. It does not include other factors, such as social or emotional. Due to the person being seen as a machine, other aspects, such as unemployment are also not considered. This can lead to health care practitioners dealing with illnesses and ill health rather than promoting good health. http://www.fda.gov/ucm/groups/fdagov-public/documents/image/ucm271241.jpg http://www.fda.gov/MedicalDevices/DeviceRegulationandGuidance/HumanFactors/ucm124829.htm (accessed on 26/10/2015) Failure to Conform to Health Advice Addiction can make it difficult for a person to withdraw from medication that was prescribed to them. This can be because the person had become dependent on the medication. This would result on failure to conform to health advice because the service user would take an excessive amount, they would abuse the medication. Addiction can be linked to the medical model of health because the service user’s illness would not be treated by the healthcare organisation due to the service user consuming too much of their medication. This would mean that the medication that is produced would not be effective. This is because the service user is taking an excessive amount, which would mean poor health and long-term health problems. http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Addictions/Pages/Introduction.aspx (accessed on 26/10/2015) https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/addiction (accessed on 26/10/2015) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Addiction_medicine (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.asam.org/for-the-public/what-is-an-addiction-specialist (accessed on 26/10/2015) However, addiction can be linked to the social model of health because society has expectation and does not tolerate addiction. This is because society has norms and values. If a person was not following the norms of society, they would be socially excluded. Addiction is viewed as a social problem by many people. Majority of people believe that drug abusers can willingly stop taking drugs. These people often miscalculate the difficulty of drug addiction. Addiction has an impact on the brain, and therefore stopping drug abuse is not simply a matter of willpower. The social model of health views the individuals and communities as the consequence of complex and interrelating problem. Therefore, the person who is having a problem with addiction can be a result of the community and rather, than the medical health organisation. The community is the cause for the person not following health advice. http://archives.drugabuse.gov/about/welcome/aboutdrugabuse/magnitude/ (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.medic8.com/drug-addiction/social-effects.html (accessed on 26/10/2015) https://lifeprocessprogram.com/lp-blog/library/addiction-is-a-social-disease/ (accessed on 26/10/2015) Fear can make an individual afraid of the affect and changes that the medication might have on their body. If there is more side effect on the medication, it can make a person being cautious when taking the medication. This can result on the individual not taking the right amount of medication that was advised by a health and social care practitioner because they are more likely to take smaller amount. Fear can be related to the medical model of health because the health and social care practitioner would be prescribing the service user medication that can provoke a sense of fear. This is because the medical model of health views people as machines; the various body systems are seen as systems, which can be repaired, replaced and tampered. This can cause a person to be more scared if the health and social care practitioner is advising them medication or treatment options that has more side-affects. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/ignore-doctor-advice_n_1262643.html (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/1529171.stm (accessed on 26/10/2015) Peer pressure is another example of why a person would fail to conform to health advice. This is because the person would want to fit in with friends and therefore, might refuse to take their medication when they are around their friends. If a health and social care practitioner had advised the person to take their medication in a certain time, such as after eating meals. It can be a problem to some people because they don’t want to seem weak to their peers. This is a social problem and therefore, relates to the social model of health. Peer pressure relates to the social model of health because it is the community that is causing the person to not follow medical advice. https://healthbugs.wordpress.com/2012/04/06/why-dont-we-follow-medical-and-health-advice/ (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.answers.com/Q/Why_do_people_not_conform_to_health_advice (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://www.faqs.org/health/topics/76/Peer-pressure.html (accessed on 26/10/2015) There are finical problems that can prevent someone to conform to health advice. The cost of the medication might be expensive for some service users. If the health and social care practitioner advices the service user to buy a certain medication every one or two months, it can result on a finical barrier. This is because they won’t be able to afford the medication and therefore, would not follow health advice. This would lead to future health problems. Finical problems is related to the medical model of health because the medical model of health focuses on repairing the person. If the person can’t afford the medication then they are more likely to fail to not follow the advice of the health and social care practitioner. I’ve mentioned that the medical model of health is focused on the person having the illness or disease and therefore, would not help to prevent the disease. This would be problematic for a person who cannot afford the medication or treatment, fur ther worsening their recovery. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/416786/Mental_Health_and_Behaviour_-_Information_and_Tools_for_Schools_240515.pdf (accessed on 26/10/2015) http://arma.org.uk/downloader/dws.pdf (accessed on 26/10/2015) If a person is in denial it can prevent them following health advice. It is hard to come to terms with health conditions. If a person was to go through a traumatic events, they are more likely to be in denial. A traumatic event can be serious accidents, life-threatening illnesses, and bereavement, experiencing a crime or war. Due to the traumatic events the person can be withdrawn, which would lead to them not accepting their health condition. For example; if a person was informed that they had lung cancer; they may be unwilling to take their medication because of denial. When a person is in denial they feel frightened, helpless, angry, guilty, sad, ashamed and embarrassed. The person might feel that the cancer will happen again and then would eventually lose control and break down. This is a social problem because the person is not receiving care because of emotional factors. The medical model of health does not focus on the emotional factors, like the social model of health.

U choose a topic Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

U choose a topic - Essay Example In the past, video games were played by teens (young adults), but today, relatively old people are seen playing the games and enjoying themselves. As of 2005, over US$ 35 billion was spent on video game consoles, handled game devices, game software, online games and mobile games. Also, new generation consoles developed by Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft, as from 2005, were projected to push up the sales to over US$ 51 billion, in 2010 (Gamble 198). The video game industry also employs people experienced in other old-fashioned businesses, but some have skills and knowledge tailored to the video game industry. For instance, a majority of recruiters target only game industry experts, which has led to numerous employment opportunities. Through this, it can be noted that this industry is a vital player in the world economy. This paper will discuss the key success factors in this industry. It will also discuss how the industry is changing and evaluate the strategies used by big players such a s Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony. Question 1 Demands in the video game industry will always be there. However, the strategies that players in this field use to market themselves are the ones that matter the most (Gamble 87). Some of the key strategies of marketing a product in this field include: marketing related, technology related, distribution related and skilled and capability related (Flew 53). The marketing of video games in the past was simple. Advertising was done by word of mouth and, at times, only steady in ads of leading video games consumer publications. However, in 1994, video game marketing became a more substantial factor such as clear advertising and a strong brand name. With regards to technology, the video game industry has the skill to develop production process for the demands and needs for the client, which, if the purchaser wants 8-bit video game, then the industry would create that type of creation. For instance, modernizers have a behavior of purchasing new s ystems, which offer vital technology improvement over present alternatives and are usually unresponsive to software availability, price breadth of distribution, brand identification and factory support (Gamble 87). Finally, with regards to skilled and capability related, the video game industry is experiencing the growth of more and more groundbreaking products over a short period of time, with organizations copying each other’s products to earn in the race to success. Even though, the vital players in this industry operated both in global and domestic markets, more success was attained on national grounds (Flew 53). Question 2 Regarded by others as an oddity in the mid-70s, the video and computer game industries have developed from centered markets to the mainstream business (Gamble 202). The industry took in almost US$9.5 billion in the United States, 11.7 billion and 25.1 billion, in 2007, 2008 and 2010, respectively. Contemporary personal computers and video game consoles owe numerous advancements and modernizations to the game industry: graphics cards, sound cards and 3D graphic accelerators, DVD-ROM and CD-ROM drives, are some of few more notable and significant improvements. Sound cards were established in order to add high and digital-quality sound to games. They were later improved and enhanced for audiophiles andmusic.Graphics cards were created for more colors, as well. As time moved

Germany's Holocaust Memorial Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Germany's Holocaust Memorial - Assignment Example Eisenman designed it in a way that each stone slab is unique, positioned on uneven ground at varying heights. Some are taller than an average person while some are just as high as the ankles. Visitors are encouraged to wander through the paths and they can enter the monument on all four sides. Eisenman designed the monument to create a sense of instability, and the maze of stones tends to disorient some visitors. However, the designer of the monument hoped that the memorial will become a natural part of the city, and offer a respite for its citizens after a busy day. At the base of the monument is a subterranean Information Center, where visitors can find more information about the monument’s design and construction. It also features stories of several individuals and families who faced persecution of the Nazis during the war. The Information Center is open day and night. The monument serves as a silent reminder of a past that most people would want to forget. May it also serv e as a symbol of hope for the future generations. May each stone slab remind us all that no one has the right to take another man’s life for personal ambitions. May we all learn from our history, so that the acts of infamy committed by such unlawful men will never happen again.

IBM-Analysis should reflect an understanding of the critical issues of Case Study

IBM-Analysis should reflect an understanding of the critical issues of the - Case Study Example e company was faced with the challenge of finding new opportunities, and coming up with solutions to the problems facing entering the global market, the IBM’s IVT5 team could hardly rub out the clients’ perception of the company being foreign. Kanter (2009) indicates that despite the fact that IBM was properly staffed by local citizens; the company was still perceived as foreign. Hoskins (2011) continues to argue that IBM realized it was facing a problem and that there was need to devise a system that would be flexible enough to serve the clients in a sensible manner, which according to IBM was the sole purpose of being in business. N.d. (2007) also indicates that over the years, the world is becoming global, and it is vital that businesses go the global way. Devoid of this asset in an organization, blunders are likely to occur within hours, let alone days. To deal with the issues at hand, the IBM has no option but to clear the views that the company had a hidden agenda on the beneficiary countries. As seen in the case of Egypt, the countrymen believe that the intrusion of IBM in their country has resulted to an increase in the unemployment rates in the country (Kanter, 2009). This is for the reason that the company opted to employ a great percentage of the workers officials of the IBM Company. In this case, the company needs to familiarize the client countries with the jobs required in the IBM Company. The officials of the company would probably do the managerial jobs so as to oversee that every aspect of the implementation of the policies of the company are being met. It would be advisable that the employees be citizens of the client countries. Additionally, the client countries will feel more involved in the growth and success of the company. In one way or another, the company will gain an upper hand in marketing its products in the client countries. Integration, in this case, will have taken place, and not invasion as Kanter (2009) puts it. The company

Warsaw Ghetto and The Pianist Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Warsaw Ghetto and The Pianist - Research Paper Example This essay focuses on description of the life and death in the WWII times in the Warsaw Ghetto, in Poland. The researcher analyzes the book written by a survivor of the events that are described in the book and then the movie, the Pianist. Wladyslaw Szpilman, who is an author and the main character of the book was a Polish Jewish man who lived through the Jewish Holocaust. He was a musician and his experiences were shown in the movie and the book, named The Pianist. The book was written by Szpilman and his son was able to get it published because he wanted people to know what happened to his father during WWII times. The Holocaust was a tremendously bad situation that happened to the Jews in Europe and reading a such personal account and memories was very difficult for the researcher at times. The Warsaw Ghetto in Poland was where most of Szpilman's experiences happened. The essay follows the book and describes The Warsaw Ghetto that was not a happy place or one where people were tre ated well. Life and war experiences of the main character were also described as well. To conclude, the researcher gives his own opinion on the book that he analyzed. The researcher thinks that this was an interesting time in history and it made him want to read some more about the Holocaust but it is also very difficult to read it at the same time. He also thinks that the movie was very hard to watch and he was in tears many times watching what people did. At the end, the researcher hopes that this never happens again to anyone.

Why do some protest groups use violence in the context of collective Essay - 1

Why do some protest groups use violence in the context of collective action - Essay Example Social change may render certain social groups to flourish or become powerful, and politically relevant; nevertheless, the availability of political opportunities does not automatically and immediately yield to heightened protest (Tarrow 1998, p.16). Collective action mainly focuses wholly on the behaviour and/or the authenticity of certain individuals. Collective identity draws from the recognition and the establishment of connectedness, which heralds a sense of common purpose and commitment to a certain cause. Social protests performances mainly emerge from marginalized peoples and oppositional struggles, whereby individuals utilize protests to counter hegemonic strategic via which underrepresented groups challenge the dominant social order and source of change. The representational apparatus provided by social protests serves to reinforce, re-articulate, and re-imagine the objectives of both social and political resistance (Oliver 1993, p.271). Traditional explanations to why indi viduals engage in political violence emphasize that deprivation, characteristically in the form of economic inequality generates grievances and discontent that trigger rebellion and social revolution (McCarthy and Zald 1977, p.1212). The paper explores why some protest groups utilize violence within the context of collective action. Background The contentious politics that were prominent in the 1960s and early 1970s heralded fresh energy to a subject that, for an extended period, has dominated scholarly and political legitimacy. In the 1970s, two prominent paradigms emerged from the welter of studies triggered by the disorderly politics of the 1960s, namely: the resource mobilization (RM) approach to social movement organizations within the US and the new social movement (NSM) approach within Western Europe (Thompson 1971, p.76). Historically, breakdown theory was the dominant theory that guided sociological study of collective action; nevertheless, this theory as deemed to be incre asingly incapable of accounting for the contemporaneous events (Useem 1998, p.215; Aminzade et al. 2001, p.12). Resource mobilization theory replaced breakdown theory as the dominant paradigm. Both resource mobilization and breakdown theories explain diverse forms of phenomena, and both are pertinent in helping account for the full range of forms of collective action (Goodwin and Jasper 2009, p.10). Use of Violence in the Context of Collective Action Collective action represents actions by group members directed at enhancing the conditions of the group as a unit such as petitions, demonstrations, riots, boycotts, and sit-ins. There are numerous explanations to collective action such as relative deprivation, intergroup, social identity, intergroup emotion, and resource mobilization theories. Classical theories indicate that people mostly protests to express their grievances emanating from frustration, relative deprivation, or perceived injustice. Scholars of social movements have hig hlighted that efficacy, opportunities, and resources can be utilized to predict protest participation (Tilly 2008, p.8). Politics within networks enhance efficacy and transform individual grievances into shared grievances and group-based anger that yields protest participation. At the heart of social movement phenomena is the protest event, whereby protest events are in numerous ways the front line of action within social movements. It is essential to recognize that social protests represent a collective action that is not synonymous with collective behaviours such as riots. Collection

Critical Annotated Bibliography Tranexamic Acid Essay

Critical Annotated Bibliography Tranexamic Acid - Essay Example Amandip Singh is also a doctor in the department of anaesthesiology at DMCH. The researchers assert that tranexamic acid significantly decreases blood loss after operation and reduces the need for blood transfusion among students after undergoing total knee replacement (TKR).According to the researchers, Tranexamic acid, which is a synthetic derivative of amino acid lysine, is an effective antifibrinolytic agent. The acid is may reversibly block lysine-binding sites on the plasminogen molecules, thus hinder the formation of plasmin. Other researchers have showed increased use of tranexamic acid in orthopaedic surgery due to its safety, efficacy and low cost. The research was conducted in a tertiary health care facility after obtaining approval from the hospital heath ethics committee with informal consent taken from patients involved in the study. The researchers used randomized double-blinded study involving 40 patients scheduled to undergo unilateral TKR for osteoarthritis. Three s urgeons who had experience in the field to ensure validity of the test conducted the study. The first half of the population was injected with 10mg/kg of tranexamic acid. Conversely, the placebo group underwent the same procedure only that normal saline was used instead of tranexamic acid. ... It was concluded that routine administration of the acid was beneficial to patients undergoing operation. The limitation of the research is that it involved a limited number of populations. Also, the researchers did not monitor the plasminogen levels, D-dimer, thromboelastography, and fibrin degradation products. In addition, the researchers failed to measure hemoglobin levels of transfused blood and weigh sponges, which could have affected the accuracy of calculations. The text did not have sufficient clinical evidence and literature supporting the use of tranexamic acid in preventing preoperative blood loss. The relevance and usefulness of the text to my research is that it informed on the importance of the Tranexamic acid in reducing blood loss during operations in patients. Sekhavat, L., Tabatabaii, A., Dalili, M., Farajkhoda, T., & Tafti, A. (2009). Efficacy of tranexamic acid in reducing blood loss after cesarean section. The Journal Of Maternal-Fetal & Neonatal Medicine. Vol. 22(1), 72-75. The authors of this research journal are medical practitioners at the department of obstetrics and gynecology at Shahod Sehud Hospita, and Health Services, Yard, Iran. They have the ability to produce credible research that can be used in any academic research. The argument presented by the researchers is that cesarean section (CS) rate has been on the increase among women delivering and that CS posse many complications as compared to the normal vaginal birth due to complications related to postpartum bleeding. The medications that have been used to reduce bleeding include prostaglandins, oxytocin, and methylergonovine. The researchers however feel that tranexamic acid, a synthetic derivative of the amino acid lysine that has been applied for several years in the

Creditor's position in the case of company's insolvency Coursework

Creditor's position in the case of company's insolvency - Coursework Example mpany had already started showing signs of insolvency prior to availing of the said loans. Section 213 of Insolvency Act 1986 and section 993 of Companies Act 2006 (CA) refer to fraudulent trading. Section 214 of Insolvency Act 1986 refers to wrongful trading. These are the provisions which can be invoked against the company, its directors and others concerned for relief to the creditors.2 Besides, other provisions of Insolvency act are to be followed for realisation and pro-rata payments to all the classes of creditors of the company. Section 993 of the CA stipulates that it is an offence to continue to carry on business of a company intentionally to defraud creditors of the company or any other person or for any fraudulent purpose. Every person who is a party to above said acts is deemed to have committed an offence.3 Section 213 of Insolvency Act stipulates that if fraudulent trading is found to have been committed as above during the course of the winding up of a company, those w ho were knowingly parties to the above said offence shall be liable to contributions to the company’s assets as may be ordered by the court on the application of the liquidator.4 Section 214 of Insolvency Act stipulates that it is a wrongful trading committed by a director of a company and therefore a court can make a declaration that he is liable to make contribution to the assets of the company, if he has failed to make proper conclusions and take steps necessary for discontinuing the business knowing full well that the company’s going into insolvent liquidation was unavoidable. It is subject to the condition that company has gone into liquidation and that the person was a director of the company at that time. However, section 214 (3) stipulates that the court shall not pass any such declaration if the director has taken all possible steps to minimise potential loss to the creditors of the company. The director also includes a shadow director. This section is without prejudice to section 213 above.5 Fixed charge and Floating charge It is a means of creating security over specified or unspecified asset or property. Fixed charge is one which is fastened on an ascertained and defined property or a property capable of being ascertained and defined. In this case, the chargor is not free to deal with the property without the consent of the chargee. A floating charge is one which fastens on assets which the chargor can freely deal with, without the consent of the chargee. Thus fixed charge is generally on fixed asset, long-term asset or immovable property whereas floating charge is on movable property such as stock in trade. However, to decide whether one is a floating charge or fixed charge, it depends on the instrument of charge which spells out the intention of the parties regarding their mutual rights and obligations over the assets charged. Therefore mere labelling as fixed or floating will not prevent a court from treating a charge otherwise.6 D irectors’ duty towards creditors Director’s duty is to act in good faith so as to promote success of the

The Love Lab Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Love Lab - Essay Example What it takes to sustain a relationship: Gottman Dr. Gottman has suggested several things in the video. First of all, he has advised to get rid of ‘The Four Horsemen of Apocalypse’, insisting that couples tend to create misunderstanding as well as bitterness among themselves by criticizing each other’s actions or thought. Also, sarcasm, cynicism, offending gestures, mockery, indirect insult and other negative behaviors tear two people apart. Stonewalling and defensiveness also prevents spouses from discussing problems with each other. Therefore, according to Dr. Gottman, it is absolutely essential that whenever any occasion of dispute takes place, at least one partner must try to ‘settle’ down or ‘divert’ the topic (Gehart 337). To settle disputes in marriages, Dr. Gottman advised the couples for ‘couple therapy’ and weekend workshops. He also held the view that to sustain a marriage a couple must take certain initiatives lik e building ‘love- maps’ and must share fondness and good memories. Some admiration needs to be present among partners. Above all, they must concentrate on their marriage and hold a positive attitude. This would help in creation of a shared meaning and help the partners to achieve their ambitions and aspirations. Views about the video ‘The Love Lab’ The viewers could understand every details of therapy, or love- procedure of Dr. Gottman. With no extra efforts put on special effects, the video seems to capture a single day of ‘The Love Lab’, more precisely the couple of hours required for diagnosing a couple. At the beginning of the video which is less than five minutes in length, one finds an apparently- happy couple entering the love lab. All the characters who appear in the video look very convincing and rea - including Dr, Gottman himself, his assistants, and ‘happy and not-so- happy’ couples who walk to the ‘The Love Labâ €™ (The Love Lab). Though the video lacks fineness of quality and precision, but nowhere does it fails achieve its objective. One could not trace any sign of extravagance or grandeur on the backgrounds. Rather sometimes it gives the impression of a well-lit moderate apartment. The female- voice protagonist never comes in the front, but provides description and analysis of single action and shift of focus in the video- staring from the type and subject matter of questions that are asked, oral history interview, symptoms of a strongly- connected couple, etc. Soon after this, the video monitors the backstage of the research lab, where highly- trained observers analyze reactions of couple using a special type of coding system. The video shows the whole procedure step by step. Later on the video captures the activities of the couples and research technicians during ‘conflict discussion’. A glance of computers with special type of coding system and other the equipments im plies that Dr. Gottman’s ideologies are based on scientific grounds. The female- voice protagonist simultaneously describes the aspects or parameters of analysis- blood velocity, flooding, fidgeting, sweating palms, heat beats, facial expressions, body movements, and topics of disagreement like disagreement about finances, or maintenance of kids, how they met, warm affectionate memories, etc. Video tapes are used to record minute facial expressions which are later on analyzed using specific codes. At the end of therapy, these tapes are preserved for

Qing China and the consequences of the golden age Essay Example for Free

Qing China and the consequences of the golden age Essay The â€Å"Prosperous Age† was a period where Qing China experienced a drastic increase in population, flourishing trade and commerce, and a remarkable level of social and political stability during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. However, its brilliance was overshadowed by its subsequent consequences and China was soon at its breaking point in the 19th century. This essay would then evaluate on the implications of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† and how the long-term consequences proved to be more negative in the 19th century due to a string of crisis, and subsequent problems that continued even in modern China of the 20th century. Negative Unanticipated Long Term Consequences Reversal of Trade Fortunes with Britain During the 18th century, there was mounting European demand for Chinese goods (Hung, 2011). Britain in particular, had strong liking and demand for Chinese goods especially tea. Hence, it led to the outflow of British silver into China, but little inflow of silver back into the British economy resulted in China enjoying a trade surplus (City University HK, 2007) while Britain suffered from a trade deficit. To redress this deficit, Britain began to smuggle and sell opium in China (City University HK, 2007). China’s attempt to prohibit opium then resulted in the Opium Wars and suffered a tragic defeat. The defeat in the Opium War led to the signings of unequal treaties . Upon signing of the unequal treaties, much Chinese marked it as the beginning of a century of shame and humiliation. Although China was never formally colonized, the lack of ability to defend its basic sovereign rights and ability to govern its own country made it look like a like semi-colonized state of Britain. Consequently, the Qing government was seen as weak and inefficient to combat against the foreigners and much Chinese lost faith in the Manchurian Qing government. As a result, this gave rise to the Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) where violent revolts and attacks were targeted against foreigners as a sign to resist their influence. Boxers, supported by China, suffered a yet another defeat and were forced to sign yet another unequal treaty: Boxer Protocol, where the reparations drastically crippled the Chinese economy till the mid 20th century (Zheng, 2009). Thus, we can see that the initial trade surplus, a sign of â€Å"Prosperous Age† resulted in British to redress the situation by selling opium to the Chinese led to the Opium Wars and the unequal treaties which greatly weakened Qing China internally and externally in the 19th century. China’s failure to counter foreign influence led to their continued defeat in the Boxer Rebellion at the end of 19th century, where another unequal treaty continued to cripple her till mid 20th century , thereby demonstrating the long term consequence of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† was indeed negative in the long run, especially since the consequences did not confine just to the 19th century but even stretched to the 20th century. Reforms did not keep up with population boom During the â€Å"Prosperous Age†, China’s population tripled from less than 150 million to over 400 million (Perkins, 1969). Civil Service Exam however continued its strict quota for passing (Bentley Ziegler, 2003) and that meant a lower ratio of scholar to population passes. The frustration of students led to the rise of influential leaders like Hong Xiuquan who sought for reforms which led to the Taiping Rebellion . Coincidentally, the backbone of his rebels were the poor peasants who were forced out of arable lands and were socially upset and frustrated, which was also due to the consequence of the population boom. The consequence of the Taiping Rebellion led to a weakened Qing as they were forced to decentralize power to provincial elites to deal with the crisis and this power was never fully recovered even after the rebellion was suppressed (Sng, 2011). Provincial elites who did not return the power were a growing sign of defiance and could have the possibility of rising up against the imperial court. The unneeded civil unrest caused by Taiping Rebellion also served to exacerbate subsequent crisis like the Northern Chinese Famine (1876-1879) where the government was severely blamed for not providing sufficient aid. The excess unrest and loss of power proved to be detrimental in the 19th century as it crippled China and the country with no official political bloc stepping up to assist with the problems and crisis. In short, China was in a total disarray and chaotic. Lack of technological advancement Qing China favoured political and social stability over technological innovation which they feared would lead to unsettling changes. Furthermore, the vast population available to firms was a cheaper alternative to increase output, rather than investment of new technologies which was costly (Bentley Ziegler, 2003). This proved to be adverse in the 19th century when China engaged in wars. In the Opium Wars, the Qing military was no match against the British who utilized better technology to triumph (Tanner, 2010). The first defeat resulted in Treaty of Nanjing which ceded Hong Kong to Britain. Subsequent wars like the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1985) had China suffering a crushing defeat against a more superior and modernized Japanese army. China then ceded Taiwan, Penghu and the Liaodong peninsular to the Japanese. It clearly implied that China could not defend its own sovereign ground and indicated how backward the Chinese army. It questions the right of China to even claim rights over those territories if she could not even defend it properly. The problem gets exemplified into the 20th century when China continued to suffer several defeats to the Japanese in the Second Sino-Japanese War . Even with the Self-Strengthening Movement (1861-1895) which was embraced to modernize China was insufficient. The subsequent defeats to Allied forces in the Boxer Rebellion and Japanese in the Sino-Japanese Wars marred the success of the movement. Especially significant was the defeat in First Sino-Japanese war as for the first time in over 2000 years of history, regional dominance in East Asia shifted from China to Japan (Johnson, 2010). Coupled with the defeat, China’s international and regional standings were challenged and staged subsequent revolutions that led to other problems and the eventual demise of Qing. Positive Long Term Unanticipated Consequences Building a new foundation based on common people The end of Taiping Rebellion inspired nationalists (Del Testa Lemoine Strickland, 2001) to fight for the betterment of Chinese. It was because of the consequence of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† that led to the decisive rise of nationalist to seek for reforms. An example would be the decentralizing of power, which meant many parties would be involved in decision-making process, rather than just the monarch government. This would ensure that concerns are taken into deliberation before decision-making that will benefit majority of the Chinese, rather than the imperial court only. The nationalist dream then culminated in the 1911 Revolution in the early 20th century, where the Qing was overthrown and the Republic of China was established. Nevertheless, the dream of the nationalist was short-lived due to a power struggle within. Even though election was scheduled for 1913, but it soon became clear than Yuan Shikai wanted to establish his own power base. Sun Yat Sen was then forced into exile after he stepped down as head of the newly formed Kuomintang (Foster, 2007). The new government was then monopolized by Yuan and led to decades of political division and warlordism, including monarchy restoration (Blecher, 2010). Therefore we can see that the perceived benefits from the consequence of â€Å"Prosperous Age† in the 19th century did not fully materialize in the 20th century. Monarchy restoration was attempted and defeats the purpose of the promised sharing of power with the people initially. Political and social unrest persisted even with the new government which culminated in the May Fourth Movement (1919). Hence, we can see that China did not become better even with the end of Qing. It would be judgmental to argue that the initial rise of nationalists had resulted in a better China. It would be fairer to argue that the initial rise of nationalists led to more power struggle and dissident movements like the Chinese Warlord Era (1916-1928) as there were no strong political forces to enforce stability and order until the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) came in 1949. Conclusion Hence, we can see that the consequences of the â€Å"Prosperous Age† proved to be more negative. The severity of the negative consequences shed light on the crises in the 19th century which crippled China internally and externally. The impact of the consequences was so overwhelming that it even snowballed to the 20th century and further crippled modern China. In contrast, the perceived positive consequences was that it built the foundation but the problem was that the foundation was weak and unstable which in turn led to more problems which culminated in more movements and revolutions. Furthermore, problems like sovereign issues were not solved by reforms or China’s surge in military strength but rather treaties that returned territories to her under imminent conditions . Thus, we can see that the long term consequences were more negative in the 19th century as it continued the crippling of China economically, socially and militarily and as well as set the stage for the movements and revolutions in the 20th century which did not necessary bring about stability and communal power amongst its people until the CCP came into power in 1949. References Hung, H.F. (2011), Protest with Chinese characteristics: demonstrations, riots, and petitions (p24-26). USA: Columbia University Press Qian Long Emperor’s Letter to George III, 1793, retrieved from Sanders Morillo Nelson Elleberger (2005), Encounters in World History: Sources and Themes from the Global Past, Volume 2 (p289). McGraw-Hill Sng, T.H (2011, Oct 4). Size and Dynastic Decline: The Principal-Agent Problem in Late Imperial China 1700-1850. City University of HK Press (2007), China: Five thousand years of history and civilization (p109). Hong Kong: City University of HK Press Perkins, D.H. (1969). Agricultural development in China, 1369-1968. Chicago: Aldine Bentley Ziegler (2003). Traditions and Encounters (p724-740). New York: McGraw-Hill Tanner, H.M. (2010), China: From the Great Qing Empire through the People’s Republic of China 1644-2009 (p77). USA: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. Del Testa Lemoine Strickland (2001). Government leaders, military rulers and political activist (p86). Greenwood Publishing Group Foster, S (2007). Adventure Guide China (p18-19). Hunter Publishing, Inc. Blecher, M.J. (2010). China against the tides: restructuring through revolution, radicalism, and reform (p205). Continuum International Publishing Group Johnson, R.E. (2010). A Global Introduction to Baptist Churches (p267). Cambridge University Press Zheng, J.G. (2009). Historical dictionary of modern China 1800-1949 (p32). USA: Scarecrow Press

Analysing the various Management Principles and Applications

Analysing the various Management Principles and Applications The need for professional management came along with large scale businesses from the industrial revolution. This is generally understood to cover the period from around 1760 to 1850 in this time there was a major economic growth. The division of labour, combined with technological advances provided the economic need for a factory system. The factory system however, brought new problems for owners managers. There are various pioneers who contributed to the development of management, these include: F.W. Taylor (1856-1915) he was known as father of scientific management, was a professional engineer. H.L. Gantt (1861- 1919) his main interest was human beings in industry he wanted to establish democratic societies in factories. Abraham Maslow was a behavioural psychologist who worked in academia and industry. He wrote various books on human relations. The first book was on Motivation and Personality set out the needs of a human being these are still hugely important factors today. Definitions of Management There is no generally accepted definition of management, however, the best definition is said to be that of Henri Fayol (1841-1925) who was a French Engineer, as even today the principles remain the same. To manage is to forecast and plan, to organise, to command, to coordinate and to control. H. Fayol (1916) Henri Fayols definition of management is based upon his initial idea that forecasting planning was about looking to the future coming up with a plan of action to allow objectives to be met. Organising was seen in structural terms while commanding was said to refer to maintaining activity amongst personnel. Coordinating is a unifying activity which effectively allows all parts of an activity to work in harmony finally controlling meant, ensuring things are done in accordance with established specifications policies etc. Henri Fayol therefore is responsible for identifying the principles of management which are listed below are further detailed in task 2 of this assignment. Forecasting Planning Organisation Command (Motivating) Controlling Co-ordinating and communicating Another definition is that of Edward Brech the last of the management pioneers. He believed that management was for the good of society and integrity was its cornerstone. He collated ideas, added his own developed training programmes textbooks Management is a social process the process consists of planning, control, coordination and motivation. EFL Brech (1957) Another definition is that of Harold Koontz Cyril ODonnell, both professors of business management at the University of California. Management is an operational process initially best dissected by analysing the managerial functions The five essential managerial functions (are): planning, organising, staffing, directing and leading and controlling. Koontz ODonnell (1984) The definitions of Brech Koontz ODonnell are based upon that of Henri Fayol however they have made some small changes, for example Henri Fayols term command is changes to motivation by Brech directing or leading by Koontz ODonnell. P2 Explain the principles and processes of management. A managers job consists of planning, organising, directing controlling a companys resources which include the workforce, equipment, finances, facilities materials etc. Management also includes the recording storing of facts information for later use or for the use of others within the organisation to assist them with their own objectives. Management is not only limited to managers supervisors as every member or employee is responsible to some extent for managing their own functions as part of their job. The main principles of management described by Fayol are as follows: Forecasting Planning Organisation Motivating Controlling Co-ordinating and communicating Within any company or organization a manager has many roles responsibilities there job requires that they have the all of these skills to fulfill the role of manager. Forecasting Forecasting is concerned with the future economics of a company or organisation. This involves decisions being made to steer the company or organisation in the right direction these decisions will be based upon forecasts by the management. These may include financial forecasts such as the annual turnover of the company the requirements of funding to allow the company to fund their projects. Forecasts may also be in relation to the companys workload therefore allowing them to forecast the required resources i.e. labour. Planning Planning involves the future co-ordination of projecting controlling of resources. Many decisions made in regarding planning will be based upon the companys forecasts as explained previously; however planning will also be done on each individual project. This involves the making of decisions which will allow the company or organisation to meet the demands of their clients ensure that the objectives of the business are met. The main objective of a typical business is to make profit, therefore each individual project will be planned organised in detail will be closely managed monitored to ensure it is moving in the right direction, thus ensuring that the clients demands are met that the businesss objectives are met. Organisation Organisation involves the arrangement of the company structure while establishing relationships resources which will allow the companys objectives to be met. Any company or organisation will require that all of their individual departments are organized appropriately to allow them to function meet their demands. A managers job will be to define each individual within their department with their own roles responsibilities while ensuring that they all meet their demands in accordance with any specifications timescales while ensuring that they are coordinated with any relevant site based activities. Motivation This is the process to improve the physiological state of morale within the workforce of a company. A companys most important asset is its personnel, therefore it could be said that the motivation of the employees is essential. The identifiable needs of an employee include: To be paid fairly to allow them a comfortable standard of living. To be treated as an individual while being recognized as a crucial part of the team. To have a reasonable sense of security in their job. To be allowed the opportunity to show their ability initiative. Having a socially acceptable job with a sense of belonging and acceptance, allowing a high self esteem. Having the opportunity to progress within the company. An employees motivational needs is what that particular employee needs are in order to help keep them happy in their job, thus allowing them to perform to the best of their ability. Many of these needs may also be more important than others which a manager should have the ability to detect fulfil, for example, an employee might feel that they should be recognised as an important member of the team as this may boost their confidence. Once their confidence is boosted their motivational needs are therefore fulfilled. There are many ways in which companys work towards meeting the motivational needs of their employees as a whole these include the introduction of bonus schemes and provision of good welfare facilities etc. Controlling Controlling refers to the continuous observation of a project to ensure that the work is carried out is continuing as it was initially planned. Should it be noticed that the project is not progressing as per planned corrective action will be taken to rectify this. Controlling is the tactical spear of the management involves checking the current achievement with pre-determined targets. Controlling may comprise of: The control of the projects overall budget. The control of monetary payments for the supply of materials services. Controlling the progress of the project. Co-ordination Coordination is crucial to ensure that each team or department involved in a project works in harmony to ensure that the project is completed with the least possible problems throughout the duration of the project. The coordination of management requires regular communication typically in the form of meetings to integrate ideas into action. Co-ordination is not only crucial between the management employees in any one company, it is crucial that there is co-ordination between all parties involved in a project. This can be difficult particularly in large scale projects where for example the Client, Architect, Quantity Surveyor, Contractor Sub-Contractors etc must all work together to ensure that the project is completed successfully. This is where good management is essential to ensure the co-ordination between all of these parties. Communication Communication is to probably the single most important element within any organisation in particular any construction project as good communication is critical as it ensures the coordination and control of individuals, groups and departments not only within one company or organisation but also within all the other parties who may be involved with a project. Communication ensures control of a companys plans and procedures that any instructions given to staff by the management are clearly understood. Poor communication can lead to ineffective control, poor coordination and inevitably management failure which will ultimately result in a failure to meet a companys objectives i.e. a loss of money. Often, communication can be hindered by simple barriers such as the use of different phrases expressions between parties. Different languages may also pose a problem in international contracts, while modern communication methods such as emails etc may be misrepresented. In the construction industry in particular there is a slight advantage as much of the communication is done by the use of detailed drawings which represent the same to each individual no matter what their language may be. P3 Explain the motivational needs of individuals and groups, leadership styles and concepts of team working. Motivation Motivation is mainly concerned with: The forces that stimulate human behaviour. The factors that channel direct this behaviour. The way in which this behaviour can be maintained or eliminated. Motivation is crucial in all workplaces regardless of the nature of work carried out. Keeping employees highly motivated is the key to a successful workplace. An employee who is happy, satisfied motivated in their job will inevitably be more productive than an employee who has little or no motivation. There have been various motivation theories but all with the same intentions. A highly motivated workforce is ultimately more productive this can help to increase labour outputs therefore decreasing costs which will in turn generate more profit for the business. Motivation not only increases the quantity of work but also the quality, therefore having a large group of highly motivated employees can have a positive effect on any business. People can be motivated in various different ways this will be dependent upon their individual needs requirements. For example, one employee may be more motivated by being given the opportunity to use their own initiative, while another employee may be more motivated by the prospect of bonus schemes. Setting work related goals is another method of motivating employees as they are more likely to be productive if they have a target to work toward whereas If a task has no target it may cause employee to feel dissatisfied therefore they will be less motivated. There have been various pioneers of management theories throughout the years. Amongst them are those by Frederick Herzberg, who believed that the key motivators were achievement, recognition, advancement and job interest. Others include John Adair, Peter Drucker, Elton Mayo Victor Vroom. As was briefly explained in task 1 of this assignment Maslow wrote a book based on human relations. In the book he wrote about the factors which drive or motivate people. Once a group or individuals needs are satisfied, then they will not be motivated by the same benefits as generally humans all ways expect more. Maslows report shows in order to achieve good results from the staff and able to complete our new proposed building successfully we would have to ensure the employees needs are catered for and their problems are being listened to. Maslow defined five orders of needs which are as follows: Physiological- The basic survival requirements of warmth, shelter and food Security- Protection from danger of threat Social- Relations with others, expressed as friendship comradeship or love Self-Respect- Sense of personal worth, respect and autonomy Self-Actualisation- Sense of achieving your full potential A more recent and modern approach was from Sheila Ritchie and Peter Martin who developed a theory in the late 1990s that began under the assumption that it was a managers task to discover what motivates their workforce. They identified twelve motivational drivers including, the human needs for interesting work, a variety in work, achievement, power, self development, creativity, influence, social contact, money and perks, structure and rules, long term relationships good working conditions. The idea was based on having a method of motivation for each employee as it was based on the belief that each individual had different motivators therefore should have their own motivators used with them. For example, if an employee has worked well achieved more when targets are set, then the manager should make the effort to ensure the employee know what was expected of them at all times. However, this method is not always going to be practical many companies simply use incentive schemes which are aimed at all employees. These may include incentives such as extra time off or bonuses in pay for exceeding their targets. Many companys also make use of team building days which are also aimed to increase motivation within the workforce. These days out can range from sporting activities to evening meals all paid for by the employer. Leadership Styles There are various different styles of leadership used in the workplace this will vary dependent upon the workforce in general, for example, if there is a mixture of non-skilled skilled workers, each of these groups may need a different style of leadership to fully motivate them gain the best from them there will of course be a difference upon individuals. The main leadership styles are defined as: Autocratic An autocratic leader can be described as one who simply issues orders to their workforce expects everyone to comply. Democratic A democratic leader manages by consultation with their workforce encourages each individual to participate, therefore developing a team approach in the workplace. There have been various studies in regards to management leadership, for example Rensis Likert (1903-1981) an American psychologist statistician conducted research on human behaviour within different types of organisation during his research he studied different styles of leadership defined four main types of management system as follows. Exploitive / Authoritative System. Decisions are imposed on employees. Employees are motivated by means of threats i.e. the loss of their job. High levels of management have great responsibility. There is no responsibility for low levels of management. Poor communication teamwork. Consultative System The leadership will have some trust in their employees. Motivation is gained by rewards by having involvement in the decision making. There is a varying level of responsibility over all levels of management. There is some communication teamwork. Participative Group System The leadership have full confidence in their employees. Motivation is gained via economic reward earned through joint targets being met. All employees feel that they have a responsibility for the companys targets. Good communication team work tales place. Benevolent / Authoritative System Leadership via master / servant trust. Motivation is gained by the provision of rewards i.e. pay increases. Levels of management have great responsibility. There is no responsibility for low levels of management. Poor communication teamwork. The style a leader adopts depends on their perception of their workers motivation for example, do workers need to be driven autocratically and motivated by wage increases or are they better motivated by being allowed to voice their opinions assist in the decision making. A leadership styles success depends on the circumstances the leader is in, for example if a leader is under pressure it may be more beneficial to use an autocratic style of leadership. How close workers are may also have an influence, for example a team of workers who have worked together for a long time may be more motivated by being involved in the making of decisions. The method of leadership adopted should be carefully considered as leadership styles can also affect employee motivation. Team Working Team working can be beneficial in many circumstances in the workplace. This allows for more ideas to be generated more feedback to be received by the management. Team working also allows for greater coordination of works while allowing individuals to use their strengths in place of other team members weaknesses. Merit Criteria Schools of Management During the late 19th early 20th centuries, management theory was developed was classified as either scientific management or administrative management many of the techniques concepts are still used in modern management.

Global issue in nursing shortage

Global issue in nursing shortage The increase in nursing shortage is a global issue. The rate of turnover and migration through health care system professionals is highly increasing which cause shortage in some countries or hospitals. This shortage is considered vital as it affects patients health status and quality of delivered care. In order to achieve health care effectiveness, health care systems have to overcome the shortage of qualified health personnel. Hiring graduated nurses and retaining employed staff nurses is very essential. The aim of this paper is to discuss generally the global nursing shortage and particularly the nursing shortage in UAE. Nurses play an important role in health care systems as they are considered the front line of any health care system. The crisis of nursing shortage is highly increasing worldwide. Buchan Aiken, (2008) defined nursing shortage as the unwilling to work in specific conditions rather than the shortage of people having nursing qualifications. Health care systems face difficulties in recruiting retaining nurses due to two reasons; nursing shortage and staff turnover. For example, the turnover rate in USA in year 2000 was between 10%- 30%, while in UK it was between 15%- 20% (Zurn et al. 2005). Turnover can be either voluntary like looking for a better income or better working conditions, and less work stress and overload, or involuntary like dismissal or medical disability. However, nursing shortage is considered a problem due to aging population, population growth and higher patient expectations (Simoen et al. 2005). In USA, the ratio of nurse: patient is 10:1000, while in Asia and Afr ica it is 0.5:1000 which is huge shortage (Buchan Aiken, 2008). The impact of nursing shortage Nursing shortage has a depressing impact on health care systems. The inability to overcome this shortage will affect the improvement of health care systems. Nursing shortage can be noted when there is an imbalance between nursing skills and the actual number of nurses (Buchan Aiken, 2008). On the other hand, not all available nurses are willing to work in their field due to payment and benefits issues which make them to choose non-nursing employment or no employment. Moreover, the shortage is widely noted in nurses who have specialty in some areas like critical care or emergency (Kingma, 2007). Causes of nursing shortage There are plenty of factors which lead to nursing shortage like decrease number of new recruited staff, inappropriate use of nursing skills, inadequate career support, gender-based discrimination in some cultures, and poor recruitment policies (National Center for Health Workforce Analysis, 2007; Buchan, 2006). Nurses keep searching for better opportunities to improve their skills, knowledge, and economic level. Therefore, nurses migrate from one country to the other. Barriers to nursing migration When nurses take the decision to migrate they keep in consideration some obstacles that they might face.   One important issue to think about is certificate accreditation and requalification process. Other issues include the cost of living, the need to learn new language, and adapting a new clinical environment (Chandra and Willis, 2005; Kingma, 2006). Socially, there are some other barriers to migration; leaving families to stabilize persons condition, facing new culture and environment, and racism which may lead to discrimination (Chandra and Willis, 2005). Ways to decrease turnover rate In order to overcome turnover problem, health care systems have to change their style of management. One way is by involving staff in decision making which make staff responsible. Promotions are also considered another way of decreasing turnover rate as staff will remain in hospitals to achieve and reach better positions. Moreover, staff self-scheduling is a good way of decreasing turnover rate as some staff dont like to work weekends, nights, or overtime (Stordeur Hoore, 2006). Nursing shortage in UAE Nowadays Emirati women have the right to join different educational and working fields. They are supported by low and government to improve their selves. However, Emirati women are not very involved in all fields like nursing. The dependency on expatriate nurses in UAE is very considerable as the percentage of Emirati national nurses is only 3% (FDON 2003). In 1960s, expatriate nurses started to turn up in UAE, while there were basic healthcare services in some areas like Dubai and Ras Al Khaima (al Rifai et al, 1996). As stated by Al Rifai Van Der Merwe (2002), the MOH is the largest health care source and it has more than 17000 employees, 10000 from different countries and backgrounds. Around 6000 work in MOH and the rest are divided in the privet sector (Al-Rifai van der Merwe2002). Disadvantages of hiring expatriate nurses Delivering the appropriate nursing care with respect to cultural and back ground differences is threatened by hiring expatiate nurses who are sometimes not fully aware of the surrounding culture. This issue may develop a conflict between nurses and patients, and increase the gap between them. However, this conflict may affect the quality of nursing care as nurses may try to enforce their own believes and values on patients. On the other hand, patients might be affected by not continuing treatment or following the treatment regimen properly because of stress, cultural conflict and ethical issues (El-Haddad, 2006). Factors that lead to nursing shortage in UAE There are some factors that lead to low percentage of national nurses in UAE. An important factor is gender-bias; the general idea in the country is that women have to take care and nurse their own families and that nurses are the handmaids for doctors. Another factor is the difference in nursing programs with the lack of updated educational resources. One more, is the low English level of students with the lack of Arabic educational resources (El-Haddad, 2006). Establishing Federal Department of Nursing Emirates Nursing Association Federal Department of Nursing was established in 1992 by MOH. A team of professional nurses and administrative staff were specially made to evaluate the nursing profession (Al-Rifai van der Merwe2002). On the other hand, the establishment of Emirates Nursing Association started much earlier; in 1970s. To start with the process of establishing an association there should be 50 national nurses according to UAE low. The effort remained over 30 years until finally in 2001 national nurses were able to start the Emirates Nursing Association which was considered an important event in the history of UAE. Since that time nationals started to join nursing field and be effective members within the health care system (El-Haddad, 2006). WHO recommendations to improve nursing programs According to (WHO, EMRO, 1998) recommendation in 1995, nursing programs have to be standardized within 15 years. The program would be designed as a four years university program with a certificate of bachelor of nursing science. On the other hand, nurses who have diploma degree will have the chance of continuing their education by joining bridging programs, which is encouraged and supported by the government until all nurses within the 15 years period time will have the BSN degree. This program will improve the nursing education and will improve the quality of care in the health care system. Nurses will be more updated and will have a solid base to build on their skills and experience, and will be able to work according to high level of standards. With regards to patients, patient will have better outcomes as they will be receiving a high quality of care. On the other hand, the number of practical nurses who depend on skills only will decrease by time (WHO, EMRO, 1998). Conclusion To conclude, there is a global nursing shortage worldwide. Population growth, searching for a better income and being involved in a better working environment are causing nurses to migrate from one country to the other; causing an increase demand of recruiting and retaining nurses. In UAE, nursing profession started to improve and develop recently. The need for a high number of national nurses made the government to encourage students by giving them a high standard level of education, higher income, and improving staff by giving them the chance of continuing education. The mission of government by this development is to prove the effective role of national nurses, overcome nursing shortage in UAE, and to improve the quality of care being delivered to patient as their expectations and level of knowledge are increasing. In my opinion, nurses are the forefront in the health care system and the better the level of nurses the system has, the better outcomes achieved. References Al- Rifai, F. et al, (1996). The Nursing Profession and Future Directions in Arab GCC States [Arabic Document]. Executive Board of the Council of Arab GCC States Health Ministers, Riyad. Al-Rifai, F. van der Merwe, A., S., (2002). Licensing and regulation of nurses in the United Arab Emirates. In policy and politics in Nursing and Health Care (Mason, D., Leavitt, J. Chaffee, M. eds). Sounders, St. Louis, MO, PP. 728-734. Buchan, J. Aiken, L., (2008), Solving nursing shortages: a common priority, Journal of Clinical Nursing, 17, 3262-3268. Buchan, J., (2006). Evidence of nursing shortage or a shortage of evidence?, Journal of Advanced Nursing, 56, 457- 458. Chandra, A., and Willis, W. K. (2005). Importing Nurses: Combating The Nursing Shortage. (In Context. Healthcare and Public Policy). Hospital Topics 83 (2): 33-7. El-Haddad, M., (2006). Nursing in The United Arab Emirates: an historical background, International Council of Nurses, 284-289. Federal Department of Nursing FDON), MOH, UAE(2003), Annual Report. FDON, Abu Dhabi. Kingma, M. (2007). Nurses on the Move: A Global Overview, Health Services Research 42:3, part2, 1281-1298. Kingma, M., (2006). Nurses on the Move: Migration and the Global Health Care Economy. Ithca, NY: Cornell University Press. National Center for Health Workforce Analysis (2007). Toward a Method for Identifying Facilities and Communities with Shortages of Nurses, Summary report. US. Department of Health and Human Services, Health resources and Services Administration, Bureau of Health Professions, Washington DC. Simeon, S., Villeneuve, M. Hurst, J. (2005). Tackling Nurse Shortages in OECD Countries. OECD Health working Papers 19, DELSA/ ELSA/ WD/HEA (2005). Stordeur, S., Hoore, W., (2006). Organizational configuration of hospitals succeeding in attracting and retaining nurses, Journal compilation, 45-57. World Health Organization-Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office (WHO-EMRO), (1998). Nursing Education in The Eastern Mediterranean Region- Guidelines   on Future Directions [EMRO Technical Publication Series 26]. World Health Organization-Eastern Mediterranean Regional Office, Alexandria. Zurn, P., Dolea, C., Stilwell, B., (2005). Nurse Retention and Recruitment: Developing a Motivated Workface, World Health Organization Department of Human Resources for Health, ICN 2005, Issue 4, Geneva, Switzerland.