The Impact Of Peer Social Network On Smoking Behavior

Impact of peer social network on smoking behavior Introduction: Smoking has already become a major problem among adolescent since long term smoking behavior may lead to many health hazards including different types of cancer, cardiovascular disease, and respiratory diseases. According to the policies of different countries in the world, the legal smoking age or legal age for purchasing tobacco varies from 16 year-old to 21 year-old. In the United States, most of states have set the legal smoking age from 16 to 21. However, based on report from CDC, every day more than 3200 adolescents start their first cigarettes before 18 years old. Another report from CASA (the National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association) reveals that many high school students have used additive substance including tobacco. At the same time, tobacco industries treat adolescent as their future customer and start promotional campaigns to encourage teenage initiation of smoking process. People in the country start worrying about the consequence of adolescent smoking behavior including addictive substance abuse. At the same time, although no direct evidence proves that all smokers will increase their smoking intake, research has shown that early initiation of smoking will finally lead to habituation in life (Pierce and Gilpin, 1995). CASA study compared adolescent with and without smoking behavior and found that those young adolescent with smoking behavior are 5 times more likely to drink andShow MoreRelatedAddiction Is A Condition Of Substance Use Disorder1523 Words   |  7 Pagesamounts of alcohol (Smith Foxcroft, 2009). This brings up the issue of addiction. Addiction is a condition whereby an individual is both mentally and physically dependent on a substance or activity to the extent of compulsivity and it negatively impacts various aspects of his life. As defined by the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Health (DSM-5), substanc e use disorder is the problematic pattern of substance use that results in impairment or distress in an individual’sRead MoreAnalysis Of Tweens : Ten Going On Sixteen1172 Words   |  5 Pagesand the world around them. The author concludes that media, absentee parents, and peers are among the several complex causes of the negative trends of tweens. Although Hymowitz may sound excessively cynical, she states a reasonable case that should be considered by parents, educators, and psychologists. Without a doubt, the three most negative behavioral trends of many tweens are their need for attention, their peer group pressure, and most importantly, their unawareness of the consequences for theirRead MoreGambling Social Factors Essay777 Words   |  4 PagesSocial factors contribute to the initiation and maintenance of gambling behavior. 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Intrapersonal level can include biological and psychological factors such as genetics, cognition, and personality; interpersonalRead MoreTeens Experience Dramatic Physical And Mental Changes1250 Words   |  5 Pages John Gabriel Navarro Andre Dominic Peralta English 27 D Some teenagers these days are influenced to smoke marijuana, smoke cigarette and drink liquors because of peer pressure. Background on Teens Teens experience dramatic physical and mental changes. In line with this, they are undergoing cognitive changes that allow them to think more deeply (Schulenburg, 2007) Causing them to have the sense of responsibility, independence and the authority from surprising features of theRead MoreTypes Of Internal And External Influences820 Words   |  4 PagesBehavior is hard to change due to having different factors effect. A person, maybe change the behavior because of one factor, and also maybe keep no change even influence all factors. To clarify all factors in detail, there are two components: internal and external influences. Starting of an internal factor which is personal, which a person change behavior only because of own mind without affect by any external factors. Example of age, different age group like baby boomers, generation X and generationRead MoreReducing The Spread Of Obesity814 Words   |  4 Pagesobesity in social networks may be used to slow, and eventually reverse the prevalence of obesity among social ties. Cigarette use was incredibly common four decades ago, but smoking prevalence has dramatically declined. Cigarette smoking cessation is an example of a positive health contagion, where cessation spread rapidly through networks and pushed smokers to the outside of the network (Christakis Fowler, 2008). A health contagion has not yet appeared to combat the majority of high BMI networks, butRead MoreHealth Risk Behaviors : Binge Drinking And Binge Eating Occurred On Young Adults At Age 18-24.2713 Words   |  11 Pagesmajor measures of health risk behaviors: binge drinking and binge e ating occurred on young adults at age 18-24. The paper aims at analyzing individual’s choices under the impact of endogenous social network and implementing it with data on young adult health risk decisions and friendship networks. By dividing the friendship network into online social network and real-life friendship network, the research extends literature on the irrational decision making along with social interactions. In particularRead MoreThe Effect Of Peer Pressure On Teens And Schools Essay1711 Words   |  7 Pages Peer pressure in society today has a negative effect on teens and schools should implement programs to help teens battle with peer pressure. Nowadays Peer pressure is a major problem in the lives of teens. These problems not only occur in school, but also outside of schools. If schools decide to implement programs teaching teenagers how to successfully battle peer pressure, a lot of decision-making for teens would be different. Not only in educational programs but in their everyday lives asRead MoreOvercoming the Challenge of Tobacco Use2896 Words   |  12 Pages(2010), 6.4 million current child smokers will die a premature death from a smoking-related disease. The campaign is working to give teenagers information on understanding the health risks associated with smoking and long-term health risk when they become adults. By using the support of different models on behavior following we can gain a better understanding on how and why adolescents respond the way they do to smok ing. It is important that a campaign on tobacco and nicotine emphasizes awareness

Realism Romanticism And Modernism - 974 Words

Within the time period studied this semester, it seems that different art movements arose in reaction to the movement of the time. Romanticism arose in response to Neo-Classicalism. Realism reacted against excessive idealization and de-emphasis of the â€Å"real† by the Romantics. Two groups arose in reaction to Realism: the Impressionists, who further developed the idea of â€Å"conveying the real,† and the Symbolists, who harkened back to Romanticism’s focus on emotions and subjectivity. Additionally, the Symbolists aimed to unlock higher ideas by using symbolic structures in their works, encouraging viewers to look beyond the superficial colors, forms, and objects in the painting. Aestheticism reacted against the Symbolist idea that all objects†¦show more content†¦By portraying the events in a matter-of-fact way, Benn prompts the reader to use his imagination to visualize the events of the poem occurring as they truly are, devoid of Romantic idealiza tion. The manner in which Benn depicts Nature and death comes in sharp contrast with the views of Romanticism. For the Romantics, a passionate death in—or, perhaps at the hands of—Nature was the ultimate objective of one’s life. While the man in the poem experienced such a death, his autopsy is portrayed with very little energy or enthusiasm. Even the flower, an object with so much Romantic symbolic meaning, is callously jammed into the dead body. In this sense, Benn shows a Realist influence in the first stanza: depicting the events in and of themselves, devoid of idealization or induced passion. Despite this, that the first stanza is relatively Realist in nature should not distract readers from seeing this poem as the Expressionist work it is. Expressionist artists sought to convey personal emotions and inner psyches through their artwork. Indeed, the final three lines—â€Å"Drink up in your vase!/ Rest sweetly,/ Little Aster!†Ã¢â‚¬â€create a sense of unease. One may interpret this as Benn foreshadowing the explosion of dark forces when the plant breaks through the body, much like how plants break through the ground with the coming of Spring. Concurrently, it may be interpreted as the explosion of violence and deathShow MoreRelated Enlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism598 Words   |  3 PagesEnlightenment, Romanticism, Realism, Modernism, and Postmodernism Literature: the enlightenment, romanticism, realism, modernism, and postmodernism†¦. Where does one begin? To some, those words can be as scary as the word computer is to others. This essay is designed to help you become a great literary interpreter. Getting the motivation is three fourths of the battle to getting into the heads of the artists. To begin, an outline of some of the literary movements has been provided. The enlightenmentRead MoreAnalysis Of Ode On Melancholy By John Keats970 Words   |  4 Pagesdemonstrate change, which are Romanticism and Modernism. 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Defines Social Reporting As an Important †Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: How To The Defines Social Reporting As An Important? Answer: Introduction Kaur (2016) defines social reporting as an important part on of a business enterprise activities that have a social influence. It involves reporting of internal and external information which elaborates the impact that a business organization has on the society. According to The Social Report (2010), the social report uses applies statistical indicators to assess the changes in major social aspects of the lives of the people to get a clear understanding of the progress towards attainment of improved social status. The aim of social reports is to measure the benefits of an organizations business activities to the business and on the society. Social reports are beneficial to the internal users of the organization that is, the management and the external user who comprises of the investors and the shareholders and also have an impact on the prices of the shares. Social reports included the net income and contributions of the organization, human resource contribution, the impact of the organization to the public, contribution towards environmental conservation and the product or service contribution of the company The company selected are PepsiCo Food and Beverage Company and Microsoft Inc. which are based in America. These companies are recognized for their social responsibilities. Companies identified and their countries of operation PepsiCo Inc. Background information PepsiCo is a food and beverage company based in America. The company has its headquarters in New York. The founder of the company was Caleb Bradham who was a pharmacist. Bradham came up with the recipes for soft drink Pepsi in 1880s. He named his drink Pepsi-cola in 1898, and it gained a lot of popularity, and in 1902 he established Pepsi Cola Company. The company was declared bankrupt in 1931, and Charles Guth purchased the company. Guth was also the president of Loft In. which was a leading candy manufacturer. Loft Inc. sued Guth for his 91% shares in Pepsi-Cola, Loft Inc. won the case, and absorbed Pepsi-Cola in 1941 and formed Pepsi-Cola Company. In 1965 the company merged with Frito-Lay Inc. and changed its name to PepsiCo Inc. According to PepsiCo (2014) since 1965 the company has expanded its range of its food and beverage production and has merged with several other companies which include Tropicana Products and the Quaker Oats Company which has increased the variety of products of the company. The company markets its products in more than 200 countries and has maintained a good reputation all over the world. The company has employed close to 300,000 employees. Microsoft Inc Background information Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in 1975. The company is based in the United States of America with its headquarters in Redmond, Washington. The company is known for products such as Microsoft Window operating system, Microsoft Office, Xbox, and Bing. The companys operations include developing, manufacturing, licensing and supporting a variety of software products for computing devices. Microsoft and IBM formed a partnership in which Microsoft would install its operating systems in all IBM computers, and they would pay loyalty to Microsoft on every sale they made. The two companies agreed that Microsoft would write a new operating system for all IBM computers which was called OS/2. However, Microsoft continued selling their operating system which competed with OS/2 and gained much popularity in the market and made more sales than OS/2. In 1990s Microsoft innovated several versions of Microsoft Windows, and they gained 90% of the market share of the worlds personal computers. Differences between the PepsiCo and Microsoft regarding the range of issues the dealt with in their social reports. The social reports of the two companies have put into consideration their stakeholders who include customers and consumers, community, employees, investors and the government. The two companies have tried to address the issues that have an impact on any of the listed stakeholders. Their social reports primary focus on governance, management, sustainability and environmental protection, quality of their products, workplace safety and practice, human rights, compliance and ethical issues and community practice. Sustainability and environmental protection The sustainability approaches of the two companies are quite different PespsiCo Company sustainability policy focus on supporting institutions with programmes that aim at conserving the environment and also the company has invested in recycling and waste management programmes. Microsoft, on the other hand, has adopted the use of renewable materials in the production of its products as well as using renewable energy sources in its production. PepsiCo Further helps in managing environmental disasters that affect the people through donations. Considering that Microsoft is a technological company its main aim is to advance technology to ensure that the environment is conserved while PepsiCo Inc. is a food and beverage company and its main aim is to ensure that it protects the consumers by making sure that its products are environmentally friendly (Werther Chandler,2010) Quality of products PepsiCo Inc. approach to ensure that its products are of high quality is different from that of Microsoft Inc. PepsiCo tests and consumes its products and then endorses their quality. Microsoft, on the other hand, manufactures computer hardware and software and sells them to the consumers. The make their improvements based on the reports that they acquire from the customers. The quality of the products that PepsiCo produces is aimed at ensuring that the consumers health is well protected while the quality of the Products that Microsoft produces is aimed at ensuring that the products that the consumer enjoys efficiency in the use of computers through effective software and hardware. Communities PepsiCo Corporate social responsibility approach towards the community. The company values the community as their second most important stakeholder since they believe that the community influences the perception of the employees and the customers and consumers of the company. According to PepsiCo Foundation, (2010) the company has established a foundation that deals with various problems affecting the community. The company supports institutions that focus on environmental conservation such as The Earth Institute's Columbia Water Centre. PepsiCo Foundation has also participated in disaster relief and humanitarian support programmes by donating their products to the families and the communities in need, supporting the NGOs and employee contributions. Since 2013, PepsiCo Foundation has been part of the American Red Cross Annual Disaster Giving Program. According to PepsiCo Inc. (2015). PepsiCo also participated in helping the communities affected by the following disasters. Hurricane M atthew in the Caribbean and Southeast U.S., October 2016, Earthquake in Ecuador, April 2016 and Water Crisis in Flint, MI, 2016 among others. On the other hand Microsoft corporate responsibility on the community, they have given the community the lower priority compared to PepsiCo. Microsoft community programs include providing discounts to some customers while PepsiCo does not. Compliance and ethical issues PepsiCo Inc. and Microsoft Inc. operate in different industries, and therefore they have different compliance and ethical issues to comply with. Why the differences exists between the PepsiCo and Microsoft The issues discussed in the social reports of the two companies is largely due to the differences in their industry of operation. The two companies operate in the United States, but their focus is different. PepsiCo is a food and beverage company which markets its products in many countries in the world the countries have different regulations regarding the manufacture of food products and beverages, so the company has to adjust its production process to observe the regulations of different countries. Its approach corporate social responsibility aims at ensuring that the consumer and the community maintain a good perception of their products so that they can maintain their customers. The company also focuses on the better health of the consumers and therefore, its production is mainly aimed at ensuring that they produce healthy products for consumption. Food and beverages consumers have different tastes and preferences and therefore, thinned to have different products in the market. On the other hand, Microsoft is a technology based company, and the regulations that govern technology industry are different. Unlike the food industry technology industry is faced with stiff completion on the advancement of the products, to remain competitive in the market the company needs to keep on innovation better technologies. Thats why Microsoft prioritize their employees that the community. This is because their employee helps in innovation and thus help the company maintain a competitive edge over other companies. The main of Microsoft is to advance technology through continuous innovation of computer hardware and software. The use of software does not change anywhere in the world, and therefore, the Microsoft innovations are aimed at improving the existing software to improve its effectiveness and efficiency (Microsoft, 2017 c) Zadek approaches The social reports of both PepsiCo and Microsoft a common focus on stakeholders. The two reports address the needs the consumers, the community, employees, investors, and the government. The reports address the practices that the two companies that ensure that the needs of the listed stakeholders are met to ensure that remain satisfied. Both companies have used social reporting to transform the perception of the readers as well as the perception of all the stakeholders of the company. By changing the perceptions of the stakeholders, the company experiences a positive impact in its decisions, activities, and results. Transformational reporting has helped the two companies to drive changes in their organizations since every stakeholder takes the responsibility to commit to the report. The companies have engaged different stakeholders in their reports which is referred to as innovation in stakeholder engagement. The companies have used their social reports to communicate with different categories of stakeholders. The reports by the two companies are aimed at creating assurance to the public and to create trust in all stakeholders of the companies. Creating assurance helps in improving internal learning, skill development, and effective decision making. The extent to which the values of PepsiCo and Microsoft reflect in their reports According to PepsiCo Inc (2014), the company operated under the following principals Caring for their customers and the world- Besides being driven by a strong competition spirit the company looks forward to benefiting the both the company and its constituents. The company ensures that it has a better understanding of its customers needs as well as their communities in which they operate. PepsiCo is dedicated to selling products that they are proud of- the company tests and consumes its products to approve the credibility of the products they sell. By doing that the company has confidence in its products thus they ensure they maintain the quality of their products from the production to the consumption of their products. The company ensures that it speaks with truth and sincerity- the company communicates openly to be understood by people of all backgrounds. To ensure that it is well understood. This boosts innovation and also helps the company in identifying new markets. Considers both long term and short term benefits and risks this helps the company to embrace relevant ideas that will help the company sustain its growth both now and in the future. PepsiCo ensures that it respects others and they can share their success- the company does not only believe in individual excellence, but they value the contribution of teamwork in attaining its goals. In this report, the company stated that Human beings, the environment, and talents are the major pillars that facilitate its growth. The company aims at improving the nutritional value of its products to ensure that the consumers fully enjoy their products and they attain good health conditions. This meets the companys goal of ensuring Human sustainability. The company also makes sure that it applies production mechanisms that will minimize environmental impact and also take part in programs that aim at conserving the environment thus the company ensures environmental sustainability as one of their values. The company aims at empowering people and in this regard the company has developed a culture of engaging people from different regions and respects every stakeholder in the supply chain. PepsiCos report has reflected its values in its 2014 CSR sustainability report. According to Microsoft Inc (2016), the company reported that by 2016 the company had made the following progress. The company had established the energy goals which would include the use of renewable energy such as the wind, solar and hydroelectric power in its data centers. Accommodating ideas while designing their products and services thus building and inclusive culture. The company has enhanced the privacy of its customers by providing privacy statements that help protect the customers data thus ensuring that right to privacy is observed. The company also ensures that suppliers are held accountable for human rights, labour health, and safety, business ethics which are listed in the companys supplier code of conduct. The company has committed to donate to philanthropies for three years to expand economic opportunities in every part of the world. The report by Microsoft Inc. fully reflects if the value that aims at ensuring that the company meets its responsibility for addressing social, environmental and economic issues. The company also has shown proper coordination with all its stakeholders in their efforts to advance and develop communities through technological advancement. From the discussion by the group, we focused on the values, approaches to social responsibility and reporting using PepsiCo In and Microsoft Inc. From the discussion, it can be concluded that the values of a company fully guide its operations. Company values are important in ensuring that the company achieves its goals and objectives. When a company complies with its values, then it creates a good public image that ensures that maintains the loyalty of its customers. The company is also able to maintain the quality of its products and also and also improve where necessary because it gets positive responses from the consumers. It is evident that the core value of the company should be focusing on satisfying the needs of the consumers, community, employees, investors and the government. If the company can address all the needs of these stakeholders, then it has a high chance of succeeding. The two companies have observed their values, and they a have tremendous development and growth i n the market and their products have been recognized worldwide. Their operations are focused on ensuring that they not only benefit the organization but also benefits the consumers, employees, communities, investors and the government. This ensures that the companies enjoy sustained growth over the years. Application of GVV framework According to Zemanta (2009), values of a company refers to the philosophies or principles that the company follows in its internal and external activities. The values of a company guide its conduct and also its relation relationship with the society. According to Gentiles (2010) Giving Voice to Values (GVV) is an approach that aims at adapting a value driven leadership in business education in the workplace. GVV does not act on ethical analysis but focuses on what a person can say or do that would be effective while observing his or her values. GVV aims at ensuring that companies, employees, and their stakeholders would act on their values despite the pressure they may face from the external pressures. GVV equips students, business leaders, employees and other stakeholders with different ways which they can use to voice their values at the workplace. GVV trains people to act on their values in an effective and successful way. Unlike other ethical courses that focus on teaching studen ts on how to make decisions by considering what is right or wrong GVV focuses on teaching students on how to speak through their actions. According to Neureuther et al., (2013), studies have shown that traditional ethics course has failed to increase the ethical sensitivity of the students. Beggs (2011) notes that ethical education should focus on equipping students with the capacity to act effectively when faced with ethical dilemmas rather than sensitizing and making them aware of ethical issues. Companies are met with ethical dilemmas since they fail to address the issue their challenges in an effective manner. GVV is a tool that enables the involved parties to speak their minds. GVV is founded on the belief that each person has moral values and thus when faced with the morally challenging situation one can express his or her values. In the presence of challenging situation, many people tend to remain silent instead of acting and to make their concerns known. This has resulted in failure in many organizations. People remain silent because they lack confidence and a sense of personal responsibility. GVV approach aims at building confidence in individuals and so that they can raise their voices and express their ethical values (Heath, 2008). GVV provides students with an opportunity to practice their moral values by providing practical platforms which enable them to develop decision -making skills. Pillars of GVV According to Gentile (2010), GVV approach has seven principles which are action oriented practices and teaching methods. Values GVV approach utilizes language to involve peoples motivations and goals. For instance, shared values such as honesty, respect, responsibility, and fairness. These values are essential in having ethical conversations. Choice GVV focus on empowering people to make decisions on whether to act on their values or not. By identifying factors that call for action or inaction assists people to make appropriate choices. Normality GVV people perceive conflicting values and ethical conflicts as normal occurrences. Thus is enables them to make decisions on different issues and identify values as a normal aspect of their normal values. Therefore, people are prepared to face any challenge and make decision appropriately. Purpose GVV allows individual develop a deep sense of purpose and thus as a professional one is more aware of their responsibility and helps one to relate well with others in the workplace. Self-knowledge, self- image, and alignment Solving ethical issues require a sense of self-knowledge and also one needs be aware of his strengths and have effective communication and interaction skills. This enables one to develop an image based on good values is important for every person and organization that want to achieve long term goals. Voice In an organization, every person should have their ways of dealing with challenges that they face in their daily activities. Voice allows individuals to express their values through their actions. Rationalizations Always individuals will give reasons why they acted in a certain way. However, if the reasons and arguments fail to consider values, then they become rationalizations. Through arguments and reasoning, individuals gain confidence to act in an effective manner. GVV process The GVV process involves five phase with different interrelations and sequences. The first step is to admit that value conflict exists. Be aware of your purpose. Involve the stakeholders. Come up with an effective response. Script and practice enabling practices. The phases in GVV process aid in ensuring that individuals and organizations make effective decisions. GVV and sustainability According to Porter Kramer (2011), sustainability is one of the biggest challenges facing businesses today. Unsustainable business activities have the negative impact on the environment. There is a need for companies to adopt approaches that will ensure both environmental and sustainability issues are considered. GVV approaches are effective in facilitating conversations at all levels ranging from personal to global levels. According to Edwards et al. (2012), GVV can be used at the multinational level in two ways that is by individuals expressing personal values by giving their opinions and by groups expressing their values to plan on what actions they want to take. PepsiCo Inc. Script on an ethical issue Robert is a Purchase manager at PepsiCo Inc. He was approached by the marketing manager of a company that manufactures packaging material for food and beverage products. The marketing manager of the company has approached Robert since the company is interested in getting a contract to supply PepsiCo with packaging materials for its foods and beverage products. The company has also been involved in several unethical issues related to environmental pollution. It had been reported earlier that the company had been disposing of its waste products without treatment. There were allegations against the company that it does not observe safety measures in the working place and this has made some of the employees develop health problems, and on top of that, the company has not been compensating its employees fairly. This could have a negative impact on the environment as well as the community. Also, the companys products are not recyclable though they are being sold at a lower price and if use d they would reduce PepsiCos cost production significantly. The company does not also use non-renewable energy in its manufacturing process. The marketing manager promises Robert that he will make sure that he also benefits personally if he awards the company the contract to supply PepsiCo with packaging materials. Robert understands very well that PepsiCo highly considers environmental sustainability in its production process and also values its employees as well as the community. PepsiCo also ensures that it complies with the rules and regulation of the government. Lastly, the company advocates for transparency in all its transaction so as to address the interests of the investors as well as interests of other stakeholders. Roberts feels that the decision that he will make will have a great impact to the company, consumer, Community, employees, and investors. His decision should, therefore, ensure the wellbeing of all the stakeholders. Robert declines the offer and uses PepsiCos values to make the decision. Robert openly tells the manager that the PepsiCo cannot get into a contract with the company because PepsiCo is considering environmental sustainability. PepsiCo is currently adapting the use of recyclable packaging materials for its products in its effort to ensure that its production processes conserve the environment. Therefore, PepsiCo, would not purchase the companys product despite having lower cost that would also reduce the production cost of its product as this would be in conflict with its values. PepsiCo also values the community and has given the community the second highest priority. PepsiCo has been involved in community welfare program. However, the company releases untreated waste products to the environment which can also have a negative impact on the community. Being an environmentally responsible organization PepsiCo engaging in a contract with the company would be against the community and en vironmental values of the organization. Robert further elaborates that PepsiCo also values its employees and thus ensures that its employees are fairly compensated, and also they provide safe and healthy working conditions for its employees. PepsiCo will, therefore, not get into business relations with a company that does not value its employees as this would ruin its reputation in public. Robert as an individual also understands the professional value that guides his actions and decisions. Despite the promised personal gain that he would get had he offered the company the contract chooses to observe personal values as well as PepsiCos values. PepsiCo values transparency and accountability in all its transactions. Robert decides to forego personal benefits for the benefit of the whole company and all it stakeholders. Robert explains that it would be unethical if he got involved in deals that would have a negative impact on the company. He also knows that getting involved in transactions that are not transparent would have negative repercussions on him. Robert demonstrates a strong will to ensure that he protects the companys values as well as his personal values. GVV gives a person the ability to make independent decisions despite the pressure from external forces. For instance in the case presented Robert makes an effective decision that will ensure that PepsiCo does not go against its values and also he does not agree to forego his personal values for financial gain promised by the marketing manager of the other market. If Robert had feared expressing his values as well as PepsiCo values to the marketing manager he would have made a decision that would have negative results the company and its stakeholders. From this script, the students can also observe that GVV gives an individual confidence to make decisions without fearing what the other party will think. GVV can help the learners understand the underlying values that helped Robert come up with a strong response while observing personal and professional purpose. In his decision making Robert could encounter the following arguments from the marketing manager: I think our companies conduct will not have a negative impact on PepsiCo reputation if we shall engage in a business contract. Dont you see how our products are cost-effective and would reduce PepsiCos production cost which would benefit your organization? Consider the personal gain that you will get once you agree to award us the contract. Am not losing even if agree to award the contract to the company. By engaging the company in business will not affect the initiative of PepsiCo Inc. to conserve the environment as well as ensuring that the welfare of the employees and the community is taken care of. With these arguments, it would be difficult for Robert to make a strong argument that will ensure sustainability. GVV equips the students with skills and abilities to come up with strong counter-arguments that will help them respond effectively ethical challenges that they are likely to encounter in the future. Conclusion GVV is helpful in teaching students to solve issues in a way that ensures sustainability and also face ethical challenges with their core values. GVV helps an organization to identify ethics as an essential factor to consider while making decisions. The ability of individuals, groups, and organizations is essential while developing sustainability policies and also helps them to gain confidence to act and express their core values. GVV is an approach that has changed the traditional ethical education approaches as it includes value- based conversations which improve reasoning and encourage arguments related to sustainability and ethical issues. This approach will contribute greatly to the improvement of ethical education since it does provide not only theoretical knowledge but also provide practical opportunities that help students develop a better understanding of ethical practices. Core values help leaders to develop skills that enable them to hold effective conversations and take t he appropriate actions which are essential in ethic education and programs that help business organization experience sustainable growth and sustainable communities. References Beggs, J., M., (2011). Seamless Integration of Ethics. Marketing Education Review, 21 Bellis, M., (2017). History of Microsoft. Available from: https://www.thoughtco.com/microsoft-history-of-a-computing-giant-1991140 Edwards, M., G., Kirkham (2013) Situating Giving Voice to Values: A Metatheoretical Evaluation of a New Approach to Business Ethics. Journal of Business Ethics. DOI: 10.1007/s0551-013-1738-7. Gentile, M., (2010). Giving Voice to Values: How to Speak Your Mind When You Know WhatsRight. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. Greenspan, R., (2017). PepsiCos Stakeholders: A CSR Analysis. Panmore Institute. Available from: https://panmore.com/pepsico-stakeholders-csr-analysis Heath, J., (2008). Business Ethics and Moral Motivation: A Criminological Perspective. Journalof Business Ethics. 83 (4), pp. 595-614. Kaur, P., (2016). Social Reporting: Meaning, Uses, and Scope. Your Articles Library. Available from: https://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/accounting/financial-reporting/social-reporting-meaning-uses-and-scope/57360/ Microsoft, (2017 a) Overview: our core values. Available from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/legal/compliance/buscond/overview.aspx Microsoft, (2017 b). What we value. Available from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about/values Microsoft, (2017 c). Corporate Social Responsibility. Available from: https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/about/corporate-responsibility Neureuther, B. D., Swicegood, P., Williams, P. (2011). The Efficacy of Business Ethics CoursesWhen Coupled with a Personal Belief System.Journal of College Teaching Learning(TLC), 1 Peloza, J., Shang, J. (2011). How can corporate social responsibility activities create value for stakeholders? A systematic review.Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science,39(1), 117-135. PepsiCo Foundation. (2010). PepsiCo. Available from https://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/PepsiCo-Foundation.html PepsiCo. Inc. (2014). PepsiCo Releases 2013 Sustainability and GRI Reports. Available from: https://ethicalperformance.com/reports/view/983 PepsiCo Inc. (2015). Environmental Sustainability. Available from: https://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship/Disaster-Relief-and-Humanitarian-Support PepsiCo Inc. (2015). Global Citizenship. Available from: https://www.pepsico.com/purpose/global-citizenship PepsiCo Inc. (2015). Strategic Grants. Available from: https://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship/Strategic-Grants PepsiCo Inc, (2015). PepsiCo Launches 2025 Sustainability Agenda Designed to Meet Changing Consumer and Societal Needs. Available from: https://www.multivu.com/players/English/7954151-pepsico-performance-with-purpose-sustainability-agenda/ PepsiCo Inc., (2015). Community service and volunteering. Available from: https://www.pepsico.com/Purpose/Global-Citizenship/Community-Service-and-Volunteering PepsCo School, (2015). PepsiCo Mission and Values. Available from: https://www.pepsicoschool.gr/eng/pepsico-spg6/pepsico-mission-and-values-spg21/ Smithson, N., (2017). Microsofts Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy Stakeholders (An Analysis). Panmore Institutes Articles. Available from: https://panmore.com/microsoft-stakeholders-corporate-social-responsibility-strategy-analysis The Social Report, (2016). Available from: https://www.msd.govt.nz/about-msd-and-our-work/publications-resources/monitoring/social-report/ Wallace, M., (2013). How corporate reporting improved Microsoft's supply chain. GreenBiz.com. Available from: https://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2013/06/14/how-corporate-reporting-improved-microsofts-supply-chain Werther Jr., W. B., Chandler, D. (2010).Strategic corporate social Responsibility: Stakeholders in a Global Environment. Sage Publications. Zemanta, (2009). Core Values Corporate Values Definitions MicrosoftExample. Earls Business Articles. Available from: https://earlsbusiness.wordpress.com/2009/05/17/core-values-corporate-values-definitions-microsoft-example/

Metamorphis, Relating To A Personal Incident Essays -

Metamorphis, Relating To A Personal Incident annon Twenty minutes had past since I was set on to the table to dry. I did not want to dwell upon my fears which were inevitable to occur, so I could do nothing but observe all the minute details that were once so trivial and overlooked but now seemed to be of such great importance. The first thing to catch my eye was the lighting in the room, I was not sure if the lights were set to be dim or if it was from all the clouds of exhaled smoke which also left a distinct smell of the burnt herb. To my left I saw the many burnt out roaches in the ash tray, which at this point could hold nothing more. To the far right I saw a sandwich bag which was now packed with nothing but broken branches and seeds. It was obvious what used to be inside. I looked toward the door and saw the towel that plugged it so no smoke would get out in the hall. On the dresser I saw what I think they called a steam roller. The most horrid device that I had ever used. I looked at the cylindrical tube, that once used to be a transparent red but now had become a solid maroon from all the smoke which stained the plastic, and noticed its simplicity. It looks like nothing more than a plastic pipe that was only about one and a half inches in diameter and only about six inches long. The bowl which rested on top could have been easily assembled at a hardware store. It amazes me how something could be so simple but still so destructive. One of the people in the room slowly approached me as the effects of his artificial happiness wore away. His trembling hands somehow managed to embrace me by my head and lay me to rest upon his lower lip. Before his upper lip came to rest upon the top of my head I opened my eyes and peered into his mouth using what little light I had. In all my like I had never thought I would again see what I had saw for those few seconds. His tongue was stained black. It was not totally black as if it was coated with tar but it had a slight tint on both the sides, almost purple. Just as I started to realize what I was seeing and what was going on I felt his top lip seal my freedom away. I started to feel a strong burning sensation at my bottom where my toes once were. When I heard the sound of buds start to crack I knew what was occurring, the beginning of my end. As I laded there helplessly I began to feel large amounts of smoke pulse quickly up my shaft of a body till finally ejaculated in his mouth like a penis reaching climax. Next the vacuum began. I started to become faint as he forced more and more smoke out my upper opening. And I knew the more smoke that ran through me meant the more I was decreasing in size. Then the young boy could hold no more smoke in his lungs he pulled me away from his lips and held me tight with his thumb underneath my head and his forefinger and middle-finger embracing my top. Then he tilted his head back and instead of forcing the smoke out he just let it flow by itself. It amazed me to see such beautiful shapes form from something that would bring the end to this poor souls existence. He then brought me back to his mouth and began to take my sweat poison deep into his exhausted lungs at this point I was almost all gone. I had become a small roach with a long tail of ash. I had one last long drag left in me. As he tool me in I knew it was the end of both of us... As Cas and I rode up the elevator I could see that he had been anticipating to come up here all week. Every weekend it was the same old thing over and over again. Me and Cas would come up to this filthy burnt out old city to do the same thing; to get lifted. Yo, Happy said he get mad amount of shit this week. His brother went up to New York and broke off like

Managing high performance organizations

Introduction High Performance organizations (HIPOs) are usually characterized by a high performing workplace, which is established as a result of reinforcing the organization’s vision, mission, values, goals and objectives through an engagement of the employees.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing high performance organizations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Basically, a High Performance Organization embarks on strategies that are aimed at maximizing the best of the human resources found within the organization through the use of recruitment, retaining of employees and talent and performance management (Alkhafaji 2003). The underlying framework of a High Performance Organization is to align the human resource and capital towards the achievement of the organizational mission and values. This implies that HIPOs rely on integration of Human Resource practices with aspect of talent management, with the main objective of exploiting talent Return on Investment and enhance the success of the organization. Some of the core dynamics of HIPOs include information sharing, shared power and high employee i9nvolvement, compelling vision, ongoing learning, customer focus and energizing systems and structures (Arredondo 1996). This paper discusses roles and practices of HIPOs and the aspect of energizing systems and structures and it is effective in the context if Qantas Airways, which is one of the oldest airlines that has been under continuous operation. The paper lays more emphasis on supporting employee, process and structure and developing programs and function. In addition, the paper also outlines the Human Resource as a supporting system and process executive such as conducting an evaluation process for leadership, organizational learning and employee engagement. The Energizing systems and structures, processes and practices that are deployed High Performance Organizations are usually used in a such a manner that they facilitates the realization of the organization’s vision, goals and objectives and the directions of the organization’s strategic plan. This helps in making it easy for individuals within an organization to undertake their tasks effectively and efficiently (Blanchard 2009). In addition, the energizing systems and structures offer a framework through which the organization can deploy in order to address the barriers and opportunities in a timely fashion. In order to determine if organizational structures and systems are energizing, it is vital to ascertain whether the deployed structures and systems help individuals in an organization to complete their tasks with ease or whether they increase the difficulty of task completion, thereby reducing organizational efficiency and effectiveness (Blanchard 2009).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More An organization that aims at becoming High Performing should focus on supporting employees in order to enhance the production of sustainable results. This implies that people within the organization are perceived as assets of ultimate significance. The high performing organization does not embark on the philosophical approach whereby people in the organization are viewed as potential liabilities (Chartered Institute of Personal Development 2006). Therefore, a high performing organization should embark on finding its employees happier and are more successful and productive when undertaking their duties at the organization. Energizing systems and structures are important in the context of Qantas Airways because the offer the required tools for employee empowerment, which in turn results to valuable contributions that are necessary for the success of the organization (Drucker 2007). In addition, energizing systems and structures facilitate the creation of a workplace environmen t that is characterized by respect and diversity. With this respect, diversity is viewed as asset and a tool for enhancing innovativeness, creativeness and value addition. It is a moral and social responsibility of organizations and business enterprises to embrace diversity within their organizational workforce. Ignoring diversity can impose significant effects on the business performance of an organization, and can additionally impose huge costs regarding the damaged business reputation and compensation payments. Diversity can generally be described as valuing every organizational member as an individual (Goldsmith Hu-Chan 2003). With this respect, managing diversity is core to the effective management of people within an organization, and it is usually relevant to the all the business processes and functions. The significant challenge when managing diversity is to establish an organizational culture that meets the values of every organizational member, which is needed to foster e mployee productivity. Research studies report that organizations are faced with difficulties during workforce recruitment, as a result, business enterprises and organizations that do not emphasize on managing diversity are gradually risking in the increasing competition for available talent across diverse cultures. In the present business environment that is competitive, it is imperative that business enterprises explore all the potential sources that can be used to create a competitive advantage. The implication of this is that employers must have an in depth understanding of the aspect of diversity and its relationship with business performance, this offers a framework through which business enterprises can compete productively (Bolman Deal 2008).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Managing high performance organizations specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The roles and practices High Performing Organizations are c entered towards enhancing the efficiency of their human capital. This primarily entails focusing on five roles and practices of HIPOs including strategy, leadership, talent, culture and market. Strategy involves the alignment of organization’s human resource with the business strategies, implying that each employee in the organization focus on the achievement of the same goals. Leadership involves communication of the performance expectations, development and promotion of the right human capital and informing organizational members the significance of their attitudes towards the success of the organization. With regard to talent, the organization’s HR strategy must be established in accordance with the business model with the main objective of ensuring that the selected human capital can facilitate the realization of the business value (Bolman and Deal, 2008). It is also imperative that the organizational culture at all organizational levels should be subject to alignm ent; this implies that the departmental leaders have to show the commitment required towards the development of aligned organizational culture. Market involves the employees having an understanding of the significance of customers, and how their jobs influence the success of the business (Blanchard 2009). The HR also has a significant role as a supporting system and process executive through avenues such as evaluation processes for leadership, organizational learning and employee engagement. The HR should focus on mobilizing teams within the organization, with the main objective of fostering cohesiveness. This can be achieved through the creation of a workplace environment that facilitates collaboration and teamwork together with a flat hierarchy organizational culture. This implies that employees have their say in the organizational operations (Chartered Institute of Personal Development 2006). The benefit of such an organizational structure in the context of Qantas Airways is maxi mizing the available resources in an organization through empowering individuals and providing them with opportunities to exercise leadership in their various fields of skill. The need for collective leadership is due to the increasing complexity in the dynamic of organizational activities; which become overwhelming for one individual to manage an organization (Blanchard 2009). The HR also has a significant role in people development and the retention of expertise in the organization. It is a challenge to retain people especially in organizations that do not show any progress.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Retention of high-impact performers is always constrained by a number of recognized trends including: the declined status of working for a large company, the repeated lack of association connecting pay and contribution, the increasing influence that technical experts have and the reduced number of titles due to restructuring of companies (Blanchard 2009). The leaders therefore must gain knowledge of how to manage human resources with the same skills they apply to manage financial resources. Some of the ways of retaining employees in an organization include showing them respect and dignity, creating a thriving environment, providing sufficient training to the employees, being a coach and appealing to the employees and rewarding and organizing employees’ achievements (Blanchard 2009). Conclusion An organization that is High Performing has the potential of remaining competitive through attaining a balance between meeting the requirements of inside and outside stakeholders. With the ever increasing evolution of organizational theories, the HIPOs model is one of the frameworks that organizations such as the Qantas Airways have to adopt in order to be successful in the present business context. References Alkhafaji, A 2003, Strategic management: formulation, implementation, and control in a dynamic environment, Routledge, London. Arredondo, P 1996, Successful diversity management initiatives: a blueprint for planning and implementation, Sage, London. Blanchard, K 2009, Leading at a Higher Level: Balanchard on leadership and creating high performing organizations, FT Press, New York. Bolman, L Deal, T 2008, Reframing organizations: Artistry, choice, and leadership, Jossey-Bass Publishers, San Francisco, CA. Chartered Institute of Personal Development 2006, ‘Diversity in Business: How Much progress have employers made?’, Diversity in Business, pp. 3-15. Drucker, F 2007, Management challenges for the 21st century, Butterworth-Heinemann, New York. G oldsmith, M Hu-Chan, M 2003, Global leadership: the next generation, Pearson education Inc Prentice hall., New York. This essay on Managing high performance organizations was written and submitted by user Samiyah Suarez to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Critical Appraisal of the London Ambulance Case The WritePass Journal

Critical Appraisal of the London Ambulance Case Abstract. Critical Appraisal of the London Ambulance Case Abstract.IntroductionSYSTEMS THINKINGLondon Ambulance ServiceKnowledge management in the London Ambulance Service Information Management Structure within the ambulance complexesA case with the London Ambulance ServicesStrategies to prevent future Crises in the London Ambulance ServicesConclusionRecommendation REFERENCESRelated Abstract.   This paper describes the case of the London Ambulance Services (LAS) Information Management System by using System thinking as the knowledge management tools and appraises its application in the delivery of the services of the organisation. The issue of some of the failures and successes of the LAS especially the issue bordering the failed Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) system was also discussed and suggestions made on how the London Ambulance Services could improve its knowledge management in terms of information sharing in order to achieve great success in its daily operations. Keywords: Knowledge management systems; information management; systems thinking; London Ambulance Services; Computer Aided Despatch (CAD) Introduction Knowledge management involves the acquisition, storage, retrieval, application, generation, and review of the knowledge assets of an organization in a controlled way (Watson, 2003).The purpose of knowledge management is to enable an organization to control its information resources and knowledge resources by remembering and applying experience as this is considered as the basis of future economic competitiveness (Watson, 2003). Knowledge management spreads throughout an organization from the information management systems to marketing and human resources (Aykin, 2007). Information could be seen as the principal key substance to knowledge management in an organisation. Information is regarded as the content of what is exchanged with the outer world as we adjust to it, and make our adjustment felt upon it (Stahl, 2008). It encompasses storage of material resources, as well as the action of other people in the group (Aykin, 2007).   According to Davenport (1993), making information and communication significant and accessible would likely make it more controllable; and accessible information is also discussable which results to increased reciprocity. In a nut-shell, information management processes should include the entire information â€Å"value chain† which involves starting with the definition of the information requirements, then the collection, storage, distribution, receipt, and use of the information (Davenport, 1993). Information and knowledge management can be considered as existing along a continuum as they exhibit relationship with their context (Watson, 2003). Information management in an organisation can be enhanced by using the enterprise resource planning (ERP), because it is the system that brings together all the company’s major business functions together and could also be used to forecast future demands and also enable every one working for the company to have instant access to critical information (Marcic and Daft, 2008).   Knowledge depends on the information received, thus information increases knowledge value as is seen in IT/IS strategy (Wimmer, 2004). In any well structured organization such as the London Ambulance Services, the effectiveness of knowledge management would to a great extent depend on how vital information are being shared within the staff and the residents whom they serve.   This is because information is a vital tool which occupies a central position in managerial decision making and the more and higher-quality information will lead to better performance (Stahl, 2008). The potential benefit of extensive information sharing and wider cooperation has been seriously impeded by the unavailability of robust communications or transportation systems to support them. Advance information sharing can aid in resource assessment and contribute valuable information to plan the response effort more effectively, especially in the first few hours after the onset of the any emergency (Aykin, 2007). In order to make effective and innovative local decisions in an organization, subordinates must have information and training because information provides awareness of potential problems, opportunities, and available resources, training to use the tools they need to act effectively to meet the needs (Simons, 1995). SYSTEMS THINKING Systems thinking and system approach in an organisation was developed and has been in publication over the past 50 years (Macdonald, et al. 2006). It is concerned with the collection, classification, manipulation, storage, retrieval and dissemination of information and forms an important part of effective information and administrative management (Ferreira, et al. 2010). System thinking is essential for the development of the effective organisation the learning organisation (Beardwell Ciaydon, 2007). It enables the ability to conceptualise complex dynamic realities within the systems and its external relationships, and then model them in a simple, coherent way that is yet pregnant with meaning and capable of further elaboration when necessary (Beardwell Ciaydon, 2007). In the case of the London Ambulance Service, system thinking would inevitably give an important insight into the role of information systems sequentially from data to capta to information to knowledge. Information systems serve people engaged in what they consider as meaningful action, as in actions which support another to yield a meaningful result (Sherwood, 2002). System thinking involves the conceptualization of a system which provides support by first defining the nature of the system (Currie and Galliers, 1999). Another benefit of system thinking is that it helps to reduce the complexity of real-world problems by providing a structured way of balancing a broad, complete view with the selection of the right level of detail, and as such, enhances decision taking within short time (Sherwood, 2002). London Ambulance Service The London Ambulance Service (LAS) is the only NHS trust that covers the whole of London and provides patients with the highest quality of care to ensure that patients who reside within London obtains the best health outcome in the world (www.londonambulance.nhs.uk).   The primary purpose of the LAS is to save lives and responds effectively to medical emergencies (london.gov.uk ). It is managed by South West Thames Regional Health Authority and is the largest ambulant service in the world as it covers geographical area of over 600 square miles, resident population of over 6.8 million people (comp.lancs.ac.uk). The London Ambulance Service (LAS) responds to all ‘999’ emergency calls for medical assistance in the capital and is staffed 24 hours a day in three eight-hour watches. The control room of LAS takes an average of 2000 calls a day and coordinates the despatches of vehicles from its fleets of ambulances, motor cycles and air ambulances (Stegwee and Spil, 2001). This efficiency is achieved by the help of MapInfo technology to help improve call handling and response time as it helps the LAS to plot the location of ambulance stations, hospitals and area of high priority calls, as well as planning of the crew deployment during emergencies (Nag and Sengupta, 2007).The service has received awards for information system management that may not be matched for years (Stegwee and Spil, 2001). According to Rowland and Macdonald, (2005), in order to maintain a high quality delivery of all its services, the members of staff from the senior management to the ambulance crew of the London Ambulance Service require the possession of qualifications, experience and qualities which include: theoretical training as would ensure acquisition of the necessary knowledge of the field in which they are required to work. a thorough knowledge of the hazards and failure of the equipment for which they are responsible. an understanding and detailed knowledge of the working practices used in the organisation for which they work, as well as a general knowledge of the working practices in other establishments of similar type. a detailed working knowledge of all statutory provisions, approved codes of practice, other codes of practice, guidance material and their information relevant to their work, and awareness of legislation and practices, other than those which might affect their work. Ability to advice others. the calibre of personality to enable them to communicate effectively with their peers, any staff working under their supervision, and their own supervisors. an awareness of the current developments in the field in which they work. an appreciation of their own limitations, whether of knowledge, experience, facilities, resources, etc, and a preparedness to declare any such limitation. Knowledge management in the London Ambulance Service The London Analysts Support site team (LASS) developed a dataset in consultation with the London Ambulance to ensure that their data is of good quality and suitable for crime analysis purposes. The team work with the London Ambulance Service to extract data suitable for crime analysis professionals there by making the service delivery of the London Ambulance faster and continuous (data.london.gov.uk). The support team identify incidents of assaults injury via a fairly sophisticated search through various codes and descriptions of incidents that occur in the process of responding to a 999 call. Although the information extracted from this group is highly important in identifying and tracking crimes, it is assumed to be secondary compared to the need to record accurate medical information. Hence, this could result to minor variations in the accuracy of the data over time and in different areas in London. Experts in crime analysis utilize the data collated to scan for issues, patterns and trends in general violent crime in London and carry out comparisons and variations with traditional sources of intelligence such as recorded data from the police (data.london.gov.uk). London Ambulance services together with other government agencies such as the police work together to ensure that information are securely shared to protect vulnerable adults, and to ensure that any signs of abuse are reported and investigated immediately in such a way that there is less risk of signs of abuse being missed. They do this by encouraging people to inform authorities of abuse, sharing information and investigating reports and incidents where necessary (redbridge.gov.uk/cms/news_and_events/latest_news/2011/april_2011/organisations_join_forces_to_p.aspx).   Through this cooperative effort, necessary information are efficiently managed and shared whenever cases of emergency occurs and helps in the deployment of necessary solutions to different cases. Information Management Structure within the ambulance complexes Information sharing is the key instrument that enhances the operation of the London Ambulance Services. The information management of each local ambulance station complex is controlled by the local authority and PCT area. An information sharing network is used to pass information urgently to assist various units’ representatives to access support in all cases as they arise. Through information sharing, local authority social services, primary care, mental health and acute trusts and other relevant agencies are networked so as to establish a regular forum to enable specific is plans. This forum enables health and social care workers to advice the London Ambulance crew of any patients that may be posing similar problems to the receptive agencies, and hence could enhance the setting up of an appropriate care pathway. In some cases, a conference may be held in order to get the patients to understand property their health situations. This is often done by the London Ambulance Services via writing notification to patient, carer and advocate inviting them to participate in the conference, and during the process, all the clinical issues will be resolved. A case with the London Ambulance Services In bid to increase the efficiency in the delivery of her duties to the large population in London, the London Ambulance Service introduced the Computer Aided Dispatch system to deliver that goal. This dispatch systems was hoped to stand out as it was highly innovative system that fully command and control functions of the LAS starting from the receipt of emergency call at the control centre, through decisions on which ambulance to allocate to the call, and to mobilize appropriate resources (Howcroft and Trauth, 2005). In this design, the call details would be captured online and tracking devices would be fitted to ambulances so that their locations could be monitored continually to enhance information flow via electronic link room to the control centre, and then to either mobile data terminal or printers on ambulance stations (Hall, et.al. 2007). This computerized despatch system was designed by System Options to increase the service delivery of the London Ambulance Service and was launched into operation on October 26th, 1992. This despatch system lasted just for few hours and then crashed because it was not capable of handling the information loads being placed on it, a problem being blamed on inadequate knowledge management parameter such as system thinking, as the staff and management were in continual conflict over information hoarding (Howcroft and Trauth, 2005; Dutton and Peltu 1996). Some of the problems the despatch system encountered included: lack of confidence in the system being able to automatically locate vehicle locations by staff both within Central Ambulance Control and ambulance crews due to lack of adequate training. Other problems identified were failure of calls to reach ambulances, failure to identify duplicate calls, poor prioritization of error messages, and loss of calls in the system (Day, 2002; cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/A.Finkelstein/las/lascase0.9.pdf). All these problems made the system to close down the next day leading the London Ambulance Services to revert to semi-manual operation (Day, 2002). An inquiry which was ordered to determine the cause of the crash revealed that the system was very complex, making it difficult for any software house to develop a suitable solution (Day, 2002). Besides, System Options had good reputation but lacked sufficient experience for designing or developing packages for safety-critical command-and-control system, otherwise they would have identified the risk and plan measures to avoid it, or to ensure an effective action (Day, 2002; Duquenoy, et. al. 2007; and Clarke, 2001).   The finding of the inquiry team also revealed that the CAD software was incomplete, not properly tuned and not fully tested (cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/A.Finkelstein/las/lascase0.9.pdf). The failure of the dispatch system was also blamed on the inadequate training given to the operators and inadequate testing of the system according to a press release in 1993.   During the training of the staff that was carried out in line with the operation of the despatch system, the ambulance crew and the central control crew staff were trained separately in different rooms which did not lead to proper working relationship between the pair (Mantas, 2004). The report of the press release about the staff training reads:   â€Å"Much of the training was carried out well in advance of the originally planned implementation date and hence there was a significant â€Å"skills decay† between then and when staff were eventually required to use the system. There were also doubts over the quality of the training provided, whether by the Systems Options or the LAS’s own Work Based Trainers (WBTs) (Mantas, 2004). This training was not always comprehensive and was often inconsistent.   The problem was exacerbated by the constant changes being made to the system (Mantas, 2004).   It was also reported that one of the reason for the failure of the London Ambulance Computer Aided Dispatch attributed to the complexity inherent in the system design which was intentional as those in charge of the system development activities had wanted to be in control of all possible outcome (Khosrowpour, 2003).   Besides, top management hoped to bypass the union, and also replace the controllers so as to reduce cost. For this reason, the staff of the union were not involved in the development of the system which resulted to the leaving behind the input of people who were most experienced with the way the ambulance service worked (Macauley, 1996; Rowbotham, et al. 2007). Strategies to prevent future Crises in the London Ambulance Services According to the document submitted by the London Ambulance Service NHS Trust (Wp85) published by the Department of Health in June 2005, outlined a vision of where NHS ambulance services should be within the next five years: Providing significantly more clinical advice to callers and work in a more integrated way with partner organisations; Providing and coordinating an increasing range of mobile healthcare services for patients who need urgent care; Continuing to improve the quality of services to patients with emergency care needs; Providing an increasing range of other services in primary care, diagnostic and healthcare promotion. In order to achieve the above vision, education and development needs for the ambulance service workforce has been redesigned including all the training courses to enable the service to cater for the need of the 800,000 patients it attends to each year (House of Commons Health Committee Report, 2006-7). This is why a school of thought has argued that systems thinking such as soft systems thinking could be a way of conceptualising the social processes in which a particular group of people in an organization can conceptualize their plans and actions they intend to undertake (Wickramasinghe, et al. 2009). This kind of basic thinking relevant to the provision of information systems may not have been properly applied in the provision of the London Ambulance Service Computer Aided Despatch system that failed. According to Currie and Galliers (1999), in order to ensure proper knowledge management and information sharing, any development of a strategy for the future computer aided dispatch within the London Ambulance Service (LAS) must involve a full process of consultation between management, staff, trade union representatives and the Service’s information technology advisers. It may be appropriate to establish a wider consultative panel involving experts in CAD from other ambulance services, the police and fire brigade. cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/A.Finkelstein/las/lascase0.9.pdf. It is necessary that the geographical, social and political environment in which the London Ambulance Service operates in the delivery of her valued services be adequately carried along in the information sharing and information management of both the LAS management and staff via organizing of regular and open consultation with staff representatives (cs.ucl.ac.uk/staff/A.Finkelstein/las/lascase0.9.pdf). Furthermore, regular training for the staff of the London ambulance Services on the use of modern IT infrastructure that relates to their service delivery could be done regularly to enable the members of staff to keep abreast of all the updated information regarding the efficient delivery of their duties. This is because; an organisation that encourages learning among its staff promotes exchange of information between employees thus creating a more knowledgeable workforce. In addition, IT contributes to knowledge capture, information distribution, and information interpretation. Conclusion    Information is power, and as such, few people in an organization would like to monopolize it instead of sharing it to facilitate the diffusion of knowledge. Information flows are up, down, and across the organization as information is collected, shared, communicated, and debated (Rescher, 2003). Therefore, information sharing should be encouraged in the operations of the London Ambulance service as this will empower all the staff to be more productive in delivering their duties, and will avert any disaster in future when the organisation considers the design of another despatch system. It is a clear fact that computer-based information systems are essential to the operation of modern businesses especially in all transaction that entails the production of large information in an organization like the London Ambulance Service. Information diffusion means the degree of information sharing within an organization (Simons, 1995). Hence, in the case of the London Ambulance Services, information diffusion should be high so as to maintain free flow of information to everyone in the organization and not hoarding it or making it only available to selected few individuals. Recommendation Information sharing can be viewed as a firm’s willingness to share key information that is timely, accurate, responsive and useful with its staff, associated partners and final consumers of her services. Some of these ingredients of professional knowledge management were not adequately utilized in the circumstances that led to the failure of the London Ambulance dispatch systems. In subsequent future design of a CAD despatch system that will work, the LAS management or any other company that will be used, and the London Ambulance should consider conducting adequate training of all their staff as part of the product development and implementation cycle. System Options was reported to have had no previous knowledge of building despatch systems for ambulance services (Beynon-Davies, 1995), and as such should have not accepted the offer as it falls outside their professional competence especially as there was strict deadline to deliver the contract. Again, the Inquiry report findings reveal that System Options did not used PRINCE project management method which is the acceptable method for managing public sector projects, and the team had no previous project management experience (Duquenoy, 2007). This means that there was no proper knowledge management on the side of the London Ambulance Service as LAS should have ensured adequate project management experience of its contractor. System Options failed to properly apply proper system thinking techniques as it relates to realizing the CAD project within the proposed deadline. They entered the agreement and could not opt out as that would have been unprofessional (Beynon-Davies, 1995).   It is recommended that for a successful professional service delivery, CAD or IT/IS providing firms should maintain a cordial information and time management relationship with its clients. In the case of System Options and LAS, System option should have informed the client of their concerns over the short time frame. Beynon-Davies (1995) identified the issues of poor testing and quality assurance of the despatch system. System Options should have followed the rule of professional system development and implementation ethics which comprises of testing, quality assurance and proper training of all staff involved in the design and final use of the product. REFERENCES Aykin, N. (2007) Usability and internationalization:  Second International Conference on Usability and Internationalization, UI-HCII 2007, held as part of HCI International 2007, Beijing, China, July 22-27, 2007: proceedings, Part 2. China: Springer. Baskerville, R., Stage, J., and DeGross, J. I. 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Strategic planning (TESCO) Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Strategic planning (TESCO) - Case Study Example The very core purpose of any business, besides sustenance and profitability, happens to create and keep adding value for the customers. A supermarket chain in particular needs to take into account the changing needs and requirements of the customers, depending upon the changing environment, food habits, time management, availability of alternates in the market, increasing awareness about environmentally friendly goods and services etc. This way they can earn the loyalty of the customer while successfully attracting more customers. Tesco's mission statement1 says, "Our core purpose is to create value for customers to earn their lifetime loyalty." value creation for the customer proves to be a competitive weapon to retain the customer.Retail Business requires managing a broad range of retail skills in the areas of customer sales and service, promotion & advertising, store layout, visual merchandising, economics & accounting, marketing, buying from suppliers, inventory control, and huma n resource management. The mission and objective statement must encompass all such fields and activities. Tesco has a long term strategy for growth, based on four key parts:1.3 Principle activities and Products: Tesco, the super-market chain is in the business of retailing for nearly 90 years now. It is UK's largest retailer, having around 1800 stores in UK alone and more than 2300 stores worldwide, with group sales crossing m 37,070 worldwide at the end of financial year 2005. An international retailer of food, non-food and retailing services, Tesco currently operates in the China, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Japan, Malaysia, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Slovakia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the UK. 1.4 Short History: It was in the year 1919 that Jack Cohen founded Tesco, when he began to sell surplus groceries from a stall in the East End of London. In those days his first day's profit was 1 and total sales of 4. The name comes from the initials of TE Stockwell, who was a partner in the firm of tea suppliers, and CO from Jack's surname. It was in year 1929 that Jack Cohen opened his first Tesco store in Burnt Oak, Edgware, North London. And the journey continues, there's no looking back since then. 1.5 Microenvironment factors: With an emphasis on Globalization and consumerism, role of retailer and supermarkets is continuously on the rise. World over such supermarkets are replacing the street corners shops as the supermarkets offer better quality, branded items and value for money. In fact supermarket chains like TESCO have now become a formidable brand in themselves. 1.6 Perceived competitive Advantage: From the strategic planning point of view, competitor analysis is very important for any company's long-term survival (Kotler, 1972). Tesco is securing itself a position in the top echelon of an elite group of international retail organizations on account of the number of superstores that it has worldwide and the range of products available. Mintzberg (1994) too, while talking about the changes that have taken place on the strategic planning front, emphasizes the importance of strategic planning. 1.7 Future Assumptions: David (1999) defined strategy as 'the match an organisation makes between its internal resources and skills and the opportunities and risks created by its external forces'. This assumption forms a crucial component while planning for future. For such planning, the TOWS (Threats-Opportunities-Weaknesses-Strengths) and SPACE (Strategic Position and Action Evaluation) Matrices prove to be very helpful tools.