The Architecture of the One New Change in City of London

â€Å"Stealth Fighter† was the ocular inspiration for Atelier Jean Nouvel who invited by Land Securities to a limited competition for the redevelop of the One New Change Site. The site is located in a really critical and historic point in London and in the bosom of the City of London. City of London is a alone country taking London economic sciences by giving work to more than 370.000 people. The 70 % of the edifice in the City of London are Offices for Financial and Business Services. Although the City is a place of about 10.000 occupants, a acquisition centre of over 29.000 pupils, a national centre, a house for art and cultural heritage but besides a finish for every visitant by giving a high quality of environment through its development. The One New Change’s location is something really sensitive as the site is lied straight face-to-face of the St Paul’s Cathedral. A 1950s Portland rock and ruddy brick building was occupied before the site. The edifice was designed by Victor Heal and was originally constructed for the Bank of England. Although it had been criticized for being out of day of the month and when they asked to go a listed edifice it described as â€Å" the worst provincialism † . Besides a missive to the Times signed by many outstanding art historiographers said that it would do â€Å" a really bad neighbour for the St Paul’s Cathedral † . In 2003 Land Securities the proprietor of the site arranged a competition for the redevelop of the One New Change Site. Atelier Jean Nouvel, which supported by Arup, won this competition and the design of the new undertaking started in serious in 2004. The new design of the One New Change is situated to the E of St Paul ‘s Cathedral and it is bounded by Cheapside to the North, Bread Street to the E, New alteration to the West and Watling Street to the South of the Site. The proposed strategy of the new edifice is a new mixed-use development with retail and offices. The new development design embodies the rules of high quality design, that attract the people to a well-designed and sustainable topographic point where could work and loosen up. A new 6 floors constructing with more than 20 000 m2retail topographic point, stores and associated installations designed at the cellar, land and first floor degrees and with more than 30 000m2floors of offices above up to about 51.80m tallness. Besides on the top eating house, cafe , saloon and unfastened public infinite designed carefully for the roof degree. The new retail stores unfastened seven yearss a hebdomad giving life to the City of London as during the weekend the most of the stores are close. Besides it offers a shelter infinite for the tourers who visit the City of London, as it is located between the St Paul’s Cathedral, Tate modern, the Millennium Bridge, the Barbican and Bank. As the edifice was criticized during the design procedure that a new shopping promenade will construct following to the St Paul’s Cathedral ; Peter Rees the City’s of London main contriver answered that: â€Å"This isn’t a shopping promenade. This is a high street reborn.† He is right as the new design is location among three alive streets in the fireplace of the City of London and the purpose of the designer was to make a assorted community of stores, eating houses, coffeehouse, office workers, shoppers and tourers. The design represents the modern-day metropolis centre where young person, elderly, workers and households could all portion the high quality designs. In 2003 when Land Securities asked from the Atelier of Jean Nouvel to take part in the limited competition for the redevelop of the One New Change some inquiries were critical for the design and development of the site: â€Å" Therebuilding of the block bounded by New Change, Cheapside, Bread and Watling Streets must enrich the full vicinity. There are inquiries to reply: how makewefinish the bing system of shopping streets? How do we construct following to St. Paul’s Cathedral In a manner that pays court and is in duologue? How do we make a roof landscape, worthy of being viewedfromthe Dome, anattractive,sober, roof landscape that is â€Å" initstopographic point † in harmoniousness with the environing rooftops? † The location of the site is so of import as the site is situated merely 60m to the E of the St Paul’s Cathedral so some issues took into history during the construct and develop design. One of the vital and large issue was the â€Å"St Paul’s Heights† and protected position ordinance. The new design respect the ordinances for the â€Å"St Paul’s Heights† and protected position and a new 6 floors constructing about 51.80m height that it is merely the one tierce of the Cathedral tallness, It is proposed and designed carefully for the One New Change Site. â€Å"In response to turning concern that of import positions of the Cathedral would be obscured by the exalted constructions being erected in the vicinity.† The concluding proposed design creates two prosaic back streets in between the new edifice. These prosaic back streets are chiefly associating Cheapside with Watling Street and Bread Street with New Change ; with the New Change being unfastened to the sky. The two back streets meet in the centre of the edifice, making a cardinal point to the dome of the St Paul’s Cathedral. The stores and offices are organized around, where a lift gives to the populace a bird's-eye entree to the roof through the cardinal atrium that is besides provides natural visible radiation to the office floors. The Atelier of Jean Nouvel had clever used this ordinance of â€Å"St Paul’s Heights† to carve an unfastened public roof patio that gives to the populace wholly new positions of the St Paul’s Cathedral and the City of London. This ordinance is good known to anyone involved with any edifice in the City of London. However, this ordinance is straight related with the demands of â€Å"St Paul’s Depths† as London was an outstation of the Roman Empire and this heritage is protected the resistance. In 1935 the Act3was passed for the protection of the St Paul’s Cathedral, because through the old ages, some amendss had happened to the Cathedral as a consequence of some foundation motions from different beginnings. This was statute law in relation to deep basis with the â€Å"St Paul’s Depths† to protect and safe the cloth of the Cathedral from farther amendss. The One New Change needs to follow the ordinances of the â€Å"St Paul’s Depths† as is located merely 60m E of the St Paul’s Cathedral, but when the building phase started the site was founded in shallow foundations. The cellar of the new design had to widen down to the London Clay encroached the statute law and the Act3about the â€Å"St Paul’s Depths† . It was the first clip where the diggings in such deep proposed with in the country. So it was truly of import from the design squad and the client to proof that no harm will do to the Cathedral after the completion of the diggings will hold the minimum consequence to the Cathedral’s foundation. After a batch of observations and surveies one of the cardinal inquiries was if there would be any alteration in the groundwater government at the Cathedral’s foundations. So a batch of appraisals and studies of land motion during the diggings and motion monitories took topographic point and eventually they proofed that no effects will happened to the Cathedral’s foundation. However in the phase of the developed design a missive from the Prince of Wales to the Land Securities about the design of the new proposed edifice created a batch of treatments for the design and the stuffs, that the designer chosen for the edifice. The Prince made clear to the client that the Atelier Jean Nouvel approached wrong the site and he called for an alternate house to take over the sensitive site paces of the St Paul’s Cathedral. The reply from the designer Jean Nouvel was that: â€Å"What you regulate is what you get.†

Algal Biomass

In addition to that, access to carbon dioxide and water areessential. Even though microalgae can produce in the presence of saline water,fresh water is needed in a raceway pond system to compensate for the evaporativeloss depending on the wind velocity, air temperature, and humidity level of thelocation. Temperature is an important element in biomass cultivation. Most algaegrow better in warmer climates ranging from 25-40?. Tropical locations with auniformly warm temperature throughout the year (Chisti, 2016), can act as perfectlocations for algaculture as the temperature doesn't have to be monitored at alltimes, and the algae can adapt to local conditions.There are however some drawbacks while using raceway pond systems, thatrender them sometimes ineffective. Since, carbon dioxide is required to acceleratethe production of microalgae, an accumulation of oxygen can act as a hindrance tothe process. There is no known mechanism in a raceway pond, that helps curb thisaccumulation of oxygen. Peak sunlight hours during the day can hamper with thephotosynthesis, as the level of oxygen may increase to up to three times of the levelin saturated water. For this reason, smaller raceway ponds achieve better resultsthan larger ponds with respect to oxygen removal, and in turn better productivity. Another issue with raceways is the contamination due to exposure to rain, dust andother debris. Smaller ponds may be placed inside, but that can't be said for largerponds. Filtration can help inhibit infestations and contamination of the ponds, but thatis an expensive process.The production cost of biomass with raceways is considered to be the leastexpensive option. The cost of a pond depends on the type of facility it is built in,plastic lined earthen raceways are the least expensive alternatives with their totalcost of construction amounting to be approximately $70,000 per hectare, whereasponds enclosed in greenhouses or covered facilities are more expensive as theyprotect from contamination. Raceways require least amount of capital investmentand therefore remain the system of choice, despite their low productivity anddrawbacks.Photo-bioreactors (PBRs)A photo-bioreactor is a closed equipment which provides a controlledenvironment and enables high productivity of algae. PBRs curb all the problems thatare faced in raceways ponds, like carbon dioxide supply, temperature, optimaloxygen levels, pH levels etc. There are two types of photo-bioreactors- flat-plate andand tubular. Both PBRs are made of transparent materials for maximum solar lightenergy absorption. Flat-plate PBRs are suitable for mass cultivation of algae,because high photosynthetic efficiencies can be achieved. Tubular PBRs aresuitable for outdoor cultivation, and are constructed with either glass or plastic tubes. Systems covering large areas outdoors, consist of tubes exposed to sunlight and canbe operated either in batches or continuously. Photo-bioreactors usually have a4water pool as a temperature control system in order to prevent the tubes fromoverheating as they act as solar receptors. They also have built in cleaning systemfor the tubes without stopping production. Fundamentally, using photo-bioreactorsare more advantageous than using raceways for many reasons, like cultivation ofalgae under controlled environments resulting in higher productivity, protection fromcontamination, space-saving and larger surface to volume ratio. However there aresome limitations attached to PBRs; the capital cost is very high which is impedingthe progress of microalgae biofuel production, in spite of larger production levels. Also, data from the past two decades has shown that the productivity in an enclosePBR is not much higher than that achieved in open-pond cultures.3. Environmental Limitations of Microalgae CultivationAs with all large scale productions, wide scale microalgae biofuel productioncould have diverse environmental impacts. Water is a critical element of the biofuelproduction processes, in both raceway-ponds and PBRs. With the current globalwater crisis, using large amounts of fresh water to compensate for evaporation inopen ponds or to cool PBRs, renders the system economically unviable. Seawater orbrackish water may be used in these functions, but have to be filtered in order toprevent infestation of bacteria, and contamination. Recirculating water is onealternative to curb the usage of water, but that has risks of virus infestations, and theresidues of previously destroyed algae cells. Filtration systems are expensive, andfactor in with the lack of cost effectiveness of these systems.Most microalgae production farms have to be located close to the equator inorder to ensure high levels of production due to the uniformity of the climate, andadequate amount of solar radiation. Another factor is the type of land and terrain thefarm is located in, for instance to install a large raceway pond, a relatively flat land isrequired. The addition of nutrients and fertilisers like nitrogen and phosphorus is alsoessential for algaculture. The amount of nutrients and fertilisers to be usedadditionally depends on the soil porosity and permeability of the land. Algalcultivation requires a lot of fertilisers to make up for the compensation for fossil fuels.Researching and budgeting nutrients and fertilisers is a key concern in research anddevelopment of microalgae cultivation. Algal cultivation requires usage of fossil fuels continuously in a plethora ofways, ranging from electricity consumption during cultivation and natural gas used todry the algae for production. In PBRs, the temperature control for cooling the pipesfrom overheating increases the use of fossil fuels. This use of fossil fuels in algaebiofuel production is paradoxical to the cause and a dire need to optimise the systemto minimise the energy usage is established. That being said, microalgae cultivationfaces a variety of environmental challenges, coming from the location to the type of5algae. Energy conservation and water management are two of the main challengesto be conquered to make the system sustainable in the future.4. Cost EffectivenessThe cost of algae biofuel production is essential to establish to know howsustainable this system can be in the future. The cost of biofuel production dependson a variety of factors, such as the the yield of the biomass, geographical location, oilcontent, scale of production systems etc. Presently, microalgae biofuel production isstill more expensive than normal diesel fuels because of the ongoing R&D, and theambiguity of current knowledge. Chisti in 2007 approximated the cost of productionof algal-oils from a PBR with an annual production capacity of 10,000 tons per yearand estimated the cost of $2.80 per litre, considering the oil content to be 30% in thealgae used. This estimation is exclusive of the algal oil to biodiesel conversion costs,logistics, marketing costs and taxes. Due to these high costs of algal-fuel, the utmostimportance during research should be given to cost-saving itself, in an attempt tomake biofuel from microalgae affordable enough to be commercialised in the nearfuture.Open pond systems would ideally be the most economically viable way tocultivate microalgae biofuel, but not without it's set of intrinsic disadvantagesdiscussed earlier in this research paper. As the technology gets increasinglyadvanced, the cost factor multiplies as well making the entire process a lot lesseconomical than what was started with first hand. Improved yield of biomass andnutrient oils (or lipids) would make the production costs drop rapidly.Moreover, to reduce the production costs alternative ways to manage energy andwater consumption have to be devised, a simplified design for PBRs is necessary.Substitutes for fresh water like wastewater and flue gases can contribute to lowercosts of production. Biofuel Production The rapid growth of environmental pollution by the usage of conventionalfossil fuels has sparked a lot of concern globally. The research and development foralternative fuels is one of the principal focuses for every country in an attempt for asustainable and promising future on this planet for all generations. Various optionsare available to us to help us make this shift, however to find a sustainable methodwhich is as promising as it is economically viable is a global challenge. Currently,biomass derived fuels seem to be the most optimistic path.Various ways of harvesting algae have been discussed in this paper, the next step istypically to process the algae in a series of steps which differ from species to6species. One of the most important approaches in biomass production isHydrothermal Liquefaction or HTL.5.1 Hydrothermal LiquefactionHydrothermal Liquefaction employes â€Å"a continuous process that subjectsharvested wet algae to high temperatures and pressures† (Elliot, 2013). Convertingsolid biomass to liquid fuels is not a spontaneous process. The liquid fuels derivedfrom fossil fuels on a large scale took thousands of years to convert biomass tocrude oil and gas. In present day, there are many modern conversion technologies toobtain liquefied fuels from various biomasses, these conversion technologies canfundamentally be classified into biochemical and thermochemical conversion.Biochemical mass usually has low energy density, high moisture content and doesnot have a very viscous physical form. Thermochemical conversions in comparisonare much more viscous as they are converted at very high temperatures in highpressures in the presence of catalysts that make the conversions much more rapid.Simply, Hydrothermal Liquefaction is â€Å"the thermochemical conversion of biomassinto liquid fuels by processing in a hot, pressurized environment for sufficient time tobreak down into solid bio polymeric structure to mainly liquid components†(Gollakota, 2017). Microalgae is, amongst all possible biomass sources, the most efficientand reliable source of wet biomass due to its high photosynthetic efficiency,maximum production levels, and its rapid growth in almost all environments. Overthe years, many thermochemical conversions have made their way, and while eachhas their pros and cons, HTL has come a long way as one of the most appropriateprocesses to tackle thermochemical conversion of wet biomass. Many scientists overthe years have done extensive research pertaining to the development ofhydrothermal liquefaction, such as Beckmann and Elliott who studied the propertiesof oil obtained from HTL of biomass, and gave crucial inputs with respect to the kindof catalysts and other parameters are pertinent to the HTL process to ensuresignificant productivity.5.2 Process MechanismCurrently, the knowledge about HTL process mechanisms is qualitative andneeds a lot more space for research. The mechanism comprises of three majorsteps: depolymerisation, decomposition and recombination. The chemistry behind allthese processes is very complex as the biomass is a complex mixture ofcarbohydrates, proteins, oils etc. Each working mechanism of hydrothermalliquefaction is discussed below.5.2.1 Depolymerisation7In this process the macromolecules of the biomass are dissolves through theirphysical and chemical properties. Depolymerisation makes it easier for the biomassto overcome it's natural qualities and start behaving like fossil fuels. It mimics thegeological processes, that are involved in the production of conventional fossil fuels.The process first grounds the feedstock material into small chunks and mixes it withwater, if the feedstock is fry. This mixture is then put into a pressure vessel reactionchamber where it is heated at a constant volume at a temperature of 250?, themixture is held in these conditions for approximately 15 minutes at the end of whichthe pressure is released and most of the water is boiled off. The resultant concoctionconsists of crude hydrocarbons and solid minerals. The minerals are removed andthe hydrocarbons are sent to the second stage.The disadvantage of this process is that it only breaks down long molecularchains into shorter ones, this implies that smaller molecules like carbon dioxide ormethane cannot be broken down further by depolymerisation. Decomposition or Dehydration The second stage of hydrothermal liquefaction involves the loss of the watermolecule, the carbon dioxide molecule and the acid content. Water at high pressuresand temperatures breaks down the hydrogen bonded structure of celluloses and inturn forms glucose monomers. This is how HTL provides an alternative processroute from microalgae biofuels to hydrocarbon liquid fuels.5.2.3 RecombinationThis is the last step in HTL which is reverse of the two previous processesbecause of the absence of the hydrogen compound. The free radicals are largelyavailable which in turn recombine or repolymerise to form high molecular weight charcompounds.5.3 Hydrothermal Liquefaction of Microalgae:The main advantage of using HTL for microalgae is that it doesn'trequire the predrying of feedstock, yet ensuring a relatively high production. Theprocess of HTL applied to microalgae is similar to treating cellulose but with a fewdifferences, the major one being treating wed feedstock as opposed to dryfeedstock. One of the principally researched issues that will ensure high productivityis a high lipid yield, which is necessary to convert microalgae into biodiesel. Theeffect of significant variables, such as temperature, pressure, volume, biomassconcentration and compositions of algae, catalysts et al. is still under research.During hydrothermal liquefaction of microalgae, a rational heat management system8must be put in place that ensures energy efficiency and separation of the endproduct. Current Situation ; Future Viability:In present day, pertaining to all the advantages and disadvantages of HTL,there is sufficient proof that HTL has potential to become a commercialisedtechnology in the future.Biofuels produced using hydrothermal liquefaction are absent of carbon, thisimplies that there are no carbon emissions produced when the biofuel is burnt.Materials like algae use photosynthesis to grow, and therefore use the carbondioxide already present in the atmosphere. The carbon imprint produced by biofuelsis exponentially lower than what is already being experienced by conventional fossilfuels. Hydrothermal Liquefaction is a clean process, which doesn't harm theenvironment by producing harmful gases like ammonia or sulphur. If the technologyis mastered, HTL can pave the way for clean algal biofuels globally, although thereare still a number of challenges to be overcome. Conclusion The cultivation and production of microalgae biofuels is swiftly developing andis receiving attention and funding from global leaders. The rapid increase in worldpopulation, and hence the energy demand is a siren call to devise an alternativeenergy source. Microalgae's versatile qualities make it a promising path to tread onwhen it comes to biofuels. There are various ways to derive biofuels from algae aswe saw in this paper, and also many challenges attached with them. Bio-oil obtainedfrom various processes suffers from various drawbacks such as a high oxygencontent, instability etc, therefore an optimal technique to efficiently convert biomassto biofuel should be researched in order to be able to commercialise the use ofbiofuels in the near future. Making biofuels economically viable in the future is a bigchallenge in itself. Even though, photo-bioreactors promise a bright future in terms ofbiofuel cultivation, the overhead costs attached from cultivating the biofuel to makingit market ready and selling it are still quite high. These high costs of biofuels ascompared to conventional fossil fuels are what render them unready forcommercialisation. However, even with theoretical development and research, abright future for microalgae fossil fuels presents itself.

A Reflection Upon My Childhood Upbringing

Parenting styles can have a large influence on adult lives. In this paper, I will discuss the parenting style applied to me by my mother, and the effect it has had upon me in later years. My mother’s parenting style would fall under the â€Å"permissive† category.The permissive parenting type is characterized by warm feelings toward the child that lean towards over indulgement. The parent exercises little control over the child, and also grants high autonomy. The child is allowed to make their own decisions from a very young age.The permissive parenting style that my mother used with me can be clearly seen throughout my childhood. For example, I never can remember a time when my mother said â€Å"no.†Ã‚   We could go to a local store, and I would always emerge with a new toy. I only had to mention what I wanted once, and it was mine.Anything I put on my Christmas list was bound to be under the tree. My mother always wanted me to have the best of everything. I nev er had to commit to anything. If I wanted to play ball, my mother signed me up and bought the best equipment. If I wanted to quit the next week, that was fine. She never questioned my decisions. I was made to think that I could do no wrong.I believe that my mother chose this parenting style because it was the exact opposite of how she was raised. My grandparents were extremely hard on her. She was made to feel that she had to earn their love.She was never given the greatest new toy or the best clothes. When she did convince them that she wanted to play softball, there was no mention of quitting. They never would have allowed it, because that would have been a waste of money. It also would have meant to my grandparents that she did not follow through on an â€Å"obligation.† They never would have stood for that.They allowed her to be friends with children they approved, and they picked out the college she attended. It was only when she met my dad that she was able to break fre e. My grandparents forbid her to see him, but they ran away and were married. Because of the pressure and control my grandparents exerted upon her, I think my mother always had it in her mind to be as different from them as possible. She was miserable growing up, so she wanted the easiest life possible for me.My mother’s permissive style did not prepare me for life very well. It took a while for me to learn that I could not have everything I wanted once I was on my own. When I did not have the money for the latest gadget on the market, I felt deprived. Granted, I could have just asked mom for it, but I somehow had a sense that I should provide for myself. I just really did not know how to go about it.I would get a job, and I would quit if someone made me mad. Of course, mom is proud of everything I do. I guess that explains why I was so surprised when the â€Å"real world† did not love my every deed. I felt let down when I did not receive praise, and angry when improve ment was suggested. While my mom had the best of intentions, I often wish that she had pushed me a bit more and not have been so permissive. That would have prepared me much more for real life.

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Body Image & the Media - Essay Example The perception by the media resulted to mental disorder, which are expressed by the way individuals behave, express and respect themselves. Media, therefore, have the tendency of creating new cultural beliefs and behavior in the society. Appearance is sometimes deceptive. The author demonstrates bluntly the major factor that influences the perception of individual appearance and the acceptable and modest body size. Since 1950s, advertisement and television programs have created a dramatic impact on the American society in terms of mode of dressing and insight regarding the humanity. In this perceptive, the influence of the media destroyed various cultures in the society and eschewing a new culture with its own perception, social constructed roles and behavior of individuals based on their gender or sex. The article identified that for decades, the American society has been bombarded with media driven depictions. The major concept that drives the depiction is what constitutes as the acceptable female behavior and characteristic as well as male desired traits and behaviors. Media have great influence on the mental image of females as a thin body image as depicted by the fashion models. There is accentuation on the mer its and attractiveness of large breast. In males, media altered the accepted image of a male to a tall, slender and masculine body. The impacts of media on the American society have generated an intriguing argument by various scholars and authorities. Parents, cultural critics and medical authority for decades have criticized the marketing ability of media on the perception of human being and mental health of the American society. In this perspective, the socio-cultural standards of feminine beauty have been presented in all manners of media demonstrating women with image that is considered as being the ideal body. Media creates a flaw mental image assimilated by media-driven culture. The images used for

Nursing skills Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Nursing skills - Essay Example To protect the patient’s identity in accordance with the NMC Code of Conduct, this patient shall be referred to as Wilson. He was admitted into the hospital after a three inch gash on his arm became infected. Based on my role as a nurse in instances of wounds and infection, my mentor instructed me to clean the patient’s wound. I did so under my mentor’s direct supervision and guidance. Before I dressed his wound, I first asked for his permission. While cleaning the patient’s wound, I asked the patient how he was feeling, and if he felt any pain from his wounds. I also explained the process of dressing his wound, and why I was doing it. Before I dressed his wound, I first washed my hands aseptically with soap and running water, drying my hands well on a sterile towel. I also prepared all the materials I would use to clean the wound. I also closed the door to his room to afford privacy and helped him to sit-up to a comfortable position on the bed. I placed paper towels underneath his wounded hand and placed all the materials I would need on a tray placed on a table adjacent to the bed. I opened the dressing packs and dropped them on to the sterile tray. The dressing pack included the mepore, the gauze, and the cotton balls. The alcohol was placed on the table, along with the saline solution, the iodine and the alcohol. I opened and put on sterile gloves and started cleaning the wound. ... I opened the dressing packs and dropped them on to the sterile tray. The dressing pack included the mepore, the gauze, and the cotton balls. The alcohol was placed on the table, along with the saline solution, the iodine and the alcohol. I opened and put on sterile gloves and started cleaning the wound. I initially used normal saline solution and followed it up with iodine to clean the wound; and later, I dressed the wound with mepore and gauze. I then secured the gauze with a plaster. Feelings I felt very calm and confident while cleaning and dressing Wilson’s wound because I had previous experience carrying out the procedure and I knew what to expect, how to carry out the process aseptically, and I had my mentor guiding and supervising my actions. Since I acted calm and competent, Wilson was very cooperative throughout the procedure. He did not display any anxiety or agitation. My mentor also prevented me from making any mistakes in the process, encouraging me and reminding me of the aseptic measures I had to apply in order to prevent infection. As a result of the support and of my competence in the activity, the patient also felt safe in both our hands. Evaluation Before I carried out the procedure, I asked for the patient’s consent first; this is part of the ethical code of conduct and is essential to the respect owed to the patient (Hannon and Clift, 2010). Patients have the right to autonomy, in other words, they have the right to decide the direction of their care; therefore, their consent is essential before any intervention is carried out (Hannon and Clift, 2010). This consent is a contract between the health provider and the patient for the provision of care and the NMC clearly states that it is important to secure such consent before any care is

Constitutional law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Constitutional law - Essay Example It does not establish nor constitute the system of government. It does not involve constituent power. Its form of law is not superior to other laws; and it is not entrenched. All these characteristics are an integral part of a written constitution. One of the major differences of the British constitution from that of other countries is that it is not composed, written or set out in any single document like for example, that of the United States of America. Rather, it is made up of statute law, common law and conventions. Thomas Payne stated that the United Kingdom does not have a constitution. Against this background one can agree with Payne in saying that the United Kingdom does not have a constitution because there is no official written document. Since the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution there are several elements that are lacking which would give the people more autonomy. Amendments cannot be made to a constitution if there are no written documents to refer to. Even if amendments are attempted at times these are not seen as having far reaching effects because they are not legally binding. The United Kingdom is not seen as having a constitution because having a constitution hinges on the rights of the people. One of the earliest documents to form a central element of the constitution, the Magna Carta, was drawn up by the rich landowners so the rights of the common man were not provided for. It would therefore seem more difficult for the common man to clarify his rights and protect himself against the state. The Justice Secretary Jack Straw in a visit to Washington of February 2008 commented well on the British Constitution when he said that, "Most people might struggle to put their finger on where their rights are." It is difficult sometimes to know what the constitution really say because of the many

Nietzches Moral and Political Philosophy Essay Example for Free

Nietzches Moral and Political Philosophy Essay In Nietzches Moral and Political Philosophy Nietzches theory of the strong and weak willed is explained to us. Nietzsche â€Å"seems to want to say that anyone who is strong, independent, and so on — anyone who fits his description o the higher type of man — is one who has value in himself†. I think it is interesting that Nietzsche puts such high value on a man who can think for himself, but if this man has followers and admirers of his work, these followers are considered weak willed. If everyone in the world thought for himself and broke free of the society accepted norms, our World would be one of mad chaos. Nobody believing each other or taking another mans word, everyone having to find out for themselves, and everyone trying to rise above another to break free from societal norms. Although it should be praised when a man has a strong will to power and can break free from the common attitudes and beliefs, i do not believe this path of master morality is something every man should do. Nietzsche seems to place a much higher value on a man that breaks free of society, and says the followers shape everything in society to work against this man,â€Å"[m]oral judgments and condemnations constitute the favorite revenge of the spiritually limited against those less limited† (BGE 219), and he claims that the â€Å"chief means† by which the â€Å"weak and mediocre†¦weaken and pull down the stronger† is â€Å"the moral judgment†. To better understand this you could say, that the Government (the weak willed) put restrictions on citizens to get them to conform to societal norms. The goal of this is to weaken the citizens and prevent them from rising above the government. In the example I used above I would [Type text] [Type text] [Type text] argue to Nietzsche that in rising above this weak willed government in order to become a strong willed person, could mean i am breaking laws and harming others in order to fit in the master morality category. How would he explain criminals who break free of societal norms and attitudes but do it by unjust means? I think this theory of what a strong and weak willed man is, is very questionable. Although you should aspire to question what you are taught and common beliefs are, i dont believe all men who do this are strong-willed.

Motivating Business Students to the Entrepreneurial Sector

Motivating Business Students to the Entrepreneurial Sector An Empirical Study on Factors Motivating Business Students to Move to the Entrepreneurial Sector Abstract. This exploratory study is attempts to examine how employable individuals turn their focus to start-ups. Today, majority of employees still practise a more or less self-protective strategy. In this paper we would report on the results of an empirical study of factors motivating degreed potential employees to move to self enterprising. The deciding factors to become an entrepreneur and of sustainable employment-oriented factors to be analyzed in order to discover how they differ. Participants consisted of 200 students from Malaysia entered final year of business undergraduate and postgraduate programs. Self-administered questionnaires were used to gather data on factors and types of relationships influencing career choice and entrepreneurial intention. The results of the analysis will serve as a basis for the development of employment practices designed to support start-ups in adopting sustainable business practices. 1. Introduction Today, employees still act in accordance with employers legal obligations and try not to attract special attention from local independent business owners. This papers main aim is to take a fresh look into graduates expectation on the factors motivating employees when considering switching jobs if employed and to identify the level of interest as they commence and develop entrepreneurial ventures. The study principally examined why employees decide to become entrepreneurs, therefore, seven main issues associated with graduates enterprises as they established, operated and grew their businesses, these being chosen following a process of brainstorming with a pilot group of graduate entrepreneurs. 2. Review of Literature 2.1. Overview A number of researchers have attempted to consider factors such as gender, grade point average, duration and field of study and entrepreneurial family background as important factors affecting students perception and attitudes towards the prospect of new own business formation, and some of these factors clearly enhance or inhabit such tendency (Oakey, Mukhtar and Kipling, 2002). However, Cooper, Woo, and Dunkelberg (1989) suggested that the various objectives identified by other researchers can be reduced to three factors: challenge, wealth and autonomy. Using cluster analysis Woo, Cooper, and Dunkelberg (1991) identified two types of entrepreneurs depending upon their purposes at the time of commencing the business: firstly self-regulating who placed high priority on not having to work for others, and secondly, â€Å"company-men. who builds the organization. 2.2. Motivation Generation of start up ideas have been explored by a number of researchers. Opportunity recognition is dependent on whether the entrepreneur was extrinsically stimulated. A leading entrepreneurship text has recognised the â€Å"important implications for entrepreneurs who need to be creative in their thinking† and of the concept that creativity can be learned or enhanced (Timmons Spinelli, 2008). The three types of opportunities identification to the field of entrepreneurship as established by Sarasvathy, Dew, Velamuri, and Venkataraman (2003) are recognized, discovered and created. There are various motives to start a new venture. According to Amit, McCrimmon, Zietsma and Oesch (2001), money is important but not necessarily most important. They argue that some of the key non-monetary motives for starting up a business include the wish to be independent and the combination of work and household responsibilities. These start-up motives may have important consequences for the d egree of (over)optimism that characterizes (promising) entrepreneurs. For example, if an entrepreneur is mainly driven by wealth creation, it may be expected that (s)he is more likely to be disappointed if the turnover in the first year is relatively low. If the entrepreneur is driven by the wish to be independent, (s)he may be unpleasantly surprised by the strong reliance upon a limited number of clients or the bank. If the primary start-up motive is exploiting a perceived opportunity, the entrepreneur may be faced with other people who came up with the same idea or possibly an overestimated market demand for the (new) product. Gilad and Levine (1986), agreed in their analysis on intrinsic and extrinsic that there are discrimination between start-up motives. Intrinsic motives include the desire for independence and combining work with care for family members. Entrepreneurs who are driven by such motives will probably be less inclined to set unrealistically high pecuniary goals. Extrinsic motives include two categories: pull and push factors. An opportunity of perceived profit is an important pull factor of entrepreneurship, while (the threat of) unemployment is a well-known push factor. Regarding the exploitation of opportunities, Hayward, Shepherd and Griffin(2006) argue that overoptimistic founders will commit too many resources to the opportunities that are the bases of their ventures. If entrepreneurs are ‘blinded by their own ideas and fail to adequately assess the competition and the (potential) problems to transform the opportunity into a profitable venture, over optimism is around the corner. The creation of a new organization, however, is contingent upon the belief that self-employment promises more expected utility than either employment within an existing organization or unemployment (Douglas Shepherd, 2000; Van Praag Cramer, 2001). 3. Methodology Gartner (1989) proposed that a common limitation of studies into the predictors of entrepreneurial intentions is the failure of investigators to choose samples that are (1) comprised solely of people who are serious about entrepreneurship and (2) who are in the process of making the decision to become involved in creating a new business. Krueger, Reilly and Carsrud (2000) find that studies comprising samples of upper-division college students can uncover job-related preferences at a time when respondents are struggling with important career decisions. Therefore, it is acceptable and appropriate to investigate entrepreneurial intent utilizing a sample of upper-class college students. (Brice and Nelson, 2008), it is important to note that the population of interest in their study consists of individuals who perceive that they will become entrepreneurs and not necessarily only those who will actually become entrepreneurs. This difference is significant because while actions has been demonstrated to be predicted by intentions. Therefore, the focus of this research remains at the entrepreneurial intentions level of analysis. The sample chosen consists of postgraduate and undergraduate business degree program students who were nearing graduation. When students contemplate graduation, they may also develop immediate career plans and long-range goals. The respondents are those from the business disciplines because, based on their discipline interest, they have already decided to pursue business-related careers. For that reason, a homogeneous sampling of university college students was included in this study. In this study, we follow the method tested by Brice and Nelson. This study sample consisted of 200 students from University Colleges in Malaysia who participated utilizing a structured questionnaire data collection methodology. Subjects consisted of final (3rd) year business undergraduates and final year Master of Business Administration (MBA) students in the concentrations of management. They were appropriate primarily because their academic concentration implied that they had serious interest in pursuing a business career. The main themes covered by the survey questions include firm and owner characteristics; interest to start-up; motivation to switch jobs; career preferred timing and industry; medium for seeking employment: desire and likelihood of rewards and opportunity; criteria of choosing employers. The two researchers contacted students directly via targeted groups of respondents list originating from the Faculty of their academic major program. Five questions adapted from Chen, Greene, and Crick (1998) was used to assess start up intentions. Responses were gathered on a 5-point Likert scale and total scale score was obtained by averaging the five questions. Brice and Nelson have reported a Cronbachs alpha of 0.92 for this scale, which implies strong reliability. Information pertaining to each respondents age, gender, and class was obtained to use as control variables in the analysis. Each of these control variables was recorded as non-continuous, categorical predictors. 4. Analysis and Results Once all the related information from the respondents was entirely obtained, the students motives leading to start-up were analyzed. From the mean of all motivation constructs, it could be argued that the main motive for start-up is the need for achievement (average value = 14.3), followed by economic reasons (mean value = 12.89) and the need for independence (average value = 12.89). In order to establish instrument reliability, Cronbachs coefficient alpha was computed. The reliability coefficient was 0.71 which indicates that the instrument was reliable in its measurement of determinants for start ups. Data reduction technique is used to unfold the information embedded in our data. Hypothesis 1: Intention for independent business start-ups is higher than joining established firms After elimination of subjects with survey questionnaires were only partially completed, the final sample totalled 196 students. As shown in Table 2, this sample was equally represented between the genders, consisting of 107 (54.6%) males and 89 (45.4%) females. Subjects were primarily graduating undergraduate business students (65.8%) and graduating postgraduate students (34.2%). In fact, there were 129 bachelor degree students who aged below 25 years than MBA students who aged 26 and above. The majority of subjects were expecting salary between RM5001- RM15000 (56.2%) which is not in accordance or earnable with employment even in established firms. Since the mean, median and mode values are very close to each other, it shows the data is symmetrical. The mean for the 196 students is 2.08 with a standard deviation of 1.088. The Trimmed mean value of 2.01 is similar to the mean above. Hence, shows there are no outliers in the data set. In this survey, since the sample size is 196, the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test is used. The p-value of the test is less than 0.001. Hence, the data is not distributed normal. Of the 196 students, 77 (39.3%) very enthusiastic towards start-ups, 52 (26.5%) eager to start-up, 46 (23.5%) open to any opportunity, and 16 (8.2%) to consider start-up option. Out of total, 5 (2.6%) prefer employment. Since the correlation value is within 0.5 to 0.8, start-up intention among degree students is said to correlate â€Å"adequately† with at least one other variables in the construct. In this survey, the KMO value is 0.819, which is considered good. Bartletts test of sphericity is used to analyse whether the correlation matrix is an identity matrix. Identity matrix can be ruled out if the p-value of the test is less than 0.05 (Karuthan and Krishna, 2009). In this model, since the p-value is less than 0.001, the researcher proceeds with factor analysis. Since the researcher wanted to study the underlying construct among the six variables: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Setting Up and Start-up Timing. This is a single underlying concept; therefore, it is called the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure†. Since the â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† varies from person to person, it is a variable too. However, it cannot be measured by physical means. Hence, it is called a latent variable or just factor. The model for â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† is given in Figure 4. In Figure 4, one can visualize six simultaneous regression functions: Curiosity, Interest, Consideration, Preparation, Setting Up and Start-up Timing as the dependents and â€Å"Start-up Intent Structure† as the independent. In the table above, since there are 6 variables in this analysis, 6 components (or factors) are listed in the first column. The respective eigen values and percent of variance explained are provided in the next two columns. For Factor 1, the eigen value is 3.109 and the variance is 51.811% of the total variance. For factor 3, 4,5 and 6 the eigen value is less than the default value of 1. In the same table, under â€Å"Extraction Sums of Squared Loadings†, only two factors are listed, corresponding to the factors for which the eigen values is more than 1. Based on the cumulative % column, these factors explain 68.792% of the total variance in the 6 original variables. According to Karuthan and Krishna, (2009) established that, in social sciences, at least 50% of the total variance in the variables in analysis must be explained by the factor of factors. In this survey, a single factor extracted explains more than 50% of the total variance in the original variables. Hypothesis 2: Motivations to switch job if employed in established firms associated with independent business start-ups We use multivariate data analysis to recognize the association between different motivation variables. The analysis has shown the variables in a scatter plot and quantifying the strength of association using correlation analysis. An association is established, both empirically and theoretically, therefore we pursued to obtain a regression model. This model, used to predict the value on entrepreneurial intention (outcome), given the values on the motivations to switch job if employed variables (predictors). Table 6, the p-value for the Levenes test for equality of variance is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Thus, equality of variances is not assumed. Table 7 depicts that the F-value is 3.933 and the degrees of freedoms are 7 and 188. The p-value of the test is 0.000, which is less than 0.05 and the eta-squared value of 0.128, which is less than 0.15,hence, at least one pair of means differ significantly. Therefore there is a need to identify the pair that differs significantly. In this case, the researcher has performed posthoc tests. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test, the p-value of this test is 0.000, which is less than 0.05. Thus, at least one reason differs in terms of motivation towards self-employment rather employment. Based on Kruskal Wallis Test (Table 5) for the mean ranks, obviously, the degreed students are looking for a more challenging career in terms of expanded scope of work, more responsibilities and change in career path rank much higher compared to the students who looking to join a more established and stable organisations. On the other hand, 82.20% students feel that they need to escape from unfavourable office environment such as not happy with peers, bosses, office politics and etc. Based on Table 3.1, this supports students interest, whereby 97.4 cumulative percent and mean rank shown in table below of probability of considering the new business start-up.

The international evidence base for healthcare commissioning

The international evidence base for healthcare commissioning According to the Department of Health (2006) healthcare commissioning is more than just procurement of services. Effective commissioning is about care that adds maximum value for patients in a system that promotes fairness, inclusion and respect from all the sections of the society. The following essay focuses on the international evidence base for healthcare commissioning, explaining the healthcare commissioning of Finland, Sweden, Europe, New Zealand, Arizona and United States and the challenges for healthcare commissioning within the context of economic recession and the ways in which these challenges might be addressed. The fundamental aims of healthcare commissioning includes service improvement, decreasing costs wherever feasible, better patient outcomes, and NHS priorities should be taken into account for all commissioning activities (InPharm, 2010). The cycle of commissioning is fragmented into 3 segments: Strategic planning (the beginning of the cycle), procuring services and monitoring and evaluation. Various NHS tools for supporting the PCTs are available like Better Care Better Value indicators, NHS indicators etc. By restructuring the patient pathway at the first time, we improve clinical quality, decrease expensive readmissions, better staff and patient satisfaction and in turn generate savings which can be used for various services (Peskett, 2009). After the NHS reforms in England, the PCT were considered as the main commissioners of healthcare (Peskett, 2009).. In addition to the NHS providers and NHS Foundation Trusts (FTs), the independent and third sectors were also considered as the main healthcare commissioners. The Operating Framework (Department of Health, 2007a) of 2008/2009 focused mainly on world class commissioning which defines the commissioners skills and competencies for commissioning healthcare successfully from a variety of providers. According to Ham (2009) market like mechanisms has been applied to the health reforms in England. In the emerging market it will be of critical importance for the commissioners of care to manage equivalent with the providers. The government has laid down plans for establishing world class commissioning but evidence shows that commissioning is not done consistently in any of the systems. World class commissioning if developed might not be successful because of lack of potential in absence of other modifications in the making of reforms like payment modes and autonomous providers. An alternative to this would be to develop competing integrated systems. World class commissioning (WCC) is metamorphosing the means through which services are commissioned, resulting in improved health consequences and reducing health inequalities adding life to years and years to life (NHS: Department of Health, 2009). The Department of Health along with the NHS launched WCC in December 2007 which aims to d evelop World class commissioners of NHS-funded services. The NHS in England had designed a 10 year program of reform to handle long standing weaknesses in performance which they are halfway through (Ham, 2008). The commissioners of care play a critical role in negotiating similar terms with providers and use the resources efficiently for improving the health and performance of health services. In the early 1990s commissioning was a weak link in the internal market and it is risky if the history is repeated again. Many countries worldwide have drawn attention towards healthcare commissioning for bringing reforms. The traditional systems which have integrated financing and planning of healthcare (eg the UK, New Zealand and Sweden) have experienced the detachment of commissioning from provision since the early 1990s. The roles of insurers and providers have been strengthened due to traditional partition like Germany, Netherlands and US. Experience of commissioning in Europe: (Ham, 2008) It was found that commissioning in Europe had substantial diversity in context to organization that do purchasing. The type of organization like the central or regional government, municipalities that can act as purchaser, market concentrations and the way of interaction differs from country to country. Variations are also observed in their funding sources and jurisdictions. The function of the purchasers was merely carried out in the challenging surrounding despite of the tangled European health policy debates because of the market based reforms. Figureas and colleagues stressed that a fundamental lesson from European experience is that a broad systems approach for purchasing and various components are required by policy makers. Experience of commissioning in Finland: The Healthcare Commissioning system in Finland is micro level, non-competitive and within the local government (Benson, 2011). For an average of 11,000 populations there are about 448 municipal councils which are responsible for purchasing. Each of these 448 councils is valid for a period of 4 years and an executive board is appointed which leads to democratic linkage between the citizens and health commissioners. The councils are authorized to commission secondary or tertiary services of their choice themselves or by merging with other councils. Experience of commissioning in Sweden: The Swedish healthcare system comprises of 3 levels of government: the central government, county councils and municipalities (The Commonwealth Fund, 2010). The local government is responsible for the ways in which services are delivered considering the local conditions and precedence whereas the central government accounts for the overall goals and regulations of the healthcare system. Thus at local level the delivery system varies because of this decentralization. The central and local taxation is held responsible for public funding of healthcare services. The financing of prescription drug subsidies is provided by the central government. It also provides funding by grants apportioned using a risk adjusted capitation pattern to county councils and municipalities. Financing of primary and mental healthcare and specialist services is provided by the 21 county councils whereas home care and services and nursing home care services are provided by the 289 municipalities. The private sector covers about 5% of the population and it provides easy access to care for patients. The 21 county councils are responsible for the organization of primary care services. For residents within a devoted geographical area, the primary care is provided by the health centers. But there have been significant changes in the model and now the residents can choose their provider and physician. A new law holding an alternative for the population and primary care privatization has been implemented from January 2010. The various modes for payment of private primary care providers are taxation, topped up with fee-for-service and targeted payments. The residents can now directly go to the hospitals or the private specialists. Experience of commissioning in New Zealand: There was a separation of purchaser and provider roles in New Zealands healthcare system from 1993 to 2000 (Ham, 2008). From a recent study both the positive and negative side of purchasing and contracting in New Zealand were highlighted. The drawback was that it was difficult to co-relate providers performance and negotiate contracts because of insufficient data on cost, volume and quality. An antagonistic environment was appreciated because of legalistic approach to contracting. It was difficult to sustain long term contracts or conjunctive relationships because the competition law concerns were not even whereas on the positive side because of purchasing the purchasers and providers focused more on costs and volumes of services and specified the categories and levels of services supplied. According to the providers written contracts would encourage them to focus on improvement of quality of care. Ashton and colleagues have summarized the New Zealand healthcare as: contracting has amended the providers direction on costs and volumes, increased the clarity of services and greater emphasis on methods for improving quality. New Zealands healthcare faces the challenge whether the profit of contracting maintained with simultaneously declining the transaction costs. Experience of commissioning in United States: In United States, indemnity insurance was used for financing and delivery of healthcare (Ham, 2008). Patients selected their providers and the providers charged the insurers by paying fees for services. Hence the patient had a flexible choice and the providers prevailed. Because of increase in healthcare managed care approach was developed in the US in the 1980s and 1990s which was based on the funding authority playing a significant role as commissioners. Evidence suggests that managed care temporarily curbed the increasing healthcare costs in the US. But managed care led to fee-for-service providers. In spite of the evidence, a reinvention movement known as consumer directed healthcare movement took place in the health insurance industry. Experience of commissioning in Arizona: The healthcare commissioning system in Arizona (USA) known as Arizona Healthcare Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) was launched in 1982 (Benson, 2011). Arizona had two tier arrangements: AHCCCS covers about million Medicare and Medicaid from a number of purchasers. The purchasers are liable to commission health services operationally for 35,000 to 200,000 people known as members or lives and they purchase services from various providers. In order to sustain the contract or win, the AHCCCS has to produce detailed bids every 5 years and not all the health plans covered under AHCCCS are for profit organizations. The Department of Healths (2007d) recently published documents suggests that the world class commissioners will (Peskett, 2009): Run the NHS locally Function along with the community partners Both patient and public involvement will be there Merge with clinicians Organize and assess knowledge and needs respectively Accelerate the market Enhance innovation and improvement Draw upon some sound financial investment Supervise the local health system One of the ways of addressing one end of the spectrum is PBC which challenges the PCTs for having the proper governance arrangements and bringing awareness about absolute clarity between responsibilities and boundaries. CHALLENGES FOR HEALTHCARE COMMISSIONING: According to Le Grand (1999), commissioning problems were due to very weak incentives and very strong constraints (NHS CONFEDERATION, 2010). History says that commissioning had failed in the internal market in the 1990s and hence there is risk if repeated again (Ham 2008). Weak commissioning is because of the tendency to focus less on PCTs and PBC and giving importance to national, specialized and joint commissioning. Healthcare commissioning has become weak because of the following reasons: In publicly financed systems purchasing of health services is quite difficult Inability to control the referrals and activity of GPs in general Insufficient power against the number of providers, especially the Foundation Trusts (FTs) for shaping the market Curtailment of clinical engagement and base for decisions related to healthcare commissioning Lack of ability to comprehend an issue and perform in analysis of requirement and demand, managing budget, risk taking etc. There is hardly any evidence which suggests that commissioning has made a symbolic or strategic impact in secondary care services (Smith, et al., 2004). Healthcare commissioning is perplexed and postulating and requires both technical as well as managerial skills (Peskett, 2009). Ham (2008), quoting Mays and Hands (2000) defines Healthcare commissioning as complicated, unclear, not exhibiting information symmetry between buyer and seller, lengthy training mandatory and is based on long term relationships between patients and professionals. Often there is misunderstanding among the commissioners and providers, clinicians and managers, and sometimes between the primary and secondary care commissioners which builds up stress, hence a prominent degree of competence and communication skill is mandatory. The challenges for healthcare commissioning were revealed by the UKs Department of Health Independent Sector Program, particularly for assessment of governance arrangements and identification of high standards of healthcare providers (Peskett, 2009). A successful care pathway commissioning requires an acquaintance and proficiency of the clinical intakes, turnouts and consequences as well as organizational skills for process management and patient journey. Pertinent inter and intra-organizational governance arrangements should be verified. Evidence suggests that healthcare commissioners will need not only time but also stability and persistence of management and organization, if a sustainable progress is required for betterment of local services (Smith, et al., 2005). The recently developed primary care commissioning organizations focuses internally in their initial stages and in future with the secondary care and other providers. The factors which facilitate effective commissioning may also pose to be the greatest challenge. One of these includes for engaging the GPs a set of incentives is created, for patient with long term conditions new forms of seamless services being developed and eventually making an absolute effect on the broader healthcare system, which was difficult for the primary care commissioning to achieve. From a survey conducted recently a conclusion was drawn that about 50% of GPs did not show interest in commissioning budget (Smith, et al., 2005). The GPs would thus have power and would play the role of managers but the power was not distributed equally among the doctors. It has been suggested that an important incentive within fund holding and total purchasing would lead to changes and might improve the services as well, if there were profits during the practice process. In order to engage all the GPs into budget commissioning more strident incentives would be required. If a new NHS market is developed then it will offer sharper incentives so that the GPs and nurses can become practice based commissioners. Hence services could be purchased from new providers of primary care and diagnostics by a commissioning budget. For the non NHS providers, there arises a possibility that the primary care should demand increasingly for budget commissioning and thus become equivalent to the NHS GP s and nurses. (Peskett, 2009) Separation of managerial and clinical goals led to failure with no clinical leadership. Negative targets had detrimental consequences and if the financial flow encouraged efficiency and not effectiveness it leads to failure of service. A culture of collaboration would be helpful rather than competition with command and control ethos. The managers and the organization should be responsible enough to provide commercial expertise, infrastructure and information and the clinicians should provide specialist and knowledge related to healthcare. Weak and ineffective engagement of clinicians of primary and secondary care would lead to crucial Primary Care Trust Commissioning. Commissioning fails if there is lack of resources, capacity and capability and an ability to sustain long duration relationship. Commissioning organizations also require robust governance system in business transactions for ensuring no conflicts of interests. Lack of time, personnel, resources and diffic ult long term relationship were the challenges that Healthcare commissioning had faced (Checkaland, et al., 2009). The four major challenges faced by healthcare commissioning are (Boyd, 2010): Ameliorating the health of the patients Assuring a high quality standard of care in healthcare arena Supervising costs and savings. It includes preventing and managing falls, assessment of risk and saving tax payers money. Managing the transition to clinical commissioning (Boyd, 2010)The key responsibilities of healthcare commissioning includes buying high quality services throughout the care pathway in order to meet the needs of common people and making decisions for not purchasing services. The detailed information regarding organizations engaged in pathway, from primary care to tertiary care is available to the commissioning team and their aim is to fit together all the parts of care pathway to provide a holistic care. Foundations for effective commissioning are as follows: improving outcomes, patient empowerment, evidence based practice, community mobilization and sustainability (Royal College of General Practitioners, n.d.). If these foundations are not taken into consideration carefully then it might lead to difficulty in commissioning health services. Payment by Results (PBR) plays a massive role for achieving efficiency gains in commissioning decisions (InPharm, 2010). A key challenge to an efficacious healthcare commissioning is that there is an absence of general/global, apparent/definite commissioning procedure for the NHS. Several factors are taken into consideration for establishing a business case and introducing it to the decision makers for authorization. These factors includes financing the services, route of commissioning whether the prevailed services be improved or put a tender, assessment of both the NHS and patient needs and views of patient. According to Baird, et al. (2010) one of the various challenges that the healthcare commissioning had was the size and performance in commissioning organizations, both in the NHS as well as internationally. It was concluded that small commissioning organizations would struggle more if they took the responsibility of commissioning the entire spectrum of healthcare and there was negligible relationship between performance and size of commissioners. The providers would also face a number of challenges (NHS CONFEDERATION, 2010). These include: Handling the PCTSs during their transition phase Making commitments for the next 2-3 years about services and financial plans Understanding the new GP consortia and their managers Making arrangements for contract with multiple consortia behaving individually and in networks Ascertaining that the PCTs vital statutory activities are being taken into account even during a major organizational transition. The challenges of Healthcare commissioning might be addressed by focusing more on clinical leadership (NHS CONFEDERATION, 2010). For the local needs and services, the consortia will develop a real, risk adjusted, capital budget. The consortia will be held responsible for economic risk, service execution and health outcomes. Amongst the local system, the consortia will have an outstanding position. Therefore it should be capable of attracting a powerful management and have clout. Gray (2001) says that these challenges are difficult to address because it is not possible to decrease hospital care expenses and divert it into budgets of primary care drugs. Accessibility to diagnostic service costs might be prohibited which is subjected internally within the provider unit and not to external contracts. Savings within the hospital can be redirected to hospital care by professionals in any other service. Conclusion: Healthcare commissioning personifies the improvement in quality of healthcare and it is responsible for publicizing the national healthcare standards, assessing the organizations performance and comparing it with other organizations, solving the problems when it is not possible to resolve it locally and looking into severe service failure. According to Sobanja (2009) commissioning is defined as the act of committing resources, particularly but not limited to the health and social care sectors, with the aim of improving health, reducing inequalities, and enhancing patient experience. Many countries throughout the world are now concentrating on healthcare commissioning. Experience and evidence available from Europe, United States and New Zealand suggests that commissioning is not done systematically in any of the systems. There have been innovations in all the systems but again there are illustrations of barriers and limitations of effective commissioning. Commissioning tends to be dif ficult may be due to the nature of healthcare and the expectation of the healthcare commissioners to have a high level of technical and managerial skills. Payment system, incentive, market organization and regulation influence the impact of commissioners. The concluding point to stress is that there is only one element called commissioning in the health reforms and its impact will be affected by how different elements are carried forward. Hence it can be concluded that even if world class commissioning is enhanced it may not reach the standards and fall short of its potential due to lack of variations in system design.

effect of media on sports :: essays research papers

influence of mass media on sport : Influences of Mass Media in Sport When communication is spread not just between two individuals but rather between tens of millions of people it is known as mass media. Mass media is known as the central nervous system of society. "Mass media has many different purposes, such as providing information, entertaining, persuading and also by carrying a vague general function of culture to millions of people."(Frederick 18). In order for mass media to exist, there must be an audience. Today's society is very selective; each receiver reacts differently through his or her own experience and orientation according to mass media. Therefore, mass media exists in many different forms such as magazines, television, newspapers, internet, motion pictures, and even plays. Some examples of these forms of mass media are cosmopolitan magazine for young modern women and TSN television network for sports fans. With such extreme varieties of mass media existing in today's societies there are three major constraints that seem to have an impressionable impact. These constraints can keep mass media very restricted. The major constraint of mass media is competition. Each form of mass media wants to be the one to target the audience, so therefore competition between mass media is very strong, because capturing the inside of the sports world is critical. Apart from the competition among the various forms of media there is also competition among each form of the media example Fox network competes with all television networks for a market share of the audience. Network companies such as Fox buy the contracts to show American football games for millions of dollars, which they in turn make their money back through companies wanting to advertize on their network during these football games. The audience Fox attracts by showing these games also provides an audience for companies wanting to advertise their products and provides potential customers for their products. This life cycle exists in all forms of media apart from just television, newspapers try to cover the best stories in all areas of life from tradegy to sports and entertainment. From a sociological stand point in today's society sex and violence attracts audiences. By examining the internet, which is the newest form of mass media internet companies that provide the most outrageous websites with sex and violence are the most watched websites. Media Companies compete with each other on those levels by looking at what attracts the most attention and trying to provide it.

Boys Will be Boys in Tom Sawyer :: Tom Sawyer Essays

Boys Will be Boys in â€Å"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer† Mark Twain uses â€Å"The Adventures of Tom Sawyer† to reveal his own childhood; thus, many specifics in the book, such as the characters and the setting are very dear to his heart. It is the story about life in a boy’s world, and it discloses the feelings of Mark Twain concerning his boyhood, his town, and the people there. The time period is about two decades before the Civil War, and the setting is in St. Petersburg, Missouri, a small village on the Mississippi River. The main character in the book is Tom Sawyer, of course. Throughout the book, the author compares himself to Tom and his adventures. Tom is all boy, meaning that he is about as rambunctious and mischievous as a little boy can be. He despises anything that places restrictions on his boyhood freedom including school, church, and chores. Not only does he despise these restrictions, but he also will do anything to get out of them. For example, he skips school, and he cons friends into doing his chores for him. While he detests the restraints of life, he loves the liberating parts of life. He longs to take advantage of nature and all it has to offer. A quote from the book that exemplifies Tom Sawyer’s attitude toward life is when the author reveals his philosophy, â€Å"that work consists of whatever a body is obliged to do, and that play consists of whatever a body is not obliged to do.† The other characters in the story revolve around Tom’s character. Tom lives with his Aunt Polly because of the death of his mother. She tries to keep Tom in line, but she struggles because she has such a soft spot in her heart for Tom. When she does discipline Tom, she feels terrible, and in a way, she punishes herself. Sidney is Tom’s half brother who seems to always be making Tom look bad. While Tom is the so-called bad boy who is always getting into trouble, Sidney is the good boy who always does what he is told. However, Tom is presented in a compassionate way, but Sidney is portrayed as a tattler and a deceiver. He is shown to be deceitful when he allows Tom to take the blame and punishment for the broken sugar bowl even though he is the one who broke it.

The Effects of Acid Rain on Statues :: Acid Rain Chemical Reactions Essays

The Effects of Acid Rain on Statues Introduction ------------ During this investigation, I will use dilute hydrochloric acid as the acid rain and crushed calcium carbonate as the chemical of the statues. Then I will time how long it takes for the limestone powder to react until there is no more left when the acid is added to it. Rain contains acid naturally as it collects carbon dioxide from the air and makes carbonic acid. Rain normally has a pH of about 5.5 – it is slightly acidic due to the carbon dioxide dissolved in it. It is a stronger acid if gases like sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides escape into the air from the burning fossil fuels, because they are dissolved by the rain and produce sulphuric and nitric acids that does more damage in a faster time. Acid rain reacts with statues and buildings that contain calcium carbonate and form carbon dioxide and water. The dilute hydrochloric acid in this investigation will have the same effect on the limestone as the acid rain on the statues. Yet, the only difference is that in nature, the acid rain reacted with the statue as a whole body, which takes approximately hundred years to corrode the object, whereas the hydrochloric acid in this investigation will take only few seconds to react with the limestone powder. Planning Aim --- The aim of my experiment is to investigate if the speed at which the limestones are dissolved is changed by how concentrated the acid is. Equipment To do my experiment, I will need beakers, a paper spoon, a stop clock, limestone powders, stirring rod, measuring cylinders and an electronic balance for powders Plan For this experiment, I will use 30mls of the acid each time and 1gm of powdered calcium carbonate. The concentration of the acid will be changed by adding water and less acid each time. First, I will use a paper spoon to spoon out the limestone powder and weigh it on the electronic balance. Next, take out the excess powder until the weight is 1gm. Then use two measuring cylinders, with each measuring the amount of water and dilute hydrochloric acid that should be added, e.g. when there is 30mls of acid, 0mls of water will be added; when there is 25mls of acid, 5mls of water will be added, and so on. The total amount will always be 30mls. Afterwards, I will pour the powder into a beaker that contain correct amount of acid in it and use a stop clock to time how long it will take for the powder to disappear. A stirring rod will be used so that no lumps would form.

The Hidden Key to E-Commerce Success

Order Fulfillment: The Hidden Key to e-Commerce Success By Fred R. Ricker and Ravi Kalakota n July 1995, a young Wall Street computer whiz named Jeff Bezos opened a bookstore offering more than one million titles yet virtually no inventory. His brainchild—Amazon. com—has grown since then from four employees operating out of a 400 square-foot garage in Seattle into an online company with a stock valuation greater than most Fortune 500 companies.His initial concept—a virtual bookstore designed to do business exclusively on The Internet offers a wealth of the Internet—was new business opportunities for obviously brilliant start-ups and established compaand well executed, nies alike. Yet while everyone as evidenced by wants a piece of the e-Commerce action, not everyone has laid the Amazon. com’s sucnecessary groundwork for success in gaining and cess. One of the most often overkeeping customer looked prerequisites is order fulfillattention and genermen t and distribution. Succeeding ating orders. n the e-Commerce age is every Yet the company’s bit as much about designing and success to date is executing these â€Å"blocking and dwarfed by the tackling† functions as it is about potential of its the latest technology. apparent ambition— to build the world’s most efficient consumer-direct orderFred R. Ricker is director of health-care supfulfillment system. ply chain strategy for Manhattan Associates Amazon. com enviInc. Ravi Kalakota is the director of the sions a â€Å"killer† supCenter for Digital Commerce and GCATT ply chain that can chair professor of electronic commerce at deliver virtually any Georgia State University.He is also the product—not just founder and CEO of e-Business Strategies. 60 Supply Chain Management Review I books— directly to customers better than its competitors. In fact, it took Amazon. com only one quarter after adding music to its offerings to become the N et’s leading music seller. The company currently is targeting the $150 billion pharmaceuticals market with a 40-percent stake in Drugstore. com. Today, the emphasis among more mature Web retailers like Amazon. com is shifting from marketing to fulfillment logistics—what happens after the rder is placed. Good fulfillment—taking the right product, putting it in the right box, shipping it, and gaining the customer’s approval on arrival—is a demanding task. We believe it is here—in the down-and-dirty details of consumer direct order fulfillment—that the epic battles for domination of the e-Commerce marketplace will ultimately be won or lost. The emergence of the e-Supply chain, a group of strategically aligned companies focused on delivering differentiable value, signals a shift in the nature of online competition.It involves rethinking traditional supplier relationships and the role of informationdriven fulfillment logistics. In the new network economy, establishing a sustainable e-Commerce position is as much about using the right fulfillment strategies to get your products or services to buyers as it is about having the right product at the right price. The key to success is being able to give customers what they want, Fall 1999 Illustration by Roger Roth when they want it, and how they want it—all at the lowest cost. That requires â€Å"real-time fulfillment† solutions.These rising demands have driven a three-phase evolution. First the e-Corporation, which focuses on creating and maximizing the potential of internal supply chains, evolves into e-Business communities, where distributors, suppliers, customers, and others are linked but not fully integrated. These communities then become the e-Supply chain, which requires business-process and technology synchronization across the entire chain. (Exhibit 1 depicts this progression. ) Unfortunately, much of the start-up planning for e-Commerce ventures a pplies old models to new enterprises.It assumes, for example, the existence of a brick-and-mortar support infrastructure for the fulfillment or the spontaneous development of that infrastructure. Like it or not, most e-Commerce retailers place their initial emphasis on the â€Å"exciting† areas: Web product development, traffic generation, dynamic or customized Web pages, transactions, and so on. Often, e-Commerce retailers give little thought to order fulfillment and distribution—a capability critical to the success or failure of Web commerce. Our research shows that the lack of an Fall 1999 ntegrated supply chain infrastructure or weaknesses in integrating multiparty logistics components can undermine the benefits of e-Commerce and hinder innovative responses to the competition. The e-Fulfillment Opportunity The Internet offers a rich new opportunity for direct consumer access, but it also raises new challenges. Web retailers find product fulfillment—picking a nd packing in very small quantities and shipping via parcel carriers—a particularly difficult activity. It often requires relying on third-party fulfillment vendors (a concept discussed later in this article) to do the job.But collaboration in fulfillment chains is no longer confined to conventional two-company alliances, such as between shipper and a logistics services provider. Today, groups of enterprises are banding together for a common purpose—to satisfy customer demand. A new form of competition is emerging: e-Supply chain vs. e-Supply chain. In the Internet book retailing war, for example, the competition is not only between Amazon. com and Barnes & Noble but also among groups of companies that make up the e-Supply chain anchored by each company. An e-Supply chain is, in effect, a virtual organizaSupply Chain Management Review 61ORDER FULFILLMENT process. ) Vendors could work within specified routing guidelines and still tender for trucks online in conjunction with other geographically close vendors to get full-truckload rates. Internet start-ups have the luxury of starting from scratch and defining their fulfillment infrastructure Business Process and Technology specifically for the products Integration being offered online. This is not the case for established Phase 3 E-Supply Chain companies like catalog companies or store-based retailers such as Wal-Mart, Borders, and JCPenney.These companies already have fulfillment and distribution networks designed to ship a variety of products in bulk quantities to hundreds of stores. They realize that they cannot layer home delivery on the existing infrastructure. The established companies must decide whether to extend their existing facilities for consumer-direct eCommerce or build a new set of fulfillment facilities tailored to low volumes and high-variety product mixes. The enlightened ones realize that they need to invent a new customer-driven fulfillment model that can extract enough costs o ut of the current model to justify home delivery costs.That new model, we believe, is an intercompany order-fulfillment and replenishment model. It utilizes business process synchronization to eliminate redundant processes among supply chain trading companies and to improve information sharing— doing away with excess labor, inventory, and holding costs. The design and implementation of such a coordinated and synchronized fulfillment infrastructure poses a major managerial problem. To shed light on this problem and provide a prescriptive roadmap, we address the following questions: What is the impact of current customer-direct business models on fulfillment strategies?What is the definition of consumer-direct fulfillment logistics? Why is having a consumer-direct model so important? What types of fulfillment strategies are currently employed in e-Commerce? What strategic business-process reengineering and synchronization steps can managers take when designing a consumer-direct fulfillment logistics strategy? Fall 1999 EXHIBIT 1 Evolution of the Network Economy Distributors Suppliers Internal Supply Chain Reengineering External Linkages Customers Phase 1 E-Corporation Logistics Providers Phase 2 E-Business Communities ion that encompasses a group of trading companies, all working together to slash costs and share profits. By optimizing not only their internal processes but also their mutual interactions, they realize the benefits of a truly integrated supply chain. This concept—business-process and supply chain synchronization—lays the basis for the next revolution in supply chain management. It takes supply chain integration to a new level of efficiency by requiring companies to focus on synchronizing business processes around standard interface points and upgrading these points as the industry evolves.Synchronization of these â€Å"touch points† eliminates costs associated with inefficient movement of goods, redundant processes, and excess inventory. In doing so, it promotes a dedicated collaboration of all supply chain trading partners—suppliers, manufacturers, distributors, wholesalers, thirdparty providers, transportation companies, and retailers. Through e-Commerce, redundant processes among trading partners (such as multiple accuracy audits, receiving-dock appointments, and inventory planning activities) can be eliminated.The immediacy and availability of the Internet, once security and data cleansing issues are worked out, fulfills the promise of true synchronization. To take just a few examples, if vendors can gain access to a publicly available schedule on the Internet and book their own receiving appointments, they no longer need to send requests for appointments and wait for responses. Retailers would not need to research late payments if their customers could download payment status directly from the retailer’s Web site. (At least two major retailers have already begun this 62 Supply C hain Management ReviewThe Logistics of Consumer-Direct Fulfillment Three forces are converging to create an explosion in consumer-direct business models: technology forces are making it possible, market forces are making it viable, and social forces are making it inevitable. Keep in mind, though, that consumers demand more than an interactive experience. They want delivery convenience and lower fulfillment costs. They need to be assured of fast and reliable delivery. The value the consumer places on timely delivery can affect the logistics network design significantly. Time is money,† and digital consumers of the 21st century don’t have the same tolerance levels as their analog-world ancestors. Today’s consumers are yearning for instant gratification as never before. Partners in the supply chain must improve their efficiencies—from order capture to fulfillment— to provide that gratification. The goal of consumer-direct business models is to let cust omers select and configure products and services interactively, get a price quote, and receive a committed delivery date online.Companies serious about satisfying customers online must substantially change their process to make consumer-direct retailing and manufacturing attractive to the consumer. Companies must re-evaluate the complete fulfillment business model—promotions, merchandising, product selection, pricing, supplier relations, technical management, distribution, returns, and post-sale service. Each of these areas demands new processes, skills, and approaches. To satisfy a consumer-driven marketplace, companies must move beyond the singular mentality of intracompany optimization.Instead, they must focus on how intercompany business process synchronization can transform consumer demands into consumer satisfaction. As with a single company, core competencies of each component of the virtual organization must be evaluated objectively to eliminate inefficiencies. Manage rs of that virtual organization will continue to reengineer best practices, while at the same time: Building replenishment programs based on consumers â€Å"pulling† the product through the supply chain from the manufacturer. Employing new forecasting methods that reflect total pipeline visibility.Investing collectively in technology and equipment to capitalize on market opportunities. The success of consumer direct fulfillment logistics models depends on the successful integration of Fall 1999 four key elements: order-fulfillment planning, product execution, distribution management, and crossapplication integration. 1. Order-Fulfillment Planning. Rising customer expectations and short fulfillment deadlines call for effective planning that breaks artificial boundaries and bridges the gaps between the consumer and the other players in the supply chain.Fulfillment planning must consider the entire planning process— from manufacturing, through distribution and transportat ion—within a single integrated model. Fulfillment planning involves evaluation of multiple planning strategies such as: Establishing a sustainable e-Commerce position is as Profitable-to-promise: Should I take the customer order at this time? Available-to-promise: Is inventory available to fulfill the order? Capable-to-promise: Does manufacturing capacity allow order commitment?Select the plan that best meets the desired customer-service levels considering transportation and manufacturing constraints. It’s important to plan backwards from customer priorities and fulfillment deadlines. Thus, to generate a feasible plan, the fulfillment-planning process needs to consider all supply chain constraints simultaneously. These include transportation constraints such as truck capacity and weight, use of alternate modes, and availability of downstream resources such as loading docks. 1 2. Production Execution.With the advent of modular designs, more and more production functions are being performed at dedicated warehouses and distribution centers. The typical activities include light subassembly and sequencing, kitting, merging, consolidation, packaging, and labeling. Timing of the final assembly often drives the production plan for subassemblies. The process starts with the master production schedule for the finished product. An MRP (Manufacturing Resource Planning) system explodes this schedule to derive when, where, and in what quantities various subassemblies and components are required to make each product.Production also includes componentreplenishment strategies that minimize the amount of inventory in the pipeline and coordinate product Supply Chain Management Review 63 much about using the right order-fulfillment strategies as it is about having the right product at the right price. ORDER FULFILLMENT hand-offs between the various parties involved. Timely replenishment of warehouses is critical because customers will no longer tolerate out-ofstock situations. 3. Distribution Management.Distribution management encompasses the entire process of transporting goods from manufacturer to distribution centers and then to final consumption point. The process also may include packing, document preparation, customs brokerage, and inventory and warehouse management. One of the most important innovations here is the integration of distribution with transportation planning and scheduling through a comprehensive supply can address by utilizing standardized information formats and communication points between trading partners.Distribution center inventory has to be integrated effectively with the customer contact system. In high-velocity retail settings like the Web, customers quickly become unhappy if the seller is out of stock for what is advertised as in stock. Accurate distribution center inventory, updated frequently, is essential to running an effective online business. A Framework for e-Commerce Fulfillment Strategies In the face of increasing competition, absence of pricing power, and shrinking operating margins, companies will succeed or fail based on the efficiency of their fulfillment strategies.Business analysts often focus on the number of orders a company generates on the Web as an indicator of its competitive strength. But a more accurate measure may be the company’s process for rapidly and efficiently translating the orders into fill-rates that satisfy and exceed customer expectations. This section presents a framework of evolving fulfillment strategies. It then illustrates that framework with a wide array of examples and derives implications and guidelines for management. The framework is based on two dimensions: the structure and the operation of fulfillment strategies.On the structure dimension, the strategies are classified as either centralized or distributed. In a centralized structure, all warehousing, pickup, packing, and shipping are operated in a central site, usually a distribution or logistics center. In a distributed structure, warehousing, pickup, packing, and shipping or delivery are located at different sites. On the operation dimension, the fulfillment strategies are either self-operated if the fulfillment process is operated by the company itself or outsourced if it is done by third parties or partners.All of these strategies, discussed below, have trade-offs regarding investment, inventory costs, and operational complexity. Strategy A. Distributed Delivery Centers Fulfillment through distributed delivery centers is an acceptable approach for companies that are just getting online or for those that have a delivery funcFall 1999 â€Å"Time is money,† chain execution solution. Transportation-management software spans the life cycle of the shipment and allows customers to view all of their shipments across a network of multimodal transportation providers. Distribution anagement also means providing users with easy access to shipping, tracking, and del ivery data. Reverse logistics is another function of distribution management. Faster product obsolescence and more generous warranties have escalated the number of returns. Reverse logistics not only encompasses damaged or returned goods but also products designed for remanufacture, hazardous materials, and reusable packaging. 4. Cross-Application Integration. To be effective, companies need to seamlessly integrate the three elements of fulfillment logistics described above.At present, this rarely happens. Most Web servers only have a sporadic connection to the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system like SAP’s R/3, which controls accounting, production, materials management, and distribution. Thus, when the user wants to know when a product will be delivered, the Web application often cannot tell that user what inventory is available in the ERP system or at the third-party warehouse. These are precisely the kinds of problems that business-process synchronization 64 Supply Chain Management Review nd digital consumers of the 21st century don’t have the same tolerance levels as their analog-world ancestors. tion in their stores. This approach minimizes the upfront investment and can be set up quickly. It also facilitates strategies such as â€Å"Buy Here/Pick Up There. † This strategy allows consumers to place an order by phone or online at one store location and pick up the merchandise at another. Though distributed delivery centers do have their advantages (like the obvious reduction in shipping costs), they also can experience certain difficulties.For one thing, controlling inventory for every center at an appropriate level may result in operational complexity and incur expensive inventory costs. In addition, in-store employees often are unfamiliar with warehouse picking and packing procedures. Further, high employee turnover can make picking and packing quality standards difficult to maintain. Yet another problem is scheduling. To mini mize conflict with customers who are shopping during the daytime, picking operations often are scheduled for off-peak shopping hours.Although this may appear to be an efficient use of resources, the delayed picking may force an additional day into the delivery cycle, since carrier pickups may take place before the completion of the current day’s picking and packing activities. Strategy B. Partner Fulfillment Operations Some online retailers are using the partner fulfillment model, which means they have no inventory, no shops, and no product brands. Fulfillment is performed entirely by partners. This approach has clear advantages from the standpoint of inventory-carrying costs. But there are some disadvantages as well.This has been evident in the experience of Peapod, an online grocery retailer that provides online shopping and home delivery services. Peapod discovered that its initial strategy of partnering with local supermarkets for fulfillment meant charging consumers high delivery costs of up to $16 an order. This pricing level made it virtually impossible to build a customer base. To attract more customers, the company has begun to dismantle some of its partnerships and move toward a distributed-delivery fulfillment model by establishing its own warehouses in selected markets.The introduction of a distributed-delivery model, however, has put a strain on the company’s financial growth. Peapod management estimates that each new distribution center requires a capital expenditure of roughly $1. 5 million plus operating expenses. Peapod expects a net loss at each facility during the first 12 to 18 months of operation. In the long run, however, the new centers should give the company higher overall margins as well as greater operating efficiencies. Fall 1999 Companies will succeed or fail based on the efficiency of their fulfillment strategies.Strategy C. Dedicated Fulfillment Center Today, many online retailers have established their own dedicate d fulfillment centers. These players include Amazon. com, BarnesandNoble. com, Dell Computer, Micro Warehouse, and Insight Enterprises. This approach is well suited to the book and computer industry, where the fulfillment centers can facilitate prompt delivery. The dedicated fulfillment center model reduces delivery costs for low-margin items. Using this approach, companies can measure expected delivery time in hours—not days.The tradeoffs of this approach are: Low or unpredictable sales volumes. This will result in high inventory-carrying costs. High up-front investment. Depending upon its warehouse setup and flexibility, a distribution fulfillment center can incur high costs. It may, for example, require major systems modifications, automated warehouses, and conveyors. This option, moreover, can add operational complexity to the product and information flows. Yet even though this approach increases the up-front capital investment, it can reduce long-term operating costs.Dec reased flexibility. The operation’s scalability is restricted to the existing warehouse infrastructure. This may make it difficult to meet the variability in demand inherent in some retail segments. Strategy D. Third-Party Fulfillment Centers (â€Å"Virtual Warehousing†) As companies struggle to manage unpredictable demand better, they are turning toward third-party fulfillment centers (3PFs), which can be thought of as virtual warehouses. Through this approach, companies can lease the skills and facilities needed for order fulfillment rather than owning them.Third-party fulfillment companies offer flexibility in accommodating wide swings in demand over short periods. They also help facilitate inventoryreduction initiatives such as just-in-time programs. Another advantage of 3PF is the limited changes that must be made to legacy information systems. This option provides a much more robust capability than in-store fulfillment and minimizes operational impact. It also co nverts much of fulfillment into a variable cost offset by eliminating warehouse and Supply Chain Management Review 65 ORDER FULFILLMENT store costs associated with the sale of the product.This strategy allows retailers to leverage their buying power and extend product selection into lines not currently offered in their stores. The primary drawback of 3PF is few existing national fulfillment companies can accommodate a wide range of products. Even more problematical, ceding control of this critical aspect of the business represents a major paradigm shift for retailers. Depending upon the service levels required by customers, multiple fulfillment centers may be necessary to minimize delivery time—and this increases costs and required stock levels. y clear that customers don’t just buy products; instead, they buy the â€Å"service envelope. † They are looking to enter into a complex relationship with the selling company. Given the new reality, companies do not crea te value for customers by merely offering varieties of products. Rather, they must devise a logistics fulfillment strategy that envelops the product and meets customer needs such as convenience, reliability, and support. The choice of a fulfillment strategy depends on whether a company elects to compete essentially on customer responsiveness or operating excellence.In either case, the fulfillment strategy must support the overall business strategy. To ensure that this happens, a company needs to complete the following steps: (1) assess the competitive environment, (2) select the fulfillment strategy, (3) achieve business-process synchronization, and (4) design and implement the necessary cross-application integration. Importantly, the fulfillment strategy must take full advantage of new planning, warehousing, and transportation technologies that can cut order fill times dramatically.Assess the Competitive Environment The first step in fulfillment-logistics design is assessmentâ€⠀that is, identifying the opportunities, strengths, and weaknesses that will influence overall performance and viability of the fulfillment strategy. During the assessment phase, a company must gather information on the competitive environment across these strategic variables: Effectiveness. What are customers’ priorities and how are they changing? How closely does the overall design address the stated and unstated requirements of customers?Consider likely changes in buying patterns, potential competitors, long-run cost pressures, and new technologies. Value differentiation. Why do my customers buy from me? What makes my value proposition unique compared to the competition? Do customers appreciate the value in my offering and can this be leveraged into differentiated pricing strategies? The first step toward value differentiation is to map your customer’s entire experience with your product or service. Do this for each important customer segment. Capital intensity. Sh ould we choose a capitalintensive, high fixed-cost strategy?Or a less capital-intensive, flexible strategy? The e-Commerce impact on working capital outlay differs from retailer to retailer. It depends on such factors as the existing logistical infrastructure (dispersion of warehouses, existing product flow, etc. ), the Fall 1999 Effective fulfillment strategy is dynamic, using multiple channels simultaneously to reach important customers. Strategy E. Build-to-Order The customized build-to-order model is an emerging fulfillment center strategy that extends beyond the traditional framework and adopts an integrating or boundary-spanning perspective.Companies working to coordinate build-to-order fulfillment logistics strategies need to: Synchronize and manage the entire flow of materials through a complex network of resources in their supply chains as opposed to simply managing inventory in warehouses. Turn their attention to maximizing the throughput, rather than focus on controlling fixed costs. Alter the material flow upstream quickly and proactively as demand and product mix change, rather than react to changes in customer demand at the end of the process.A fundamental requirement of fulfillment logistics is the dedicated collaboration of all supply chain trading partners to eliminate the costs associated with inefficient movement of goods, redundant processes, and excess inventory. Effective collaboration not only ensures that the order flows through smoothly but also provides two crucial capabilities: the ability to adapt to increasingly frequent changes in consumer tastes and e-Commerce technology and the ability to improve processes continuously.Designing the Right Fulfillment Strategy Design of the fulfillment strategy is central to the overall corporate strategy. It is becoming increasing66 Supply Chain Management Review nature of the products carried (for example, books Select the Fulfillment Strategy The second step in the design process is to select vs. produce), and the delivery demands of the an appropriate fulfillment strategy based on the findcustomer. Channel extendibility. Can the fulfillment design ings of the competitive assessment.Each fulfillment handle possible new products and services and strategy brings its own strengths, weaknesses, and incorporate new forms of customer interaction? trade-offs. These center on such issues as investEstablished companies must remain committed to ment, effectiveness, cost efficiency, operational coma portfolio strategy of customer interaction. This plexity, channel extendibility and scalability, and is based on the belief that valuable synergies exist risks associated with the business alliances. Exhibit 2, among online, catalog, and specialty retailing.To which summarizes the key characteristics of the five cite one example, EXHIBIT 2 online order desks A Summary of Five Fulfillment Strategies with sophisticated Type of Distinctive Major Potential Management walk-up interfaces Fulf illment Characteristics Strengths Weakness Challenges Strategy can be located strategically in Distributed delivery Distributed Easy start-up; Complex inventory Establishing sophisevery store so that centers Prompt delivery; management; ticated inventoryoperation sites; Operation in control.High inventory management sysSelf operated. shoppers can costs; tem; order products Unfamiliar with JIT inventory manand serve themwarehousing proce- agement. dures. selves. With an integrated portfo- Partner fulfillment Minimized up-front Service limited by Establishing orderDistributed lio strategy, estab- operations investment; partnership; routing system; operation sites; Less operational Low overall Maintaining stratePartner operated. ished companies responsibility; efficiency; gic alliance with can gain many Flexible delivery High inventory costs partners; new online cusarrangement; and inventory-man- Ensuring service Low shipping charge agement complexity. quality and reliability. tomers f rom the to customers. retail outlets. I n f r a s t r u c t u re Dedicated Avoids the higher High up-front Converting traditionCentralized inventory costs; investment; al warehousing to operation site; scalability.Can the fulfillment centers Easy to manage; Decreased flexibility. consumer-direct fulSelf operated. design handle Fast delivery; fillment; multiple products Reduced long-term JIT inventory mancosts of operation. agement. and a high shipment volume? Physical distribu- Third-party fulfillLeast investment; Few options Selecting the third Centralized No learning curve; available; party; tion can be a ment centers (3PFs) operation site; Third party No operational com- Risks in strategic Establishing intermajor logistical operated. lexity; alliances; organizational inforand administrative Limited changes to High operational mation systems with legacy systems; charge. the 3PF. headache. Online Minimized operaretailers are findtional impacts. ing that having to Build-to-order Spa ns both Minimum inventory; Over-customization; Synchronizing entire adapt their existcentralized â€Å"Pulling† ensured; Costs and resources flow of materials vs. ing infrastructure and distributed No stock inventory; of integration. anaging inventory; to handle small operations. Controlled fulfillAltering material ment. flow upstream vs. shipments going customer demand to millions of condownstream. sumers can be time consuming, complex, and expensive. The challenge is to keep each and every fulfillment strategies, is a managerial guide for customer satisfied while protecting the bottom determining which strategy is right for a company at line from erosion resulting from waste, errors, and a given situation. inefficiencies.How well do the available distribu- Achieve Business-Process Synchronization Intercompany business-process synchronization, tion strategies help accomplish that key objective? Fall 1999 Supply Chain Management Review 67 ORDER FULFILLMENT in its purest form, gives rise to the virtual organization in which all trading companies work together as one competitive supply chain entity—the e-Supply chain. In the virtual organization, each trading company shares its information and resources, which results in better planning and more efficient product movement.In making business-process synchronization a reality, companies typically will encounter these challenges: Design and Implement Cross-Application Integration Among the key objectives of intercompany collaboration are more sophisticated distribution services, such as frequent inventory replenishments, more customized packing of goods to reduce unpacking times, more creative packaging and labeling of goods to meet merchandising strategies, and more effective exchange of trading information in compliance with EDI standards.Achievement of these objectives demands an increased use of cross-application integration. Superior application integration in a supply chain is central to achievi ng superior fulfillment productivity and speed. An effective fulfillment-management system must have the ability to integrate with: 1. Integrated enterprise applications. Included here are the ERP systems that integrate the inventory management, marketing, and financial functions. 2. Integrated interenterprise systems. These are the supply chain management systems for transportation, order management, warehouse management, and demand planning.For instance, FedEx has integrated its logistics and transportation capabilities with the SAP R/3 system. For R/3 users, the solution will simplify every related process step from order entry through shipment and tracking by tightly integrating with FedEx. For FedEx, this capability creates a competitive barrier that other carriers have to overcome. 3. Distribution center management and warehouse management systems. Included among these solutions are facility management systems. Efficient management of a distribution center operation now requir es collecting information on customer orders, inbound shipments, products vailable on-site, storage locations, product weights and sizes, and outbound shipping data (including customer-specific shipping requirements, routing data, and carrier requirements). This information must be analyzed dynamically to determine the most efficient use of the distribution center’s labor, materials-handling equipment, and shipping and receiving areas. Today’s information technology revolution does not merely support new order-fulfillment strategies, it creates them. Technology Challenge. Intercompany businessprocess synchronization requires sophisticated technology applications.It can be difficult, however, to identify those systems that truly support this initiative. The Data-Sharing Challenge. Supply chain systems not only need to communicate with one another but also to integrate their business practice knowledge into each trading company’s business logic. The companies must work quickly and painlessly to integrate their trading partners’ knowledge into their own business applications. The Adaptability Challenge. All the information in the world cannot help if trading companies don’t have the flexibility to alter business processes as consumer demands change.In this regard, all trading companies face similar challenges. For instance, when UPS issues a rate update, thousands of customers must implement these changes by a specified date and time. Companies need to implement business systems that can be upgraded easily to move with the market. The Standardization and Compliance Challenge. When one major player in the supply chain decides to upgrade to a new technology or adopt a new technical functionality, the other players are challenged to synchronize accordingly.When there are thousands of â€Å"touch points,† or interface points, the challenge can become enormously complex. In a perfect world, all trading partners would migrate i n unison to the latest technologies to realize the maximum benefit. But it is not likely that an entire supply chain can or will do this at once. Thus, it is important to focus on synchronizing business processes around these touch points and upgrading them as the market evolves. 68 Supply Chain Management Review Acting in Unison for the Consumer Order fulfillment and replenishment is a core business process. What makes onsumer-direct eCommerce compelling to customers is not just the online shopping experience but on-time delivery, fewer fulfillment errors, extra service, and convenience. These are the things that customers value. When companies fall short in responding to those values, they risk alienating or losing customers as a result. Fall 1999 ORDER FULFILLMENT Many potential e-Commerce participants have underestimated the difficulty and importance of the fulfillment side of this market arena. They see fulfillment and distribution logistics as peripheral to their competitive s trategy.Companies need to recognize that such benign neglect is risky and wastes opportunities for competitive advantage. In response to pressures from powerful market trends and technological changes, they must inspect past practices, channel commitments, and vendor relationships vigorously. Effective fulfillment strategy is dynamic, using multiple channels simultaneously to reach important customers. Today’s information technology revolution does not merely support new fulfillment strategies, it creates them. Consumers interface with technology daily, raising the bar on what is expected on the fulfillment side.Meeting these rising expectations requires a conscious shift in fulfillment strategies and a technological infrastructure that ties together every aspect of the consumer-direct â€Å"fulfillment chain. † Interenterprise business-process synchronization is a key to success in this emerging real-time marketplace. Deep information exchange among supply chain partn ers brings opportunities to develop interenterprise strategies that become new sources of competitive advantage. Information integration allows companies to monitor daily trends, market conditions, product acquisitions, and planning functions.To achieve operational integration, manufacturers, distributors, and retailers must exchange information effectively with other supply chain participants at key interface â€Å"touch points. † Importantly, this includes providing real-time information to customers so they know the status of their order at any given moment. When all trading partners—including raw-material suppliers—perform all of the key supply activities in unison, they can make inventory decisions that lead to dramatically improved results.They can then share the rewards of producing the correct amount of the product, thereby lowering the cost of overproduction. Business-process synchronization also enables partners to respond quickly and easily to unplann ed consumer demand for items or for personalized and enhanced products—the kinds of things today’s Internet shoppers desire. The companies that employ business-process synchronization in the development of their consumerdirect order-fulfillment strategy will fulfill these consumer desires and emerge as the big winners in the Internet economy.Author’s Note Used as a reference for this article was a White Paper by Alan Dabbiere of Manhattan Associates titled â€Å"Business Process and Supply Chain Synchronization: Achieving Supply Chain Excellence Through Technology. † Footnote 1 Companies providing early versions of advanced planning capability include SAP’s Advanced Planning and Optimization (APO) engine, i2Technologies, Manugistics, and Logility. More sophisticated systems that integrate production planning and transportation planning are under development. 70 Supply Chain Management Review Fall 1999