Management Case Study: 15% Employee Payroll Decrease

I hope all is well since our last meeting. As we have recently been confronted with financial difficulties within Austen Pharmaceuticals, I have given extensive consideration in devising an effective plan for adequately addressing the directive of decreasing payroll by 15% and am prepared to share my prospective solution. As this transition will directly impact the employees, I have met with them to apprise them of the proposed cuts that have been presented and will ultimately take place.In an effort to maintain morale and make this evolution as seamless as possible for the employees, I have incorporated some of their ideas and suggestions in constructing the plan to decrease the payroll while preserving the workforce. After reviewing the most current performance evaluations for each employee, I have established a ranking system that rates each employee based on their overall performance in addition to any individual contributions that they have made which resulted in more efficiency within our division.By rating the employees based on performance, this provides a reference point to determine the most productive employees versus those who are marginal in the event that lay-offs are inevitable. The first step in fulfilling the objective of the plan is to immediately eliminate overtime and have salaried staff help out where possible to complete the work.Next, is to restructure or reduce the amount of hours that each employee works while allowing them to maintain their benefits. The more productive employees will work during peak hours and the average staff will work during  off-peak hours. This will allow for the work to be completed while utilizing our best resources when the workflow is the highest. The final step in the plan is to cut pay for each employee based on their performance. The pay cuts will be based on the rankings providing a 1% cut for the best performance and a 3% cut for those who are within the lower rankings. This will allow for our best per former to be acknowledged for their efforts while meeting the needs of the company. Additionally, this will allow our average performers to maintain employment while striving to improve performance.

Bussiness

Part one Excuative Summary Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. is one of the leading hotel and leisure companies in the world with 1,000 properties in 100 countries and approximately 145,000 employees at its owned and managed properties. Starwood Hotels is a fully integrated owner, operator and franchisor of hotels and resorts with the following internationally renowned brands: St. Regis, The Luxury Collection, Sheraton, Westin, Four Points by Sheraton, W, Le Meridien, Aloft, and Element. Starwood Hotels also owns Starwood Vacation Ownership, Inc. one of the premier developers and operators of high quality vacation interval ownership resorts. Starwood hotels and resorts offer an array of innovative services to meet the needs of guest, and business traveler. Including high speed internet throughout all of their hotels, two-line telephones in the guest rooms, and fax and print services at stations threw out their hotels. In 2011 the company posted revenues of $5,624,000,000. In 2 006, it had sales of nearly $6 billion and profits of $1 billion. Starwood Hotels and Resorts has six core value that they follow; Trust, Respect, Callaboration, Innovation, Accountability, and Execution.With these values Starwood Hotels and Resorts uses these core values and its mission statement to serve as a blueprint for what they will accomplish. Starwood Hotels and Resorts mission statement is as follows; â€Å"Create the most successful branded, global, lifestyle Hospitality Company by ensuring that trust and respect, for our associates and guests, are at the forefront of everything we do. We are committed to re-imagining our business with creativity and innovation, resulting in exciting, fun workplace. †(http://www. starwoodhotels. com/corporate/careers/believe/values. tml) Starwood Hotels and Resorts mission statement focuses on creating a great hospitality company for their employees and their guest. CEO Fritz Van Passchen and CFO Vasant M. Prabhu of Starwood Hotels and Resort makes it there goal to do so. Fritz Van Paasschen, has been Chief Executive Officer and President of the Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, Inc. since September 2007. Previously he served as and CEO of Molson Coors Brewing Company’s largest division from March 2005 until September 2007. Vasant M. Prabhu Reports to Frits Van Paasschen as vice chairman and financial officer or Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Vasant is responsible for the accounting, tax, strategic planning, corporate development and risk management function of the corporation. Vasant has 20 years of experience and previously served as an executive vice president and chief financial officer for Safeway Inc. It is not nothing new for companies in the hospitality industry to give back to the community. Starwood hotel and Resorts is the world’s leading hospitality company with over 1128 properties in 100 countries represented by nine innovative brands and over 145,000 associates.With such breadt h and verity it makes the Starwood hotels and resorts willing and ready to promote change around the world and they are committed to doing so. When it comes to social responsibility Starwood Hotels and Resorts   has other hotels beat in 2012 one of the Starwood store brands   the Sheraton Metechi palace Hotel received an award for the â€Å"World’s Leading CSR Programme†Ã‚     and that’s not the only time they were nominated for such rewards according to  http://www. worldtravelawards. om/profile-2434-starwood-hotels-resorts. Some CSR programs Starwood Hotels and Resorts are associated with; Starwood hotels and resorts has been charitable partner with UNICEF since 1995 and the program now operates in more than 210 of its hotels throughout world and has raised $13 million for UNICEF. Some 2012 CSR projects include Starwood’s employees fundraising campaign, the road to awareness, $320,000 was raised from the schools for Africa project and list goes on and on.Part Two Technological Opportunities Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Inc. is the most global High-end hotel company in the world. Their strength lies in nine distinct lifestyle brands, an award-winning loyalty program and there more than 171,000 associates at their owned and manages properties. Starwood hotel and resort tries focusing on blending and mining there associates. They makes it a priority to maintain an associate and customer base as diverse as the world population. Our culture of diversity and inclusion has also been recognized by DiversityInc as one of the â€Å"Top 50 Companies for Diversity† and by the Human Rights Campaign as one of the â€Å"Best Places to Work for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Equality†. Starwood hotels and resorts offer an array of innovative services to meet the needs of guest, and business traveler. Including high speed internet throughout all of their hotels, two-line telephones in the guest rooms, and fax a nd print services at stations threw out their hotels. Part Three Marketing OpportunitiesStarwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Plans to strengthening its position as the leading hotel operator across the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region with an existing portfolio of 82 hotels, representing nearly 22,000 guest rooms, the majority of which are operated under Starwood’s world-renowned Sheraton and Le Meridien brands. The company plans to increase its MEA portfolio by more than 60% with nearly 50 new hotels set to open over the next five years, adding more than 14,000 guest rooms to the region while creating thousands of local employment opportunities.With over 20 hotels expected to open by the end of 2015, Starwood is on track to reach a milestone 100 hotels across MEA. Further underscoring the importance of the region as one of Starwood’s fastest growing hotel and travel markets, earlier this month the company relocated its global headquarters from Stamford, Connec ticut to Dubai for a month-long immersion. â€Å"Starwood continues to see demand for growth of all of our brands across the Middle East and Africa despite economic and political uncertainty in some parts of this incredibly diverse region,† said Frits van Paasschen, President and CEO, Starwood Hotels & Resorts. Rapid economic growth, rising personal incomes, a growing middle class and ever greater global connectivity are driving new travel patterns and demand for travel, and this region is at the center of these trends and a key focus of our growth strategy. † According to http://www. starwoodhotels. com/corporate/about/index. html Part Four Recruitment Presentation At Starwood Hotels and Resorts Inc. they make it a mission to create opportunities for undergraduates and graduates across every area of their business.Through internships, externships, and management training programs they will teach you leadership and team’s skill. So position yourself for a rewardi ng career in hospility industry take it from me I only work at one of their location and actually started as an intern and now I am a supervisor. Making there recruitment overview to be right on target when they say â€Å"We advance. No matter where we go, we always move forward. We open new hotels and resorts and create more personal, global experiences for our guests.You can be a part of it all with our programs at our properties and corporate locations throughout the world in places such as China, the United States, Canada, Europe, Africa and the Middle East and South Asia. We inspire. We immerse you with people, places and practices that make up our thriving portfolio. You will experience firsthand the thrills of working with some of the most sought-after hospitality brands and leaders in the world. † Part Five Future Opportunities From the company's luxury General Managers Summit in Dubai, Starwood Hotels ; Resorts Worldwide, Inc. NYSE: HOT) today announced its luxury fo otprint has nearly doubled worldwide in five years to meet growing global demand. Starwood is lengthening its lead in luxury hospitality with more than 160 hotels in 39 countries as part of The Luxury Collection, St. Regis and W brands, offering guests and residents personalized service and exceptional experiences around the world. Looking ahead, Starwood will add 50 luxury hotels in 12 new countries over the next five years. The General Managers Summit coincides with Starwood's month-long relocation of its global headquarters to Dubai. Modern luxury has not replaced tradition; they sit at the same table, but in slightly different clothes† â€Å"We are on the cusp of a new golden age of luxury travel as technology and globalization drive new trade routes, capital flows and wealth creation,† said Frits van Paasschen, Starwood's President and CEO. â€Å"Dubai is at the epicenter of this change and we are delighted to welcome our general managers from around the world to cultivate a deeper understanding of a new and growing luxury landscape. † According to www. starwoodhotels. com Starwood's inaugural luxury General Managers Summit

Beautiful Tragic Love (Creative Writing)

I felt cursed. I kept asking myself â€Å"WHY, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME All men are dogs! I am almost twenty one and I don’t know if the problem lies with me or my family, all I know is that I have given my parents so much problems and so much  pain, I guess my life is a long journey and am finding myself in it everyday. My story began last summer of 2009; I could feel that there was something in the air that day. Birds were chirping, the wind was blowing leaving me shivers down my spine and everything felt so alive. I had been  depressed  for about a year before that day. I was  walking  along  the beach  with my bare feet buried in the sand and the waves of the sea crushing into my feet when my life started to take a turn for the best†¦ From a distance I saw a handsome young man admiring me from far. Our eyes met and it was like nothing I had ever felt before with any of the men I had been with. It was something special. We began  walking  closer together like something out of a movie. I felt on  top of the world for once, my eyes were sparkling and my  stomach  was fluttering with butterflies, as we walked closer and closer to each other. When we became close enough to talk about our personal lives, Will would get on his knee and speak my fluent language, French and say the most  romantic  things. At that point I knew he had my heart. We talked until 2. 00 a. m. The next  morning it turned out that he lives only about ten minutes from where I was living. We started seeing more of each other, Will begin to get serious about us. I fought the depression  that I had and soon I was glowing with life and he was the world to me, he became my anything and everything. We had been going out for about six months when he met my mother. My mother disapproved of Will mainly because she thought I was too young to be in a serious relationship and that I wasn’t ready because this relationship might end up like the rest of my other terrible relationship. Just like any mother she was worried about me but I kept reassuring her that this time it was something different. She soon banned me from seeing him. For a while we went out against her will and had four more months of endless happiness. I had finally met someone whom I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. One day when I finished from work he had texted me to meet him at the same beach we met a year ago. When I got there I saw him standing on one of the big rocks beside the sea, he waved from far and yelled my name â€Å"LAKE, AM OVER HERE! † my heart was beating so fast as if I was in a race. When I got on the rock with him, it was nearly sunset time; he took both of my hands (Oh My God) I screamed quietly inside with excitement hoping that he would say something along the lines of marrying him. He looked at me straight in the eye to show that he was serious, and started saying â€Å"Lake ever since I have laid eyes on you, it’s like you have awaked me from my soul, and I don’t see life without you. He moved on from saying â€Å"Would you like to move in with me? † All I could feel was special, wanted, happy, in love, and emotional all at the same time. Few tears dropped down my cheeks without realizing because I kept repeating what he had just said. No boy had ever said anything like what Will had said. Holding me closer to him I looked him deep in thos e amazing emerald green eyes and answered â€Å"YES!!! † as I fall in to kiss him. Life couldn’t have got any better; we were so madly in love that we couldn’t wait so we got married a few months later. It has been two years since we got married and it feels like it was just yesterday. On our two year  anniversary, I was 4 months pregnant with our first child, so that night he had planned to take me out to a fancy  French Restaurant. As we were leaving we both looked up at the big beautiful moon, it was shinning like a bight, bright light, it was just the perfect moment in my life where I could hold pause forever. When suddenly a man came out of the shadows with a gun, he came took my purse and Will’s wallet. Someone saw the crime taking place and screamed â€Å"STOP† at the man. Everything became a blur as Will threw himself in front of me as the gun went off. I couldn’t believe my eyes, what I hadn’t envisioned in a million years seemed to become a reality. The robber ran off into the night and left Will to die in my arms. I looked down at him and tears started to explode down my cheeks as I screamed â€Å"HELP! † â€Å"SOMEONE CALL THE AMBALANCE! † I held him closely for the longest time as he bled to his death. Right before he died he told me â€Å"We will be  together again†¦ I promise†¦ I love you and the baby†¦and both of you will be always in y heart. † He looked so peaceful and handsome just like the first day I had met him; my heart was torn into pieces as he drew his last breath. He lay there dead in my arms staring at me with his emerald green eyes. I felt helpless as I held him even closer and kept screaming and crying â€Å"NO†¦ NO THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING†¦NOT TO ME†¦NOT AGAIN!! † He will always be in my heart; whenever the wind blows I can still hear him whispering sweet things in my ear. Sometimes when you find happiness again in your life, it turns into your worst nightmare. Beautiful Tragic Love (Creative Writing) I felt cursed. I kept asking myself â€Å"WHY, WHY DOES THIS KEEP HAPPENING TO ME All men are dogs! I am almost twenty one and I don’t know if the problem lies with me or my family, all I know is that I have given my parents so much problems and so much  pain, I guess my life is a long journey and am finding myself in it everyday. My story began last summer of 2009; I could feel that there was something in the air that day. Birds were chirping, the wind was blowing leaving me shivers down my spine and everything felt so alive. I had been  depressed  for about a year before that day. I was  walking  along  the beach  with my bare feet buried in the sand and the waves of the sea crushing into my feet when my life started to take a turn for the best†¦ From a distance I saw a handsome young man admiring me from far. Our eyes met and it was like nothing I had ever felt before with any of the men I had been with. It was something special. We began  walking  closer together like something out of a movie. I felt on  top of the world for once, my eyes were sparkling and my  stomach  was fluttering with butterflies, as we walked closer and closer to each other. When we became close enough to talk about our personal lives, Will would get on his knee and speak my fluent language, French and say the most  romantic  things. At that point I knew he had my heart. We talked until 2. 00 a. m. The next  morning it turned out that he lives only about ten minutes from where I was living. We started seeing more of each other, Will begin to get serious about us. I fought the depression  that I had and soon I was glowing with life and he was the world to me, he became my anything and everything. We had been going out for about six months when he met my mother. My mother disapproved of Will mainly because she thought I was too young to be in a serious relationship and that I wasn’t ready because this relationship might end up like the rest of my other terrible relationship. Just like any mother she was worried about me but I kept reassuring her that this time it was something different. She soon banned me from seeing him. For a while we went out against her will and had four more months of endless happiness. I had finally met someone whom I loved and wanted to spend the rest of my life with. One day when I finished from work he had texted me to meet him at the same beach we met a year ago. When I got there I saw him standing on one of the big rocks beside the sea, he waved from far and yelled my name â€Å"LAKE, AM OVER HERE! † my heart was beating so fast as if I was in a race. When I got on the rock with him, it was nearly sunset time; he took both of my hands (Oh My God) I screamed quietly inside with excitement hoping that he would say something along the lines of marrying him. He looked at me straight in the eye to show that he was serious, and started saying â€Å"Lake ever since I have laid eyes on you, it’s like you have awaked me from my soul, and I don’t see life without you. He moved on from saying â€Å"Would you like to move in with me? † All I could feel was special, wanted, happy, in love, and emotional all at the same time. Few tears dropped down my cheeks without realizing because I kept repeating what he had just said. No boy had ever said anything like what Will had said. Holding me closer to him I looked him deep in thos e amazing emerald green eyes and answered â€Å"YES!!! † as I fall in to kiss him. Life couldn’t have got any better; we were so madly in love that we couldn’t wait so we got married a few months later. It has been two years since we got married and it feels like it was just yesterday. On our two year  anniversary, I was 4 months pregnant with our first child, so that night he had planned to take me out to a fancy  French Restaurant. As we were leaving we both looked up at the big beautiful moon, it was shinning like a bight, bright light, it was just the perfect moment in my life where I could hold pause forever. When suddenly a man came out of the shadows with a gun, he came took my purse and Will’s wallet. Someone saw the crime taking place and screamed â€Å"STOP† at the man. Everything became a blur as Will threw himself in front of me as the gun went off. I couldn’t believe my eyes, what I hadn’t envisioned in a million years seemed to become a reality. The robber ran off into the night and left Will to die in my arms. I looked down at him and tears started to explode down my cheeks as I screamed â€Å"HELP! † â€Å"SOMEONE CALL THE AMBALANCE! † I held him closely for the longest time as he bled to his death. Right before he died he told me â€Å"We will be  together again†¦ I promise†¦ I love you and the baby†¦and both of you will be always in y heart. † He looked so peaceful and handsome just like the first day I had met him; my heart was torn into pieces as he drew his last breath. He lay there dead in my arms staring at me with his emerald green eyes. I felt helpless as I held him even closer and kept screaming and crying â€Å"NO†¦ NO THIS CAN’T BE HAPPENING†¦NOT TO ME†¦NOT AGAIN!! † He will always be in my heart; whenever the wind blows I can still hear him whispering sweet things in my ear. Sometimes when you find happiness again in your life, it turns into your worst nightmare.

Introduction to Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Introduction to Business - Essay Example In other words, the past successes may not indicate future positive results. Hence, its prospects as an investment option are not quite straight forward. While the company still retains many of its unique selling propositions and brand image, recent results have shown some existing technical glitches within the organization. The rest of this essay will dissect the facts and figures to arrive at a forecast of its performance. In 2000, Vodafone led the industry’s biggest takeover of another company with its acquisition Mannesmann (the German electronics company) for 112 billion pounds. But, since its glory days then, it had reached a trough last month, when it posted losses of nearly 15 billion pounds, which by the way is a record in the British corporate history. This is an important piece of information for potential investors as â€Å"the announcement followed a period of bad news for Vodafone, with rumours of a board-level rift, the departure of life president and former chief executive Sir Christopher Gent and the ousting of chief marketing officer Peter Bamford† (Business Week Online, 2007). But, there are concerns surrounding Vodafone regarding its performances in the near future. For example, while Vodafone has been concentrating on restructuring its business, its competitors have been moving ahead with â€Å"the job of developing their offer†. T-Mobile has lately run a very expensive advertisement campaign for its Flext tariff and has also initiated measures to revamp its stores. Orange’s parent company France Telecom, in the mean time, has adopted the mobile operators name as an umbrella brand for many of its subsidiaries, â€Å"including fixed-line and ISP services† (Foroohar, 2004). In addition to that, it is presently looking to expand beyond its core competencies and is working on venturing into Television and video-on-demand businesses as part of its broadband

Social Support Group for People with Diabetes Research Paper

Social Support Group for People with Diabetes - Research Paper Example The role of social support in the health care profession is well accepted and has been shown to provide a certain degree of assistance in terms of alleviation of a number of illnesses and diseases (Sieloff, Frey, & King, 2007). However, there are also still a number of pathological fields that have yet to explore the efficacy of social support in terms of alleviations of symptoms and general recovery. Along these lines, this paper explores the hypothesis, â€Å"A social support group for people with diabetes will increase their medication compliance,† within the boundaries of relevant concepts, particularly social support. A total of eight articles are reviewed in this paper, offering insights on the population and sample, background literature, and significance of earlier studies made in support of the mid-range theory of social support. Some of these articles cover the theory of social support and its perceived effects on people with diabetes, while others focus on a more ge neral application of the theory on other diseases and medical conditions. The conceptual definitions of social support in nursing researches are largely the same, varying only in terms of the degree of intimacy that researchers agree upon. Operational definitions of social support, however, differ depending on the focus and the extent of the study. Different populations were used in the studies investigating the effects of the existence of a social support group. Since the particular hypothesis herein focuses on people with diabetes, the population utilized for a majority of the researches included in this review involves diabetic patients Social support: Review of Related Literature In a study by Patterson and Brewer (2009), social support was defined as â€Å"the informational, instrumental / practical, emotional, and affirmational resources that people can receive from others† (p. 178). Operationally, social support was measured in terms of the amount of â€Å"information , aid, strategy, or resource that helps the parent to cope with the stressors and challenges associated with parenting an adolescent with diabetes† (p. 179). In this study, the population considered were parents of children with diabetes and the sample consisted of nine parents (six mothers and 3 fathers) of children with Type 1 diabetes. The study explicitly mentions reference to theories of support (p. 179) and it supports the existing theory by showing that parents are necessary social support for adolescents with diabetes. In the second study reviewed, Goz, et al (2005) defined social support as â€Å"the assistance and protection given to others, especially to individuals.† Presence of social support was measured in terms of the presence of family, including parents, spouse, offspring, siblings and grandparents; friends; and, a significant other, in the form of boy/girlfriend, relative, neighbor, and doctor using a pre-piloted survey questionnaire delivered to the participants (Goz, et al, 2005). The population for the study consisted of patients with Type 2 diabetes while sample group consisted of â€Å"66 type 2 diabetes patients being followed up in the Diabetes Polyclinic of Kocaeli State Hospital in the Marmara

George Washington as a Military Leader Assignment

George Washington as a Military Leader - Assignment Example Nevertheless, his connections to the family of William Fairfax, wherein his half brother Lawrence had married, led him to be personally selected to lead a regiment of soldiers in what is now termed the French and Indian War1. Having first been appointed as surveyor of land for Culpepper County, his brother’s investment and involvement in the Ohio Company, Washington came to the attention of the newly appointed lieutenant-general of Virginia, Robert Dinwiddie. Washington’s brother Lawrence was also commander of the Virginia militia. The French and British were both laying claim to Ohio County, and in 1783 Dinwiddle sent Washington, now a Major, to deliver a letter to the French informing them of British interests and asking them to leave. This he did, and in the process also made friends with the Indian Chief ‘Half King’ Tanacharison. Together they planned to overthrow the French. In fact, Washington tried to ambush the French despite being inexperienced and outnumbered- he was only 17 at the time. However one of the French commanders Jumonville was killed by Tanacharison or one of his tribe in this attack, and the French lost no time in blaming Washington and capturing him and his party of followers. However, he was later allowed to go with his troops back to Virginia. Historians contend that this nevertheless showed Washington’s bravery, impetuousness, and initiative. The final impact of this episode was that it fueled tensions between both the French and British military powers and led to the Seven Years War (1754-1758). In 1755 Washington was appointed senior aide to the British General Braddock on the expedition to reclaim Ohio county and other territories. However, they were ambushed by the French and some Indian allies and had to retreat. Washington on this occasion had to assume overall command after Braddock was mortally wounded at the Battle of Monongahela, and dutifully led an orderly retreat. His exemplary command ev en in the face of defeat led Governor Dinwiddle to promote Washington to the rank of Colonel in the Virginia regiment and Commander of all forces raised by the British in defense of the colonies. Washington was thus given command of the first full-time American regiment of regular servicemen of 1000 troops. He was given the responsibility to defend Virginia against all opposing forces- and to act aggressively or defensively as he thought best. Washington was a strict disciplinarian and a tough commander- he led aggressive campaigns against the Indians that resulted in a loss of a third of his men in 20 battles waged in just 10 months. Nevertheless, his campaigns meant that Virginia could relax in relative comfort compared to the other counties. Historians unanimously agree that this was among Washington’s most unqualified successes2.  

Rene Descarte's Faulty Reliance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Rene Descarte's Faulty Reliance - Essay Example To rehearse his argument in short: Descartes believes that we cannot at first glance trust our senses, as it is possible that we are being deceived. Those elements of the world outside our own mind (the res extensa) are available for our thought and our perception (res cogitans) but we cannot trust that the reality of what we think we see is in fact what comprises the world around us. We should doubt, radically, such a belief, because for Descartes this gap between the world around us and our knowledge of the world helps to explain why there exists to many different beliefs about the fundamental nature of our existence. Instead, Descartes suggests, we should be satisfied with the knowledge only that we can think, that we can consider, that thing that we call knowledge, and that material we think of as the world. Hence the famous notion of the Cogito, which in somewhat condensed form, suggests that â€Å"I think, therefore I am.† The claim here is not that of a logical operatio n (thinking begets the awareness of existence) but rather that thinking constitutes the one demonstration of existence that our imperfect cognition makes allows. We are imperfect creatures, capable of being aware of our own imperfections. At the same time, though, we are aware of the possibility of perfection. We can think about the ideal, the infinite, the absolute. And yet we do not know these things, we do not experience these things, and we cannot point our fingers in the direction of some object out there in the physical world around us, in order to demonstrate any of these ideal qualities. Imagination, Descartes seems to suggest, simply isn't powerful to make an argument by way of extension, that would imagine perfection or completion from imperfect or incomplete elements. And so, Descartes suggests, our capacity to think – which is our only true capacity and essence – must have some root that explains the nature of perfection. Descartes introduces this argument by way of a rather awkward rhetorical question (93): â€Å"Now, it is manifest by the natural light that there must at least be as much reality in the efficient and total cause as in its effect; for whence can the effect draw its reality if not from its cause? And how could the cause communicate to it this reality unless it possessed it in itself? (93) How could it, indeed? Well, for Descartes, the answer to the question is contained within its premise: if we can understand perfection, there must exist the essence of perfection, and thus we know that God exists. From the act of thinking, then, we know that we exist, and from the act of thinking about the transcendent or the divine, then we know that God exists. These may seem like separate argument claims. Indeed, in the order they are presented, the Cogito appears to pave the way for the subsequent Ontological argument that proves the existence of God. But we need to understand that this is a trick of presentation, not a linear lo gical relationship. In fact it is the other way around, though this doesn't become apparent until Descartes concludes his project, when the debt the Cogito owes to the Ontological argument is revealed. The most telling paragraph is this: ...considering only that God is my creator, it is highly probably that he in some way fashioned me

MENTAL HEALTH Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

MENTAL HEALTH - Research Paper Example However, the elder patients are believed to view and imagine nursing staff as their own daughters. In developed nations relationships among children and parents have significantly deteriorated and therefore, elders are becoming lonely and depressed (Werner, 1993). Nevertheless, all patients from different age groups are famous for practically loving their medical staff. But, in case of children, the job of nurses gets tough and challenging because psychologically, one has to become a child in order to play with a junior and because of this reason, it is recommended in multiple studies that nurses with a special kind of personality should be assigned to the children ward. Most of the nurses are notorious for having rude and rough behaviors because they are living under such level of emotional and psychological stress that they become unstable to say the least. But, again when it comes to treating children nurses are supposed to transform healing into a game so that the childrenâ€℠¢s fear can be circumvented (Swanson & Wojnar, 2004). The hospitals are providing a colorful environment for children where there are paintings of famous cartoon characters on the walls and the patients have the facility to play and engage in positive activities such as playing music and listening and watching television. The children are fighters because their bodies have been known to perform at peak proficiencies and therefore, they are not mentally aware and neither they are willing to accept their illnesses (Altimier, 2004). Both of the previously mentioned factors have the power to expedite healing process. The challenge lies in providing a proper reinforcing environment where the belief of a child can become a reality (Pesek, Helton, & Nair, 2006). Still, the nurses must be informed that elders and children heal in two very different ways. The former ones heal with the help of a listener while the latter group wants a companion, a friend, and a player. The nurses then, must a llow the elders to share their experiences and should also provide a silent ear. The hospitals of the 21st century are transforming into community centers because they are taking up the roles of facilities that are helping in bridging the gaps between elders and children (Langsley & Barter, 1983). Quite a significant number of facilities are providing elders with an opportunity to share their life’s experiences with the next generation. The needs of both groups are fulfilled in this fashion because the elders have a profound need to share their knowledge whereas the children’s need to listen bedtime stories from their grandparents is satisfied as well (Doty, 1986). The nursing profession was developed and flourished as a means of assisting the physicians in the terms of devising an effective and efficient way of treating the illness (Bakken, Cashen, Mendonca, O'Brien, & Zieniewicz, 2000). But, according to the literature of modern healthcare, most of the physical disea ses are just manifestation of psychological problems and diseases and therefore, it is highly recommended to cure both dimensions of the illnesses simultaneously (Weatherhead, 1951). Furthermore, the children are by-default positive thinkers but transform into a hopeless individual due to the environment and because of this reason, the hospitals are repeatedly suggested to create and foster

Which reflections of Islam are in the tale of Maruf the Cobbler Essay - 2

Which reflections of Islam are in the tale of Maruf the Cobbler - Essay Example Maruf is a virtuous man. He tries to keep the peace and fulfill his responsibilities to his wife according to the requirements of the Islamic law. He does this even when his wife is senseless and cruel (Holy Quran 30:21). Moreover, when Maruf hands over alms to the poor, he goes to the mosque at the hour of prayer. It reflects Islamic beliefs since it is the Muslims who go to pray in a mosque (Kritzeck 307). Third, when a person is offended by another, he/she takes the dispute to the Kazi or the high court according to the Muslim culture. This happens in the story when Maruf’s wife goes to accuse her husband falsely to the Kazi after a domestic dispute over the cake with bee honey (Kritzeck 300). Fourth, the story refers to Allah as their Supreme Being and creator of heaven and earth. This reflects Islamic belief since it is the Muslims who call their God Allah (Kritzeck 300). Fifth, in the marriage ceremony between Maruf and the king’s daughter, the king calls the sheik Al-Islam to write the marriage certificate. It is according to the Muslim culture whenever there is a marriage between two people (Kritzeck 311). Sixth, when the king heard about the richness of Maruf, he gets greedy and decides to give his daughter in marriage to Maruf. He does this with the aim of bringing the wealth of Maruf into his family. It is according to the Muslim culture when he a man marries the king’s daughter, all that he owns becomes part of the king’s family wealth (Kritzeck 308). Seventh, according to the Islamic culture, a woman once given into marriage to a man, she is supposed to stand by him whether he was in the wrong or the right. It is considered her duty to her h usband. We see this happening when the princess sides with Maruf even after he reveals the shameful secret to her (Kritzeck 314). Eighth, Muslims believe in a jinni, a powerful spirit being. When Maruf escapes from the palace, he meets a farmer tilling his farm. On the man’s land, Maruf

Company profit calculation Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Company profit calculation - Assignment Example Q = (accepted), (rejected) At Q = , ATC’’ becomes 9.61 while at Q = , ATC’’ becomes 0.381. Since Q > 0 and since ATC’’ > 0 at Q = , so it can be surmised that Q = when ATC is minimised. Part (g) Firms will neither exit nor enter in the longer run in an industry because already operating firms are creating normal profit. Since there are no incentives to either leave or enter the market in the longer run, so there will be no entry or exit in the longer run. Part (h) Question Two As market demand levels vary, the firm’s profits in any industry will tend to vary. As long as some form of economic profit is available, new firms will enter the market. Similarly, any kinds of economic loss will force firms to leave the market. When economic profit is available, the supply curve tends to shift to the right in order to reduce price. As price falls, so does economic profit and thus the incentive to enter the market. Conversely, if economic loss o ccurs, the supply curve shifts to the left in order to increase price. Bigger price tags tend to reduce the economic loss being faced. Market adjustments continue to occur until firms come to a point where the marginal revenue equals the marginal cost which in turn equals the price. Also, the short run average cost and the long term average cost meet the equilibrium levels to produce total market equilibrium in the longer run. Question Three A shock in demand leads to a sudden rise in demand. This in turn disrupts the market equilibrium and the supply curve tends to shift to the right while the demand curve tends to shift to the right as well. In addition, it is typical to find that the price for any product experiencing demand shock tends to increase as well. Larger quantities required are dealt with by firms operating under perfect competition. For constant cost industries, when the industry expands in reaction to demand shocks, there are no changes in the production costs or in t he prices of resources. The basic contention of the constant cost industry is that as new firms enter the market, the long run average cost curve does not get affected. Hence, as the efficiency of production does not change due to demand shocks, the supply curve in the longer run becomes horizontal. Question Four Certain industries require long term economic profits in order to survive in the market. These industries may require continuous new inputs in the form of research and development (R&D). The pharmaceutical industry for example requires that research be carried out into new medicine. This may become necessary for example as one generation of antibiotics are unable to deal with the next generation of germs. The R&D process in turn requires the investment of economic profit which in turn can be labelled as a cost. The reinvested economic profit from the operation of such industries can be seen as a cost although it is not necessary that the amount of such an investment would e quate to the economic profit generated. For example, the pharmaceutical industry invests in the development of a medicine that it will continue to produce constantly for decades which indicates that the economic prof

Effective support for information users Essay Example for Free

Effective support for information users Essay Customers are an asset for any organization and to satisfy and retain them is every organization’s goal. The only way to achieve this goal is to build proper relationships with your customer through providing them appropriate customer service when ever they require. Customer gives you business because it is a cycle, if you fulfill your customer need then he will spread a good word of mouth for your organization otherwise they will give you a real hard time. Information technology has great importance in the business world today because the environment is very uncertain therefore innovation needs to be implemented rapidly. Every day we see something or the other coming up with new technology and to survive in this competent world we all have to cope with technological advancements, therefore customers tend to purchase technologically advanced products easily but the difficulty is in understanding the ways to operate these products. This is where they need help and it is a chance for the organizations to retain customers because customer will only stick to the brand which is providing him proper customer service. For this purpose IT organizations have customer service centers so that they can provide their customers with appropriate assistance. The bottleneck is faced when the employees on desk at the customer service center are not able to entertain the customers with what they want. This is usually due to the lack of information employees hold regarding the product and this leads the organization towards losing their customers. (Hoffman). Therefore in order to remove this bottle neck, the organizations should provide their customers with best service, for which they need to consider following strategies: Strategies to ensure that your customers are getting adequate technical support 1) Hire the right people with excellent communication skills. 2) Train your employees so that they are well aware of the product specifications and can easily deliver the information to the customer 3) Employee people with calm and good attitude because customers may be very frustrated or harsh at times still the employee has to remain very tranquil with him in order to avoid any further dilemma. 4) A company should make sure that on desk personnel are well aware of their goals, that is, they believe that it is their duty to entertain more and more customers, understand their needs and interact with them to provide more and more information so that they are satisfied. (Bayan) 5) Customers should be provided with a detailed guide book as well so that they can better understand the product and do not face any hurdles. 6) Customer should be provided with a very comfortable and friendly environment and he should be given great importance so that he can feel that the company really cares for his needs. (Anonymous) Socio-Technical Structure Socio technical structure is an organizational design which consists of a combination of people and technology. It includes the habits and attitudes of people; the way they interact and behave. The technical aspect of this structure includes the machinery processes and physical management. This structure includes hardware, software, people, surroundings data and data structure, law and regulations and procedures. According to this system all the needs of an employee should be identified and met which they bring along to the workplace. This system helps in motivating employees and raises their performance level by taking care of the characteristics that comprises social system. These characteristics involve their communication, involvement, performance, and team work, attitudes, behavior and job satisfaction. This system is emerged overtime through the employees of the organization and thus represents the culture of an organization and its social setup. (Whitworth) As socio technical system includes face to face work, which includes customer service therefore ensuring that your customers are getting adequate technical support and thus it is related to the socio technical structure because it fulfills the requirements, social as well as technical. Providing appropriate customer service by understanding customer needs and communicating positively with them satisfies the social requirement where as giving them technical assistance, that is, to provide information regarding the technical aspects of the product satisfies technical requirements. Any technological advancement cannot be successful if the technology does not take into account the human component because ultimately humans have to interact with the technological design therefore it is important to treat people and technology together within a system. This gives rise to social and technical subsystem in which social subsystem takes into account human needs and attitudes and technical subsystem relates to the devices, procedures and technical know how. The technological and social subsystem needs to be interdependent so that the organization can deliver the best to the customers. In this way the technology offered by the organization will be according to the needs of the customers and thus it would be a perfect fit. (Whitworth) Thus the most important strategy for any company to provide adequate technical support to customers is that it should develop a socio technical structure so that the technical assistance provided to the customers are in accordance to the social needs of the customers. REFERENCES Hoffman, R. (1996) Help is Only a Phone Call Away! How to get good service. The Real World. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from http://www. animatedsoftware. com/misc/stories/jobs/dbmscntr. htm Kay, D. (2004) Show, Don’t Tell: Remote Support Best Practices and Benefits. DB Kay and Associates. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from http://www. webbuyersguide. com/bguide/Whitepaper/Wpdetails. asp? frmCQ=Ywpid=NzU3Mwcategory=723sitename= webbuyersguidekc=newstech101607src=newstech101607 Setting up a successful help deskphysical considerations (http://articles. techrepublic. com. com/5100-10878_11-5112459. html) and Try these efficiency strategies when setting up a successful help desk (http://articles. techrepublic. com. com/5100-10878_11-5112468. html). Setting up a successful help desk (http://techrepublic. com. com/5208-6230-0. html? forumID=14threadID=146337 messageID=1623851). Whitworth,B. Socio-Technical Systems. Retrieved on 23rd July 2010 from http://brianwhitworth. com/hci-sts. pdf

Sequel To The Unprecedented Changing Business Environment Commerce Essay

Sequel To The Unprecedented Changing Business Environment Commerce Essay Sequel to the unprecedented changing business environment due partly to the global economic crises , rapid technological innovations, globalisation, shareholder primacy (Bratton and Wachter 2008) and several other factors, employers are driven to effect transformational changes in order to remain profitable and equally retain their competitive edge. Recently, research has suggested some different strategic ways to achieve this goal such as creating a new way to working (Thomson 2008) which explores the concept of virtual offices, stores, sales etc. thereby driving down employee expenses and other running costs. This model seemed to have worked for most organisations as evident by the growing number of organisation adopting this concept (Waddell 2010). However, Lu (2011) warns that there are traps to be careful of in adopting these transformational changes. Calif and Meyers (2011) defined virtual office as a model that eradicates customer -employee contact without compromising the originality, productivity and the image of the organisation. Tengo Ltd having adopted the internet exclusive virtual sales model since its inception in 2000, has created a call centre to address issues ranging from customer complaints, technical support, product and accessories order, to other customer/clients enquiries (Wilton 2010) since there are no office or stores to handle such complaints. This makes the call centre critical to the success of Tengo Ltd and therefore a need to employ employees with the right skills and commitment to a high standard customer service delivery. According to the case (Wilton 2010), recent review has indicated that the success stories in the past three years has caused the organisation to overstaff its call centre and this calls for an employee restructuring. The strategic decision to restructure is due to several external and internal factors that affect the delivery of Tengo services (ibid). This report critically examines the Tengo Ltd case, taking into account the external and internal factors driving the change, the leadership issues observed, employee management style and motivational issues involved in the case. 2.0 External and Internal drives for change at Tengo Ltd Changes are a part of flexible organisations with the aim of keeping their customers satisfied (Kotter and Schlesinger 2008) however, to successfully implement the changes, organisations should properly analyse why they need the changes, how they hope to effect the change and the scope of change with a well laid change management process that considers the effect of change on the employees (employee relations) (Thurley and Wirdenius 1991). 2.1 External change drivers at Tengo Ltd The use of mobile social and other communication solutions have increased over the last 10 years (Ellis and Taylor 2006) and have reached a stage where all conversations are communicated on technological devices and media; from political leaders (Obamas facebook campaign), industrial executives, disaster managers to supply chain management. The growing need to achieve results using call centres as a one-stop point of contact to resolving all its customer and supply-chain issues is one of the most important external drivers for change in the call centre industry (Avaya 2011). Tengo Ltd seems to be caught-up in the technology drive as other call centres as it has decided to invest more in its contact centre by purchasing the IVR (integrated voice response) to help improve the services of its unsatisfactory customer service. It is observed here that the investment in the new automated system that was supposed to improve the quality of service and speed up service response failed as cust omers remained dissatisfied. One good question to ask is if this is a result of the poor implementation strategy or in the organisation of work within the company. Another external driver to change is the business strategy. When businesses change their business strategies they implement the change in their operations (Wilton 2010). The most common business strategy employed by several companies and the call centre sector is cost reduction (McAfee 2011; Wilton 2010). The general belief is that if organisations reduce their employee costs against their income, it will increase the profitability of the organisation. However, cost reduction could be a tricky business strategy to implement. This is because the cost of the reduction might not outweigh the benefits hoped to derive or a total failure of the planned alternative. Tengo Ltd is focused on reducing its employee expense at the cost of employees and as seen in the case, the alternative solution not being a success. This strategy mirrors the Thurley and Wirdenius (1991) action-centred and directive strategy as it could be seem as a forced strategy that has not considered how this will affect the employees nor have a psychological contract with the affected employees but focused on deriving the implementation of both its business and technological strategies. According to Mcgregors X-theory, managers most times focus only on profitability of their firm and therefore try to enforce organisation objectives on employees even when employee dislikes the objective based on the assumption that an average employee dislikes work. However a more modern principle of change management called the triple bottom line focuses on the profit of the organisation and its trade, the people who are central to the operations of the company (employees customers) and the planet where the operation is performed (corporate social responsibilities) (Tullberg 2012). This is based on the psychological contract approach that an organisation that deals fairly with its employees and socially considers the environment where it operates will naturally be profitable. For example a company that allows flexibility and a good reward management system will have its employees contribute more and be more committed to the objectives of the company (Atkinson and Hall 2011). If the same company in consideration of its environment adopts a green initiative by eradicating paper usage in its operation and goes virtual (Calif and Meyers 2011), the company will equally by that initiative be reducing some running stationary cost thus helping the organisation to be more profitable by reducing costs and increasing productivity. This report uses the psychological contract theory to critically analyse the internal drivers for change and the changes that occurred in the firm and judge by the various theories if this change was a success. 2.2 Internal change at Tengo Ltd Internal factors like external factors have been found to drive changes (Kotter and Schlesinger 2008; Wilton 2010). 2.2.1 Job Design One of the internal changes observed at the Tengo Ltd is the change in its job design. Prior to the change, employee in the call centre had always performed variety of roles thus allowing employees to be multi-skilled and increase the fluidity of employees as they could move between different departments. According to Julia and Susanne (2012) Organisations reduce their exposure to intellectual capital risk by adopting a job rotation scheme where employees could move around cross-functionally and cross-departmentally. In contrast to this ideology, Tengo Ltd has adopted a mechanistic industrial approach similar to Taylors scientific management recommendations as a method of job design that helps increase job specification and is a good support for an automated environment (Niebel 1989). Could Tengo Ltds decision to encourage job specialisation be as a result of its complementary nature to its business strategy to reduce cost, as one of the benefits of the approach is that it helps to d ecrease training, mental overload, staffing difficulties, or because it helps to reduce errors sue to specialisation of duties? However, Salvendy (2012) highlighted several downsides to this job design approach that are more people and process related which are equally observed at Tengo Ltd. Based on the above argument, one can say that the failure of the restructuring at Tengo Ltd is due to the un-interesting process that specialisation introduces causing boredom as employees repeatedly perform the same function, and its non-communicative/non-employee involving approach to change causing dissatisfaction among employees and ultimately evidenced by a high employee turnover after the restructuring. 2.2.2 Training and Development In the recent psychological contract theories, based on the assumption that the relationship between an employee and his/her employer is that which is mutually concerned with expectation of equal input and output. One of such theories is the equity theory which states that employee have a desire to be treated fairly and equally in the workplace and that they expect to receive benefits for their input to the organisation (Allen and White 2002). Although this theory was first postulated by Stacy Adams in 1965, this theory explains the natural expectation of humans to receive equal measures for their input. One of such output or reward that employees expect is training and development opportunities within the organisation. Recent research has identified training and development programs as a core factor to employee performance (Lawler Iii 2003), with several organisations now organising in-house trainings, online training, blended learning as ways to improve on the former classroom or o n the job training that existed before now. Many companies conduct induction trainings for new recruits to understand the organisation and the functions they will be performing in the company. While others go on after the induction training to conduct specialised trainings or send their employees to off-site trainings so that the acquire new skills relevant to their industry and bring these skills to help improve performance within the company (Rowley 2000). According to him, organisations who train their employees should see them as valuable assets and thus have a plan for employee retention. Malila (2007) however warns that the absence of training opportunities within organisations may lead to skill drought. With its intention to reduce the cost for training and development programs, Tengo Ltd has exposed its organisation to the treat of skill drought as new entries might not be able to get the right training form senior employees who have not been trained themselves and this may lead to dissatisfaction. Without training and development, employees may begin to see that there is no career growth path for them within the company and given that the repetitive function approach rarely challenges them, one can suggest that this is a cause for the high employee turnover in the company. 2.2.3 Employee turnover Considering the high level of turnover experienced at Tengo Ltd, this report questions the reason for such high turnover. Can this be ascribed to the management style and work process in the organisation, or is it an industry practice within the call centre sector? According to Wilton (2010), there are two distinctive types of call centres. One is characterised by its interaction work flow model with customers described as simple, but with high targets, strict scripts and strict call handling that sees the call advisor spending more time on the phone receiving more calls than the more complex quality focused model where solving the customers problem is the key focus. This allows the call advisors to be more flexible with the scripts, create individualised interaction with the customers but receiving lesser number of calls and having no restriction on time spent with each customer. Lyndon (1993) suggests that since the flexible quality focused model allows employees to be more discret ional and are less monitored, employees derive more satisfaction with this model however call centres are mostly measured by the number of calls they receive in a period. This is one of the reasons for Tengo Ltd investing in IVRs to enable it receives more calls in the hope to increase its customer satisfaction. The turnover at Tengo Ltd is both functional (causing loss of key employees, loss of skills and failed investment) and dysfunctional (loss of unskilled employees and non-performers). It is also noteworthy to note that the strict control management style which is more Taylor oriented is applicable to the model which requires call advisors to receive more calls and is strict with the call handlings and call scripts. This type of management approach could also de-motivate employees and consequently high turnover as observed in Tengo Ltd. 3.0 Motivational Issues Given the different arguments above, there are pointers that Tengo Ltd has some motivational issues in the implementation of its restructuring. One of the issues identified at Tengo is the relatively low employee benefit, and harsh working conditions in which its employees are subjected to work compared to competing employers in the region. According to researchers, motivation is simply the reason why people put more effort into what they do in order to yield better results (Aiqiang 2009; Cooper 2004; Hennessy and McCartney 2008; Reissner 2011; Wilton 2010). According to Reissner (2011); Tullberg (2012); Wilton (2010), employees are motivated by intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Intrinsic motivations is when employees are self-motivated to do or perform an activity. This is derived when there is more freedom for employees to act using their discretion, skills and thereby creating opportunities for themselves. Although hard to measure, intrinsic motivation is the key to innovative and creative thinking /leadership (ibid). The importance of extrinsic motivation should not however be neglected as this encourages employees to do more knowing that their employers are concerned with them (Wilton 2010). Few of the ways employees can be extrinsically motivated is by fulfilling their expectations in terms of monetary rewards, promotions, trainings, words of appreciation, and job security. Employees are also motivated by the level of communication between them and management in times of change. From the case, it is apparent that the organisation did not employ any communication with the employees before implementing its restructuring plan. This tends to open up the problems that might be imbedded in the change process and helps employees buy-in to the change with their respective feedbacks. 4.0 Recommendation and conclusion The intention of Tengo Ltd to restructure its organisation in order to stay competitive can be a way to ensure its sustainability however, the company has not implemented its change program with the employees in mind. The result of this implementation caused the company an increased level of employee turnover. In seeking to address the employee turnover issue Tengo must first readdress its management system especially its job design to a more motivational approach that helps to engage the interest of employees in the organisation by conducting training sessions to improve their skills. It is equally good for Tengo to consider re-introducing its job rotation model, such that the monotonous repetitive boredom caused by over specialisation will be eradicated, consider re-engineering its recruitment process to attract skilled and educated employees. More importantly focus on its employee working benefits and terms of employment such that it meets up with those of the competing call centr es in the area. In order to understand the dynamics of labour turnover, Tengo Ltd should conduct exit interviews for exiting staffs to have an understanding of reasons for the high turn-over while it remains paramount for Tengo Ltd to ensure it monitor employees emotional activity throughout the change life-cycle to eradicate any potential problems. This study has revealed the different issues encountered in the change process and possible ways to address them in order to increase employee commitment, creativity and remain competitive in the face of increasing technological demand and business changes.

Outpatient Treatment for Mental Health in New York

Outpatient Treatment for Mental Health in New York Michael Woodworth   For many individuals in the United States, mental and behavioral illness is something they must deal with on a daily basis. For many of those, the depression, anxiety, and feeling of powerlessness has become the norm due to a lack of treatment options. As the number of affected individuals grows, outpatient clinics are becoming the treatment of choice for many Americans and in New York this trend also holds true. With the third highest population in the United States, New York is home to over one million individuals suffering from mental illness. According to the 2015 census, the number of individuals suffering from mental illness had reached an all-time high of 900,000 adults and 528,000 adolescents (Friedman, Woods, LaPorte, 2016, p. 4). Despite the alarming increase in numbers, less than 20% of those affected by mental illness receive adequate, if any treatment at all (Friedman, Woods, LaPorte, 2016, p. 4). Although this may be partly due to the individual choosing not to receive care, I believe there is a direct correlation between the policies and procedures New York has put in place that govern the access, cost, and quality of mental health care. The New York State Office of Mental Health currently has over 50 categories of policies and procedures that govern treatment options, approved providers, medication, and criteria patients must meet to be treated, just to name a few (Office of Mental Health, 2017). As a result, many individuals choose to self-medicate or simply ignore their symptom rather than deal with the bureaucracy that surrounds behavioral health as well as the negative stigma associated with anyone receiving the treatment. Of the 20% of individuals receiving mental health services in New York, nearly 71% are through outpatient treatment services. Outpatient treatment exist as a way of providing access to individuals who are suffering from disorders that may not require intensive inpatient treatment. They are capable of treating disorders such as depression, anxiety, grief, phobias, trauma, and so forth. Overview on Outpatient Care Systems Outpatient care can provide a wide variety of services to individuals seeking assistance with their mental and behavioral health. These services include, but are not limited to: individual counseling, group therapy, acupuncture, massage therapy, DBT, art therapy, interventions, couples and family therapy, and alcohol and drug detox. These services are based on severity and need and are often delivered by peer advocates, licensed counselors, nurse practitioners, case managers, clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, and medical doctors. New York State offers two main avenues of treatment to those seeking outpatient care; these are the hospital systems and the health programs available within the community. For many people in New York, there are only two ways into these outpatient programs. The first being through a referral from a qualified healthcare professional (QHP). This can include a primary care physician, clinician, psychologist, nurse practitioner, among others (Friedman, Woods, LaPorte, 2009). The second is through court mandated supervision and treatment, and with one in 52 adults in New York on probation or parole, this accounts for many outpatient treatment referrals. The question now becomes, with such incredible services available why are only 20% able to get them? The answer lies within the policies. Although the policies do provide expectations and restrictions regarding cost and quality, the majority of outpatient policies focus on access. These policies not only determine who is eligible to receive services, but also what services are covered by Medicaid and other insurance. So lets take a look at just how these policies hinder so many New Yorkers from receiving adequate services. Hospital Systems With the hospital system, as with any business, accessibility comes down to resources; and in many hospitals the resources are limited. As a result, outpatient care is reserved for those that will not only benefit from it the most, but also those who will bring the hospital the most profit. Most of the individuals in New York who are receiving mental health treatment are covered by Medicaid. Those covered by Medicaid are by definition poor, and despite the need for the treatment are unable to pay the out of pocket expenses associated with it (Garfield, 2016). This fact has had significant influence on the policy makers to establish a list of criteria that must be met in order for Medicaid to pay for the total treatment. In addition, they developed a list of reasons that a hospital can deny mental health services to patients. Unfortunately in New York, many of the hospitals have a board of directors that have little to no medical experience. Instead they are comprised of wealthy and powerful business professionals from within the community. For example, one prominent hospital in Upstate New York has a board of directors that consists of several CEOs and presidents of companies that have direct ties to the local congressmen and assemblymen. One of the members of the board is actually a longtime friend of the current Governor of New York. These ties to politicians along with a lack of medical knowledge often result in policies and decisions being made for the sole purpose of profit rather than care and in turn make access much more difficult. Community Based Services The second healthcare system is that of community based resources. This is where the bulk of outpatient mental health treatment occurs. Many of these resources are non-profit organizations that rely heavily on funding from the state. Accessibility to these resources are governed by the overall state budget and is solely based on where the money needs to be allocated that year. As a result, many community resources are limited in the number of patients they can treat due to the limited annual funds available. Much like the hospitals, this causes the community resources to deny service to many individuals that need treatment. In general, these services are delivered in three ways and are typically based on the severity of the need. Hospitals offer outpatient mental health counseling for individuals who may require a higher level of intensity. Hospitals often utilize psychiatrists who have the ability to recommend and prescribe psychotropic medications for those suffering from severe mental disorders such as schizophrenia. The second option for patients is a privately or publically run outpatient clinic. These facilities usually employ licensed clinicians who are supervised by a clinical psychologist. Although they can offer the same level of counseling services as the hospital, they are not equipped to prescribe or monitor medications. These facilities are primarily used to focus on the less intensive mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, and addiction. The third option is counseling and guidance through a religious leader. Although this option can provide assistance with minor mental health issues, it is seldom covered under insurance. This is due to the fact that in most cases, the religious leader does not possess the required education or credentials to be recognized by the state as a legitimate form of mental health treatment. However, as a result many religious leaders choose to pursue degrees in mental health so they can better serve their congregation. Barriers to Care New York has several different levels of care which include intensive outpatient treatment, outpatient treatment, step down treatment, continuing day treatment, and assertive community treatment (Friedman, Woods, LaPorte, 2009, p. 12). Each of which is a step within the continuum of care provided by New York State Office of Mental Health. Generally speaking, these steps are effective when utilized appropriately by the patient and followed through with by the provider. Unfortunately the greatest barrier falls in the follow through of both the patient and the provider. With over 380,000 adults and 575,000 adolescents in New York suffering from severe and persistent mental illness (Friedman, Woods, LaPorte, 2009, p. 12), it is easy for a patient to fall through the cracks of the system. Many providers have limited time and resources to track down a patient that missed an appointment, or just check in on a regular basis to see if they are alright. As a result, many patients will feel unsupported and stop treatment all together. As previously stated, outpatient is usually reserved for those with a professional referral and as such the access can at times seem quite limited. In the clinics that I have worked in, a patient could arrive only after a referral had been received. After they have arrived, they would undergo several interviews and assessments to determine if they would benefit from the treatments the clinic offered. If they would, then they could begin treatment. If however they were thought to not benefit, they would be referred to another clinic or to the local hospital for further consideration. In New York, the need for mental health services are far greater than the resources available and therefore every clinic and outpatient service does seem to have an extensive waitlist for services. I was a case manager for a supportive living program working with veterans suffering from mental health disorders as well as addiction and chronic homelessness. My program was a 12 month intensive treatment program and had 24 beds/apartments available. At any given time, the waitlist for this program had well over 50 individuals listed on it. Outpatient access is a serious concern in New York and so far has left much to be desired. For many individuals who require outpatient mental health services, access comes with three major barriers: Finding a clinic, getting approval from Medicaid and insurance, and physically getting to the clinic. Far too often these barriers hinder individuals from receiving adequate, if any services they so desperately need. With the constant change to Medicaid waiver services and insurance, it is difficult for clinics to accept every patient in need. With private insurance, managed care, and straight Medicaid placing strict eligibility and billing restrictions on the clinics, it is amazing that they are able to stay open at all. These regulations are causing the clinics to become more business focused instead of focusing on the real reason they exist. As a result of the clinics focusing more on the business, they are more inclined to accept patients that they can profit from the most. This ultimately tends to sway more towards those with private insurance as they are more likely to get approval for ongoing treatment. This leaves the majority of individuals suffering from mental health disorders to fend for themselves. As with any treatment, a referral is required to receive treatment in an outpatient setting. Attempting to get this referral poses the second struggle to accessibility. Many of those suffering from these disorders do not have a primary physician and are likely to go to free clinics if they seek assistance at all. As a result, many individuals are simply prescribed medications like Zoloft by the attending physician and told that they have a cookie cutter diagnosis of depression or anxiety. On average, it takes nearly six months of trial and error in medication before a referral is given and accepted by insurance or Medicaid. In far too many situations, the individual has given up on treatment before reaching the six months. Getting to a clinic often poses a barrier to those in a low income bracket. These individuals are unable to purchase transportation on their own and rely heavily on others or public transportation to maintain mobility. This requires them to find clinics that are on bus or subway line if they live in the city, or friends and family if they live in a more rural location. This causes unnecessary instability in treatment due to the patients inability to commit to a treatment schedule. For the more than 30 million adults in the United States that require but do not receive mental health services, 45 percent claim that the cost is the biggest deterrent. The average outpatient service can cost between $100 and $5,000 based on the service and the credentials of the provider (Babakian, 2013). In New York City the average rates for outpatient services are as follows: $80 $120 for a 45-55 minute standard counseling session (Babakian, 2013). $200 $300 for a 45 minute session with a psychologist or psychiatrist (Babakian, 2013). $60 $100 for group sessions facilitated by a licensed provider (Babakian, 2013). $300 $ 460 for individual art, music, and/or recreation therapy sessions with a licensed provider (Babakian, 2013). As with any healthcare service these can be paid for using self-pay, private insurance, and government insurance such as Medicaid and Medicare. Unfortunately due to the restrictions imposed by the mental health policies in New York, many individuals are forced to pay a significant amount out of pocket. As a result, many outpatient providers offer patients sliding scale charges which can be 30 percent lower than standard fees, payment plans with and without interest, and in some situations income based fees (Babakian, 2013). Although outpatient treatment is covered by most insurance, it is seldom covered in full. This causes many patients to stop treatment as a result of an inability to pay the deductible or co-pay. At this time, New York does not offer any additional assistance with co-pays or medical bills for individuals receiving outpatient services. However, if the patient were to be admitted to an inpatient clinic as a result of a mental hygiene arrest or emergency room visit, it would be covered in full by many insurance providers including Medicaid. This creates a situation that is counterproductive in that we do not offer treatment as an early intervention but rather offer it after the individual has reached a breaking point. In order to get an insiders opinion of the current barriers within outpatient care, I was able to interview Megan Cortese, LCAT. Ms. Cortese is a licensed art therapist and senior clinician in a very prominent outpatient clinic in Rochester, NY. During the interview I simply asked her what she sees as a barrier to her current and future clients. When asked what she would want to change about the overall way mental health services are provided, she had the following to say. The current system of mental health services has two major flaws; funding and accountability. Ms. Cortese stated that due to budgetary restrictions, lack of government funding, and overall economy struggles the quality of care is becoming lower. She stated that the clinical staff are underpaid and told to meet with as many clients as possible in a day. She stated that this causes many clinicians to burn out and therefore provide a subpar level of treatment. Ms. Cortese also stated that the lack of accountability from patients on Medicaid is ridiculous. She stated that when a patient on Medicaid does not show to an appointment that there are no penalties to the patient such as the cancelation fee that those of us with private insurance would have. Ms. Cortese stated that this causes patients to continuously miss appointments and therefore miss out on beneficial treatments. Quality of Care As for quality of care, New York does seem to excel at regulating the providers and clinics. The New York State Justice Center monitors, regulates, investigates, and enforces all policies regarding the fair treatment of individuals under care. As a result, every clinic is held to the same standards and accountability in regards to the treatment of patients. Although this is beneficial in providing adequate and proper treatment to all those involved in outpatient clinics, it is only effective if the patients are able to receive services. Policy and Influence So now that we have reviewed how these polices can hinder treatment, we must next understand not only how the policies come to be, but also who has the power to influence them. Health policy in todays modern world poses several complex legal, ethical, and social questions and as such require qualified individuals to write, approve, and integrate them into the current healthcare systems. As with the nation as a whole, New York relies heavily on Government officials to accomplish this objective while simultaneously respect and protect the rights of patients. As a result, several highly diverse and complicated groups are tasked with the oversight of these policies. Healthcare policies in New York are developed through the three branches of government; the judiciary, legislature, and executive branches. The judiciary branch is responsible for overseeing new policies to ensure that they do not violate any human rights as well meet all legal and financial guidelines. The legislature reserves the right to conduct hearings in an attempt to gather sufficient data from all parties involved with the policy. This ultimately provides additional checks and balances to ensure the legality and effectiveness of the proposed policy. The executive branch, or Governors office retains the power to sign the new proposed policy into law after it has made it through the checks and balances from the judicial and legislative branch (Gostin, 1995). Now despite a significant set of checks and balances within New York, policies are not always reviewed as they should be. Far too often members of the three government branches are influenced by outside factors and groups. As previously mentioned, outpatient treatment in New York has many governing bodies; which along with providers, insurance companies, and several special interest groups all have a way of influencing the current policies. Each of these groups have a significant impact on the access, cost, and quality of care that patients receive while participating in outpatient services. The real question is who has the power and are they using it to benefit the patient or are they simply looking out for their bottom line. So lets start from the bottom of the hierarchy and work our way up. At the bottom of the outpatient ladder are the small and seldom heard from special interest groups. In New York these are groups such as; NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness), NMHA (National Mental Health Association), as well as smaller support groups located throughout the state. The main focus of these groups is to educate the public, influence change and improvement, and advocate for the patients. Many of these groups rely heavily on petitions and public outcry to influence change and policy at the higher levels of the state government. Even though these groups do not carry the influence of some other groups, with a mass of concerned voters behind them, they are usually quite effective. Sitting on the next rung of the ladder are the providers who influence treatment and policy by acting as a deciding factor as to what if any treatment is recommended. The providers are in essence the frontline of the outpatient world. The providers conduct the assessments that provide the information to choose the most beneficial treatment option. The providers are able to influence policy by simply choosing a course of action. If the majority of providers choose the same treatment for a particular diagnosis, then it is likely that the governing bodies will consider that to be the go-to treatment. Once this is the case, it is very likely that policies will be rewritten to reflect this treatment as the acceptable one. Sitting on the next rung is the insurance companies. The insurance companies have significant influence over policy simply because they pay for it. Insurance controls who gets treatment, where they get treatment, and what quality of treatment they can receive. This is of course all based on what tier level the patients insurance plan is on. Ultimately, the insurance company has the ability to approve or deny treatments simply based on the overall cost and as a result many patients are unable to access necessary treatments and medications. Now, at the top of the ladder is the state agencies such as Department of Health (DOH), Office of Mental Health (OMH), State Legislature, and the Governor. It is implied that these people have the ultimate influence over access, cost, and quality of outpatient mental health treatment. Policy recommendations are delivered from the DOH and OMH to the legislature who then agrees and passes them along to the Governor, or disagrees and sends them back to the agencies for revision. Once in the hands of the Governor, the policy is either approved or denied. As most healthcare in New York is Medicaid funded, the Governor has significant influence over who gets treatment and what treatments are offered simply by approving the state budget. If the Governor approves a policy that allows more access to treatment, he must also approve an increase in taxes to maintain funding. However, if the Governor does not pass a policy for increased care, they may lose ratings and therefore votes. As a result, it is a very complex balancing act when influencing health care policy. Although the aforementioned groups seem to have the most influence over health care in New York, I stumbled across a group of individuals that seem to have influence over the Governor himself. The United Healthcare Workers Union (1199SEIU) is a union of pharmacists, nurses, and physicians located throughout the nation. The influential power of this group is astounding. In 2009, the full power of this organization was felt by then Governor David Paterson. With a severe surge in Medicaid costs in New York, Governor Paterson proposed $3.5 billion in cuts to the Medicaid program. The Governor proposed shifting monies away from inpatient hospitals and into outpatient clinics which were significantly less expensive (Eide DiSalvo, 2015). This would have resulted in a 2% loss in revenue for the inpatient hospitals annually. Medicaid is the primary source of funding for the inpatient hospitals which employ a majority of 1199SEIU members. The union responded to the Governors proposal with a serious ad blitz which cost over $1 million per week. After a month of adds belittling the Governor, Paterson retreated and instead approved tax increases and cuts to other programs (Eide DiSalvo, 2015). As a result of the serious influence by the 1199SEIU, the overall quality, access, and cost of care suffered. In an act that simply secured their own interests, the patients suffered. Overall, the diverse and effective variety of outpatient treatments available in New York is quite impressive and could provide much needed assistance to many individuals. However, the lack of accessibility and increasing out of pocket costs create significant barriers to those individuals who need the treatment the most. In order for New York to effectively serve those needing mental health treatment, it is necessary for the policymakers to begin thinking in terms of care rather than profit. References Babakian, G. (2013, December 17). How Much Does Mental Health Care Cost? Retrieved from Clear Health Costs: https://clearhealthcosts.com/blog/2013/12/how-much-does-mental-health-care-cost-part-1-series/ Cortese, M. (2017, January 29). Outpatient Barriers. (M. Woodworth, Interviewer) Garfield, R. (2016, October 19). The Coverage Gap: Uninsured Poor Adults in States that Do Not Expand Medicaid. Retrieved from Kaiser Family Foundation: http://kff.org/uninsured/issue-brief/the-coverage-gap-uninsured-poor-adults-in-states-that-do-not-expand-medicaid/ Lawrence Gostin, J. L. (1995). The formulation of health policy by the three branches of government. Retrieved from The National Academies of Sciences Engineering Medicine: https://www.nap.edu/read/4771/chapter/17 Michael B. Friedman, G. W. (2009). New York States Mental Health System. New York: Mental Health Association of New York City. Office of Mental Health. (2017, January 1). OMH Official Policy Manual. Retrieved from Office of Mental Health: https://www.omh.ny.gov/omhweb/policymanual/contents.htm Stephen Eide, D. D. (2015). The Union That Rules New York. The City Journal.

Huck Finn :: essays research papers

Huckleberry Finn - A Racist Novel? There is a major argument among literary critics whether Huckleberry Finn, by Mark Twain, is or is not a racist novel. The question boils down to the depiction of Jim, the black slave, and to the way he is treated by Huck and other characters. The use of the word "nigger" is also a point raised by some critics, who feel that Twain uses the word too much and too loosely. Mark Twain never presents Jim in a negative light. He does not show Jim as a drunkard, as a mean person or as a cheat. This is in contrast to the way Huck's (white) father is depicted, whom Twain describes using all of the above characterizations and more. We see Jim as a good friend, a man devoted to his family and loyal to his companions. He is, however, very naive and superstitious. Some critics say that Twain is implying that all blacks have these qualities. When Jim turns to his magic hairball for answers about the future, we see that he does believe in some foolish things. But all the same, he is visited by both blacks and whites to use the hairball's powers. This type of naivete was abundant at the time and found among all races-the result of a lack of proper education. So the depiction of Jim is not negative in the sense that Jim is stupid and inferior, and in this aspect of the story clearly there is no racism intended. It is next necessary to analyze the way white characters treat Jim throughout the book. Note that what the author felt is not the way most characters act around Jim, and his feelings are probably only shown through Huck. In the South during that period, black people were treated as less than humans, and Twain needed to portray this. The examples of the way Jim is denigrated: by being locked up, having to hide his face in the daytime and how he is generally derided, are necessary for historical accuracy. So, Mark Twain had to display Jim's treatment in this manner, even if it is not the way he felt. Huck, however, does not treat Jim as most whites do. Huck looks at Jim as a friend, and by the end of their journey, disagrees with society's notion that blacks are inferior. There are two main examples of this in the story.

Movie Review: Sense And Sensibility Essay -- essays research papers

Movie Review: Sense and Sensibility Ang Lee, who directed, and Emma Thompson, who adapted the screenplay, have done an excellent job of bringing Jane Austen's Victorian novel, Sense and Sensibility, to the movie screen. The movie's collection of actors are a joy to watch as they bring out the emotions of an otherwise polite and reserved era in time. The production work is top notch with bright, cascading photography that sets a romantic "I wish I was there" setting. The purpose of the Sense and Sensibility is to bring out the romance in all of us and show us that Austen's philosophy of love exists today as much as it did two centuries ago. Sense and Sensibility could rightly be classified as a love story, but that would just scratch the surface of what this movie has to offer. It is also a period piece, giving us a chance to visit English society in the nineteenth century. Director Ang Lee brought us to this historic time with beautifully constructed sets and sites that drop us right into the country cottage of our heroines. This natural scenery, with its wide sweeping camerawork warps us back to a time without the loud annoyances of TV and machinery. By this example Lee sets the stage for the story to begin.. If there is one thing that keeps this movie constantly going is the work of the superb actors. The talent of the actors suited the roles they played, and their mastering of the characters bring per...

The Graduate and Plastics Essay -- Graduate Admissions Essays

The Graduate and Plastics The Graduate is a 1967 film directed by Mike Nichols who won an Oscar for his direction. This hit of the 60's focuses on the development and the maturing of the ultra-naïve college graduate Benjamin Braddock. This movie is about "just one word...Plastics." Mr. McQuire sums up this entire movie when he tells Ben that there is "a great future in plastics." In this film the relationships, except the one between Ben and Elaine, are like plastic because they are not real, they are molded, and they are artificial. The relationship between Mr. and Mrs. Robinson is shaky at best. There is no love in their marriage; in fact, the only reason there is a marriage is because Mrs. Robinson became pregnant with Elaine. They don't "sleep in the same room" and in order for her to see Ben she just "walks out" of the house. Ben finds this shocking because to an outsider their marriage seems solid and real but it isn't. Their marriage is like plastic because although it appears solid, it is fab...

Who am I really?

Who am I? What makes me the person who I am today? Might I first start this essay off by saying that I loathe these tell me about yourself type assignments. For me they seem to take an eternity to self evaluate and right It down and not to mention having to blemish out any of the more fun details. But you seem to be a really good teacher and If you were willing to share some secrets of your past to the class, then It only feels right to share some of mine with you.So here it goes . My name is Xavier Nathaniel ( I never learned how to spell my middle name) Lunar and I was born on swept 26, 1995 in down town fort worth . My mom was super young when she had me so my early life was spent at home with my grandma as my mother tried to finish school. While living with my grandma I spent a lot of time with my uncles (they were still in high school) watching them play video games, going to movies, etc. But then I finally made friends with the neighbor kid and his older brother.After a while I began to really trust them and hangout with them ore often but one day I got into a incident with the older brother and it left me pretty bucked up In the head. So by the time my mom finished school I was going Into first grade and after the things that happen with the neighbor kid I was left feeling emasculated and this caused me to feel really left out with all the other boys In my class. So when they started to pick on me old get really angry and fight them Welch eventually led to me going into anger management classes.All the while me and my mother lived within a church but by the time I was in Ruth grade she and this guy she met within the church moved away from there and move into the outskirts of down town fort worth. At first there relationship was pretty solid they never yelled at each other or argued . And personally I loved the guy , at the time my father was in prison so I never really got to meet him, but the guy (Jon) treated me like his son wed spend time together wa tch t. V , played video games, and even talked about girls who I liked in school.But after awhile things between him and my mom were getting really bad they were fighting and arguing all the time. Getting into literal fist fights and what not . Come to find out In the future he was coke addict. So they stayed In this on and off roller coaster of a marriage up until last week. But when I was younger all there crap took bait of a toll on me. I was again always bitter and angry and plus hitting puberty wasn't too fun either. School offered no sanctuary. Every day I was constantly ridiculed and picked on .One day after Jon kicked my mom, his 2 kids and I out of his house , I had finally gotten fed up with all he people bucking with me so again I had gotten into a string of fights But this time no body really cared eventually the kids left me alone , and my mom was trying to make the best of a Shiite situation so there wasn't much attention offered there . At that time I didn't have to m any real friends and the â€Å"friends† I did have didn't really feel like I was apart of there group . That left me feeling in a pretty funky state so I started cutting myself.And I know this sounds kind of morbid but it was always a leisure to feel the sharp pains of those late nights, as the endorphins rushed threw my body everything felt Like It was going to be alright . Things that make me the individual who I am today and I doubt there even relevant anymore. The person who sits in your class room is a person who has gotten over his past life and now I strive to make what ever future I have to be better for myself . I have learned a lot threw all the things thieve gone on in my life, some I wish I didn't have to learn so early but that's life .Vive learned to truly forgive the people that ring me , I learned push on in life even when things are going bad, vive learned that to truly be happy in life you have to have some sort of respect for yourself and love the person wh o you are. And IM still learning new things about myself or life in general everyday and I hope I continue to learn. =) and IM sorry for acting like a brat in your class you're a really cool teacher who deserves to be treated better . But its something that IM working on, there's always room for improvement you know . But hopefully this was what you were looking for, sorry if it seems rushed.

Human Nutrition Worksheet Essay

Use Ch. 1, 2, & 3 of Visualizing Nutrition, supplemental course materials, the University Library, the Internet, or other resources to answer the following questions. Your response to each question should be 75 to 100 words. 1. What is nutrition? Why is nutrition essential to our daily lives? Nutrition is the process in which the body takes in nutrients and distributes it through the body. These nutrients give the body energy and supplies the body with materials that help tissue growth and processes. Nutrition is also known as the science or practice of consuming and utilizing foods. Nutrition is essential in our daily lives because it can dramatically affect the way the body functions. These nutrients are the body’s day to day source of fuel. 2. What is the connection between nutrition and health? Food is the main source for the body’s health and nutrition. Our health is based off of good nutrition. Without a healthy nutritious diet, not only is your physical health at risk, but you put your mental health at risk as well. Maintaining a healthy balanced diet can help to stimulate parts of the brain that causes depression and anxiety. It even helps to boost your energy level, thus helping you excel in most daily activities. 3. What is the relationship between poor nutrition and disease? Poor nutrition can be a result of not eating enough food, or not eating the right kind of food. Not eating enough or eating all the wrong kind of food can  lead the body to face health complications in the future. One complication the body faces with poor nutrition is diabetes. Diabetes can be caused by obesity, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Anemia is another complication that the body faces when red blood cells are unable to carry enough oxygen to your body’s cells. This is caused by an iron deficiency. Some of the foods that contain iron can include: clams, oysters, liver, beef, poultry etc. 4. What does it mean to eat a balanced diet? Why is food choice important for good nutrition? A balanced diet means that the body is receiving the required portions from each food group from the food group pyramid. Food choice is important for good nutrition because it is up to the individual whether they chose to maintain a healthy life style by starting with what they eat. . A balanced diet is what is recommended in order to keep good health and healthy eating is what keeps the body healthy and strong. With poor choice in nutrition, the body can become vulnerable to disease and health complications in the future. 5. Why is physical activity important to a person’s health? What changes, if any, should you make to ensure you get enough physical activity? Physical activity is important to one’s health because it helps to reduce chances of a disease, it helps people feel better both physically and mentally. Many changes can come from making small changes in a person’s lifestyle. Keeping fit can also lead to more energy throughout the day and can have a positive effect to a person’s social interaction. Promoting good health with good eating habits and daily physical activity will make aging a lot easier on the body; not to mention one will look great doing it! 6. What influences your food choices? Why? I believe what influences my food choices is the food marketing and advertisements made through billboards, flyers, television and even social media. Personally noticed the increase in the advertisement of fat foods like McDonald’s, Carl’s Jr. Wendy’s, Jack in the Box and many more restaurants serving greasy foods. These foods are made at an affordable price and even available through drive trough’s to make it easier on the  consumers pocket and time. For me it is a lot easier to pick something up from a drive through, than to make the time to cook something healthy at home. 7. What is the difference between digesting protein and carbohydrates? Which would make you feel fuller longer? Why? Carbohydrates break down the sugars and starches of the food we eat. Our body’s then can use them as fuel. Proteins and fats can also be used as energy sources. Consuming carbs can offer the most direct way of supplying fuel to our body’s cells, while protein digestion can serve to reduce the large protein molecules in the foods you consume down to their individual building blocks, or amino acids. 8. How does today’s society affect our nutritional habits? Today’s society has a big impact on our nutritional habits due to all the advertising done for restaurants promoting unhealthy foods. Like I stated in question six, these restaurants are offering the buyers unhealthy food at affordable prices. Now a days, you don’t really see advertisement for health eating. The only restaurant that has somewhat of a healthy choice is Subway, but even then Subway has a lot of choices full of calories. In order to pick something healthy you have to read how many calories each item has and Subway has a calorie chart to look at for help. 9. How are nutrients used to produce adenosine triphosphate (ATP)? Adenosine triphosphate consists of carbohydrates and fats. Carbohydrates are the main source of ATP production. When carbs are broken down into glucose, they get stored in the muscles as glycogen. This then gets turned into ATP production. Fat is another fuel source that becomes of use when exercising. But in fat, you have the good fat and bad fat. Good fat energizes you to be less fatigued while working out, while bad fat has the opposite effects on the body. 10. Consider your personal dietary habits. What are some modifications you might make to promote good health? Considering my own dietary habits, I need to make healthier choices in order to reach a better state of health. Being pre diabetic means maintaining a healthier lifestyle along with more physical activity to burn off calories and set a goal of losing weight and staying fit. I need to start making healthier food choices rather than taking the easy way out and head for the drive through. Cooking meals a day before or taking one day to cook for the week can make time more manageable and help to make the change and keep up a healthy lifestyle.