Privacy by default

The word ‘pervasive' is indicative of the intrusive nature of TIT, as can be evidenced by two of its features, namely data collected would come from various origins, and that it would be done without the user's awareness. The paper highlights five objectives to be achieved for TIT to avoid being misused and end up harming the users. The right of deletion, the right to be forgotten, data portability, privacy, and data protection principles must not be compromised or neglected. The following examples below list just three common ways that these five objectives were not met in many internet applications.Firstly, one such risk is that a user's personal information might not be directly known, but it could be revealed through lots data collection from different sources or even uncover new information, thus violating the users privacy. A person who does not wish to be recognized online can therefore be identified through such means. Secondly, the paper details that many applications only consider the installation of â€Å"information security, privacy and data protection† only as an afterthought, rather than in the beginning, at the drawing board.This compromises the application's security and the users privacy substantially, as he capabilities of these measures would be reduced. Thirdly, with the advent of cloud computing and social networking services, the likelihood of users becoming â€Å"locked-in† to a particular TIT service provider increases because it becomes more difficult to import and export their information to other service providers. The lack of data portability here also means that users do not have control over their own data. The paper mentions that there are t-von. O general principles that should be followed in the policy making of TIT. Firstly, the TIT should not â€Å"violate human identity, human integrity, human rights, privacy or individual or public berries†. Secondly, individuals should have control of all their p ersonal information created or processed within the TIT, unless such an action violates the first principle. With regards to this, the paper illustrated four methods to reaching the objectives: 1 . Privacy, data protection and information security risk management 2. Privacy by design and Privacy by default 3.Data protection legislation: harmonistic/coherent application/enhanced enforcement 4. Standardization Each of the above four options address various challenges related to TIT. The first option is not simply a technology-focused idea, as the paper states that it loud also be important to look into other measures, such as legal, regulatory, procedural and organizational. The main idea of this option is to avoid leaving said protection measures till the end of the development process as an afterthought, but to be included at the planning stage, with an adherence to best practices to avoid or reduce common risks.The second option operates on the basis that while the technology might not be the factor that puts privacy and security at risk, but the way that it is created and implemented. It claims that applications should not collect data necessary to its functions, and that users should be made aware of what information would be gathered from them as well as what said information would be used for. Users should also be informed on how to exercise their rights, and the applications should adhere to data protection principles.The flashlight application example mentioned before was in clear violation of this, and this real life example further enforces the need for an option such as this. From the technical standpoint, the paper states that personal data protection should be defined, such as in-built privacy options and mechanisms to inform ND educate users on data processing, although the challenge would be to do such things while operating within limited processing power and/or memory of the applications.The third option focuses on the legal aspect of data prot ection, such as strengthening, clarifying and harmonize the powers of data protection authorities in order to make sure that all legislations are enforced, and not just pick and choose specific laws to be followed. The paper also states that violations should be sanctioned significantly to deter people from making applications that would neglect such issues. This is to ensure transparency of applications and for users to have control over their own data.The â€Å"concept of indirectly identifiable data† also has to be improved and elucidated to avoid uncertainty in legislations. The last option, standardization, allows ease of conformity with legal requirements and certification due to the clarity provided from it, thus being cap bled of educating users on how to exercise their rights and allowing them to make informed choices. One weakness with standardization is that â€Å"standards are voluntary and non-binding†, and thus it might not be very effective. It would req uire measures which are more binding.The impact of these options is the building of trust between consumers and the applications. Trust is important in this online environment because without trust, consumers are less likely to buy and use new applications, thus slowing progress of the invention of new technologies, economic growth, and cause the public sector to take longer to benefit from digitizing its services. The paper concludes that having a binding law with more data protection enforcement is the best option to achieve the goals for TIT to ensure that the applications are trustworthy and compliant with user rights.

Everest report Essay

This report provides an in-depth analysis of the two Everest Simulations conducted by Group 10 of MGMT1001 Thursday Tutorial. This task required students to form teams consisting of five to six members whose goals were to summit Mount Everest. While it provided us with a rich experience in team dynamics and collaboration, it also enabled us to explore key managerial concepts taught in the course, consisting of: †¢Communication †¢Groups and Teams †¢Leadership In this report, we examine the effectiveness of Face to Face Communication (FTFC) versus Computer Mediated Communication (CMC), and the problems encountered through the utilisation of the virtual medium including efficiency of the feedback system, loss of personal focus and other emergent issues. It includes personal reflections on attitudes and perceptions, as well as group performance and strategies adopted in the second Simulation in order to create a more positive team experience. Theories which relate to interpersonal communication have also been integrated in the report to illustrate its relation to certain situations encountered during the Simulation. Additionally, we provide a multifaceted analysis on the notion of team cohesiveness and how it attributes to better performance outcomes. An overview on the different intragroup conflicts encountered in the Simulation has been included, examining the positive and negative impact that conflict had on team experience and performance, and how mutual agreements were reached through the compromising of personal and team goals. Finally, we conclude the report with an analysis of the different leadership styles including directive and empowerment. In our case, a consensus system was agreed upon, which granted equal authority for decision-making. The report also includes a copy of the team contract which briefly outlines our approach to problems and policies for decision-making.

Road use charges should be introduced in the UK both for motorways and for urban areas

Whenever we hear today about the problems facing this country and how the government intends to solve them, arguably the three most commonly occurring points for debate on the government's agenda are education, the health system and transport. Transport often comes into focus when high profile incidences involving sub-standard public transport (most notably in recent times involving the railway network) are brought to light. And all this does is reinforce the reasons why many of us choose to use a car to travel in, rather than public transport. Due to the increasing need to use cars, our roads are becoming more and more congested. Now the government, in its position of trying to improve the situation, has to find a solution, which will at least ease the problem. Congestion arises when the volume of traffic exceeds road capacity. This reduces the speed of all vehicles and so increases the average time it takes to complete a particular journey. The congestion mainly occurs at peak times where the demand for the road is at its highest. Particularly when queuing in traffic jams, more people are using the roads, which increases the (marginal) cost of time to other people. Congestion occurs due to the fact that roads are a â€Å"nonexcludable† public good, i.e. no one is excluded from using the roads (based on the assumption that everyone can afford a vehicle, can drive a vehicle, and can afford the additional costs to run a vehicle.) By its definition, when a nonexcludable public good is provided, it affects the welfare of every person in the society. A public good is one where another individual using it will have no effect on the benefits received by others using it (i.e. the marginal cost of someone else consuming it is zero) and theref ore there is no competition for the service). Figure 1;The speed flow curve (Inverse relationship between the number of vehicles on a road and the average speed of vehicles) There are many causes of congestion, which all lead to some economic costs and therefore affect businesses and users of the roads. For a business the consequences of congestion are most likely to be incurred when transporting the goods and raw materials to and from factories and retail outlets. Congestion increases firms' costs, resulting in a lower comparable profit (to the value of profit without congestion) for the firm. Providing the price is inelastic these extra costs could be passed on to consumers in the form of higher market prices (whereby demand for the good is not too sensitive to a change in price). These extra costs can be incurred by either the opportunity cost of time (delays) or direct costs of extra fuel being burned travelling at lower speed. Figure 2: Supply and Demand during congestion for a price elastic good (Congestion costs shift the supply curve to the left, resulting in higher selling price and therefore lower quantity demanded) Supply curve with congestion charges Supply curve without congestion charges Demand curve Congestion may cause delays in delivery, which in turn may lead to various negative impacts on the business itself. For instance this may adversely effect the reputation of the business. Furthermore suppliers to the business may be delayed causing the firm to be less productive incurring unnecessary costs from staff becoming idle. These consequences are an adverse affect on the welfare of the other motorists, (i.e. people most likely become more irritated). Since there is a direct effect here of the actions of one person on the welfare of another person or persons in a way that is not transmitted by market prices, we have the definition of an effect that is called an externality. In economics, public goods and externalities are closely related and are often associated with efficiency problems. Thus this is part of the reason why our roads are â€Å"inefficient†. Congestion also causes the road network to become an impure public good. A public good is defined as one where another individual using it will have no effect on the benefits received by others using it (i.e. the marginal cost of someone else consuming it is zero) and therefore there is no competition for the service. An impure good is one where the consumption of the commodity is to some extent rival. When congestion occurs the use of the road network becomes competitive (especially during the rush hour) and therefore the good becomes impure. This allows the public good to be given a price and so allows schemes such as congestion charging and toll roads to be introduced. Governments across the world are introducing road charges with the goal of reducing road use and minimising the negative effects of road usage. An important decision that the government will take into consideration will be whether introducing road charges would have a negative impact upon the environment. In the capital the Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, is currently asking for the views of 300 groups likely to be affected by road charges to enter London. Despite a London report suggesting a 12% reduction in traffic, opposing parties believe it would cause chaos and adversely effect families and small businesses. Transport is a derived demand as it comes from the needs of the people (whether they are travelling to work, going shopping or meeting socially) and needs of businesses (transportation of goods and industrial materials). However the increasing demand for road use over the years has added to the number of vehicles on the road, and in turn, increases the damaging effects upon the environment. The obvious aim of introducing road charges for using motorways or entering urban areas in private vehicles are that fewer people will choose to do so, thus decreasing the harmful gas engine emissions as a result. Noise and sight pollution, along with air pollution, should also be seen as a result of reduced traffic and congestion. This would rely on the fact that roads have an elasticity that is either inelastic or elastic. The greater the elasticity (value) of these road charges would indicate higher price sensitivity in using the road in question. Establishing the elasticity will enable us to identify the extent to which the environment will benefit from a reduction in pollution (air, gas and noise). From a report by Button (1993) the ‘trip type' significantly affects the price elasticity. For instance travelling to urban areas for shopping purposes has a high elasticity, so if road charges become applicable it is likely that fewer people will decide to make the journey using private vehicles. From an environmental perspective fewer cars entering these urban areas will reduce congestion and vehicle pollution levels. When looking into the decrease of CO emissions for particular areas, such as Hereford as shown above, this illustrates the dramatic reduction in air pollution levels when a charge is applied. This does however depend on price elasticity of demand for the road. This is in comparison to the minimum elasticity for urban commuting (travelling to work) which is much lower. Any road charges imposed on these people will have a minimal effect, as it is more essential for them to travel into the urban area. An additional advantage of road charges is the extra revenue that would be generated through payment of those people who continue to use the particular (charged) road. This has seen positive results in Norway where the funds collected are being used to support the successful public transport areas of Oslo and Trondheim. The biggest environmental concern that road charges are associated with, specifically with motorways, is the likelihood that car drivers would take alternate routes (not charged) such as country roads. These roads that were previously quiet would then be subjected to noise and gas emissions as well as congestion problems. This is an example of the substitution effect as both the main roads and the rural roads could satisfy the needs of the public. The introduction of payment for using the main roads would result in an increase in the quantity demanded of the substitute, that is the rural roads where no charges are being imposed. How elasticity effects the demand for motorways with/without alternative routes (Motorways without alternative routes) (Motorways with alternative routes) From an environmental perspective road charges should be introduced for the vehicles entering the urban areas. This is because there is significant evidence that motor vehicle usage will drop significantly (as shown in the Button 1993 table). The additional revenue raised can be used to fund the much-needed public transport services. Therefore those who will no longer use their own private vehicles will potentially benefit from an improved transport service. Evidence showed that those who continue to travel into the urban areas using private vehicles are also more satisfied if the money they are charged goes into improving public transport (as shown in the MORI diagram). For motorways the decision from an environmental perspective is split between those motorways that have alternative routes and those that do not. On those motorways with possible alternative routes the disadvantages (such as the possible movement of traffic as opposed to reduction) outweighs the potential benefit of the additional revenue. Where alternative routes are unavailable road charges are appropriate as the disadvantages stated above and in the report are much less of a problem. Revenue generated from these charges can then help urban areas with the possible improvement of public transport (like the Norwegian example). If roads were a â€Å"typical† competitive commodity, supply and demand would determine its price and an organization or business would own it. However there isn't a market for roads, and (in places where there are no toll systems in place) people can use the roads for free (i.e. its price is treated as if it was zero). Added to the fact that no one actually owns the roads (the government only has a requirement to maintain them), we have a demand for the usage of the roads by the public, but a failure of a market to emerge. Therefore there is no mechanism to ensure that the resource of roads is used efficiently. Therefore if someone owned the roads and could charge a price for their use, a market would emerge leading to an efficient use of the commodity, because the price reflects the value for alternative uses. Thus through the understanding of how a road is economically defined and the fact that at the moment, it is economically â€Å"inefficient†, a measure has to be taken. Therefore we will now explain using the defining economic principles why road use charges should be introduced for motorways and for urban areas. Arguably, though, the notion of congestion charges is more readily available to be implemented than road tolls, but the economic principles that should guide the design of this policy towards taxing and charging road users also applies to road tolls. The aim of the policy is to find an equilibrium position, where the marginal cost of using the resource is equal to the marginal cost of providing the resource. Figure 4: The equilibrium position and the effect of road charges The graph is labelled with â€Å"level of traffic† on the x-axis and â€Å"generalised cost of driving† (this means that the generalised costs are time and money spent on making the journey) on the y-axis. The first line drawn in was the demand curve (D), which is also the marginal benefit (MB) curve, (which is a straight line). The easiest way to describe it's negative gradient is as the number of people using the road increases, the marginal driver will have a lower benefit from the road than the previous one. There are two costs curves to be added to the diagram. The private marginal costs (PMC) are the direct costs to the driver. The PMC curve is also the supply curve (S). It is an upward sloping curve because with low traffic densities, the only cost to the driver is petrol. However as levels of traffic increase, congestion increases, and thus the driver incurs time costs as well. The social marginal costs (SMC) has the same base as the PMC (i.e. petrol costs) but as traffic increases, not only does it represent the time cost to that one particular driver, there is also the time costs that each driver imposes on every other driver. As is to be expected, at the moment, drivers act according to their PMC curve and the level of traffic on the road increases to the point (Xo), where the PMC is equal to the MB. Thus as the economic theory states, we are at a level of traffic above the social optimum, because the social optimum occurs when the SMC is equal to the MB. This is shown at the point X*, which is the social optimum and the optimal level of traffic. To get the level of traffic reduced from Xo to X*, we have to impose an extra charge or tax â€Å"P† (= P*-Po). This is referred to as the Pigouvian tax amount. This amount (P) forces the road user to take into account the costs of the externality that they are generating, and thus induces them to operate at the efficient level. Since this â€Å"tax† is a congestion charge, it should only be imposed where congestion arises, and the level of charge should be directly related to the amount of congestion. Therefore the inner cities (i.e. urban areas) and motorways, having high levels of traffic, should have higher charges than areas with low levels of traffic. Traffic imposes a cost on society over and above the PMC. To achieve the socially optimal solution, these costs should be passed on to the driver. In doing this, only those drivers who were willing to pay society for the externalities they cause would use the road network. Thus levels of traffic would fall to the optimal output level, reducing congestion and pollution in the desired areas of urban areas and the motorways. It could be argued that if drivers were charged for the delays and road congestion they impose on one another, some of them would arrange to travel at different times, by different means e.g. rail and bus, or arrange to use different routes where road use charges can be avoided completely. There are various technological methods of charging for road uses. The simplest method is buying a license to enter a zone at certain times. The license, like a tax disc, would be prominently displayed with traffic wardens policing the system. However this would mean that only people parked in these zones would get checked; it would not include people just driving through them. To do this, traffic wardens would somehow have to physically stop cars and charge them for entrance into the area. To set this up in the UK would be very difficult with our complicated network of motorways, urban and rural roads and actually stopping cars would cause more congestion rather than reducing it. Another method that uses the new technology of electronic tolls/beacons, no longer requires motorists to halt at tollbooths. As motorists drive past these tollbooths, the toll registers the electronic number plate and sends a signal to a recording computer. This is a very direct way to charge the amount specific to the road and to the time of day with the amount due being deducted from their bank account. However, this would infringe on privacy rights, as it would enable people to derive individuals' locations. Hence the use of smartcards would be more preferable like the method used in Hong Kong. The driver inserts a prepaid card, like a telephone card, into the electronic number plate and payments are debited from it when a tollbooth is passed. Only in a case where the card runs out of credit do the central computer monitors start charging directly for road use. The installation of electronic technology would have the drawbacks of being time consuming and very costly. Not only is there the construction of tollbooths, the installation of smartcards on every single car, but maintenance as well. A type of security system would also be needed to prevent free riders1, for example they could remove the smartcard or tamper with it. A method of overcoming this would be the use of cameras on each booth to capture an image of the license plate if a smart card was not detected. The most technical method, and therefore probably the most expensive, would be satellite car tracking technology. This uses existing Global Positioning System (GPS) satellites to track vehicles via electronic black boxes fixed to the dashboard of all vehicles. The problems associated with using satellites are similar to that of the above; that is the infringement on privacy rights and costs of setup and maintenance. However one possibility with this method is that it can also be used in conjunction with locating stolen cars. From a technical point of view smartcards seem to be the most sensible option. Although it would be more costly than just buying licenses, this method would lead to less congestion, as there is no stopping to enter the areas being charged. It is less expensive than using satellites and would not infringe on privacy rights. However there are difficulties and limitations with implementing any of these road use charging methods; the general public will have to be educated in the use of them, which will be quite complicated due to different regions and the specific times of the day having varying charges. The aim of this report was to analyse the argument that as elsewhere in the world, road charges should be introduced in the UK, both for motorways and for urban areas. On addressing the argument the environmental and the consequential factors of congestion needed to be considered. On considering the environmental factors the conclusion is that the reduction in pollution levels would only occur if the road charges reduced private road use and increased the use for public transport (i.e. there were no alternative routes that people had switched to avoid the charges). However a reduction in congestion on motorways and urban areas could certainly improve a firm's economic profit as the investigation into consequences of congestion revealed. Having decided the obvious need for charges with the economic principles supporting this, whether the application of schemes is technically possible became important. For this factor the smartcard road-charging scheme emerged as the best option. On bringing all these points together road charges are both necessary and feasible for UK motorways and urban areas. Except by environmental perspectives where additionally there have to be few alternative routes, thus preventing people congesting other roads and avoid payment.

Gender Inequality Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Gender Inequality - Essay Example According to my analysis, Women are more affected by the Gender Inequality in work places, Families, Politics, National and International affairs. While in some Institutions religion and tradition are the main factors leading to discrimination against Women to a lower status. My analysis has shows that in some society's women begin to experience discrimination right from Homes, sometimes from childhood up to the maturity stage. However, history has noted that Gender Inequality has its roots dated back to over one thousand year within Arabian Peninsula. During that period, the Arab's were in the habit of burying their female children alive, soon after they were born. They had a tradition that portrayed females as unwanted creatures. But with the advent of Islam the dirty tradition was wiped away. What I also learnt explains how in some societies women are not allowed to attain any position like men. Unfortunately, women are denied the right for Education because of Gender Inequality. Though they are allowed to attend schools, their chances of attaining the highest level usually restricted by the norms of religion and tradition. In such societies, only men get the privilege of reaching the highest level of education. I observed that Gender Inequality is on the increase in many parts of the world, especially in the African Continent. In northern part of Nigeria for example, Gender Inequality is on the highest rates, reaching to about 55%. Females are denied the right for education, especially in the rural areas. They have a traditional belief which says: "Females are born to grow and produce children's, cook foods for their husbands, and children's. According to another analysis that I made, I found that in some Institutions if a certain family allows women to attend the highest level of education, such family will be discriminated from others with a negative perception. They will be regarded as the "devils that betrays the tradition of their forefathers. In some societies, despite awareness and education, Gender Inequality is practicing by discriminating against women in work places. Some employers do not offer jobs to female, preparing to offer the vacancies to their counterpart. Even in places where the employers agreed to employ females, they offer them lower salaries, because in such places women are regarded as unproductive element. In chapter 10, from a book Introduction of Sociology written by three authors, under a subject "Gender Inequality" I came across an analysis made, on hoe women hold occupation of the lower rank. The authors have this to say: "The increase of women in the work places in the twentieth Century has influenced many aspects of social life. Though high proportions of women are in labor force around the world, they are concentrated in low paying routine occupation" In another paragraph, they also have this to say: "Despite more women moving into higher ranking position, pay between the sexes remains unequal". (Introduction to Sociology)". I have learnt that the Gender Inequality does not exist only in African continent, but it is a Global problem that affected the entire races. It is a natural phenomenon that causes greatest challenges

Corporate culturism facilitates excellent business performance Essay

Corporate culturism facilitates excellent business performance. Critically discuss this statement - Essay Example This report critically investigates the role of business Culturism in strengthening the presentation of the business natural environment. The theory will address the evaluation with preceding administration ideas. It will talk about the topic of functional autonomy as the cornerstone of achieving large business performance. The report will talk about the relevant aspects of corporate Culturism in increasing the conclusion of organizations. Background The corporate culturism rose as a focal topic in an association throughout 1980's. The ventures of reinforcing the corporate society were completed around then, accepting that it might have positive effect on the execution of the organization (Brochet, 2012; Brown 2006). Some other mainstream societies all hands on deck associations are Total Quality Management (TQM) and Human Resource Management (HRM). Numerous hypothetical effects were distributed that supported these methodologies also. The development of corporate culturism has been credited to the advancement of instruction in the segment if business and enterprise. Typical extents have been investigated in organizational life that sprung the idea of corporate assemblies and images (Bushee, 2001; Champoux, 2011; Cheng, 2011). Solid corporate society pushes the better execution of representatives of the association (Choi, 2009; Zingales, 2000). It is credited to the change in quality and profit that twists from corporate societies. It compensates distinct laborers in association typically and in addition really for legitimate recognizable proof of their part in the association. The principle objective behind favoring corporate culturism is, comprehending the part of people in association. It is about taking in the "hearts and brains" of distinctive laborers in the organization to fittingly turn their exertions in the right course (Jenter, 2011; Jensen, 2001). In the event that the corporate society is string then even the feeble exhibitions of the customary spe cialists will be used in the support of the organization (Bhattacharya, 2007; Willmoit, 1993; Eccles, 2010). Corporate culturism promotes the coherent efforts, shared culture and uplifting efforts from all workers for proper adaptations to the tasks assigned. This culture extracts the meaningful effort from a huge set of employees for the benefit of the company. The purpose for quality work emanates usually from dedicated and collaborative efforts from all employees (Watson, 2006; Eccles, 2011). Whenever a new idea in business environment is initiated, it is critically analyzed whether it is combination of old gadgets or it is entirely a new one. The new theory must have significant impact of the outcome of the organization and political influence of the company. When the idea of â€Å"Corporate Culturism† was introduced, it was found that it is a revolutionary idea. It definitely has significant impact of the politics of the working culture in companies. The authors in (Eccl es, 2011) argue that the spreading of corporate culturism has been quite successful in business society. This culture helps in determining the rules of excellence. Some researchers argue that the applications of the corporate culturism may be vague or impractical (Edmans, 2011; Simnett, 2009). They emphasize the point that this culture is hard to implement in the business environment. The cost of implementation of the culture may not be returned that would result in failure of the company. However, the core ideas of corporate cult

Law - legal systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Law - legal systems - Essay Example The expansion of the role of government in the lives of its citizens has brought with it an increasing number of controversies between citizen and state. There is a perception too that as a people we have become more litigious. All this has resulted in an increase in litigation, aggravating the problems within the current judicial structure, causing delays from the ensuing backlog of cases, higher costs to the parties and the taxpayer, the bureaucratization of dispute-processing systems and exaggeration of minor disputes as a result of regulations, delays and costs. Furthermore, both court congestion and high cost are used as bargaining tools to extract settlements which may otherwise be unacceptable. For many, however, the concern runs deeper. There is a growing awareness that the corner-stone of our judicial structure, the adversary system itself, is not the most appropriate for the effective resolution of all forms of disputes; it may not be capable of resolving a problem to both parties' satisfaction and may easily cause disputes to escalate to more serious levels. Moreover, even though the vast majority of disputes are 'resolved' outside the courtroom, they are still resolved 'under the shadow' of this adversary mentality; for instance, the threat of instituting court proceedings may be enough to exact an inappropriate settlement. It is often unfortunate that the adversary mentality permeates all resolution processes, polarizing the parties and exacerbating their disaffection. Still, negotiated or 'lumped' settlements far exceed in number those resolved through other means. On many occasions the 'threat' of suit is therapeutic where otherwise stubbornness might prevail. The basic philosophy of the adversary system is that it is the best means to find the truth through the testing of the various versions of the disputants by putting each to the proof of his or her claim. Correlatively the burden of establishing legal entitlement rests with the litigants. The system is based on individualistic premises: each party is presumed to be equally motivated and competent to investigate the facts and to present his or her case to a passive, neutral and independent court and each is presumed to have equal opportunity to pursue the claim. Implicitly the system presumes adequate resources in both time and money in order to do so. Each party confronts the other, as an adversary, before the court, each having an opportunity to present her or his story, to a judge, whose business is to decide the dispute under law. Eventually so the theory goes, the truth will emerge at least to the extent it can be discovered. However, it is generally accepted that the practice does not work nearly as well as the theory, despite an absence of empirical evidence either way. Each party will usually not have equal or even adequate time, money, motivation or ability to present his or her case properly. Furthermore, because the system is in part predicated on competitiveness, combativeness and confrontation, the emphasis is less on the best resolution of conflict but rather, oftentimes it seems, on 'winning at all costs'. It is little wonder that this system has been labeled 'the sporting theory of justice'. The end results include a lot of wasted time and money and a perceived lack of

Personal statement to apply Msc of Statistics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

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Commercialization Plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

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Protecting the House of Under Armour by Patrick Craft and Jackson Lee Assignment

Protecting the House of Under Armour by Patrick Craft and Jackson Lee - Assignment Example The Under Armour Company, a performance wear company was created by a former collegiate football player, Kevin Plank, with an aim to provide for the ‘unsatisfied’ performance wear needs for his teammates and other football players (Kraft & Lee, 2009). The article describes on the rapid growth of Under Armour and the stiff market competition in the performance wear provision in America (Kraft & Lee, 2009). Through work ethics, hard work and determination, Plank was able to obtain a full scholarship, and became a captain of special teams, when he was a fullback for the University of Maryland (Kraft & Lee, 2009). Under Armour entered the active performance wear category in 2000, when the athletic apparel market was divided in the terms of percentage by other performance wear producers, such as Nike and Adidas (Kraft & Lee, 2009). Under Armour had multiple challenges ranging from high market competition, having a minimum budget, and the lack of financial resources, and had t o strategize for growth and market visibility (Kraft & Lee, 2009). Under Armour established diverse market initiatives to help in the development of its brand image and reach out to its targeted consumer group, which saw the creation of inexpensive marketing strategies for a hit entry into the market (Kraft & Lee, 2009).

Humanity beliefs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Humanity beliefs - Essay Example Is selflessness the most important aspect of humanity beliefs? This paper will have a deep insight into selflessness as an attribute of humanity and how it comes about. First, the paper will define selflessness and then explore into the causes of selflessness and the ultimate impact of this attribute on humanity. Selflessness is the attribute of acting with less interest for yourself than for the success of mutual activity where one is more concerned with the well-being of others than his/her own welfare. It is the nature of people who are genuinely benevolent individuals by putting the needs of others first. A selflessness being is where one gives to anyone, often capitulating or sacrificing something of their own knowing that nothing in their life is truly of their own. Selflessness is offering help, kindness, material things and always be ready to assist to the best of their ability inherently knowing that that is the right thing to do. It is this act of selflessness that distingu ish human from all the other animals since every man has a wild beast within him and selflessness makes us different from anything else thus humanity . Selflessness is established in evolutionary biology and also as a concept in psychology is a mansion that tries to explain the traits of human ethics because individuals who help others benefit in return by promoting their genetic self-interest. This shows that selfless behavior is as a matter of fact a prominent feature of both biological and human nature. Selflessness as a humanity aspect is brought about as a product of selfish desire and one may think this is an emphasis of selfishness but it sets apart for altruism which is an aspect of unselfish devotion to others. The main idea is based on which level in the hierarchy of living organism will turn out to be the certainly selfish and use the real life examples that surround the human nature. The growth of civilization is used to give an incrementally honorable status of the term selflessness because we will realize that this civilization power results naturally as selfishness .since civilization is an aid to growth and originates in selfishness then selfishness may be the reason for growth of civilization thus the meaning of saving the vague supposition of selflessness (Freud 74). This can also be proven by an example of fear as a natural means of self-protection where our a small nation like Kenya will always want to be in the UN organization and give help to others not because they homer the international union or have a greater passion in helping other nation but it is a fear-linked desire for survival when they need help from the UN organization. Tradition can also be a cause of selflessness act as a trait of humanity that is triggered by inner power of selfishness because one might be fully submitted to a given tradition by taking consideration on the community and avoid trouble with the society but in real sense the act is triggered by the selfishnes s power of praise from the community leaders, fame and be given titles of good morals. These examples clearly show that selflessness as a humanity aspect is brought about by fear, greed and tradition but without selfishness the act of selflessness may not be clearly expressed. It is natural to claim that you love someone and you will always do many things to them unconditionally and with passion basically because you want to see them

Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example When different business enterprises target the same markets within a given industry, competition intensifies. This is the scenario observed in the coffee houses industry. While players are many in number, the target market is relatively the same. As a result, each coffee house must move swiftly and strategically to lure consumers into buying its products, thereby building a market share within the industry. Depending on how the captured market share is managed, it can increase or decrease with time. Tim’s Coffee Shoppe competes intensively with Queequeg’s Coffee among other coffee houses. The above aspects apply to Tim’s Coffee Shoppe operations in the coffee houses industry. Tim’s Coffee Shoppe has to manage its clientele in a way that ensures Queequeg’s Coffee or any other coffee house does not win it through competitive practices. This implies that coffee houses operating in the same industry engage one another in intensive competition that could see one lose its customers to another based on the customer satisfaction factor. The 4 P’s of marketing inform the marketing practices of many business enterprises across the globe (Pride & Ferrell, 2012). Tim’s Coffee Shoppe operates in a highly competitive environment, where players are many and competition cannot be price-based only. To ensure that Tim’s Coffee Shoppe remains competitive over its rivals, the adopted marketing strategy must critically account for the 4 P’s of marketing. The surveys presented in the filing cabinet highlight the operational strengths and weaknesses of Tim’s Coffee Shoppe. The 4 P’s of marketing can strategically be applied to the survey information for the purpose of redesigning and revolutionizing the Tim’s marketing strategy. The product is highly rated by majority of customers. However, the shortcomings noted by a few should be used to enhance

Sources of Criminal Law Essay Example for Free

Sources of Criminal Law Essay A statute is a codified rule or written form of law. A statute identifies a particular rule of law or condition of a particular state or government. Each State has its own constitution; the states constitution and its laws are considered statutes. Generally, statutes are named through numbers or codes. Example: In Illinois, the definition of a forcible felony is found under : 720 ILCS 5/2-8. 720 is the criminal code, ILCS stands for Illinois Compiled Statutes, 5/2-8 specifies the location of the rule. The term, â€Å"Throw the book at you† refers to the book of statutes or book of laws of the state. Throwing the book at you means they are charging you with as many things in the statute book as they can. Statutes define everything we do in government, they are the laws passed by our representatives in congress or the state senate. These laws deal with everything from crimes, to taxes, to how to get a speed bump put in on a county road. Statutes are rules of law enacted by government and can be challenged as violating one or more of your constitutionally protected rights. VS. Common law comes from the old English system of law we copied here in the US. Common law is the practice of enforcing rules we have followed in the past. Common law is defined by cases through the idea of precedent. Precedent is simply applying the same rule that did before. Citing precedent is like saying; â€Å"you did this before, so do it again.† Example: Common law is the same idea as most parents employ with their kids. If you punished one child for biting a classmate by sending them to their room, you will also give your next child the same punishment if they bite a classmate. This is because historically, the punishment for biting was being sent to ones room. Thus, that punishment becomes the common law or common rule. The concept of Stare Decisis adds another element to common law. Just like at your home with your kids, the courts can change the rules on us. However, the only court that can change the rule is the highest court to have addressed the issue. Basically, add chain of command to precedent. Example: If the Supreme Court of the US (highest Court in the entire US) makes a rule: such as the rule requiring all arrested person to be given Miranda rights, NO other court can change that rule except the US Supreme Court. Therefore every state has to follow that rule! Stare Decisis goes further though: If the US Supreme court decides NOT to address that issue and the highest court to hear the case was the Illinois Supreme Court, ONLY the Illinois courts have to follow the rule. This system goes all the way down to the courts in your area. If no courts have ever issued an opinion regarding the issue in the case at the district (trial court) level then they can apply any rule they see fit. How does this work? Statutes say what the rules of law are, Common law or case law defines how they are applied. Example: The constitution is a statute and this 2nd amendment says â€Å"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.† The statute can be read many different ways: Scholars debate whether the right to bear arms is a right you have all the time as a citizen or only in connection with militia service Common law or Case Law defines what the statutes mean. As recently as 2008, the Supreme Court was defining what the words of this statute (2nd Amend.) mean, the Supreme Court held, â€Å"The Second Amendment protects an individual right to possess a firearm unconnected with service in a militia, and to use that arm for traditionally lawful purposes† District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008). Our laws come from both Common Law and are made up by statute: Many of our laws come from common law and are then â€Å"codified† (formally written) into statutes. For example, most rules of evidence in a court room are defined by common law but have been â€Å"codified† into formal statutes like the Federal Rules of Evidence. The concept of hearsay came from the common law of England. Requirements for a criminal Act Statutes define everything about a law. They lay out the Elements of a Crime. Elements of a crime are the specific conditions that need to be satisfied to be found guilty of a particular crime. Elements may include a person’s state of mind or mens rea. For example: to commit the crime of 1 degree murder (every state defines things and terms things slightly differently) most states require that the State prove the accused intended to commit the crime. To do this, some amount of evidence must show that the persons action were not accidental but intentional. Therefore the persons intent is said to be an element of the crime. Other elements of the crime of murder include: a dead body. Motivation or motive is NOT an element of a crime because motive is not a condition that must be met to commit the act. You don’t have to have a reason to kill someone Due Process The idea of Due Process comes from the 5th and 14th amendments of the US Constitution. The 14th Amendment applies the right to Due Process to every state and any law enacted by the states. Due Process is simple. It means that the government cannot take anything from you; not your house; not your liberty; not your life; not a single cent without affording you the right to process of law. Process of law can be very broad; it can mean a criminal trial, an administrative hearing or anything in between. This is why you can contest every ticket you ever get including speeding, jaywalking, or even code violations. This right says no citizen can have anything taken from them by the government without the right to their day in court. References District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008).

IDE for Satellite ODL

IDE for Satellite ODL An Integrated Development Environment for Satellite Operations Definition Language Rachana M C Sajiv Kumar Abstract— The satellite system has to be maintained in proper operations conditions for optimal throughput and satisfying the mission requirements. This is achievable by monitoring the satellite health parameters, analyse the behavioural characteristics and control the parameters accordingly based on the behavioural patterns. The subsystem experts define the behavioural pattern in a domain specific language for this purpose. An integrated environment is required to aid the experts from various engineering and science disciplines to properly define the monitoring, analysis and control rules. This paper proposes a method to develop an Integrated Development Environment (IDE) which facilitates the definition of monitoring, analysis, control and reporting logics using the Satellite Operations Definition Language, required for the satellite operations. Keywords— DSL (Domain Specific Language), MAC (Monitoring Analysis and Control), IDE (Integrated Development Environment). I. INTODUCTION The health of the satellite has to be maintained to utilize the spacecraft for its intended purposes effectively. This involves monitoring, analysis, control and reporting of health parameters. Health parameters are analogue and status values of different subsystem parameters telemetered from satellite to ground stations at regular intervals. The task of monitoring and analysis this parameters is quite complex with the increasing number of space-crafts to be maintained. The satellite control system is basically designed to monitor the various health parameters and initiate corrective actions whenever and wherever required. Satellite health monitoring analysis and control operations involves receiving health data, process it, analyse and perform appropriate controlling operations as required as well as to present them in appropriate format. Since these MAC (Monitoring Analysis and Control) operations rely on various domains specific tools and incongruence may lead to error. Space Operations Definition Language is a domain specific language developed in ISRO for defining the logics for satellite health monitoring, analysis and reporting. A common language brings about congruence in definition of monitoring and analysis logics for the multiple satellite systems. The data received from the spacecraft’s will have parameters to be given to various sub-systems and this data is called Telemetry data. The MAC operations is done using the Space Operations Definition Language that is implemented and developed in ISRO and to automate these MAC operations we use the language specified by the experts. We use the language defined by the experts because the experts define the various logics used for monitoring the satellites. For example, in thermal systems there exists various properties like states property or dynamic trend behaviour but the experts maybe interested in the slope variations that occur and these variations depends on if the temperature is increasing or decreasing with the slope. The state behaviour can be enabled means on or disabled means off and these properties can be dynamic or continuous. The nature of the system can be of many types like discrete, analogue and hybrid. The lexical analyser takes the tuning parameters and passes them to the parser where the syntax analysis and semantic analysis is done i.e. the language specification is done in syntax analysis. This approach helps in refining the addressing of the requirements of spacecraft subsystem operations, by properly converging the expert’s views in a single language platform. An Integrated Development Environment is required to facilitate the health of the system that can be represented in a customized IDE. II. THE PROBLEM DOMAIN The health of a series of satellites is monitored and controlled by the experts with help of software. They receive telemetry data from each spacecraft. The telemetry data is processed, analysed and presented .For every day-to-day operation, nominal operations of the satellites are pre-planned and a schedule is defined well in advance by specialists. It may occasionally happen that during the operation of the pre-planned schedule, the spacecraft may exhibit some unexpected behaviour. Subsystem and Mission experts has to define logics in a domain specific language to address these scenarios. An IDE for this domain specific satellite operations language, in which the logics for automating the satellite health monitoring and control can be defined, is attempted here. We use the concept of recursive descent parser (top-down approach) in order to create a context aware environment that allows usage of more general grammars and also has advantages like easy debugging, ability of parsing to any non-terminal in the grammar specified. We require to implement a LL(1) parser which gives the ability of syntactic and semantic look ahead that helps to resolve the shift-shift conflict. We need not have to worry about conflicts like shift-reduce and reduce-reduce as they are not issues for the top-down parsers. The parser should offer the ability of creating lexical states and lexical actions so as to enable the IDE context aware while defining domain specific monitoring logics for the satellite operations. III. AREAS ADDRESSED IN THIS WORK This work envisages developing a solid infrastructure which provides an integrated environment for defining the health monitoring and controlling logics for satellites. This integrated development environment (IDE) assembles multiple disparate tools into a single coherent system. The following sub-modules have to be developed in this process. A) Basic IDE Infrastructure: This involves development of the base IDE infrastructure with sufficient features for supporting the domain specific language, essentially a fully fledge editor to extract the language features to possible extent. The Net Beans Platform which is a solid infrastructure for creating custom software development tools is utilized for this purpose. However, more than as an individual software development tool, the infrastructure is enhanced as a tailored integrated development environment (IDE) for our domain specific language by assembling multiple disparate tools into a single coherent system. B) Lexical Analyser (Tokenizer module) for the DSL: The concept of Lexical analysis or tokenization is the process of breaking a character stream into individual units called â€Å"tokens.† Lexical analyser helps in converting a stream of input characters into a stream of tokens. Once the token is received the lexical analyser will look up for the tokens specified to check the existence of the respective token. If the token does not exist then it proceeds to fetch the next token. If not then that particular token along with the token value is written into the Lexer and passes it on to the parser. The concept of recursive descent parser is used to create a better context aware environment. We use the concept of recursive descent parser (top-down approach) in order to create a context aware environment that allows usage more of general grammars and also has advantages like easy debugging, ability of parsing to any non-terminal in the grammar specified. Constructing the tokenizer using JavaCC compiler constructor and integrate the resultant module with base IDE infrastructure. Fig. 1 IDE Infrastructure C) Syntax Analyser with associated Syntax highlighter. It helps in determining whether a string or a sequence of tokens can be generated by a grammar. The lexical analyser can identify tokens with the help of grammar rules but it cannot check the syntax of a given parameters. The components are Non-terminals and terminals where Non-terminals help in processing the grammar further and terminals helps in terminating the process. This particular analysis produces a parse tree as an output. The main task of the parser is to accept an input and check and confirm the input given with the specified grammar. The issue of matching the input with the grammar results in backtracking and making a new search each and every time which consumes lot of time. Therefore, most of the parsers do not use the concept of backtracking. Parsers that are generated by Java Compiler Compiler use the concepts of terminals and non-terminals so no backtracking is required. The task of finding the tokens further in the input stream is called as looking ahead into the input stream. We can assign values to the look ahead which helps to look ahead the number of tokens in the input given. Suppose the look ahead is 1that means it looks ahead 1 token in the input stream. Implementation of the syntax analyser from the DSL language specification and generate modules to integrate with base IDE infrastructure. D) Semantic analysis: The Syntax analyser receives input in form of tokens from lexical analyser where the lexical analysers are responsible for the checking of a token given by the syntax analyser but Syntax analyser cannot determine if a token is valid, it cannot determine if an operation performed on a token type is valid or not. The semantic analysis uses the help of token manager generated by the compiler. In JavaCC we need to specify certain lexical specification that needs to be organized into a set of states. Each state is given a name to be identified and the standard state is called default. Whenever the token manager is initialized, it always starts from the Default state. Every state contains a list of different regular expressions. The four kinds of them are SKIP, TOKEN, MORE and SPECIAL_TOKEN. The accepted token is matched as follows- all the specified regular expressions in the present lexical state is considered and the token manager accepts the total number of specified characters from the input and match them with the specified regular expressions. After the regular expressions is been matched to the one that is specified, the particular lexical action is executed .Suppose the kind of regular expression specified is TOKEN then the matched token is returned, but if the regular expression is of SPECIAL_TOKEN then it first should be saved and then returned along with the next token that is to be matched. This helps in constructing an integrating to the base IDE the context sensitive semantics analyser encapsulating the domain knowledge. E) Dynamic Analysis Facility. Controlled environment for executing the logics defined in the domain specific language is required for facilitation the experts to understand better the flow of execution and verify that the logic defined perform the intended flow sequence. In order to facilitate this feature the step and continuous execution features with facility to monitor internal states of the program is provided exploiting the Netbeans API modules. F) Hint modules: Netbeans API allows us to create a module that provides various hints. So whenever we need to use these kind of modules we need to provide the required expression that helps in matching the existing one. When the initial expression is given automatically the whole expression is provided by the hint module. G) Code completion: Netbeans allows us to implement the Editor Code Completion API. This tutorial shows you how to implement the Editor Code Completion API. When we invoke this feature, a code completion box appears, displaying words that can complete the text typed in the editor. IV. IMPLEMENTATION AND RESULTS The implementation is done using Netbeans API 7.2.1 and a JavaCC compiler to create an IDE infrastructure on Linux platform using Linux RedHat 6.1. To implement this we have used associated Netbeans Libraries such as Lexer, Parsing API, and Editor API. JavaCC which is a ‘Lexer and parser generator’ reads a set of grammar rules and helps to convert it into a java program that matches to the specified grammar. The Java codes generated by JavaCC are augmented with the domain specific language specifications to develop modules which perform the following major tasks: 1. Lexical analysis 2. Syntactic analysis, Semantic analysis 3. Code generation or execution Lexical and Syntactic analysis involve in understanding the source code and ensuring its syntactical correctness. This is called parsing, which is the parsers responsibility. Lexical analysis on receiving the code and divides it into proper tokens. A token is a significant piece of a programs source code. Token examples include keywords, punctuation, literals such as numbers, and strings. Nontokens include white space, which is often ignored or skipped but used to separate tokens, and comments. Fig2. Designing IDE During syntactic analysis, the parser takes the token from the program by ensuring the programs syntactical correctness and by building an internal representation of the program. During syntactic analysis, a compiler examines the program source code with respect to the rules defined in the languages grammar. If any grammar rule is violated, the compiler displays error messages. Context aware token recognition is achieved by passing the tokens scanned by the editor to a mapping module and trace appropriate action on the fly, such as highlighting the various keywords in appropriate colour, providing necessary hints appropriate based on the current context etc. The Syntax analyser and Semantic analyser on receiving the tokens from the token manager aggregate and checks it with the grammar specified which also helps in highlighting the language constructs. The code completion API gives context based suggestions when an expression is being coded. We also have the feature of hint modules when a logic is been given provided with the Netbeans. Fig3. IDE with domain specific language and its environment. V. CONCLUSION In this paper we mainly focused on developing an integrated environment that helps in monitoring the spacecraft’s along with the specified control logics. We also have implemented the concept of modules required for and integrated development environment along with the base infrastructure suited for the domain specific language.This works presents a properly tailored integrated development environment to facilitate experts from inter-disciplinary fields to defined monitoring and control logics of concerned subsystems and to merge them in unison to provide overall the satellite health monitoring and control logics. The future enhancements that can be implemented are the Visual source representation that provides possible visual representation of logics being specified which helps in knowing the various changes happening in the spacecraft’s. Static and Dynamics Analysis Features helps to associate modules to carry out static and dynamic analysis based on the domain as well as the language specification. ACKNOWLEDGMENT Thanks is such a little word but not bigger than a moment, but there is a world of great meaning in it. It is my immense pleasure that I take this opportunity to express my gratitude to all of them who helped me during this project work. I specially thank the organization (ISRO) for giving me this opportunity. REFERENCES Next-Generation Monitoring, Analysis, and Control for the Future Smart Control Center Pei Zhang, Senior Member, IEEE, Fangxing Li, Senior Member, IEEE, and Navin Bhatt, Fellow, IEEE Simulink Tools for Design and Verification. Netbean Platform Tutorial for IDE( Oracle). JavaWorld (http://www.javaworld.com/article/2076269/learn-java/build-your-own) Netbeans File Type (https://platform.netbeans.org/tutorials/nbm-filetype.html) Netbeans JavaCC Lexer(https://platform.netbeans.org/tutorials/nbm-javacc-lexer.html) Netbeans JavaCCParser(https://platform.netbeans.org/tutorials/nbm-javacc-parser.html)

Discuss The Importance Of Service User Participation Social Work Essay

Discuss The Importance Of Service User Participation Social Work Essay Traditionally, people experiencing mental health problems were removed from society and placed in asylums across the country, indefinitely (Thornicroft and Tansella, 2002, pp. 84-90). Patients within the mental health system were expected to take a compliant role in the management of their care and leave the decision making to the professionals. In todays society that is not the case. In this assignment the writer will begin by exploring the publication Vision for Change while discussing the main theme of this publication which is the importance of service user involvement and the importance of empowering the service user in the mental health system of Ireland (Ireland, Dept of Health Children, 2006). To empower the service user requires the control of power to be transferred from the professionals to the now known Service User. The writer will discuss the effect of this change and the importance of this change within the mental health system. The Mental Health Act 2001 requested th e closure of many asylums and the move towards a community based model of care. The deinstitutionalisation of many patients and relocation back into the community required changes in the way the psychiatric nurse and service user operate. Evidence has shown the importance of service users participation in research, education and in practice through out the mental health care system. The writer in this assignment will discuss the importance of service user participation in the delivery of psychiatric nursing care, focusing on the nursing assessment using a holistic approach. Finally, the writer will discuss the importance of service user participation in the remaining stages of the nursing process; the nursing diagnosis, outcomes, planning, implementation and evaluation while exploring the need for a therapeutic relationship between service user and psychiatric nurse to complete the nursing process successfully. With people experiencing mental health difficulties, who now reside in the community, it is vital that service users become involved in the development and delivery of mental health services, such as self-help services, drop-in centres, and in providing assistance with activities of daily living. The aim of this is to sensitise society to the need of integrating people with mental health difficulties back into community life. As quoted in a Vision for Change; Service users must be at the centre of decision making at an individual level in terms of the services available to them, through to the strategic development of local services and national policy. To use a slogan of the disability rights movement: nothing about us, without us. To reduce the stigma attached to people with mental health difficulties the term patient was changed to service user, as most of the care they receive is provided in the community. The Mental Health Act, 2001 suggests the term patient is used to describe someone who is involuntarily admitted. Patient does not therefore refer to all individuals in an approved centre. In the Vision for Change it states that the correct way to describe someone with a mental health illness was to see the person before the illness, for example someone with anorexia nervosa was not to be described as an anorexic rather than as a person with anorexia nervosa. Stereotyping in mental health is as damaging as any other stereotype (Ireland, Dept of Health Children, 2006). People, who experience mental health difficulties, can be the experts through their own experience (Bee et al, 2008, pp. 442-447). Psychiatric nurses remain the largest staff group involved in the provision of mental health care, (Bee et al, 2008, pp. 442-447). Therefore, to ensure the mental health care service abides by legislation, it is vital for psychiatric nurses to re-evaluate their role to ensure priority is given to including the service user. An Bord Altranais recommend that a holistic approach is adopted and it is listed as one of the requirements in nurse registration education programmes (An Bord Altranais, 2005). It is fundamental that the service user participates in the nursing assessment especially where the holistic model of assessment is used. The biopsychosocial model uses a holistic view, addressing the biological, psychological and social factors contributing to a persons mental health problems. According to Boyd (2004, p.190) it proposes a person-centred treatment approach which addresses each of these elements through an integrated care plan agreed with service users and their carers and involves participation of the service user throughout the assessment. This assessment requires the service user to answer a series of questions, some being of intimate nature about themselves. This enables the assessor to obtain relevant information required in making a nursing diagnosis. To ensure accurate nursing diagnosis it is critical that the services user listens carefully to the questions asked and is completely honest when answering the questions. This process also requires the service user to be patient while the assessor records the data received. However, it is important to remember that an initial assessment can occur when a service user is first admitted into psychiatric care. According to Boyd (2004, p.194) the assessor must have empathy and an understanding of how difficult it is for a person to discuss intimate details of ones lifes to a complete stranger, even if it is in the persons best interest. Although the nursing assessment is the starting point of the nursing process, the writer feels that service users participation remains of equal importance throughout the nursing process. The freedom of information act 1997 requires that all services users can request access to any information stored about them. While, it is now a legal requirement for service users to be involved at all stages of the nursing process, the writer suggests that it is imperative that the service user is informed of the nursing diagnosis. This will empower the service user, by encouraging the service user to find relevant information regarding their diagnosis which can assist in them becoming experts of their own mental illness. Following the diagnosis it is required by law that the psychiatric nurses discuss all details of the outcome with the service user. The psychiatric nurse needs to ensure that the service users values and beliefs are priority when planning the outcome. If any treatment is deemed necessary for the road to recovery, then it is compulsory that the service user is capable of understanding the effects of the treatment proposed, this requirement is stated Under the Mental Health Act, 2001: the service user must be capable of understanding the nature, purpose and likely effects of the proposed treatment and the consultant psychiatrist has given the patient adequate information in a form and language that the patient can understand, on the nature, purpose and likely effects of the proposed treatments (Section 56). Factors for consideration include the capacity to comprehend and decide, risks involved, patients wishes to be informed, the nature of the procedure and the effects of information on the service user. The service user must be informed of the benefits of taking the medication prescribed, for what duration the medication is to be taken and what side affects may occur when taking the prescribed medication. Forcing an unwilling inpatient to receive medication has been considered an unnecessarily coercive, traumatic, and even punitive assault on a persons privacy. It has been stated that the patients refusal of medication is indicative of a gap between their experience and understanding of the medication and the intention of the prescribing physician. (Kaltiala-Heino et al, pp. 290-295) In todays mental health care system, many service users receive treatment in the community; therefore, it is critical that services users listen to information regarding their prescribed medication while raising any concerns they may have. Planning and the implementation stages of the nursing process are not possible without the involvement of the service user. Communication and agreement between the service user and the psychiatric nurse is necessary. Potential obstacles need to be pointed out, and methods of overcoming these obstacles, discussed. Potential risk areas for the service user needs to be discussed and a therapeutic risk assessment carried out by the psychiatric nurse to ensure the service user is not at risk or danger of harming themselves or others. Awareness of patients perceptions of their impaired quality of life gives psychiatric nurses important information for planning individually tailored interventions (Pitkà ¤nen, A. et al, 2008, pp. 1598-1606). Finally, the evaluation stage evaluates client progress and reviews plans in accordance with evaluated data in consultation with the client. Evidence shows that the evaluation of a services users experience is of vital importance in shaping the future of service users outcomes within the mental health service. It also enables the psychiatric nurse to take the necessary steps required to ensure that the individual service user is satisfied with the service received. The Department of Mental Health, UK stated that the experience of service users, including those from black and minority ethnic groups, is a recognised national marker in the performance of the UK mental health services. In 2006, the UK National Service Framework (NSF) in line with the Mental Health Unit of the Regional Office for Europe carried out a systematic review of empirical service user views and expectations of UK-registered mental health nurses. Feedback from this review was both positive and negative, with servi ce users holding mental health nurses in high regard. However; feedback also reveals that there was a strong need for nurses to be more effective in interpersonal communication and relationship building, whilst spending more time with the service user (Bee et al, 2008, pp. 442-447). Throughout the nursing process it is necessary for a therapeutic relationship to exist between the service user and the psychiatric nurse to. Relationships are central in fostering and maintaining hope (Byrne et al 1994). Psychiatric nurses are required to have a genuine interest in services users, listening in a non judgemental way to what is being said. In a user-led study evidence has shown service users identified the importance of therapeutic relationships and how they inform patient experiences. Communication was highlighted by all participants as necessary. One participant in the survey quoted; As soon as you come they can see that you are angry. Then someone will say, sit down, lets talk about it, make a cup of tea. Failure to establish a therapeutic relationship between the service user and the psychiatric nurse can result in negative patient experiences. Participants identified coercion as the main reason for failure to establish a therapeutic relationship (Gilburt, H. et a l, 2008). Conclusion: The writer in this assignment briefly exposed the treatment of patients within the mental health care prior to the introduction of the Mental Health Act 2001 and the publication of Vision for Change. Then, the writer discussed the major changes within the Mental Health Services as a result of this act and publication. The Mental Health Act 2001, focused on the closure of many asylums and a community based model of care to be adopted, however, both the Mental Health Act and the Vision for Change also focus on the importance of service user involvement and empowering the service user. The writer demonstrates how a new psychiatric and service user role was required to adapt to policy changes within the Mental Health Service and to ensure all parties were adapting to policy requirements that aims at service user involvement at all stages, thus; empowering the service user. The writer reports how the publication Vision for Change also hoped at reducing stigma by aiming to involve services users in developing and delivering mental health services. The writer mentioned the importance of service user involvement in research, education and practice, while focusing on the practice area by exploring the nursing process, starting with the assessment. Evidence is clear that it is not possible for a psychiatric nurse, even with the necessary skills required to proceed with the nursing process without the participation of the service user at all stages. The writer concluded this assignment by exploring evidence which reveals that service users regard a therapeutic relationship and good communication between the service user and the psychiatric nurse of high importance.

Should Adopted Children Be Allowed To Locate Their Biological Parents? :: essays research papers

Should Adopted Children Be Allowed To Locate Their Biological Parents?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A touchy topic these days is whether or not the option should be open for adopted children to be able to locate their biological parents. There are some many circumstances for each different case that it is hard to know where exactly I stand on this topic. Over all, I do not think that you should locate your biological parents.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are many reasons for this. For one thing, learning information on the person who gave you up is a long drawn out process. It can be very emotionally painful, as well. For whatever reason you were given up for adoption; death, financial problems, to young, etc it ¹s private information and should remain that way. The decision was made a long time ago because it was the best one at that time.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Think about the birth parents involved. What happens after you spend a few months or more of your life trying to locate these people only to have a door shut in your face? How would you feel if that were to happen? The chances of this happening are pretty good. Yes, there are happy reunions on talk shows that turn out for the better, but that is not always the reality. These people gave up their birth rights many years ago and should not go back on that. They have moved on with their lives and might not want to be reminded what could have been. So many hurt feelings and feelings of guilt could come flying back and then put more of a burden on both of your lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is another factor to think about in this situation. How is your family suppose to react to this and how are they supposed to feel? This is the loving family that took you in as there own for all these years, are they

backstreet boys :: essays research papers

Backstreet Boys   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a world full of imitations, the Backstreet Boys are definitely not just another fabricated, bubblegum-pop boy-band, but are a multi-talented group of real musicians. With each Backstreet Boy having his own unique experiences in such areas as: acting, singing, modeling, and playing instruments, it is obvious that it would add flavor to their phenomenal voices, and lead them to fame and fortune. â€Å"Honestly, looking at them for the first time with their country, down to earth, all American boy image, I thought they were out of their heads. Eventually, their vocal abilities and their passion for music changed my mind,† stated their former manager, Johnny Wright on VH1 Music Television. Although it may seem as if success was easily handed over to them, these five regular guys from Orlando, Florida experienced many struggles on their bumpy road to the top.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"They are liked and have such a huge following because of the diverse group of boys represented,† Kayla Jones stated in a personal interview. Despite their success in being number one in thirty-eight different countries, each member had his fair share of struggles before reaching his status in the Backstreet Boys (Gold Collector’s Series Entertainment Magazine). Leaving their mark on the world was not as easy as it may seem. Each member comes from a different background with influences ranging from Latin to even Blackfoot Indian (Krulik, 11). What brings such a young and talented group of guys together is their love and passion for music and the stage. Ashufta 2 Nicholas Gene Carter, better known as Nick from the Backstreet Boys, was born in Jamestown, New York on January 28, 1980 (Golden 61). Being born in the same hospital as Lucille Ball, it was inevitable that he was destined for a career in show business. Shortly after his birth, his family moved to a dream house in Orlando, Florida. It was there that Nick truly developed his skills and desires for the entertainment world. He experienced the different aspects of show business including: singing for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers halftime shows, acting in Phantom of the Opera, winning talent shows, and even working for Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel (Golden 64). Despite of his accomplishments, he was still unsatisfied and was determined to discover his ideal job in the spotlight. The rebel of the Backstreet Boys, Alexander James (A.J.) McLean was born on January 9, 1978 in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Six Sigma :: essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First off I am pleased that you, Books-R-Us, is going to adapt to the Six Sigma process. Not only will things run smoother, the product better, but the end customer will also be happier. I am going to plan out the course for you below; if you need any additional help here is the master black belt who you will want to contact:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Now assuming that everyone has already read Six Sigma for Everyone by George Eckes, I’m not going to go into defining all of the technical terms; he does a fine job of doing that in his book. Business Case: We are going to revamp out assembly line project to run both effectively and efficiently. The assembly line is the core of the business, and if it isn’t running both effectively and efficiently, we are loosing money. Problem Statement: We have made no steps to improve our line, even though we have the demand for our books. We only have one employee, who by the way can’t keep up with the demand. We need to get to the point to where for every 1,000,000 books are sold madam customer only rejects 3 or 4. Now this would be easy to do if we were only putting out 5-6 books a day, but we also need to put out a great number of books. Project Scope: Bottom line, like I have sated over and over, is improving our effectiveness and still maintain a level of being efficient. Easier said than done, right? Wrong, if we focus on where the bottlenecks are in the line, and focus on the areas that are causing the books to be rejected (I.E. the folding process) we can improve our system dramatically. We are not going to worry about the bottom line and net profit. That isn’t your job as assembly line workers; we will leave that up to the group of executives for Books R Us. We realize that in the beginning we may be loosing money because this is going to take time to turn things around. We only want to worry about the assembly line, that’s it. Goals and Objectives: Right now at the current step of the process (with one employee), we are making 4 books per shift, but we are also having 4 books rejected. We are loosing money, obviously. We have the demand for our books, if we put our 1,000 books and madam customer rejected 0, we would sell 1,000 books.

Panera Case Essay

Company is a chain of restaurants, both company owned and franchised, that provides food and beverages with more of a cafe experience as oppose to a traditional fast food restaurant. Panera NAICS code is 722310, which is classified as food service contractors. Food service contractors can be can be classified as cafeterias, fast food restaurants, or regular restaurants just to name a few. In 2007 there were approximately 23,250 establishments in this industry, which was up from 20,693 in 2002 and 18,991 in 1997, which shows that people are continuously opening more and more restaurants each year. Since 1997, the food industry under this NAICS code has seen significant increase in sales. The total number of sales in this industry has more then doubled since 1997, which can be attributed to two things. One of those is that they’re a just more establishments out there in 2007 then there were 10 years ago. The second, and probably most important reason why sales have more then doubled, is that people are just simply going out to eat more as oppose to cooking at home. Success in this industry is predicated on the ability to be able to not only appeal to consumer taste and preferences but continually changing product offerings to keep these customers happy and loyal to your restaurant. More often then not, companies in this industry fail and go out of business prematurely because they are not able to appeal to a wide enough customer base. Obviously you must have great food in this industry, but equally as important is the location, customer service, prices, and time of day that you choose to do business. If you don’t have a handle on these items then you will likely not make it past the first year without taking a significant loss. Due to the fact that there are different types of needs among customers, there is no way one establishment can serve the needs of everybody. Each restaurant must figure out the few things they do well and service those customers whose needs fit into what that restaurants do well. Driving Forces One of the key driving forces in this industry may seem obvious and simple but it is the most important thing in this industry. The restaurants must have good food to satisfy the ever-changing needs of customers. Since customers do have different preferences and these preferences could change at anytime, food companies must figure out a way to not only attract, but also maintain customer who love their food. However, to develop a sustainable advantage on taste alone is not likely when there are so many options when people eat away from home. Price is also a driving force as it is with any industry. A company must be able to provide their products cheaper then their competition or be able to convince their customer base that their products are worth the extra buck. In order to justify customers spending more money on your products, you have to somehow differentiate your product. Typically, companies either make their products healthier or find ingredients that make the products taste better then the competition if they are charging a premium price. If they are unable to convince consumers that their products are worth the premium price then they must figure out a way to drive down costs so they can charge as little as possible. With the economy struggling, this is a viable option for many companies in this industry. The last driving force is in this industry is location. A prime location can make or break a company. A company can have the best food in the world and even offer their products at great prices, but without the ability to get the foot traffic, because of a bad location, the company is doomed before it is even started. A restaurant must pick a location that will be able to service as many people that they have identified as potential customers. For instance, a healthy sub shop may be inclined to locate their business next to a health spa where people workout. The restaurants that are able to find an optimal location give themselves a far better chance to succeed for many years. A great location can be a sustainable competitive advantage and allow companies to outperform their rivals. Key Success Factors One of the key success factors is to be able to adapt to customer taste and needs in this rapidly changing market. To put it plain and simple, people get tired of eating the same thing so in order for a company to be successful, Companies must have a wide variety of product offerings. This is why you see many restaurants introducing new products for their customers to try. They have trail stages to see if these new products will be a hit and if they are then they keep them on the menu. If their customers do not accept them then they take them off the menu and try something else. So not only must you have a great core group of food options on your menu, but you must be able to change up your menu so that customers don’t get bored with the same options. Another key success factor in this industry is customer service. When people elect to eat out instead of eating at home, they expect to be treated well by the restaurant personnel. Obviously the level of customer service changes depending on the place that an individual is eating at. The more money someone is spending then it is likely that they will expect better customer service. Part of going out to eat is the experience and bad customer service can cause a company to lose customer even if their products are top of the line. Location is also a key success factor and a big one at that. Many companies that are unable to acquire a prime location are unable to stay in business. People don’t want to have to go out of their way to go to a restaurant in most cases so if a particular restaurant is not in a convenient place then they will not get much foot traffic. Foot traffic is the only way that companies in this industry can keep up with their financial obligations and turn a profit. I can say from personal experience that I have chosen to go to a restaurant based on convenience of the location and I feel that I am not the only one who has made a decision like this when choosing a place to eat. Porters Five Forces Threat of New Entrants The threat of new entrants in the food service contractor industry is extremely high. The restaurant industry is one of the most entered industries year in and year out. The barriers to open a restaurant are nowhere near as high as other industries and if a restaurant owner can find a niche group of customers in a good location then they can be profitable. However, this is a feat that is much easier said then done. Although it is very feasible for new entrants to enter into this industry, it is definitely not an industry that is easy to have longevity in. The threat of new entrants for Panera Bread is not as high as some of the other restaurants in the industry. They have many established cafes all across the country that have been successful for years and would be hard for new entrants to compete on their level. In local markets a new entrant may be able to undercut the business of one individual store but it would be much more difficult for a start up to undercut Panera in the national or even the regional scene. Also, the fact that Panera Bread has a very aggressive growth strategy makes it even more problematic for new entrants to be able to compete at the level the Panera is on because they are always playing catch up. Substitute Products Substitute products are very prevalent in this industry and it affects all restaurants that are in the food service contractor industry. If you ride down a main street in any decent size city in this country for five minutes you will pass at least one hundred places to eat. Each one of these places is a substitute for one another, which makes this industry one of the most competitive industries that we have. With the number of restaurants growing, there are going to continue to be a plethora of substitute products. Also, items that people purchase at grocery stores and cook themselves are substitutes for restaurants in this industry. Americans are becoming more cognizant of what they put in their body and the best way to be absolutely sure that what you are putting in your body is exactly what you want is to prepare the food yourself. Just like every other company in this industry, Panera Bread is not immune to substitute products and must always account for other companies that offer substitute products. There are many viable eating options for customers in close proximity with nearly every Panera Bread cafe. With this being the case, Panera must always look for ways to continue to bring customers into their cafes instead of those customers picking another option. Panera has been able to offer some unique products that are perceived as healthy which allow them to lessen the threat of some substitutes but it would be nearly impossible to get rid of the threat of substitute products because there are so many options. Perhaps the most difficult thing for competitors to be able to duplicate is the experience that is provided at Panera. Although there are other companies who are able to offer a pleasant dinning experience in the fast-casual restaurant industry, there is no substitute for this type of customer service. Either you have quality service for your customers or you don’t. Power of Suppliers The power of suppliers in this industry is relatively low. This is due to the fact that there are often many possible suppliers to supply the needs of the restaurants. When this is the case, suppliers have no negotiating power to charge extremely high prices and must come to terms with the restaurants that are purchasing the various ingredients that go into their products. If suppliers are able to develop an ingredient that is rare or somehow do a value chain activity better then other supplier then they may have more negotiating power. However, even with this fact, the majority of the power in this relationship lies with the restaurants that are making the purchases. Panera Bread has 17 regional facilities that make all of its dough and then it is shipped out to each individual store. These facilities are owned or franchised out by Panera Bread, which gives them a huge competitive advantage. They control every step of the making of their main ingredient and this obviously gives them all of the power when it comes to purchasing dough. As long as the people who work there are satisfied then they will have no problem with having there dough needs met. They do ensure that these facilities make a profit but obviously not at the expense of Panera Bread. However, with other products that they use such as paper goods, coffee, and sweet goods, they use independent distributors to meet these needs. These suppliers have a very low amount if power when negotiating with Panera. These suppliers likely depend heavily on the Panera account to survive so they must meet virtually all of Panera’s requests if they want to continue to do business with them. Some products that each individual store may have to order on a frequent basis may find that they have a little less negotiating power if a particular supplier is able to delivery these supplies on a timely basis. With this being said, the bulk of the power lies with Panera and not the suppliers. Power of Buyers The power of buyers in this industry is extremely high for various reasons. The main one is that there are low switching costs when an individual chooses to go from fast-casual restaurant to fast-casual restaurant. The only real cost may be one place may be further then the other which brings gas prices into play but typically these types of restaurants are located in similar areas so this is not that big of a factor. Anytime someone is spending money in a saturated market with several options, the consumer has all the power. The only way for restaurants to get some of the power back is to offer products that are perceived to be better then the competition. Panera Bread customers have an extremely high degree of power just like customers that buy food within this strategic group in the market. There are viable options for customers of Panera to choose from which always puts Panera in a position in which they have to convince customers that Panera is the best option to meet their needs. Panera must continue to evolve their menu and keep coming up with new items that keep their customers coming back for more. This is the only way that they can take some of the power back from their customers. Rivalry Among Competitive Sellers Everybody wants a piece of the American Dream in this country and the good thing about this country is that through hard work and dedication, anyone can be successful. With this being the case, there is fierce competition in virtually every industry in our country. The food service contractor industry is no exception to this fact and possibly is more competitive then most other industries. There are major players at every single level of this industry and each individual company is always looking for a slight advantage over their competitors. The fast-casual sector of this industry is rapidly growing and it is likely that we will continue to see more and more companies vying for market share in this industry. The fact that people are spending significant dollars in fast-casual restaurants gives companies in this industry a golden opportunity for continued growth. Panera Bread has been able to carve out a niche in the fact that their dough process is not easily duplicated and nobody has been able to create products quite like Panera Bread. So, in this respect there is not a competitor that is selling the exact same thing that they are selling. However, I feel that Starbucks is a close competitor and they may have some of the same customers. When you think about a place that you can go and hang out with friends or catch up on some work or read a good book, Starbucks definitely comes to mind. In this relationship, Starbucks is definitely big brother and has far more locations around the world then Panera does so they obviously bring in more revenues yearly. Panera is trying to duplicate the atmosphere of a casual place to hang out but they are still playing catch up at this point in time. I also think Chipotle is a competitive rival but for different reasons then Starbucks. Chipotle is a fast-casual restaurant that has been able to create a product that consumers consider different and really tasty. It is a place that you can order and get your food relatively quickly and sit down and enjoy your meal with friends on the inside of the restaurant or outside. Although Chipotle definitely doesn’t have the atmosphere that Panera Bread has, it is very believable that when people are sick of fast food and are looking for a fast-casual restaurant to eat at, these two places come up. I can speak from experience that this has definitely been the case for myself on numerous occasions. Internal Analysis: SWOT & VRIO Framework SWOT Analysis Strengths A. Strong Brand Name B. Atmosphere of Restaurants C. Own Subsidiary for there main ingredient Weaknesses A. Lack of international/domestic presence in comparison to competitors Opportunities A. Expand Domestically/Internationally B. Continue to expand catering activities Threats A. Recession B. New Restaurants Strengths Panera Bread has been able to continually grow and make significant dollars year in and year out because they have many things that they do well. One of these strengths is the brand name â€Å"Panera Bread. † When people think of Panera they automatically think of a fast-casual restaurant with good food. It is somewhere that people can go and not pay significant dollars and walk away being happy with the food that they ate. This is probably the biggest strength that you can have in this industry because if your restaurant name is not associated with quality food then you have no chance of succeeding in the restaurant business. After all, nobody wants to eat food that is not enjoyable going down. Another strength that Panera has is the atmosphere and dinning experience that they provide for their customers. When people think of Panera they think of someplace that can offer relaxation for themselves as well as friends. Its just a great hang out spot where people can catch up on homework, read a good book, and hang out with friends all while enjoying some of the great products that Panera Bread offers. Panera is also able to produce its own dough, which is strength in two ways. The first is the most obvious. They can cut out significant costs when buying from their subsidiary and don’t have to worry about not being satisfied with the end product because ultimately they are producing it. Also, since dough is their main ingredient and what they are famous for they would not want outside knowledge of this trade secret. By producing the dough themselves minimizes significantly the possibility of other companies being able to capitalize on Panera’s trade secret. Weaknesses The biggest weakness that I saw in doing this case study is the fact that they have a lack of an international presence. If they are trying to compete with Starbucks with there dinning experience then they need to be everyplace that Starbucks does business so that customers can choose. This type of expansion could mean more revenues as well as continuing to increase their strong brand name. Domestically they do have a strong presence in the market but they are not at the level that Starbucks is at. Opportunities Panera has several opportunities to improve their position in the market place. One of those opportunities is to continue to have an aggressive attitude about expanding domestically and also to turn some of that energy into international endeavors. Domestically they have a strong presence but if they are going to overtake Starbucks as â€Å"The† fast-casual restaurant then they need to continue to find new markets to put their stores in. Currently they do not have an international sector at all. This is limiting their growth potential significantly and not really giving them a chance to be at the top of the totem pole in their sector of the restaurant business. International expansion could help Panera take their brand name to new heights. Another opportunity they have is to continue to expand their catering sector of their company. In 2004 they started to make a hard push into catering for other locations outside of the stores. By the end of 2005 they saw about 80 million dollars in sales in new sales from this catering sector. The ability to generate these types of sales in this short period of time gives Panera’s management incentive to continue to explore this opportunity. Threats The recession is a huge threat to all businesses that do not provide something that is a basic need for survival. Although Panera does provide food, which is a necessity, they still have to fight with the recession, as people do not eat out as much during tough economic times. Instead, people penny pinch and try to cut down on as many things as possible. Although they could discount their products and possibly generate more sales during this tough economic time, this strategy could make people start to associate their brand as being generic. This strategy would ultimately hurt them in the long run. Another threat would be new restaurants coming into territory that they do business in and undercutting some of their sales. People have ever-changing taste and are always looking for the new â€Å"hot† thing. Since this is the case, new restaurants that are able to get the attention of consumers in the areas that Panera has restaurants in could pose a huge threat. VRIO Framework Sustainable competitive advantage is the key to any company’s long-term success. Are any of Panera’s strengths sustainable? Strong Brand Name Valuable: Yes, a strong brand name in the business world is very valuable. It is especially valuable in the restaurant business because when people associate your brand name with having good food then people are automatically going to come in your place of business to get food. Also, this strong brand name gets people talking about your products and word of mouth advertising is amongst the top if not the top form of advertising. Rare: No, a strong brand name is not rare in the restaurant business. Many other restaurants in the fast-casual sector have a brand name that is associated with good food. This is the reason why there are so many of these types of restaurants out there that are able to perform well year in and year out. Although there are many restaurants that are able to build a strong brand name, there are many more that are not able to establish this strong brand name. Most restaurants fail within the first year because of this fact. Imitated Easily (Immutable): No developing a strong brand name is not easy. It takes years of creating quality products that people grow to love. Another way is to come up with something so innovative that people have no choice but to recognize that food product with your brand name. Both of these scenarios are extremely hard to pull off successfully. Organization: Yes, the Panera organization is very committed to continuing to build their brand name. This is especially evident in how they franchise their company out to other people. Their franchise owners have to adhere to certain rules and regulations in order to open up a Panera Bread restaurant. Atmosphere of Restaurants Valuable: Yes this is a very valuable aspect of their restaurants. The fast casual style gives Panera bread an edge over other restaurants and makes it more then just a place that you can get great food. The amenities that are offered at Panera bread makes it a friendly place to eat as well as do various other activities such as hang out with friends or catch up on work. They opened their doors with the idea that the overall atmosphere is what was going to set them apart from others and give them a competitive advantage and that is precisely what they have been able to do. Rare: Yes and No. This overall atmosphere is available in most coffee shops around the world so from that perspective it’s not that rare. However, it is rare in the fact that they have been able to expand into one of the top brands in this sector and are really only second to Starbucks as far as atmosphere goes. They compete on a level that most coffee shops can’t. Imitated Easily (Immutable): Yes and No. Anybody can set up wireless internet and make a space conducive to hanging out and reading books. So in regard to this it is easily imitated. The part that is not easily imitated that Panera has been able to accomplish is that they are recognized by a large number of consumers as a place to go and do the activities mentioned above. Organization: Yes, the Panera Organization is committed to making their restaurant a place where people can go be in a friendly atmosphere. That was the whole basis of what they thought would create their competitive advantage when they opened their doors. Own a Subsidiary for Their Main Ingredient Valuable: Yes, the fact that they own subsidiaries that make their main ingredient is a huge advantage that they have. They are able to cut down on cost as well as always knowing that their dough’s will be exactly what they are expecting. They don’t have to ever worry about negotiating with outside vendors about prices or any other terms for this key ingredient. Also, they can protect their trade secret that is the ingredients and process of creating their dough. Rare: No, they are most definitely not the first company to own a subsidiary that is apart of the value chain. Many companies vertically integrate to gain some of the benefits that I mentioned above. Imitated easily (Immutable): Yes, this is very easy to imitate. The company must have the capital investment to make this happen but gathering the money is not something that can’t be imitated. Typically what keeps companies from doing this is that they can simply buy the materials needed at a cheaper cost versus creating these materials themselves. Organization: Yes, Panera is obviously committed to making this subsidiary successful. They could have hired out someone else to make their dough’s but then they would risk exposure of their trade secrets and may have to pay more for the dough. The subsidiary not only cuts down on certain costs but also protects their process of making their dough’s. Strategic Cost Analysis: Value Chain Analysis Primary Activities Supply Chain Management Panera Bread uses a subsidiary to supports its supply chain management as well as other independent suppliers. They get their dough, which is their key ingredient, from their subsidiary. This dough is used to make their assortments of breads, which is obviously what they are known for. They deliver the dough to each individual restaurant and then the restaurant bakes the bread so that the bread is fresh when it reaches the consumer. However, they do receive some of its ingredients for its doughs from other suppliers. Also, sweet goods, paper goods, small ware, and coffee are bought from outside suppliers. Panera feels like it is cheaper to buy these products from various suppliers instead of producing them internally or through a subsidiary. Operations Panera prides itself on being different from the pack in the world of fast casual restaurants. They do this by providing a friendly atmosphere in their restaurants in which their customers can come and get more then just food. This operation technique gives them an advantage over your average fast food restaurant but it is still someplace that you could go to get a meal quickly. Another key aspect of their operation is the fact that they are always changing the menu to appeal to the current customers as well as attract new ones. This is something that is necessary for any restaurant and has proven to be something that Panera does well. Distribution In most major cities in the United States you can find a Panera Bread restaurant to eat at. This is the primary activity for Panera to get their products to the customer. In this regard, they compete just like every other restaurant in country. However, they are really starting to pick up their catering sector of their company and this could lead to new customers and more revenue. Not only does catering give them another way to sale their products, but it may also expose individuals to Panera for the first time if they are at the catered event. Support Activities Word of Mouth Word of mouth is a huge support activity for pretty much every successful restaurant in the country. This is especially true for Panera Bread since they really don’t do too much to market their restaurant. They rely heavily on current customer’s positive experiences at their restaurant to spark them to tell somebody else. Through this positive word of mouth they are able to gain loyal customers, which is why they are able to sustain their company. Franchises Panera’s Franchise operations are a huge supplement for their company owned stores and they are able to generate significant revenue from their franchises. There is a significant investment required from a potential franchise owner. The franchises give Panera an opportunity to capitalize on their strong brand name. However, they must keep a close eye on each franchise so that they can maintain the Panera reputation. If they let the franchise operate under the Panera name without any rules then they are exposed to the risk of tainting their brand. Strategic Cost Analysis: Competitive Strength Assessment Panera Bread Chipotle Starbucks Key Success Factors Importance Weights Strength Score Strength Score Strength Score Brand Image 0. 25 9 2. 5 10 2. 5 10 2. 5 Restaurant Atmosphere 0. 2 8 1. 6 5 1 9 1. 8 Word of Mouth Advertising 0. 25 8 2 9 2. 25 8 2 Adjusting Menu To Adapt to Consumers 0. 1 9 0. 9 5 0. 5 6 0. 6 Price 0. 2 8 1. 6 8 1. 6 6 1. 2 Total 1 42 8. 35 35 7. 85 39 8. 1 When performing the competitive strength assessment for restaurants that are in the same strategic group as Panera Bread there were several key success factors that were important. Panera, Chipotle, and Starbucks all performed well in this assessment but with the success factors that I felt were important, Panera did just barely edge out Starbucks. Brand Image was extremely high on the pedestal in the key success factors because in the restaurant business, how the public perceives you will either make or break your restaurant. All three companies performed well in this category but I felt that Starbucks International presence gave them a slight edge over Panera and Chipotle. I rated the restaurant atmosphere as a . 2 because I felt like it was a very important factor by not quite as important as brand image. Chipotle struggles with their restaurant atmosphere in comparison to the other two places however; they are still able to succeed in this industry. They have not put as much importance on their dining experience; where as Panera and Starbucks whole method for differentiating themselves from other fast-casual establishments are creating that warm dinning experience. However, Starbucks also wins this category by a small margin. Word of mouth advertising is a . 25 because this is how you grow as a company. When you are able to get your loyal customers to get prospective customers to try out their products then restaurants give themselves a great opportunity to retain new customers. I thought that all of these places do a good job with generating this type of advertising but based on my experiences, Chipotle gets a little more of this type of advertising then the other two, especially from college students. The only one of these three that really makes a true effort to change up their menu is Panera Bread. They are constantly introducing new things to appeal to their customers. However, I didn’t feel as if this was nearly as important as some of the other key success factors. Chipotle and Starbucks have been able to create a menu that their customers like and are not likely to grow bored of eating which is why they are still successful. Since they don’t put an emphasis on changing their menu much, Panera takes this category relatively easy. Price is important within the restaurant business especially during these rough economic times. People are much more cognizant of where their money is spent. Chipotle and Panera offer quality products at decent prices even in these tough times. On the contrary, Starbucks would be on the pricier side especially when it comes to their food selection. They don’t offer big portions and individuals would likely still be hungry shortly after leaving the restaurant. Panera and Chipotle tied in this category as both of them offer good prices for valuable menu items. Financial Analysis The following are some basic income statements for Panera Bread and Chipotle as well as some financial Ratios. I chose these 2 because they are similar in size and are both considered fast-casual restaurants although they do serve different menu items. I do feel that Starbucks is a competitor of Panera Bread as well but they are a much larger company and there statements would make for a very good comparison. Panera Bread Statement of Operations (% of revenue) 2007 2006 Revenue 100% 100% Total Cost and Expenses 92% 89% Operating Profit 8% 11% Income before taxes 8% 11% Net Income 5% 7% Panera Bread Statement of Operations ($ in thousands) 2007 2006 Revenue 1,066,691 828,971 Total Cost and Expenses 977,801 736,295 Operating Profit 88,890 92,676 Income before taxes 88,890 92,676 Net Income 57,456 58,849 Chipotle Statement of Operations (% of revenue) 2007 2006 Revenue 100% 100% Total Costs and Expenses 89. 5% 92% Operating Profit 10. 5% 8% Income before taxes 10. 5% 8% Net Income 6% 5% Chipotle Statement of Operations ($ in thousands) 2007 2006 Revenue 1,085,782 822,930 Total Cost and Expenses 971,780 754,675 Operating Profit 114,002 68,255 Income before taxes 114,002 68,255 Net Income 70,563 41,423 Ratio Gross Profit Margin Net Profit Margin Operating Profit Margin Panera 2007 .74 .05 .08 Panera 2006 .76 .07 .11 Chipotle 2007 .68 .06 .10 Chipotle 2006 .69 .05 .075 Return on Assets Current Ratio Return on S/E Equity Panera 2007 .08 1. 17 .13 Panera 2006 .11 1. 19 .15 Chipotle 2007 .105 2. 75 .126 Chipotle 2006 .08 2. 92 .087 As you can see both of these companies are doing well and have been able to turn a nice size profit for these past 2 years. However, Chipotle has been able to grow from 2006 to 2007 as their net profit margin went up by 1% whereas Panera Breads has dropped 2%. I think the newness of Chipotle has given them an advantage in these early years but I don’t think it will be sustainable once people get use to the menu. The recession has hurt Panera more then Chipotle but due to the low liabilities that Panera has, they are still able to make a profit in 2007 that is not much lower then the profit from 2006. I believe that the overall dinning experience and the variety of the Panera menu will prove to be a sustainable competitive advantage going forward over many of its rivals and will provide them financial well-being. Business Strategy Analysis: Porter’s Generic Strategy Panera Bread’s goal is to create the greatest amount of value for the customers when they walk into one of their restaurants. The generic strategy that most closely resembles what they are trying to accomplish is Best-Cost Provider Strategy. This is providing quality products at a cheaper price then what you can get elsewhere. Full meals at Panera can be bought for very reasonable prices and there various bread selections give them an advantage over other fast-casual establishments. So on the basis of taste their products can be considered a bang for your buck. Also, they provide an atmosphere known as â€Å"Panera Warmth† which is something that is not provided at many other places. Between the reasonable prices for the quality products and the customer friendly environment, they are able to provide more value for their customers then most other fast-casual restaurants. Corporate Strategies: Diversification Diversification in Panera Bread has been an important aspect since they have been open for business. Starting as a company called Au Bon Pain in the 80s, they would eventually change to the Panera name once it took off. This was a move that allowed them to really expand their brand in the 90s and into the 2000s. Another thing that they did to diversify their company was purchasing majority of Paradise Bakery and Cafe in 2007. Paradise had 70 locations, which gave Panera more restaurants as well as some other knowledge that came along with the purchase. Panera has a very aggressive growth strategy and plan to have 2000 stores open by the en of 2010 in the United States. This type of growth strategy has the potential allow Panera to continue to climb the ladder to being one of the top fast-casual restaurants. Issue 1 A big issue that I see with Panera bread at this point in time is their untapped markets not only domestically but also internationally. They have several major cities that do not have Panera Bread in the city at all which is not allowing them to maximize their earning potential. Also, they have no international presence at all. These cafe style restaurants would likely catch on well internationally considering the success that Starbucks has had with their international establishments. Recommendation Panera Bread should continue with their aggressive growth strategy. They must make sure that they tap into some of the major city markets that they have yet to such as New York City, Washington D. C. , and New Orleans. Panera needs to have several locations in these cities and should make it a goal to have at least 20 in these cities by 2012. Also, they should continue to add restaurants in places like Miami and Seattle where they only have 2 and 5 establishments respectively. In competitive markets in the United States, Starbucks has more then 8 times as many locations as Panera. This is a huge problem is if they ever want to be on the same level as Starbucks. Internationally, they should pick a few countries where cafes are popular and try to tap into those markets. However, internationally I think that they should take their time instead of implementing the fast growth strategy that they have in the United States. I think they should try to have 100 restaurants internationally by 2012. They have to tap into the international market if they ever want to truly compete with Starbucks and they are in a good position financially now to expand slowly in the international market. Issue 2 Another big issue that is lingering with not only Panera Bread but also every single restaurant is the recession. This recession has hit many Americans hard financially and they have not been eating out as much. This decreases the amount of possible business that fast-casual restaurants can get and this includes Panera Bread. They must figure out a way to continue to grow despite the tough economic times. Recommendation 2 There are a number of things that Panera Bread can do to offset this rough economic stretch that we are in. One of those things is to offer discounts on certain menu items but only make this discount good for a certain period of time. This makes people feel like they are getting a deal on Panera’s products and be more likely to pull in during lunch as oppose to packing their lunch. The limited time on the discounts ensures that your products don’t become generic which is also important for when the recession is over.  Another thing that they can do if offer free food to customers after they have purchased so many products from the menu. This gives customers incentive to eat out at Panera even in the midst of a recession.