Hcc Industries

1. Evaluate the decision to use â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets instead of â€Å"stretch† targets. The purpose of setting a budget system is to briefly forecast a company’s performance in the following year, and it can also be a result control system that makes people in the corporation work properly to achieve the objectives and give them incentives by bonus related to performance. From this point of view, the budget system should be reasonable, achievable, and also have some challenge to ensure the hard working. HCC Industries was using â€Å"stretch† performance targets until 1987.The main idea of using â€Å"stretch† targets was to motivate managers to perform at the highest level possible by setting aggressive targets with probability of achievement between 75 % and 80 %. In order to motivate the managers, incentive system was directly related to the budget targets. The bonus potential for division managers was 30% of base sal ary and was equally based on profit before taxes (PBT) and subjective rating of performance depending on the degree of accomplishment of the targets in all seven performance areas.In case that only few of performance areas were not met, but the management considered them important, no subjective bonus would be provided. Objective bonus based on profit before taxes was provided as following: if 60 % of the budget was achieved, 80 % of the bonus potential was paid; if 100 % of the budget was achieved, 100 % of the bonus potential was paid; and if 140% of the budget was achieved, 150 % of the bonus potential was paid. Bonuses were paid quarterly at the level of 80 % of what was earned in order to prevent paying the bonuses that were not earned.However, philosophy of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets in HCC Industries did not work very well, since it encouraged thinking optimistically that pushed employees to perform at a higher level leading to innovation. This philosophy is advantageous for particular companies with a certain size that have an understanding of the markets and have an ability to influence them. HCC Industries was a small publicly held corporation which was just taking orders and not doing marketing. For this reason, there was little probability for the employees to enlarge the market and achieve an aggressive growth in sales every year.Performance targets were set too high and optimistic, they were unrealistic, unachievable, and not suitable for a company which could not make a sustaining growth by influencing the market. One of the main disadvantages of â€Å"stretch† targets was that they were set too high. This led to the situation that for the last four years HCC Industries never achieved its targets. As a result, employees lost their motivation and commitment to achieve the targets; they were discouraged, and exert less effort by giving up trying, as they felt that â€Å"stretch† concept was causing the corporatio n not to achieve its plans.If a division keeps missing the budgets, employees feel like a failure. Taking into account that the employees could not achieve the targets for already four years, they had lost their confidence and became used to missing the budget and the enthusiasm to strive for the objectives was weakened. Although the targets were set at an unreachable level, the control system was not that tight. Even if the managers failed to achieve the targets, they may also be paid the bonus. For example, the managers were still paid 80% of objective bonus potential based on profit before taxes if they had just achieved 60% of the budget.So if a manager was not so ambitious, he did not have to worry about meeting the budget. Moreover, important constraint to motivation of division personnel was that they did not know their bonus potential and the bases on which the bonus awards were made, as division managers did not want to disclose division-level financial information to their personnel. As a result, being unaware of the main objectives of the corporation and its incentive system, employees did not exactly know what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for their efforts.As a result of the lack of communication between division managers, middle managers and employees, division personnel became discouraged and demotivated. In addition, if employees are systematically undercompensated, the corporation may suffer from losing key employees. Another disadvantage of â€Å"stretch† performance targets was subjectivity of incentive system. According to the information, provided from the case study, bonuses were paid only to employees included in the bonus plan. It can be concluded that not all employees were included in this plan.Moreover, half of the bonus potential was based on subjective evaluation of top management. However, there is a concern whether top management could judge each division in appropriate way, taking into account all the differences between them. The aforementioned subjective aspect influences performance and motivation of employees. In addition, important demotivating factor was that awards had to be paid quarterly at the level of 80% of what was earned. It took three to four months before they actually were paid because the necessary approvals by several levels were needed before the payments could be made.The remaining 20 % was paid at the end of the year based on annual performance. Taking into account aforementioned challenges of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the management of the corporation had taken a decision to change the philosophy to â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets from the fiscal year 1988 onwards. The philosophy provided a two-level budget standards. The first level included the minimum performance standard that determined the basic financial target that divisions should reach. The second level included the targets that were set more cha llenging, and had some incentive effect.The main objective of this decision was to submit budgets with realistic targets with an achievement probability of 100% in order that divisions could meet the targets. As a result, division managers and other employees would become motivated by being proud of themselves, having self-esteem and starting feeling like â€Å"winners†. Being motivated, division personnel would be encouraged to work hard, be entrepreneurial and increase the level of aspiration for the future. Moreover, they would be given an opportunity to earn extra rewards.Another advantage of highly achievable budget targets is that they reduce the costs of needed interventions from corporate managers and the costs of optimistic revenue projections. Highly achievable budget targets also reduce the risk of game-playing. However, not all potential advantages of MPS targets were achieved in HCC Industries. Before implementing MPS targets, corporate managers did not analyze c arefully all problems that the company faced on the level of operations, marketing and finance. Corporate managers of HCC industries introduced the following changes in the corporation connected with the switch to MPS budgeting philosophy.First of all, the probability of the achievement of the budgets had been changed. MPS budgets were to be set with the felt probability of achievement 100%. In addition, managers were asked to set targets that exceed normal capability and involve an increase by 25-30 % with the probability of achievement of 50 %. However, although the budgets were planned to be set realistic and achievable, in reality they were too high and some division managers were even more than before concerned whether it would be possible to achieve them.In some divisions, such as Glasseal and Sealtron, corporate managers just increased the planned budgets without any analysis of the actual situation and discussion about business potential and risks with the division managers. As a result, division managers became even more demotivated because of too optimistic budgets. Moreover, by missing the new budgets, employees could be fired. The division manager of Hermetite was not provided by top managers with essential information about the corporation, its strategy, targets and the actual situation, and targets of his division before planning the budget.Being just hired and having the lack of experience and knowledge, he set too optimistic targets that could never be achieved in reality. As a result, the new division manager experienced failure and frustration at the beginning of his working experience in HCC Industry that had led to undermining of his confidence and commitment. Secondly, the incentive system had also been changed. According to new incentive compensation plan, bonus pool consisted of 20 % of the amount by which actual division PBT exceed MPS and 25 % of the amount by which it exceeded the target.Bonuses were paid quarterly at a level of 90 % of that earned and the remaining 10 % at the end of the year depending on the performance. It can be concluded that the rewards became lower than with â€Å"stretch† performance targets. The probability of losing the job in case the MPS targets would not be met, became greater. The disadvantage of subjective judgment concerning the bonuses was not eliminated under the new philosophy, as the division managers were given the discretion to decide which of their subordinates would share in the bonus pool and how the pool would be allocated among themselves and the others included.The key factor to the success of the budget system lied in the accuracy of forecasting the market share, the booking rate, the potential growth of sales, and so on. If a manager had little knowledge about the market information and the competitors, it would be difficult to set the MPS. The effectiveness of the budget system would be weakened, and this was the one of the main problems HCC faced after intr oduction of the MPS system. Evaluating the decision of changing the corporation’s philosophy based on early results, allows concluding that the new concept was not implemented well, even given the fact that it was a good idea.After the first quarter of fiscal year 1988, none of the divisions achieved all of its MPS and some of the divisions missed their minimum performance by large margins. 2. Should HCC managers have expected that the MPS target-setting philosophy would be equally effective in all four operating divisions described? HCC Industries was organized into four operating divisions: Hermetic Seal, Glasseal, Sealtrol that were producing connectors of various types, and Hermetite that was producing custom-designed, micro-electronic packages. Each division was run by a general manager who was responsible for all business functions of a certain division.In order to proper evaluate and monitor divisions’ results on which the bonuses were based, controllers of each division reported to HCC’s CFO. Corporate managers should have taken into account that the divisions differ from each other, and should have considered each division separately while using MPS target-setting philosophy as each division had some specific characteristics that were different from others. Although all the three connector divisions were similar in that they were profitable but growing slowly, there was a significant difference in the degree of standardization of their product lines.For example, division Sealtrol was highly standardized and produced connectors with large economies of scale. On the contrast, Hermetic Seal was the least standardized division and operated primarily as a job shop that designed and produced small batches of custom connectors. Glasseal’s product lines had the medium level of standardization. The forth division Hermetite was completely different from the connector divisions. In comparison with the first three divisions, its market and competitors were well defined and its potential for growth was tremendous.In addition, Hermetite faced huge price competition and significant production technology and control challenges. Moreover, the production processes were complex and its engineering and production organizations were instable. Given the fact that all four divisions were independent from each other, had different targets, accounting and information systems, product standards, served different customers, had different professional background of division managers, a detailed analysis should have been made whether MPS targets would be equally effective in all four divisions.Mike Pelta, the manager of the first division Hermetic Seal was more motivated after the changes, as with â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the probability of the achievement of the targets was 85-90%, whereas with MPS targets it has increased by 95-98%. The reason of such a high probability of achievement the targets was the fact that the division manager had set conservative targets. Mike Pelta was a cofounder of HCC, and was more familiar with the situation of the company. From the first quarter revenue result of 1988, we can find that only Hermetic Seals exceeded target in both bookings and profit before tax.But on the other hand, there were some problems in product qualities such as returns and rework. The manager of the second division Glasseal was even more demotivated after the changes than under the â€Å"stretch† performance targets. After the division manager had prepared the budget based on realistic forecast, the targets were increased by corporate managers. As a result, the probability of the achievement of the targets remained 90%, as it was before changes. However, with the â€Å"stretch† targets the rewards were greater and could be earned even if the budget was missed.It could be concluded that the change for MPS targets had not become better and more motivated for the second d ivision. Historical performance of the third division Sealtron was not so good. Efficiency in sales per employee was 50 % below other connector divisions, and budget was missed so salaries were frozen. The division manager, Lou Palamara, was recruited in 1986. Lou Palamara had a background of an engineering manager, so he was not that familiar with the corporation and had less knowledge about budget and cost saving. The division manager was discouraged by newMPS targets, as the targets he set had significantly been increased by corporate managers and the probability of its achievement according to division manager, was only 60-65%. As a result, if the budget would have increased by 18 % compared to the previous year, there would be still no bonus earned. Moreover, in case MPS standards would not be achieved the manager could be fired. At the same time, CFO of the corporation assessed the probability of the achievement of the targets by 90%. His idea was to stimulate sales as the Sea ltron’s efficiency was below other connector divisions.It can be concluded that the opinion of top managers and division manager on the achievement of targets was significantly different (90 % versus 60-65 %). In this situation, in order to come to common solution, additional analysis should have been done of actual situation and current performance of the division. It should have been carefully analyzed the reason of poor performance of the third division. Before the fourth division Hermetite was acquired in August 1985, it had been operating at a loss for the price competition and the production problems.The former general manager of Hermetite left a serious delinquency problem, which had worsen the reputation of the company, so booking could not be guaranteed. The manager Alan Wong, being new in the corporation and lacking particular experience and knowledge, was not provided with additional training and explanation of the corporation’s and division’s main ob jectives. He thought the corporate managers would not accept a budget that projected a loss. As a result, he had set very aggressive and optimistic targets that were unrealistic and corporate managers decreased the targets.However, the probability of achievement of the performance target at sales was 80 % and PBT target was only 5 %. The performance of the forth division was very risky and uncertain. From the first quarter results of 1988, we can discover that the bookings and shipments were both below MPS. After analyzing MPS targets in all four divisions, it could be concluded that only the manager of the first division, that was the original HCC business, was motivated by the changes. The managers of the other three divisions were even more concerned than before the changes.The main reason of such situation was that corporate managers thought that the targets were achievable, whereas division managers had the opinion that they are not achievable and unrealistic. It can be conclud ed that there was a lack of communication between corporate and division managers. Moreover, the evaluation standards were the same for every division without taking into account different situation and various targets of each division. Given the fact that there were only four independent divisions, individual approach and specific evaluation standards for each division should have been used. 3.What, if anything, could have been done to improve the implementation of the new philosophy? From 1988 onwards, the philosophy in HCC Industries had been changed from â€Å"stretch† targets to minimum performance standard (MPS) targets. However, according to the results of the first quarter of 1988, none of the divisions had achieved all of its MPS. It can be concluded that there were some problems in implementing new philosophy. First of all, the targets of every division should be aligned with the long-term strategy of the corporation. Top managers should clearly set the company stra tegy and priorities and communicate them to all divisions.Division managers should in turn have been communicated to the corporate managers opportunities, resource needs, constraints and risks. HCC Industries would achieve success if all divisions would work together towards common targets and objectives instead of being concentrated on personal goals of each division that could diverge from the strategy of corporation. According to the information provided in the case study, corporate managers were confident that the set objectives were achievable and realistic, division managers had the opposite opinion.As a result, division managers were discouraged to perform from the beginning. In order to avoid demotivation and increase the probability of the achievement of the targets, the balance should be found between the desires of the top management and the possibilities of the divisions. In that case, they closely need to communicate with each other and come together to the common solut ion. This would lead to more realistic budgets, would build employees up and increase managers’ commitment to achieve the targets.Secondly, as long as at HCC all divisions were decentralized, the differences and unique characteristics of each division should be taken into account. As a result, different performance evaluation standards should be used for every division. It is impossible to compare Hermetic Seal which is the original HCC business with Glasseal and Sealtron that were acquired even if all of them produce connectors. Moreover, the degree of standardization of product lines within these divisions is completely different. The forth division is completely different from the first three.That is why individual approach should be used for every division. There are only four divisions, that is why it is realistic for corporate managers to evaluate and analyze each division separately. Whereas some divisions could achieve higher targets, for others lower targets are more realistic. When planning the budget, the actual situation and performance of each division should be analyzed instead of comparison with other divisions. Before increasing the targets of the second and third divisions a more detailed analysis was needed.In addition, it would be helpful for corporate managers to discuss with the division managers the possible constrains of poor performance of their divisions and to evaluate whether additional actions are needed in order to improve performance. In order not to demotivate employees, it would be better to agree the targets and to find compromise rather than just to set them. Corporate managers should establish the dialogue with division managers and other personnel in order to gather an objective opinion about the real situation inside the company.Such working atmosphere would encourage employees to be involved in the company more and would give them the feeling that corporate managers listen to them when changing strategic issues. Div ision managers would feel themselves important in the organization and would be more encouraged to perform at the highest level possible and would feel more responsibility for the achievement of the targets. Thirdly, top management before changing the budgeting philosophy should have made a sound analysis of current performance on corporate level as it is a very important decision.Implementing new standards for evaluating involves the research of effectiveness of operation potential growth, the personal characteristics, the financial constraints, resource limitations, opportunities and risks. Fourthly, personal controls could be used by training division managers. For instance, it was very important for the fourth division to provide the manager with some additional information about the corporation before planning the budget.Taking into account the fact that Alan Wong was relatively new in the corporation, it is quite obvious that he lacks some experience and knowledge to plan an e ffective and realistic budget. It is also clear from the information provided in the case study, that he was unfamiliar with the strategy of the corporation and the expectations from the top managers from his division. Planning the budget is very important for the corporation. It requires deep understanding not only the goals and objectives of a particular division but also of the entire corporation.As there was a lack of communication between the top management and the division managers, the new division manager had set unrealistic budget. Fifthly, there was not only a lack of communication between top management and division managers, but also between the division personnel. In order to increase the motivation amongst personnel, the division managers should clearly communicate the main objectives and set the targets to their employees and provide them with the detailed information concerning the incentive system.In this case, employees would understand what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for that. Sixthly, as the marketing information collection was an obvious obstacle for the accurate forecast of the future, it is important to set up a marketing team in the four divisions. The target of the team is to collect the market share data of each product in previous years, the reasons for the up-and-downs of the market share, find out what kind of improvement will the target consumers need in the future, the scale of potential customers, and so on.With the detailed information of the market, it will be easier for the division to forecast the future sales and try to expand the existing market. Seventhly, it can be suggested, that for the first year when the changes were applied, the top management could set very realistic conservative targets in order to encourage employees and make them feel that the targets are achievable. Given the fact that the targets were not achieved for the last four years the employees got used to missing targets and became demotivated.In addition, given the fact that some divisions, for example Hermetite, experience current problems, flexible targets could be set, that would depend on certain conditions at a particular time. Finally, before taking a new decision about the changes, it could be helpful to organize the meeting with all division managers in order to announce them personally about the expected changes and gather some ideas from them about how to implement the new philosophy. Such brainstorming could help to pay attention to some important aspects from the bottom that top management was not considering. Hcc Industries 1. Evaluate the decision to use â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets instead of â€Å"stretch† targets. The purpose of setting a budget system is to briefly forecast a company’s performance in the following year, and it can also be a result control system that makes people in the corporation work properly to achieve the objectives and give them incentives by bonus related to performance. From this point of view, the budget system should be reasonable, achievable, and also have some challenge to ensure the hard working. HCC Industries was using â€Å"stretch† performance targets until 1987.The main idea of using â€Å"stretch† targets was to motivate managers to perform at the highest level possible by setting aggressive targets with probability of achievement between 75 % and 80 %. In order to motivate the managers, incentive system was directly related to the budget targets. The bonus potential for division managers was 30% of base sal ary and was equally based on profit before taxes (PBT) and subjective rating of performance depending on the degree of accomplishment of the targets in all seven performance areas.In case that only few of performance areas were not met, but the management considered them important, no subjective bonus would be provided. Objective bonus based on profit before taxes was provided as following: if 60 % of the budget was achieved, 80 % of the bonus potential was paid; if 100 % of the budget was achieved, 100 % of the bonus potential was paid; and if 140% of the budget was achieved, 150 % of the bonus potential was paid. Bonuses were paid quarterly at the level of 80 % of what was earned in order to prevent paying the bonuses that were not earned.However, philosophy of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets in HCC Industries did not work very well, since it encouraged thinking optimistically that pushed employees to perform at a higher level leading to innovation. This philosophy is advantageous for particular companies with a certain size that have an understanding of the markets and have an ability to influence them. HCC Industries was a small publicly held corporation which was just taking orders and not doing marketing. For this reason, there was little probability for the employees to enlarge the market and achieve an aggressive growth in sales every year.Performance targets were set too high and optimistic, they were unrealistic, unachievable, and not suitable for a company which could not make a sustaining growth by influencing the market. One of the main disadvantages of â€Å"stretch† targets was that they were set too high. This led to the situation that for the last four years HCC Industries never achieved its targets. As a result, employees lost their motivation and commitment to achieve the targets; they were discouraged, and exert less effort by giving up trying, as they felt that â€Å"stretch† concept was causing the corporatio n not to achieve its plans.If a division keeps missing the budgets, employees feel like a failure. Taking into account that the employees could not achieve the targets for already four years, they had lost their confidence and became used to missing the budget and the enthusiasm to strive for the objectives was weakened. Although the targets were set at an unreachable level, the control system was not that tight. Even if the managers failed to achieve the targets, they may also be paid the bonus. For example, the managers were still paid 80% of objective bonus potential based on profit before taxes if they had just achieved 60% of the budget.So if a manager was not so ambitious, he did not have to worry about meeting the budget. Moreover, important constraint to motivation of division personnel was that they did not know their bonus potential and the bases on which the bonus awards were made, as division managers did not want to disclose division-level financial information to their personnel. As a result, being unaware of the main objectives of the corporation and its incentive system, employees did not exactly know what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for their efforts.As a result of the lack of communication between division managers, middle managers and employees, division personnel became discouraged and demotivated. In addition, if employees are systematically undercompensated, the corporation may suffer from losing key employees. Another disadvantage of â€Å"stretch† performance targets was subjectivity of incentive system. According to the information, provided from the case study, bonuses were paid only to employees included in the bonus plan. It can be concluded that not all employees were included in this plan.Moreover, half of the bonus potential was based on subjective evaluation of top management. However, there is a concern whether top management could judge each division in appropriate way, taking into account all the differences between them. The aforementioned subjective aspect influences performance and motivation of employees. In addition, important demotivating factor was that awards had to be paid quarterly at the level of 80% of what was earned. It took three to four months before they actually were paid because the necessary approvals by several levels were needed before the payments could be made.The remaining 20 % was paid at the end of the year based on annual performance. Taking into account aforementioned challenges of using â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the management of the corporation had taken a decision to change the philosophy to â€Å"minimum performance standard† (MPS) targets from the fiscal year 1988 onwards. The philosophy provided a two-level budget standards. The first level included the minimum performance standard that determined the basic financial target that divisions should reach. The second level included the targets that were set more cha llenging, and had some incentive effect.The main objective of this decision was to submit budgets with realistic targets with an achievement probability of 100% in order that divisions could meet the targets. As a result, division managers and other employees would become motivated by being proud of themselves, having self-esteem and starting feeling like â€Å"winners†. Being motivated, division personnel would be encouraged to work hard, be entrepreneurial and increase the level of aspiration for the future. Moreover, they would be given an opportunity to earn extra rewards.Another advantage of highly achievable budget targets is that they reduce the costs of needed interventions from corporate managers and the costs of optimistic revenue projections. Highly achievable budget targets also reduce the risk of game-playing. However, not all potential advantages of MPS targets were achieved in HCC Industries. Before implementing MPS targets, corporate managers did not analyze c arefully all problems that the company faced on the level of operations, marketing and finance. Corporate managers of HCC industries introduced the following changes in the corporation connected with the switch to MPS budgeting philosophy.First of all, the probability of the achievement of the budgets had been changed. MPS budgets were to be set with the felt probability of achievement 100%. In addition, managers were asked to set targets that exceed normal capability and involve an increase by 25-30 % with the probability of achievement of 50 %. However, although the budgets were planned to be set realistic and achievable, in reality they were too high and some division managers were even more than before concerned whether it would be possible to achieve them.In some divisions, such as Glasseal and Sealtron, corporate managers just increased the planned budgets without any analysis of the actual situation and discussion about business potential and risks with the division managers. As a result, division managers became even more demotivated because of too optimistic budgets. Moreover, by missing the new budgets, employees could be fired. The division manager of Hermetite was not provided by top managers with essential information about the corporation, its strategy, targets and the actual situation, and targets of his division before planning the budget.Being just hired and having the lack of experience and knowledge, he set too optimistic targets that could never be achieved in reality. As a result, the new division manager experienced failure and frustration at the beginning of his working experience in HCC Industry that had led to undermining of his confidence and commitment. Secondly, the incentive system had also been changed. According to new incentive compensation plan, bonus pool consisted of 20 % of the amount by which actual division PBT exceed MPS and 25 % of the amount by which it exceeded the target.Bonuses were paid quarterly at a level of 90 % of that earned and the remaining 10 % at the end of the year depending on the performance. It can be concluded that the rewards became lower than with â€Å"stretch† performance targets. The probability of losing the job in case the MPS targets would not be met, became greater. The disadvantage of subjective judgment concerning the bonuses was not eliminated under the new philosophy, as the division managers were given the discretion to decide which of their subordinates would share in the bonus pool and how the pool would be allocated among themselves and the others included.The key factor to the success of the budget system lied in the accuracy of forecasting the market share, the booking rate, the potential growth of sales, and so on. If a manager had little knowledge about the market information and the competitors, it would be difficult to set the MPS. The effectiveness of the budget system would be weakened, and this was the one of the main problems HCC faced after intr oduction of the MPS system. Evaluating the decision of changing the corporation’s philosophy based on early results, allows concluding that the new concept was not implemented well, even given the fact that it was a good idea.After the first quarter of fiscal year 1988, none of the divisions achieved all of its MPS and some of the divisions missed their minimum performance by large margins. 2. Should HCC managers have expected that the MPS target-setting philosophy would be equally effective in all four operating divisions described? HCC Industries was organized into four operating divisions: Hermetic Seal, Glasseal, Sealtrol that were producing connectors of various types, and Hermetite that was producing custom-designed, micro-electronic packages. Each division was run by a general manager who was responsible for all business functions of a certain division.In order to proper evaluate and monitor divisions’ results on which the bonuses were based, controllers of each division reported to HCC’s CFO. Corporate managers should have taken into account that the divisions differ from each other, and should have considered each division separately while using MPS target-setting philosophy as each division had some specific characteristics that were different from others. Although all the three connector divisions were similar in that they were profitable but growing slowly, there was a significant difference in the degree of standardization of their product lines.For example, division Sealtrol was highly standardized and produced connectors with large economies of scale. On the contrast, Hermetic Seal was the least standardized division and operated primarily as a job shop that designed and produced small batches of custom connectors. Glasseal’s product lines had the medium level of standardization. The forth division Hermetite was completely different from the connector divisions. In comparison with the first three divisions, its market and competitors were well defined and its potential for growth was tremendous.In addition, Hermetite faced huge price competition and significant production technology and control challenges. Moreover, the production processes were complex and its engineering and production organizations were instable. Given the fact that all four divisions were independent from each other, had different targets, accounting and information systems, product standards, served different customers, had different professional background of division managers, a detailed analysis should have been made whether MPS targets would be equally effective in all four divisions.Mike Pelta, the manager of the first division Hermetic Seal was more motivated after the changes, as with â€Å"stretch† performance targets, the probability of the achievement of the targets was 85-90%, whereas with MPS targets it has increased by 95-98%. The reason of such a high probability of achievement the targets was the fact that the division manager had set conservative targets. Mike Pelta was a cofounder of HCC, and was more familiar with the situation of the company. From the first quarter revenue result of 1988, we can find that only Hermetic Seals exceeded target in both bookings and profit before tax.But on the other hand, there were some problems in product qualities such as returns and rework. The manager of the second division Glasseal was even more demotivated after the changes than under the â€Å"stretch† performance targets. After the division manager had prepared the budget based on realistic forecast, the targets were increased by corporate managers. As a result, the probability of the achievement of the targets remained 90%, as it was before changes. However, with the â€Å"stretch† targets the rewards were greater and could be earned even if the budget was missed.It could be concluded that the change for MPS targets had not become better and more motivated for the second d ivision. Historical performance of the third division Sealtron was not so good. Efficiency in sales per employee was 50 % below other connector divisions, and budget was missed so salaries were frozen. The division manager, Lou Palamara, was recruited in 1986. Lou Palamara had a background of an engineering manager, so he was not that familiar with the corporation and had less knowledge about budget and cost saving. The division manager was discouraged by newMPS targets, as the targets he set had significantly been increased by corporate managers and the probability of its achievement according to division manager, was only 60-65%. As a result, if the budget would have increased by 18 % compared to the previous year, there would be still no bonus earned. Moreover, in case MPS standards would not be achieved the manager could be fired. At the same time, CFO of the corporation assessed the probability of the achievement of the targets by 90%. His idea was to stimulate sales as the Sea ltron’s efficiency was below other connector divisions.It can be concluded that the opinion of top managers and division manager on the achievement of targets was significantly different (90 % versus 60-65 %). In this situation, in order to come to common solution, additional analysis should have been done of actual situation and current performance of the division. It should have been carefully analyzed the reason of poor performance of the third division. Before the fourth division Hermetite was acquired in August 1985, it had been operating at a loss for the price competition and the production problems.The former general manager of Hermetite left a serious delinquency problem, which had worsen the reputation of the company, so booking could not be guaranteed. The manager Alan Wong, being new in the corporation and lacking particular experience and knowledge, was not provided with additional training and explanation of the corporation’s and division’s main ob jectives. He thought the corporate managers would not accept a budget that projected a loss. As a result, he had set very aggressive and optimistic targets that were unrealistic and corporate managers decreased the targets.However, the probability of achievement of the performance target at sales was 80 % and PBT target was only 5 %. The performance of the forth division was very risky and uncertain. From the first quarter results of 1988, we can discover that the bookings and shipments were both below MPS. After analyzing MPS targets in all four divisions, it could be concluded that only the manager of the first division, that was the original HCC business, was motivated by the changes. The managers of the other three divisions were even more concerned than before the changes.The main reason of such situation was that corporate managers thought that the targets were achievable, whereas division managers had the opinion that they are not achievable and unrealistic. It can be conclud ed that there was a lack of communication between corporate and division managers. Moreover, the evaluation standards were the same for every division without taking into account different situation and various targets of each division. Given the fact that there were only four independent divisions, individual approach and specific evaluation standards for each division should have been used. 3.What, if anything, could have been done to improve the implementation of the new philosophy? From 1988 onwards, the philosophy in HCC Industries had been changed from â€Å"stretch† targets to minimum performance standard (MPS) targets. However, according to the results of the first quarter of 1988, none of the divisions had achieved all of its MPS. It can be concluded that there were some problems in implementing new philosophy. First of all, the targets of every division should be aligned with the long-term strategy of the corporation. Top managers should clearly set the company stra tegy and priorities and communicate them to all divisions.Division managers should in turn have been communicated to the corporate managers opportunities, resource needs, constraints and risks. HCC Industries would achieve success if all divisions would work together towards common targets and objectives instead of being concentrated on personal goals of each division that could diverge from the strategy of corporation. According to the information provided in the case study, corporate managers were confident that the set objectives were achievable and realistic, division managers had the opposite opinion.As a result, division managers were discouraged to perform from the beginning. In order to avoid demotivation and increase the probability of the achievement of the targets, the balance should be found between the desires of the top management and the possibilities of the divisions. In that case, they closely need to communicate with each other and come together to the common solut ion. This would lead to more realistic budgets, would build employees up and increase managers’ commitment to achieve the targets.Secondly, as long as at HCC all divisions were decentralized, the differences and unique characteristics of each division should be taken into account. As a result, different performance evaluation standards should be used for every division. It is impossible to compare Hermetic Seal which is the original HCC business with Glasseal and Sealtron that were acquired even if all of them produce connectors. Moreover, the degree of standardization of product lines within these divisions is completely different. The forth division is completely different from the first three.That is why individual approach should be used for every division. There are only four divisions, that is why it is realistic for corporate managers to evaluate and analyze each division separately. Whereas some divisions could achieve higher targets, for others lower targets are more realistic. When planning the budget, the actual situation and performance of each division should be analyzed instead of comparison with other divisions. Before increasing the targets of the second and third divisions a more detailed analysis was needed.In addition, it would be helpful for corporate managers to discuss with the division managers the possible constrains of poor performance of their divisions and to evaluate whether additional actions are needed in order to improve performance. In order not to demotivate employees, it would be better to agree the targets and to find compromise rather than just to set them. Corporate managers should establish the dialogue with division managers and other personnel in order to gather an objective opinion about the real situation inside the company.Such working atmosphere would encourage employees to be involved in the company more and would give them the feeling that corporate managers listen to them when changing strategic issues. Div ision managers would feel themselves important in the organization and would be more encouraged to perform at the highest level possible and would feel more responsibility for the achievement of the targets. Thirdly, top management before changing the budgeting philosophy should have made a sound analysis of current performance on corporate level as it is a very important decision.Implementing new standards for evaluating involves the research of effectiveness of operation potential growth, the personal characteristics, the financial constraints, resource limitations, opportunities and risks. Fourthly, personal controls could be used by training division managers. For instance, it was very important for the fourth division to provide the manager with some additional information about the corporation before planning the budget.Taking into account the fact that Alan Wong was relatively new in the corporation, it is quite obvious that he lacks some experience and knowledge to plan an e ffective and realistic budget. It is also clear from the information provided in the case study, that he was unfamiliar with the strategy of the corporation and the expectations from the top managers from his division. Planning the budget is very important for the corporation. It requires deep understanding not only the goals and objectives of a particular division but also of the entire corporation.As there was a lack of communication between the top management and the division managers, the new division manager had set unrealistic budget. Fifthly, there was not only a lack of communication between top management and division managers, but also between the division personnel. In order to increase the motivation amongst personnel, the division managers should clearly communicate the main objectives and set the targets to their employees and provide them with the detailed information concerning the incentive system.In this case, employees would understand what they are expected to do and how they would be rewarded for that. Sixthly, as the marketing information collection was an obvious obstacle for the accurate forecast of the future, it is important to set up a marketing team in the four divisions. The target of the team is to collect the market share data of each product in previous years, the reasons for the up-and-downs of the market share, find out what kind of improvement will the target consumers need in the future, the scale of potential customers, and so on.With the detailed information of the market, it will be easier for the division to forecast the future sales and try to expand the existing market. Seventhly, it can be suggested, that for the first year when the changes were applied, the top management could set very realistic conservative targets in order to encourage employees and make them feel that the targets are achievable. Given the fact that the targets were not achieved for the last four years the employees got used to missing targets and became demotivated.In addition, given the fact that some divisions, for example Hermetite, experience current problems, flexible targets could be set, that would depend on certain conditions at a particular time. Finally, before taking a new decision about the changes, it could be helpful to organize the meeting with all division managers in order to announce them personally about the expected changes and gather some ideas from them about how to implement the new philosophy. Such brainstorming could help to pay attention to some important aspects from the bottom that top management was not considering.

Babysitting for Sociology

Over the past seven years I have come to learn many different things about myself and about children due to babysitting. I first started babysitting when I was a about eleven years of age. I started off by watching my younger brothers when my parents went out at night. That affected my biological rhythm (274). My body was used to going to sleep around nine o’clock since I was still young, but I had to force myself to stay up so I could watch over my brothers while they slept. I sometimes found myself staying up till about midnight! Since I was so tired from staying up it seemed to have an affect on my sleeping also.It seemed like I would have more dreams that I could vividly remember the next morning (280). The next couple of nights after I babysat, it seemed like by body was on REM rebound due to the stages of REM sleep I would miss (276). Now that I am older I have trained my body to be able to stay awake and not feel like I had sleep derivation the next day (280). During th e duration of training my body to stay awake late, I learned a few things the hard way. I first thought that if I drank a lot of caffeine I would be able to stay awake longer and easier.Well that thought nearly ruined me! It wasn’t soon after I started relying on caffeine that my body became tolerant to it, and it seemed like I couldn’t go sleep without it or wake up without it (297)! At first it seemed like I was going through a withdrawal period (297). My body was craving the caffeine so badly that I felt sick without it. From that experience I have learned that doing homework or talking on the phone helps me stay awake while I am waiting on the children’s parents to get home. I am lucky that I have only suffered from addiction to caffeine and not drugs.A friend of mine became addicted to cocaine due to having to stay awake late for school. When she took that drug she said it made her feel like she could stay awake forever. To stay awake that is what a person wants to feel. Cocaine addiction is a fast track from euphoria to crash (301). Through my many years of experience in babysitting I have learned that most children fall under the category of associative learning. Associative learning is learning that certain events occur together (315). For example with most children after everything they do there is some sort of consequence.Younger kids have a tendency to get into things that they shouldn’t. Therefore, after they get into something that is off limits, they get in trouble. After watching kids fall under that category I also realized that many adults fall under it also. It seems like after every action there is a consequence. Here are some examples of kids actions and the responses they get. When a kid eats or drinks, automatically they have to use pee or poop afterwards. That is an example of unconditioned response (317). The substance the kid puts in their mouth is the unconditioned stimulus (317).A kid has to use the restro om soon after they eat because they haven’t quite learned how to control their urges. That is why they sometimes also go the bathroom in their pants. I learned a lot about babysitting through observational learning. Observational learning is observing and intimating others (341). When I was younger and I was unable to baby sit, a close family friend used to come over and watch my brothers and I. I learned a lot of from her. I learned many games from her that I now play with the kids I baby-sit. That comes in handy when I try to keep all of the kids occupied.Another thing that I learned from her that comes in handy when babysitting is patience. Patience plays a very big role. Kids repeat things over and over again, in other words they don’t know when to quit. That turns into getting on my nerves a lot. I have learned not to let it bother me as much. I have taught myself to take a deep breath when that happens and try to get the kids minds on something else. There are tw o different kinds of reinforcement I use with the kids while I baby-sit. They are positive and negative reinforcement (329).I use positive reinforcement when the kids do something that is good. For example, if they clean off their plates after they eat and get everything ready for bed, I will give them a good night treat. If the kids do something bad or if they go against what I tell them to do, I use negative reinforcement. Negative reinforcement may be they do not get a good night treat, they have to go to bed a half an hour early, or I may even give a bad report to their parents. I only give a bad report to the parents if they didn’t listen to me at all, or if they continued to back talk me.I find a lot that latent learning occurs a lot with the kids also (334). While I am baby-sitting I try to teach the kids something new every time. Sometimes they pick it right up other times it takes a while. For example, I try to teach the kids to always wash their hands before and aft er they eat. I teach them by making a point to let them know what I am doing when I wash my hands. Soon after, I will catch one of the kids trying to reach the facet to turn it on so they can wash their hands. When it comes to the kids memory, its not very long.It seems like to me that kids only remember things if they really want it. Other than that, they have short term memory. Short term memory is when you learn something but shortly afterwards you forget what it is (362). For example, when I am helping the kids clean up their room I try to tell them where stuff goes so that they can do it on their own. Well every time it comes to clean up time, they don’t remember where anything goes. When ever the kids do remember what I have said or taught them, they are retrieving memories from storage. Storage is the heart of memory (361).Through all of my years of baby-sitting and experiences, I have learned many things about myself and about the kids I watch. I am now able to predic t what certain kids are going to do or say at a certain time. I have gotten to know each of their personalities and became familiar with they things they like and the things they don’t like. I am also familiar with the things they know and what things they do not know. Through everything the kids put me through and taught me, I have learned a very important thing about myself. I love working with kids and that is what I hope to do in life regardless of what field it is in.

Ashaba-Ahebwa Mark on Civil Law in the Ugandan Jurisdiction Essay

The place and mode of trial is usually determined by type of trial and proceedings. If you make an application by summons, then you will be heard in Chambers. Procedure 1 – where defendant elects not to call evidence The Plaintiff or advocate makes an opening speech referred to sometimes as an opening statement. After that the plaintiff witnesses are called, examined cross examined and re-examined. After that the plaintiff or his advocate sums up the case by making a closing speech. After that the Defendant states their case and makes a closing speech. Procedure 2 – Defence elects to call evidence Advocates for the plaintiff makes an opening statement, the plaintiff witnesses are called, examined, cross-examined and re-examined. After that the defendant’s counsel makes an opening statement. After that the defendant’s witnesses are called, examined, cross examined and re examined. After the Plaintiff or his advocate sums up the case by making the closing speech. Thereafter the defendant sums up the case and makes a closing speech also. The Defendant can reply to the plaintiff’s closing. The reply only covers new ground. In cases where there are many defendants and many plaintiffs the same procedure will apply but if the defendants are represented separately, then the counsels will separately make their submissions separately by order of appearance. Cross examination of witness will also follow the order in which they proceed. Co plaintiffs will normally be represented by the same counsel. Who has the right to begin the case? Order XVII Rule 1 The plaintiff or the applicant has the right to begin. Of course there are certain exceptions to that right to begin. 1.Where the Defendant admits the facts alleged by the plaintiff but raises an objection on a part of law. In such a case the defendant should be entitled to begin by submitting on that part of the law. For example, suppose one raises a plea of Res Judicata? In such a case one can say that they have sued the defendant by they have raised an objection on the part of the law a and in this case, the Defendant has the right to begin on a plea of res judicata. Or the Defendant raises the plea of limitation, they have the right to submit on that point of law. However it is advisable that one should always put it in the pleadings whatever plea they intend to raise. 2.Where the Defendants admits the facts alleged by the plaintiff but states that the plaintiff is not entitled to the relief that they seek for example drawn from Seldon v. Davidson in which case the plaintiff brought proceedings for recovery of a debt. In their defence the defendants admitted that they received the money from the plaintiff but pleaded that the money was a gift. In this case the defendant has a right to begin. Suppose there are several issues? May be it could be many different parties and there is a dispute as to who should have the right to begin? The court will direct that the party with the burden of proving the majority of issues shall begin. OPENING STATEMENT What should it contain It is usually a brief outline of either the defendant’s or the plaintiff’s case, usually it will state the facts simply. They will be telling the court the witness that they intend to call and will be giving a preview of what they intend to prove. Usually this is an introduction to the entire trial and it is important that it is interesting, logical, believable and in a narrative form. Usually it is not necessary for the Judge to record the opening speeches unless one raises a point of law. It is important that a note should be made in the court record that an opening speech was made. an opening speech must not contain evidence. It should just be limited to a statement of basic facts that the parties intend to prove or rely on as defence. After you make the opening statements, you move on to examination in chief. EXAMINATION OF WITNESSES Examination in Chief When you call a witness there are 3 stages 1.Examination in chief 2.Cross Examination 3.Re examination Examination in Chief The object of examination in chief is to elicit facts that are favourable to the case of the party calling the witness. In other words the exam in chief is when you question your first witness. Sometimes the plaintiffs themselves. Normally they will be giving evidence that will be favourable to their case. It is governed by two rules (a)The witness cannot be asked leading questions – these are questions that suggest the answer expected of that person. For example you cannot ask Was your business running into financial difficulties last year? You should ask what was the financial position of your business last year? The art of knowing whether a question is leading is learnt with experience. (b)The examination must not be conducted in an attacking manner. Usually at cross examination you can attack but you cannot do that to your own witness. If your witness turns hostile, you can ask the court to declare the witness a hostile witness and once the court does that, you can then at tack the witness. When a witness is declared hostile (i)You will be allowed to impeach the creditability of that witness; (ii)You can ask leading questions (iii)You can ask them questions that touch on their truthfulness and even their past character and previous convictions. (iv)You can also be able to examine on certain issues by leave of the judge e.g. you can question the hostile witness on statements they made previously which is inconsistent with their present testimony. This can help to show that the witne3ss is giving conflicting evidence which the court is allowed to resolve when they are taking the evidence into account. You must take witness statements. If they give evidence inconsistent with the statement that they signed, you can impeach their credibility and produce the witness statement. CROSS EXAMINATION There are 3 aims of cross examination 1.To elicit further facts which are favourable to the cross examining party; 2.To test and if possible cast doubt on the evidence given by the witness in chief; 3.To impeach the credibility of the witness. Cross examination – the scope is wide one is allowed to ask leading questions, question a witness on previous testimony, it is not restricted in any way. A good Advocate will never forget the virtue of courtesy. RE EXAMINATION Once you have examined your witness in chief, the other side cross-examines your witness. The re examination is a kind of retrieval process. This is when you try to heal the wounds that were opened up in cross examination. Most important, re-examination is strictly restricted to matters that arose at cross examination. The court also has powers to ask a witness questions for the purpose of clarifying points. SUBMISSION OF NO CASE TO ANSWER The defendant may make a defence of no case to answer after the submission by the plaintiff. The Judge must decide whether there is any evidence that would justify putting the defendants on their defence. Usually if the submission of no case to answer is not upheld, the case continues. If the court says that there is no case to answer, that ruling can be challenged on Appeal. TAKING DOWN EVIDENCE Usually evidence of witnesses is taken orally in open court under the direction of a Magistrate or Judge, it is normally written down in narrative form i.e. not question and answer form but where there is special reason, the evidence may be in question and answer form. The rule is that the court may on its motion taken down a particular question verbatim and the answer verbatim. Where either party objects to a question and the court allows it, then the court should record the question, the answer and the objection and the name of the person raising the objection and if they make a ruling they must also record the ruling of the objection raised. Tact is required as you may find that. Sometimes if you object too much you can irritate the Judge. Object only for important things. In the course of taking evidence, the court may also record remarks made by witnesses while under examination and normally after taking down the evidence the judge will sign that evidence. The courts can also record remarks and demeanour of a witness. PROSECUTION & ADJOURNMENT OF SUITS Public policy documents that business of the court should be conducted expeditiously. It is of great importance and in the interest of justice that action should be brought to trial and finalised with minimum delay. Order XVI Rule 1 requires that hearing of cases should be on a day to day basis until all witnesses have testified. However this is not always possible and that is why the court may adjourn a hearing on its own motion or upon application by either of the parties where good course is shown. The rule requires that adjournments can be granted where good cause is shown Habib V Rajput the plaintiff case came up for hearing, the advocates applied for adjournment on the grounds that their client was absent for some unexplained reasons. The respondent opposed saying that his witnesses were already in court and had come from very far away and it was costing a few thousand shillings to keep them there per day. Was the plaintiff’s reason good cause to adjourn. The court ruled that no sufficient cause was shown and the application for adjournment was dismissed. Kamil V. Merali NO STEPS TAKEN – Order XVI Rule 6 Under Rule 6, where no application has been made or steps taken for 3 years by either party, the court may order the suit to be dismissed but usually the application should show cause why the suit should not be dismissed. Any case which is dismissed under Rule 6 can be instituted afresh subject to rules of limitation. Victoria Construction Co. V. Dugall The court considered the meaning of steps taken within the meaning of Rule 6. the Case was filed in November 1958 and in 1960 the Applicant decided to refer the case to an arbitrator but attempts to resolve the dispute through arbitration failed. The matter went to sleep until 1962 where the registrar asked the parties to show cause why the suit should not be dismissed. The Plaintiff contended that the steps to seek arbitration amounted to steps taken. The question was whether an agreement to refer the matter to arbitration was a step taken and the court held that that was not a step taken and the case was dismissed. In this case, the court explained 1.That one has to satisfy the court that the suit is ready to proceed without delay. 2.One has to satisfy the court that the defendant will suffer no hardship; 3.That there has been none frequent inactivity by the Plaintiff. It is advisable at the time the case comes up for hearing to ask that it be stood over generally (SOG) to give you time to go to arbitration and if you are not ready, you can always go back to court and seek an extension. This way there is a step taken. CLOSING SPEECH You are telling the court that you have presented your evidence, that you have proved that so and so is liable and you will also be telling the court that this is the law and if applied to the facts of your case then the law should support your prayers. You will be telling the court of past decisions that support your case. You will reconcile the facts, the law and past decisions that support your case. You make your case in the closing statements.

Part II CIKR Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Part II CIKR - Essay Example With respect to this alternative approach, FEMA immediately began by sending to the region not only emergency management equipment and personnel but also a special team which has been subsequently termed as an â€Å"Innovation Team†. This innovation team was tasked with the responsibility of acting as a direct go-between for the stakeholders at the FEMA regional offices in New York City and the first responders on the ground. Prior emergency response had noted that a clear disconnect has been evidenced between the first responders and those individuals who are seeking to mitigate an action plan within the offices of the regional/local headquarters. As a means of providing a fresh set of eyes to the situation and acting as an attache to the different groups responsible for operations on the ground, the innovation team was able to connect internal and external groups to cooperate in a more efficient and time sensitive method. Naturally, even though the utilization of such a team necessarily took away from the overall manpower/resources which could be deployed with respect to emergency management operations, it was the understanding of FEMA, upon review and analysis of the operational plan and action of Sandy response, that the integration of the innovation team ultimately increase efficiency far beyond what could have been done if the same level of personnel were utilized in operations alone. Some of the most salient takeaways from post operational review of the innovation team and the means by which it responded denoted the fact that three specific areas within emergency operations were able to notice a marked improvement. The first of these was with regards to the overall level of emphasis that was placed upon communication. Naturally, after such a disaster, FEMA had traditionally been tasked with providing interoperable communications to all the stakeholders on the ground. However, the sheer complexity and interconnectivity of the existing communication s, as well as the damage that was performed, meant that FEMA’s role within interoperable communications and the provision of ensuring effective communications between key stakeholders needed a much higher level of emphasis. Yet, even with this oversight, the innovation team was able to point to these drawbacks and ameliorate them prior to these becoming a major pickup in the emergency response that FEMA was providing. A further level of growth and insight that the innovation team was able to provide was the fact that innovations that include cost savings and can produce most tangible and intangible benefits were the most beneficial towards the allocation of appropriate resources. Naturally, within the time of disaster, such as hurricane Sandy necessarily represented, the availability of these resources and the ultimate efficiency through which they could be provided was an element of the utmost importance. Accordingly, in order to ensure that these resources were utilized to a maximal and efficient level, the Innovation Team was able to provide useful feedback in order to determine how allocation of resources could be improved in the future. By analyzing the historical growth and appreciation for CIKR and the way in

Apple Incorporated Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Apple Incorporated - Research Paper Example In fact, its leading innovation in smartphones becomes the ultimate base of competition in its industry at present market situation. However, aside from this, there are other significant things to know more about Apple Incorporated in the context of organizational culture. In this paper, the proponent emphasizes Apple Incorporated as an organization going through organizational transformation or change initiatives. Evaluation of the organization’s culture is included. Regarding this, the analysis of the culture is integrated. In doing this, the following questions are answered. 1. Is culture directly influencing success or failure? 2. What is the role leadership has played in the outcome of the initiatives as it relates to culture? 3. How would have things done differently or what are the reasons in supporting the actions of the organizational leaders? The proponent used internet and library materials and conducted related research in order to find answers to the above stated questions. The US market at macro cultural perspective According to Hofstede’s cultural dimension, the United States has strong individualistic national culture (Neelankavil & Rai, 2009). In a society like this, Hofstede pointed out that people are looking after themselves (Onsrud, 2007). This is the reason that the United States has become home to people who strongly wallow into competition and this is evident in its recent market where there is a strong emphasis on how certain enterprise, group or organization aim at becoming a cut above the other. The US market is home to various organizations, corporations or enterprises. Each of them has specific goal in mind and that is to remarkably achieve sustainability and stay in the competition. In line with this, various strategies flooded in the US market. For instance, Apple Incorporated remarkably has specific strategic plans and certain target market. In the same way, its competitors have various strategic plans as well for i mplementation just prior to the actual execution in the hope that a certain competitive advantage will be achieved in the end. This is evident how Microsoft launched a new strategy as its counterpart against the new strategies or initiatives of Apple Incorporated. Apple is looking forward to a new initiative and that is its iCloud (The New York Times, 2011). Steven Jobs emphasized that this technology would certainly replace personal computers. Just the thought of it, Microsoft should already have something in mind on how to maximize its recent resources in the hope to go with the current market trend and create certain moves to stand as counterpart of that of Apple Incorporated’s. Thus, Microsoft should have created by now certain products that it could present to the market that would at least compete with iCloud. The usual trend in the US market is about creating diversified products in order for customers to have various options. This simply illustrates the fact that base d on his theory of cultural dimensions, Hofstede was right in asserting that the United States is strongly influenced by a strong individualistic cultural orientation. Personal Computers Industry at both macro and micro cultural perspectives The strong individualistic national culture of the US market without question has influenced the Personal Computer

Week 12 Replies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Week 12 Replies - Essay Example nice post! i can only imagine how difficult it was to implement that kind of change regarding cell phone use. because people seem to be connected at the hip with their cellphones it is really difficult to find a way to keep everyone in tow. the solution your company came up with is great. however, what is going to be the effect on company expenses in the long run? i mean if im the employee and i knew i was going to get a gift, then id always try to fill up my card fast. hi nice post! you are right. unless people do not see the reason why a change is needed, they will not support the move for change. it is important to show them that the need is necessary. this is the only time people can decide whether they will support the change or not. Thats true Antonia. Meeting all members/workers and listening to their concerns shows them that management respects them. This will foster loyalty. However, I think it also depends on the size of the organization. it can be hard to do this for a very large organization. nice post! i think it will always be hard to implement changes especially if the change affects ones lifestyle. this is something personal. like your example, ive seen many places prohibit smoking in their grounds/facility. what the smokers did was move to a parking lot near those buildings and smoke there instead. i think if people want to get around a change, they will find a way. Hi nice post. i agree with your steps you will take as a leader to meet resistance to change. you are right. forcing change on people without open communication will have bad results. being open to all stakeholders will indeed facilitate a smoother

Big Data, Business Intelligence, and Data Analytics in Decision Making Essay

Big Data, Business Intelligence, and Data Analytics in Decision Making - Essay Example It resources and strategies have therefore contributed the following to the companies. It is the interest of businesses to thrive the most in terms of dominating the market share of where they aim to dispose their products. This cannot take place if the company does not understand some of the dynamics that it experiences over time and respond to them appropriately as a management concern. Understanding of these dynamics can lead to designing of better strategies to shelve the main competitors in the scramble for better ways of bringing a widening the market base of the products. To make a good understanding of the dynamics, the companies much understand all the data related to the company so that they can make a much more informed decision. Analysis of these data can only be done with the assistance of IT knowledge (Sathi, 2012). In this sense, IT software is able to process heavy bundles of data from all types and subsequently unravel the hidden correlations and patterns associated with the data. This information will be helpful for companies to create a way of having a competitive advantage over the rivals in the business enabling them to enjoy benefits that comes with business such as effective marketing strategy as well as revenue increment for the company (Sathi, 2012). IT services such as those given by the Big Data Analytics are of paramount importance to businesses in the sense that they make it easier for business to make decisions based on material facts. IT services enable the business to make rational conclusion on some of the data that are not tapped by the conventional businesses intelligence systems that have been used to help in making business decision (Ohlhorst, 2012). Without IT assistance in the business, huge volumes of data that relates to the business can go unattended to given the fact that traditional business intelligence analysis cannot process them so that important inferences can be drawn from them. Information such as those from We b servers, activities drawn from the social media reports, details of the mobile phone calls, information extracted from sensors, and the information from the internet click stream (Ohlhorst, 2012). Big data and bid data analytics are able to use this unconventional data to allow business make informed choices on how to go about their businesses in terms of making steps ahead of their competitors and increasing their revenue base over time. It is thus advisable for companies that have long-term strategies in business to go the IT way in most of their activities. This is in conformity with the fact that timely information in business, more so those that are in a highly competitive landscape is an essential tool in shielding the competitors off the game (Ohlhorst, 2012) A case Study: Wal-Mart Stores Wal-mart stores is one of the leading private companies in the world with the highest number of employees according the report released by the fortune 500. As such, the company has to put a lot of spirited fight in the market to keep with the standard it has set over the last years. In view of such, the company must engage the services of the Bid data to provide them with the critical information that will help them make decision regarding what strategies they should use to satisfy the demand of their customers. For example, though the services of the IT, they are able to know which grocery is liked by many

Ethics in organizoations 2 Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Ethics in organizoations 2 - Article Example In addition, an appropriate action plan will be designed for eliminating all the issues concerning the organization. Review of the Issues Based on the facts provided, it has been observed that the company was facing certain gaps that resulted in varied amount of discrepancies in the organization. Based on the interactions with the employees, it has been studied the employees were biased and even discriminated on many different occasions. The employees belonging from multi cultural background had to face the maximum level of discrimination. Also, people belonging from the minority groups were facing the problem of biasness and discrimination within the workplace. Beyond these instances, the workplace culture was also getting deteriorated because of numerous amounts of cases of harassment that were coming out. Employees were getting harassed at almost every level by their peers and the senior management. Based on the prevailing workplace scenario, it was observed that the overall workp lace culture was in a degradation mode. Top Three Messages to the Senior Management Team Based on the graveness of the identified issues, it has been comprehended that these issues lays an immense impact over the internal business scenario to a greater extent. From the above scenario, it is felt that the organization was facing problems pertaining to cultural diversity to a large extent. Organizational harassment contributes towards harmful effects such as grievances of the employees increases, grudges emerge against peers and groups arises within the team members, which ultimately affects the overall development of the organization (Royal College of Nursing, n.d.). Correspondingly, individual biasness within an organization greatly influences the performance standard of the business and its employees. Furthermore, biasness within the organization also create hurdle in the effective decision making process (Kauffman & Diamond, 1989). Perception associated with discrimination within the organization leads to work conflict and accelerated retention rate, which drastically affects the overall development of the business scenario (Ensher, Grant-Vallone & Donaldson, 2001). On the part of the organization it is likely to remember that with an employee of number 300, it might become difficult for the organization to maintain sustainability. Action Plan for Curbing the Issues Based on the analysis of the prevailing issues in the organization, it is clear that the organization facing serious issues in the workplace. Some of the recommendable action plan strategies that can be implemented are as follows: Implementation of a proper training program for spreading the importance of awareness for the workplace diversity Engaging the employees in the training program to provide them with ample knowledge, which will accelerate their performance level Addressing all the issues faced by the organization on immediate grounds and mitigating the grievances of the employees effecti vely Preparation of feedback reports from the employees regarding any underlying issues prevailing within the organization and the implication of the measures provided to them by the management Analyzing the responses of the employees pertaining to measures undertaken by the senior level management Creation of rules and regulations pertaining to avoidance of illicit practices in the organization (Maltbia & Power, 2008) Reinforcement of additional rules and regulat

Implementation Controls and Executive Summary of Massives Marketing Essay

Implementation Controls and Executive Summary of Massives Marketing Plan - Essay Example Political stability, positive economic growth, technological capability, strategic geographical location and business friendly conditions would be the criteria that will govern what country to choose. Japan, which suffices all the criteria, would be the most likely candidate. An alternative would be India due to its booming Information Technology industry and its strategic geographical location in the Asian region. This move would also help in attaining or even surpass the targeted number of partnerships. The company is currently charging a minimum of $30,000 for its software licenses. The company also charges 20% of the license fee for annual software maintenance and $25,000 for its web auditing services. The decrease would result to $1,500 cut for licensing, 10% cut on maintenance and $2,500 for auditing services (Massive Network, 2006). Reducing prices, all the while assuring product and service quality, provides a competitive edge the company can bank on. Although this translates to losses in revenue in the short run, it provides an attractive choice for future clients and assures continued patronage. This reduction will apply to future as well as present transactions. The acquisition of Massive by Microsoft has provided the means to acquire the necessary funds to conduct research and development to widen product and services range ( Wash, Microsoft Acquire Massive

Electrical Rotary Actuators Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Electrical Rotary Actuators - Essay Example Actuators are devices used for driving various types of objects to obtain a desired amount of displacement. This displacement may be of a linear or rotary nature. The driving force of an actuator may be generated by either an electrical, hydraulic or pneumatic input. The rotary actuators discussed here, are concerned with applications where a rotary displacement with a desired angle of rotation is required, and use electrical energy to generate the driving force. Construction: The basic components of an electric rotary actuator are a motor and a reduction gearbox mechanism. Electric rotary actuators drive components rotationally via electromagnetic power from a motor. The reduction gear translates the speed and torque of the motor to the required scale. Suitable damping and spring return mechanisms are also built in. The rotational element can either be a shaft or a table. Circular shafts often include keyways, while tables provide a bolting pattern to mount other components. They usually provide control and indexing capabilities to allow multiple position stops along strokes. Other auxiliary components include return springs, seals, limit switches for both ends of rotation span, etc. A simple rotary actuator model using a DC motor is considered for the study and analysis of the device. The DC motor directly provides a rotary motion. For practical application, this rotary displacement is transmitted into suitable transitional motion by attaching an output coupling mechanism, consisting of wheels or drums and cables. The figure 1 shows the electrical circuit of the armature, and the free body diagram of the rotor of the DC motor.Electrical circuit of Armature Free body diagram of rotor Figure 1. In the electrical circuit of the armature, the resistance of the armature coil is represented by R in ohms, and the inductance is presented by L in henrys. The input source is shown as a voltage V. The back EMF produced, is shown as a voltage source, which opposes the input source. For the rotor free body diagram, the torque developed is T and rotation angle is . The effect of the moment of inertia of the rotor and damping method employed is also taken into the account. The damping is provided to avoid large overshoots of the rotational displacement. For the purpose of sample study, the following values of other parameters are initially assumed as: 1. Moment of Inertia of the rotor, ( J ) = 3.2284E-6 kg m^2 / s^2. 2. Damping ratio of the mechanical system, ( b ) = 3.5077E-6 Nms 3.

Research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Paper Example These x-rays are produced by neutron stars or extremely hot objects and a few radioactive sources. Moreover, in the medical field, x-rays are used to treat cancers, and that while soft x-rays are stopped by air, hard x-rays can penetrate deeply into the damaged tissue (â€Å"The Electromagnetic Spectrum†). Nevertheless, one distinguishing feature of x-rays in its use in geophysics is that through x-ray images of the sun, one can obtain important clues with regard to solar flares and other physical changes in the sun that can affect space weather and Earth weather. (De Lloyd) Ultraviolet Rays Aside from the practical uses of UV in detecting forged bank notes, hardening certain types of dental filling and sterilization of surgical equipment in hospitals (â€Å"Ultra Violet†), this kind of light is also placed on UV telescopes on satellites in order to measure the amount of UV coming from stars, galaxies and the Sun itself. Moreover, astronomers can study stars and galaxie s by virtue of the UV light that they give off (â€Å"Ultraviolet Waves,† NASA). ... In the portable spectrometer, UV light is used with all the visible light as well as Near Infrared light. (â€Å"Observing the Earth†) Visible Rays Aside from its most practical purpose, which is to allow the eyes to view the world, visible light, it is also used for communication, specifically in the â€Å"transport [of] huge volumes of information over very large distances† by means of internal reflection in optical fibers (Emery). Moreover, visible red, green and blue false color assignments are used to reflect radiant energy emitted by the Earth’s surface and atmosphere. Specifically, visible blue light from 0.45 to 0.52  µm is used for mapping details of how deep water-covered areas are, considering that it is the most absorbed wavelength of water. Visible blue light is also utilized by the Landsat TM satellite sensor as spectral band 1 (â€Å"An Introduction to Remote Sensing,† Yale University). Landsat TM is a satellite sensor that detects changes in the biosphere such as wildfires, deforestation and natural calamities and such data on these changes will be provided to concerned institutions including the government, the education sector as well as commercial and industrial communities. (â€Å"Landsat Multispectral Scanner†) Visual green light, on the other hand, from 0.50 to 0.60  µm is also used to map out depth or the presence of sediment in bodies of water. Roads and buildings can also be detected by this particular bandwidth. In satellite sensors, visible green light is used as spectral band 1 in the Landsat MSS, as band 2 in Landsat TM, and as another band in Landsat ETM+. These Landsat satellite sensors aid in the detection of

The Aborigines Act of 1905 Essay Example for Free

The Aborigines Act of 1905 Essay The Aborigines Act of 1905 supposed to be an act that raised provision for the better protection and care of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Western Australia; however in reality the real purpose of the act was not to make the general wellbeing of the Aborigines better, it was to control every movement they made and have power over every aspect of their lives. The following essay discusses several of the clauses in the text that prove its intention most deceiving, and what the act truly accomplished. Clause 4 declares that there is to be an Aborigines Department under the Minister whose duty is to promote the welfare of the aborigines by providing them with food, clothing, medicine and medical attendance when they would otherwise be destitute, providing for the education of aboriginal children, and generally assisting in the preservation and well-being of the aborigines. This is the only clause in the whole of the Act that sees to the rights of the aborigines. Clause 8 of the Act states that the Chief Protector is to be the legal guardian of every Aboriginal and half-caste child until they attain the age of sixteen; as well as Clause 60 again highlighting that the governor has custody of the Aborigines and half-caste providing for their care and education. They saw the parents as unfit to raise their own children; they didn’t want them teaching their traditional ways and so, against a parent’s basic right, they took the children and raised them under European light. According to clause 12 the minister may cause any Aboriginal to be removed and kept within the boundaries of a reserve, or to be removed from one reserve or district to another. The government had the power to just remove any aboriginal from their homes whenever they felt fit and place them in a completely different district. Not only was this most inconvenient for them in ways any being would understand, it was damaging to their cultural identity and the spiritual belonging to a home land. As far as employment went; clause 17 states that it was against the law to employ any indigenous person without permit from the chief protector, which was difficult to obtain. Even if they were given permit, clause 22 said that they had to be paid with rations rather than money like the whites- in efforts to control everything they owned. If they were unhappy in the job in which they were employed, clause 58 said that if they wanted to leave the jobs, it would be an offence against the act and they were liable to imprisonment. The question we have to ask ourselves again is ‘how was this in any way beneficial to their wellbeing’? Under Australian law, it is illegal to arrest any person without warrant. On the contrary; clause 55 stated that it was perfectly lawful to arrest any aboriginal or half-caste without warrant who offends any provisions against the Act. Which brings us to Clause 52, which established that any Aboriginal or half-caste was deemed to be proved guilty in the absence of proof to the contrary; In other words, guilty until proven innocent. Who would defend them? How would they prove themselves innocent? Furthermore, who would believe their word for it? What this basically meant was that any Indigenous could be imprisoned for the smallest of accusations without a second thought. In conclusion, to call the Aborigine’s act of 1905 unjust is an understatement. The many clauses mentioned proved the said purpose of the act as for the better protection and care of the aboriginal inhabitants was misleading and far from the truth. The overall impact of most of the clauses would be deemed an outrage in the white society and certainly would not be accepted let lone tolerated.

Concepts in Nursing Research Methods

Concepts in Nursing Research Methods Critique criteria The criteria used for this critique were derived from relevant nursing literature (Feninstein Horwitz, 1997; Cormack, 2000; Khan et al, 2003). About a dozen criteria were specified: design, sample, inclusion/exclusion criteria, time frame of study, data collection, reliability validity, and data analysis. Study Design Catlette (2005) used a qualitative design. While this approach has its merits, principally a greater degree of realism and richer data, it has a number of significant drawbacks (Coolican, 1994). Observations are typically unreliable. In other words, if the same nurses were interviewed on several different occasions, about workplace violence, using the same open-ended interview protocol, their responses may vary somewhat. Various biases creep in, often caused by situational factors (e.g. open-ended questions, a very violent week followed by a particularly calm week), or personal considerations (e.g. memory deficits). Furthermore there is low internal validity. This means that it is difficult to establish with any certainty the relationship between variables, due to the lack of statistical analysis (which can estimate the probability that results occurred by chance). For example, Catlettes interview data suggests a link between workplace violence and feelings of vulnerability amongst n urses. However, the extent to which the former variable causes the latter cannot be reliably established in a qualitative study. Winstanley and Whittington (2004) enjoy the precision of a quantitative design. While internal validity is high, the level of realism is questionable. Participants were ‘forced’ to respond to predetermined questions (e.g. on physical assault) using a fixed response format (e.g. ‘Once’, ‘More than once’). Thus, the data obtained was heavily influenced by the kind of questions asked and the particular response format used. In the real world, health care staff may perceive the level of aggression in terms that don’t match the questionnaire format. For example, a nurse may perceive physical assaults as ‘sporadic’ or ‘once in a blue moon’. Since these categorisations weren’t available in the questionnaire, the study effectively lacks a certain degree of realism. In a qualitative desi gn, subjects describe the world as they see it, rather than via terms imposed by the researcher. Sample Ideally a sample should be randomly selected so that it is representative of the population from which it was drawn, in this case nurses or health care professionals. This allows findings from a single study to be generalised to the wider community. Catlette (2005) used a convenience sample, meaning it wasn’t representative of nurses in general. Granted there are considerable practical and logistic difficulties in trying to recruit a random sample of nurses. Their busy schedules and irregular shifts, for example, hamper proper scientific selection. It is also quite common for small convenience samples to be used in qualitative studies, since it is often impractical to conduct in-depth interviews with large groups. Nevertheless, Catlette’s findings, while relevant to the particular trauma centres involved, are unlikely to apply to nurses in general. This is a serious limitation, since Catlettes stated objectives suggest a general interest in the level of violence in hosp ital emergency departments, rather than the particular trauma units from which subjects were drawn. Winstanley and Whittington (2004) also appear to have a used a convenience sample: they simply invited health care staff working in a general hospital, and who had regular contact with patients, to participate. Although the target sample was quite large (a bigger sample improves representation), only a minority of staff actually completed and returned questionnaires. All in all, participants weren’t recruited randomly, therefore the findings cannot be generalised to the wider population of health care staff. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria Both studies seemed to have clear inclusion/exclusion criteria. Catlette (2005) only recruited and interviewed nurses who were registered, worked in a level 1 trauma centre, and had experienced workplace violence. A clear definition of what constituted violence was developed, helping to minimise any ambiguities about eligibility. Winstanley and Whittington (2004) also specify inclusion criteria. Only health care staff that had regular and substantial contact with patients were invited to participate. What constituted ‘regular’ and ‘substantial’ contact was well defined (e.g. daily contact with patients). The advantage of having clear inclusion/exclusion criteria is that it helps the researcher recruit a homogenous sample. If the participants in a study are too diverse, this effectively introduces additional sources of error that may obscure interesting themes, or relationships between variables. Findings may be more difficult to interpret. However, a major d isadvantage of a homogenous sample is that it is invariably ‘ad-hoc’, that is special or unique, and hence unlikely to reflect the wider community. Nevertheless, it can be argued that sample homogeneity isn’t problematic if the wider community of interest exactly matches the inclusion/exclusion criteria. For example, Winstanley and Whittington’s (2004) study was about patient aggression towards health care staff. Thus, the population of interest was invariably going to be staff that had regular contact with patients. In this respect the sample selected corresponds with the population of interest. However, randomly selecting nurses from the designate population would have provided a representative sample that permits useful generalisations. Simply using volunteers, as Winstanley and Whittington did is unscientific. Time frame of study Winstanley and Whittington’s (2004) study was effectively a retrospective (i.e. cross-sectional) survey. This means that data was collected at one point in time, specifically an 8-week period. Retrospective designs are considered inferior to prospective (i.e. longitudinal) designs in which data is collected on two or more occasions, over several weeks, months, or even years (Coolican, 2004). This method allows tentative causal inferences to be made – if a variable measured at Time 1 predicts or correlates with a factor measured at Time 2, then there is a possibility that former variable affected the latter, but not vice versa. Retrospective designs don’t allow for such inferences. Any correlations between variables are just that – correlations! There is no sequence that may help delineate possible causality. For example, in their introduction and statements of study aims, Winstanley and Whittington imply that particular professions (e.g. nurses, doctors) a nd hospital departments (e.g. medical, A E) may elicit different levels of physical aggression experienced by staff. Thus, profession/department seemed to be conceptualised as causal factors. However, although data analysis revealed relationships between these factors and physical aggression, there is no provision in the retrospective design to infer causality, since all the variables are measured simultaneously. A prospective method in which profession/department predicts experiences of physical assault several weeks subsequently would be more conclusive. Catlette (2005) doesn’t explicitly state the time frame for her study, albeit interviews typically take several days, weeks, or perhaps months to complete. Notions of prospective and retrospective designs are typically associated with quantitative studies, and rarely applied to qualitative research. This is because qualitative studies are often exploratory, merely seeking to identify interesting phenomena rather than estab lish causal relationships between variables. Nevertheless, interviewing participants on two or more separate occasions can be used to demonstrate the robustness and reliability of any themes observed. For example, if the same themes emerge during interviews conducted at two different points in time, this would suggest that the themes are significant rather than fleeting. Data Collection Catlette (2005) appears to have used semi-structured interviews for data collection (Coolican, 1994). By asking every interviewee pre-set but open-ended questions in a particular sequence, she avoided the inconsistency and sloppiness often associated with wholly unstructured (i.e. casual) interviews. It is possible the interviews were informal but guided, meaning that pre-set questions were asked, albeit in no particular order. Either way, a guided or semi-structured interview suffers from certain constraints. Asking specific questions, albeit open-minded ones, restricts the interviewers flexibility to ask follow-up questions depending on the interviewees response. Interviews are also heavily affected by interpersonal factors, such as lack of rapport, physical attraction, and psychological manipulation. Winstanley and Whittington (2004) collected data via a questionnaire. This method has a number of limitations. One is the typically low response rate. Of 1141 questionnaires posted ou t to participants, only 375 (33%) were returned, denoting a considerable waste of resources. Often the questionnaires returned represent an unusually keen sub-sample that may differ in key respects from the original target group. This means that the researcher has to devote time and resources establishing what these differences are, and how they might affect the results. Furthermore, because the final sample is smaller, statistical power is reduced, increasing the possibility of a type II error. Another limitation of questionnaires is the use of restricted (or ‘forced choice’) response format. For example, subjects in Winstanley and Whittingtons’ (2004) study were forced to choose from three options – ‘none’, ‘one’ or ‘more than one’. Thus, there is no room for participants to qualify their answers, for example by pointing out memory lapses (e.g. ‘I can’t remember’), or indicating ambiguous experie nces (e.g. ‘not sure’). All in all, these restrictions reduce the realism and richness of data collected. Interviewing subjects on the same issues, but using open-ended questions, will probably yield slight different outcomes to those reported by Winstanley and Whittington (2004). Another limitation is that the bulk of questionnaire communication is written. There is no provision to measure visual cues and gestures, which typically account for much of human communication, or even auditory cues. For example, a frown or grunt, may signify a particularly traumatising experiencing, which simply can’t be detected from questionnaire responses. Finally, questionnaires are often completed in the absence of the researcher (e.g. postal questionnaire), making it difficult to supervise the proceedings, or verify whether the subject is the same person who completed the questionnaire. Overall, these constraints negate the conclusiveness of Winstanley and Whittington’s ( 2004) findings. Data Analysis In line with standard procedure in qualitative research Catlette (2005) performed thematic analysis to identify recurring patterns in the data. Meaningful information was extracted from the interview transcripts, after which themes were identified using a coding system. Although a highly useful procedure, Braun and Clarke (2006) note that thematic analysis has certain disadvantages. One is the possible overlap between themes. Catlette identifies two themes – vulnerability and inadequate safety measures. Categories, and subcategories reported suggest considerable overlap between these dimensions (e.g. the sentiment ‘feeling unsafe’ may depict both feelings of vulnerability and an unsafe environment). Another weakness is the high correspondence between the data collection questions (i.e. interview guide) and themes identified. In other words, the themes reported merely reflect the questions asked during the interview (e.g. questions on safety, such as â€Å"How do you feel about the safety of your workplace?† are bound to produce safety-related responses, and hence themes). This suggests very limited analytic work was done to identify themes independent of the interview format. Another shortcoming of thematic analysis is failure to incorporate alternative or contradictive data in the results reported. Catlette offers little if any account of oddities in the data that don’t necessarily fit the two emerging themes. For example, the interviews revealed that violence wasn’t a concern during interactions with co-workers. Clearly this revelation is incompatible with the notion of vulnerability and lack of safety in the workplace. Yet, little is made of this inconsistency, making Catlettes’ rather ‘tidy’ themes appear rather suspicious. Few data sets in qualitative research are completely harmonious with no contradictions, so a study that fails to report these oddities is highly questionable. Winstanley and Wh ittington (2004) employed an inferential statistical test to analysis their data, consistent with the quantitative design of their study. Chi-square was used to test for significant trends in the frequency of physical assaults as a function of different health care professionals (e.g. nurses and doctors) and hospital departments (e.g. medical, surgical, A E). Chi-square was appropriate given that the data was categorical (i.e. in the form of frequencies). However, as a non-parametric test, chi-square lacks sensitivity. This combined with the limitations of frequency data (e.g. it fails to account for subtle degrees of variation between individual subjects or groups; for example, asking nurses if they’ve experienced aggression ‘once’ or ‘more than once’ fails to take into account any differences in the intensity and duration of these aggressive episodes), increases the risk of wrongly accepting the null-hypothesis. Reliability Validity A major methodological concern in scientific research is reliability and validity. Reliability refers to the consistency of observations, while validity depicts the authenticity of observations. Both issues are particularly pertinent in qualitative studies, due to the lack of structure, precision, and quantification. Catlette (2005) appears to have taken steps to enhance reliability/validity. She kept a journal throughout the duration of the study, in order to identify any biases that may corrupt the data. Interviews were conducted using a standard protocol, then the data was transcribed verbatim, and analysed using regular procedures. However, these measures may be inadequate. Coolican (1994) identifies several procedures for ensuring good reliability, none of which appears to have been used by Catlette: triangulation, analysis of negative cases, repetition of research cycle, and participant consultation. Triangulation involves verifying emerging themes using another data collection method other than open-ended interviews. For example a questionnaire measure of perceived workplace violence and safety strategies could have been administered or close-ended interviews conducted. Data from these alternative methods could then be compared with the original observations to gauge the degree of consistency in emerging themes. Analysis of negative cases involves scrutinising cases that don’t fit the emerging themes. Repetition of research cycle entails repeatedly reviewing assumptions and inferences, to further verify emerging themes. Finally participant consultation involves communicating with participants to see if observations from the study match their own experiences. None of these measures seem to have been applied in Catlette’s study, raising serious concerns about the stability and authenticity of her observations. Winstanley and Whittington’s’ (2004) study doesn’t appear to have fared much better. Although the numerical preci sion inherent in quantitative designs offers some degree of reliability and validity, this is by no means guaranteed, and has to be demonstrated empirically. They fail to report any Cronbach Alpha reliability coefficients for the questionnaire used. Thus, it is unclear if the items in this instrument were internally consistent. Test-retest reliability wasn’t reported either, again raising questions about the consistency of participants responses over time. A badly designed questionnaire (e.g. one with ambiguous statements, or grammatical errors) could easily confuse participants, leading to irregularities in their responses over time. No information on validity is provided either. Normally, validity could be demonstrated by correlating data from the questionnaire with data from another measure of experiences of aggression (a high correlation would indicate good validity), submitting the questionnaire to a team of judges to ascertain if the content addresses all forms of human aggression (e.g. indirect forms of aggression, such as spreading rumours or social exclusion don’t appear to have been assessed), and even performing factor analysis to establish construct validity (i.e. verify the dimensions of aggression assumed to be measured by items in the questionnaire). These inadequacies render the findings from Winstanley and Whittington’s (2004) study inconclusive. For example, the claim that aggression is â€Å"widespread† is questionable because not all forms of aggression were measured. Overall, both studies are fairly categorical in their conclusions. Winstanley and Whittington (2004) surmise that their data demonstrates the significant levels of aggression to which hospital staff are exposed. Catlette (2005) reaches a similar conclusion, emphasising the vulnerability and lack of safety perceived by nurses. However, both studies suffer from various analytic and methodological constraints. Perhaps the most serious of these is the apparent absence of reliability and validity measures that may reveal any volatility or misrepresentations in the data. These limitations mean that any conclusions have to be regarded as tentative, subject to further research. Bibliography Braun, V. Clarke, V. (2006) Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative  Research in Psychology, 3, pp.77-101. Catlette, M. (2005) A descriptive study of the perceptions of workplace violence and  safety strategies of nurses working in Level I trauma centres. Journal of  Emergency Nursing, 31, 519-525. Coolican, H. (1994) Research Methods and Statistics in Psychology, London, Hodder   Stoughton. Cormack, D. (2000) The Research Process in Nursing: Fourth Edition. London:  Blackwell Science. Eastabrooks, C.A. (1998) Will evidence-based nursing practice make practice perfect.  Canadian Journal of Nursing Research. 30, pp.15-36. Feninstein, A. R., Horwitz, R. I. (1997) Problems in the evidence of evidence-based medicine. American Journal of Medicine 103, 529-535. Khan, K., Kunz, R., Kleijnen, J. Antes, G. (2003) Systematic Reviews to Support  Evidence-based Medicine: How to Review and Apply Findings of Healthcare  Research. Oxford: Royal Society of Medicine Press. Winstanley, S. Whittington, R. (2004) Aggression towards health care staff in a UK  general hospital: variation among professions and departments. Journal of  Clinical Nursing, 13, pp.3-10.