Wednesday, May 6, 2020
Current Strategy free essay sample
INTODUCTION BACKGROUNDSainsbury is a UK based company whose core operation is retail business in food and non-food products and services. It is one of Britains largest retailer shop that deals in food and wine.Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury.Has 141,000 employees and has a sales of 23.2 billion pounds sterling.Sainsbury has continued to build more retailing businesses which has profited them (Company History). Their grocery business had a return growth in 2016/17, with a turnover of 0.3% higher in the year ended March 2017.The sales were 0.6% lower and driven down by the lower sales in the supermarkets, which was the bulk account for the company, s store-based sales.It was a good performance done by the online side of the business in which the sales grew by 8.2%.Sainsburys has also been losing shares in the recent years and sales have gradually been shifting from store to online. It does not have many larger stores compared to Tesco and ASDA and makes it less affected by the switch back to doing smaller shopping in convenient outlets (Mintel, 2018)LITERARTURE REVIEWMETHODOLOGYAccording to (Sainsbury)there are five pillars that helps with their business stsratefgy Their value makes them differentTheir values helps strengthen the relationshis with their customers, suppliers,collegues and also making commercial sense. They are committed to their suppliers and take responsibility for the communities which encourages them to be more innovative. Sainsburys sustainanbility plan focuses on where they can make the most positive impact.Colleaugues making the differenceSainsbury encourages their colleagues to expnd their skills through taking initiatives and motivating female colleagues.They were also awarded three Gold accreditation by Ivestors in people for supporting and motivating their colleagues.They make their products and services great at a fair priceThey make their food affordable for everyone. They are also building banking business to suit customer future needs. This focuses on the quality, provenance and sustainability that reassures customers that they made the right decision.The acquisition of Habitat and Argos helped speedup their strategy. Sainsbury created multi-products, multi ââ¬âchannel business with a fast delivery process.They are there for their customersSainsbury has made online shopping for flexible for their customers, expanding their convience store network and supermarket. With help od Argos and Habitat, customers are served quickly whenever and wherever they want to shop. They opened 60 argos didgital stores in Sainsburys markets and are planning to open 200 more.They know their customers better than anyone elseSainsbury understand their customer and do everything they can to please their customers and make sure they are satisfied with their services. They have face-to-face, telephone and online conversations to listen to the views and feedback of their customers. This gives them ideas of the the customers value and how they can serve them better. The better they know theirs, the more they can prvide them with new products and better service..Strategy(UK essays.According to (UK essay), Sainsbury works in partnership with their key stakeholders, including Government, NGOs as well as their collegues and customers to help fibd solutions. They involve the stakeholders to make sure they undertand the issues at hand. They conduct research that helps identify customers concerns. Sainsbury review issues that can harm harm the businesss ans set a contingency plan to prevent such issues. They report the process to those in charge.They also ensure that future challenges are addressed and try to find solutionsTargetsThey are focused on having committed custoomers. Making them review tprevious targets and activity. Figuring out a way to improve their services.They implement strategies that help improve their business. The company relies on 150,000 colleahues to help deliver great services to their customers every single day. They focus on diversity, equality, inclusion and flexible working patterns for their colleagues. They believe and encourage their collegues.Their colegues are motivated because their opinions are vakued and heard.They also believe in rewarding their colleagues when a good job has been done.This makes their workers work extra hard to be noticed.3. 0 SAINSBURY MARKETING ANALYSIS3.1Sainsbury Pestle Analysis(uk essays)Political factorsPolitical factors have a big influence on Sainsbury.It being one of UK largest retail industry market. As the government debts are very high. This has an impact on the attitudes of the customers and therefore putting pressure on the business. Meaning Sainsbury has to develop their business continually.But they have been able to susteain a steady growth because of their fair prices and great product quality. Economic factorsThis plays a major role to the industry. They affect demand, supply, cost and profitability. The unemployment rae and the inflation in food prices have a major effect on Sainsbury. The demand for Sainsbury product will decrease bwhich will decrease their profits and slso decrease the production of food produce.Futhermore, increasing food prices and affecting those who cant afford to purchase.In order to prevent this, they expand their market.Social factorsSainsbury has really benefited from from introducing non-food products also. They have focused on diversity and increased the female work force.They have been able to provide their customers needs with all type of products.Technological factorsSainsbury online business had made a positive impact on the business. These online operations helps the company to expand their capacity in areas of potential growing demands. As at 2009, sales has increased by 25% year after year from the services offered online. This service is available to 88% of the UK households.3. 2 Sainsbury SWOT AnalysisStrengthHigh Inventory Turnover Ratio. Sainsbury reported to have a high inventory turnover ratio of 22.6 compared to the previous year. Their inventory turnover was higher than its competititors, giving them a competitive advantage. The company took 16 days to sale its ivnetory as compared to 89 days by Home Retail. By reducing the inventory turnover days and increasing the inventory turnover, the company was able to reduce their carrying cost that help improve the performance.Multiple Channels Selling StrategySainsbury has lots of convience stores, supermarket ans online business formats. The company has 1,304 stores with the retail space of 22.8 miilion square feet, also 597 supermarkets with retail space of 21.2 million square feet and 707 convience stores with a space of 1.6 million square feet.They also have an advantage in brands awareness.WeaknessesDeclining Financial PerformanceIn the year 2015, Sainsbury revenue dectreased to 23,775 milion pounds sterling as compared to the previous year which was 23, 949 million pounds sterling. Having an annual deciline od 0. 7 %. This was due to the reduction of sales by 2% in 2015. The decline in the retail sales was due to 1.9% decrease in like-for-like retail sales. In 2015, J Sainsbury reported operating income of 81 million pounds sterling as compared to 1,009 million pounds sterling in 2014. The decline in the operating income was due to increase in the selling and administrative expenses from 444 million pounds sterling in 2014 to 1,132 million pounds sterling in 2015.It reported net loss of 166 million in 2015 as compared to net income of 716 million pounds sterling in 2014(J. Sainsbury, 2016). Sainsbury did not fully use the opportunity to ggrow nad maintain a lead in the market share. Tjey took long to make new changes and develop strategies. They also had issues with the inventory management and supplychain amangement which suffered them a loss. They havent invested enough in China because they did not understand how the operating environment work (Writepass).OpportunitiesGrowth of E-commerce in the UKThe company focuses on strengthening the presence of e-commerce to increase its revenue. The online retail marjet in the UK is expected to grow at CAGR of 8. 7% during the year 2013-2018 ,despite the economic condition, reaching a sales of 55,280.3 million pounds sterling according to in-house research.The company has taken initiatives to strengthen its online busibess. The company introduced a clotheing website for its clothing brand and had a digital magazine sevice that made its customers access more than 1,000 titles online. This gave them an advantage over its competitiors.Expanding Retail Market in the UKSainsbury has greater advantage over its competitors by expanding the retail market. The company invest 947miilions pounds sterling for opening new stores and renovating the existing ones. 101 stores were opened including 96 convinece stores and five supermarkets . They estabilished 15 Netto stores in the UK in 2015. It was also announce that in 2016, 15 new Netto stores would be opened. Expanding Sainsbury business in the UKThreatsExpansion by CompetitorsCompetirors has always been an issue for companies especially is their rivals are producing the same producets as the company and has better resources and good management. Sainsbury faces fierce competition form bith the international and domestic companies in the retail industry. Too much competition sometimes forves the company to reduces its selling price and also incease their product differentiation which also increases production cost.Tesco, ASDA and Lidl are major competitiors for Sainsbury. Tesco opened a bakery business which made it have an advantage over Sainsbury. Also Lidl opened new stores to expand its business in the retail industry. Looking at the Market Share, Tesco and ASDA comes before Sainsbury(J.Sainsbury, 2016) Food Contamination.Food security is also a major issue in the food industry. If the food produce are not well stored, they can be contaminated. Foods that are not well pacajged or well sealed, are prone to bacteria. Especially when the food is imported like poultry or livestock. These food can easily be contaminated if there is an outbreak. Diseases such Avian Influenza and swine flu can affect pork. And some customer who arent aware will buy the products and start to feel ill which eads ro food poisoning or an upset stomach.This can tarnish the repuatation of the company. They can also lose customers from this incident.Competitive rivalryThe market share of food market in the United Kingdom is concentrated. It is dominated by 4 major players namely Tesco Plc, Sainsbury, Safeway and ASDA with a combined market share of 70%.As per the annual report of 2009, Sainsbury has a national market share of 16% and its web based shopping service captures 88% of UK households.Tesco Plc and ASDA Group Limited are the 2 major competitors of Sainsbury in the United Kingdom. Sainsburys competitors have certain competitive advantage such as focus on price and value and quality service.The competitive advantage of Sainsbury has been increasing attention to quality within their own-brand products and competitive prices.Barriers of entryThe food retail industry in the United Kingdom has significant barriers of entry.As the target food market in the country is huge, the foremost issue for a new entrant is the large scale of investment required to enter and face the competition from established key players like Sainsbury, Tesco, Safeway, etc. The established competitors not only pose tough competition to new entrants in terms of market share but also have their own branded products. A new entrant would have to invest substantial time and financial resources to develop and promote its branded products.Threats of substitutesThe threat of substitutes being available in UKs food market is not a dominant issue. Unlike other products, food products come under the category of necessity. Therefore the demand for food products is ever-growing as the market evolves.Although there is an inherent internal threat such as a presence of another supermarket in the same demographic limits, the competitors are constantly bringing in innovative ideas and ways to make food shopping a pleasurable experience. A good example is the internet based shopping service provided by Sainsbury which allows 88% of the UK household customers to shop conveniently at the click of the mouse. Power of buyersIn a competitive retail food market in the United Kingdom, the power of buyers plays a very significant role. The power of buyers can determine the prices of products, the market share allocation, customer loyalty, etc.For instance if the price of milk which is a necessity product, is high in Safeway, the customers will switch to Sainsbury. As there are several supermarkets in the region, the bargaining power of the customers is very strong and the customer loyalty is very volatile.Sainsbury should constantly assess its prices and benchmark it against the main competitors prices in order to be competitive in the market.Power of sellersThe power of sellers refers to the demand of the suppliers that the retailers and the supermarkets should pay a definite price for their goods. If the retailers are reluctant to pay the price demanded by the suppliers, the products will not available for resale. This in turn will affect their customer service as the retailers will not be well-equipped to provide a wide range of products to its customers.Being a large chain of supermarkets and convenience stores, Sainsbury has an added advantage of determining the terms and prices of products from their suppliers. In addition Sainsbury has a large base of its own branded products therefore Sainsbury sho uld focus on developing marketing strategies to expand their client base and demand for their own products.CONCLUSION ; RECOMMENDATION
Saturday, May 2, 2020
How to write better essays free essay sample
Because I couldnââ¬â¢t come up with a fine topic idea, I think I should write my essay on how I came up with those ideas.Iââ¬â¢m not creative you say? Not really. I said to myself no one has ever come up with this idea or tried to write this essay so, in conclusion, itââ¬â¢s quite original, no one has ever done it. As a matter of fact, this is my first essay for this class that I have to hand in so it has to be good or at least decent.To be honest, It is very hard to come up with ideas even when people ask you to, even my friends they always reply with the same boring answer ââ¬Å"I took it from the teachers sheetâ⬠I was like I want to make it entertaining letââ¬â¢s do something no one else will ever think about doing. We will write a custom essay sample on How to write better essays or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Most of the time I come up with ideas when Iââ¬â¢m bored or not doing anything, from time to time it even takes me an eternity since occasionally I am very tired or lazy that I cant even think of an Idea. You know, some people have the most random ideas in the world in the world which turn out to be amazingly interesting like for example what Leonardo Da Vinci did he was like ââ¬Å"Hmm, I want people to not know what my art is and keep them guessing and thinking.â⬠And then comes up with the bright idea of making a girl that might be unhappy and might be ecstatic. Or maybe some super fan of golf that thought to himself ââ¬Å"Hmm, maybe so that I can always be training at my favorite sport I should make a mini golf mat and put it next to my bathroomâ⬠.If you think about it all those ideas made an impact on many peoples lives and even were mentioned in our history books.Lets think about it for another second. Do you think there is a possibility that incredible innovations and clever ideas can be discovered by being idle and thinking about the random object, articles or even thoughts?An interesting idea, that came to my mind. Is that when youre older and you pass through sch ool they always guide you through things they dont let you think alone, they decide everything for you, and that can damage your creativity in such a way that you cant think about anything or cant do anything unless the adult tells you what to do. I believe that if we think like a child, then we can start using that knowledge that we earned across the years that we stayed on this planet called earth, can make us find magnificent discoveries. Even though, that creativity and curiosity are the things that are very present in a child, that us as teenagers lose, we can still make amazing things by the logic and capacities weââ¬â¢ve gained over the years.
Sunday, March 22, 2020
Leadership Styles Research Project free essay sample
I would like to give special acknowledgement to XXX director, XXX for his consistent support and motivation. I am grateful to XXX, Associate professor in XXXX , for his technical expertise, advice and excellent guidance. He not only gave my project a scrupulous critical reading, but added many examples and ideas to improve it. 2 I am grateful to XXX (Sr Hr executive and whole staff members of XXX co for providing me an opportunity to complete my project under their guidance. I am highly indebted to them for the same. Teamwork is essential for competing in todays global arena, where individual perfection is not as desirable as a high level of collective performance. In knowledge based enterprises, teams are the norm rather than the exception. Team leadership plays a critical role in fostering commitment, accountability, and team success. The Team leader must ensure that the right mix and level of skills are resident on the team. We will write a custom essay sample on Leadership Styles Research Project or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They are also responsible for effectively managing 5 relationships outside the team, overcoming obstacles to success, and creating leadership opportunities for others. Good leaders are made not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders develop through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. To inspire your workers into higher levels of teamwork, there are certain things you must be, know, and, do. These do not come naturally, but are acquired through continual work and study. Good leaders are continually working and studying to improve their leadership skills; they are NOT resting on their laurels. Before we get started, lets define leadership. Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish an objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge, and skills. Although your position as a manager, supervisor, lead, etc. ives you the authority to accomplish certain tasks and objectives in the organization, this p o w e r does not make you a leader Leadership differs in that it makes the followers w a n t to achieve high goals, rather than simply. All teams must shape their own common purpose, goals and approach. While a leader must be a working member of the team who contributes, she also stands apart from the team by virtue of her position as leader. A team expects their leader to use that perspective and distance to help them clarify and commit to their mission, goals, and approach. Do not be afraid to get your hands dirty (lead by example), but always remember what you are paid to do (get the job done and grow your employees). The term styles has become more prominent in popular culture over the last decades, but its origins lie in psychological research on learning and personality. The original concept of style is that we all have preferences for the WAY we do things think, relate to others, interact, learn. Kurt Lewin, in the 1930s identified three major styles autocratic, democratic, and laissez faire, while Rensis Likert defined Exploitive 6 If you have the time and want to gain more commitment and motivation from your employees, then you should use the participative style. Participative (democratic) This type of style involves the leader including one or more employees in on the decision making process (determining what to do and how to do it). However, the leader maintains the final decision making authority. Using this style is not a sign of weakness, rather it is a sign of strength that your employees will respect. This is normally used when you have part of the information, and your employees have other parts. Note that a leader is not expected to know everything this is why you employ knowledgeable and skillful employees. Using this style is of mutual benefit it allows them to become part of the team and allows you to make better decisions. Delegative (free reign) In this style, the leader allows the employees to make the decision. However, the leader is still responsible for the decisions that are made. This is used when employees are able to analyze the situation and determine what needs to be done and how to do it. You cannot do everything! You must set priorities and delegate certain tasks. This is not a style to use so that you can blame others when things go wrong, rather this is a style to be used when you have the full trust and confidence in the people below you. Do not be afraid to use it, however, use it wisely! Forces A good leader uses all three styles, depending on what forces are involved between the followers, the leader, and the situation. Some examples include: 13 o Using an authoritarian style on a new employee who is just learning the job. The leader is competent and a good coach. The employee is motivated to learn a new skill. The situation is a new environment for the employee. Using a participative style with a team of workers who know their job. The leader knows the problem, but does not have all the information. The employees know their jobs and want to become part of the team. o Using a delegative style with a worker who knows more about the job than you. You cannot do everything! The employee needs to take ownership of her job. Also, the situation might call for you to be at other places, doing other things. o Using all three: Telling your employees that a procedure is not working correctly and a new one must be established (authoritarian). Asking for their ideas and input on creating a new procedure (participative). Delegating tasks in order to implement the new procedure (delegative). o Forces that influence the style to be used included: task. o Internal conflicts. o Stress levels Type of task. Is it structured, unstructured, complicated, or simple? o Laws or established procedures such as OSHA or training plans. Positive and Negative Approaches There is a difference in ways leaders approach their employee. Positive leaders use rewards, such as education, independence, etc. to motivate employees. While negative employees emphasize penalties. While the negative approach has a place in a leaders repertoire of tools, it must be used carefully due to its high cost on the human spirit. Negative leaders act domineering and superior with people. They believe the only way to get things done is through penalties, such as loss of job, days off without pay, reprimand employees in front of others, etc. They believe their authority is increased by freighting everyone into higher lever of productivity. Yet what always happens when this approach is used wrongly is that morale falls; which of course leads to lower productivity. Also note that most leaders do not strictly use one or another, but are somewhere on a continuum ranging from extremely positive to extremely negative. People who continuously work out of the negative are bosses while those who primarily work out of the positive are considered real leaders. 14 Use of Consideration and Structure Two other approaches that leaders use are: Consideration (employee orientation) Leaders are concerned about the human needs of their employees. They build teamwork, help employees with their problems, and provide psychological support. Structure (task orientation) Leaders believe that they get results by consistently keeping people busy and urging them to produce. There is evidence that leaders who are considerate in their leadership style are higher performers and are more satisfied with their job. Also notice that consideration and structure are independent of each other, thus they should not be viewed on opposite ends of a continuum. For example, a leader who becomes more considerate, does not necessarily mean that she has become less structured. Paternalism Paternalism has at times been equated with leadership styles. Yet most definitions of leadership normally state or imply that one of the actions within leadership is that of influencing. Leadership is influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization. The Army further goes on by defining influence as a: means of getting people to do what you want them to do. It is the means or method to achieve two ends: operating and improving. But there? s more to influencing than simply passing along orders. The example you set is just as important as the words you speak. And you set an example good or bad with every action you take and word you utter, on or off duty. Through your words and example, you must communicate purpose, direction, and motivation. While paternalism is defined as (Webster): a system under which an authority undertakes to supply needs or regulate conduct of those under its control in matters affecting them as individuals as well as in their relationships to authority and to each other. o Thus paternalism supplies needs for those under its protection or control, while leadership gets things done. The first is directed inwards, while the. Latter is directed outwards. 15 It seems that some picture paternalistic behavior as almost a barbaric way of getting things accomplished. Yet, leadership is all about getting things done for the organization. And in some situations, a paternalistic style of decision-making might be required; indeed, in some cultures and individuals, it may also be expected by not only those in charge, but also the followers. That is what makes leadership styles quite interesting they basically run along the same continuum as Hofstedes PDI, ranging from paternalistic to consultive styles of decision making. This allows a wide range of individual behaviors to be dealt with, ranging from beginners to peak performers. In addition, it accounts for the fact that not everyone is the same. However, when paternalistic or autocratic styles are relied upon too much and the employees are ready and/or willing to react to a more consultive type of leadership style, then it normally becomes quite damaging to the performance of the organization. There are a number of different approaches, or styles to leadership and management that are based on different assumptions and theories. The style that individuals use will be based on a combination of their beliefs, values and preferences, as well as the organizational culture and norms which will encourage some styles and discourage others. â⬠¢ Charismatic Leadership â⬠¢ Participative Leadership â⬠¢ Situational Leadership â⬠¢ Transactional Leadership â⬠¢ Transformational Leadership â⬠¢ The Quiet Leader â⬠¢ Servant Leadership Additional research â⬠¢ The Managerial Grid: Blake and Moutons people-task balance. â⬠¢ Lewins leadership styles: Three original styles. â⬠¢ Likerts leadership styles: from autocratic to participative. â⬠¢ Six Emotional Leadership Styles: from Mr. Emotional Intelligence, Daniel Goleman and friends. â⬠¢ Post-hoc Management 16 Charismatic Leadership Charismatic Leadership is defined by Max Weber as resting on devotion to the exceptional sanctity, heroism or exemplary character of an individual person, and of the normative patterns or order revealed or ordained by him. He defines Charisma as a certain quality of an individual personality, by virtue of which he is set apart from ordinary men and treated as endowed with supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities. These are such as are not accessible to the ordinary person, but are regarded as of divine origin or as exemplary, and on the basis of them the individual concerned is treated as a leader ( ). How the quality in question would be ultimately jud ged from an ethical, aesthetic, or other such point of view is naturally indifferent for the purpose of definition. Charismatic people have a remarkable ability to distill complex ideas into simple messages (I have a dream); they communicate by using symbols, analogies, metaphors and stories. Furthermore they relish risk and feel empty without it, they are great optimists, they are rebels who fight convention, and they may seem idiosyncratic. Charismatic leaders are pictured as organizational heroes or magic leaders who have the social power basis to orchestrate turnarounds, launch new enterprises, inspire organizational renewal, and obtain extraordinary performance from organizational members. These leaders inspire trust, faith and belief in themselves. Of course none of this is a guarantee that the mission will be correct, ethical, or successful. Origin of the Charismatic Leadership model.
Thursday, March 5, 2020
Anabundant source of concentrated energy Essay Example
Anabundant source of concentrated energy Essay Example Anabundant source of concentrated energy Essay Anabundant source of concentrated energy Essay Uranium is a really heavy, metallic and chemical metal which can be used as anabundant beginning of concentrated energy. The most common isotopes are Uranium-235 ( U-235 ) and Uranium-238 ( U-238 ) and U is non a renewable energy. It was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist, from minerals called uraninite. It s found within low degrees of dirt and more frequently than other minerals. Nuclear energy is the energy stored in the bonds between the atoms in the karyon of an atom. In theory, atomic energy can be obtained from uranium utilizing two different methods, either fission or merger. In atomic fission, the atoms of an element split into smaller atoms. This action gives off tonss of energy which can be used to boil H2O into steam which is subsequently used to drive generators bring forthing electricity. Nuclear fission is possible because, unlike most other elements, U s karyon is really big to get down with. Fission is a concatenation reaction. When one karyon interruptions apart after being hit by a neutron, these little pieces hit other nuclei and do them to interrupt excessively. These consequences in a immense sum of energy from a little sum of U, therefore it is a really efficient beginning. Nuclear merger is the edifice of a larger or heavier nucleus. This reaction gives off more energy than fission but due to proficient complexnesss and the absurdly high sum of money required, merger is seldom used to obtain energy. Nuclear energy is really efficient. A smattering of U can bring forth as much electricity as 70 metric tons of coal. Furthermore, fission does non let go of nursery gases hence planetary heating will be less of a menace. The greatest job with atomic energy is radioactive waste. The waste from fission procedures could stay radioactive for centuries. However, methods do be to cut down this consequence. Radioactive waste can be cooled and so buried deep resistance. The other job is that it is really unsafe. In the event of an accident, the effects would be lay waste toing. A big radius of land around the accident would stay unserviceable due to high degrees of radiation and may people could be killed. The effects are long-run besides, for case babes born for the following decennaries in such an country could hold several familial mutants and other wellness jobs. Uranium would be a really good option as an energy beginning for several states. Particularly, since Canada has one of the largest supplies of U this could be really easy transformed into atomic energy. Unfortunately, non many states choose it aside from some noteworthy exclusions like France. A big portion of France s energy demands are met by atomic energy. In Quebec, there is merely one atomic works, the Gentilly-2 Nuclear Generating Station. Questions If atomic energy is so efficient, so why do many states do non utilize it? Unfortunately, like all energy beginnings, atomic energy has its drawbacks. Uranium is really accessible but the building of the power workss imposes several jobs. They have to be really unafraid in the instance of an accident and besides it has to be earthquake-resistant. This makes it complex and expensive. Furthermore, the workss have to be isolated every bit far as possible from dumbly populated countries for safety grounds. The copiousness of waste ensuing from atomic fission is really difficult to pull off, dispose safely and proctor. This leads many states to waver and take other options like coal even if it is harmful for the environment. Was there any big graduated table atomic accident in the yesteryear? The ill-famed atomic accident in Chernobyl, Pripyat, USSR ( now known as Russia ) on 26 April 1986 is doubtless the worst accident of all time. Hundreds of people died and the part has been closed off of all time since. Many of the kids born around that country suffer from familial mutants. The authorities had airdrop bags of lead, sand and boracic acid as a signifier of immediate crisis direction. Then they spent eight months constructing a immense concrete sarcophagus around the reactor. If atomic merger is more efficient than fission, so why is nt it normally used? Presently scientists ca nt truly make any merger reactions to do utile power. There are a few bureaus working on merger devices, but the high temperatures required to achieve merger necessitate really particular stuffs and controls. The lone province of the art merger installation is the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor Fusion. Nuclear merger is improbable to go a utile beginning of power for many old ages. Bibliography hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fusion hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nuclear_fission hypertext transfer protocol: //nuclearinfo.net/Nuclearpower/WebHomeCostOfNuclearPower Observatory Second Year of Secondary Cycle Two Textbook, ( ERPI ) , Marie-Danielle Cyr, Dominique Forget, Jean-Sebastien Verreault.
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
Discussion Question Week 2-1D Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Discussion Question Week 2-1D - Essay Example This difference between research questions and hypotheses can also be comprehended with the help of a simple example: Research Question ââ¬â What percentage of people living in Ireland prefer cold-coffee over conventional coffee? Hypothesis ââ¬â On average, 50-60% of population living in Ireland prefer cold-coffee over conventional coffee. Therefore, in one sense, research hypothesis is an assumption made by the researcher in response to a formalized research question, which helps in the assessment of researcherââ¬â¢s personal knowledge and approach on the subject over which study is intended. Further, it is not always possible that a research hypothesis is proven to be the right answer for the research question by results of study, and in this case, researcher explores the reason why his/her generalizations got wrong. 2. Extraction of Research Question from Hypothesis: Example 1: Sample Hypothesis: The effects of changing climate will have no contributions in Malaria pene tration into Alaskan population.
Monday, February 3, 2020
Art Events Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words
Art Events - Assignment Example The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci is famously recognized paintings in history. It shows the story of the last supper of Jesus with his disciples. The painting is remarkable as it depicts the disciples as real human beings. In the painting, Leonardo tried to use new materials due to the thought that it would result in an extensively varied palette. In his work, Leonardo sought to illuminate the painting beyond what could traditional fresco give. He thus used unreal fresco as he was working on a dry wall. Borrowing, from the panel painting, he applied a white lead to improving on the brightness of the tempera and oil he had used on top. In conclusion, the two paintings from the two periods have certain differences that portray cultural change. The Annunciation painting has medieval painting styles. It included panel painting, illuminated manuscripts, sculpture, and fresco. Even though Leonardo used the fresco, it was not real forcing him to apply a white lead to improving the bright ness of the painting. In the period, which started in the late middle ages, European continent started evolving into big states controlled by monarchies. The Italian urban centers expanded due to growth of population and expansion of trade. Land paved way for money as the means of exchange thus freeing the serfs. The changes brought cultural, social, and economic changes. Literacy increased leading to the expansion of vernacular literatures that led people to adopt secular themes in their arts. The growth of wealth.
Sunday, January 26, 2020
Research Proposal for Patient Satisfaction Survey
Research Proposal for Patient Satisfaction Survey Introduction Background of the study I am working for Intermediate Care Services. My team has been collecting patientââ¬â¢s view of the services they received from our team, through the use of ââ¬Ëpatient satisfaction survey formââ¬â¢ since 2005. My intention is to find out if we are providing satisfactory service to our client by analyzing the data collected with the forms. Measuring patient satisfaction is important because satisfaction of clients with health care services that they received has been linked to their compliance and their wiliness to seek medical advice by Ware et al (1983). Satisfaction is a complex concept and itââ¬â¢s determined by various factors which includes life style, past experience, future expectations, individual and societal values (Carr-Hill 1992). As an intermediate care service provider, my team works within the Department of Health National Service Framework (Department of Health, 2001). Intermediate care services were established with the mandate to maximize peopleââ¬â¢s physical functioning, build their confidence and to re-equip them with necessary skills to live safely and independently at home, as well as provision of ongoing support. The department of health recommended the use of multidisciplinary single assessment process in national service framework for the older people. Using the single assessment process for patients help the team to work together because it makes communication easy and it prevents duplication of each others assessment and plan. Therefore the process of rehabilitation begins with comprehensive multidisciplinary assessment using single assessment process (DH, 2001). The process of rehabilitation includes identifying problems and needs, relating problems to limiting factors, outline target probl ems, selecting appropriate measures, follow by planning, implementing and coordination of intervention, and finally reviewing effects of intervention (Davis 2006). Our team comprises of Physiotherapists, Occupational therapist, Social worker, and Therapy Technicians in same office. Intermediate care services were mandated to provide person-centre and holistic care to the older people and their carers, respecting them as Individuals and that they should be enabled to make choice about their own care (DH 2001). The department of health introduced these guidelines so that quality and improved services can be provided to service users. If the guidelines are followed, satisfactory services are likely to be provided to the clients. How can we know that we are following these guidelines? Although as a team, our operational guideline revolves round delivering the services in line with department of healthââ¬â¢s guideline, however an objective assessment of the service will give us the clear picture of how good the services that we are providing is. Not only that, it will also help us to identify the areas that we need to improve on. Service userââ¬â¢s level of satisfaction with the service that we are rendering may be used as a yard stick in measuring our perform ance. This can be in the form of patient satisfaction survey. ââ¬ËA patient satisfaction survey can be a rich source of information for continuous quality improvementââ¬â¢ (Lin and Kelly 1995). Further more a number of researchers have linked patient satisfaction to patientsââ¬â¢ clinical outcomes. Oââ¬â¢Holleran et al (2005), George and Hirsh (2005), and Hurwitz and Morgenstern (2005) reported that clinical outcome is a predictor of patient satisfaction. It will therefore be useful to investigate if we are providing satisfactory services to our client and if the findings indicate otherwise in some aspects, recommendations will be made to improve our services in those areas. I will therefore investigate our performance from the service userââ¬â¢s perspective by analyzing the data that we have been collating with the ââ¬Ëpatient satisfaction survey formsââ¬â¢. 1.2 Research questions There are some questions that needed to be answered to be able to determine if our service is satisfactory to our clients or not. Therefore the purpose of this study is to find out the answers to these questions: i. Are we providing satisfactory service to our client? ii. Are we providing quality services to the client? iii. Are we meeting the needs of the patients? iv. Are we providing client centered services? v. Are we respecting the service users? vi. Are we providing information about how the service users can make complains? vii. Are we giving information about other service available to our service users? viii. What are the users feeling about the service? ix. Do we need to amend the way we are providing the service? Aims/ objectives of the study To answer the questions above, the questionnaire needs to be able to collect information from our client on how they feel about the services they get from our facility. Therefore, the objectives of the study are to: determine whether we are providing satisfactory services to our clients determine whether we are providing quality services to our service users find out if we are meeting the needs of our clients establish whether we are providing client-centered services to our clients investigate whether we are treating our clients with respect ascertain whether we are providing information about how the service users can complain about our services. clarify whether we giving information about other service available to our service users explore what our service users feel about our services determine whether we need to amend the way we are providing the service 1.4 Significance of the study . This study will give our team the opportunity to demonstrate whether we are providing quality service or not. It will also be highlighted whether we are providing client desire outcome or not because outcome determines satisfaction as demonstrated by Oââ¬â¢Holleran et al (2005). Findings from this study will also form a basis for further research in the study setting and similar studies in health care facilities with similar mandate. 1.6 Delimitations of the study The study will be delimited to Luton Primary Care Trust. Operational definition of terms Client satisfaction: A measure of the extent to which clientââ¬â¢s expectations of therapeutic intervention are met. Service users:All clients/ patients registered with Luton Primary Care Trust and who received therapeutic intervention from the team during January 2006 and December 2007. Community Assessment and Rehabilitation team: This comprises of Physiotherapists, Occupational therapist, Social worker, and Therapy Technicians working in the same office in Luton Primary Care Trust. 2.0 Literature Review Measuring patient satisfaction is important because it pushes towards accountability among health care providers (Guadagnion 2003). Oââ¬â¢Holleran et al (2005) shed more light on the importance of patient satisfaction survey following their cohort study of patients that underwent rotator cuff surgery, they concluded that there is a relationship between patient satisfaction and outcome of the intervention. How do we measure satisfaction? What are the indicators for patient satisfaction? Satisfaction from consumer perspective is determined by comparison of consumer experience of service received by them and their expectation (Tam 2005). The main indicators for quality service from patient perspective includes: interpersonal skills, accessibility and convenience of service, respect, technical ability of doctor (care provider in our case) , the physical environment (Baker 2001,Di Paula et al 2002). Satisfaction is determined by the way patients are treated by practitioners and it determined by technical and interpersonal elements (Donebedia 1988). The technical aspects were identified as to consist of Practitioners knowledge and strategies employed to arrive at appropriate intervention, whereas the interpersonal aspect consist of; communication skill, friendliness, kindness, attention, receptiveness, empathy, among other things (Donebedia 1988). Looking at the questionnaire (see appendix 1), it seems to be measuring almost all the identified indicators. (Full appraiser of the questionnaire will be carried out as part of the research) 2.1 Theoretical Perspective Research Paradigm: Paradigm is defined by Titchhen (1993) as ââ¬Ëa description of a scientific model within which a community of scientists generate knowledgeââ¬â¢ This research will be carried out from positivism and phenomenology point of view. This means that the research will be mixture of quantative and qualitative methods. According to Guba (1990), positivism is a belief system that is rooted in realist ontology. This means that Positivism approach is based on the fact that concept must be made observable. Measurability of concept is central to quantitative research (Devers 1999). However, ââ¬ËPhenomenological approach provides a deep understanding of the phenomenon as experience by several individualââ¬â¢ Geswell (1998). Qualitative research was classified as phenomenological of itââ¬â¢s theory building, holistic, case-based, subjective and process-oriented nature while On the other hand Quantitative research was classified as Positivism approach because it is deductive, hypothesis driven, particularistic, variable based, objective and outcome oriented (Devers 1999). Reichardt and Cook (1978) proposed that focus should be placed on debate to accept both Qualitative and Quantitative methods instead of Qualitative versus Quantitative debate, because each of them has their strengths and weakness es, using both approaches will compliment each other by drawing from the strengths and minimise the weakness of both approaches. I will be using mixture of qualitative and quantitative method in this research. I will tap from the strengths of both them and use the two methods to compliment each other. Methodology 3.1 Study design Personal interviews, telephone interview, and mailed questionnaires are the most common ways of carrying out survey research. Each of the ways has its merits and demerits. Personal interview is a method of collecting data from individual by using face-to-face method, the dept and the quality of information they are capable of yielding makes them the most useful method however they are very costly (Polit and Hungler 1989). In my opinion it will be time consuming, considering the fact that this research has time limit because of the school calendar, it will not be a method of choice for this research. Another way of gathering information is by telephone interview, if the interview is short, specific and too personal, it may be a good way for collecting a lot of information quickly and itââ¬â¢s less costly compare with personal interview however it can be less effective way of gathering information when sensitive information is required (Polit and Hungler 1989). Mailed questionnaires will be my choice, I choice this because of it advantages over personal interviews and telephone interview. It differs from others because itââ¬â¢s self administered, the respondent read the question on the form and give an answer in writing format, the question is distributed through post, compare to other form of surveys, the cost is low especially when there is large geographical area to be covered (Polit and Hungler 1989). I choose Mailed questionnaire over other methods because of its advantages over other method. Total anonymity is possible using questionnaire; this may reduce bias in the responses of the participants. Study setting The study will take place in the Community Assessment Rehabilitation Teamââ¬â¢s office. Sample and Sampling Technique All clients receiving or that had received therapeutic input from the community assessment and rehabilitation team from January 2006 to December 2007 and who were willing to participate (by returning a filled questionnaire that was given to them when they received care/ services from the team) will be surveyed. Instrument development The instrument for this study will be ââ¬Å"client satisfaction survey questionnaireâ⬠. This had been developed by the management of the study setting and had being in use in the setting since 2005. The client satisfaction survey consisted of eleven issues. Ten of the eleven issues sought information on clientsââ¬â¢ perception of some issues bothering on services delivered by the community assessment and rehabilitation team, while the eleventh issues asked the study participants to generally comment freely about their views regarding the services and the team. Data gathering procedure ââ¬ËClients satisfaction survey questionnaireââ¬â¢ which represented the instrument for this study will be given to everyone that received therapeutic input from the team. The form is always included with the service users discharge summaries. To encourage replying, a self-addressed reply-paid envelope is always enclosed. Each returned questionnaire shall be entered into a database and the data from the database will be retrieved with the permission of the unit manager and the trust local ethic committee. 3.6 Data Analysis and Results The quantitative data will be analyzed using combination of descriptive and statistical inference techniques. While the results will be presented in the form of graphs and chart as appropriate. I will calculate P-values for each of the satisfaction indicators using appropriate non-parametric test (Chi Square). Although I specifically took statistic module this semester to be able to solve this problem, I will also seek advice from statistic expert to complement my knowledge. In this research, P value greater than 0.05 will not be accepted as the confidence interval shall be set at 95%. The qualitative aspect of the data will be analyzed by read and re-reading the response and then categorizing them into themes. This may involve assigning abbreviated codes to the points as they emerge from the data. Then the connection between the categories will be traced. The number of respondents that touch on each theme will be noted. All effort to eliminate bias will be made by making sure every stage of the analysis is objective as much as possible in interpretation. This is likely to be a laborious exercise; I will therefore seek advice from my supervisor regarding the analysis and interpretation of the data. If possible, computer software may be used in analysis of the qualitative data; however this will be discussed with my supervisor. Reliability of the instrument The reliability of the instrument shall be determined through a test-retest method. This questionnaire will be administered to 10 clients within the study setting but not within the study participants. After a span of 2 weeks, the same instrument will be re-administered on the same set of 10 people and the results will be analyzed. Correlation of the responses will be determined using Pearsonââ¬â¢s correlation co-efficient. 3.8 Ethical issues As stated earlier in this proposal, the team has been collecting patient perception of the services we are providing using questionnaire since 2005. Prior to the commencement of using the questionnaire on the entire client that received therapeutic intervention from our team, ethical permission will be sought from the trust research ethical committee as well as from the line manager. To make sure that participant autonomy was respected, all questionnaires were accompanied by letter informing them that we do not need to know their name and that all the information provided by them will be treated anonymously; they were also informed in the letter that taking part in the survey is on voluntary basis and will not affect the services provided to them in anyway. Although there is a space for their contact information at the back of the questionnaire, this is incase the client would like someone to contact them regarding their concern. The decision to participate in the survey is left to patient by not giving them any follow up phone call regarding the questionnaire, which may lead to coercion. Also their anonymity is maintained by not recording their contact information on the database, the information they provided were recorded anonymously. This is why we may be unable to follow up patients that did not respond, because it is impossible to know who responded or who did not responded. Unless they decided to reveal their identity if there is an issue they wanted to be resolved regarding the questionnaire. Even if they choose to reveal their identity, their personal details are not stored on the survey database to maintain their confidentiality and anonymity. Although the team has been give approval by the trust local ethic committee before commencing the survey, however prior to pulling out the data form the database for the purpose of this research. I will still have to seek approval from my line manager and the trust research ethical committee, because the earlier approval was given to the team and not to me as individual for the purpose of this research. Although I was informed that for this type of research, it would not be necessary to seek approval from the institution ethic committee, however I will also seek advice from my research supervisor regarding the position of the school ethic committee on this type of research. 3.9 Rigor ââ¬ËA patient satisfaction survey can be a rich source of information for continuous quality improvement but only if it is examined carefully and used within a consistent frameworkââ¬â¢ (Lin and Kelly 1995). Non-response is a problem in survey (Lin and Kelly 1995), this problem was solved by including a self addressed reply-paid envelope and a covering letter encouraging the client to complete the survey without coharsing them. Other factors that may influence response rate identified through the search of literature were length of the questionnaire, Pre-notification, Post-notification, and monetary incentives. The length of a questionnaire can have negative impact on response rate (Yammorino, skinner, Childers (1991), this was one of the reasons why the team made sure that the questions were not more than ten when the questionnaire was designed. A lot of literature suggested that respondent pre-notification could have positive effect on response rate. Among the supporter of respondent pre-notification are Haggett and Michell (1994), they found that response to postal mail survey increases with pre-notification. In contrast, Herberlin and Baumgarther (1978) reported that pre-notification has little or no effect on response rate to mail survey. However, we feel that informing them in advance may increase the response rate, and therefore we tend to inform our client that we will be sending questionnaire to them with their discharge letter. We always inform them that filling-in the questionnaire will help us to know if we are meeting their needs or not. Although some researchers like Paul, Walsh and Tzelepls (2005) suggested that monetary incentives can increase response rate, however, I personally feel that monetary incentive may influence the feedback, because the respondent may feel oblige to give positive feedback because of the incentive paid. Yammarino, Skinner and Childer (1991) were of the opinion that the response rate can be increased with follow-up calls, however there is no way to know who is not responding unless the questionnaire is coded, so that the respondents may be identifiable, this will brake their anonymity, therefore we have choose not to be following up, because it will be inappropriate. It is be essential to establish the reliability of the instrument. Although the reliability and validity were evaluated before we commence using it for data collection, however, to be sure that the questionnaire is reliable and valid, I will carry out reliability and validity evaluation as part of this research. Reliability will be assessed using test re-test technique while the validity will be tested using content and face value technique.. Colleagues (2 or 3) from other teams ( for example District Nurses, Rapid Response Team) as well as service users (2 or 3) will be asked to comment on the adequacy of the questionnaire in evaluating patient satisfaction with the services they received from our team. 3.10 Limitations Although frantic effort will be made to reduce bias and errors in the research however there are some limitations that will always be there despite all the effort. Some of the limitation of this type of research includes non-response by some of the participants, in this research; most of the respondents are elderly people. Some of them may not be able to respond because of their medical condition, fragility, eyesight problem, cognitive deficit, and general weakness among others. Language barrier may be another limitation that may lead to non-response considering the fact that Luton is multi-ethnic town. This is in line with the findings of Ehinfors and Smedby (1993). Apart from non-response, another limitation is that some participants may misinterpret the questions, and this may influence their response and subsequently the result. However subjecting the questionnaire to reliability and validity test can minimize this. 3.11 Time frame The research involves getting permission from the local ethics committee, pulling out the data from the data base, transferring the data into the SPSS software, analysis of the data, drawing conclusion and recommendation. The task involved will take about three months approximately for the research to be completed including the writing up. 3.12 Dissemination The research will be submitted to the School of Health and Social Care, Oxford Brookes University as part of academic requirement for my MSc Rehabilitation. The research will also be presented to my team manager and team members. If manager and team are happy after appraising the research critically, my manager in agreement with the trust management may place the findings on the trust website so that it can be accessible to the public. References: Baker, R. (2001). A Method for Surveying Patient Satisfaction: Manual for Users, Clinical Governance Research and Development Unit, Department of General Practice and Primary Health Care, University of Leicester. Carr-Hill, R. (1992). The measurement of patient satisfaction. Journal of Public Health Medicine,14(3):236-249. Davies, S. (2006). Rehabilitation, the use of theories and models in practice. Elserver limited. First edition. Department of Health (HoD), (2001). National service framework for older people, HSMO, Norwich. Devers K, J. (1999). How Will We Know Good Qualitative Research When We See It? Beginning the Dialogue in Health Services Research. Health Services Research 34, 5. Di Paula, A., Long, R., Wiener, D. (2002). Are your patients satisfied?, Marketing Health Services, 2 (3) p.28-32. Donabedian, A. (1988). The quality of care: How can it be assessed? Journal of American Medical Association, 260, 12, 1743-1748 Ehinfors, M. and Smedby, B. (1993). Patient Satisfaction Surveys Subsequent to Hospital Care: Problems of Sampling, Non-response and Other Losses International Society for Quality in Health 5, 19-32. George, S. Z. and Hirsh, A. T. (2005). Distinguishing patient satisfaction with treatment delivery from treatment effect: a preliminary investigation of patient satisfaction with symptoms after physical therapy treatment of low back pain. American Journal of Physical Medicine Rehabilitation. 86(7): 1338-44. Geswell, J. W. (1998). Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design 2nd Edition Sage Califonia. Guadagnino, C. (2003). Role of patient satisfaction http://physiciansnews.com/cover/1203.html accessed on 24/12/07 Guba, E. C. (1990). The Alternative Approach to Paradigm. The Paradigm Dialog eds, Sage Publications, Newbury Park, Califonia. Haggett, S., and Mitchell, V. (1994). Effects of industrial pre-notification on response rate, speed, quality, bias and cost. Industrial Marketing Management, 23, 101-110 Heberlein, T. A., and Baumgartner, R. (1978). Factors affecting response rates to mailed surveys: A quantitative analysis of the published literature. American Sociological Review, 43, 447-462 Hurwitz, E. L., and Morgenstern, H. Y. F. (2005). Satisfaction as a predictor of clinical outcomes among chiropractic and medical patients enrolled in the UCLA low back pain study. Spine. 1;30(19):2121-8 Lin, B., and Kelly, E. (1995), Methodological issues in patient satisfaction surveys, International Journal of Health Care Quality Assurance, 8( 6) p.32-7 OHolleran, J. D., Kocher, M. S., Horan, M. P., Briggs, K. K., and Hawkins, R. J. (2005); Determinants of patient satisfaction with outcome after rotator cuff surgery. Journal of bone and joint surgery (America) 87(1):121-6.. Paul, C. L., Walsh, R. A., and Tzelepis, F. (2005). A monetary incentive increases postal survey response rates for pharmacists. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health,59, 1099-1101. Polit, F.D., and Hungler B.P., (1989). Essentials of Nursing Research: Methods, Appraisal, and Utilization, Second edition. Reichardt, C. S., and T. D. Cook. (1978). Beyond Qualitative Versus Quantitative Methods. In Qualitative and Quantitative Methods in Evaluation Research, pp. 7-32. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage. Shepard, K. F., Jensen, G. M., Schmll, B. J., Hack, L. M., and Gwyer, J. (1993). Alternative approaches to research in physical therapy: positivism and phenomenology. Physical Therapy ; 73:88-101 Tam, J.L.M. (2005), Examining the dynamics of consumer expectations in a Chinese context, Journal of Business Research, 58 p.777-86. Ware, J. E., Synder, M, K., Wright, W. R., and Davies, A. R,.(1983) Defining and measuring patient satisfaction with medical care. Evaluation and Program Planning. 6: 247 Yammarino, F. J., Skinner, S., Childers, T. L. (1991). Understanding mail survey response behavior. Public Opinion Quarterly, 55, 613-639. Appendices 1- Patient Satisfaction Questionaire
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