The Elements Of Job Design. Management Support and Turnover Ratio Essay

The Elements Of Job Design. Management Support and Turnover Ratio - Essay Example While, structuring the job process of an organization, job design considers certain elements which include job rotation, job engineering, job enlargement and job enrichment. Job rotation can be defined as the process of changing the tasks of the employee after certain periods of time in order to reduce the boredom of the employees along with providing new tasks or posts. Job engineering can be stated as the process of designing the working environment according to the prevailing organizational objectives and employees’ requirements. Job enlargement can be described as the process of introducing innovative tasks similar to the assigned tasks. Contextually, job enrichment can be explained as the process of motivating employees by indulging them into the organizational decision making process along with providing certain responsibilities (Scribd. Inc., 2012). With reference to the elements considered in the process of job design, it can be stated that with the assistances of job design an organization can ensure better job retention. This is because the elements help to identify the exact skills of the employees and in relation to the identification of skills the tasks for the employees are assigned. Furthermore, it also helps the organization to satisfy and to motivate the employees to work better along with ascertaining better retention scenario within the organization. Additionally, job design facilitates the organization to innovate new job profiles along with promoting the employees according to the performances to reduce the boredom or monotonic condition that might arise out of work (Scribd. Inc., 2012). If You Have Ever Left A Job Because Of Misalignment With Organizational Goals Or Leadership, Or If You Know Someone Who Has Done So, What Were Areas Of Misalignment That Drove The Decision To Leave The Job? Could Management Have Prevented the Exit, And If Yes, How? From a scenario of personal experience, it has been derived that a person left his job due to certain misalignments that occurred with the organizational goals. The misalignments that have been identified include lack of opportunity for progression or growth and unequal wage structure. After recognizing the problems that led to employee turnover, it can be stated that the organization had the potential to manage or prevent the circumstance. With due consideration to the situation, an organization can

Conflict Resolution-Mediation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Conflict Resolution-Mediation - Essay Example A working agreement which spells out the rules of engagement and conduct during the negotiations is essential in the process. The mediation process involves acceptable third party intervention and confidential caucuses which enable the disputants become the decision makers in ending the conflict. The caucus stage entails making confidential meetings with each of the disputants whereby each party is allowed to reveal his or her grievances to the dispute. Party-directed mediation process can be summed up in to five stages which include the opening statement, the education phase, and the alternatives generation phase, the actual negotiation phase and the final closing phase. There are two pillars of the party-directed mediation that is the preliminary meetings which comprises of the pre-caucus and pre-mediation. Mediation process saves the parties to the dispute money while managing conflicts. Mediation is applicable in a wide variety of situations thus its effective in resolving disput es. Unlike arbitration where a third party makes a decision for the disputants, mediation is neutral process that accords the disputants the opportunity to solve their dispute with the support of a third party. The objectives of the pre-caucus are to enable the parties to the mediation to reduce the negative emotions to mediation and enable the negotiators to mediate more effectively. The initial aim of the pre-caucus is to facilitate empathic listening and develop an active listening approach as developed by Carl Rogers in the client-centered therapy. The initial joint session enables each party to confront the other through interpersonal negotiation while avoiding all the dysfunctional behaviors. Workplace mediation is always different since the parties address the working relationships which are part of the job and as a legal obligation. Party-directed mediation is useful in particular when mediating ethnic clashes or deep-seated interpersonal disputes between two individuals. Me diation process helps the parties to the dispute to develop tools which are critical in examining their disagreement. I agree with the book that the third party acts as a quasi arbitrator to the dispute. The pre-caucus affords the parties to the dispute an opportunity to vent their emotions, discover the blind spots and increase their commitment to resolving the dispute. The individuals at this stage will learn on how to listen to each other, and understand the issues of confidentiality to the mediation process. I have learned that empathic listening is an essential skill to effective mediation process since it encompasses attentive listening, asking questions about the mediation process as well as suggesting solutions to the dispute. The diagnostic stage of effective listening motivates the parties to speak without feelings of fear of being judged due to self-understanding and confidence. I personally believe that opening statement of the mediation process is aimed at ensuring conf identiality to the negotiations and setting the rules of engagement. The education phase provides an ample opportunity for all the parties to share their perspectives of the dispute and relive any negative emotions. The parties should aim at building cordial and close working relationships at this stage. The options generation phase entails brainstorming on all possible alternatives of resolving the conflict. In

IKEA Competitor and SWOT Analysis

IKEA Competitor and SWOT Analysis Jump to: Market Analysis | Environmental Analysis | IKEA SWOT Analysis | Growth Strategy | Marketing Mix of IKEA IKEAs Vision â€Å"To create a better everyday life for the many people† IKEA Business Idea â€Å"We shall offer a wide range of well-designed, functional home furnishing products at prices so low that as many people as possible will be able to afford them.† IKEA group is one of the top furniture retailers in the world. With its unique combination of form, function and affordability, IKEA distinguished itself from other furniture retailers. With its success in US, Europe, IKEA entered the Gulf market with the hope of continuing its success. Even if it was not very successful initially, it improved through its market research and advertisements. Nowadays, IKEA captured major market share in the Gulf market and also the reputation of being the fastest-growing furniture retailer in the Gulf. This report focuses on our competitor Home Centre how they are trying to make profits and gain market share and what IKEA Dubai is doing to conquer their space. Looking at different factors which have become issues to be resolved for IKEA. Some internal issues needs like POS terminals and security of money needs to be the aim to achieve. Competitor Analysis These analyses are basically done to understand your competition which gives you an edge. It helps you in giving you an indication of their past, present and future strategies. It helps you to clarify your own competitive advantage and it helps you develop strategies to outmaneuver them Identifying IKEAs competitors and understanding them would help IKEA a lot in their strategies. Home Centre is one of their competitors but looking at the past sales and profit figures IKEA has done better than Home Centre. Home Centre has been very brave in their marketing strategies. Their promotions and advertising has been one of their strengths but IKEA on the other hand has different activities going on in the store. For example last month they had Lighting Activity and this month they have Dining Activity which means they introduce new products in these lines and display them in the most best and strategic places where most customers can see and buy them. As per home centre they have been pushing customers towards them by their new promotion of giving out gift vouchers on a purchase of 200Dhs. This has been some kind of successful. IKEA has its eyes on them and monitor their each and every move and even them. IKEA has a big Marketing team which comes up with a lot of solutions and ideas but they still face completion from home centre. So what they did after home centres promotion they distributed 200,000 coupons all over Dubai for free for people to fill and come to IKEA Dubai or Abu Dhabi stores and drop it in raffle boxes. The prize is 5 winners will be winning 2000Dhs of IKEA products each of their choice. The draw is still due on April 18th 2010. Other competitor for IKEA is Pan Emirates and many other furniture retail stores in Dubai. Market Analysis Market analysis are basically done to determine the market and its attractiveness because its related to the firms strengths and weaknesses Market size can be evaluated with the present sales of the firm compared with the past sales or expansion of certain range of products. Market size and growth for IKEA has increased as compares to last year where IKEA Dubai was affected with recession and not much profit were made. But in as per now in March 2010 they have achieved what they had budgeted. Figures show that as per march 2010 there has been a growth in total sales by 7.3% making sales in the month of March to 42MillionDHS. It shows how much total sales were made by furniture items and market-hall items. The market has grown this year as the recession has gone down. The target customers are upper and middle class families. The sales has grown not just because of IKEAs furniture and market-hall items but because of their excellent customers restaurant and exit cafà © also. Distribution channels the products come shipped from Sweden to gulf region where they are received at the ports and then transferred to their warehouse in Rashidiya -Dubai. From there the products come to stock in IKEA and then they are sold directly to customers. Their aim is to reduce distribution costs, reduced manufacturing costs and selling costs. How can this be achieved, Through a rational product range development and by adapting product design to production conditions, Through a rational distribution idea in combination with a caring meeting with the many people and through a strict cost-consciousness in all areas. The IKEA concept aims to make the distance between the supplier and the customer as short as possible by combining the possibilities of the supplier with the needs of the customer. Key success factors and strategic strength for IKEA here are reducing distribution costs by producing products in flat packaging, cost effective distribution system, direct deliveries, and transit deliveries with minimum handling. Environmental Analysis Macro level At this level the environmental factors IKEA is facing is technological and product innovation. They need to come up with new ways of producing their furniture items which they say are at lesser price at the same time are not that strong. At customer service IKEA Dubai they receive a lot of returns of damaged goods or poor quality products which after some weeks break or get damaged very easily. The expensive products like mattresses and sofas they all have guarantees on them they get replaced but not these small items which get damaged so easily. They need to think of something new to improve their production of certain products like lack coffee tables and TV benches. The most important of them at present are the economic factor, employment and culture factors. They are meant to change a lot in coming years. Micro level IKEA already has Home Centre as their primary competitor and IKEA is doing better than them as IKEA has a greater market share. Threats of substitutes and new entrants are always there and there are many furniture shops and stores in Karama, Satwa, Deira that sell furniture and mattresses at lesser price. Homes R Us is also one substitute which has already entered the market many years ago. They sell all the products that one needs at home. IKEA has more than 7200 products which is a plus point. Customer Analysis Consumer behavior changes a lot with their life style and standard of living. Once their needs change they change their choices, buying behavior and buying power. An eye has to be kept on our customers to check what other options they have once their behavior is changes. Customers are divided into different segments like different demographics or geographical location. IKEA has customers from upper class and lower class but from all nationalities. Each has their own buying power and behavior. Internal Analysis Physical resources of IKEA like machines which are used to fill the stock in self serve and full serve areas are checked and charged daily. The machines, building and production capacity are all well maintained to survive in retail business. They need to improve on POS terminal at exchange and returns where there have been cases of money laundering. Employees have stolen money and caught after many days. So these things need to be taken care of from the management and finance department. This leads to decrease in profits. IKEA Dubai has more than 300 employees from different nationalities and regularly they are given training in their training centre. Expert professors and managers give them training to increase employee knowledge of products and increase skills at their work. SWOT Analysis (S)trengths IKEA has maintained a long-term partnerships with its suppliers. This ensures they have high quality products and materials at a reasonable price. IKEAs catalogue the 2nd most read book after The Holy Quran in the world. The best marketing strategy they have for many years. Home planning and contract sales services Their customer service at IKEA Dubai has been the best so far. Even people from Sweden came to visit IKEA Dubai and they were shocked to see our customer service on our peak days. Customer service includes Operators, Information Desk, Play rooms for kids, Exchange and Returns, Merchandise Pick-up and Home delivery services which also include assembly services. (W)eaknesses IKEA is a global company, so product standards may be difficult to maintain. Production faults decreases product quality. (O)pportunities IKEA can further capitalize on the green movement and IKEAs customers desire to have less of an impact on the environment. IKEAs new store in Abu Dhabi will be a great opportunity to cater a different segment of people. (T)hreats The regulatory environments across the globe vary and can affect how IKEA does business and their product costs, especially the use of natural resources. Competitors like Home Centre and Pan Emirates bring in a lot of promotions and sales in their stores; Whereas IKEA has store sales only in June and July. Key issues IKEA faces are internally like production fault or poor quality products. Need to reduce faulty products or totally stop selling them because of complain form customers. They need Improvements in the POS terminals, reducing accepting open packages and sales errors. BIBLIOGRAPHY http://www.ikeadubai.com/ http://www.netmba.com/marketing/market/analysis/ http://www.homecentre.net/index.php?_a=corporate http://www.productmanagementtraining.com/product-management-training-day1.htm http://www.ehow.com/facts_5278469_ikea-swot-analysis.html CONTEMPORORY MARKETING STRATEGIES MARKETING PLAN PHASE 2 Executive Summary Aim of this report is to understand IKEAs concept more thoroughly and maintain /increase the current market share. It is one the objectives of this report to increase sales and quality of production of certain products in which they receive a lot of complain. Improve POS terminals by installing new software and making it much more secure. Making the most use of the June and July sales to increase sales to 10% compared to 7.3% in March. The methods and recommendations I have chosen to increase market share is to introduce IKEA Family here in Dubai as well. This will let us increase our customer base and target new segments. The sales will also increase and we will have new members who will benefit from our exclusive services and new products. IKEA family has its own products which will be brought in from Sweden for the members. Sales to be increased to 10% we will have to improve our services and products in June and July. The new range of products will be brought in from Sweden and this new IKEA family will be promoted all over IKEA stores in Dubai and Abu Dhabi and our websites. We can introduce this anytime in this year. Marketing Objectives To maintain the current market share To increase the current increase in sales from 7.3% to 10% by July 2010 To improve POS terminals and safety To improve quality of certain products if not discontinue them and bring in new products which are selling well in Sweden or in other stores of IKEA in the world. Targeting and Positioning IKEA has traditionally targeted homeowners but as the housing market weakens the IKEA is going after a new group of buyers to grow future sales: Small business owners and new families entering the gulf market In the past 12 months, IKEA has started creating interior designs and products for entrepreneurs and these families such as kitchen designs and contract sales for small business owners. In April the company is also expected to launch a new website, ikeabusiness.com, where small business owners can discover new ideas for designing their offices and share them with other entrepreneurs. Families can design their kitchens at IKEA Home planning service where once they design their kitchen they have to pay 500Dhs kitchen charges which is refundable once the customer buys the kitchen. It will be an interesting development to watch, because their targeting strategy is diversity in buyers preferences and they are meeting it by providing more than 7200 products with the best of customer services. Many small business owners are price conscious and would welcome IKEAs products as an economic alternative to other suppliers. In addition, despite not having a strong existing selection of business furniture and accessories, entrepreneurs are already going to the stores to buy chairs, tables, storage solutions, and other products. Wide range of products helps them improve sales Differentiated marketing is their strategy. They have different marketing mix plans for different segments. Now they should have a new target segment in this which is the disabled people. They do have this in IKEA UK and other stores in the world. They should start this in IKEA Dubai as well. Its called IKEA Family. You need to become a member of this family and then avail different benefits like discounts on certain IKEA Family products. Offers on their food products and free IKEA magazines. This will let them target a new segment and increase sales and customer flow in their store. It will build a emotional relationship with these special family members. Marketing positioning statement: â€Å"We do our part, you do yours. Together we save money. This line is originated from IKEA Sweden where it started first. Their flat packed products are easy to take home and assemble by the customers because they provide all the instructions and fittings inside the box. If there is any issue in assembly we can always do it for them by proving our assembly services. Quality services will always win customers for the store. Our exchange and refund policy of exchanging and refunding the money back to the customer within 30days is not followed anywhere. Not even In our competitors Home Centres store. We refund the money to customers because â€Å"Its ok to change your mind†. This is what it says at all the 22 check outs we go through and at the customer service department. Growth Strategies Generic strategies like priced based, IKEA has prices of their products which are affordable that is why they are making profits and has a good market chare. But out objective is to increase the sales percentage from 7.3 to 10% by July. This can only be done if they differentiate and highlight their services and products more than their competitors. Home Centre has recently opened a new store at Mirdiff City Centre which has not affected IKEA at all till now. IKEA can grow their sales if they bring in the service they provide in IKEA UK that is IKEA Familk and with it its new products. IKEA Family has its own products with fewer prices. Many of our upper class segment customers would love to avail these benefits because they are IKEAs regular customers. 70% of the shoppers are women and they would love to become a member of this Family. This would lead to alternative directions and IKEA will penetrate into a new market. Product development is another alternate for IKEA to grow and change perception of their certain consumers. Certain IKEA products are not reliable for long or get damaged very quickly. They need to look in to their production department in Sweden and produce products like Lack coffee tables and TV benches much stronger. They can either discontinues these items and bring in new stock from Sweden because not all the products are sold here in IKEA Dubai. Expedit Book shelves comes in flat pack boxes and they are shipped from Sweden and when customers buy them from here, once they open it some parts are either missing or damaged. So the quality of production has to improve form IKEA Sweden or they have to double check it once they reach in their Rashidiya warehouse in Dubai. Customers complain about the hassle of buying and then realizing its damaged or some parts or fittings are missing and coming back to replace at exchange and returns counters. Other alternatives for them to improve are to upgrade or have new POS terminals with much security. They need to improve the systems and traind the staff with the new changes made. There have been cases where co-workers have been stealing money from their tills. If we have a secure and improved system this wont happen again. Joint development IKEA in gulf is expanding and opening a new store in Abu Dhabi UAE. The present Ikea store in Marina Mall, which continues to serve thousands of our Abu Dhabi patrons, will be relocated to Yas Island where it will be transformed into a full-fledged concept store, he added. Under the agreement, Aldar will provide the structure for the Ikea store under a renewable, 10-year lease agreement with Al-Futtaim The Ikea store on Yas Island will have a total floor area of 32,000 square metres and a sales area of 19,150 square metres. It will have a restaurant of 2,100 square metres with a seating capacity of 550, as well as 1,500 parking places. Franicevic said the Yas Island store will provide a strong impetus for the Swedish furniture and Furnishings Company to push ahead with plans to expand in the region. We expect to serve nearly 1.3 million visitors in the first year of operations, said James McGowan, Ikea manager for Abu Dhabi. [Himendra Mohan Kumar, Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2009] Selection of Competitive Advantage IKEA has a competitive advantage over its competitors and has sustained it for a while. This advantage can mainly be attributed to its resources and capabilities namely human resources, brand and IKEA concept. Ingvar Kamprad the founder of IKEA though retired is still a cheerleader for the practices/concepts that define IKEA culture. Cutting prices is one of the competitive advantages IKEA has over its competitors and this is another message that comes across loud and clear among IKEA operations. IKEA aims to lower prices across its entire offering by an average of 2 percent to 3 percent each year. Targeting middle class customers who shares buying habits and providing similar shopping experience the world over has made IKEA a unique shopping experience. More than 7200 products ranging from kitchen cabinets to candles and textiles; making store visit more of an outing than a chore; seducing the customers with one touch after another within the shop; offering other services like restaurant, kids area and the like; flat-packed nearly all big items to save shipping cost and allow shoppers to haul their own stuff and many more, makes IKEA concept of its own kind and as a results boost its image (brand). These resources are valuable (enables the firm to respond to environmental threats and opportunities) but each on its own is not rare and hard to imitate. IKEAs ability to combine these resources in the way it has done (creating IKEA world), makes the whole experience rare and non-imitable. As a result IKEA enjoys and sustain a competitive advantage over its competitors. [Jay Barneys framework on Gaining and Sustaining Competitive Advantage, 2006] Marketing Mix Programme Price IKEAs strategy is based on cost leadership. Across markets where it has current presence, products are sold at low prices. Prices are 20 to 30% lower than competing products. Price varies only in a result of fluctuations in exchange rates. This pricing enables IKEA to gain significant market share. Low prices are a result of large-quantity purchasing, low-cost logistics, store location in suburban areas and a Do it yourself approach to marketing. IKEA also benefits from economies of scale and healthy supplier-firm relationships. IKEA enters into long-term contracts, provides leased equipment and technical support in exchange for exclusive, low-cost manufacturing from suppliers. For new markets, IKEA should retain its price-image to maintain the brands positioning. Product IKEAs value chain is unique in that customers are also suppliers and suppliers are also customers. The transactions between the supplier and IKEA and on to the customer have a value adding step in each stage. Product differentiation exists in the value-added dimension. IKEAs consumers know the concept of IKEA of Do it yourself with most of its products requiring assembly after purchase. But although assistance in this aspect is limited, IKEA offers customer service and home delivery services which includes transporting and assembling furniture. While this is well accepted in areas where IKEA now operates, it may be a point of consideration when entering new markets. Should IKEA encounter a market where DIY is not favored, IKEA may include the cost of the service to the products price. It does encounter such market where they face customers in Dubai who dont like picking products from self serve area. They just give the list to sales person n tell them to bring the products which is not the concept of IKEA but still sometimes we have to do this for the customers to keepo them satisfied with the service we provide. Position/Place IKEA store is located in Dubai Shopping Festival. Which is a good location one of the Middle Easts largest mixed use real estate projects, that covers over 1,200 acres. Spread over 25,400 square meters This is a factor in the achievement of IKEAs low pricing. While it may appear as a disadvantage, this fits IKEAs target market of customers willing to transport their own purchases and requiring less assistance in assembly. Promotion IKEAs promotion is centered on the IKEA catalogue which they launch every September of the year. There catalogue of 2010 has been distributed all around the world in millions. This is their best marketing and promotional strategy. This catalogue is said to be the 2nd most read book after The Holy Quran. It includes all the different range of products but not all. Secondly advertising is done every month in newspapers like Gulf News and Al Arabia news papers whenever they have a new activity going on in the store for example they have dining activity currently going on so they have printed 2 different adds in these newspapers with different products and prices. They even advertise on radio 101.6 and one Arabic radio channel. Proposed strategic choices will improve sales and market share by bringing new products and introducing IKEA Family in Dubai. This will increase their market share in Dubai because study shows that IKEA customers want something more from IKEA and disabled people can benefit from IKEA Family with special discounts and services. Bibliography http://www.ikeadubai.com/ http://pathfinder01.blogspot.com/ [Understanding IKEA : How a Swedish Company Turned Into a Global Obsession (II), 2006] http://www.oppapers.com/essays/Ikea-Marketing-Mix-Analysis/167093 http://www.essayclub.com/term-papers/Ikea-Marketing-Plan/7406.html http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Aldar+and+Ikea+UAE+break+ground+for+Yas+Island+store.-a0218635945 [Himendra Mohan Kumar, Al Nisr Publishing LLC 2009, Aldar and Ikea UAE break ground for Yas Island store.]

Its Time to Put an End to Junk Mail :: Postal Service Letters Essays

It's Time to Put an End to Junk Mail It is another Wednesday morning, and I am again sitting at the front desk of my dormitory at 9 am. The US Postal Service just delivered today's mail, and the other Wednesday-morning deskworker and I are preparing to search for names, check mailbox numbers, sort the mail, and place it into mailboxes. I hate working the mail shift, but I do it because I get paid nine dollars an hour for relatively brainless work. Even though I lose a few hours of sleep, I get some good laughs and entertainment in return, especially on a day like today when an array of catalogs stocks two entire mail bins. After three years at this job, I continue to be amazed at both the number of catalogs certain people receive and the type of items that can be acquired through a catalog. Take, for example, Resident Jane Doe, who gets J. Crew, L.L. Bean, Ann Taylor, Victoria's Secret, Pottery Barn, Bed & Bath and Beyond, and Staples catalogs, each of which arrive on average once per month. Residents like Jane Doe are notorious amongst deskworkers for the volume of mail they receive, and their room numbers are firmly imprinted on our brains because we have looked them up so many times. I can always tell when residents like Jane Doe have been away for a long weekend, because their mailboxes become so packed that they cannot hold even one additional piece of mail. Of course, 80% of the mail in her mailbox consists of catalogs and other junk mail. The companies themselves contribute greatly to the number of catalogs these residents receive. Jane Doe probably purchased one item from J. Crew through mail order or at a J. Crew store, and as a result, she will always receive catalogs from J. Crew at this address, even after she has moved away from this dorm. Furthermore, the fact that she receives other clothing catalogs may also be attributed to this one purchase. Since it's already almost two months into the semester, I do not mind this never-ending stream of catalogs as much because I can generally identify the residents who do not reside in my dorm building anymore and can quickly sort through their mail.

Pocket Money Should Be Given to the Teenagers or Not

With the development of our modern society, peoples living conditions become much more comfortable. But along with intense competition, parents have less time to consider children needs in all-round. One method to solve this contradiction is to give children some pocket money. Pocket money is useful to children. But whether the children are considerable enough to make correct use of these money. There are two viewpoints about the pocket money. Some people think that giving children pocket money will make them become luxurious. Others think that will not lead to such disadvantage. In my opinion, both of them are partially reasonable. Nowadays teenagers are moving to independence and it will help them if they have some practice in managing money. Giving pocket money teaches teenagers to manage money while they are still young and parents can still guide them. Also, it help teenagers to make choices and to see that sometimes people have to wait and save up some money to get what they really want. The important predicament of pocket money must have certainly flashed your mind either during your childhood or as a parent now. Of course, the dilemma is always much more grave if you are a parent. Parents extensively differ in their perspectives of upbringing children in a system of granting pocket money to take care of their petty expenses. At first, the definite expenses that should be termed as petty is pretty much subjective in nature and needs to be well-defined to start with. The second question you need to ask is what is the extent to which a child be given freedom to spend money which is deemed as pocket money? While lot of parentaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s concerns revolves around promoting unhealthy competition amongst children on the amount of money they get and loss of control on a childaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s spending habits, there are also some positive lessons for teenagers such as inculcating money management skills and making tough decision regarding spending desires that offer less value to their lifestyle. Some peoples believe that giving children pocket money really has many advantages. With pocket money, children can buy their daily necessities such as pencils, little toys, and snack food they like. It will give children a certain freedom to select what they want, make them aware rules of the equivalent exchange. Since time to parents is very precious, giving pocket money to children help them to save time spent in shopping, but used in busy working and earning money. Children can get the value of the money when they are responsible to pay for their purchases and they will become more responsible with money matters. It can also lead the children pay for their things from their pocket money itself, so that they get to know how grownups set up a budget when salary comes and pay for living expenses. Some parents think that giving pocket money to their children can saves a lot of time for grownups to buy small things for them. Parents can utilize this time for other important tasks. Once start giving pocket money to children, they have to begin make important decision regarding spending money themselves, this will gives them the sense of purpose and achievement. Besides that, children feel a sense of independence and responsibility towards spending the money in the right way. They learn to understand the value of money. Children will get into the habit of planned income and expenditure. They also learn about saving & budgeting. Giving pocket money to children makes them feel an important part of the family since they know that they get a part of the family's monthly income. Therefore, the way of giving pocket money will develop a sense to children of how much has to be done to earn money, learn that ‘money doesn't grow on trees', learn what money can buy, how much they need to buy and what they need to buy. They can have their own money to spend and helping them develop self control and understanding the value of money, and learn to save money. Others insist that there are undoubtedly some disadvantages in spending pocket money. First, young children do not know how to use pocket money appropriately, they possibly consume all the money to buy expensive merchandise that they like, and then ask for extra money from their parents. Some parents cosset their children, and always give them a large amount of pocket money. Such conditions will make children become more and more prodigal. Second, since adults do not supervise the procedure of shopping, children could probably buy something that is not suitable for their age, such as adult magazines. The aâ‚ ¬? Current Pocket Money Trends in Malaysiaaâ‚ ¬? survey has cited that metropolitan children in the 12-20 ages group get as much as RM500 to over RM1500 a month of pocket money to spend on apparels, physical appearance, cell phone and other lifestyle products. A child may not be cautious in spending money, he or she can easily spend on frivolous unnecessary items. Children are not expected to know the value of money so they are never expected to make a wise decision regarding money. A child can easily get into trouble if there is no supervision with regards to money matters. He or she can be the prey to the bullies at school or play area if they are carrying lots of pocket money. Children may always think they will get paid for everything they do to help, you have to find the money to pay them regularly, it is hard to know what the pocket money is supposed to pay for and there will always seems to be something more. Although children learn to understand that amount of money is limited and they need to always choose between their various desires to ensure correct use of their pocket money. Some parents believe that pocket money should not be given since that will make the child feel that ‘parents money is not his/her money', it could lead to unhealthy competition amongst children on the amount of pocket money they get, and they will loss of control on where children spend the money. By judging these two viewpoints above that I mentioned, I think that parents should give their children a limited amount of pocket money and there must always exist some preconditions such as the amount of pocket money must be finite; parents should instruct their children how to use the money moderately and what is suitable to them; for a costly merchandise, parents themselves should take children to buy it. With these preconditions, pocket money will do no harm to their children. Parents need to explain to them where the money is to be used. For example when you first give the amount to your daughter, you need to explain that this money is to cover her school special lunch; candies or soft drinks requirements for a week. If the child is given money without any direction, you could run the risk of the child using the money is a way that does not agree with you. In such cases, parents need to be very careful in not micro- managing where the child spends the pocket money, else the child will get irritated and will not get the aâ‚ ¬? sense of independenceaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ that parents want to instill in the child. Once children start spending, sometimes away from their parents in going to school, sports classes, tuitions, and they need to carry some amount of money on them. In the beginning, the amount of money should be small and should be periodically reviewed as the child grows. For example parents could decide that every birthday, they will give an increment to your childaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pocket money. If your child excels in academics or sports, they could get higher pocket money increments! How much is the best as the pocket money? Parents must always ensure that they give comparable pocket money to their children. It should neither be too much or too little compared to friends. Giving more pocket money than friends will make your child spend more and consider money as frivolous and easily available. If your child gets less pocket money than his/her friends, it will lead to an inferiority complex and the child might start resenting you. An idea might be to give your child a set amount each week, putting half in a savings account. At the end of a time agreed on by you both, perhaps three months and the child can spend the saved money exactly as they wish. If they choose to ‘waste' it on lollies they can do so. However most children want something special and usually prefer to save for that particular thing and not waste it on a brief pleasure. This helps teach them the value of saving. Another way treat pocket money as a way of punishment. Parents must be careful not to use pocket money as a way of punishment to their children. Often, parents use aâ‚ ¬? suspension of pocket moneyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢ as an easy way of punishing their children. This format of punishment is not wrong to use but must be applied carefully. For example if the child has a broken a beautiful vase and you want him/ her to understand the value of the same, you can penalize the child by deducting/ taking away the monthaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢s pocket money. But you cannot start using pocket money as a weapon to get the child to abide by all your wishes. For example you might want your child to have two glasses of milk everyday which he may not want to; in such cases by incentivizing the child for more pocket money will be wrong to do since such a format of giving money is not pocket money but aâ‚ ¬? bribeaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢. Similarly, pocket money penalty cannot be used as a blanket punishment to all wrong-doings. If the child starts feeling that he/she will never really get pocket money due to some punishment, he/she might be tempted to steal money from parents. If you decide to give pocket money you need to work out, how much is reasonable, whether the money will be paid for doing chores, how much must be done to earn it, and how much is simply because aâ‚ ¬? you are a member of the familyaâ‚ ¬Ã¢â€ž ¢, how much each job is worth, whether all children get the same amount or the older child gets more, how much control parents will have over the use of pocket money or do they have to save some, what can they buy with it, when you will pay? Because the children won't learn about the responsibility of money if parents don't honor the agreement.

Multi-Level Organizational Research

Organization is central to human achievement. The most accomplished individuals tend to have supporting groups and structures, which have major roles in celebrated successes, though they may remain hidden from superficial views. Organizations date back to the dawn of civilization, with religious institutions and military forces being enduring examples. Organizations are inherently multi-level (Klein, & Kozlowski, 2003). Each level is connected with and dependent on the others. The individual, teams, and the organization as a whole, are the 3 significant parts of a typical structure. Organizations, though they exist in kaleidoscopic varieties of purposes, sizes, and natures, share common issues when they become subjects of systematic inquiry. Performance and effectiveness are the two most important motivations for organizational research, though the interactions between individuals and groups are matters of primary interests in fields of sociology and psychology. This document reflects on the inevitable implications of multiple levels in organizations, and suggests best practices with respect to studying such structures and the people who function within them. The focus is on how to incorporate multi-level realities in to organizational research, Stating the Obvious It is common knowledge that organizations are made of individuals, and that groups of people have to function as teams. However, the implications of the obvious on how organizations should be studied and measured are complex and certainly not as obvious. It may be tempting to resort to over-simplification and ignore multi-level aspects of organizations when designing research projects to study them. Interplay between individual perceptions and organizations are common to all types of organizations. Multi level variations have been found even in the prison structure (Camp, et al. 1997), where institutional operations and satisfaction with immediate supervision have equal influences on the social climate. The implication is that any research in to the functioning and performance of a large structure with branches at multiple levels has to incorporate distinct phases of research for individuals at the periphery, for teams that operate within the body of structures, and for the entire organization as an entity. Each of these levels will be in dynamic inter-play with the other two. A phenomenon at a lower level, for example,   may not connect with theory validation at a higher level (Crowston, 2002). There are many examples of technologies being integrated in to organizations at lower levels, without incontrovertible evidence of the benefits at higher levels. That is why conclusions from research at a single level may not yield entirely relevant conclusions. The best individual technical skills may come to naught if a person cannot deal with others; similarly, the best teams cannot function without adequate resources and support from above (Loo, 2003). No level of organization can be independent, take all the credit, or be assigned all of the blame. Investigative research, which aims to diagnose why an organization functions below par, or which seeks to make recommendations for improvement, has to validate its suggestions for feasibility and appropriateness at each of the multiple levels. Past organizational research has focused more on the individual level, and not enough on teams and the organization as a unit, or on the interactions between these levels (Schnake, and Dumler, 2003). However, this trend has begun to change and researchers of today can no longer the multiple level structures of organizations they may wish to study. Organization science needs to match the integration which marks literature on the existence of multiple levels (Klein, & Kozlowski, 2003). Mixed level research needs methods and measurements of their own (Schnake, and Dumler, 2003); the levels of data collection and analysis are often not the same.   Pluralistic ignorance, in which each individual has a special perception of the self versus that of others and of the organization, commonly plagues organizational research. That is why projects should not be based solely on the surveyed and perceived opinions of individual members about their peers, superior, subordinates, and groups. Bottom up models which draw inferences from lower levels for the higher will yield different conclusions if a top down approach is used (Klein, & Kozlowski, 2003). Research methods must account for how perspectives change with levels. It may be best to adopt an iterative approach, thinking not micro or macro, but both micro and macro (Klein, & Kozlowski, 2003). Research Objectives as Determinants Given that multiple levels are ubiquitous in organizations of all types and sizes, all research in this area should take the phenomenon in to account. Organizational research may vary by objectives, and this factor of difference can help in dealing with multiple levels. The People and Process elements of the Marketing Mix for Services (Payne, 2002) play important roles in determining strategies followed by organizations which do not have concrete or tangible product features in their offers. Research in to the internal workings of such organizations may focus on the lower levels of individual capabilities, and small team functioning, rather than concern itself with organization-level matters. Conversely, stock market analysts who are concerned with specific financial outcomes may prefer to dwell on effectiveness of organizations as a whole (Huber and Glick, 1993), rather than bother with details of issues at micro levels. Downsizing and new designs are some major concerns of contemporary organizational research. These phenomena create most strains on the individual (Huber, and Glick, 1993) and hence projects which seek to study the effects of integration and different hierarchies should focus on the lowest level of individual members of staff. The simplistic approach of focusing on just one level of organization will not work in all cases. Communication issues, matters related to diversity in the work force and matters concerning global organizations, all require work to be done at all levels (Huber, and Glick, 1993). Social climate studies also have to take all levels in to account, since institutional initiatives can have variations at its spatially separated sites, and individual variations as well with regard to job satisfaction and organizational commitment (Camp, et al. 1997). Some of the research problems of multiple levels in organizations arose in the past because of the paucity of prior work in similar areas. However, there has been a cascade of organizational research in recent times, with multiple level enquiries (Huber and Glick, 1993). This new body of work can be used as templates when fresh research projects in organizational behavior are undertaken. The Effects of Organizational Labeling Organizations tend to fit in to stereotypes which have been created in public minds over time. Professionally managed corporations, political parties, religious institutions, and bureaucracies, are a few examples of such set patterns of our collective minds. Simultaneously, organizations are more than just people who control or work in them. Suppliers, financiers, regulators, franchisees, and customers are some of the other categories of stake holders. All organizations do not have to be equally responsive to the environment (Huber and Glick, 1993). Monolithic, powerful, and strongly entrenched organizations may demand research of how to further their aims, but worry less about the proclivities of employees and suppliers of goods and services at the bottoms and fringes of their hierarchies. A highly evolved organization will be dynamic and open minded: it deserves and needs organizational research at multiple levels, with plenty of iteration, and the objective validation of hypotheses. Others will be directive and in a hurry for results: they may appreciate the values of enquiries at multiple levels less or not at all. Organizational research driven by purely scholastic intent is a rare privilege. The professional researcher will more often have a restrictive brief set by a paying client with a specific and selfish perspective. Organizational studies may mention all the levels in passing or for the sake of completeness, rather than address each of them in detail and in concert. The multiple levels within organizations should always be kept in mind when studying structures and group working. Even though studies may be sponsored by the most apical level of organization, valid findings and scientific rigor require that the study extends to teams and to individuals as well. Towards Best Practices Multiple levels are inevitable in organizational studies. How can the complexities of this reality be incorporated for better research project design, and to ensure findings on which sponsors can rely? It is best to start with the environment in which the organization operates (Huber, and Glick, 1993). Such a prior effort will put research fully in context. It is necessary to spend time to collect primary data on how the organization functions; and to focus on processes which link the various levels (Crowston, 2002). It is risky to plunge headlong in to researching an organization: every investment in understanding its needs and to profile it accurately, will pay off in terms of relevant findings on which action can be taken. Levels in organizations can be conceived in terms of internal customers. This is a standard concept in Services Marketing (Payne, 2002). A higher level in an organization, or a branch of the same level, is a customer of a team which supports it through its function. Thus, a Sales Manager is a customer of his or her sales people, and the entire sales function is a customer of the production or manufacturing department. Since dealing with all levels can make organizational research very complicated, a workable option is to use the internal customer concept to delineate levels of research. Another approach is to set up microcosms of the organization in external settings, to act as laboratories for experimentation. Groups of employees may be placed on extended sabbaticals, and asked to play roles equivalent to the levels of their parent organizations. This approach has the advantage of eliciting more objective input data from people inside the organization, but can be expensive and time consuming. Research projects which adopt this ‘laboratory’ approach require patience and sustained support, but yield better and more applicable findings at the same time. A relatively quick and simple compromise could be to adopt a problem-solving approach (Loo, 2003). The median level is a good optimum in such cases, with a focus on actual teams from the structure, with additional participation by representatives from other levels and branches. This team approach can use direct and indirect benchmarking to support its recommendations. Wherever a choice is available, the organizational researcher should try to go as micro as possible as uncontrollable factors and complexities keep increasing as the analysis goes to higher levels (Camp, et al. 1997). Aggregate measures tend to mislead, and reduce the chances of useful and valid findings. Regardless of how organizational research is approached, a common requirement is to specify qualitative organizational performance measures as closely as possible. What for example is motivation or how will supervision be assessed? This will also address the issue of phenomena at lower levels not being confirmed by theories at higher levels-perhaps the higher level has not specified the benefits it seeks (Crowston, 2002). Such specification will also reduce the pitfalls of data from a lower level from pluralistic ignorance, affecting analysis of a higher level (Schnake, and Dumler, 2003). Finally, the organizational researcher must always think of multi-level implications of proposed work and suggestive conclusions whether or not all levels are included in the work (Klein, & Kozlowski, 2003). Such an approach should persist throughout the research, including the critical stage of sampling. Conclusions While multiple levels in organizations and their influences cannot be denied, including all of them comprehensively in actual projects may present.   It may often be best to make research manageable with clear statements of assumptions and limitations. Organizations are in flux in any case and will evolve towards the median level. This is the historic trend (Huber, and Glick, 1993). Excellence and thoroughness in studying the team level may be a good compromise. The perspective of each category of stake holders is distinct, yet valid. The researcher would do well to keep the expectations and profile of his or her customer in mind! Multiple levels, in the end, are integral to all significant organizations, and all research in to such groupings must take these multiple levels in to account. References Camp, R. et al. (1997) Aggregating Individual-Level Evaluations of the Organizational Social Climate: A Multilevel Investigation of the Work Environment at the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Justice Quarterly 14: 4: 739-762. Crowston, K, (2002) Process as theory in information systems research, Proceedings of The IFIP WG 8.2 International Conference: The Social and Organizational Perspective on Research and Practice in Information Technology, 10–12 June 2000, Aalborg, Denmark. Huber, G, and Glick, W, (1993) Organizational Change and Redesign: Ideas and Insights for Improving Performance, Oxford University Press Klein, K & Kozlowski, S, (2003) A Multilevel Approach to Theory and Research in Organizations: Contextual, Temporal, and Emergent Processes, Chapter 1 in Multilevel Theory, Research, and Methods in Organizations: Foundations, Extensions, and New Directions, JOSSEY BASS Loo, Robert (2003) A multi-level causal model for best practices in project management, Benchmarking, Vol10, Issue 1; pg. 29, 8 pgs Payne, A, (2002), The Essentials of Services Marketing, Prentice-Hall Schnake, M. and Dumler, M. (2003) Levels of measurement and analysis issues in organizational citizenship behavior research, Journal of Occupational and Organizational Psychology. 76(3):283         

Lake Superior State University Admissions

Lake Superior State University Admissions Lake Superior State University Admissions Overview: The majority of applicants interested in Lake Superior State University are admitted each year. With an acceptance rate of 91%, most students with grades and standardized test scores that are average or better will get in. To apply, visit the schools website for application instructions and important deadlines.   Admissions Data (2016): Lake Superior State University Acceptance Rate: 91%Test Scores 25th / 75th PercentileSAT Critical Reading: 430 / 540SAT Math: 430  / 520SAT Writing: - / -What these SAT numbers meanMichigan public university SAT score comparisonACT Composite: 20  / 25ACT English: 19 / 26ACT Math: 18 / 25ACT Writing: - / -What these ACT numbers meanMichigan public university ACT score comparison Lake Superior State University Description: Lake Superior State University is one of  Michigans 15 public universities; its campus is located in Sault Ste Marie on the site of the former U.S. Armys Fort Brady. It is on the smaller side, with just over 2,500 students, a student/faulty ratio of 15  to 1, and an average class size of fewer than 30 students. LSSU offers a long list of academic programs from its five colleges and schools: the College of Arts, Letters, Social Sciences and Emergency Services; the College of Business and Engineering; the College of Natural and Mathematical Sciences; the College of Nursing and Health Sciences; and the School of Education. The university is one of only three in the country to offer a fire science program. With more than 60 student clubs and organizations as well as intramural sports, there is plenty to do on campus. LSSU is a member of the NCAA Division II  Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference  (GLIAC), but the universitys ice hockey team competes in the NCAA Division I Central Collegiate Hockey Association (CCHA) and has won five national championships. Enrollment (2016): Total Enrollment: 2,099  (all undergraduates)Gender Breakdown: 49% Male / 51% Female86% Full-time Costs (2016- 17): Tuition and Fees: $11,019  (in-state)Books: $1,100 (why so much?)Room and Board: $9,442Other Expenses: $1,600Total Cost: $22,161   Lake Superior State University Financial Aid (2015- 16): Percentage of New Students Receiving Aid: 96%Percentage of New Students Receiving Types of AidGrants: 86%Loans: 59%Average Amount of AidGrants: $9,830Loans: $6,167 Academic Programs: Most Popular Majors:  Accounting, Business Administration, Criminal Justice, Elementary Education, Exercise Science, Fire Science, Fisheries and Wildlife Management, Nursing Transfer, Graduation and Retention Rates: First Year Student Retention (full-time students): 72%Transfer-out Rate: 5%4-Year Graduation Rate: 21%6-Year Graduation Rate: 42% Intercollegiate Athletic Programs: Mens Sports:  Ice Hockey, Cross Country, Tennis, Track and Field, Basketball, GolfWomens Sports:  Basketball, Volleyball, Tennis, Track and Field, Softball, Golf, Cross Country Data Source: National Center for Educational Statistics If You Like Lake Superior State University, You May Also Like These Schools: Oakland University: Profile  Northern Michigan University: Profile  Albion College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphFinlandia University: Profile  Spring Arbor University: Profile  Eastern Michigan University: Profile  University of Michigan - Ann Arbor: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAlma College: Profile  Ferris State University: Profile  Central Michigan University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphGrand Valley State University: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT GraphAlbion College: Profile | GPA-SAT-ACT Graph

Roll of thunder hear my cry essays

Roll of thunder hear my cry essays With fast food restaurants on every corner, the choice of vegetarianism is seemingly ignored in our society today. Fewer and fewer people are even considering a switch from omnivore to herbivore. And the few who do may vary in their idea of exactly what vegetarianism is. Some believe that you simply refrain from eating meat, but that brings up the question of dairy products and eggs. Are they okay to eat? Yet still some believe that a true vegetarian is really a vegan, or a person that has restricted their diet to organic fruits and vegetables only. Which ever they choose, an important question is still left unanswered. Does vegetarianism offer more advantages in life than a In order for your body to function and operate as it was intended to, it must be healthy. There are many different aspects to health, but one of the most important ones is your diet. More specifically, protein in your diet. Proteins are tiny groups of highly complex organic compounds that are found in each and every single one of our cells. (Low) They all have different functions, however. Some regulate metabolism, some build muscle, and still others transport and carry nutrients. (Low) Whatever the task, proteins are an essential part of a healthy diet. There are a number of ways that you can meet the required amount of protein in your diet. The most obvious one would be to eat foods that are high in protein. This group may include meats, poultry, fish, and eggs. But this does not mean that you can only get protein from animal based foods. Protein is protein so its source, (animal or plant,) is not important. Thats a matter of personal That personal choice is the choice of a more efficient, and maybe even a smarter way of eating. Did you know that some of the most intellectual people in history made the choice of becoming vegetarian? Albert Einstein was once quoted saying &q...

How Glow in the Dark Stuff Works

How Glow in the Dark Stuff Works Have you ever wondered how glow in the dark stuff works? Im talking about materials that truly glow after you turn out the lights, not the ones that glow under black light or ultraviolet light, which are really just converting invisible high energy light into a lower energy form visible to your eyes. There are also items that glow because of ongoing chemical reactions that produce light, like the chemiluminescence of glow sticks. There are also bioluminescent materials, where the glow is caused by biochemical reactions in living cells, and glowing radioactive materials, which may emit photons or glow because of heat. These things glow, but how about glowing paints or the stars you can stick on the ceiling? Things Glow Because of Phosphorescence Stars and paint and glowing plastic beads glow from phosphorescence. This is a process in which a material absorbs energy and then slowly releases it in the form of visible light. Fluorescent materials glow via a similar process, but fluorescent materials release light within fractions of a second or seconds, which is not long enough to glow for most practical purposes. In the past, most glow in the dark products were made using zinc sulfide. The compound absorbed energy and then slowly released it over time. The energy wasnt really something you could see, so additional chemicals called phosphors were added to enhance the glow and add color. Phosphors take the energy and convert it into visible light. Modern glow in the dark stuff uses strontium aluminate instead of zinc sulfide. It stores and releases about 10 times more light than the zinc sulfide and its glow last longer. The rare earth europium is often added to enhance the glow. The modern paints are durable and water-resistant, so they can be used for outdoor decorations and fishing lures and not just jewelry and plastic stars. Why Glow in the Dark Things Are Green There are two main reasons why glow in the dark stuff mostly glows in green. The first reason is because the human eye is particularly sensitive to green light, so green appears brightest to us. Manufacturers choose phosphors that emit green to get the brightest apparent glow. The other reason green is a common color is because the most common affordable and non-toxic phosphor glows green. The green phosphor also glows the longest. Its simple safety and economics! To some extent there is a third reason green is the most common color. The green phosphor can absorb a wide range of wavelengths of light to produce a glow, so the material can be charged under sunlight or strong indoor light. Many other colors of phosphors require specific wavelengths of light to work. Usually, this is ultraviolet light.To get these colors to work (e.g., purple), you need to expose the glowing material to UV light. In fact, some colors lose their charge when exposed to sunlight or daylight, so they arent as easy or fun for people to use. Green is easy to charge, long-lasting, and bright. However, the modern aqua blue color rivals green in all of these aspects. Colors that either require a specific wavelength to charge, dont glow brightly, or need frequent recharging include red, purple, and orange. New phosphors are always being developed, so you can expect constant improvements in products. List of Things That Really Glow in the Dark

The Fourteenth Amendment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

The Fourteenth Amendment - Essay Example For this reason, there were increasing inequalities in criminal proceedings between whites and blacks. The constitution had stated that one could only enjoy the fundamental rights if they belong to a particular state (Rife & Smith, 2006). The former slaves were not recognized as citizens of any state. There was a salient need for amending the constitution so that it could allow African-Americans gain citizenships in different states. Prior to the amendment, southern states practiced high levels of discrimination denying African-Americans an opportunity to enjoy their fundamental rights because of their race. The first section of the fourteenth amendment highlighted that states would no longer discriminate individuals based on race or ethnicity. The fourteenth amendment had positive changes in the United States because it allowed African Americans to be recognized as citizens through either birth or naturalization. Former slaves had the opportunity to become officially citizens of different states and be in a position to enjoy fundamental rights. Additionally, the fourteenth amendment served to nationalize the federal bill of rights by compelling each state to regard it highly. The ratification of the fourteenth amendment bill served as a milestone in the American history as the country would finally allow former slaves to be treated equally as the whites (p. 67). However, the amendment did not completely protect the rights of African Americans. In some states, African Americans were still viewed as lesser people.

Professional Practice (PGCE) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words - 1

Professional Practice (PGCE) - Essay Example The teachers understood me as a student and that gave me a valuable lesson - that interacting, communicating and engaging ones students in a dialog helps in sharing of ideas and experiences and enhances our knowledge about the subject (Steffe & Gale, 1995). Such interaction also helped me realize the significance of active learning whereby students can learn merely through communicating with one another and through exchanging of ideas. It also taught me to be responsible and responsive to my students. The collaborative learning approach used in classrooms enabled holistic learning and development of the students (Cohen, Brody and Sapon-Shevin, 2012) and helped in reflecting on the concepts learned. The effectiveness with which the course was designed encouraged me to experiment with diverse ideas and approaches, which can be used in class while teaching and also equipped me with adequate knowledge and skills to address the various challenges that I would encounter during my role as a teacher. During the course of my study I had an opportunity to observe other teachers as well as be observed by other teachers and in the process I learned the various teaching approaches and the implication of using them in a classroom setting. I also learned to develop lesson plans and completed five modules which includes Introduction to teaching and learning, planning and assessing, applying theory to practice, reflective practice, curriculum and professional practice. Teacher observation helped me learn about skills such as classroom management, and the benefit of a student-focused approach. It helped in the overall professional development as a teacher. Through this course I realized the significance of observation and the manner in which it helps in self-reflection and influence the way we teach, since it exposes the teachers to new innovative methods of teaching and help in creating a professional learning environment with the

The Applicants Behavior and Personality Traits Research Paper

The Applicants Behavior and Personality Traits - Research Paper Example The aforementioned strategy can also be stretched further by setting up a manufacturing plant in developing countries in Asia. By doing so, the company will not only bring much-needed employment in the region, but it will also save the company expenses in manufacturing due to lower labour costs. Furthermore, the abundance of raw materials in the region will also provide the company with further benefits in terms of keeping costs at bay. By implementing such strategy, the company should be able to satisfy both its shareholders’ demand for profits, brought about by reduced costs and increased markets, while at the same time satisfying stakeholders in the community because of responsible advertising and management. Another important step that the company must take in its traditional market at home to improve performance is to repackage its products and update its look to appeal to the changing tastes and preferences of its consumers. However, in order to truly ensure the companyà ¢â‚¬â„¢s success in the long run, the company must diversify its products by manufacturing either new tobacco-based products to diversify risks or by manufacturing products, which could be consumed together with cigarettes such as cigarette filters, and the like. Manufacturing cigarette filters, for example, will not be too costly for the company because cigarettes already contain filters, hence, not much research and development will be required. In addition, this strategy will not only improve the company’s overall value, but it could also improve the performance of the company’s tobacco and cigarette products.

Adjustment issues of international student enrolled in american Essay

Adjustment issues of international student enrolled in american collage and university - Essay Example The researcher even figured out that adjustment issues and higher stress level were even experienced by international students who had little or no social support. The research even showed that international individuals who have spend over 6 years in the US experience less stress than those who have been there for less than six years. This is because those who have spend more than six years have learned the norms of the US society and have settled in. Students who perceive that they will be discriminated against due to their inability to speak properly in English experience higher level of adjustment issues. Students who fail to create and maintain relationships with local American students tend to experience homesickness and experience higher level of adjustment issues. Araujo conducted a literature research on the subject of adjustment issues and level of stress experienced by non-US residents who enroll in US based colleges and Universities. The variables that directly impact adjustment issues and stress level includes: ability to communicate and write in English language, support which is social in nature, time period already spend in US, perception of discrimination, relationships with citizens of US and home based

Edinburgh Rock Whisky Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Edinburgh Rock Whisky Business - Essay Example When Alan Graham was in South Africa, he happened to meet a friend of his who had managed to create a fortune for himself in the whisky industry. Graham’s friend had managed to do this by introducing a whisky by the name Mountain Range Whisky. The whisky was in a bottle that was shaped as the Table Mountain, the mountain that shadows Cape Town. Graham’s friend had steadily managed to derive profit from the sale of his whisky. Therefore, from this idea Graham thought of finding a bottling company that would he would purchase bottles that were shaped like the Edinburgh Rock and hence call it Edinburgh Rock Whisky.Market research is doing anything that gives one a better understanding of the market that one is venturing into. Market research is normally done before the production of a commodity and has often been proven a valuable thing to do. It is because a customer research guides one’s business decisions since gives one understanding of his/her competitors, mark eting, consumers and products. Since it helps one make better decision, it will certainly come in very handing in creating a successful and exceptional marketing strategy.Marketing helps one reduce the chances of getting the prices, products and promotions wrong. A suitable example is that of Alan Graham. If he had carried out a good market research, he would have known that there were chances that some institutions in Scotland would reject his product. In addition, he would have known that there was need to make a few adjustments to the ignition business plan.

Hallenges and potential advantages in adopting the International Research Paper

Hallenges and potential advantages in adopting the International Financial Reporting Standard for - Research Paper Example Besides that, the users of the financial statement of the SMEs are also benefitted from this, since the information provided can be compared with the international standards as the SMEs are also seen to deal with the venture capital firms, credit rating agencies, customers, suppliers, financial institutions and investors who are operating outside the home countries of the SMEs. However, the extant IFRSs cannot be used to meet the need of SME financial statement comparable to the international standard as they are designed especially to meet the financial reporting needs of the large businesses, that are operating in the globalised financial market and very little in regards to the economic compliance burden on the smaller businesses (Devi, 2003; IASB, 2009; Thompson, Sian & Roberts, 2006). Moreover, the SMEs cannot be considered as the smaller version of large businesses, which suggests the way that users will utilize the financial statement and accounting expertise along with their ability to bear the cost of financial reporting, which also differs from those of the large publicly traded companies (IASB, 2009). There are enough literatures that provide evidences regarding the appropriateness of IFRS for the SMEs (Chand, Patel & Cummings, 2006; Eierle, Haller & Beiersdorf, 2007; MAZARS, 2008; Sian & Roberts, 2008; Fu? lbier & Gassen, 2010; Neag, Masca & Pa?scan, 2009; Van Wyk & Rossouw, 2009) but there is need of additional research, since most of the researches were restricted only to some specific context. Therefore, this research focuses on the advantages and challenges that the SMEs of UAE will face on adopting the IFRS. Research Question The research question that this study will try to answer is the benefits that the small and medium sized enterprises, along with the suppliers of fund, will enjoy due to closure of the information gap. This information gap is produced as most of the SMEs are following non-standardized financial reporting techniques in UAE, which makes the evaluation of the performance of the enterprises more difficult. Literature Review Factors that lead the SMEs to adapt to the IFRS While developing the IFRS for the SMEs, the IASB has taken into consideration the important firm-level aspects. IASB has argued that there is a requirement for the global SMEs to prepare their financial reporting as per the international standards because of the users of their financial statement and the international structure and activities, in which the SMEs are engaged (IASB, 2009). In this context, the board has argued that the extant IFRS fails to meet the need of the financial reporting of the SMEs compared to the international standards, since they are complex in nature and poses significant amount of economic burden and compliance on the SMEs. Therefore, the following sections look at the prior literatures and highlight the characteristics of the firm, which will attempt to find the necessity of IFRS for the SMEs and its appropr iateness for financial report

Edinburgh Rock Whisky Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Edinburgh Rock Whisky Business - Essay Example When Alan Graham was in South Africa, he happened to meet a friend of his who had managed to create a fortune for himself in the whisky industry. Graham’s friend had managed to do this by introducing a whisky by the name Mountain Range Whisky. The whisky was in a bottle that was shaped as the Table Mountain, the mountain that shadows Cape Town. Graham’s friend had steadily managed to derive profit from the sale of his whisky. Therefore, from this idea Graham thought of finding a bottling company that would he would purchase bottles that were shaped like the Edinburgh Rock and hence call it Edinburgh Rock Whisky.Market research is doing anything that gives one a better understanding of the market that one is venturing into. Market research is normally done before the production of a commodity and has often been proven a valuable thing to do. It is because a customer research guides one’s business decisions since gives one understanding of his/her competitors, mark eting, consumers and products. Since it helps one make better decision, it will certainly come in very handing in creating a successful and exceptional marketing strategy.Marketing helps one reduce the chances of getting the prices, products and promotions wrong. A suitable example is that of Alan Graham. If he had carried out a good market research, he would have known that there were chances that some institutions in Scotland would reject his product. In addition, he would have known that there was need to make a few adjustments to the ignition business plan.

Kirk Patrick, Kirk Samuda, Analog ; Digital Signals Essay Example for Free

Kirk Patrick, Kirk Samuda, Analog ; Digital Signals Essay Understanding the nature of digital signals, binary, and other multi-level signal types do require an explanation of the two most prominent telecommunications types that exist, and examples of how they are applicable to specific devices, the binary is association and its function. (Please note that the majority of the information below are extracts from various websites, used to validate and support a theoretical premise; on which an understanding of multilevel signals exist. ) Analog and Digital Signals The term analog comes from the word analogous meaning something is similar to something else. It is used to describe devices that turn the movement or condition of a natural event into similar electronic or mechanical signals. For example a non-digital watch contains a movement that is constantly active in order to display time, which is also constantly active. Our time is measured in ranges of hours, minutes, seconds, months, years, etc. The display of a watch constantly tracks time within these ranges. In effect the data represented on a watch may have any number of values within a fairly large range. The watchs movement is analogous to the movement of time. In this respect the data produced is analog data. Digital signals, on the other hand, are distinctively different. Digital signals dont have large ranges, nor do they reflect constant activity. Digital signals have very few values. Each signal is unique from a previous digital value and unique from one to come. In effect, a digital signal is a snapshot of a condition and does not represent continual movement. Binary Association Every electronic signal is broken down into binary language, classified as ‘0’ and ‘1’. The most obvious example of digital data is that communicated on-board a computer. Since a computers memory is simply a series of switches that can either be on or off, digital data directly represents one of these two conditions. We typically represent this on and off status with 1s and 0s where 1 represents an on bit and 0 represents off. The nature of analog is to closely capture the essence of natural phenomenon, with its action and subtlety. Digital data can only attempt to capture natural phenomenon by sampling it at distinct intervals, creating a digital representation composed of 1s and 0s. Obviously, if the interval between samples is too large, the digital representation less accurately represents the phenomenon. If the sampling occurs at too short of an interval, then an inordinate amount of digital resources may be utilized to capture the phenomenon. The changes involved may not be significant enough to warrant so frequent a sampling for accuracys sake. To digitally represent sound authentically, a sample must be taken over 44, 500 times per second. When copying an analog signal from one generation to another, deterioration of the original signal occurs. A prime example is when we copy a videotape. Since video recorders are analog machines, copying a tape several times results in the accumulation of unwanted analog values called noise. Eventually these signals become so evident, that the original analog signal is compromised and the video dub suffers from intense graininess and poor audio sound. Our technology is limited in the transmission and duplication of analog signals because of the infinite number of values that are allowable. Digital signals, however, have basically two values. It is much easier to work with two values rather than an infinite number. Consequently our current level of technology allows us to maintain the original quality of a digital signal. With a value of on or off. Advantages and Disadvantages The main advantage of digital modulation over analog modulation is that in digital modulation, all input and output are in binary form. Anything that isnt a 1 or a 0 is rejected by the modulator. This filters out a lot of noise that analog modulation lets through, which may not be related to the intended message. Advantages Noise immunity Multiplexing(Time domain) Regeneration Simple to evaluate and measure Disadvantages Requires more bandwidth Additional encoding (A/D) and decoding (D/A) circuitry Digital modulation can easily detect and correct noise. Whereas analog modulation has little complexity digital modulation is preferred over analog because it is by far more secure. Digital modulation can easily detect and correct noise irregularities. Analog modulation though complex is minute when compared to digital modulation. Digital modulated signal can travel a longer distance compared to analog modulation. Analog signals have a great advantage over digital signals in that they have a much higher density that can present more refined information. Disadvantages of the system include the tendency to create unwanted variations in the information transmission such as noise, which can occur in random patterns. When a signal is copied and potentially re-copied, each subsequent version exhibits more of the random patterns, making information transmission harder and ultimately causes signal loss. In order to avoid these disadvantages, or at least mitigate their effects, the concept of  modulation can be used. The base signal is modified in some way to help retain the information as it is transmitted. An example of this is when the amplitude of a waveform is altered in what is known as amplitude modulation. Other options for retaining an electric signal over different generations are by using increased shielding or different cable types twisted together.

Examining Strategies For Improving Medication Administration Nursing Essay

Examining Strategies For Improving Medication Administration Nursing Essay Providing care for the patient is the responsibility of nurses. Nurses are the one who are close with patients. They are responsible and accountable to make sure that the treatments and needs of patient are fulfilled. Medication administration is a part of the nurses responsibility in order to make sure clients get the correct medication as supposed. Medication administration error is a universal health care concern.Thus the strategy in improving medication administration system is important to enhance safety. The administration of medication by nurses is the final step in a process that involves multiple steps carried out by a number of health professionals (medical practitioners, pharmacists and registered nurses). The accuracy, efficiency and safety of administration of medications rest primarily with nurses. Medication administration is an activity that is prone to errors, in part because of the development of new medical devices and new drug products that available to fulfill the demand in health care setting. Thus to prevent medication administration error, six rights should be main concern for the nurses in giving medication. There are many type of medical error that leads to injury and may jeopardize patients safety. According to Hughes and Ortiz (2005) the most common type of medical error that happen universally is medication error. Senior citizens are at the highest risk of being affected by this type of errors, since they are the largest consumers of medication (New Tech Media, 2006). However, this is especially true in regards to medication errors. A proper understanding of the contributing factors that increase medication errors is the first step toward preventing them. There are many factors, such as training deficiencies, undue time pressure, and nursing shortages that may have contribute to medication errors. The amount of nursing education and the years of nursing experience are two factors that may have relationship to medication errors. Due to the fact that nursing staff is a large cost to hospitals, these organizations are constantly trying to manage expenses. This is supported by Yang (2003 ) who states nursing professionals typically represent the largest employee group in hospitals, and have become a primary target for redesign measures. Consequently, medication errors are costly and seem to be proportional to the staffing of nurses. Since nurses make up such a large portion of the staff population, it is important to understand the incidents that influence behind these medication errors. These issues of medication errors were present even at the time when Benjamin Franklin founded Americas first hospital and he stated that patients ultimately suffer and die without good nursing care (Clarke, 2003). 1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT Health care professionals work is hectic and stressful. All the heavy workload had causes the nurses to pay much less attention in giving proper medication administration to patients.I discovered during my clinical posting that sometimes the nurses tend to take for granted so as whether the patient did consume the medications given or not after leaving the medication on the patients bedside . Occasionally proper procedure was not followed by nurses for medication administration. It happens when the nurses just copy down the name of patient in a piece of paper during pass over the report , without rechecking in the patients medication administration record. This unintentional act sometimes will lead to medication administration error when bed of the patient is exchange with another patient or the patient has been transferred to the other ward or may be discharged from the hospital . There is also happen an error due to some of the nurses borrowing medication from another patients cart and administering an unlabelled medication or syringe. This improper practice will harm the patients and can cause medication administration errors. On the other cases, the nurses do not follow the correct time for medication administration. For instance, they just merely combine the medication that should be given at 4p.m with 6p.m. In that case, the effectiveness and toxicity of medication can be query. Thus, medication error can be some way again linked to an inconsistency applying the six rights of medication administration. Definition of terms Nurses A person educated and trained to care for the sick or disabled; One that serves as a nurturing or fostering influence or means (C.L.R James,2009 ) Working experience Work experience is the linking of a period of activity in a work setting (whether paid or voluntary) to the programme of study, irrespective of whether the work experience is an integral part of the programme of study(Harveyet al,2002) Incident Any other incident in which researcher is unsure about exposure potential. 1.3 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY Medication administration is a crucial part in nursing . Having a study concerning the incident of contributing factors that lead to medication error is important as this study creates awareness about the medication error and it consequences will affect patients safety. Such prevention methods could be taken to reduce the cases of medication error in hospital setting. Through this study, the management team of the hospital may take a serious action to solve the problem arised. Besides that, the nurses may realize the significance of medication administration process to overcome the factors that contribute to medication administration error. Furthermore, nurses need to perform their duty in ethical manner and obey the correct standard procedures as guided by the ministry of health. The function beyond the limit of nursing practice acts or ones ability is to endanger clients life will put the nurses open to malpractice suits such medication administration error. Therefore, it is crucial part for nurses to always be aware of entire the medication administration process in order to maintain the safety of the patient. 1.4 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE 1.4.1 General Objective The general objective for this study is to provide reasons about incidence of factors that contribute to medication error among the nurses. This study also helps to determine the barrier towards medication error which can used as guidelines for the nurses to be more caution on certain situation during administering medication in the hope of facilitating improvements to medication administration processes. 1.4.2 Specific Objective The specific objectives of conducting this research are: 1) To identify the most factors which contribute to medication error 2) To indicate the relationship between working experience with all the contributing factors which potentially lead to medication error 1.5 RESEARCH QUESTIONS What are the commonest factors that contributed to medication error perceived by nurses? Is there any relationship between working experience with all the contributing factors which potentially lead to medication error? 1.6 ADVANTAGES OF RESEARCH 1. This study able to provide reasons about factors that contribute to medication error among the nurses. 2. This study helps to determine the barrier towards medication error which can used as guidelines for the nurses to be more caution on certain situation during serving medication LITERATURE REVIEW Introduction Nurses are the group of health care providers who are closest to the patients. They have a major responsibility in administration of medication for patients, particularly in the wards. The issue of medication administration error (MAE) within the acute-care setting has long been the focus of research. Since nurses are intimately involved in the delivery of medications and the final person who occupy the link on medication administration, thus they are accountable for the responsibilities in medication error. It is important for nurses to understand the factors that contributed to medication administration errors in view of the fact that the burden of reporting medication error falls heavily on nurses. Prevalence of medication error Medical errors harm an estimated 1.5 million people and kill several thousand each year in the United States of America (Joint Comission International ,2007).In Malaysia the Malaysian government does emphasize on the medication safety whereby the government encourages researchers to conduct research on medication safety (Institute for Health Systems Research ,2008). In view of the fact that the prevalance of medication administration error is increasing globally, the serious action should be taken to minize it from occur. Medication The oxford Concise Medical Dictionary stated that, medication is a substance that is administered by mouth, applied to the body, or introduced into the body for the purpose of treatment (p.417). Medication Administration In administration of medication, the nurses must follow several principles that have been set up to prevent medication administration error. While administering medication, the nurses should implement the Six Rights to make sure the effectiveness of the drug effects and gain improvement in treating the disease. The six rights are involved before, during and after giving the medication. According to Bennet (2008), the six rights of medication administration includes the following; right medication, right dose, right client, right route, right time and right documentation. It is a must for the nurses to follow the standard protocol outlined for the implementation of medication administration. Medication administration error An article from joint comission international (2007) stated that errors are common as medications are procured, prescribed, dispensed, administered, and monitored but, they occur most frequently during the prescribing and administering actions. Since, the parts of administering process are bound to nurses job, so that they are responsible for their action and conduct. Mayo et al (2004) found that some medication errors are not reported because nurses are afraid of the reaction they will receive from the Nurse Manager. Hence, the real incident of medication error that occurred cannot be measurable since the nurses do not take responsibility to report the incident. Medication usage is a multidisciplinary process, which begins with the doctors prescription, is followed by the review and provision of medications by a pharmacist, and ends with the preparation and administration of the medication to the patient by a nurse. Inadvertent errors or accidents are encountered if there is a break down at any stage in this process, which leads to overwhelming consequences for the patient and for the career of the healthcare professional (Gladstone 1995). The impact of medication errors can be devastating to the confidence and self-esteem of the healthcare professional. Consequently, healthcare professionals are unwilling and indisposed to report any medication error unless there is an obvious harm to the patient. Factors that contribute to medication error Nurses need to prioritize significant responsibilities for safe patient care. In this hectic and stressful environment, serious medication errors are appearing significantly as a basis for successful malpractice cases against nurses (Lilley et. al, 2005). Proper medication process and system analysis approach are the essential link in the prevention of medication errors from occurring in health care setting. Asim and Nagy ( 2007) in their study showed that there were statistically significant differences in responses across the participants years of experience and the current clinical working area about the medication error to occurred. Research done by Fu et al.(2007) showed that medical wards and intensive critical units are the commonest areas for medication error. Knowledge and practice Henry (2005) revealed that, most of the types of medication administration errors occurring are due to omission of dose, wrong doses. The other study done by Fu et al. (2007) showed the wrong dose is at the highest to occur. Undeniable to say that, most of the errors can occur when the nursing duty during medication administration is not taken seriously. In addition, medication error can occur due to nurse attitude who do not check whether the right patient received the right medication. Medication administration error can occur when the nurse failed to check the patients arm band with the patients medication administration record or calling the patient by name to make sure the right patient receiving the medication. According to (Nancy et.al 2003 ; Ulanimo et al, 2007) through their observations that had been done, they found that nurses were failing to compare the patients wristband with the medication administration record before giving the medication to the respected patient. Whats more, spelling errors and the similarities amongst the appearance different medication can cause confusing to the nurses. Unfamiliarity with drug medication such as new drug name with similar drug packing can cause medication administration error Fu et al (2007). The potential for medication errors will increase and leads to injury to the patient. Cases reported by FDA-Food and drug administration (2008); medication errors associated with Flomax and Volmax, Zantac and Zyrtec caused patient to suffer. For that reasons, unfamiliarity with the medication can cause the medication error to occur. Besides drug administration, there are other factors that lead to medication errors taking place such as interruptions while administering the medication. In the research done by Pape et al.( 2005) ,it mentioned that conversations with other staff members and visitors or multi-tasking that occurs during medication preparation and administration can result in errors. Thus, the normal procedures for checking the six rights are easily neglected. So that, reducing unnecessary conversation and other distractions is an important aspect in administering medication safely to patients. Personal issues Abandon the six essential rights of administering the medication, are latent conditions evidenced to be a part of factors that contribute to medication error. Personal factors mentioned in connection with prescribing errors included physical and mental well being, skills, and knowledge. However, there are few associated factors that contributed to medication error to happen among nurses. The factors are time pressures, fatigue or exhaustion a part of nurses (Mayo et al; Ulanimo et al, 2007). Study by Nick Barber et al (2002), 18 interviewees reported that they had felt tired, hungry, or unwell, and that these factors might have contributed to the error. A considerable percentage of reported that they omitted to give medication or gave at the wrong time, and also indicated that other nurses gave incorrect medication or incorrectly administered treatments; practice issues which were related to the nursing shortage and causing moral distress (Marj.T Mrayyam,2011). Healy and McKay (2000) also found workload to be most significantly correlated with mood disturbance. However, Payne (2001) did not find a significant relationship between workload and burnout, although levels of burnout in her study were lower than in related studies. The reasons for this variation are unclear, but seem likely to include differences of stress hardiness (Simoni Paterson 1997), of coping mechanisms (Payne 2001), of age and experience (McNeese-Smith 2000) or of the level of social support in the workplace (Ceslowitz 1989, Morano 1993, Healy McKay 2000). Hospital setting and workload The terms hectic, hassly, and busier than average were used to describe workload. Sometimes, workloads made nurses change their usual practice to try and save time From the study, it was shown that, it is not only the practice itself that contribute to medication administration error but other external factors can also contributed to medication errors such understaffing, inexperience nurses, design deficiencies, and inadequate equipment while administering the medication( Carlton Bleggen, 2006). Nurses and workload is one of the major factors that should be considered .Most of the hospitals are lacking of nurses and this small issues will lead to big impact of nurses practice. Stordeur et al. (2001) attempted to rank stressors in order of severity of impact, the main ones being ranked as: à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ High workload, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ Conflict with other nurses/physicians, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ experiencing a lack of clarity about tasks/goals, à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢ a head nurse who closely monitors the performance of staff in order to detect mistakes and to take corrective action. Lack of staff Staffing issues were also mentioned and included inadequate staffing, the effects of new or locum staff, and attending to another doctors patient. Providing cover for absent colleagues not only increased workload but also meant that care was being given for patients the doctor did not know. Several doctors drew the distinction between those patients whom they had admitted and knew throughout their stay, and those whom they had to take over for only part of their treatment. The most commonly used unit-level workload measure is the nurse-patient ratio( Pronovost PJ et al (2000). The nurse-patient ratio can be used to compare units and their patient outcomes in relation to nursing staffing. Previous research provides strong evidence that high nursing workloads at the unit level have a negative impact on patient outcomes (Olson V et al, 2004). Hospital nurse staffing is a matter of major concern because of the effects it can have on patient safety and quality of care. Nursing-sensitive outcomes are one indicator of quality of care and may be defined as variable patient or family caregiver state, condition, or perception responsive to nursing intervention (Needleman et al, 2003) Briefly, medication administration error should be avoided because direct results of the error can cause harm to the patient as well as increased health care costs. Moreover, indirect results include harm to nurses in terms of professional and personal status, confidence, and practice. Thus, to maintain the professionalism in delivering of care to the patient, medication administration process should take seriously among the nurses. In a 1999 study conducted by the Institute of Medicine, entitled To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, It is estimated that medication errors cause over 7,000 deaths annually. This chapter will explain on the research methodology of the study consist of research design, population, sample, setting and data-collection instrument. 2.1 Research design Research design is an overall plan for conducting study on order to answer the research questions (Polit et al; 2001: 67). The research designs signify the steps which will be used in conducting the research. According to Burns and Grove (2001:223) , research design is a guideline for the research process in order to achieve the intended result which will be the reflection of reality. Polit (1999:155) state that the research design will includes the most important decisions in research methodology that researcher makes in conducting the study. This study used cross-sectional; quantitative non-experimental correlation study using assisted-administered questionnaire to reveal the question incident of contributing factors that lead to medication error. 2.2 Population and sampling Population is an entire group of people that is interested to the researcher as define by Brink (1996:132-133).Burns and Grove (2001:366,810) define population as the whole set of individuals who meet the sampling criteria. A sample taken from population and it will include in the study which representing research population, if random sampling procedures has been adhere to. Random sampling would give every individual in the whole population the same and unbiased chance of participating in the study. Simple random sampling will be used in this study. The respondents are consisting of Registered Nurses in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah, Klang (HTAR) .The sample will be taken randomly from several discipline in HTAR. In order to get significant result, a sample size calculation formula has been used to determine the size of the sample for this study. Inclusion criteria for respondents are: Registered Nurse with Malaysia Nursing Board Understand Malay and English language and generally healthy. Have working experience at least 1 year. The participants are involves in direct patient care. Have an experience in administering the medication Exclusion criteria area: Unregistered nurses with Malaysia Nursing Board Have working experience less than 1 year Do not have an experience in administering medication 2.3 Research setting The study setting will be conducted in HTAR. The unit chosen is medical ward, surgical ward, Intensive Care Unit, Obstetrics and gynecology ward, Pediatrics ward, Emergency Department and orthopedic ward. HTAR is chosen because affordable cost and time constrain for me. 2.4 Study period Data collection February to April 2011 Data Processing/ analysing and writing up April to May 2011 Grantt Chart (refer to appendix ) First phase Screening for initial data from hospital record (secondary Data) in Hospital Tengku Ampuan Rahimah Identify the discipline units to be study Second phase Pilot study done to confirm feasibility of the study Collection and analyzed the questionnaire Third phase Obtain consent from subject The data are collected by using questionnaire in order to obtain the information regarding the study Fourth phase Analyze the data collection and writing up 2.5 Data collection Dempsey and Dempsey (2000:195) define questionnaires is a paper and pencil data collection instrument filled in by the respondents for the purpose of the research study. Characteristics of questionnaires had been listed out by Gillham (2000: 5-8) as below: A questionnaire is less expensive than interview. A lot of sample can be taken within short period of time. Questionnaires can reduce cost of using telephone and travels thus it is also feasible to be used by researchers who have full time jobs. Questionnaires are an easy way to get more information within a limited period of time. Respondents able to complete the questionnaires at their own time without pressure. Anonymity can be guaranteed. Reassuring the respondents that no one will know any feedback from them. This aspect was deemed to be very important in this study as the respondents could be reassured that they could state their honest opinions about factors might contribute to medication error without fear that employer would take action to them if their knowledge level is low. The research contents will display out numbers, facts and figures .No names should be mentioned not even the researcher nor did the supervisor know who provided which answers for specific questions. No different questionnaires are distributed; all questionnaires are standardized to limit the bias. 2.5.1 Development of questionnaires The development of questionnaires was based on the literature review (Chapter 2) and other research instrument used in similar studies. The questionnaire is compiled and discussed by researcher and supervisor. Changes suggested were implemented. Most of the changing pertaining to rephrasing specific items so that each items had only issues to address rather than multiple issues. There is part of questionnaires that had been corrected and combined from previous study to ensure the objective of study answer. 2.5.2 Pilot Study Pilot study was done to determine feasibility of the instrument .This shows a trial administration of newly developed questionnaires in order to identify the potential -problem encountered by participant. Brink and Wood (1998:259; 373) explained that pre-testing enabled the researcher to interact with the participant similar but they were exclude from the real respondents participating in actual study. These ensure the researcher to predict what would happen to the main study regards to participation. Pilot study was conducted with five staff nurses with year of experience more than 1 at the same hospital but different target unit which they will not selected to participate in the actual study. No apparent problems were encountered during the completion of the questionnaires. 2.5.3 Structure of the questionnaires The questionnaire is conducted in Malay/English language and is assisted-administered questionnaire. The questionnaires will be distributed to the nurses in the unit by the researcher. The researcher needs to explain about the objectives, target population and significance of the study. Some of the respondents will answer the questions by themselves and some of them need assistance while answering the questionnaires. The data obtained will be statistically analyzed using SPSS software. An effective strategy for nurses will be formulated based on the findings. The questionnaire is distributed to the whole chosen unit consist of 30 registered nurses in HTAR. The questions based on a structured questionnaire that composed of three parts.(refer to the appendix) Part 1 that consists of demographic data : year of working experience Part 2 Question consists of six incident of contributing factors which potentially lead to medication error. Factor 1: This section using closed -ended question (dichotomous question) directed towards the knowledge regarding the process for medication administration. This questionnaire edited from study that had done by Raja Lexshimi R.G et al (2009). Factor 2-6: This section is questions regarding factors contribution to medication error edited from the result of study done by Fu et. al (2007) which categorized into five categories which using Likert scale. The respondents are asked to indicate how much the declarative statements given from each category will influence to contribute to medication error. Personal neglect Heavy workload Unfamiliarity with medication New staff Complicated order 2.6 Data Analysis To identify the level of knowledge among nurses towards serving medication .It is also to identify the most incident of contributing factors which lead to medication error. A significant value of 0.05 was used to test for significance for all statistical tests. The chi square analysis was performed to determine the association between incident of contributing factors and the years of experience. The data collected will be analyzed using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) version 18. 0. 2.7 Research Variable Dependent Variable In this study, the dependent variable is years of experience Independent Variable In this study, the independent variables are the 6 incident of contributing factors ; Knowledge, Personal Neglect, Heavy Workload, Unfamiliar Medication, Newly staff and Complicated order. 2.8 Validity and Variable According to Polit and Hungler (1999:418), validity is the degree to which an instrument measures what it is designed to measure. The content of the questionnaire is adapted from the previous survey and study that had been done. Moreover the questionnaire used will be reviewed by a philosophy doctors (PhD). 2.9 Ethical consideration Permission from HTAR will be obtained from hospital authority to conduct this research. Each participants who involve in this study will be given inform consent. Furthermore, before distributing the questionnaire, each participant will be explained about the purpose of the study and consent form was given to the participants. They are free to agree or decline their participation in the study at any time. All information obtained from the participants will be kept confidential. The participants took 15 to 30 minutes to answer the questionnaire and the researcher collected it back after finished answering. Polit and Hungler (1999: 131-134) revealed that researcher therefore need to exercise care that the rights of individuals and institution are safeguarded. Administer medication is an everyday activity in nursing practice and nurses should have enough knowledge in order to perform this important job. The finding of these study shows that nurses knowledge in serving medication is sufficient. Most of the f=29 (96.7%) registered nurses able to answer the questionnaire correctly automatically make knowledge as low incident that will contribute to medication error. Reflected from the result, King (2004) and Coombs et al have similar result which reported the same. Nurses have the knowledge but the knowledge is limited especially on drugs administration. 43.3% did not know the frequent recommended site for heparin injections is at the abdomen (Caffrey, 2003).Nurses should improved their knowledge and highlight on different route of administer medication. Gerry Helen (2003) reported that time-span of experience and level of professional education was linked with level of knowledge in the administration of medications. Having extra educational qualifications among nurses were found to have contributed to a improved knowledge of medications. However in this study, 26.7% nurses practice wrongly which they did not check the patients ID band prior administering medication. It is also surprise 23.3% nurses violate the practice by administering medication prepared by other nurses. Benners and others (2002) agree source of errors include delivering too much medication, missed doses; wrong route; and wrong medication deliver due to misidentification of client. Mattan (1998) revealed that administering medicine effectively was a aspect of practice but it lacked quality, which is due to poor knowledge in pharmacology and practice. Manias et al. (2004) indicated that nurses infatuated the necessary knowledge and skills in medication administration such as monitoring effects of medication, assessing and evaluating patients condition prior to medication administration. In many cases drug errors arise as a result of nurses failure to follow policy (Keill and Johnson, 1993). 2) Personal Neglect From the data analyse, 18 (60%) nurses show personal neglect is in the low incident contribute to medication error. Nevertheless 4(13.3%) nurses indicate in the middle of administering drug, there was interruptions by others. A new study shows that interrupting nurses while theyre nursing to patients medication needs increases the likelihood of error. As the number of distractions increases, so do the number of errors and the risk to patient safety.    According to the study reported in the April 26, 2010 issues of the  Archives of Internal Medicine, four interruptions in the route of a single drug administration doubled the likelihood that the patient would experience a major mishap. 26.7% nurses indicate that personal neglect as a medium indicator of medication error. 3)