Ethics are the standards of right and wrong. They are the standards and values which influence our conduct and behavior. Ethics are sometimes called morals and the study of ethics is sometimes called moral philosophy. In the history of ethics there are three principal standards of conduct. These standards are happiness or pleasure; duty, virtue, or obligation; and perfection which is the most complete development of human potential. All people who have attempted to determine ethics have based their decision according to two chief principles. The first is that they think of something as right and the second is that the rest of society thinks of something as right. Therefore there is no real definition of what good ethics are; instead it is a personal choice. Your idea of good ethics may be entirely different from someone else’s idea of good ethics. Ethics are an individual’s personal value system and without them our society would be in chaos. (158)
The coming of Christianity marked a huge change in ethics, because it introduced a religious idea of what is good into our thoughts. In the view of a true Christian a person is completely dependent on God and cannot achieve righteousness through intelligence but only with the help of God. The main Christian ethical belief is “So whatever you wish that men would do to you, do so to them” - Matthew 7:12.
Work ethics is the desire to produce quality work and to give your best effort at everything that you do. Some qualities which determine good work ethics are integrity, reliability, perseverance, and the desire to succeed. Procrastination means putting off doing something because of habitual carelessness and laziness. Procrastination is one of the biggest signs of poor work ethics.
Good work ethics can be achieved by arriving on time and giving advance notice of absence if necessary, displaying loyalty, honesty, trustworthiness, dependability, reliability, initiative, self-discipline, and self-responsibility, respecting the rights of others; being a team worker and being cooperative, having appropriate clothing, grooming, hygiene and etiquette, demonstrating a positive attitude, being productive, having skills in personal management, time management, prioritizing, flexibility, stress management and the ability to deal with change, having appropriate verbal and nonverbal
skills, having leadership skills while maintaining appropriate relationships with supervisors and peers, and dealing appropriately with diversity and treating everyone with respect.
Work ethics affect every aspect of our lives whether we realize it or not. Work ethics or lack there of are the driving force for everything we do or don’t do. Most people who have achieved success have achieved it through good work ethics. A perfect example of this would be multi-billionaire Bill Gates. Bill Gates started out building computers out of his garage. His financial status was no different then that of the average working class American. However Bill Gates triumphed over adversity and rose to be the richest man in the world. He wasn’t born into his 40 billion dollars; he had to work for every penny of it. He showed incredibly good work ethics because he started his computer business very young and quickly shaped it into what it is now. Similarly most people aren’t born into an incredibly wealthy family but instead they have to work to build a life. In order to build a good life and have a secure future good work ethics are required. You can tell that you have good work ethics when you are working hard and achieving the goals that you have set for yourself. Conversely if you tend to procrastinate or if you lack productivity then it is apparent that you do not have good work ethics and you are not motivated.
Study ethics are similar to work ethics except they deal mainly with academics rather then all types of work. Study ethics are based on the same principles as work ethics such as attendance, attitude, productivity, organizational skills, cooperation, and respect. An example of good study ethics is not waiting until the last second to do your assignments, or doing your homework every night and showing up on time for class every day. Study ethics are being aware of what you have to do and then doing it rather than waiting and procrastinating.
From a students point of view study ethics are very important to succeed in school. Without study ethics a student cannot develop the skills he or she needs to eventually become a productive member of our society. Study ethics and work ethics go hand in hand for a student. If the student has poor work ethics then it likely that they lack study ethics as well. Benefits of good work and study ethics are success in any academic facility as well as success in attaining and maintaining employment. On the contrary consequences of having poor work and study ethics are being unable to keep a steady job and struggling through school.
In the words of Vigil an early Roman poet “Persistent work triumphed” meaning, constant labor leads to your ultimate success and unless you have work ethic all of your dreams will remain nothing but dreams. However if you work hard and keep trying then one day your dreams will become your reality and you will achieve the success you have worked for. Similar to the quote by Virgil, Euripides once said “Great effort equals great results” – Euripides. This quote means the more effort you put into a task the better the results are. So if you have good work ethics then you will put forward a consistently good effort and will achieve good results.
It can be said that idle hands are dangerous hands. This is evident in the quote “Work is the grand cure of all of the maladies and miseries that ever beset mankind” – Thomas Carlyle. This quote means that if everyone in the world would do their fair share of work then the world would be a much better place and mankind as a species would be flourishing instead of killing each other in acts of greed and hatred. Similarly Albert Einstein said “Everything that is really great and inspiring is created by the individual who can labour in freedom.” – Albert Einstein. This quote means that if we can learn to work without being forced to do so then we will yield good results. It can also be said that “The secret of happiness is not in doing what one likes, but in liking what one has to do.” - James M. Barrie. This means that true happiness doesn’t come from getting your way all the time and doing whatever you want to do. Instead it comes from enjoying the work that you have to do, because you will get satisfaction from a job well done. If you only do what you want to do then it will eventually catch up with because you will have neglected to do the essentials.
It has been said that "Work banishes those three great evils boredom, vice and poverty." – Voltaire. This quote reiterates the point made earlier that idle hands can be dangerous hands. If you keep yourself busy with constructive activities then you will be conquering boredom because you will be busy doing something, vice because your mind will be focused on work rather than practicing evil, and poverty because you will be compensated for the work that you’re doing.
We should always try and practice good work and study ethics because the work that we do is a reflection of ourselves. This point is demonstrated in the quote “Every man's work, whether it be literature, or music or pictures or architecture or anything else, is always a portrait of himself.” - Samuel Butler. This quote shows us that in order to put forward a good image of ourselves we must give our best effort at everything that we do. In order to put forth a good image of ourselves we must put forward our best effort in everything we do. As Thomas Edison once said “Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration.” - Thomas Edison. This quote means that the only way to achieve greatness is through a great deal of work because inspiration means nothing if you don’t have the work ethic to follow through with your plans. Personally I have many philosophies on both work and study ethics. Study ethics has helped to achieve what I consider academic success this semester. Last semester however was a different story. I was too easily distracted and therefore couldn’t concentrate on my school work. When exam time came I really had to buckle down and go through countless hours of studying so that I could keep my average high enough. If I had better work and study ethics last semester then I would have made the principals list rather then the honors roll. In my opinion without good work and study ethics you cannot achieve anything. People may argue that athletes do not need good study ethics and they are successful, but this would not be entirely true because most athletes are drafted out of university and in order to get into university you must have good study ethics. Athletes also have good work ethics because it takes a tremendous amount of discipline to stay in good physical shape.
In conclusion work ethics and study ethics are essential to humans. Without ethics there would be chaos and everyone would be doing what they want to do. In other words there would be total anarchy without ethics. In order to maintain order in our lives and function as a society we have to fulfill our commitments as decent human beings and make positive contributions as individuals. In closing “Commitments are only as strong as the will to fulfill them” – Pierre Trudeau
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Friday, July 24, 2009
Market Demand Essay
In today’s healthcare market, it seems like managed care companies are paying for less screenings, wellness and preventative medicine. Everyone wants to be healthy and know the numbers that can affect their lives. The thought of getting a disease or dying at an early age scares all of us but especially the baby boomer and elderly population. This large growing market is willing to open up their wallets and pay cash for the piece of mind that they are healthy. Hospitals are promoting heart tests to determine the risk of a heart attack; diagnostic imaging companies are setting up at the malls and charging hundreds of dollars to screen for cancer or stroke risks. It seems like there is a large profit to be seen in the preventative medicine area.
This environment is what brought about the potential for my patient care and education center. The location of the center is next to the pharmacy inside a Fry’s Food and Drug Store. It is centrally located on the west side of Phoenix and is close to several adult active living communities. It seems like the market potential for our services would be bountiful. The only issue is that the clinic is not marketing available services to its fullest potential.
The patient care center offers screening programs for diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and asthma. Along with these screening services, the center offers diabetes and asthma education programs to help newly diagnosed patient control their disease (Attachment 1). The majority of these services are provided by pharmacists that are certified in these disease states and a dietitian that offers nutrition advice and counseling. The services are not meant to replace physicians or regular office visits but to complement them.
Since the opening of the center, the primary focus of marketing has been on customers that shop at this Fry’s Food and Drug Store and surrounding stores. The surrounding markets such as senior centers, hospitals, medical offices, churches, schools, employers groups have not been pursued because of limited resources. As the business grows so does the opportunities to extend the programs to other market shares, the difficulty has been in defining the best direction and focus for that growth.
These types of health screenings and patient education services being provided by a pharmacist is a fairly new concept. At first some patients are skeptical of the services that are provided so the first step is to educate them on the benefit they provide. Once a person with diabetes sees how the center can help them understand their disease and make the most out of the short time they spend with their doctor at each visit, the word is out. They generally return and refer more potential customers. The center has been shown to be valuable for the winter visitor population that needs to have cholesterol screenings and other tests done for their physicians back home.
When evaluating the services available at the center, there are enough screenings and services to potentially offer value to the older population in the area. Educating the potential customer and selling them on the benefits of the services is the key for the center’s success.
Looking at the demographic information, the center is placed in an area that makes it convenient for the general population. The focus has been too small and needs to be on a larger market than just the shoppers at the supermarket location. Although research of the supermarket customers found the area to have a high older population with medications that focused them towards chronic disease states, the percentage of those customers that have taken advantage of the center’s services has been minimal. The center needs to refocus on the larger market share it wants to promote services to in the area. Possibly sending out flyers to outlying communities and making sure busy medical offices that may not have extra time to spend with newly diagnosed patients are aware of our services.
With the rushed healthcare environment that most patients encounter today, it is important to realize that not all patients are getting the information and services they need to stay in control of their health. The health screening programs available need to offer people more than just a number; they need to offer information and resources along with the test value so the services can aid in decision making and lifestyle changes needed to affect their well being. Patient empowerment is very valuable and wellness and preventative health programs may be part of the equation once people are aware of the benefits these programs offer.
__________________
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This environment is what brought about the potential for my patient care and education center. The location of the center is next to the pharmacy inside a Fry’s Food and Drug Store. It is centrally located on the west side of Phoenix and is close to several adult active living communities. It seems like the market potential for our services would be bountiful. The only issue is that the clinic is not marketing available services to its fullest potential.
The patient care center offers screening programs for diabetes, cholesterol, high blood pressure, osteoporosis and asthma. Along with these screening services, the center offers diabetes and asthma education programs to help newly diagnosed patient control their disease (Attachment 1). The majority of these services are provided by pharmacists that are certified in these disease states and a dietitian that offers nutrition advice and counseling. The services are not meant to replace physicians or regular office visits but to complement them.
Since the opening of the center, the primary focus of marketing has been on customers that shop at this Fry’s Food and Drug Store and surrounding stores. The surrounding markets such as senior centers, hospitals, medical offices, churches, schools, employers groups have not been pursued because of limited resources. As the business grows so does the opportunities to extend the programs to other market shares, the difficulty has been in defining the best direction and focus for that growth.
These types of health screenings and patient education services being provided by a pharmacist is a fairly new concept. At first some patients are skeptical of the services that are provided so the first step is to educate them on the benefit they provide. Once a person with diabetes sees how the center can help them understand their disease and make the most out of the short time they spend with their doctor at each visit, the word is out. They generally return and refer more potential customers. The center has been shown to be valuable for the winter visitor population that needs to have cholesterol screenings and other tests done for their physicians back home.
When evaluating the services available at the center, there are enough screenings and services to potentially offer value to the older population in the area. Educating the potential customer and selling them on the benefits of the services is the key for the center’s success.
Looking at the demographic information, the center is placed in an area that makes it convenient for the general population. The focus has been too small and needs to be on a larger market than just the shoppers at the supermarket location. Although research of the supermarket customers found the area to have a high older population with medications that focused them towards chronic disease states, the percentage of those customers that have taken advantage of the center’s services has been minimal. The center needs to refocus on the larger market share it wants to promote services to in the area. Possibly sending out flyers to outlying communities and making sure busy medical offices that may not have extra time to spend with newly diagnosed patients are aware of our services.
With the rushed healthcare environment that most patients encounter today, it is important to realize that not all patients are getting the information and services they need to stay in control of their health. The health screening programs available need to offer people more than just a number; they need to offer information and resources along with the test value so the services can aid in decision making and lifestyle changes needed to affect their well being. Patient empowerment is very valuable and wellness and preventative health programs may be part of the equation once people are aware of the benefits these programs offer.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Market Demand essay (Market Demand essay example) writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Marketing topics.
Get professional Market Demand essay writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM ESSAY ON MARKET DEMAND RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Management Transformation Research Paper
Management has gone through a significant level of fundamental transformation as a result of tremendous changes and increasing uncertainty in the business environment.
In the past, the business conditions were generally stable and predictable. Industry players were few and competition was not as intense or frenzied. Markets were primarily local or located within a limited geographical and cultural sphere and there was not much product heterogeneity. Meanwhile, the workforce was homogeneous and technology was less sophisticated and more mechanical. Thus, organizational values and goals were focussed primarily towards efficiency and stability. Planning was centralized and goals were generally set over a longer time-horizon. Management structures tended to be rigid and vertical and were characterized by top-down, autocratic hierarchies -coordination and decision-making primarily emanated from the top. People were grouped by common function and specialization, and essentially controlled and directed towards the achievement of bottom-line results. Rules and regulations were strictly enforced and operational procedures were generally standardized.
As the business environment increased in complexity and changes happening very rapidly, organization and management have been undergoing significant transformation to cope with these changes and reduce the impact of the uncertainties that these changes have brought along. Among the significant changes that have tremendous impact on the old management paradigm on a macro-perspective are globalization, technological innovation and changing social, political and economic conditions or circumstances. On a micro-level, these changes cover the rapidly shifting and increasingly sophisticated customer tastes and needs as well as the entry of competitors offering substitute products. Internally, these changes would include the transformation of the internal corporate culture as well as enhancements in the management of human resources in response to increasing workplace diversity and evolving needs of the workforce. To cope with these changes, organizations have adapted new approaches to management veering towards a learning organization.
PLANNING
Under the traditional management, strategy and planning have been the domain of the top managers. A central planning department was put in place composed of groups of planning specialists reporting directly to the CEO or the president. Given that the business environment was relatively stable and predictable, organizational goals and plans were usually long-term. However, as the business environment grew more competitive, complicated and fast-paced, the traditional/formal planning has become obsolete or inappropriate. Among the problems being cited are as follows:
a) Planners may not be in touch with the constantly changing market realities faced by the front-liners who are in direct contact with the customers;
b) Inhibition of flexibility whereby managers and workers may be stuck trying to follow a plan that no longer works due to changes in the environment; and,
c) Restrained creativity and learning among managers and workers as a result of the implementation of strict goals and plans set by the top management.
To address these problems, companies are shifting towards decentralized planning wherein planning experts were assigned to major departments or divisions to help them develop their own strategic plans. In some cases, organizations use planning task forces made up of temporary groups of line managers who have the responsibility of developing strategic plans. Others have taken planning a step further by involving workers at every level to develop dynamic plans to meet the organization's needs.
ORGANIZING
Traditional organizations were characteristically rigid and the structures vertical. Decision-making was centralized from the top with a clear line of command and authority. Work specialization and departmentalization was imposed given the traditional firm's focus on the value of efficiency. The traditional approach, however, resulted to poor coordination and communication among the different departments or divisions. In today's fast-shifting business environment and increasing market uncertainty, this approach has become ineffective.
In response to the changing environment, managers are shifting towards a learning organization approach which is characterized by a horizontal structure, team-based, decentralized decision-making, open information, empowered employees and a strong, adaptive corporate culture. In approaching the process of organizing, however, managers should consider various contingency factors that could influence the organization structure. Among these contingency factors are:
a) Strategic Goals involving either a product differentiation strategy (more horizontal) or a cost leadership strategy (more vertical).
b) The environmental uncertainty such that the higher the level of uncertainty, the more horizontal should be the organization.
c) The level of manufacturing and service technologies.
d) Departmental interdependence.
LEADING
Leading under the traditional organization was characteristically autocratic. As mentioned earlier, decision-making was centralized from the top with a clear-cut chain of command and authority. Communication channels were formal and generally downward. The traditional manager relies primarily on his legitimate, reward and coercive powers to influence his subordinates.
Learning organizations have adapted a more democratic and participative kind of leadership in response to the highly evolving business environment. The trend towards employee empowerment has given employees more say in the organization; thus making them contribute more to the organizational goals. Leadership in the learning organization relies more on expert and referent power. Among the types of leadership under the new organization include charismatic and transformational leadership. However, the traditional type of leadership may still be appropriate in certain instances such as the case for John McCoy of Banc One. Thus, approaches to leadership in the organization depends on certain situations which may include leader-member relationship, task structure, position power as well as follower readiness.
Under the learning organization, leadership is guided by the principal of "controlling with" others. The leader builds relationship by creating a shared vision and shaping the culture that can help achieve it.
CONTROLLING
Controlling under the traditional organization is bureaucratic in nature. It involved monitoring and influencing employee behavior through extensive use of rules, policies, centralized control and hierarchy of authority, rewards system and other formal mechanisms. Responsibility for control rests with quality control supervisors and not the employees. Employees rarely participate in the control process. Being a rigid organization, technology is used to control the flow and pace of work to monitor employees. While this approach may enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness, the absence of systems to clarify what is expected of the employees may reduce motivation level in the organization.
Centralizing control, as mentioned earlier, tends to restrict creativity and flexibility that an organization would need to cope with the changes and uncertainties in the environment. As such, managers have started to implement decentralized control systems with employees participating in a wider range of areas including setting goals, determining standards of performance, governing quality and designing control systems. With decentralized control, employees are expected to pool their areas of expertise to arrive at procedures better than managers working alone.
Among the recent innovation in organizational control that was driven by the rising global competition and increasing customer satisfaction is Total Quality Management (TQM) which involves an organization-wide effort to infuse quality into every activity of a company.
There are other changes in organizational control resulting from the changes in organizational internal and external environments such as globalization, changes in management structures and methods, information sharing and employee participation as well as the increasing quality demands from customers and the need to cut cost to remain competitive. These include International Quality Standard (e.g. ISO 9000), Economic Value Added (EVA), Open-Book Management and Activity Based Costing (ABC).
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Management Transformation research paper (Management Transformation research paper example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom research paper writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Management topics.
Get professional Management Transformation research paper writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM RESEARCH PAPER ON MANAGEMENT TRANSFORMATION RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
In the past, the business conditions were generally stable and predictable. Industry players were few and competition was not as intense or frenzied. Markets were primarily local or located within a limited geographical and cultural sphere and there was not much product heterogeneity. Meanwhile, the workforce was homogeneous and technology was less sophisticated and more mechanical. Thus, organizational values and goals were focussed primarily towards efficiency and stability. Planning was centralized and goals were generally set over a longer time-horizon. Management structures tended to be rigid and vertical and were characterized by top-down, autocratic hierarchies -coordination and decision-making primarily emanated from the top. People were grouped by common function and specialization, and essentially controlled and directed towards the achievement of bottom-line results. Rules and regulations were strictly enforced and operational procedures were generally standardized.
As the business environment increased in complexity and changes happening very rapidly, organization and management have been undergoing significant transformation to cope with these changes and reduce the impact of the uncertainties that these changes have brought along. Among the significant changes that have tremendous impact on the old management paradigm on a macro-perspective are globalization, technological innovation and changing social, political and economic conditions or circumstances. On a micro-level, these changes cover the rapidly shifting and increasingly sophisticated customer tastes and needs as well as the entry of competitors offering substitute products. Internally, these changes would include the transformation of the internal corporate culture as well as enhancements in the management of human resources in response to increasing workplace diversity and evolving needs of the workforce. To cope with these changes, organizations have adapted new approaches to management veering towards a learning organization.
PLANNING
Under the traditional management, strategy and planning have been the domain of the top managers. A central planning department was put in place composed of groups of planning specialists reporting directly to the CEO or the president. Given that the business environment was relatively stable and predictable, organizational goals and plans were usually long-term. However, as the business environment grew more competitive, complicated and fast-paced, the traditional/formal planning has become obsolete or inappropriate. Among the problems being cited are as follows:
a) Planners may not be in touch with the constantly changing market realities faced by the front-liners who are in direct contact with the customers;
b) Inhibition of flexibility whereby managers and workers may be stuck trying to follow a plan that no longer works due to changes in the environment; and,
c) Restrained creativity and learning among managers and workers as a result of the implementation of strict goals and plans set by the top management.
To address these problems, companies are shifting towards decentralized planning wherein planning experts were assigned to major departments or divisions to help them develop their own strategic plans. In some cases, organizations use planning task forces made up of temporary groups of line managers who have the responsibility of developing strategic plans. Others have taken planning a step further by involving workers at every level to develop dynamic plans to meet the organization's needs.
ORGANIZING
Traditional organizations were characteristically rigid and the structures vertical. Decision-making was centralized from the top with a clear line of command and authority. Work specialization and departmentalization was imposed given the traditional firm's focus on the value of efficiency. The traditional approach, however, resulted to poor coordination and communication among the different departments or divisions. In today's fast-shifting business environment and increasing market uncertainty, this approach has become ineffective.
In response to the changing environment, managers are shifting towards a learning organization approach which is characterized by a horizontal structure, team-based, decentralized decision-making, open information, empowered employees and a strong, adaptive corporate culture. In approaching the process of organizing, however, managers should consider various contingency factors that could influence the organization structure. Among these contingency factors are:
a) Strategic Goals involving either a product differentiation strategy (more horizontal) or a cost leadership strategy (more vertical).
b) The environmental uncertainty such that the higher the level of uncertainty, the more horizontal should be the organization.
c) The level of manufacturing and service technologies.
d) Departmental interdependence.
LEADING
Leading under the traditional organization was characteristically autocratic. As mentioned earlier, decision-making was centralized from the top with a clear-cut chain of command and authority. Communication channels were formal and generally downward. The traditional manager relies primarily on his legitimate, reward and coercive powers to influence his subordinates.
Learning organizations have adapted a more democratic and participative kind of leadership in response to the highly evolving business environment. The trend towards employee empowerment has given employees more say in the organization; thus making them contribute more to the organizational goals. Leadership in the learning organization relies more on expert and referent power. Among the types of leadership under the new organization include charismatic and transformational leadership. However, the traditional type of leadership may still be appropriate in certain instances such as the case for John McCoy of Banc One. Thus, approaches to leadership in the organization depends on certain situations which may include leader-member relationship, task structure, position power as well as follower readiness.
Under the learning organization, leadership is guided by the principal of "controlling with" others. The leader builds relationship by creating a shared vision and shaping the culture that can help achieve it.
CONTROLLING
Controlling under the traditional organization is bureaucratic in nature. It involved monitoring and influencing employee behavior through extensive use of rules, policies, centralized control and hierarchy of authority, rewards system and other formal mechanisms. Responsibility for control rests with quality control supervisors and not the employees. Employees rarely participate in the control process. Being a rigid organization, technology is used to control the flow and pace of work to monitor employees. While this approach may enhance organizational efficiency and effectiveness, the absence of systems to clarify what is expected of the employees may reduce motivation level in the organization.
Centralizing control, as mentioned earlier, tends to restrict creativity and flexibility that an organization would need to cope with the changes and uncertainties in the environment. As such, managers have started to implement decentralized control systems with employees participating in a wider range of areas including setting goals, determining standards of performance, governing quality and designing control systems. With decentralized control, employees are expected to pool their areas of expertise to arrive at procedures better than managers working alone.
Among the recent innovation in organizational control that was driven by the rising global competition and increasing customer satisfaction is Total Quality Management (TQM) which involves an organization-wide effort to infuse quality into every activity of a company.
There are other changes in organizational control resulting from the changes in organizational internal and external environments such as globalization, changes in management structures and methods, information sharing and employee participation as well as the increasing quality demands from customers and the need to cut cost to remain competitive. These include International Quality Standard (e.g. ISO 9000), Economic Value Added (EVA), Open-Book Management and Activity Based Costing (ABC).
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Management Transformation research paper (Management Transformation research paper example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom research paper writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Management topics.
Get professional Management Transformation research paper writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. A+ quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM RESEARCH PAPER ON MANAGEMENT TRANSFORMATION RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Managerial Influences Essay
Managerial Behaviour and the goals of management have long been identified by many as independent of the goals of shareholders . Two models have attempted to explain why the goals are different and how these goals are achieved; Baumol’s Theory of Revenue Maximisation and Marris’s Model of Managerial Enterprise . Initially the Two models will be briefly explained. Then, by reference to determinants of managerial remuneration, the empirical evidence of the occurrences of the determinants, the two models will be examined. This is to come to a conclusion on which model is best supported by the empirical evidence.
Models
Marris’s model of managerial enterprise is based on the goal of the manager to increase the balanced growth of the firm . This balance is achieved by offsetting two opposite goals; Maximisation of the growth of demand for goods/services of the firm and maximisation of growth of capital. Both of these goals require opposite treatment of retained profit.
To maximise growth in capital the management must distribute as much profit as possible back to the shareholders. This keeps the shareholders content with their investment and they will not sell shares or remove the directors. It can result in rising share values and reduce the risk of the firm being taken over. This therefore appeals to the management’s main aims, job security by not being taken over or removed.
The flip side of the coin is to increase the demand customers have for the firm’s goods or services. This is achieved by using as much of the firms profits for investment and increase the firms growth. This would increase the management’s utility at the sacrifice of shareholder utility.
Marris’s model requires that these to aims be balanced to achieve the maximum use of retained profit use for investment and still keeping the shareholders content. To achieve this balance it is necessary to employ two constraints; Managerial constraint and Job security constraint.
The managerial constraint is set by the skills of the current management team or by the limit by which the management team can be increase to increase those skills. Therefore, this limit is the maximum growth achievable. R & D would also limit the growth of the firm. If new products or new designs of existing products can’t be produced, the product will only have a certain life cycle.
Job security constraint is set by the amount the manager has to do to reduce the chances of dismissal. The manager may have to distribute a certain amount of profits to share holders to keep them happy with the manager’s performance. It is also necessary to keep share prices at a high enough level to reduce the chance of take over. Reducing risky investments will have similar effects.
The effects of these constraints can be seen from figure 1 (see below) and it can be seen that a balanced growth point is where management feel the trade off between job security and maximisation of growth is most desirable. The y-axis on the graph shows the profit distributed to shareholders and the x-axis depicts the growth achievable from investment. The growth curve symbolises the managerial constraint. This is curved because the most profitable investments are undertaken first. Management can undertake a policy which would maximise growth (point B) but at the sacrifice of distributed profit which would risk job security. A more appropriate trade off may be point A where distributed profits are much higher and growth is reduced by a smaller amount.
Baumol’s Theory states that the goal of management is not profit maximisation (shareholder goal) but revenues maximisation (increased sales). Baumol gives several reasons for this belief . The reasons to focus on are to do with remuneration of management, job security and prestige (which undoubtedly can lead to increased or decreased remuneration).
Baumol feels there is evidence that directors’ salaries and slacks are more closely correlated with sales of the firm than profit. So it would follow from this that managers would maximise sales for self interest.
Job security in Baumol’s theory is shown from the desire of management to have satisfactory profits, apposed to maximised profits. Maximised profit in one year may look bad for management when in subsequent years profits are not at the same maximised level.
Prestige can come from high sales. This prestige can increase remuneration (from head hunting or shareholder retaining their services) or if bad, increase the threat of management being replaced or reduce remuneration.
To achieve sales maximisation managers have to calculate the conditions which will achieve the maximum revenue. This is not the same as profit maximisation. Point A represents profit maximisation. Point B represents the point where sales maximisation, point Z, appears on the profit ability curve. It can be seen that profit maximisation and sales maximisation are not normally the same thing. Point A is the desired position for the shareholder and point B is the desired position for, in Baumol’s theory, management.
However shareholders will require dividends to stay happy with the firm’s performance. In Baumol’s theory there an Operative profit constraint.
The operative profit restraint is the minimum amount of net profit that the shareholder will be satisfied with. If this restraint is active it may reduce the maximum sales the directors can achieve. If this operative profit constraint is active then output will be greater as a sales maximiser than a Profit maximiser. When a operative profit constraint is operative then the maximum sales drop to point Y and the intersection on the profitability falls to point C. It can be seen that management can be limited in their sales maximisation policy if operative profit is closer to the profit maximisation point.
Empirical Analysis
When discussing which model best reflect the reality of managerial behaviour it is necessary to examine what motivates managers and what determines there objectives. Focusing on remuneration as manager main motivation gives the opportunity to examine empirical evidence of what determines the amounts management receive.
Martin Conyon and Paul Gregg Examined 170 firms between 1985 and 1990 . They looked into what factors determined top directors’ pay. In conclusion of their results, it is commented that the results they received pointed to previous, earlier studies , which showed that directors’ pay had very little to do with corporate performance. Therefore, from this evidence, profit, considered a major factor in determining corporate, would not affect the directors’ pay. This would be consistent with Baumol’s model and to a certain extent Marris’s model too. Baumol’s theory identifies sales maximisation as the primary aim. Marris’s model identifies the importance of growth which is identified as a factor with similar directors’ pay correlations. Conyon and Gregg also found from there results that there seemed to definite correlation between increases in directors’ remuneration and increase in sales again consistent with Baumol’s model.
Paul Gregg, Stephen Machin and Stefan Szymanski, came to a similar conclusion in a later study (this study included the period from 1988 – 1991 when Britain was in recession). Higher sales had a direct correlation with high directors’ remuneration and identified growth as a primary salary driver.
David Shipley published a study in to pricing policies in British manufacturing firms in 1981 . Although his study was more specifically on the pricing policies his finding suggested that there was some support for profit maximisation in manufacturing firms’ management . The majority of firms in the study used multiple goals when setting pricing policies . This would not entirely be consistent with Baumol’s theory which states focus of management to maximise sales only and primarily. All other goals displayed by the study were, if not profit orientated, practiced under the premise that profit targets would be met. This is consistent with the operative profit constraint in Baumol’s theory and the job security constraint in Marris’s model. This study would point more towards Marris’s model as there is more emphasis on increasing profit if for no other reason than to improve the amount of money available to put into investment and improve growth while still satisfying shareholders.
While sales are quoted to be a major factor in managerial remuneration. It is also stated that this is not the only factor which would affect their pay. It is therefore assumed that manager’s should consider all factors that affect them. Baumol does not identify other factors which in his theory management should consider. It has been has been suggested that early studies do not reflect the current sensitivity of remuneration of management to performance of firms. This is closer to Marris’s model.
Size of firms has been identified as the most important factor in terms of remuneration. For the size of a firm to increase it must grow. Marris’s model identifies the importance of growth to management.
There have been articles and studies that point to the unreliability of empirical evidence on corporate governance and managerial remuneration factors. So many methodical issues relating to principal and agency theory have been identified as the reasons.
Conclusion
Only remuneration factors have been considered when examining the two models. This makes the discussion incomplete as factors such as corporate structure, managerial labour market factors and personal managerial preferences have not been discussed. There are other managerial behaviour models and theories which have not been included which may be more consistent with the empirical evidence gathered in studies referred to, such as Williamson’s model of managerial discretion. Also more detail explanations of the two models referred to may have allowed closer examination of empirical evidence. Due to these factors, the discussion is limited. However, as I feel that management has the greater ability to influence there pay and it could be argued this is the most important reward for anyone in employment; this was the most appropriate factor to use.
To generate a conclusion from the arguments in this discussion is difficult as with many studies and opinions no conclusive results have been shown. It is my opinion that although sales may be an important factor in remuneration, many other factors exist. Baumol’s theory does not allow for management to apply other factors to their management goals. Marris’s model identifies growth in general as an important factor to the agent (management) and shows the constant battle between satisfying the principal (shareholders) and achieving managements’ utility. This appears more consistent with the difficulties shareholders have in aligning their managements’ interests with there own.
__________________
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Models
Marris’s model of managerial enterprise is based on the goal of the manager to increase the balanced growth of the firm . This balance is achieved by offsetting two opposite goals; Maximisation of the growth of demand for goods/services of the firm and maximisation of growth of capital. Both of these goals require opposite treatment of retained profit.
To maximise growth in capital the management must distribute as much profit as possible back to the shareholders. This keeps the shareholders content with their investment and they will not sell shares or remove the directors. It can result in rising share values and reduce the risk of the firm being taken over. This therefore appeals to the management’s main aims, job security by not being taken over or removed.
The flip side of the coin is to increase the demand customers have for the firm’s goods or services. This is achieved by using as much of the firms profits for investment and increase the firms growth. This would increase the management’s utility at the sacrifice of shareholder utility.
Marris’s model requires that these to aims be balanced to achieve the maximum use of retained profit use for investment and still keeping the shareholders content. To achieve this balance it is necessary to employ two constraints; Managerial constraint and Job security constraint.
The managerial constraint is set by the skills of the current management team or by the limit by which the management team can be increase to increase those skills. Therefore, this limit is the maximum growth achievable. R & D would also limit the growth of the firm. If new products or new designs of existing products can’t be produced, the product will only have a certain life cycle.
Job security constraint is set by the amount the manager has to do to reduce the chances of dismissal. The manager may have to distribute a certain amount of profits to share holders to keep them happy with the manager’s performance. It is also necessary to keep share prices at a high enough level to reduce the chance of take over. Reducing risky investments will have similar effects.
The effects of these constraints can be seen from figure 1 (see below) and it can be seen that a balanced growth point is where management feel the trade off between job security and maximisation of growth is most desirable. The y-axis on the graph shows the profit distributed to shareholders and the x-axis depicts the growth achievable from investment. The growth curve symbolises the managerial constraint. This is curved because the most profitable investments are undertaken first. Management can undertake a policy which would maximise growth (point B) but at the sacrifice of distributed profit which would risk job security. A more appropriate trade off may be point A where distributed profits are much higher and growth is reduced by a smaller amount.
Baumol’s Theory states that the goal of management is not profit maximisation (shareholder goal) but revenues maximisation (increased sales). Baumol gives several reasons for this belief . The reasons to focus on are to do with remuneration of management, job security and prestige (which undoubtedly can lead to increased or decreased remuneration).
Baumol feels there is evidence that directors’ salaries and slacks are more closely correlated with sales of the firm than profit. So it would follow from this that managers would maximise sales for self interest.
Job security in Baumol’s theory is shown from the desire of management to have satisfactory profits, apposed to maximised profits. Maximised profit in one year may look bad for management when in subsequent years profits are not at the same maximised level.
Prestige can come from high sales. This prestige can increase remuneration (from head hunting or shareholder retaining their services) or if bad, increase the threat of management being replaced or reduce remuneration.
To achieve sales maximisation managers have to calculate the conditions which will achieve the maximum revenue. This is not the same as profit maximisation. Point A represents profit maximisation. Point B represents the point where sales maximisation, point Z, appears on the profit ability curve. It can be seen that profit maximisation and sales maximisation are not normally the same thing. Point A is the desired position for the shareholder and point B is the desired position for, in Baumol’s theory, management.
However shareholders will require dividends to stay happy with the firm’s performance. In Baumol’s theory there an Operative profit constraint.
The operative profit restraint is the minimum amount of net profit that the shareholder will be satisfied with. If this restraint is active it may reduce the maximum sales the directors can achieve. If this operative profit constraint is active then output will be greater as a sales maximiser than a Profit maximiser. When a operative profit constraint is operative then the maximum sales drop to point Y and the intersection on the profitability falls to point C. It can be seen that management can be limited in their sales maximisation policy if operative profit is closer to the profit maximisation point.
Empirical Analysis
When discussing which model best reflect the reality of managerial behaviour it is necessary to examine what motivates managers and what determines there objectives. Focusing on remuneration as manager main motivation gives the opportunity to examine empirical evidence of what determines the amounts management receive.
Martin Conyon and Paul Gregg Examined 170 firms between 1985 and 1990 . They looked into what factors determined top directors’ pay. In conclusion of their results, it is commented that the results they received pointed to previous, earlier studies , which showed that directors’ pay had very little to do with corporate performance. Therefore, from this evidence, profit, considered a major factor in determining corporate, would not affect the directors’ pay. This would be consistent with Baumol’s model and to a certain extent Marris’s model too. Baumol’s theory identifies sales maximisation as the primary aim. Marris’s model identifies the importance of growth which is identified as a factor with similar directors’ pay correlations. Conyon and Gregg also found from there results that there seemed to definite correlation between increases in directors’ remuneration and increase in sales again consistent with Baumol’s model.
Paul Gregg, Stephen Machin and Stefan Szymanski, came to a similar conclusion in a later study (this study included the period from 1988 – 1991 when Britain was in recession). Higher sales had a direct correlation with high directors’ remuneration and identified growth as a primary salary driver.
David Shipley published a study in to pricing policies in British manufacturing firms in 1981 . Although his study was more specifically on the pricing policies his finding suggested that there was some support for profit maximisation in manufacturing firms’ management . The majority of firms in the study used multiple goals when setting pricing policies . This would not entirely be consistent with Baumol’s theory which states focus of management to maximise sales only and primarily. All other goals displayed by the study were, if not profit orientated, practiced under the premise that profit targets would be met. This is consistent with the operative profit constraint in Baumol’s theory and the job security constraint in Marris’s model. This study would point more towards Marris’s model as there is more emphasis on increasing profit if for no other reason than to improve the amount of money available to put into investment and improve growth while still satisfying shareholders.
While sales are quoted to be a major factor in managerial remuneration. It is also stated that this is not the only factor which would affect their pay. It is therefore assumed that manager’s should consider all factors that affect them. Baumol does not identify other factors which in his theory management should consider. It has been has been suggested that early studies do not reflect the current sensitivity of remuneration of management to performance of firms. This is closer to Marris’s model.
Size of firms has been identified as the most important factor in terms of remuneration. For the size of a firm to increase it must grow. Marris’s model identifies the importance of growth to management.
There have been articles and studies that point to the unreliability of empirical evidence on corporate governance and managerial remuneration factors. So many methodical issues relating to principal and agency theory have been identified as the reasons.
Conclusion
Only remuneration factors have been considered when examining the two models. This makes the discussion incomplete as factors such as corporate structure, managerial labour market factors and personal managerial preferences have not been discussed. There are other managerial behaviour models and theories which have not been included which may be more consistent with the empirical evidence gathered in studies referred to, such as Williamson’s model of managerial discretion. Also more detail explanations of the two models referred to may have allowed closer examination of empirical evidence. Due to these factors, the discussion is limited. However, as I feel that management has the greater ability to influence there pay and it could be argued this is the most important reward for anyone in employment; this was the most appropriate factor to use.
To generate a conclusion from the arguments in this discussion is difficult as with many studies and opinions no conclusive results have been shown. It is my opinion that although sales may be an important factor in remuneration, many other factors exist. Baumol’s theory does not allow for management to apply other factors to their management goals. Marris’s model identifies growth in general as an important factor to the agent (management) and shows the constant battle between satisfying the principal (shareholders) and achieving managements’ utility. This appears more consistent with the difficulties shareholders have in aligning their managements’ interests with there own.
__________________
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Tuesday, July 21, 2009
A Rose for Emily Essay
Emily Grieson was a woman with a tragic life story. Through the story of A Rose for Emily, the writer, William Faulkner makes symbolic references of Emily’s appearance. Through Emily’s life transitions and mental disintegration her appearance becomes dilapidated. Judith Fetterley, a feminist writer, also mentions the effects of the time period and what is expected of a woman on Emily’s appearance, in her interpretation of the story. In an interview with William Faulkner he also describes the pressure of the time period on Emily.
A Rose for Emily tells of family history of insanity. Her father was a mighty overbearing man. The Grierson’s held themselves in higher regard than they were worthy of. When Emily was of age, her father would not let any man court her. She was described as a slender woman dressed in white when she was a young woman ready for marriage.
Emily shows signs of a mental collapse when her father passed away. She left his body in her house for three days and did not show any sign of grief. The town people did not question her mental capacity because her father was very controlling of her life. Faulkner describes the town people saying, “We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which robbed her, as people will. Emily was sick for a long time after her father’s death. She cut her hair short, making her look like a little girl. She was described as looking tragic, yet serene. She was actually thinner than usual.”
Emily meets Homer Barron and have a romantic relationship. The town people all whisper their opinions of Emily throughout their courtship. They whisper things like, “Poor Emily.” The town people all believed that Emily should marry. Emily was living a life pressured by the time period that believed that women were worth as much as the man or she marries. Emily was not married at all. She did many things that made the town people talk and speculate. She bought Arsenic which made the town think she might kill herself. Then, she bought a man’s outfit, which made the town believe she was going to marry Homer Barron. She did not do either.
After Homer disappeared, Emily was only seen in her window on occasion. She grew to be fat with a head of gray hair. There was a brief time span of six or seven years that Emily brought herself into the public to give art lessons to young girls. After the girls were grown and stopped the lessons, Emily completely retreated to her house never to be seen again except through the windows. After Emily died, the town discovered the body of Homer Barron in the room prepared for a wedding in the abandoned house. On the pillow next to him, a strand of Emily’s gray hair.
In A Rose For Emily, there was a quote that suggest Emily would embrace the one person that molded her life thus far; “We knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which robbed her, as people will.” Judith Fetterley suggest that Faulkner’s descriptions of Emily’s appearance was symbolic of Emily becoming her father. She says, “Having been consumed by her father, Emily in turn feeds off Homer Barron, becoming, after his death, suspiciously fat. Or, to put it another way, it is as if, after her father’s death, she has reversed his act of incorporating her by incorporating and becoming him, metamorphosed from the slender figure in white to the obese figure in black whose hair is ‘a vigorous iron-gray, like the hair of an active man.’ She has taken into herself the violence in him which thwarted her and has reenacted it upon Homer Barron.”
I agree with William Faulkner that Emily deserved a rose. Emily was a victim in her life. She was raised by a strict, overbearing father that would not let her date. In that time period, women married for a good social standing. Emily did not have a lot going for her in her life. She was apart from her family for most of her life. She only knew what her father would allow for her to know. As soon as he died, she was alone. Through the story, the people of the town talk as if they know what is best for Emily, but no one really offers a helping hand. She did not have any guidance. She locked herself in her house while her mind deteriorated. When she met and courted Homer Barron, she still had hope that she would be okay. When Homer did not offer to marry her, she lost her hope. She does not want to be abandoned again, so she kills him and keeps him in her room for the rest of her life. She also had a family history of being crazy. Faulkner writes that her aunt had mental illness. Emily did not have much going for her. If she were to get a jail sentence, it would be a tragic ending to an already tragic story. Emily’s life was a jail sentence of sorts. She locked herself away and lived a lonely, depressing life. She was an unfortunate person who suffered from adverse circumstances deserved a rose.
__________________
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A Rose for Emily tells of family history of insanity. Her father was a mighty overbearing man. The Grierson’s held themselves in higher regard than they were worthy of. When Emily was of age, her father would not let any man court her. She was described as a slender woman dressed in white when she was a young woman ready for marriage.
Emily shows signs of a mental collapse when her father passed away. She left his body in her house for three days and did not show any sign of grief. The town people did not question her mental capacity because her father was very controlling of her life. Faulkner describes the town people saying, “We did not say she was crazy then. We believed she had to do that. We remembered all the young men her father had driven away and we knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which robbed her, as people will. Emily was sick for a long time after her father’s death. She cut her hair short, making her look like a little girl. She was described as looking tragic, yet serene. She was actually thinner than usual.”
Emily meets Homer Barron and have a romantic relationship. The town people all whisper their opinions of Emily throughout their courtship. They whisper things like, “Poor Emily.” The town people all believed that Emily should marry. Emily was living a life pressured by the time period that believed that women were worth as much as the man or she marries. Emily was not married at all. She did many things that made the town people talk and speculate. She bought Arsenic which made the town think she might kill herself. Then, she bought a man’s outfit, which made the town believe she was going to marry Homer Barron. She did not do either.
After Homer disappeared, Emily was only seen in her window on occasion. She grew to be fat with a head of gray hair. There was a brief time span of six or seven years that Emily brought herself into the public to give art lessons to young girls. After the girls were grown and stopped the lessons, Emily completely retreated to her house never to be seen again except through the windows. After Emily died, the town discovered the body of Homer Barron in the room prepared for a wedding in the abandoned house. On the pillow next to him, a strand of Emily’s gray hair.
In A Rose For Emily, there was a quote that suggest Emily would embrace the one person that molded her life thus far; “We knew that with nothing left, she would have to cling to that which robbed her, as people will.” Judith Fetterley suggest that Faulkner’s descriptions of Emily’s appearance was symbolic of Emily becoming her father. She says, “Having been consumed by her father, Emily in turn feeds off Homer Barron, becoming, after his death, suspiciously fat. Or, to put it another way, it is as if, after her father’s death, she has reversed his act of incorporating her by incorporating and becoming him, metamorphosed from the slender figure in white to the obese figure in black whose hair is ‘a vigorous iron-gray, like the hair of an active man.’ She has taken into herself the violence in him which thwarted her and has reenacted it upon Homer Barron.”
I agree with William Faulkner that Emily deserved a rose. Emily was a victim in her life. She was raised by a strict, overbearing father that would not let her date. In that time period, women married for a good social standing. Emily did not have a lot going for her in her life. She was apart from her family for most of her life. She only knew what her father would allow for her to know. As soon as he died, she was alone. Through the story, the people of the town talk as if they know what is best for Emily, but no one really offers a helping hand. She did not have any guidance. She locked herself in her house while her mind deteriorated. When she met and courted Homer Barron, she still had hope that she would be okay. When Homer did not offer to marry her, she lost her hope. She does not want to be abandoned again, so she kills him and keeps him in her room for the rest of her life. She also had a family history of being crazy. Faulkner writes that her aunt had mental illness. Emily did not have much going for her. If she were to get a jail sentence, it would be a tragic ending to an already tragic story. Emily’s life was a jail sentence of sorts. She locked herself away and lived a lonely, depressing life. She was an unfortunate person who suffered from adverse circumstances deserved a rose.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample A Rose for Emily essay (A Rose for Emily essay example) writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on A Rose for Emily topics.
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Monday, July 20, 2009
Electronic Commerce Dissertation
INTRODUCTION
Kaiser Permanente began humbly with a single good intentioned surgeon who aspired to provide medical care for a population of the working class. The reality of economics quickly augmented the plan of practicing medicine when debts were not covered by the doctor due to lack of insurance by his patients. The creativity of developing a prepaid healthcare plan foreshadowed the future of today’s HMO’s. Kaiser is the leading service provider in the country for healthcare coverage with nearly nine million subscribers. Political reform and patient outcry of unfair coverage practices have transforming the operations of HMO’s today from their origins.
Electronic commerce has integrated into the business world and must be embraced to survive competitive external forces. Kaiser was successful in their EC implementation through interfacing with their consumers regarding healthcare coverage information. Technological advances were embraced through strategic planning and integrated into the business model to advocate customer satisfaction and retention. Physician interaction with new EC technology has been successful within the Kaiser group where resistance has surfaced in other organizations.
HISTORY OF HEALTH MAINTIENCE ORGANIZATIONS AND KAISER PERMANENTE
Kaiser Permanente’s origin was during the great depression when Dr. Sidney Garfield established a prepaid health plan for construction workers assembling the Los Angeles aqueduct in the Mojave dessert. Dr. Garfield built Contractors General Hospital near Desert Center, California where he was oriented to patients without insurance and those with insurance had lengthy reimbursement periods. Since many patients were being treated without payments to the hospital, a program was devised for insurance companies to pay the doctor a fixed amount for each worker per day in advance. This prepayment coverage enrolled many workers and brought salvation to the hospital financial concerns. The project was completed and another construction site was identified as having the same problem by Henry Kaiser at the Grand Coulee Dam. Dr. Garfield recruited a team of physicians and solved this problem with the first prepaid group practice for over 7000 people. This project led into the next challenge which was the influx of shipyard workers into Richmond, California for World War II ship production. The number of people to be covered with this plan would be approximately 30,000. In 1945, the end of the war brought the current phase of prepaid healthcare we are familiar with today, the publicly available Permanente Health Plan. Kaiser Permanente is America's largest not-for-profit health care organization which maintains a membership of 8.1 million members in 9 states. “An integrated health delivery system, Kaiser Permanente organizes and provides or coordinates members' care, including preventive care such as well-baby and prenatal care, immunizations, and screening diagnostics; hospital and medical services; and pharmacy services. Social benefit activities include assistance to the uninsured and special populations; training new health professionals; introducing new delivery and financing methods into the health care arena at large; and through our clinical research efforts, developing and sharing better ways to care for patients.” (www.kaiserpermanente.org).
Patient demands and political pressures on HMO’s Government regulations in the health care industry and the emergence of the HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) were precursors in the Kaiser’s decision to implement changes in their organization. In 1998, a total of $288 million in lost revenue also fueled the changes to a new platform. Kaiser moved away from the traditional method of business communications via paper, telephones, and faxes. The new web based systems that would be implemented would require a $2 billion dollar investment to commit to the EC platform (Turban, 2002).
With escalating costs in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, Congress looked to HMO’s for assistance in 1973 when the HMO Act which offered government subsidies to HMO’s and gave nonlicensed HMO executives the power to challenge the medical judgment of licensed physicians. The Act also mandated that all businesses with more than 25 employees offer HMO’s as a health care option which employers had previously avoided because of increased operation costs. Congress began allowing states to filter Medicaid recipients into managed care programs whether they wanted to or not through Medicaid Section 1115 waivers in the early 1980’s. The Department of Health and Human Services points out that this violates federal Medicaid law which prohibits limits on treatment or choice of doctor. Congress repealed the employer mandate in 1995 but the HMO’s had established their positions by that time in the market. Health Resources and Services Administration reports that working Americans enrolled with managed care insurance increased from 1988 with 29% to 1997 with 50%. Citizens’ Council on Health Care states that “By mandating managed care for some patient groups, and by passing legislation allowing HMOs to deny care, the government has assured maximum profit for HMOs, with little risk. Public officials profit politically by promising "free" health care. Managed care allows politicians to promise health care without actually guaranteeing access to it.” (Intellectual Ammunition, 1998).
Patient’s voices regarding HMO’s were heard by the government in the late 1990’s. Patients were often being denied coverage after their HMO has approved the costly medical procedure. New regulations designed to prevent HMOs from backing out at the last minute and leave consumers to pay the bill were enacted. If a case arose where a HMO would refuse to offer medical coverage, the new rules give the insurance department the power to order the HMO to provide the care, after reviewing the patient's case (Patel, 1997).
On February 8, 2000, HMO executives met in Dallas, Texas to discuss possible methods of improving their image with the public. “United Health Group, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Humana, pushed for industry wide structural changes that would restore to physicians the power to make treatment decisions without being second-guessed by managed-care administrators. Such a move would require a radical shift in the business practice of most HMO’s. It would also confer industry leadership to United Health and Kaiser, which already give doctors exclusive authority to make treatment decisions for patients covered by their plans. The HMO industry has been assaulted on all fronts by lawsuits over treatment decisions, criticism of their business practices, and investor discontent. An HMO reform bill with a limited right to sue that was stalled in Congress for three years had passed both the House and Senate and was in a conference committee awaiting final congressional approval. But the sharpest spur to action for the HMO’s is their languishing stock values, which continue to droop despite double-digit increases in the insurance premiums many HMO’s charge their customers.” (Eliopoulos, 2000). Numerous companies invested countless dollars into campaigning for the public’s approval. This would not become a reality for the HMO’s as they were under fire from consumers, healthcare workers and the government.
According to a news report in September of 2000, the 104,000 workers of the Marriott hotel chain have paid 12% premium rate increases for the last two years without any change in the services provided. Brendan Keegan, Marriot's vice president of Human Resources stated "In the last couple of years they (HMO premiums) have risen quite dramatically compared to the previous years.” Marriott’s employees are currently switching their coverage from a HMO to a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) which is also a network of physicians who offer discounted rates without second-guessing of the physician by the insurance clerks. Keegan also states that "Right now we believe that the PPO provides a better, greater cost effectiveness and higher quality.” (Andrews, 2000). This was the emergence of the PPO’s which would compete with the established HMO’s.
Kaiser Permanente implements EC
Kaiser utilized an electronic commerce platform to set up a comprehensive web site designed to facilitate information between consumers and their organization. Information included on the site is related to individual and group healthcare coverage quotes, benefits, co-pays, enrollment, qualification, locating facilities and physicians, and contact numbers. Kaiser was recognized for achieving the top producing broker status of small business group plans in California in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The shift from utilizing staff to answer phone call banks concerning coverage to the web based quote and service format has increased productivity and revenue for the organization (www.kaiserpermanente.org, 2003).
CHALLENGES WORKING WITH PHYSICIANS
Kaiser Permanente actively recruits and caters to physician needs and professional standards. There are over 11,000 members on staff which operate in multi-specialty teams to deliver quality care (http://physiciancareers.kp.org/aboutpf.htm, 2003). This tailoring to the physicians yields higher job satisfaction rates and cooperation with industry trends and organizational goals.
Physicians, as with most people, are not receptive to being dictated or coerced. The favored method of having someone conform to a change within an organization is to have them “buy into” the changes. An example of this could be demonstrating the benefits or reduced work load by utilizing the proposed operational changes. One form of streamlining business is computerized applications such as accessing medical related data through handheld computers. The Handspring Visor has the capability to run software from Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. such as The Physicians' Desk Reference, The Medical Letter's Handbook of Adverse Drug Interactions, McGraw-Hill's Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine Companion Handbook, and The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics (Winsky, 2001). In addition to referencing text style information, the physicians could also participate in development of a computer based medical record retrieval system such as the Meditech Physician Website which is maintained specifically for physicians using their Health Care Information System. The site was designed to disperse knowledge of clinical systems, facilitate dialogue regarding clinical systems use and development, and promote physician involvement with clinical systems application within an institution. (www.meditech.com, 2003). Another computerized medical record system has been designed by Clinicare. Their computerized medical record application allows a physician to quickly access a patient’s record and view data related to each encounter. The record can be simultaneously accessed from any number of terminals which is more fluid than the previous SQL data base software that locked out the record when it was accessed at a single point. This feature allows multiple healthcare staff members to view information in real time. The software has several valuable functions such as user definable encounter forms, search & select capabilities, editing of records, audit controls, patient profiling, detailed or summary listings, scheduling capabilities, report generators, and tracking for lab results (www.clinicare.com, 2003). These capabilities are not merely a matter of convenience for physicians; these functions can increase productivity and save revenue and valuable time.
Establishing physician patient relationships are critical to ensuring an ongoing quality healthcare continuum for the patient’s well being. Studies by Beth Israel Hospital in Boston have shown that patient’s desire an understanding of their condition, ongoing personal relationships with their physician, and knowledge of the effects of the disease on their lives (Mgebroff, 1998). This fiduciary relationship evolved from the patient’s dependence on the physician and his or her medical knowledge. There is currently a shift from this model towards a sharing of responsibility for decision making with the patient (www.medceu.com, 2003). Patients are increasingly becoming involved with weighing the risks of treatments and alternative modalities through internet education and informed consent. Some patients are even meeting with their physicians in cyberspace for their appointments where they can discuss treatments, review test results, and receive commentary from their personal physicians (Monnich, 2001). It is estimated that 70 million Americans have used the internet to acquire health-related information (Anderson, 2003). With the face of patient physician interaction constantly changing due to the adaptation of internet information technology; there are problems associated with professional resistance to the potential of the internet. Having a computer screen in an examination room may increase a physician’s productivity and improve patient interaction in two methods. The first benefit is the demonstration of the physician’s ongoing knowledge of current technology through the presence of the computer screen. The second benefit realized by the physician is the utilization of computerized technology for patient information and teaching. This technology yields increased confidence by the patient in their physician and a better grasp of concepts concerning their disease process and prognosis.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE APPLICATIONS
Kaiser implemented Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), and Consumer to Business (C2B) applications within their electronic commerce platform. B2B was utilized in setting up web sites for each organization that Kaiser held a contract with and the origination of an expedited shipping service to reduce inventory and storage costs. B2C functions were formatted to allow consumers to receive real time pricing quotes and scheduling of their physician appointments. The intranet functions serviced the internal employees efficiently by allowing them to expedite their workload. Examples of this are ordering supplies, equipment and services and accessing pricing options for customers seeking healthcare coverage. Digitized versions of patient medical records and lab reports are accessible easily and accurately to practitioners and clinicians. One of the most important applications within the intranet is the ability to check for possible drug interactions and to suggest cost sensitive alternative medications is applicable. An example of C2B could be considered within the nature of physician-hospital relationships. Since physicians are customers to hospitals they practice for, their utilization of hospital based computerized systems for medical records or pharmacy related issues would fall under the C2B category. Supply chain management integrates the business processes from the suppliers to the end users of a system. Kaiser implemented a platform of allowing the customers, or end users, to access and manipulate data concerning their healthcare policies through EC venues. By placing an interface between the customer and Kaiser, a streamlined effect of delivering services and information occurred. Actual manning of the phones could be decreased by Kaiser due to the efficiency of the EC system for handling customer interaction.
Other EC applications that reduce costs and unnecessary steps are in the pharmacy and medical records departments. Meditech is a forerunner in Health Care Information Systems (HCIS). Their systems operate on a Windows based client server platform and also have the option of running on their own developed MAGIC Operating System. These software applications offer numerous services such as patient registration and appointment scheduling, authorization and referral management, billing and accounts receivable, revenue management, patient care management, computerized medical records, order entry systems, medication verification for pharmacy services, patient education, imaging, laboratory, data archiving, and staff intranet communication systems (www.meditech.com, 2003). The ability to rapidly access patient medical records and identify potential harmful drug interactions is two areas that can increase consumer satisfaction for the healthcare industry. Utilizing EC tools which allow the medical record and pharmacy departments to interact with the staff will not only expedite customer services but also relieve staff of a portion of their workload.
CONCLUSION
Kaiser utilized an electronic commerce platform to set up a comprehensive web site designed to facilitate information between consumers and their organization. Information included on the site is related to individual and group healthcare coverage quotes, benefits, co-pays, enrollment, qualification, locating facilities and physicians, and contact numbers. The shift from utilizing staff to answer phone call banks concerning coverage to the web based quote and service format has increased productivity and revenue for the organization creating a competitive edge over competing industry participants. Kaiser also implemented Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), and Consumer to Business (C2B) applications within their electronic commerce platform. Creation of B2B web sites for each organization that Kaiser held a contract with and the origination of an expedited shipping service reduced inventory and storage costs. B2C functions were formatted to allow consumers to receive real time pricing quotes and scheduling of their physician appointments. This supply chain management platform allowed the customers, or end users, to access and manipulate data concerning their healthcare policies through EC venues. By placing an interface between the customer and Kaiser, a streamlined effect of delivering services and information occurred. Actual manning of the phones could be decreased by Kaiser due to the efficiency of the EC system for handling customer interaction. The intranet functions serviced the internal employees, including physicians, efficiently by allowing them to expedite their workload. These EC implementations by Kaiser aids in maintaining their leadership position within the healthcare industry as the number one HMO provider in America.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Electronic Commerce dissertation (Electronic Commerce dissertation example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom dissertation writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom dissertations, thesis papers and research proposals on Electronic Commerce related topics.
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Kaiser Permanente began humbly with a single good intentioned surgeon who aspired to provide medical care for a population of the working class. The reality of economics quickly augmented the plan of practicing medicine when debts were not covered by the doctor due to lack of insurance by his patients. The creativity of developing a prepaid healthcare plan foreshadowed the future of today’s HMO’s. Kaiser is the leading service provider in the country for healthcare coverage with nearly nine million subscribers. Political reform and patient outcry of unfair coverage practices have transforming the operations of HMO’s today from their origins.
Electronic commerce has integrated into the business world and must be embraced to survive competitive external forces. Kaiser was successful in their EC implementation through interfacing with their consumers regarding healthcare coverage information. Technological advances were embraced through strategic planning and integrated into the business model to advocate customer satisfaction and retention. Physician interaction with new EC technology has been successful within the Kaiser group where resistance has surfaced in other organizations.
HISTORY OF HEALTH MAINTIENCE ORGANIZATIONS AND KAISER PERMANENTE
Kaiser Permanente’s origin was during the great depression when Dr. Sidney Garfield established a prepaid health plan for construction workers assembling the Los Angeles aqueduct in the Mojave dessert. Dr. Garfield built Contractors General Hospital near Desert Center, California where he was oriented to patients without insurance and those with insurance had lengthy reimbursement periods. Since many patients were being treated without payments to the hospital, a program was devised for insurance companies to pay the doctor a fixed amount for each worker per day in advance. This prepayment coverage enrolled many workers and brought salvation to the hospital financial concerns. The project was completed and another construction site was identified as having the same problem by Henry Kaiser at the Grand Coulee Dam. Dr. Garfield recruited a team of physicians and solved this problem with the first prepaid group practice for over 7000 people. This project led into the next challenge which was the influx of shipyard workers into Richmond, California for World War II ship production. The number of people to be covered with this plan would be approximately 30,000. In 1945, the end of the war brought the current phase of prepaid healthcare we are familiar with today, the publicly available Permanente Health Plan. Kaiser Permanente is America's largest not-for-profit health care organization which maintains a membership of 8.1 million members in 9 states. “An integrated health delivery system, Kaiser Permanente organizes and provides or coordinates members' care, including preventive care such as well-baby and prenatal care, immunizations, and screening diagnostics; hospital and medical services; and pharmacy services. Social benefit activities include assistance to the uninsured and special populations; training new health professionals; introducing new delivery and financing methods into the health care arena at large; and through our clinical research efforts, developing and sharing better ways to care for patients.” (www.kaiserpermanente.org).
Patient demands and political pressures on HMO’s Government regulations in the health care industry and the emergence of the HMO (Health Maintenance Organization) were precursors in the Kaiser’s decision to implement changes in their organization. In 1998, a total of $288 million in lost revenue also fueled the changes to a new platform. Kaiser moved away from the traditional method of business communications via paper, telephones, and faxes. The new web based systems that would be implemented would require a $2 billion dollar investment to commit to the EC platform (Turban, 2002).
With escalating costs in the Medicaid and Medicare programs, Congress looked to HMO’s for assistance in 1973 when the HMO Act which offered government subsidies to HMO’s and gave nonlicensed HMO executives the power to challenge the medical judgment of licensed physicians. The Act also mandated that all businesses with more than 25 employees offer HMO’s as a health care option which employers had previously avoided because of increased operation costs. Congress began allowing states to filter Medicaid recipients into managed care programs whether they wanted to or not through Medicaid Section 1115 waivers in the early 1980’s. The Department of Health and Human Services points out that this violates federal Medicaid law which prohibits limits on treatment or choice of doctor. Congress repealed the employer mandate in 1995 but the HMO’s had established their positions by that time in the market. Health Resources and Services Administration reports that working Americans enrolled with managed care insurance increased from 1988 with 29% to 1997 with 50%. Citizens’ Council on Health Care states that “By mandating managed care for some patient groups, and by passing legislation allowing HMOs to deny care, the government has assured maximum profit for HMOs, with little risk. Public officials profit politically by promising "free" health care. Managed care allows politicians to promise health care without actually guaranteeing access to it.” (Intellectual Ammunition, 1998).
Patient’s voices regarding HMO’s were heard by the government in the late 1990’s. Patients were often being denied coverage after their HMO has approved the costly medical procedure. New regulations designed to prevent HMOs from backing out at the last minute and leave consumers to pay the bill were enacted. If a case arose where a HMO would refuse to offer medical coverage, the new rules give the insurance department the power to order the HMO to provide the care, after reviewing the patient's case (Patel, 1997).
On February 8, 2000, HMO executives met in Dallas, Texas to discuss possible methods of improving their image with the public. “United Health Group, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and Humana, pushed for industry wide structural changes that would restore to physicians the power to make treatment decisions without being second-guessed by managed-care administrators. Such a move would require a radical shift in the business practice of most HMO’s. It would also confer industry leadership to United Health and Kaiser, which already give doctors exclusive authority to make treatment decisions for patients covered by their plans. The HMO industry has been assaulted on all fronts by lawsuits over treatment decisions, criticism of their business practices, and investor discontent. An HMO reform bill with a limited right to sue that was stalled in Congress for three years had passed both the House and Senate and was in a conference committee awaiting final congressional approval. But the sharpest spur to action for the HMO’s is their languishing stock values, which continue to droop despite double-digit increases in the insurance premiums many HMO’s charge their customers.” (Eliopoulos, 2000). Numerous companies invested countless dollars into campaigning for the public’s approval. This would not become a reality for the HMO’s as they were under fire from consumers, healthcare workers and the government.
According to a news report in September of 2000, the 104,000 workers of the Marriott hotel chain have paid 12% premium rate increases for the last two years without any change in the services provided. Brendan Keegan, Marriot's vice president of Human Resources stated "In the last couple of years they (HMO premiums) have risen quite dramatically compared to the previous years.” Marriott’s employees are currently switching their coverage from a HMO to a PPO (Preferred Provider Organization) which is also a network of physicians who offer discounted rates without second-guessing of the physician by the insurance clerks. Keegan also states that "Right now we believe that the PPO provides a better, greater cost effectiveness and higher quality.” (Andrews, 2000). This was the emergence of the PPO’s which would compete with the established HMO’s.
Kaiser Permanente implements EC
Kaiser utilized an electronic commerce platform to set up a comprehensive web site designed to facilitate information between consumers and their organization. Information included on the site is related to individual and group healthcare coverage quotes, benefits, co-pays, enrollment, qualification, locating facilities and physicians, and contact numbers. Kaiser was recognized for achieving the top producing broker status of small business group plans in California in 2000, 2001, and 2002. The shift from utilizing staff to answer phone call banks concerning coverage to the web based quote and service format has increased productivity and revenue for the organization (www.kaiserpermanente.org, 2003).
CHALLENGES WORKING WITH PHYSICIANS
Kaiser Permanente actively recruits and caters to physician needs and professional standards. There are over 11,000 members on staff which operate in multi-specialty teams to deliver quality care (http://physiciancareers.kp.org/aboutpf.htm, 2003). This tailoring to the physicians yields higher job satisfaction rates and cooperation with industry trends and organizational goals.
Physicians, as with most people, are not receptive to being dictated or coerced. The favored method of having someone conform to a change within an organization is to have them “buy into” the changes. An example of this could be demonstrating the benefits or reduced work load by utilizing the proposed operational changes. One form of streamlining business is computerized applications such as accessing medical related data through handheld computers. The Handspring Visor has the capability to run software from Franklin Electronic Publishers, Inc. such as The Physicians' Desk Reference, The Medical Letter's Handbook of Adverse Drug Interactions, McGraw-Hill's Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine Companion Handbook, and The Washington Manual of Medical Therapeutics (Winsky, 2001). In addition to referencing text style information, the physicians could also participate in development of a computer based medical record retrieval system such as the Meditech Physician Website which is maintained specifically for physicians using their Health Care Information System. The site was designed to disperse knowledge of clinical systems, facilitate dialogue regarding clinical systems use and development, and promote physician involvement with clinical systems application within an institution. (www.meditech.com, 2003). Another computerized medical record system has been designed by Clinicare. Their computerized medical record application allows a physician to quickly access a patient’s record and view data related to each encounter. The record can be simultaneously accessed from any number of terminals which is more fluid than the previous SQL data base software that locked out the record when it was accessed at a single point. This feature allows multiple healthcare staff members to view information in real time. The software has several valuable functions such as user definable encounter forms, search & select capabilities, editing of records, audit controls, patient profiling, detailed or summary listings, scheduling capabilities, report generators, and tracking for lab results (www.clinicare.com, 2003). These capabilities are not merely a matter of convenience for physicians; these functions can increase productivity and save revenue and valuable time.
Establishing physician patient relationships are critical to ensuring an ongoing quality healthcare continuum for the patient’s well being. Studies by Beth Israel Hospital in Boston have shown that patient’s desire an understanding of their condition, ongoing personal relationships with their physician, and knowledge of the effects of the disease on their lives (Mgebroff, 1998). This fiduciary relationship evolved from the patient’s dependence on the physician and his or her medical knowledge. There is currently a shift from this model towards a sharing of responsibility for decision making with the patient (www.medceu.com, 2003). Patients are increasingly becoming involved with weighing the risks of treatments and alternative modalities through internet education and informed consent. Some patients are even meeting with their physicians in cyberspace for their appointments where they can discuss treatments, review test results, and receive commentary from their personal physicians (Monnich, 2001). It is estimated that 70 million Americans have used the internet to acquire health-related information (Anderson, 2003). With the face of patient physician interaction constantly changing due to the adaptation of internet information technology; there are problems associated with professional resistance to the potential of the internet. Having a computer screen in an examination room may increase a physician’s productivity and improve patient interaction in two methods. The first benefit is the demonstration of the physician’s ongoing knowledge of current technology through the presence of the computer screen. The second benefit realized by the physician is the utilization of computerized technology for patient information and teaching. This technology yields increased confidence by the patient in their physician and a better grasp of concepts concerning their disease process and prognosis.
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE APPLICATIONS
Kaiser implemented Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), and Consumer to Business (C2B) applications within their electronic commerce platform. B2B was utilized in setting up web sites for each organization that Kaiser held a contract with and the origination of an expedited shipping service to reduce inventory and storage costs. B2C functions were formatted to allow consumers to receive real time pricing quotes and scheduling of their physician appointments. The intranet functions serviced the internal employees efficiently by allowing them to expedite their workload. Examples of this are ordering supplies, equipment and services and accessing pricing options for customers seeking healthcare coverage. Digitized versions of patient medical records and lab reports are accessible easily and accurately to practitioners and clinicians. One of the most important applications within the intranet is the ability to check for possible drug interactions and to suggest cost sensitive alternative medications is applicable. An example of C2B could be considered within the nature of physician-hospital relationships. Since physicians are customers to hospitals they practice for, their utilization of hospital based computerized systems for medical records or pharmacy related issues would fall under the C2B category. Supply chain management integrates the business processes from the suppliers to the end users of a system. Kaiser implemented a platform of allowing the customers, or end users, to access and manipulate data concerning their healthcare policies through EC venues. By placing an interface between the customer and Kaiser, a streamlined effect of delivering services and information occurred. Actual manning of the phones could be decreased by Kaiser due to the efficiency of the EC system for handling customer interaction.
Other EC applications that reduce costs and unnecessary steps are in the pharmacy and medical records departments. Meditech is a forerunner in Health Care Information Systems (HCIS). Their systems operate on a Windows based client server platform and also have the option of running on their own developed MAGIC Operating System. These software applications offer numerous services such as patient registration and appointment scheduling, authorization and referral management, billing and accounts receivable, revenue management, patient care management, computerized medical records, order entry systems, medication verification for pharmacy services, patient education, imaging, laboratory, data archiving, and staff intranet communication systems (www.meditech.com, 2003). The ability to rapidly access patient medical records and identify potential harmful drug interactions is two areas that can increase consumer satisfaction for the healthcare industry. Utilizing EC tools which allow the medical record and pharmacy departments to interact with the staff will not only expedite customer services but also relieve staff of a portion of their workload.
CONCLUSION
Kaiser utilized an electronic commerce platform to set up a comprehensive web site designed to facilitate information between consumers and their organization. Information included on the site is related to individual and group healthcare coverage quotes, benefits, co-pays, enrollment, qualification, locating facilities and physicians, and contact numbers. The shift from utilizing staff to answer phone call banks concerning coverage to the web based quote and service format has increased productivity and revenue for the organization creating a competitive edge over competing industry participants. Kaiser also implemented Business to Business (B2B), Business to Consumer (B2C), and Consumer to Business (C2B) applications within their electronic commerce platform. Creation of B2B web sites for each organization that Kaiser held a contract with and the origination of an expedited shipping service reduced inventory and storage costs. B2C functions were formatted to allow consumers to receive real time pricing quotes and scheduling of their physician appointments. This supply chain management platform allowed the customers, or end users, to access and manipulate data concerning their healthcare policies through EC venues. By placing an interface between the customer and Kaiser, a streamlined effect of delivering services and information occurred. Actual manning of the phones could be decreased by Kaiser due to the efficiency of the EC system for handling customer interaction. The intranet functions serviced the internal employees, including physicians, efficiently by allowing them to expedite their workload. These EC implementations by Kaiser aids in maintaining their leadership position within the healthcare industry as the number one HMO provider in America.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Electronic Commerce dissertation (Electronic Commerce dissertation example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom dissertation writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom dissertations, thesis papers and research proposals on Electronic Commerce related topics.
Get professional Electronic Commerce dissertation writing help from our professional Ph.D. and Master's academic writers. Premium quality and 100% plagiarism are guaranteed! Feel free to ORDER A CUSTOM DISSERTATION ON ELECTRONIC COMMERCE RIGHT NOW and you won't be disappointed.
Age Discrimination Research Paper
Age suits are now the fastest-growing category of discrimination complaints filed with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 1967 when congress passed the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), the worry was that older workers were being discriminated against in hiring. One might say that the ADEA might, itself have a disparate impact on the older employees of the age forty and above. Because of the competitive job market, employers are not only looking at the qualifications of an applicant, they also may be looking to see if there is any gray in your hair. Times are changing for the work force above forty that require more specialized skills. Companies are leaning more towards computers, email, and the Internet to be more competitive. In the past it used to be you could not get ahead because of the "glass ceiling", now it is more like the "gray ceiling". The aged work force must take personal responsibility in job hunting, because looks can be an asset or detriment. Experience is no longer a prerequisite for an offer.
The U.S. congress passed the ADEA, thinking it was going to protect workers of forty years old and above during the hiring phase. Yet only ten percent of the claims involve the hiring process, the other ninety-percent is wrongful discharge. People are quicker to sue an employer if they were fired rather than during the hiring process. Proving a case for wrongful discharge would be much easier than trying to read someone’s state of mind during the interview. In an article by Ira Carnahan, she brings to light an interesting fact; the first decade after passage of ADEA, unemployment among workers fifty-five and above rose from 2.5% to 4.6%. A possible reason for the rise could be computers in the workplace or employers are becoming more sensitive with their aging workforce.
Companies wanting to evolve to the next level to be more competitive are using computers and other high-tech software to rival its competitors. About twenty years ago, this was not very important. There was a high cost involved for the purchase of computers, software, support, and, companies were not that quick to jump on the bandwagon. This could very well be the reason for the sharp unemployment rate with the older employees, because of their inability to change. Today most senior and, midlevel managers are more adept with high tech machines, and software than their counterparts of years ago. You would think this would no longer be an issue for drastic increase of senior employees being asked to leave. Technology is changing so fastly that it is almost impossible for senior employees to keep abreast on the newest versions of software, and computers without the aid of a company-training program. Younger, and more technologically-advanced employees are waiting in the wings to fill the positions of the not-up-to-date senior employees. Companies now have the added responsibility to keep past employees informed of change or this could lead them down the path to an age discrimination lawsuit. If jobs open up in the near future, older employees must be given a chance to bid for the opening rather than going to a younger less expensive employee.
Businesses now have an opportunity to address the issue of change in the workplace by being more sensitive and not trample on seniority rights. This sensitivity from employers result in a severance package or other benefits. Severance packages are used when there is a change in management direction or economic downturn. These packages need to make sure they fill all legal requirements, which must include the following:
o Be part of a written clearly understood agreement.
o Refer specifically to ADEA rights or claims.
o Apply only to legal rights or claims before the effective date of the waiver.
o Offer something of value beyond what the employee will already receive.
o Advise the employee in writing to consult an attorney.
o Allow the employee 21 days to consider the agreement, or 45 days if the waiver
involves exit incentives offered to a group of workers.
o Allow a period of at least seven days during which he employee can revoke the
agreement. (HR Focus, p2)
The employee must believe that the employer fired them based on their age. A Prima Facie Case must be proven to proceed. Prima Facie means alleging of facts that fit each requirement of a cause of action. The following element must be available to persuade a court for age discrimination.
o They are in a protected class.
o They were terminated or demoted.
o The job was being done well enough to meet employer’s expectation.
o Others not in the protected class ere treated more fairly.
An employer may present his case in a several ways why an employee was terminated. First reason of a termination could be a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification. This means that it is necessary to the safe operation of a particular business. A good example would be the termination of a fireman or police officer. The reason a mandatory retirement is required is that this position is a BFOQ. Lastly, the discharge or otherwise discipline an individual for a good cause. The EEOC require that a reasonable factor be job-related. A policeman doing his job has many responsibilities to himself, partner, and citizens. They are tested everyday for strength and endurance, because of the criminals to chase on foot, or place an individual in a submission hold for the protection of himself, victim, and other bystanders. A job related discharge could be the employee not following standard operational company policy. The policeman may have been told, warned and wrote up on occasion for drawing his service revolver when no danger was present. Company policy expressly prohibits this behavior.
The employee sued on the grounds that pilots upon reaching age sixty are incapacitated and can no longer even perform as a flight engineer. Western Airlines argued that this was a BFOQ for the safe operation of business. Older pilots usually take a flight engineer position after reaching sixty years old. In was the contention of Western Airline that any pilot over the age of sixty should be put out to pasture. A flight engineer’s duties are not as critical as that of a pilot, so the reflexes and mental alertness was not a BFOQ. The U.S Supreme Court found Western Airlines BFOQ did not meet reasonable necessity required for proof of discharge, rather than a defect of the instructions from the lower court. (Employment Law For Business, 419)
Economic concerns are other reasons a company may want to terminate employment with senior personnel. As a rule of thumb, employees with a high tenure make more money than their younger counter parts, and are tempting target for a company to prune the largest branches from the tree. When a company is considering to layoff personnel as a result of a reduction in force, they must be careful, for example salary and seniority can be linked together therefore; seniority becomes a proxy for age. A termination based on economic factors may constitute impermissible discrimination. If an employer needs to consider layoffs they need to ensure that decisions are reached in an equitable and fair manner. Once a former employee whose status is "laid-off" the company must ensure they are notified of future vacancies and their right to file a discrimination lawsuit if not rehired. If the employer is at an impasse of who to rehire or terminate among equally qualified individuals, using seniority to solve the decision will help them avoid age discrimination lawsuits. (Employment Law For Business, 436)
Companies have a great responsibility taking care of their personnel and hiring potential workers in a fair and equitable manner. We may feel there was age discrimination in the hiring process, but how can we control what the interviewer thinks and perceives? There is a certain amount of responsibility all candidates must have to lessen the chance that age discrimination will factor into the hiring process. Just because you may be old, and look old doesn’t mean you no longer have control of the hiring process.
What can an overweight, gray haired, unemployed, white male, with sixties-style person do to lessen the potential of age discrimination? Human Resource managers are always looking for the right person to fill positions within the company. The old saying of "Clothes makes the person" is not unreasonable. The first impression of a hiring manager is the visual information from the prospective employee and how it is packaged.
Get rid of the disco, or sixty’s clothes and select a conservative black suit that is more of this era than the clothing styles twenty years ago. Clothing that is out of style can put a damper on the applicant just like gray hair. Gray hair is naturals way of saying you have been around the block a few times, or distinguished and have the knowledge of the world. I have salt and pepper hair, probably more salt than pepper but if I have can get a position with a company knowing what gives me an edge is thee color of my hair; a trip to Wal-Mart or Rite Aide for the answer. By going to the aisle that has hair coloring, you just increase your chance to get the job by fifty eight percent over your competition. A conservative hair cut, and color shade of the hair will have a larger impact on the interviewer perception of your value.
Our lifestyle has changed from a leisurely trot to almost a full gallop. In the past sending a letter in the mail usually took three to five days. Now the same letter can be received in seconds via email. Unfortunately, the fast pace of work and how we fuel our bodies are erriely similar. We want to eat our lunch now but never had the time to fix one. To much fast food lunches can adversely effect your waist line, and give the perception to a hiring manger that you are not healthy. Just because we are older does not nessicarly mean we are much wiser. We can no longer eat anything we want and expect it not to show up in some form around our waist.
Wrinkles, gray hair, and being overweight has a high impact of a lasting first impression, with a hiring manager.
The last part we have no control over would be gravity. Yes, a law this course does not cover but is universal for all. Keeping a daily or weekly schedule of toning the muscles can greatly reduce the signs of aging. A muscle ignored when lifting weights or running is the one between your ears. If you want to be more competitive in the technological changing environment you must try to stay abreast by reading or going back to school. Diploms or certifications will propel you to the top of the "to hire" stack.
Age is starting to become a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification for companies that want to maintain a cutting edge in their field. With the exception of police officers or firemen, a BFOQ policy can discriminate older employees thereby, preventing personnel from helping the business to reach its goal. Often, businesses look at the bottom line before looking at the resources that are available. Older employees could be a diamond in the rough just waiting for the opportunity to solve problems. I do not see any immediate policy change in the hiring practices of companies in the future. Technology is advancing at an alarming rate, and places a demand for companies to change or be left behind. Companies that listen to internal input of senior advisors may be more prone to stay at the top of technological curve rather than adding new employees with "know-how" but no experience. An older employee may have snow on the roof, but it doesn’t mean their fire is out.
__________________
Warning!!! This is just a sample Age Discrimination research paper (Age Discrimination research paper example) which cannot be used as your own paper. You can contact our custom research paper writing service which provides college and university students with high-quality custom written essays, term papers, research papers, thesis papers and dissertations on Age Discrimination topics.
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The U.S. congress passed the ADEA, thinking it was going to protect workers of forty years old and above during the hiring phase. Yet only ten percent of the claims involve the hiring process, the other ninety-percent is wrongful discharge. People are quicker to sue an employer if they were fired rather than during the hiring process. Proving a case for wrongful discharge would be much easier than trying to read someone’s state of mind during the interview. In an article by Ira Carnahan, she brings to light an interesting fact; the first decade after passage of ADEA, unemployment among workers fifty-five and above rose from 2.5% to 4.6%. A possible reason for the rise could be computers in the workplace or employers are becoming more sensitive with their aging workforce.
Companies wanting to evolve to the next level to be more competitive are using computers and other high-tech software to rival its competitors. About twenty years ago, this was not very important. There was a high cost involved for the purchase of computers, software, support, and, companies were not that quick to jump on the bandwagon. This could very well be the reason for the sharp unemployment rate with the older employees, because of their inability to change. Today most senior and, midlevel managers are more adept with high tech machines, and software than their counterparts of years ago. You would think this would no longer be an issue for drastic increase of senior employees being asked to leave. Technology is changing so fastly that it is almost impossible for senior employees to keep abreast on the newest versions of software, and computers without the aid of a company-training program. Younger, and more technologically-advanced employees are waiting in the wings to fill the positions of the not-up-to-date senior employees. Companies now have the added responsibility to keep past employees informed of change or this could lead them down the path to an age discrimination lawsuit. If jobs open up in the near future, older employees must be given a chance to bid for the opening rather than going to a younger less expensive employee.
Businesses now have an opportunity to address the issue of change in the workplace by being more sensitive and not trample on seniority rights. This sensitivity from employers result in a severance package or other benefits. Severance packages are used when there is a change in management direction or economic downturn. These packages need to make sure they fill all legal requirements, which must include the following:
o Be part of a written clearly understood agreement.
o Refer specifically to ADEA rights or claims.
o Apply only to legal rights or claims before the effective date of the waiver.
o Offer something of value beyond what the employee will already receive.
o Advise the employee in writing to consult an attorney.
o Allow the employee 21 days to consider the agreement, or 45 days if the waiver
involves exit incentives offered to a group of workers.
o Allow a period of at least seven days during which he employee can revoke the
agreement. (HR Focus, p2)
The employee must believe that the employer fired them based on their age. A Prima Facie Case must be proven to proceed. Prima Facie means alleging of facts that fit each requirement of a cause of action. The following element must be available to persuade a court for age discrimination.
o They are in a protected class.
o They were terminated or demoted.
o The job was being done well enough to meet employer’s expectation.
o Others not in the protected class ere treated more fairly.
An employer may present his case in a several ways why an employee was terminated. First reason of a termination could be a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification. This means that it is necessary to the safe operation of a particular business. A good example would be the termination of a fireman or police officer. The reason a mandatory retirement is required is that this position is a BFOQ. Lastly, the discharge or otherwise discipline an individual for a good cause. The EEOC require that a reasonable factor be job-related. A policeman doing his job has many responsibilities to himself, partner, and citizens. They are tested everyday for strength and endurance, because of the criminals to chase on foot, or place an individual in a submission hold for the protection of himself, victim, and other bystanders. A job related discharge could be the employee not following standard operational company policy. The policeman may have been told, warned and wrote up on occasion for drawing his service revolver when no danger was present. Company policy expressly prohibits this behavior.
The employee sued on the grounds that pilots upon reaching age sixty are incapacitated and can no longer even perform as a flight engineer. Western Airlines argued that this was a BFOQ for the safe operation of business. Older pilots usually take a flight engineer position after reaching sixty years old. In was the contention of Western Airline that any pilot over the age of sixty should be put out to pasture. A flight engineer’s duties are not as critical as that of a pilot, so the reflexes and mental alertness was not a BFOQ. The U.S Supreme Court found Western Airlines BFOQ did not meet reasonable necessity required for proof of discharge, rather than a defect of the instructions from the lower court. (Employment Law For Business, 419)
Economic concerns are other reasons a company may want to terminate employment with senior personnel. As a rule of thumb, employees with a high tenure make more money than their younger counter parts, and are tempting target for a company to prune the largest branches from the tree. When a company is considering to layoff personnel as a result of a reduction in force, they must be careful, for example salary and seniority can be linked together therefore; seniority becomes a proxy for age. A termination based on economic factors may constitute impermissible discrimination. If an employer needs to consider layoffs they need to ensure that decisions are reached in an equitable and fair manner. Once a former employee whose status is "laid-off" the company must ensure they are notified of future vacancies and their right to file a discrimination lawsuit if not rehired. If the employer is at an impasse of who to rehire or terminate among equally qualified individuals, using seniority to solve the decision will help them avoid age discrimination lawsuits. (Employment Law For Business, 436)
Companies have a great responsibility taking care of their personnel and hiring potential workers in a fair and equitable manner. We may feel there was age discrimination in the hiring process, but how can we control what the interviewer thinks and perceives? There is a certain amount of responsibility all candidates must have to lessen the chance that age discrimination will factor into the hiring process. Just because you may be old, and look old doesn’t mean you no longer have control of the hiring process.
What can an overweight, gray haired, unemployed, white male, with sixties-style person do to lessen the potential of age discrimination? Human Resource managers are always looking for the right person to fill positions within the company. The old saying of "Clothes makes the person" is not unreasonable. The first impression of a hiring manager is the visual information from the prospective employee and how it is packaged.
Get rid of the disco, or sixty’s clothes and select a conservative black suit that is more of this era than the clothing styles twenty years ago. Clothing that is out of style can put a damper on the applicant just like gray hair. Gray hair is naturals way of saying you have been around the block a few times, or distinguished and have the knowledge of the world. I have salt and pepper hair, probably more salt than pepper but if I have can get a position with a company knowing what gives me an edge is thee color of my hair; a trip to Wal-Mart or Rite Aide for the answer. By going to the aisle that has hair coloring, you just increase your chance to get the job by fifty eight percent over your competition. A conservative hair cut, and color shade of the hair will have a larger impact on the interviewer perception of your value.
Our lifestyle has changed from a leisurely trot to almost a full gallop. In the past sending a letter in the mail usually took three to five days. Now the same letter can be received in seconds via email. Unfortunately, the fast pace of work and how we fuel our bodies are erriely similar. We want to eat our lunch now but never had the time to fix one. To much fast food lunches can adversely effect your waist line, and give the perception to a hiring manger that you are not healthy. Just because we are older does not nessicarly mean we are much wiser. We can no longer eat anything we want and expect it not to show up in some form around our waist.
Wrinkles, gray hair, and being overweight has a high impact of a lasting first impression, with a hiring manager.
The last part we have no control over would be gravity. Yes, a law this course does not cover but is universal for all. Keeping a daily or weekly schedule of toning the muscles can greatly reduce the signs of aging. A muscle ignored when lifting weights or running is the one between your ears. If you want to be more competitive in the technological changing environment you must try to stay abreast by reading or going back to school. Diploms or certifications will propel you to the top of the "to hire" stack.
Age is starting to become a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification for companies that want to maintain a cutting edge in their field. With the exception of police officers or firemen, a BFOQ policy can discriminate older employees thereby, preventing personnel from helping the business to reach its goal. Often, businesses look at the bottom line before looking at the resources that are available. Older employees could be a diamond in the rough just waiting for the opportunity to solve problems. I do not see any immediate policy change in the hiring practices of companies in the future. Technology is advancing at an alarming rate, and places a demand for companies to change or be left behind. Companies that listen to internal input of senior advisors may be more prone to stay at the top of technological curve rather than adding new employees with "know-how" but no experience. An older employee may have snow on the roof, but it doesn’t mean their fire is out.
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