The Rising Cost of Health Care Essay -- essays research papers

Rising medical costs are a worldwide problem, but nowhere are they higher than in the U.S. Although Americans with good health insurance coverage may get the best medical treatment in the world, the health of the average American, as measured by life expectancy and infant mortality, is below the average of other major industrial countries. Inefficiency, fraud and the expense of malpractice suits are often blamed for high U.S. costs, but the major reason is overinvestment in technology and personnel. There are three issues when it comes to the health care cost rising. The first is the rising cost in prescription drugs. The second area of rising cost is the increased technologies when it comes to the medical industry. The third problem is the aging population. Prescription drugs are the area of the fastest growing health care expense, and it is projected to grow at 20 to 30 percent each year over the next several years. There are many newer, more expensive drugs on the market, and the use of these prescriptions is exploding. In addition, with so much television advertising, many consumers ask their doctors for expensive, brand name drugs when there may actually be a generic drug that works just as well. Over the past decade, scientists have made significant advancements in the treatment of certain diseases. Unfortunately, just like any new product, the cost of developing these new technologies and treatments is extremely high. Plus, unlike other technology, heath technolo...

Creative Story: The Dark House :: essays research papers

Creative Story: The Dark House by Tom-Inge Earlier today, John and I were taking a walk in the outskirts of the town, when we saw an old house on top of a hill. I wanted to take a closer look at it, but John looked a little spooked, and mumbled something about not wanting to go there. I convinced him that there was nothing to be afraid of, it's just an old house which haven't been occupied for a while, though I wasn't sure whether someone really was living there. We walked up the driveway, up to the house. It was huge. The place looked deserted, the grass wasn't mowed for ages, and everything was a mess. John chew nails like crazy, but I still wanted to check this place out. The door was made of wood, and looked like it could fall apart any minute. I tried to turn the door knob, but it fell off as soon as I touched it. The knob rolled down the steps and kept on rolling down the driveway, and stopped by the fence. That didn't make John feel any better at all. He looked like he had seen a ghost. I took a deep breath, and pushed the door. It wouldn't budge an inch.  « Help me out », I said, but John kept chewing his nails. God knows why, there was nothing to be scared of. Or was it? I took a step backwards, and then kicked the door. It slowly slid open, and I went inside.  «Wow! What a huge mansion we've got here! » John took a peek into the house, but didn't dare go inside. There was a huge hall in the middle of the house, with staircases to my left and right. I went right ahead, towards a glass door in front of me. It wasn't locked, so I carefully turned the knob, and the door opened. Suddenly I felt someone touch my shoulder. I turned around immediately to see, but there was nobody there.  «Probably just my imagination », I said to myself, and went on into the room. It was a lounge, with some impressive furniture, antiques and other objects. It was a lot to look at, and I yelled for John. He didn't reply, so I went to check on him. All I found outside the house was a shoe, and his necklace. I couldn't quite understand what was going on. If he'd run away, at least he'd taken his belongings with him. The door slammed shut behind me, and my heart stopped for a second or two. Creative Story: The Dark House :: essays research papers Creative Story: The Dark House by Tom-Inge Earlier today, John and I were taking a walk in the outskirts of the town, when we saw an old house on top of a hill. I wanted to take a closer look at it, but John looked a little spooked, and mumbled something about not wanting to go there. I convinced him that there was nothing to be afraid of, it's just an old house which haven't been occupied for a while, though I wasn't sure whether someone really was living there. We walked up the driveway, up to the house. It was huge. The place looked deserted, the grass wasn't mowed for ages, and everything was a mess. John chew nails like crazy, but I still wanted to check this place out. The door was made of wood, and looked like it could fall apart any minute. I tried to turn the door knob, but it fell off as soon as I touched it. The knob rolled down the steps and kept on rolling down the driveway, and stopped by the fence. That didn't make John feel any better at all. He looked like he had seen a ghost. I took a deep breath, and pushed the door. It wouldn't budge an inch.  « Help me out », I said, but John kept chewing his nails. God knows why, there was nothing to be scared of. Or was it? I took a step backwards, and then kicked the door. It slowly slid open, and I went inside.  «Wow! What a huge mansion we've got here! » John took a peek into the house, but didn't dare go inside. There was a huge hall in the middle of the house, with staircases to my left and right. I went right ahead, towards a glass door in front of me. It wasn't locked, so I carefully turned the knob, and the door opened. Suddenly I felt someone touch my shoulder. I turned around immediately to see, but there was nobody there.  «Probably just my imagination », I said to myself, and went on into the room. It was a lounge, with some impressive furniture, antiques and other objects. It was a lot to look at, and I yelled for John. He didn't reply, so I went to check on him. All I found outside the house was a shoe, and his necklace. I couldn't quite understand what was going on. If he'd run away, at least he'd taken his belongings with him. The door slammed shut behind me, and my heart stopped for a second or two.

Prose Study Coursework Essay

In chapters 13 and 14 of the novel Treasure Island, through use of different literary techniques such as animal imagery, similes, metaphors, assonance and many more, Stevenson achieves a sense of foreboding as to what will happen later in the novel, dropping hints here and there. These chapters are important because the crew of the Hispaniola, including Lon John Silver and Jim Hawkins, have just landed on the island, and are about to set off in search off the buried treasure. We can even get a sense of foreboding from the island itself as it is seen to be gloomy and mysterious, and this does not bode well for the adventure ahead. We can find foreboding through the author’s use of similes and metaphors in the chapters. ‘Spires of naked rock,’ is a way of saying the rocks are very tall and imposing, as well as exposed. This is scary as just reading the exerpt creates a dark atmosphere, and it paves the way for the future of the novel. This is achieved by use of dark colours, and ‘naked’ implies that after Jim has escaped there is nowhere that he can hide, because everyone can see everything. This creates the effect on the reader of sadness, as they really feel for Jim, as he is trapped on the island with those monsters. Jim also gives away hints towards the future events of Treasure Island when he says ‘my heart sank’ when he realises what he has done in sneaking ashore with the pirates away from people he knows he can trust and this shows his disappointment. Jims downbeat mood portrays a bad effect to the reader, and they start to feel for Jim, as bad things obviously loom later in the novel, for instance, the planned mutiny of Long John Silver, and how if successful, Jim and his comrades will be doomed, and Jims capture by the pirates. The quotation ‘hung over the anchorage’ is used to create a bad air and produce fearful images in your mind. Foreboding is shown because there is obviously a bad atmosphere on board, symbolising the planned mutiny of Long John Silver, and the good hands on board are of course fretting over what to do. ‘Clouds of birds’ conveys to the reader the image of a deep mass of birds, and when there is a lot of something, especially animals that are making lots of noise, can strike fear in to people. This can give us an insight into what may happen later because birds are good at sensing danger, and quickly fly away if anything unsettles them. If they are very disturbed and are hanging over the ship, then surely the mutiny must be destined to happen, and the crew must have to face the wrath of Long John Silver. Through animal imagery we can get a sense of fear such as ‘crawling on all fours’ when Jim is near Long John Silver and he is crouching when he has run away from Silver and does not want to be seen. This shows us what may happen later in the novel because it shows Jim is scared of Long John Silver and Silver is not really a very good person, and is planning bad things later in the novel. ‘Agile as a monkey’ when used to describe Silver is showing him in a bad light, because he is deceiving everyone by hobbling around everywhere with his wooden leg, however, when he is out of view of the captain he is very quick and has lots of agility, which shows appearances can be deceptive and this confirms to us that he is planning a mutiny and other evil activities on the return leg of the journey, behind the other crew members backs. We can also get a sense of foreboding by one of the good men’s reactions when he is faced with Silver and does not to be involved in the mutiny. ‘Like a horse at the spur’ shows the unconverted crew member faced with Long John is very startled by the scream, and he immediately suspects Long John Silver and wants to get away because he knows Long John is starting the process of whittling down the numbers of good men on board to make the future mutiny much easier. Through the quotation ‘crouching trees,’ when Jim is lost in the woods, we get a sense that Jim is trapped and is enclosed by the trees which seem alive, which is a good example of personification. This creates a sense of what may happen in the future as everything so far has had a bad feeling about it, and it can only be a matter of time before something happens. ‘Would not the first of them who saw me wring my neck like a snipe’s?’ Fear is created by the rhetorical question and the use of animal imagery, and we feel a sense of sorrow for Jim’s dire situation. It gives us a premonition that later in the novel if the pirates catch Jim he will be killed straight away. We can decipher what will happen in the immediate future of the novel when Stevenson says ‘Silver†¦was watching his companion like a snake about to spring.’ This shows Silver is a conniving, cunning creature, which will do anything to get the treasure, even kill one of his own. As well as this, in the bible, snakes are seen as evil, such as in the Garden of Eden, and people were very religious back then. Also, we now know that Tom will be killed sooner rather than later because snakes don’t waste time, and once they have their target, they rarely fail, so this is a clever way of Robert Louis Stevenson building up to Long John Silver committing the murder. Fear imagery can be created using powerful adjectives and can also give us a strong sense of foreboding, through colours used, and words commonly associated with fear. In ‘grey melancholy woods, and wild stone spires’, the words ‘grey’ and ‘melancholy’ are commonly associated with apprehension, and we get a view to future events because the island in the readers mind is terrifying and forbidding, and Jim has to endure this to escape capture, however, bad images are everywhere, provoking the reader to imagine terrible things happening to Jim on the isle, such as his eventual capture by the pirates, and his life threatening encounter with Israel Hands, in which, he is just successful. Through the citation ‘the outline of the Spy-glass trembled through the haze,’ we get fear from trembled, because not only is it an imposing land mass, it also is surrounded by a mist, and appears to move. Jim knows he must pass close to this monster of a mountain if he is to succeed on his quest, and it means he has the evil, obsessed pirates on one side, and a sinister peak in front, he is certain to encounter them on his travels, and the chances are, face the consequences. ‘Then one horrid, long-drawn scream’ is an example of fear imagery because you can imagine a high pitched scream, and the reader sees him or herself in Jim’s position, alone on a desert island, and is also scared. The assonance of the ‘oo’ and ‘a’ slows down the action and gets us to feel and imagine the scream. This shows foreboding because the allies of Jims and his alliance are being whittled down, and in the future there will be only a few remaining. The novel can also show us the imminent events through the use of assonance and consonance. Assonance (the repetition of vowels) is given in ‘should I dare to go down to the boats among those fiends, still smoking from their crime?’ The way the ‘o’ sound is repeated many times, and how the sentence flows off the tongue, gives a constant reminder throughout the sentence of the fear that Jim faces, and the decisions he is required to make. In the future, does Jim return to the pirates in hope of a return to the ship, but face Silvers wrath, or does he journey on into the centre of the island in hope of survival, and we know that in the end, the hero Jim ends up in both of these positions, but the reader does not know this and is left guessing. To demonstrate the use of assonance, the sentence ‘what if I returned to the boats and the fiends, still shadowed by their crimes’ is nowhere near as effective, and creates only a pinch of the fear found in Stevenson’s actual work. Assonance is also found in a very obvious place. The ‘o’ sound is repeated in ‘Long John,’ which is terrifying, as we know he is a main character who is also very evil, and it will be a constant reminder through the future of the novel as to his plans and his traits and the threat he poses. Consonance (the repetition of consonants) can also be found frequently in chapters 13 and 14 and can show us foreboding. In ‘only the rustle of the redescending birds and the boom of the distant surges disturbed the languor of the afternoon,’ the repetition of ‘r’ gives the section of text a fear effect along with the good adjectives, because overall, it is speeded up, and creates more of a fast paced action. Also, the atmosphere is affected by the use of onomatopoeia in ‘rustle’ and ‘boom.’ Again, an insight is achieved as through the use of effective adjectives and consonance, we see that not all is well on Skeleton Island. Skeleton Island itself suggests fear, as skeletons are a symbol of death and forbidding, and you would be wise to stay away from them. Combining fear adjectives with consonance is also found in ‘a smell of†¦rotting tree trunks.’ The use of an ellipsis shows that Jim is thinking and he must recognise the smell from somewhere before. The repetition of ‘r’ along with rotting creates a sense of fear of the trees, and this is also alliteration, and Jim and the reader begin to think that the island and everything on it must be similar to the experiences here. Through repetition, Stevenson achieves fear, and allows the reader to generate a better image in their mind, as well as emphasising his point further. ‘Of all the gloomy features of that gloomy afternoon,’ is an example of this. When the author/Jim repeats gloomy, it repeats the fact that the place is gloomy, which is an adjective commonly associated with darkness and fear, so it is stressing that everything is not going well. There is also time left in the day, and other bad things may happen, for instance, Jim running into a trap set by Long John Silver, or the good side being forced out of the stockade by the pirates, and this could just be the beginning. As well as all these things, the repetitions also create a sense of dà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½jà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ vu, and that people are going round in circles and they are lost, and all for the treasure, which is the main focus of the novel. Another literary technique that the author uses is alliteration. ‘The sun still shining mercilessly.’ This is personification, and the consecutive letter s at the start of each word, along with an adjective that is connected with fear and evil created the illustration of the sun being evil, all seeing, and it seems to have deserted the good side, and just seems to be causing more heartache, as they lose the stockade, and the pirates get on the trail of the buried treasure. The overall theme of the chapters generates a sense of foreboding just by itself, because they are to do with pirates and a treasure hunt, and everyone knows that this kind of story is almost certain to have twists and turns later. I also think Jim how Jim goes off by himself into the forest shows he is developing from a boy into a brave young man. Through the use of colours in his writing, Stevenson also creates both a sense of fear and foreboding. ‘Long John Silver’ is an example of this because Silver is a shade of grey, which is a colour associated with grim things and fear, and it shows foreboding because, if a person is named like this, he must be a character that is planning, or will partake in evil things at some point in the novel. The author also uses black I ‘black conscience’ to describe Lon g John, as he can kill all these people, and not have them on his mind for the rest of his life, and not feel guilty. In conclusion, I think that the literary techniques used in chapters 13 and 14, are very effective in showing how, or giving hints as to how events may unfold in the latter stages of the novel, as they get closer to the treasure and the race hots up. As I have shown earlier I in my essay, Robert Louis Stevenson uses a great variety of different methods to get his points across, and he is very clever in using some techniques and how they foreshadow events easy to find, however, some you have to search for, and rack your brain to understand how they show foreboding, such as the use of assonance and alliteration. Example, ‘should I dare to go down to the boats among those fiends, still smoking from their crime?’ Yes, the excellent adjectives help create fear which in turn introduces foreboding, but I had to search for it. My final verdict is that Robert Louis Stevenson is an immensely clever writer, and the way he gets the reader to think is amazing, and through close language analysis, we can see that chapters 13 and 14 are very clear in predicting character development and how events will pan out in the novel.

Telemedicine And The Elderly Adult Health And Social Care Essay

IntroductionThe new age of engineering is all around us, from Blackberry, Blue Tooth, GPS, I-Pads, I-Phones, I-Pods, and Smart Phones, ‘there ‘s an App for that'-anywhere we go and anything we want to make. Whether we accept or non, our private lives, our callings, and even our wellness concerns are invariably transformed by engineering. A We may kick, but in actuality, we would non hold it any other manner. Health attention engineering can be every bit simple as a proctor worn by a patient, or the usage of a handheld device at a patient ‘s bedside, that sounds an dismay at the possibility of a critical job. The hereafter of wellness attention engineering is about impossible, such as a sawbones sitting outside the operating room or as far off as another state, steering surgical instruments as an android machine performs intricate encephalon surgery in a infirmary. Soon, automatons are utilized in hospital scenes to implement bringing of medicine, lab specimens and consequences, and wellness records to assorted floors. A Robots can present these services in an efficient mode by make up one's minding and recalculating the best class to take to accomplish its undertaking, while carefully maneuvering clear of obstructions to finish the path. This paper about future tendencies in telemedicine focal points on the current and future impact of telemedicine in relation to caring for the rap idly increasing aged population.TelemedicineRemote and little populations in the United States are often at a disadvantage when they need entree to wellness attention. Disabled aged folks may non hold transit to see a doctor, if there is even one near adequate to entree. In an article focused on bettering diabetes attention in rural countries, Massey, Appel, Buchanan, and Cherrington ( 2010 ) explain that, â€Å" Residents of rural countries face extra barriers aˆÂ ¦ , including limited entree to wellness attention services, suppliers, and instruction plans ; high rates of poorness ; low degrees of wellness literacy ; and increased distances from societal webs ( p. 20 ) . In these state of affairss, the solution to wellness attention isolation for these persons is telemedicine. Telemedicine, defined as the â€Å" usage of telecommunications engineering to present health care at a distance from the patient † ( Stedman ‘s, 2005 ) , is besides known as â€Å" telehealth † . Telemedicine allows aged folks in rural or medically underserviced countries receive sufficient health care. The efficient exchange of medical records and informations between multiple doctors, specializers and/or druggists, while trial consequences and ordering instructions discussed between the patient and the doctor or other attention suppliers, is the end of telemedicine. Physicians ‘ communication over the telephone about intervention for a patient is a signifier of telemedicine, every bit good as an cyberspace videoconference between suppliers in different parts of the state or universe. Telemedicine can function the patient in the absence of place wellness attention every bit good as provide support and information for place wellness care-givers. Proctors can assist the patient keep path of medicines, blood force per unit area, and weight. In the yesteryear, a place wellness nurse necessitating instructions for medicine dosin or intervention for a peculiar patient may hold had to wait for a telephone call. Current computer-based information systems provide patients and their health professionals with support and information at the clip support and information is needed. Telemedicine brings the expertness and cognition of a distant specializer into the audience room of a little rural health care installation, or transfers the CAT-scan consequences of a patient in a rural community to a radiotherapist in another topographic point. The most recent promotion in telemedicine is the development of nomadic solutions that are non reliant on fixed systems, but employ nomadic orbiter and cellular telecommunication webs for the bringing of health care ( Kroemer, Fruhauf, Campbell, Massone, Schwantzer, Soyer, & A ; Hofmann-Wellenhof, 2011 ) .A Mobile telephones and personal digital helpers ( PDAs ) are used to present patient information. Mobile telemedicine is critical to the success of exigency medical services ( EMS ) forces before and during conveyance of a patient to a infirmary ( Parker, 2005 ) . Telemedicine is besides utile in educating doctors, nurses, and other medical forces. A The deficit of nurses, and likely besides the deficit of doctors, is due in portion to deficiency of instruction of medical staff. At least portion of the preparation of staff members can be with computer-based application systems. Application package can imitate exigency or intervention state of affairss to give the trainee practical hands-on preparation. In add-on, pupils can take specialised tests designed based on their ain degree of expertness.Telemedicine and the AgedTelemedicine, telecare, and telehealth, are all footings used interchangeably to depict distant monitoring of patients utilizing information, communicating, and engineering ( ICT ) . Patients are monitored through clip-on monitoring devices that send wellness position information from the patient to the wellness attention supplier electronically, in add-on to electronic mails, informations and imaging direction, and videoconfere ncing. Old ages ago, physicians made house calls to analyze their patients. With telemedicine, physicians can now do a practical house call. Patients can link themselves, or be connected by a attention supplier, to glucose metres, blood force per unit area turnups, radio graduated tables, and many other electronic devices that track the patient ‘s wellness daily and direct the consequences to the patient ‘s doctor. The Personal Emergency Response System ( PERS ) is another device for supervising aged patients. The PERS is typically worn as a pendent or a wristband, and automatically sends an qui vive if the patient falls or has another type of exigency. In an article featured in the diary â€Å" Age and Ageing † , Miskelly ( 2001 ) provinces, â€Å" Recent developments in new engineering are the topic of intensive research destined to do an of import part to the attention of older people, both in establishments and at place ( P. 455 ) . † In add-on, a 2010 survey conducted by BCC Research predicts that elder attention engineering and specifically engineering that proctors long-run attention installation occupants for falls and general wellness indexs, â€Å" were valued at $ 2.3 billion in 2010, and are expected to make $ 3.4 billion by 2015 † ( Long-Term Living 2011, ) . The U.S. population over age 65 is anticipated to more than double by the twelvemonth 2050. As the per centum of aged population additions, so does the rate of disablement, infirmity, and chronic diseases. Weakened aged grownups whom live entirely and suffer from chronic unwellness necessitate some signifier of every twenty-four hours monitoring. Home wellness attention helpers may assist, but most are non available to be with their client ( s ) on a full clip footing. In add-on, the greater portion of the aged population could non pull off to pay for this type of attention if it existed. The most accessible signifier of full clip monitoring for aged persons is a wearable device that monitors the person at all times. The most frequent chronic diseases of the aged are cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory, neurological, and diabetic conditions. The weak aged are besides more likely to see falls. An article written by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC, 2012 ) reveals that â€Å" Each twelvemonth, one in every three grownups age 65 and older falls. Fallss can do moderate to severe hurts, such as hip breaks and caput hurts, and can increase the hazard of early decease. † Frequent monitoring of an person ‘s physical calm and critical marks may increase the likeliness of forestalling a dangerous event. â€Å" Home based gesture feeling might help in falls bar and aid maximise an person ‘s independency and community engagement † ( Patel, Park, Bonato, Chan, & A ; Rodgers, 2012, p. 2 ) . With other telemedicine systems patients monitor their ain critical marks utilizing blood force per unit area turnups, finger detectors to mensurate O impregnation, and graduated tables for supervising weight. A The informations transferred over web connexion to the database waiter where it is stored. The doctor or other healthcare supplier can entree the information remotely. The major difference between this type of system and the wearable monitoring devices is degree of user interaction. A The wearable proctors send signals automatically, where the blood force per unit area turnup, finger detectors and graduated tables are attached to home integral monitoring Stationss and necessitate interaction by the patient. A In add-on, being connected to a computing machine, they are non mobile, as are the wearable proctors.Restrictions and BarriersWhile telemedicine shows positive results for the aging population, legion barriers stand in the manner of its widespread execution. â€Å" Thos e barriers include deficiency of consciousness of available engineerings and jobs utilizing engineering among older consumers, deficiency of fiscal inducements to utilize or put in engineering, deficiency of consensus on the value of specific engineerings and unequal engineering substructures † ( Alwan & A ; Nobel, 2008, p. 3 ) . For illustration, some aged persons have negative intension when they think of engineering. They are either uninformed or uneducated about engineering, so are immune to devices that could assist them unrecorded longer, happier, more independent lives. In add-on, some folks may hold frights about their demand for such devices. Some older grownups and their household members may non hold the income to afford such devices which makes it hard for usage of the engineering to go a common pattern. Poor substructure is another obstruction, which is the inability of different information systems to pass on with one another. â€Å" Without this â€Å" interop erability, † EHRs created by one doctor ‘s information system can non be shared with or accessed by another doctor utilizing a different information system, a quandary that clearly defeats one of the intents of EHRs, which is to better co-ordinate attention † ( Alwan & A ; Nobel, 2008, p. 1 ) .The Future of TelemedicineThe widespread popularity and usage of telemedicine will non take off in the following five old ages, but telemedicine will easy be used by more patients and doctors than it is now. Distance will go less of a factor because of betterment in telecommunication and high-speed informations webs in general. As telecommunication progresss, so will telemedicine. Currently, wellness issues and life endangering conditions necessitating forte audience may take hours or even yearss to get the needed information. In the hereafter, forte audience could be an immediate communicating with a specializer sing the patient at the same clip as the go toing doctor. At pr esent, developing countries still need to get the engineering for usage of telemedicine. For this sector the usage of telemedicine in wellness attention countries such as general surgery, paediatricss, and exigency attention will better over the following five to ten old ages.DecisionThe life of each person is impacted by new engineering every twenty-four hours. The prevalence of engineering in our lives will merely go on to increase in the hereafter. From smart phone wellness â€Å" apps † to distance-guided robotic surgery, wellness attention engineering will go on to be enhanced and improved upon. Telemedicine is presently used in potentially every facet of communicating in wellness attention, from physician/specialist, physician/patient, and patient/healthcare supplier. Telemedicine is used to develop wellness attention staff and nurses where there is a deficiency of pedagogues available. Specialists and primary attention suppliers can see patient medical records, physica l history, and radiological images at the same clip, or even by a group of specializers through video-conference. The aged receive support and attention through telemedicine with the usage of proctors worn on the organic structure or connected to a computing machine. In the hereafter, I think it is possible that the monitoring systems will do it possible for medical information related to an exigency to make the infirmary exigency room staff before the patient arrives by ambulance or chopper. When needed, a specializer will look to be in the exigency room with the patient and staff, even though the specializer may be stat mis off. Harmonizing to Cowan ( 2010 ) , â€Å" Real ‘Health Care Reform ‘ requires cardinal alterations in pattern – which in bend requires effectual usage of information engineerings and acceptance to altering consumer outlooks † ( p. 379 ) . A As telecommunication progresss, so will telemedicine and all other facets of wellness attentio n engineering.A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

General Motors Essay

A car for every purse and purpose† – Alfred P Sloan Jr, Former President & CEO General Motors. General Motors, one of the world’s largest automakers, traces its roots back to 1908. With its global headquarters in Detroit, GM employs 205,000 people in every major region of the world and does business in some 157 countries. GM and its strategic partners produce cars and trucks in 31 countries, and sell and service these vehicles through the following brands: Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Daewoo, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling. GM’s largest national market is the United States, followed by China, Brazil, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Italy. Company History: General Motors was founded on Wednesday, September 16, 1908, in Flint, Michigan, as a holding company for Buick by William C. Durant. Durant started acquiring many companies like Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Cartercar, Elmore, Ewing, Pontiac etc. Durant lost control of GM in 1910 to a bankers trust, due to the large amount of debt (around $1 million) taken on in its acquisitions. Durant left the firm and co-founded the Chevrolet Motor Company in 1911 with Louis Chevrolet. After a brilliant stock buy back campaign, he returned to head GM in 1916. GM surpassed Ford Motor Company in sales in the late 1920s thanks to the leadership of Alfred P. Sloan. Sloan was inventing new ways of managing a complex worldwide organization, while paying special attention to consumer demands. Car buyers no longer wanted the cheapest and most basic model; they wanted style, power, and prestige, which GM offered them. During the 1920s and 1930s, General Motors assumed control of the Yellow Coach bus company, and helped create Greyhound bus lines. They replaced intercity train transport with buses. GM needs a sense of urgency regarding revising a strategic plan that incorporates the next generation of vehicles. In today’s global economy and highly competitive auto industry GM has no time to procrastinate. As stated, GM has just too much at risk in not becoming an industry leader in alternative fuel technology. Fuel-economy legislation is sparking the race. This is a critical time in auto industry with many threats, but opportunities as well. The next several years will redefine GM. Vision Statement The GM vision is as follows: GM’s vision is to be the world leader in transportation products and related services. GM will earn our customers’ enthusiasm through continuous improvement driven by the integrity, teamwork, and innovation of GM people. The proposed new vision for GM is as follows: For GM to become the automotive industry leader in alternative fueled vehicles and providing superior quality products that global consumers call to mind when they think of quality and innovation. My vision for GM is to be the industry leader in innovation, and where all other industry competition strives to imitate. Mission Statement The current GM mission statements are as follows: Drive improvements in market share, revenue, brands, people, responsiveness, and cost effectiveness through the implementation of global common metrics and best practice sharing. The new proposed mission statement will be as follows: GM will become an industry leader, not a follower. To regain lost market share that was lost to foreign competition, and once again be the auto industry leader in sales and market share in today’s global market. Values Statement The auto industry just like the global economy is going through tremendous change, due to rising fuel prices, and environmental worries, such as global warming. GM must use these threats as opportunities, and take advantage of changing consumer buying habits. GM needs to change consumer perception of the company, from a dull, poor quality, vehicles to innovative, quality, and environmentally friendly company. To do this GM must portray an image that states that GM values what the consumer wants and what the environment needs. Listen to what consumers are saying directly and indirectly about GM’s current products, and create innovative, green, vehicles that turn consumers into customers. At the same time provide GM stakeholders pride and financial incentives to remain with GM. Environmental Analysis GM and the entire auto industry are currently challenged with the perfect storm. The auto industry is being hit by a weak US and global economy, rising fuel prices, and social and political environmental concerns and issues. In order to overcome these potential threat, GM should consider mass producing a range of alternative fueled vehicles, i. e. fuel cell, electric, and hybrid. SWOT Analysis Strengths 1. Large Market Share Although GM’s market share in the US has dropped it is still very much competitive at 26 percent. They also have an increasing share in the Chinese market. With the right decisions there is no reason for GM to not become the automotive leader it once was. . Global Experience As explained above even with GM’s recent decline they still have the market share and the experience to bounce back. They have been a worldwide company for nearly a century now and have established themselves as the global leader for most of them. If you recall I mentioned above that a current opportunity for GM is to expand globally and as we can see they a lready have the experience to do so. It is just a matter of the correct planning and proper implementation of those plans that will decided whether or not GM’s goals are achieved. 3. Variety of Brand Names GM as I mentioned has been the automotive leader for the majority of the last century. A large reason for that is the wide variety of quality brand names that appeal to all target markets. The current GM brands include: Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac, Buick, Pontiac, Saturn, Hummer, Saab, Daewoo, Opel, and Holden. 4. GMAC Customer Financing Program Since its establishment in 1919 it has proven to be GM’s most reliable source of revenue. 5. OnStar Satellite Technology Developed in 1996 OnStar currently has over 3 million subscribers and is standard on all GM vehicles. This technology allows the vehicles to be tracked in the event of an emergency or theft. It also allows the driver and or passengers the ability to communicate with OnStar personnel at the click of a button. Weaknesses 1. Behind on Alternative Energy Movement This is GM’s biggest weakness. The alternative energy/hybrid trend has begun to take place in the automotive industry and GM has been one step behind the competition in terms of alternative energy vehicles. This has led to many problems including loss of market share and a decrease in company profit. In order for any automotive company to be successful from this point forward they must be Hybrid friendly and fuel efficient. 2. Poor Organizational Structure As we can see in exhibit 1 of the case GM’s organizational structure seems to be too vertically integrated. This causes a lack of communication between employees from top to bottom and may have played a part in GM falling behind on the alternative energy movement. 3. Stagnant Profitability Looking at GM’s profit we see that they are certainly struggling with respect to the size of their company. Their profit margin was about 1. 5% and the ROE has dramatically decreased over the recent years dropping to 10% in 2004. This is a situation that shareholders will not be pleased with. 4. Overly Dependent on US market GM has become too dependent on the US market and must take advantage of the opportunity to expand globally. The competition is becoming too strong to focus on just one country. 5. Overly Dependent on General Motors Acceptance Corporation(GMAC) Financing GM has become too dependent on its financing program. Granted it is a great strength for GM, however they once again cannot rely solely on financing in order to turn profit, especially if they want to compete with Honda and Toyota who are rapidly growing. 6. Poor Credit Status GM’s credit status has like everything else has been steadily declining. Their current ratio is just barely above 1 and their acid test is even lower. Although, I don’t see them getting denied based on their credit at this point, the seriousness of the matter is certainly apparent. Opportunities 1. Alternative Energy movement It is obvious that GM was behind its competition with regards to the research and development of hybrid vehicles. However hybrid technology is still very much new giving GM the opportunity to once again become the automotive industry’s leader in innovation and technology. 2. Continuing to Expand Globally. Recently GM saw an increase in the Chinese automotive market, which proves their needs to be more emphasis put on foreign markets. If GM can infiltrate these markets and successfully grow along with their continuing focus on the US market they will be headed in a positive direction. . Low Interest Rates With the right marketing strategy the low interest rates have the potential to generate an immediate increase in sales. 4. Develop New Vehicle Styles and Models This is an opportunity that will never be satisfied, meaning that GM should always be attempting to develop the automotive world’s most popular vehicles, and as we know, what is in today will be out tomorrow. Th reats 1. Rising Fuel Prices With GM being a large producer in both trucks and SUV’s, sales have drastically decreased due to the lack of fuel efficiency. The rise in fuel prices has played a significant role in creating the opportunity for development of both hybrid and more fuel efficient vehicles. As you will find with most threats, an equal opportunity will usually emerge as is the case here with GM’s opportunity mentioned above. 2. Growth of Competitors GM no longer has the luxury of being the known leader in the automotive industry and faces the reality that they are in serious trouble. As I mentioned earlier Toyota took the first step in the direction of hybrid echnology and has since drastically grown and become the questionable automotive frontrunner to start the 21st century. 3. Pension Payouts. Part of this threat is their own doing and the other is simply unavoidable. GM is responsible for providing generous pension benefits to its employees, which at the time seemed like a great idea, however they are now experiencing problems as more and more people begin to collect. 4. Increased Health Care Costs GM, like many lar ge companies with quality employee health care benefits, is experiencing a large financial hit that only gets worse as time continues. . Rising Supply Costs, i. e. Steel Once again this threat affects the entire automotive industry and forces each company to cut manufacturing and production costs as much as possible, without taking away from the quality of the product. Core Competence The core competence of General Motors is innovation. This is the driving force behind its $190 above turnover. General Motors has been utilizing innovation in service ad technology to secure itself a dominant position in the automobile industry, since 1908. In 1911, it conceptualized, engineered and commercialized the self-starter engine for the first time. Then in 1926, its product Cadillac was the pioneer in devising a nationwide service strategy. In 1996 General Motors introduced OnStar satellite technology which allows equipped vehicles to be tracked in case of an emergency or theft and allows the passengers to communicate with OnStar personnel. Other new car concepts include minicars such as Chevy Aveo. However in the case of hybrid vehicles, General Motors was unable to keep up to the pace of the market demand.

Business communications

I will be explaining the legal and ethical Issues that relate to the use of business information. I personally think that legal and ethical issues are usually to do with something that involves people having to abide to a law, in most cases there will be a consequence for not abiding with the law. Most businesses have different information about people working for them, that's when the Data Protection Act 1998 protects the Information held about people being misused.The information usually n the companys database must be: obtained fairly and lawfully, only to be used for the purposes stated during collection, adequate relevant and not excessive in relation to the intended use, accurate and up to date, not kept for longer than necessary, proceed in line with your rights and also protected from transfer to an area outside the European Economic Area unless adequate protection exists for that data in the area. There is also Freedom of Information Act 2000 (that came to effect in 2005) th is Includes Right of access to information held by public authorities.This Is when a person request Information to public authority, the authority has to be informed in writing by the public authority whether it holds information of the description specified in the request, and if that is the case, to have that information communicated back to them The Computer Misuse Act 1990 it is a law that does not allow certain activities when using computers, this include: hacking into other people's systems, misusing software or helping a person to gain access to protected files on someone's else's computer.There are also ethical Issues that are dealt with using organisational pollcles and codes of practise such as: use of email, internet and whistle blowing. These go under business ethics meaning moral principles concerning acceptable and unacceptable behaviour by business. Whistle blowing is also one of the ethical issues users can use and relate to. This is when an employee raises a concer n about a business practise either to management within the company or to an outside organisation like the press.Operational Issues In relation to the use of business Information, Including security of Information, backups, health and safety, business continuance plans and costs. Organisations have to store and manage countless pieces of information with some being far more important than others. To make sure that information is managed appropriately, a number of policies and procedures have to be put in place, concerning; security of information, backups, health and safety, organisational pollcles and business continuance plans and cost. ailable as and when they need it, in order to make good business decisions. Information security management deals with maintaining the integrity and availability of organisational information and knowledge. Backups is also one of the operation issues as most businesses have developed programs constantly to try to minimise the risk of losing vital i nformation stored on IT servers. This involves producing backups of information stored on the servers. Some companies back up constantly and some less frequently.Health and safety is also one of operational system and so are business continuance plans and costs. Business continuance plans are the steps that a company puts into place to make sure it is capable of surviving a worst-case scenario. M2 Legal issues are the laws raised by different companies so that users or customers will be aware of them. Ethical issues involve right and wrong or what is considered good, and what is considered evil in a society. Legal and ethical issues for businesses are usually different from business to business.

HRM Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

HRM Assignment 2 - Essay Example The study has described various internal and external forces which influence organisations to change. It has further discussed about different resistances to change management and the consequences of failing to the organisational changes. Therefore, a particular change management model has been elaborated to recommend different ways of managing resistances. A typical organisation generally faces a number of forces which influences their organisational changes. These forces can generate from different external sources as well as internal sources of the organisation (Harsh, 2011). Internal forces for change generally come from the different operations of any organisation. Different kind of internal forces for change can generate from managerial behaviours and human resources problems (Harsh, 2011). a) Managerial behaviour: Excessive conflict and disagreement within a team and their manager is a sign for the requirement of change. This type of team needs to undergo interpersonal skill trainings. The team members as well as their superiors need to be relocated to different departments to reduce the conflict (Harsh, 2011). B) Human resources problems: This kind of problem generally initiates from the differences between organisational and individual desires and expectations. Differences between the expectations of management and employees can cause dissatisfaction within the employees which further results in higher turnover rate and absenteeism (Armenakis and Bedeian, 1999). Changes in career design are required in this kind of situation to minimize the role conflict and ambiguity within the employees (Harsh, 2011). There are mainly four external forces which influence the need of change in any organisation such as demographic characteristics, market changes, pressures from political and social issues and technological advancement (Harsh, 2011). a) Demographic characteristics: A huge section of