Sonnet 116 Review

marriage†¦ impediments (1-2): T. G. Tucker explains that the first two lines are a â€Å"manifest allusion to the words of the Marriage Service: ‘If any of you know cause or just impediment why these two persons should not be joined together in holy matrimony'; cf. Much Ado 4. 1. 12. ‘If either of you know any inward impediment why you should not be conjoined. ‘ Where minds are true – in possessing love in the real sense dwelt upon in the following lines – there can be no ‘impediments' through change of circumstances, outward appearance, or temporary lapses in conduct. † (Tucker, 192). ends with the remover to remove (4): i. e. , deviates (â€Å"bends†) to alter its course (â€Å"remove†) with the departure of the lover. ever-fixed mark (5): i. e. , a lighthouse (mark = sea-mark). Compare Othello (5. 2. 305-7): Be not afraid, though you do see me weapon'd; Here is my journey's end, here is my butt, And very sea-mark of m y utmost sail. the star to every wandering bark (7): i. e. , the star that guides every lost ship (guiding star = Polaris). Shakespeare again mentions Polaris (also known as â€Å"the north star†) in Much Ado About Nothing (2. 1. 222) and Julius Caesar (3. 1. 65).Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken (8): The subject here is still the north star. The star's true value can never truly be calculated, although its height can be measured. Love's not Time's fool (9): i. e. , love is not at the mercy of Time. Within his bending sickle's compass come (10): i. e. , physical beauty falls within the range (â€Å"compass†) of Time's curved blade. Note the comparison of Time to the Grim Reaper, the scythe-wielding personification of death. edge of doom (12): i. e. , Doomsday. Compare 1 Henry IV (4. 1. 141): Come, let us take a muster speedily: Doomsday is near; die all, die merrily.

Ethical Dimensions Essay

Health care tools has changed to organize better care for patients. Doctor’s use computer’s or laptop in the office and exam rooms to enter electronic health records (EHR). The EHR makes it easier for the patients to receive better organized care along with better organized health statistics. The Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act (HIPAA) administers the HIPPA Privacy and Security Rules for individual’s protection of their health information. Many doctors and health care providers recognize and accept all requirements under the Security and Privacy Rules. EHR permits health care providers and doctor’s to use data efficiently in their care and to develop the superiority and effectiveness for the betterment of the patient. Hospitals, doctor’s offices, and care givers must meet the criteria of Electronic Health Record Program to become eligible for the Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS). The first year, hospitals and Eligible Professionals (EP) do not have to demonstrate their important use, but are obligated to approve or upgrade to an (EHR) for them to receive payments for the services rendered. All work must be documented correctly in stage 1, (data capture & sharing)- stage 2 (Advance clinical processes), or stage 3 (Improved Outcomes) The HIPAA Privacy Rule gives the patient’s rights to all information documented concerning them. Whether on paper or electronic, the patient have the rights to their medical records, get correction made if any mistakes are found, informed if the doctor use or give his/her information to anyone, to see where they contact you, and to complain if needed to OCR website www.hhs.gov/ocr. References How do HIPAA Privacy and Security Rules apply to Health IT and EHRs? †¦ December 12, 2011, 10:24 am / Leon Rodriguez / Former Director, HHS, Health IT Buzz > Privacy and Security of EHRs > Privacy, Security, and Electronic Health Record, December 12, 2011, 10:24 am / Leon Rodriguez / Former Director, HHS Office for Civil Rights www.healthit.gov †º Health IT Buzz †º Privacy and Security of EHRs Health IT.gov, For Providers & Professionals, EHR Incentives & Certification, Last updated: Tuesday, January 15, 2013, www.healthit.gov †º †¦ †º EHR Incentives & Certification, Apr 9, 2014

Amazon Ebusiness Essay

Amazon was founded in 1994, spurred by what Bezos called â€Å"regret minimization framework†, his effort to fend off regret for not staking a claim in the Internet gold rush. Company lore says Bezos wrote the business plan while he and his wife drove from New York to Seattle , although that account appears to be apocryphal. The company began as an online bookstore; while the largest brick-and-mortar bookstores and mail-order catalogs for books might offer 200,000 titles, an online bookstore could offer more. Bezos named the company â€Å"Amazon† after the world’s largest river. Since 2000, Amazon’s logotype is an arrow leading from A to Z, representing customer satisfaction (as it forms a smile); a goal was to have every product in the alphabet. In 1994, the company incorporated in the state of Washington, beginning service in July 1995, and was reincorporated in 1996 inDelaware. The first book Amazon.com sold was Douglas Hofstadter’s Fluid Concepts and Creative Analogies: Computer Models of the Fundamental Mechanisms of Thought. Amazon.com issued its initial public offering of stock on May 15, 1997, trading under theNASDAQ stock exchange symbol AMZN, at an IPO price of US$18.00 per share ($1.50 after three stock splits in the late 1990s). Amazon’s initial business plan was unusual: the company did not expect a profit for four to five years. Its â€Å"slow† growth provoked stockholder complaints that the company was not reaching profitability fast enough. When the dot-com bubble burst, and many e-companies went out of business, Amazon persevered, and finally turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2001: $5 million or 1 ¢ per share, on revenues of more than $1 billion, but the modest profit was important in demonstrating the business model could be profitable. In 1999, Time magazine named Bezos Person of the Year,  recognizing the company’s success in popularizing online shopping. Amazon.com products and services: Amazon product lines include books, music CDs, videotapes and DVDs, software, consumer electronics, kitchen items, tools, lawn and garden items, toys & games, baby products, apparel, sporting goods, gourmet food, jewelry, watches, health and personal-care items, beauty products, musical instruments, clothing, industrial & scientific supplies, and groceries. The company launched Amazon.com Auctions, a Web auctions service, in March 1999. However, it failed to chip away at industry pioneer eBay’s large market share. Amazon.com Auctions was followed by the launch of a fixed-price marketplace business, zShops, in September 1999, and the now defunct Sotheby’s/Amazon partnership called sothebys.amazon.com in November. Auctions and zShops evolved into Amazon Marketplace, a service launched in 2001 that let customers sell used books, CDs, DVDs, and other products alongside new items. Today, Amazon Marketplace’s main rival is eBay’s Half.com service. In August 2005 , Amazon began selling products under its own private label, â€Å"Pinzon†; the trademark applications indicated that the label would be used for textiles, kitchen utensils, and other household goods.In March 2007, the company applied to expand the trademark to cover a more diverse list of goods, and to register a new design consisting of the â€Å"word PINZON in stylized letters with a notched letter O whose space appears at the â€Å"one o’clock† position.†. Coverage by the trademark grew to include items such as paints, carpets, wallpaper, hair accessories, clothing, footwear, headgear, cleaning products, and jewelry.On September 2008, Amazon filed to have the name registered. USPTO has finished its review of the application, but Amazon has yet to receive an official registration for the name. Amazon MP3, its own online music store, launched in the US in September 25, 2007, selling downloads exclusively in MP3 format without digital rights management.[This was the first online offering of DRM-free music from all four major record companies. In August 2007, Amazon announced AmazonFresh, a grocery service offering perishable and nonperishable foods. Customers can have orders delivered to their homes at dawn or during a specified daytime window. Delivery was initially restricted to residents of Mercer Island, Washington, and was later expanded to several  ZIP codes in Seattle proper. AmazonFresh also operated pick-up locations in the suburbs of Bellevue and Kirkland from summer 2007 through early 2008. In 2008 Amazon expanded into film production, producing the film The Stolen Child with 20th Century Fox. Amazon.com has incorporated a number of products and services through development and acquisitions. The Honor System was launched in 2001 to allow customers to make donations or buy digital content, with Amazon collecting a percentage of the payment plus a fee. The service was discontinued in 2008. and replaced by Amazon Payments. Amazon launched Amazon Web Services(AWS) in 2002, which provides programmatic access to latent features on its website. Amazon also created â€Å"channels† to benefit certain causes. In 2004, Amazon’s â€Å"Presidential Candidates† allowed customers to donate $5–200 t o the campaigns of 2004 U.S. presidential hopefuls. Amazon has periodically reactivated a Red Cross donation channel after crises such as the 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2004 earthquake and tsunami in the Indian Ocean. By January 2005, nearly 200,000 people had donated over $15.7 million in the US. Amazon Prime offers two day shipping with no minimum purchase amount for a flat annual fee, as well as discounted priority shipping rates. Amazon launched the program in the continental United States in 2005, in Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany in 2007, and in France (as â€Å"Amazon Premium†) in 2008. Launched in 2005, Amazon Shorts offers exclusive short stories and non-fiction pieces from best-selling authors for immediate download. By June 2007, the program had over 1,700 pieces and was adding about 50 new pieces per week. In November 2005, Amazon.com began testing Amazon Mechanical Turk, an application programming interface (API) allowing programs to dispatch tasks to human processors. In March 2006, Amazon launched an online storage service called Amazon Simple Storage Service (Amazon S3). An unlimited number of data objects, from 1 byte to 5 gigabytes in size, can be stored in S3 and distributed via HTTP or BitTorrent. The service charges monthly fees for data stored and transferred. In 2006, Amazon introducedAmazon Simple Queue Service (Amazon SQS), a distributed queue messaging service, and product wikis (later folded into Amapedia) and discussion forums for certain products using guidelines that follow standard message board conventions. Also in 2006, Amazon introduced Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2), a virtual site farm, allowing users to use the Amazon infrastructure to run applications ranging  from running simulations to web hosting. In 2008, Amazon improved the service adding Elastic Block Store (EBS), offering persistent storage for Amazon EC2 instances and Elastic IP addresses, static IP addresses designed for dynamic cloud computing. In 2007 Amazon launched Amapedia, a wiki for user-generated content to replace ProductWiki, the video on demand s ervice Amazon Unbox, and Amazon MP3, which sells downloadable MP3’s. Amazon’s terms of use agreements restrict use of the MP3’s, but Amazon does not use DRM to enforce those terms. Amazon MP3 sells music from the Big 4 record labels EMI, Universal, Warner Bros. Records, and Sony BMG, as well as independents. Previous to the launch of this service, Amazon made an investment in Amie Street, a music store with a variable pricing model based on demand. Also in 2007 Amazon launched Amazon Vine, which allows reviewers free access to pre-release products from vendors in return for posting a review, as well as payment service specifically targeted at developers, Amazon FPS. In November 2007, Amazon launched Amazon Kindle, an e-book reader which downloads content over â€Å"Whispernet†, via the Sprint Nextel EV-DO wireless network. The screen uses E Ink technology to reduce battery consumption. In 2008 Amazon stated that its Kindle-based library included 200,000 titles. In December 2007, Amazon introduced SimpleDB, a database system, allowing users of its other infrastructure to utilize a high reliability high performance database system. In August 2007, Amazon launched an invitation-only beta-test for online grocery delivery. It has since rolled out in several Seattle, Washington suburbs. In January 2008 Amazon began rolling out their MP3 service to subsidiary websites worldwide. In December, 2008, Amazon MP3 was made available in the UK. In September, IMDB and Amazon.com launched a Music metadata browsing site with wiki-like user contribution. In November, Amazon partnered with Fisher-Price, Mattel, Microsoft and Transcend to offer products with minimal packaging to reduce environmental impact and frustration with opening â€Å"clamshell† type packaging. Amazon Web Services launched a public beta of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud running Microsoft Windows Server and Microsoft SQL Server. Amazon Connectenables authors to post remarks on their book pages to customers. WebStore allows businesses to create custom e-commerce websites using Amazon technology. Sellers pay a commission of 7 percent, including credit-card processing fees and fraud protection, and a subscription fee of  $59.95/month for an unlimited number of webstores and listings. Why Amazon.com is successful as a business on internet and has excellent capabilities supported by information system and e-commerce? Amazon’s initial business plan was unusual: the company did not expect a profit for four to five years. Its â€Å"slow† growth provoked stockholder complaints that the company was not reaching profitability fast enough. When the dot-com bubble burst and many e-companies went out of business, Amazon persevered, and finally turned its first profit in the fourth quarter of 2001: $5 million or 1 ¢ per share, on revenues of more than $1 billion, but the modest profit was important in demonstrating the business model could be profitable. In 1999, Time magazine named Bezos Person of the Year, recognizing the company’s success in popularizing online shopping. Amazon changed the way it does business through the years. First it was an online book seller. Next it expanded into selling music and videos. Then it offered toys, consumer electronics and software to its customers. These were linked with a host of new products until this very day. Amazon has a constantly evolving product line. Its competitors have a hard time catching up with the innovator. During its initial years of operation, Amazon was not making any real profit. It practiced instead the habit of reinvesting its income into new markets. This it did to make possible for its customers to make wider choices for the company’s offerings. Inventory management is an important function for any business and its efficient implementation can play a major role in reducing costs within a company. Policies, procedures, and techniques employed in maintaining the optimum number or amount of each inventory item. The objective of inventory management is to provide uninterrupted production, sales, and/or customer-service levels at the minimum cost, Levi D. S. et al (2003). Levi explains that a high-quality inventory management system provides a smooth and efficient supply chain by reducing costs and time. Initially when a company is established, key individuals may pe rform such tasks as purchasing, manufacturing or inventory control with little problem in terms of overlapping functions. But as a company expands it may be necessary to concentrate on core functions in the aim to have specialized personnel in every department. Each function has an important part to play in the supply chain. The correct management of  inventory enables a company to reduce liabilities and cost of overstocking, to streamline operations and to have better utilized staff. Amazon.com, the world’s largest online retailer and one of the nation’s biggest book sellers, is one of the iconic companies of the Internet era, Eells S. (2010), and by realizing the importance of inventory management can only improve its supply chain. From the text we can see that when CEO Jeffrey P. Bezos went about setting up Amazon.com, he had a clear aim to offer customers a wide selection of books but at the same time did not want to spend time and money on opening stores and warehouses and in dealing with the inventory. Bezos was hesitant in deciding to maintain Amazons own warehouse but realized that this was the only way for the company to keep customers satisfied. Internet shopping was rapidly expanding and with Amazon now stretching its ranges from not only books but to CDs, toys and hardware, they too were a growing industry. Amazon began setting up warehouses throughout the US, strategically placing them in states with little or no sales tax in order to reduce costs. These warehouses were very well maintained and completely computerized, with each item having a separate code which made inventory management a lot easier. Within the large warehouses, Amazon held all products which were available on the website. This was not always a good idea as it cost Amazon money in order to stock these goods. In the holiday season of 1999, Bezos was determined not to disappoint any customers; therefore he ordered larger amounts of every product. With this large amount of inventory, Bezos found it very diffic ult to manage, so aimed to rearrange the warehouses to accommodate the demand in different regions. They then decided to outsource some of its routines activities so that they could concentrate more on their core competencies. Deciding whether to outsource or not was a difficult decision for Amazon but seen in the Strategic outsourcing book by Greaver M. (1999), he explains that there quiet a number of reasons how outsourcing can be a major advantage. These points are broken into 6 headings; 1. Organizational reasons – Enhance effectiveness and focus on what you do best and also makes the company more flexible 2. Improvement driven reasons – Improve operating performance and also management and control 3. Finally driven reasons – Reduce investment assets and free up these resources for other areas of the business 4. Revenue driven reasons – Gain market access and  business opportunities along with accelerating expansion 5. Cost driven reasons – Reduce cost through superior provider performance and lower cost structure 6. Employee driven reasons – Increase commitment and energy in non core areas. Amazon decided to outsource its inventory management, and with this they decided not to stock every item offered on its site. It stocked only the most popular and frequently purchased items and as for the other items, they were requested from the distributor on ordering. The item would be sent to Amazon, unpacked and finally sent to the customer. Amazon entered into an agreement with Ingram Micro Inc. to use its knowledge and experience in the electronic goods and supply chain management in order to provide logistics and order-fulfillment services for desktops, laptops and other computer related accessories. From the case, Kevin Murai, President, Ingram Macro U.S. informs everyone the advantages in which they can offer to Amazons supply chain and satisfaction of customers, â€Å"The customer fulfillment services we are providing to Amazon.com’s computer store will minimize the number of touches to the product, while ensuring a seamless shopping experience for Amazons customers from start to finish†. A collaborative approach was obvious from this. A collaborative partnership has become an alternative approach to care, replacing traditional hierarchical approach as the desired approach to care. The features of collaborative partnerships are (1) Power sharing and sharing of expertise; (2) the pursuit of mutually agreed on, person centered goals and, (3) a dynamic process that requires the active participation and agreement of all partners in the relationship, Elsevier M. (2006). Both Amazon and Ingram Micro both shared the passion for customer satisfaction which was the main driving force to the success of their partnership. Amazon has identified its core competencies as: customer convenience and accessibility, massive selection, personalized service, quality of the site content, quality of its search tools and price, Mulqueen K. (2009). By entering into this partnership it gives Amazon more quality time to put into its core competencies. During the initial stages of Amazons warehousing, it aimed to have every item in stock in o rder to maximize customer satisfaction. By having this inventory, it would enable Amazon to meet the needs of the customers when they purchased the goods online. When the customer chooses the item, Amazon takes it from inventory and sent it to the respective  customer. We can see the logic in which Bezos takes as he is aiming to satisfy every customer in order to build a positive image and reputation of the company. Holding this much inventory on the other can be quite costly and also for a small business which Amazon was when taking on this method can be very difficult to manage. Amazons warehouses were a quarter mile long and 200 yards wide storing millions of books. Each warehouse cost Bezos around 50 million and not only this he started to realize that having all these large amounts of stock was unutilized cash which could be used to improve the business elsewhere. The below image (fig 1.1) gives you an idea of the scale of the warehouses and how an effective inventory management structure is vital. Learning from the difficult holiday season of 1999, Bezos outsourced some of their core competencies in order to pay more attention to othe r areas of the business. In our opinion this was a step in the right direction as when Amazons partners shipped the goods Amazon revamped the layout of their warehouses which makes the items easier to find and allowed customer orders to be sorted more efficiently. In early 2001, when Amazon partnered with Ingram Micro Inc., we feel that this was the correct decision for Amazon in the aim for efficient inventory management and it didn’t take long for changes to be made to the stocking of inventory. Amazon decided to stock only the most popular and most frequently purchased. If an item which wasn’t in stock, Amazon simply ordered in from the distributor and who then shipped it to Amazon where they would unpack it and send it to the customer. This may seem like a longer process but we feel this step which significantly reduce costs and better utilized Amazons finances. This is evident from the case as in December 00; their gross profit was 656.8 million where it was almost doubled in December 02 where the profit was 1,074.9 million. By doing this method, inevitably Amazon reduced holding costs. This method was proving to be a positive for Amazon as the improved inventory management helped Amazon record its first ever profit in 2001. From being initially in a deficit of $2.86 billion seven years earlier, Amazon recorded a net profit of $5 million in the fourth quarter of 2001. By Amazon outsourcing its inventory management, we could see the improvements almost immediately from their financial reports in the case. It is clear in our opinion, that Amazon made the right decision when outsourcing this function. It has reduced cost by keeping fewer inventories  and at the same time has partnered with a company with a great deal of expertise in the technology functions which can again be a major positive for the company. This shows again that outsourcing the inventory function was the correct decision for Amazon. The transfer of Amazons inventory management as shown in the case was a positive influence on the company and we feel that it was a successful task. The reason for this is simple; Amazon has tried and tested various inventory techniques from when it was first established. At first Amazons inventory was too great and was seen to be unutilized cash. Bezos realized that this unutilized cash could possible to used to benefit over departments within the company. The task of outsourcing this area made a profit for the company immediately, at the end of 2001, Amazon had a sales record of 1.1 billion which was a 15% increase on the same period of the previous year. Then again in 2002, we can see from the case that Amazon recorded sales of 3.93 billion which was a 26% increase on the year previous. These figures show that the task of outsourcing inventory for Amazon was an important function which has shown to get record sales for the company and along with the expertise given by Ingram Micro was overall a positive influence on the company. Overall, Amazons decision to outsource its inventory management and concentrate more on other funct ions within the business was the correct decision in our opinion. This is proven by the increase in profit since doing so. Amazon managed to outsource this function and still satisfy their customers which is one of their core values along with being innovative. According to businessweek.com, Amazon in 2010 had a net income of $231 million in comparison to $177million in 2009 which again is an indication that the company’s decisions have only had a positive impact as the company continues to grow. This is a positive for the company but in comparison to its main competitor, EBay had a net income of 397.65 million in 2010 which is also seen on businessweek.com. This shows that there is a lot of work done but still in order to compete with its competitors it must still strive to improve. Amazon prides itself on a strong brand, excellent customer service and a well designed, easy to use website. Its use of E-Business strategies enables the company to cut costs better than its competitors and empower its customers by offering them choice. It could be argued that Amazons’ most valuable asset is its CEO and Founder Jeff Bezos. Bezos innovative style has grown the company from  strength to strength and latest figures, according to the website www.siliconrepublic.com show an increase in profit of 36% to $12.95bn for 2010 from a sink to 3.7pc from 5pc at the end of 2009. In 2001, Amazons CEO, Jeff Bezos welcomed competitors rather than fighting them. This decision was initially seen as somewhat controversial. According to Vogelstein (2003) the decision caused such a stir in the book-publishing community that the Authors Guild formally stepped in. They wanted used books sold on a different page from newly published ones. Amazon was able to do this as a result of its efficient inventory management. Vogelstein (2003) states that Amazons warehouses are so efficient that they need to be replenished 20 times per year and they can now handle three times the volume they handled in 1999. The net result of this initiative is increased profits as can be seen from the case. The success of Amazon can be attributed to E-Business. Tedeschi (1999) state; Business on the Internet is cutting significant cost out of the supply chain, with better procurement and resource planning. With Amazon, these cost savings are passed onto the end customer. Through price comparison and transparency on its webpage, customers could make informed decisions based on price. This created massive popularity with its customers. E-Business also creates brand strength. According to Matthewson (2002) a recent survey demonstrated the importance of online brand building, as it showed that six out of ten internet users directly typed into their browser the address of the brand they are interested in buying. The website is said to attract 81 million unique visitors each month .Amazon has capitalized on this process known as cyber-branding. This essentially promotes the company through superior customer service. Its logistics in both inventory efficiency and technology gives it a superior edge over its competitors. Its operations are very efficient due to the strategic locations of its warehouses and headquarters, which have enabled Amazon to cut a lot of its costs. The market in which amazon.com operates and how it is organized by region and country: Amazon.com has always sold goods out of its own warehouses. It started as a bookseller, pure and simple, and over the last decade has branched out into  additional product areas and the third-party sales that now represent a good chunk of its revenue (some estimates put it at 25 percent). Both retailers and individual sellers utilize the Amazon.com platform to sell goods. Large retailers like Nordstrom, Land’s End and Target use Amazon.com to sell their products in addition to selling them through their own Web sites. The sales go through Amazon.com and end up at Nordstrom.com, Land’s End.com or Target.com for processing and order fulfillment. Amazon essentially leases space to these retailers, who use Amazon.com as a supplemental outlet for their online sales. Small sellers of used and new goods go to Amazon Marketplace, Amazon zShops or Amazon Auctions. At Marketplace, sellers offer goods at a fixed price, and at Auctions they sell their stuff to the highest bidder. Amazon zShops features only used goods at fixed prices. If an item listed on zShops, Marketplace or Auctions is also sold on the main Amazon.com, it appears in a box beside the Amazon.com item so buyers can see if someone else is selling the product for less in one of the other sales channels. The level of integration that occurs on Amazon is a programming feat that few (if any) online sales sites can match. Another sales channel called Amazon Advantage is a place where people can sell new books, music and movies directly from the Amazon warehouse instead of from their home or store. Sellers ship a number of units to Amazon, and Amazon handles the entire sales transaction from start to finish. In all of these programs, Amazon gets a cut of each sale (usually about 10 percent to 15 percent) and sometimes charges additional listing or subscription fees; in the case of Amazon Advantage, the company takes a 55 percent commission on each sale. The Advantage channel is something like a consignment setup, a sales avenue for people who create the ir own music CDs or have self-published a book and are simply looking for a way to get it out there. One of the latest additions to Amazon’s repertoire is a subsidiary company called Amazon Services. Through Amazon Services, Amazon sells its sales platform, providing complete Amazon e-commerce packages to companies looking to establish or revamp their e-commerce business. Amazon sets up complete Web sites and technology backbones for other e-commerce companies using Amazon software and technology. Target, for instance, in addition to having a store on Amazon.com, also uses Amazon Services to build and manage its own e-commerce site, Target.com. But selling goods isn’t the only way to make  money with Amazon.com. The Web site’s affiliate program is one of the most famous on the Web. Through Amazon’s Associate Program, anyone with a Web site can post a link to Amazon.com and earn some money. The link can display a single product chosen by the associate, or it can list several â€Å"best seller† products in a particular genre, in which case Amazon u pdates the list automatically at preset intervals. The associate gets a cut of any sale made directly through that link. The cut ranges from 4 percent to 7.5 percent depending on which fee structure the associate signs up for (see Amazon Associates for complete program details). The associate can also take advantage of Amazon Web Services, which is the program that lets people use Amazon’s utilities for their own purposes. The Amazon Web Services API (application programming interface) lets developers access the Amazon technology infrastructure to build their own applications for their own Web sites. All product sales generated by those Web sites have to go through Amazon.com, and the associate gets a small commission on each sale. References * about Ingram Micro. [Online] Available from: http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=98566&p=irol-aboutIMOverview * Aryasri A R (2007) Managerial economics and financial analysis, 3rd Ed, Tata McGraw-Hill, New Delhi * Bolumole, Yemisi A., Frankel R., Naslund D, 2007. â€Å"Developing a Theoretical Framework for Logistics Outsourcing†, Transportation Journal, [e-journal], Vol. 46 Issue 2, p35-54, 20p, , Available through: Business Source Premier database [Accessed 18 February 2011] * Coltman et al (2000) E-Business: Revolution, Evolution or Hype? (Online) Available http://www.uazuay.edu.ec/bibliotecas/e-business/E-business_Revolution_Evolution_or_Hype.pdf * Dickenson et al (1999) Strategic Analysis & Recommendation: eBay, restructuring Process to Retain and Grow Core Business, Pacific Lutheran University. * Eell S. (2010) Amazon.com Inc. [Online] Available: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/amazon_inc/index.html * Elsevier M.(2006) The Collaborative Partnership approach to Care, Ann Millar, Toronto Canada. * Downes & Mui (1999) Unleashing the Killer App: Digital Strategies for Market Dominance, Harvard Business School Press. * Galente J. (2010) Amazon.com’s Profit Forecast Falls Short of Estimates [Online]. Available: http://www.businessweek.com/news/2010-10-21/amazon-com-s-profit-forecast-falls-short-of-estimates.html * Gitman & McDaniel (2008) The Future of business: The Essential, South-Western Cengage Learning, OH * Greaver M (1999) Strategic Outsourcing: A Structured Approach to Outsourcing Decisions and Initiatives, AMACOM; illustrated edition, NY. * Hardman R (2009) Santa’s not so little helper: Today’s the busiest online shopping day of the year. So are they ready at the biggest grotto this side of Lapland? [Online] Available: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1233766/Santas-little-helper-Todays-busiest-online-shopping-day-year-So-ready-biggest-grotto-Lapland.html * Ingram Micro Talks Cloud With Amazon, Rackspace, Salesforce.com. [Online] Available from: http://www.mspmentor.net/2010/06/07/ingram-micro-talks-cloud-with-amazon-rackspace-salesforce-com/ * Ingram Micro reports about increasing business demand in iPad. 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(2009) Consulting For Human Resources Organizational Development & Training, [Online] Available: http://www.consulting4hr.com/articles.html * People carrying dollar. [Online] Available from: http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-18434335/stock-photo-people-carrying-dollar.html * Save money buying used books at Amazon.com. [Online] Available from: http://jeremy.zawodny.com/blog/archives/006969.html * Sanders et al (2007) A Multidimensional Framework for Understanding Outsourcing Arrangements, Journal of Supply Chain Management, [e-journal], Vol. 43 Issue 4, p3-15, Abstract only. Available through: Business Source Premier database [Accessed 18 February 2011] * Scandoval (2002) How lean can Amazon Go? (Online) Available http://news.cnet.com/2100-1017-886784.html * Tedeschi R (1999), A Market that Dwarfs Retail E-Sales, New York Times,

To what extent can management control organizational culture Essay

To what extent can management control organizational culture - Essay Example Management control can be defined as the mechanism by which the management of an organization exercises control over the employees in a manner to reduce costs and losses, fulfilment of objectives and ensuring optimum utilization of the available resources. Organizational culture is another important phenomenon that can be observed in organizations these days. Organizational culture refers to the culture followed within an organizational framework, which is a result of the behaviour of people and the sense that they append to the displayed behaviours. Organizational culture is important for any organization, as it helps in the establishment of a unique culture within and outside the organizational boundaries depending upon which the business objectives are formulated. Use of management control in an organization can have a strong impact upon the organizational culture and its business operations. Management control has several benefits as well as disadvantages over the organizational culture, which establishes a platform for determining the organizational outcomes (O’Donnell & Boyle, 2008). In this context, the essay focuses on gaining an idea of management control and its affect over the organizational culture. The study would provide an argumentative overview of the topic through a discussion on the core principles of management control and organizational culture along with their interrelatedness. The study would also discuss the findings pertaining to the effect of management control over the organizational culture. A management control helps in ensuring that the present organisational standards are in accordance with the pre-determined roles and objectives, which further ensures that necessary actions can be taken in case of discrepancies. Managerial control requires the managers to exercise control over the employees, who are concerned with carrying out several job roles and responsibilities. Management control has a strong influence power on

Comparison and Contrast between Egyptian and Greek History Essay

Comparison and Contrast between Egyptian and Greek History - Essay Example   The social organizations and governments of ancient Greeks and Egyptians differed. Ancient Egypt was ruled by dynasties such as the Old Kingdom Dynasty while Greeks had an aristocratic form of government. Ancient Greece was divided into provinces called polis. The few rich landowners, who owned slaves ruled their territories. The more slaves a landowner had, the more powerful they were (Finlay).   The form of literature between these two was also different since Greeks introduced vowels to the alphabetic system. This formed the basis for the modern day English language. The Egyptians developed their own form of writing which used pictures and symbols to communicate.Greek were highly engaged in trade activities. This was favoured by their easy access to the Mediterranean Sea which made it easy for them to import and export goods. This also facilitated slave trade as well as fishing activities that formed a major part of their economy. The Egyptians had a different type of econom ic system which relied on supply function. Producers of different commodities would deliver their produce to the ruling administration and temples. These commodities would then be distributed to other citizens on a need basis.   Any surplus that was available after distribution would be supplied to neighbouring states in exchange of commodities that were not available in the exporting state. ComparisonsGreeks introduce vowels the alphabets. This formed the basis for modern-day English.  Ã‚  

Applying Theory to Practice Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Applying Theory to Practice - Case Study Example The case explains that Bosket’s father was serving jail term and his mother was married to somebody else and did not have much to do with the young boy (Agnew, 2008). One of the factors that I believe are important in understanding Willie Bosket’s delinquent behavior is the motivation to commit crime. It seems like the fact that Bosket committed several crimes and got away with them without serious consequences reinforced his motivation to commit more crimes. The money he got from robbing people acted as motivation for Bosket to commit crimes. The perceived power he got from carrying a gun was another element that added onto Bosket’s motivation to commit crime. The gun made Bosket feel that he would subdue his victims easily and rob them or do whatever else he needed to do to them (Bohm, 2010). Another factor that is important in understanding Bosket’s delinquent behavior is his history of crime. Bosket committed many crimes and confronted law enforcement agencies severally. It is possible that the experience that Bosket got from his history of crimes made him feel that he was becoming a master at what he was doing thus enjoying committing more crimes. Something about Bosket’s history of crime that could explain his delinquency is a likelihood of weakness in the law enforcement system. Weak law enforcement allows juveniles like Bosket to advance their delinquency since they come to believe that nothing serious will happen to them (Agnew, 2008). Absence of parents to Bosket’s from his immediate environment is another important factor in understanding the juvenile’s delinquent behavior. When parents live with their children in their immediate environments they teach their children to conform to norms and values, which discourage crime and this, is one of the things that Bosket was missing. Absence of Bosket’s father must have had an influence in Bosket’s delinquency

Protection of the Effectiveness of Internal Audit Function Essay

Protection of the Effectiveness of Internal Audit Function - Essay Example Hence, it is worth considering how the effectiveness of the internal audit function could be better protected so as to protect shareholders as well as enable the external auditors to offer a higher quality audit opinion. When internal auditors are efficient in service delivery means that the opinion they will give in the running of the organisation will be the correct position of the company (Get through Guides 2007). The internal auditors will be able to give recommendation to improve the running of the organisation. These recommendations will automatically translate to the company being run in a way that will be beneficial to the shareholders. For the shareholders, this will mean that they will have the true position of the organisation and will be able to make informed decisions on how best to improve the business and they will know if their investment in the company is going to give worthwhile returns. The external auditors on the other hand will meet an organisation that has its affairs in order and the kind of audit opinion they will give will be quality audit opinion. The reason is that the lapses will be recognised and recommendations made to correct them. This will attract investors since they will be confident that their investment will not be mishandled and this will automatically bring more profits to the shareholders. Internal auditors in carrying out their work efficiently can be protected by ensuring their independence is maintained. Despite the fact that the internal auditors are in the company’s payroll, their work has to be free from managerial influence. This is because they need to maintain the highest degree of professionalism when going through the organisation’s books of accounts. If autonomy is maintained, they will be able to offer a true and just view of the books of accounts and give either a qualified audit opinion or unqualified audit opinion (Grey & Manson 2008). The other way to protect them is for the internal audit ors to work with the management and not work like they are out to get the mistakes that have been committed. The auditors have to remember that they are not supposed to correct the mistakes done but rather give recommendations on how to rectify or improve. Management cooperation will ensure the records needed for audit will be availed with no problems and thus will ease the work of the auditors. If management cooperation is secured, the other employees will also comply with the set rules they are sure that they will be audited and a true and fair opinion given. The working well with management will also give the internal auditors and the management an avenue to make proper risk management processes that will deter future lapses in the organisation’s books (Get through Guides 2007). With the current technology surge in the running of organisations, the internal auditors have to be kept up-to-date with the technology. This will mean that they are always in loop with any lapses that may occur in the organisation. Risks that affected an organisation a year ago might actually be very different with the risks in the current year. This will mean updates on risks that may affect the organisation have to be made available. Without this the internal auditors might actually be overlooking a potential problem for the organisation and this will be detected by the external auditors which in turn will affect

What is at stake in the call to decolonize IR What difference would it Essay

What is at stake in the call to decolonize IR What difference would it make, if any, to how we make sense of the international theoretically - Essay Example Further, this field has been dominated by Anglo-American scholars, and to this extent it has ignored much of the rest of the world. Thus, the field of International Relations has largely been reduced into western imperialism, and the international interest for global powers has effectively become the foundation of the world order. It is against this background that the creation of a new world order in the 21st century becomes a subject of interest, which can barely be achieved without first decolonizing International Relations (Tickner, 2003:297). Despite the fact that globalization has come as an avenue through which a new world order can be created, the long-past against which the previous and the current world order is built has hindered this transformation. Thus, International Relations, which has largely ignored the fundamental questions of dispossession, racism, colonialism and slavery serves as a major impediment to the achievement of the new world order (Krishna, 2001:407). Therefore, there is no vital time in the history of the world to address the decolonization of International Relations, than presently. The call to decolonize International Relations emanate from the need to address the historical background that led to the development of the current world order, which has completely been ignored by the International Relations discipline (Shohat, 1992:102). The apparent definition of the historical background of colonialism and dispossession that led to the current world order as a taboo by the discipline of IR has raised sufficient ground for understanding the unwillingness of the west to address the issue of colonialism, slavery racism and imperialism, which led to the development of a world order where some nations are powerful, wealthy and developed than others (Barkawi, 2010:1365). Therefore, the decolonization of IR would majorly seek to create a ground for focusing on such historical backgrounds, so that the

Topshop Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Topshop Case Study - Essay Example trendy, moderately-priced apparel (Biesada, n d) that has grown remarkably from humble beginnings to 300 stores in the UK and over 100 in international territories. The brand gained its iconic status in 1994 when it took over a 90,000 square feet space at London Oxford Circus where it remains to date (â€Å"About Us - Topshop,† 2011). The London Oxford Circus shop alone attracts over 200,000 shoppers per week and as such has earned Topshop the accolade to be considered as the world’s largest fashion store on the high street. Topshop’s phenomenal success can be traced back to 1985 when Jane Shepherdson, then the director of Topshop, decided to take the company in a new direction. Jane put up a team of 16 stylists and made them travel the world in search of new fashion ideas. This team moved from trendy neighborhoods, to catwalks to flea markets in places as diverse as Tokyo, Paris and New York looking for fashion trends to interpret (Coco, n d). Using the un ique ideas they had encountered Jane’s team of stylists revolutionalized Topshop into a fashionable and trendy boutique. Since 2000, Topshop’s covetable collections have been made available over the Internet through www.topshop.com, which draws tens of thousands of anxious shoppers. Topshop is owned by Arcadia Group, UK’s largest privately-owned clothing retailer. The Arcadia Group owns six other high street best-known fashion brands namely: Topman, Dorothy Perkins, Burton, Evans, Wallis and Miss Selfridge. Cumulatively Arcadia Group has more than 2,500 outlets (â€Å"About Us,† n d). Topshop is their flagship brand. All the same, as the global economy is recovering from the recession, the fashion industry is experiencing intense rivalry. Sir Philip Green, the owner of Arcadia Group, believes that the fashion houses likely to emerge stronger from this current environment would be the ones who are focused on having good store environments, fresh products and ‘newness’, at low prices. Sir Green says, â€Å"It’s not going to be just about price, it’s going to be about ‘price and nice’† (Hawkes, 2008). Does Topshop’s retail strategy encompass â€Å"price and nice†? Industry at a glance The fashion industry has dramatically evolved over the past few decades. Fashion products that used to be luxury items are now considered as basic commodity products and are bought by almost all segments of the society (Mazaira, Gonzalez, & Avendano, 2003). Some of the factors that may contribute to this growing demand for fashion products are the continuous low prices brought about by an increasing number of target markets and transfer of manufacturing sites to developing countries especially in Asia. With an increasing number of players in the industry, the rivalry is intense. Topshop’s main competitors are Zara, H&M and French Connection (Biesada, n d). The fashion industry is also characterized by consumers with a strong buying

Case Studies of Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups Essay

Case Studies of Organizational Learning in Terrorist Groups - Essay Example For example, the terrorist group Al-Qaeda based in the Middle East uses Islam to support their jihad or Holy War, which targets non-Muslims. These terrorist factions use brainwashing tactics to recruit members. Religious extremists are easier to recruit because they already possess fanatic ideas pertaining to religion. Presently, sub-groups emerge in different areas of the world with affiliations to a bigger group. The Al-Shabaab based in Somalia is affiliated to the terror group Al-Qaeda. The function of the herald group is to supply money and ammunitions to the smaller groups, which are crucial for engaging in terrorist activities. This emerging trend makes combating terrorism a harder task for intelligence agencies. Plenty of monetary and human resources are deployed to monitor the different groups. In conclusion, intelligence agencies across the globe face difficulties in trying to mitigate terrorism molded from stringent religious ideologies. This is because it is impossible to reason with religious extremists who believe their actions are sanctified by a

Western Artists Have Approached The Orient At Various Moments With Research Paper

Western Artists Have Approached The Orient At Various Moments With Perfectly Honourable Intentions And Genuine Respect - Research Paper Example At the end of the paper the writer shall conclude by saying that the western artists indeed have approached the orient in a honourable and respected fashion, as the case ought to have been. Orientalism is a term, which is used in history fir the depiction of the Eastern art by the writers, artists, painters and authors belonging from the western countries. In order to understand the contribution of the western artists on orientalism, it is pertinent to understand the definition of orientalism. Following is the definition of Orientalism: â€Å"The countries of Asia, especially of eastern Asia.† Orient is the word, which has been given to the east and the art of the east, which consists of the Middle East, India, Turkey and North Africa. â€Å"Figures in Middle Eastern dress appear in Renaissance and Baroque works by such artists as Bellini, Veronese, and Rembrandt, and the opulent eroticism of harem scenes appealed to the French Rococo aesthetic.† The earliest indication s of Orient Art in the western culture started to show up in the 15th century, when the renaissance movement had started. The intermingling of the Western people with the Asian and the eastern culture was paramount and fundamental towards the development of Orientalism. Beginning of Orientalism: â€Å"In 1798, a French army led by General Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Egypt and occupied the country until 1801. The European presence in Egypt attracted Western travelers to the Near and Middle East, many of whom captured their impressions in paint or print. In 1809, the French government published the first installment of the twenty-four-volume Description de l'Egypte (1809–22), illustrating the topography, architecture, monuments, natural life, and population of Egypt.† Once the French initiated orientalism, more and more European nations started coming forwards by taking interest in the culture of the Middle East and eastern Asia. The taste for orientalism manifested itsel f in European architecture, the building styles and the furniture. Orientalism has positively influenced the design and art of the European architecture. Orientalism in Architecture: The Middle Eastern style of architecture had a major influence and was a source of inspiration for the European countries, as well as motivating them to build similar style of building in their own countries. The Guildhall, London, is an important example where the British adopted the Indian style of architecture during the late 17th century. The Indian style of architecture was also known as Hindoo Style of architecture. Another example of the Indian style of architecture is the Sezincote house, which was built from the inspiration of the nawab style of Bengal. The intermingling of the culture of the east with the western adaptation had already started once the British invaded India. It is imperative to state that the British were heavily inspired by the tomb style architecture of the Muslims and the N awabs, and that reflected in their sense of architecture design of the future. Apart from learning the influence of the Indian architecture, the Western people also took great influence form the Turkish style of construction, which was an integral part of the 19th century French architecture. French Orientalism: French orientalism kick started in the early 18th century after Napoleon Bonaparte conquered Egypt as part of his annexation agenda in Asia. The French invasion of Egypt has a great role to play to influence the French tribes and locals to start inheriting the Egypt form of art back to their home country. The major influence which the French took form Egypt was in the form of painting, especially oil

Lawyer Ed Masry on a referral Essay Example for Free

Lawyer Ed Masry on a referral Essay Erin Brockovich is a true American hero who’s icon status and â€Å"stick-to-it-iveness† only fuels her determination to expose injustice and lend her voice to those who do not have one. Erin Brockovich is a single mother, unemployed, struggling to make ends meet in a world not particularly kind to single moms. After a car accident leads her to seek legal redress, she meets lawyer Ed Masry on a referral. When he loses her lawsuit, she shows up at his office, demanding a job, barely hiding her desperation. Intimidated, Ed gives her one. By pursuing her own curiosity she brings on a difficult and huge case about PGE. PGE’s desire to increase its profits was so big that they didn’t even care about their neighbors’ health or security. In a world where heroes are often in short supply, the story of Erin Brockovich is an inspirational reminder of the power of the human spirit. Her passion, tenacity and steadfast desire to fight for the rights of the underdog defied the odds. Her victory made even more sweet by the fact that while helping others, she in turn helped herself. This story is not just a triumph of the little guy over the big nasty corporation, its the journey of one woman down the path of self-discovery as well. If only the world had more â€Å"Erin Brockoviches† in it, perhaps there would be more honesty in it. Profile of an extraordinary woman â€Å"She brought a small town to its feet and a huge corporation to its knees.† After watching the movie I realized that Erins public self was pretty much the same as her private self: she treated Ed, her boss in the same manner as she treated George, her boyfriend. Erin didnt take crap from anybody but at times she did let her aggressions take over. Most of the time these hostilities would lead her in contempt, but in the long run usually worked out for the best. It was a good way to get her point across at times but from my perspective she could have approached some of these situations a little differently, for example the night Erin met George she could have asked him nicely to be quiet instead of chewing him out angrily, even after he tried repeatedly to apologize to her. She is aggressive and she loses her temper easily. Another example of this is point where Ed takes on a partner for advice and help with costs on the PGE cases and when Erin walks in and finds out, she immediately feels offended and flies off the handle when she could have used a pillow method so to speak, to look at the situation from Eds point of view and realize that taking on this partner was in the best interests of the case. Incensed by what she has found, Erin begins a crusade to make Pacific Gas Electric accountable for the illness and death that they have caused. Driven by her own persistence and desire to seek justice for the townspeople, Erin goes door to door to sign up over 600 plaintiffs for a direct-action lawsuit against PGE. However, not everyone shares Erins enthusiasm to see justice done with PGE being the largest employer in the area, Erin finds a number of townspeople leery of rocking the boat. Nonetheless, Erins persistence and the personal interest she takes in their lives makes them listen. She is one of them. A kindred spirit and her ability to connect with them on their level makes them comfortable, ultimately earning their trust. She thrives on being the voice for those who don’t know how to yell. Along with trust and honesty comes respect. When a person is trusted and shown to be honest, that person is respected for those reasons. Erin experiences respect of her for the first time with the community of Hinkley. Once she knows how it feels to be respected, she realizes how valuable that asset can be: â€Å"For the first time in my life, I’ve got people respecting me. When I walk into a room, people shut up to see if I have anything to say. I never had that before. Please, don’t ask me to give that up.† Erin was also respected for her compassion and selflessness. She genuinely cared about every single victim of P.G. E.’s lie. She proved this fact when Theresa said Erin’s files needed some holes filled in and Erin recited from memory all the information Theresa wanted and more. Someone who doesn’t have compassion and caring for the townspeople of Hinkley would not have been able to do that. When Erin is hired there is some internal grumbling at the law firm, as a number of Erins co-workers resent her outspoken personality and questionable style of dress. She talks in a non-polite way, she always goes straight to her point and she is not afraid of saying what’s in her mind, she is brutally honest: â€Å"Thats all you got, lady. Two wrong feet and ugly shoes!† She also loves ironies: â€Å"I just went out there and performed sexual favors†. Erin is always able to get the evidences she needs by using the means she has, she is extremely confident.

The personality disorders | Analysis

The personality disorders | Analysis Personality or personality traits are the basis of what makes a person who they are. When expressed in a healthy way that is beneficial to a person, they are described as an enduring pattern of our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. They are how we think, feel, make decisions, and take actions (Barker, 1995). They are determined both by a persons genetic makeup and environmental factors and are a determining factor as to how a person lives their life. When a personality trait becomes rigid and dysfunctional, where it significantly hinders healthy thoughts and activities and harms the person who has them, this may be the basis for a personality disorder. According to the DSM-IV a personality disorder must show a lasting pattern of behavior and inner experience that markedly deviates from norms of the persons culture (James Morrison, 2006). This could include personality patterns that are normal in some people, but are exaggerated or accentuated in those with a personality disorder. In order for a person to be diagnosed with a personality disorder, the symptoms must show a lifelong pattern of manifestation. This means that the disorder is typically identified in late adolescence or early adulthood and persists throughout a lifespan. Another requirement for the diagnosis of personality disorders is that the negative behavior patterns must have a pervasive effect on all areas of a persons life; this includes employment, intimate relationships, social functioning, and family. The behavior must routinely causes problems or dysfunction, and cannot be attributed to any other sort of mental or physical illness (James Morrison, 2006). An indi vidual with a personality disorder will show maladjustment in all aspects of their life and the disorder will be reflected in the ingrained, rigid, and dysfunctional patterns that they present throughout their lifetime. According to Frances, personality disorders usually produce ego-syntonic behavior, or consistent with the ego integrity of the individual, and, therefore, are usually considered appropriate by the individual. This may cause the negative behavioral patterns to be inflexible and tough to change. (Frances, 1999) The treatment of personality disorders is usually difficult and often has limited results. In the DSM-IV there are three groups or clusters that each of the 10 personality disorders fall into. People with cluster A disorders are characterized by odd or eccentric behavior, abnormal cognitions or ideas, strange speech or actions, and difficulty relating to others (Frances, 1999). People diagnosed with personality disorders are more frequently diagnosed with an Axis I disorders as well (James Morrison, 2006). Frequent co-morbid diagnosis for cluster A personality disorders are: agoraphobia, major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and substance abuse (Frances, 1999). Type A disorders include paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders. Paranoid personality disorder, the first of the cluster A disorders, is characterized by extreme or unnecessary paranoia, suspiciousness, and a general mistrust of organizations, groups, and others, is found in 0.5%-2.5% of the population, as a whole and occurs more commonly in males (Frances, 1999). A person with paranoid personality disorder often thinks, without reason or cause, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving them, which inhibits them from developing close relationships. According to Dobbert, The delusional belief that others are disloyal and untrustworthy precludes their ability to confide in others. The afflicted person believes that the information that they provide in confidence will be later utilized to bring them harm (Dobbert, 2007). People with paranoid personality disorder also tend to hold grudges and become angry for seemingly benign perceptions of insults or injuries. These grudges can be long lasting and based out of perceived threats or insults. Even if the intention to harm or defame the person is not present, due to the constant expectation that others are trying to hurt them, an individual with a paranoid personality disorder creates a threat and will then hold malice toward another person for an exaggerated amount of time. This malice will evoke anger and hostility that will eventually lead to the alienation and isolation (Dobbert, 2007). The second of the cluster A disorders is the schizoid personality disorder, it is characterized by a general detachment from social settings, a restricted or muted range of emotions, and need for solidarity. It is found in 3% of the general population and affects women more commonly then men (Frances, 1999). A person with schizoid personality disorder neither desires nor enjoys close or intimate relationships. According to Dobbert, Persons afflicted with schizoid personality disorder find no interest in initiating, developing, and maintaining close relationships. It is not uncommon for these persons to lack the interest or desire to be considered a part of their biological family (Dobbert, 2007). These people do not find inclusion in groups or social settings particularly interesting or desirable and work to avoid such settings. A person with schizoid personality disorder is described as appearing introverted, but not shy, and seems to prefer their own company instead of seeking relationships with others. This often leads the person showing little if any interest in sexual or intimate experiences, preferring acts of self-gratification and sexual fantasy over personal contact. (Dobbert, 2007) Due to the indifference of intimate relationships, the person with schizoid personality disorder develops limited interest in activities they enjoy and does not seek to share these activities with others. They would prefer to focus their attention on a few activities and interests of a solitary nature and to obsess about those interests with little regard to the perceptions of others. They also seem to be unaffected by the acceptance, praise, or criticism of others involving their actions and isolation. It becomes obvious to those around them that a person with schizoid personality disorder does not care what others perceptions are and they often seem cold, detached, and unemotional, presenting a bland or blank expression to the world (Dobbert, 2007). The final disorder in cluster A is the schizotypal personality disorder which is a condition characterized by distorted thoughts, behaviors, and functioning. Magical thinking, relationship difficulties, severe anxiety, and poor social skills are also common. (James Morrison, 2006) This disorder affects 3% of the general population and is diagnosed slightly more in females then males. (Frances, 1999) People with schizotypal personality disorder perceive things in an odd or unusual way. Their interpretation often differs from that of others and is specific to themselves (meaning nobody else shares similar perceptions and thoughts), but is not based out of delusional thought or differing cultural norms. Many of these people believe that that they have extrasensory or magical powers and attribute their odd perceptions to this ability (Dobbert, 2007). The belief in clairvoyance, mind control, the sixth sense and other forms of magical thinking often lead others to view these people as odd which strains social and work relationships. To compound this, many people with schizotypal personality disorder have a reduced ability to understand other peoples actions and respond to them inappropriate and in a socially unacceptable manner. Having few successful experiences with others often leads to social anxiety, suspiciousness, and paranoid ideation. Dobbert states rather than examining ones self to determine the source of others avoidance, people with schizotypal personality disorder believe that the others are conspiring against them. Due to the inability of self-introspections, the afflicted person withdraws deeper and further isolates themselves, leading the person to further fall into their delusional thinking (Dobbert, 2007). People with cluster B disorders are characterized by dramatic, unpredictable, and destructive behaviors as well as difficulty with impulsiveness, the violation of social norms, and being self-abusive and hostile to others. It is common for these disorders to share co-morbidity with eating disorders, social phobias, somatization disorder, pathological gambling, substance abuse, and post traumatic stress disorder (Frances, 1999). Included in cluster B are antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders. According to the DSM-V, the first of the cluster B disorders is the antisocial personality disorder, which is a pervasive pattern of disregard for, and violations of, the rights of others (James Morrison, 2006). It is characterized by failure to conform to social norms, deceitfulness, impulsivity, aggression, irresponsibility, and lack of remorse. It affects 3% of men and 1% of women, and is distributed evenly throughout all races (Frances, 1999). People with antisocial personality disorder act against social norms and show little respect for lawful behaviors. They are often arrested or commit acts that could lead to confrontations with law enforcement. According to Dobbert, people with this disorder dont just violate social normsbut, perform behaviors that are significant violations of the criminal code (Dobbert, 2007). This indicates that people with antisocial personality disorder are capable of committing the most heinous of crimes including rape, armed robbery, and murder. This diagnosis had been applied to many of the documented serial killers such as Ted Bundy, Jeffery Dahmer, and John Wayne Gacy. (Dobbert, 2007) The level of deceptiveness that is involved in antisocial personality disorder has been directly linked to the intelligence of the individual. While all people diagnosed with this disorder pathologically lie, as intelligence increases the use of aliases and conning operations also shows an increase. Deception contributes to the notable involvement with law enforcement and is often utilized in criminal acts (Dobbert, 2007). As displayed by criminal and deceptive acts, a lack of impulse control is noted for those diagnosed with antisocial personality disorder. This impulsivity often leads to the disregard for personal safety and the safety of others. In the ever increasing need for heightened stimulation, those with antisocial personality disorder do whatever gives them the feeling of power over others (Dobbert, 2007), this may include hurtful, violent, and aggressive acts done with little regard for other peoples feelings or of the consequences of their actions. The second disorder in cluster B, borderline personality disorder, is stated by the American Psychiatric Association as pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affects and marked impulsivity (James Morrison, 2006). It is characterized by identity disturbances, self-damaging behavior, feelings of emptiness, anger regulation problems, and stress related paranoid ideation or dissociative symptoms. Affecting more females than males at a rate of 3-1, it is found in 2% of the general population (Frances, 1999). Dysfunctional relationships are the key area that defines borderline personality disorder. Dobbert states that persons afflicted with borderline personality disorder are obsessed with the potential for rejection and abandonment. Their perception of the environment and persons response to them influences their feeling of self-worth and image (Dobbert, 2007). They often misconceive common circumstances and situations as rejection. This then manifests itself in anger, resentment, and feelings of abandonment. In order to tailor themselves to a relationship, the person with borderline personality disorder will illustrate a sudden change in self expression and perception. These changes may include sudden changes in the style of clothing, attitude, and social preferences of the individual and may also encompass hobbies, interests, and activities. If an individual is rejected by the object of that relationship, they will change themselves again to distance themselves from their past relationship and attract a new one (Dobbert, 2007). In order to manipulate others and stage off real or perceived abandonment, a person with borderline personality disorder will threaten or attempt suicidal behavior, and self-mutilation. Threatening self-injury or suicide allows the individual to control the other person in the relationship and allows them to postpone the abandonment that they so fear. While attempts are made on the part of a person with this disorder, many of them are half-hearted and not meant to be successful; they are simply utilized as a device evoke a desired reaction from another person. Histrionic personality disorder is the third of the cluster B disorders, and is described as pervasive and excessive emotionality and attention-seeking behavior (James Morrison, 2006). It is characterized by sexual promiscuity, rapidly shifting and shallow expression of emotion, self-dramatization, and suggestibility. It is found in 2-3% of the population and is diagnosed more often in women (Frances, 1999). Typically, people with histrionic personality disorder exhibit a compulsatory need to be the center of attention. When they find themselves being ignored or not admired they feel anxiety and identify confusion. These people are very socially motivated and expect to be noticed and envied by others. In order to gain attention many people with histrionic personality disorder focus intensely on appearance or act overdramatically in hopes of creating a scene to gain attention. Seductiveness and overtly sexual and provocative behavior is another way for people with histrionic personality disorder to gain attention. Flirtatious and intimate behavior is often used, even in inappropriate settings such as work, to gain attention. A conflict surrounding this inappropriate behavior, instead of inhibiting the behavior, only works to reinforce it as the center of attention again shifts to the disordered person. Narcissistic personality disorder, the final disorder of the cluster B sub-type is characterized by exaggeration of achievements, preoccupation with success and power, excessive need for admiration, a sense of entitlement, exploitation, envy, and arrogance (Frances, 1999). The DSM-V states that narcissistic personality disorder is a pervasive pattern of grandiosity, with a need for admiration, and a marked lack of empathy (James Morrison, 2006). Of the general population less than 1% of the population suffers from narcissistic personality disorder and it is diagnosed 3-1 in males over females and is commonly classed the male ego disorder (Frances, 1999). Those who suffer from this disorder are prone to overinflating or creating achievements in order to brag about or prove their superiority to others. They often daydream about unlimited success and about the admiration that it will bring from others. They may also suffer from delusions that allow them to believe that they are entitled to act in any way they want, despite the effect it has on others. Because they view themselves as superior, the narcissist does not feel that they should be concerned themselves with the feelings of others. They will often defame and exploit others for their own self promotion. This marked lack of empathy is a dominate feature of narcissistic personality disorder and is brought about as a defense mechanism to protect their grandiose ideals about themselves. Cluster C disorders, including avoidant, dependant, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders are characterized by fearful and anxious behaviors, as well as avoidance of social situations and feelings of loss of control (Frances, 1999). Typical Axis I co-morbid diagnosis are: social phobias, anxiety disorder, adjustment disorder, myocardial infraction, and obsessive compulsive disorder. Treatment- (Dingfelder, 2004) Individuals at this end of the continuum commit rape, murder, and genocide. Will a person afflicted with antisocial personality disorder start at the lease serious end of the continuum and move to the far extreme? Recovery Conclusion Works Cited Barker, R. L. (1995). The Social Work Dictionary. In R. L. Barker, The Social Work Dictionary (p. 104). New York, New York: NASW Press. This source is reviewed and published by the NASW press, a division of the National Association of Social Workers, which is a leading scholarly press in social science research field. The information used gives a broad and comprehensive definition of the role that a personality plays in the life of an individual. This definition of personality and personality traits was chosen because due to its association with social work and because of its encompassing definition. This definition is used as a contrast point for the explanation of personality disorders. Dingfelder, S. (2004). Treatment for the Untreatable. Monitor on Psychology , Vol 35, No. 3, p. 46-48. This article, found in a peer reviewed scholarly journal, discusses the effectiveness of treatment for personality disorders. It states that many practitioners have had difficulty in treating personality disorders, which continue to present a pervasive and persistent pattern of dysfunction despite many treatment methods. It also discusses some effective treatment options and the hope for recovery from personality disorders. Frances, A. M. (1999). Your Mental Health: A Laymans Guide to the Psychiatrists Bible . In A. M. Frances, Your Mental Health: A Laymans Guide to the Psychiatrists Bible . New York: Scribner. Written by one of the authors of the American Psychiatric Associations Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, this book provides general information about diagnosis of personality disorders and other mental health problems. It gives more detailed information on the cluster groupings (A, B, and C) for personality disorders than the DSM-IV Made Easy, as sited below. It also gives descriptive character traits that are associated with each of the personality disorders and discusses Axis I co-morbid diagnosis that are often found with personality disorders. James Morrison, M. (2006). The DSM-IV Made Easy. In M. James Morriosn, The DSM-IV Made Easy (pp. 461-495). New York: Guildford Publications, Inc. This book, containing information released in the DSM-IV, released by the American Psychological Association, is a stripped down, simplified version of the original DSM_IV. It provided detailed information on each personality disorder as well as diagnostic criteria for personality disorders. It also provides classification information and Axis diagnosis. The information in the source is considered to be extremely accurate and is therefore used to give a thorough and comprehensive information in relation to each personality disorder. Mayo Clinic. (2010, April 6). Personality Disorders. Retrieved April 6, 2010, from MayoClinic.com: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/personality-disorders/DS00562 This source, written by the psychological staff at the Mayo Clinic, is retrievable online. The Mayo Clinic, an internationally renowned medical practice and research group, has given a general overview of personality disorders and discussed some treatment options that are available for the disorders. The information for treatment is not found in the above references, and the idea of using psychotherapy and medication to treat personality disorders is discussed. Women Discrimination In Business: Walmarts Case Women Discrimination In Business: Walmarts Case Ethics has consistently been a part of our society. It has continuously played a crucial role whether in the professional world or in our normal daily lives. According to the well known sociologist Raymond Baumhart, ethics consists of the guidelines based on the basis of what is right and wrong and people are expected to follow the right path. A few examples such as honesty, trust and equality fall under ethical behavior and it is required in order for all of us to have a peaceful environment. (Baumhart, 1987) Importance of ethics in the business world Ethics is equally essential in the business world because it highlights the responsibilities, the principles and the standards that business people along with its organization should follow permanently. Any business organization that lacks or ignores the ethical principles is expected to fail and may harm the companys image in several ways. For example unethical behavior such as employees coming to work late frequently will reduce the productivity level for the company and this may also intervene with their profit which for many firms is the sole purpose. It is the top management levels duty to ensure that all the current working employees in their company are aware of the ethical guidelines regarding acceptable behavior in order to prevent acts such cheating at work, socializing at some networking site rather than giving priority to your work, discriminating against an employee etc. Ethics is also considered one of the corporate social responsibilities along with economic, legal and philanthropic and they should be considered majorly important. It should be dealt with seriousness because it covers human resource issues which refer to discrimination at workplace and it is extremely vital for the managers at top level to not differentiate between their employees based on how they appear or any other reason for that matter. Fairness is another part where the managers have to make sure that they are treating their employees with equality without any biased decisions taking place. Besides these reasons there are many more which just proves the point that ethics is really important for management to succeed in achieving their goals. Women Discrimination Gender Discrimination Discrimination in todays world can be defined as the à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦treatment or consideration of, or making a distinction in favour of or against, a person or a thing based on the group, class, or category to which that person or thing belongs rather than on individual merit. (Dictionary.com, 2010). Discriminatory behaviours are of many different kinds but they mainly entail some form of exclusion or rejection. One form of discrimination that has been seen from generations till today is gender discrimination where either of the sex is considered weaker than the other. Women Discrimination in society In most societies and developed countries like the U.S. girls are usually given the freedom and encouraged to create their own lifestyle, since childhood. They are made to believe in themselves and that they can be as successful as boys in every work of life. However, the case is not the same for girls from other societies which are mostly from developing countries. They are brought up to believe the opposite where they are constantly reminded of the things they are not allowed to do. In most of the developing countries sons are regarded as insurance and hence their birth is celebrated with great joy. Whereas, when a girl is born she is considered as another expense and liability for the family. Since childhood, they are trained to do household activities and stay indoors, isolating them from the rest of the world. In some parts of India, a tradition prevails to greet the family of newborn girl by saying The servant of your household has been born. Women from such societies face issu es like emotional and physical abuse, inferiority, having their families and society limit their opportunities and restricting them from living life up to their full potential. Discrimination against women is a very demoralizing reality that still exists resulting in millions of individual tragedies. Studies show that a countrys attitude towards women is directly proportional to its social and economic progress i.e. if one part of the country gets affected then the result of the affect is suffered by the whole country as well. Sadly, women fall weak and are not able to defend themselves in situations where they are being discriminated. For example many women have to face problems like dowry, negligence, infanticide and sex-selective abortion, physical abuse and labour and sex trafficking (Mullins, 2010). Gender lines are drawn early in womens life and they face exclusions from childhood and continue facing it through out their adulthood as well. This perspective of women and false belief that women do not belong in the high corporate world has risen as a result of women discrimination. There has, over time been a stereotype thinking that women are only suitable for restricted professions like teaching or best suited to be housewives. Studies show that during elementary school teachers give more attention and importance to boys in Maths and Science while girls are paid attention by teachers in subjects like Language and Art. This is because Maths and Science subjects are more academically challenging and to be taken in the field of medicine, engineering and architecture which are considered to be male professions. Studies also show that girls in middle and high school are discouraged to participate in extracurricular activities like sports or join debate clubs. Instead, they are encou raged to participate in after school volunteer work, social programs and more inert activities. Also, when making career choices, girls are pestered by parents into pursuing clichà ©d female-oriented professions like teaching, nursing, care giving, retail and office administration. Studies carried by the Department of Labour 2007 statistics show that more women are starting businesses than men, more women are in the employees than men, and the majority of degree-holders are now women and yet they are only still dominating fields and industries that are considered suitable for female (Wolfe, 2009) Women discrimination is not always seen in developing countries alone but can also be noticed in developed countries. For example, one of the largest sex discrimination case seen in the history on the U.S. is the law suit filed against Wal-Mart. This suit was filed in the year 2001 by six female employees and by April 2010 it was reported to include more than a million females costing the retailer billions in damages. The women who filed the case claimed that they faced systematic discrimination at work. The Wal-Mart industry It is an American retailing industry founded by Sam Walton in1962 when he launched its first branch in Arkansas. His main strategy which found him early success in his life was to keep prices relatively low which lead him to earn a ranking as the richest man during the 1980s. According to the Forbes magazine, it became the worlds largest corporation by revenue. Walmarts women discrimination case Wal-Mart is being criticized for paying its female employees less than its male employees and also provide smaller salary raises to women and fewer promotions. It was reported that women at Wal-Mart were being steered away from management positions into lower-level jobs without much possible chances of progress like cashier jobs. Moreover, a woman who came looking for a job opportunity as a manager was reported to be told that she was not qualified for the management position as she was not able to stack 50 pound bags of dog food. It was also reported by The New York Times that around 33% of the women at Wal-Mart are companys managers whereas the rest 65% consist of women working as hourly employees. Wal-Mart was account to be biased towards males (Goudreau, 2010). Wal-Mart has around 700,000 working women that form its back bone and make it one of the largest private sector employers of women in the U.S. However, these employees face discrimination at work on advancement opportunities, job assignments and receive unequal pay. This discrimination towards women has been seen in all levels of the company i.e. from hourly working employees to senior management. Women earn 40cents less than what they should be earning equal to the other hourly male employees even though they have longer seniority and higher merit ratings than their male co-workers. A woman manager earns around $5,000 per year less compared to a male manager who earns $23,175 per year. Women executives also do not find themselves safe from discrimination at Wal-Mart. Women face systematic denial of advancement as men dominate the management ranks. They are stuck in the low paying jobs consisting of 92% cashiers and 76% sales associate. Wal-Marts competitors in the past have had more women managers than men compared to Wal-Mart. (UFCW, 2010). Walmarts case from Kants perspective Wal-Marts case casts light upon the ethical considerations of women discrimination in the work environment. Whether it is illegal is still under trial, however, it is clearly an ethical issue. Businesses often face such ethical issues which occur due to many reasons even if they are unintentional. The market fluctuations, competition and profit-making orientation lead business owners and managers into behaving unethically without conspicuous intentions. The issue of women discrimination can be analysed and evaluated using ethical theory. Ethical theory is generally based upon moral philosophy and may be classified on many different dimensions, however, there are several basic types of moral philosophy which are used in business ethics, such as egoism, utilitarianism, deontology, rights and relativism (Bartlett, 2003: 224). Egoism and Utilitarianism are examples of consequentialist philosophies whereas, deontological approaches such as that of Immanuel Kant are an example of non-consequentialist philosophies. Kants theories are often associated with the duties, moral rights and respect of an individual. His theories say that each person has both the right to expect to be treated according to universal moral laws and the corresponding duty to behave according to that law (Bartlett, 2003: 224). Kants theory proposes a categorical imperative which is the particular moral law according to which people should act. It states that one should act as if the maxim of thy action were to become by thy will a universal law of nature (Kant, cited in Bartlett, 2003: 224). This means that an action can be set as a categorical imperative making it a universal law and applying it to the maximum population to see what the result of that action would be if it became common behavior of the world. The morality of an action can be judged by applying the deontological approach which considers the rights, duties, truth and respect of an individual according to universal moral principles. It focuses on doing the right thing. Sex discrimination or discrimination of women in particular can be evaluated using Kants theory. Applying the theory, the categorical imperative or the universal rule can be set as It is okay to discriminate women in business practices. If this rule is applied universally, the effect of this action on the society or the whole world would be highly negative. Firstly, men would continue to view women as the weaker sex due to which they will not give them opportunities to work at all. If women dont work they will have low motivation and high emotional stress which can affect their family lives. If all families became unhappy and stressed the whole society will be affected and may not prosper. Secondly, the household incomes would decrease drastically as women will not be able to support their husbands. Furthermore, if women will have no career opportunities, they will stop their education and the literacy rate would go down. Labour supply in the market would decrease which would lead to a surplus in labour demand thus, creating a need for high wages and salaries which can become a major issue with employers. The overall employment rate would also decrease; affecting the world economy. The result of discriminating women and discouraging their participation in work practices universally can cause serious harm to the society and the whole world overall. It questions womens rights and respect along with mans duty towards equality and fairness in the world. Thus, the universal rule will be contradicted and negated leading to the conclusion that, as analyzed through this theory and the deontological approach, sex discrimination is unethical. Walmarts perspective On the contrary, when considering the case from Walmarts perspective, it is important to understand that it is the senior managements duty and responsibility to take every measure to ensure they assign jobs to employees who are most suited to do them and hold the capabilities required to accomplish the job. For example, Walmart has been criticised for refusing one woman a management position because she was unable to stack 50-pound bags of dog food hence, unqualified for the job. While many have protested against this act, it must be highlighted that there has been always a stereotype image of women as being the weaker sex and this incident helps illustrate that. Walmart managers understand that the business involves tasks that cannot be easily accomplished by women as compared to men. Also, giving women tedious jobs might be considered unethical by some customers and this could affect Walmarts reputation as being harsh towards women and making them do jobs they are not fit for. More over, Walmart may have been scandalised by its competitors who are looking for ways to show the company in a negative light as it is successful and poses serious threat to smaller businesses who are unable to compete on the basis of price due to the exceptional low prices Walmart provides hence, looking for other methods of causing damage to their competitor. Target Corporation and its ethical practices One of the greatest competitions faced by Walmart is from Target Corporation; after Walmart, Target is the second largest discount retailer in the United States. Walmart and Target do business in quiet similar manner and have both very wide-ranging ethical and environmental policies in place. However in terms of practices, Walmart has solicited much more criticism than Target for breaching its ethical policies, the company has poor employment benefits, exerts pressure on suppliers, eliminates waste into the environment and as discussed earlier, practices gender discrimination to great extent. However, Target refuses to tolerate workplace discrimination and tries to create an environment in which everyone recognizes the value of diversity. According to national statistics the average company across the United States employs a staff that consists of forty-eight percent women; fifty-nine percent of Targets workforce is women. In part with this statistic and the treatment of their female employees, Target has been honored as an organization with multiple national awards recognizing their commitment to gender diversity. In 2005, Target was named one of the Top 30 Companies for Executive Women, by the National Association for Female Executives. As well as in 2004, they were named one of the 100 Best Companies for Working Mothers, by the magazine, Working Mother. Therefore similar to Target, Walmart should also adopt policies against gender discrimination to avoid lawsuits which spoils the image of the company.

New Zealands Health and Disability Systems

New Zealands Health and Disability Systems Adrian Capalad NEW ZEALAND New Zealand’s health and disability system has encountered lots of changes in the past decade. In fact, New Zealand spends almost nine percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health care which is roughly USD 2,403 per capita. Approximately seventy seven percent of health expenditure by its citizens is shouldered by the government (WHO, 2008). In a more recent study, 2010, in which 14 developed countries were compared side by side on the basis of health spending and medicine use. The result was that New Zealand came in last among other countries which spends USD 3,460 per capita against United States at USD 7,290 (Johnston, 2010) Figure 1: Overall Expenditures on Health http://www.commonwealthfund.org/News/News-Releases/2010/Jun/~/media/Images/Publications/Fund%20Report/2010/jun/MM2010l.gif New Zealand’s Ministry of Health is solely responsible for managing and funding the twenty District Health Boards (DHBs) (Ministry of Health, 2014). The DHBs meanwhile, are responsible for organizing healthcare in their own districts which aims to carry out specific standards that were promulgated by the Ministry of Health. In addition, each DHB district is composed of eight members, in which one is appointed by the Ministry of Health and the other seven are elected every three years (Ministry of Health, 2014). Each DHB then supervises the forty six local Primary Health Organizations throughout the country. These Primary Health Organizations were only introduced to the system midyear of 2002 wherein its main objective was to focus on the status of the communities under its jurisdiction (Ministry of Health, 2014). New Zealand health system does not enclose itself on the health alone but, it includes disability as well. Thus, the health and disability services in New Zealand are delivered synonymously through a complex network of organizations and people (Ministry of Health, 2014). According to the Ministry of Health (2014), these are the key organizations and people in New Zealand’s health and disability system: Appointments to statutory bodies Crown entities agencies District health boards Health alliances Ministerial health committees NASO Non-governmental organisations Primary health organisations Professional and regulatory bodies Health Targets: In New Zealand each individual will be issued a National Health Index (NHI) number however, only permanent residents and its citizens have access to free health and disability services that are mostly financed through taxes (Ministry of Health, 2011). Non-residents such as tourist and illegal migrants are charged fully for the cost provided by health institutions. Private voluntary insurance is mostly used to cover cost sharing requirements and elective surgery. Health Coverage: New Zealand’s health and disability services includes all disability support services, long term care, mental health care, primary care, preventive care, outpatient care, prescription drugs for all its citizens and dental care for school children. However, there are numerous of services that are not included like adult dental care and orthodontics, optometry care, and physiotherapy. Although there are health services not included, the National Health Service tries to compensate through preventive actions like dental care, eye care, immunization and vaccination programs, inpatient and outpatient hospital care, screening, medications, mental health care, palliative care, long term care, rehabilitation and physiotherapy after a stroke. Safety Net: Patients who often visits their physicians or accumulates more than ten visits per year are given a card in which they can avail a lower service rate. Local children under six years are free from consultation and prescription while the rest of the general population is subsidized by the government provided they are enrolled in the Primary Health Organization (PHO). Figure 1: Overview of New Zealand Health and Disability System. Retrieved from http://www.health.govt.nz/sites/default/files/images/nz-health-system/structure-health-disability-sector.png New Zealand health and disability system parts of the structure: â€Å"The Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC) mostly covers the costs of cases deemed as accidents, it may be from medical misadventure or otherwise. The ACC service applies for all people legally in New Zealand (including tourists and students), in which the costs of accidental benefits will be recovered via levies on employers, employees and some other sources such as car registration (Parliamentary Counsel Office, 2013).† Southern Cross Health Insurance is a non-profit-scheme and is one of the largest health insurance provider composing at about three-fourth’s of the health insurance market and covering almost a quarter of all New Zealanders in 2007, even operating its own chain of hospitals. PHARMAC is a government pharmaceutical company that requires co-payments, but are also subsidised by private shareholders. The objective of the government was for patients with community health services cards or high user health cards (Pharmaceutical Management Agency, n.d.). St. John New Zealand charity in Auckland and Wellington Free Ambulance based in the Wellington Region are both primarily emergency oriented services that are supported with a mix of private (donated) and public (subsidy) funds (St. John, 2014). REFERENCES: Banderas News Team. (2012 August). Mexico Achieves Universal Health Coverage. Retrieved from http://banderasnews.com/1208/hb-mexicouniversalhealthcoverage.htm. Global Day of Action on Military Spending. (2013). New Zealand Budget Report 2013: Facts and Figures of Military Spending. Retrieved from http://demilitarize.org/news-and-opinion/zealand-budget-report-2013-facts-figures-military-spending/. GFP. (2014). Mexico Military Strength: Mexico relies on its partnership with the United States and Europe for much of its modern frontline military equipment. Retrieved from http://www.globalfirepower.com/country-military-strength-detail.asp?country_id=mexico. Human Rights Commission. (2014). Human Rights Environment. 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Primary Health Care In New Zealand: Problems And Policy Approaches. Parliamentary Counsel Office. (2013). New Zealand Legislation: Accident Compensation Act 2001. Retrieved from http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/2001/0049/latest/DLM99494.html. Pharmaceutical Management Agency. (n.d.). Introduction to PHARMAC. Retrieved from http://www.pharmac.govt.nz/2011/09/16/01INTRO.pdf. Robin, G. (2009). The New Health Policy, Two Penn Plaza, New York, Bell and Bain. Santos-Burgoa, C. et.al. (2006) Preventing Chronic Disease: Public Health Research, Practice and Policy: Implementation of Mexico’s Health Promotion Operational Model. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2644590/#B1. The Treasury. (2013). Expenditure: Education. Transcultural Nursing. (n.d.). Cultural Diversity in Nursing: Basic Concepts and Case Studies. Wikipedia.(2014). Health care in New Zealand. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Health_care_in_New_Zealand#cite_note-NZ_Herald_10469741-2. Wikipedia.(2014). Pharmaceutical Management Agency. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PHARMAC. Wikipedia.(2014). St John New Zealand. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._John_New_Zealand. World Health Organization. (2008 September). Global Health Observatory Data Repository. Retrieved from http://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main. Whyte, S. (2009). How Mexico’s Health care system works. World Health Organisation. Health System. http://justice.govt.nz/global-publications/the new Zealand legal system