Mckesson Corporation: Competitive Environment Trends and Business Model Assessment

McKesson Corporation: Competitive Environment Trends and Business Model Assessment U07a1, DB8004 – Strategic Thinking and Innovation, Section 01 McKesson Corp: Competitive Environment Trends and Business Model Assessment McKesson Corporation is largest health-care provider in the United States; as of 2011 it ranked as the third largest company in the state of California; where the company is headquartered. On the Fortune 500 list McKesson is ranked 15 (â€Å"Fortune 500,† 2011), McKesson consisted of several Strategic Business Units (SBUs).McKesson’s SBUs are divided into two primary categories: Distribution Solutions and Technology Solutions. The Distribution Solutions service all 50 states and deliver pharmaceuticals to institutional providers such as hospitals and health care systems; and also distributes to retail pharmacies; physician offices, surgery centers, long-term care facilities, and home care businesses. McKesson Canada, which is a part of McKesson, is a leading distributor in Mexico via its equity holding in Nadro. McKesson Distribution Solutions consist of the following SBUs (McKesson, n. . ): †¢McKesson Medical-Surgical †¢McKesson Patient Relationship Solutions †¢McKesson Pharmaceutical †¢McKesson Pharmacy Systems †¢McKesson Specialty Care Solutions †¢Moore Medical †¢Plasma and BioLogics †¢Zee Medical McKesson Technology Solutions consists of software, services and consulting to hospitals, automation, imaging centers, physician offices, home health care agencies, and payors. The Technology-Solutions of McKesson Provide an avenue to improve health care safety, manage revenue streams and resources, and reduce the cost and variability of health care. McKesson Technology Solutions consist of the following SBUs (McKesson, n. d. ): †¢McKesson Automation †¢McKesson Health Solutions †¢McKesson Provider Technologies †¢RelayHealth McKesson is one of the most successful compan ies in its industry in the United States. From a strategic management and planning perspective McKesson believe in unity within its divisions. Although the businesses are separate entities, there are some similarities in reference to management and interface with the parent company.The focus on this paper will be on McKesson Medical-Surgical, which is a SBU of McKesson Distribution Solutions; and the interface with the parent company; McKesson Corporation. McKesson Medical-Surgical Interface with McKesson Company McKesson as a company believe in unity; especially from a management perspective. This company has consistently acquired other companies; and has successfully managed to bring unity within each SBU based on the management goals of the parent company.According to Raynor, (2007), â€Å" McKesson has acquired approximately 75 companies since 1995 that have been aligned with or assimilated into our assorted business units. Our size and breadth of products and services fostered variability in HR practices that diluted our efforts to become a more seamless â€Å"One McKesson. † Accordingly McKesson embarked on a series of initiatives to standardize, improve and automate, where possible, its HR processes. Human Resources and Organization Management Team McKesson created a team of Human Resource and Organizational Effectiveness (OE) professionals in 2004.The focus of this team was to develop best practices and improved quality via a buy-in from all the business units. If a consensus is not met after voting on an issue, an 80 percent majority vote is required to move on (Raynor, 2007). Performance Management Team McKesson has created a weekly meeting for over a year for the Performance Management Design Team, which met virtually via conference call or web meeting. This team was also designed to focus on more unity within the company. The team was responsible for creating roles and responsibilities for performance management; with emphasis on employee i nvolvement.New competency model was developed to redefine the rating scale. ePeformance was implemented; via a PeopleSoft module and customized to support the newly created program and standardized performance practices (Raynor, 2007). McKesson Supply-Chain Management McKesson experience with its acute-care distribution business; which is also the bread and butter in the more recent years for McKesson; effective supply chain management has created success for various SBUs within the company. Supply chain management has been consistent within McKesson Corporation throughout all the SBUs.The consistency is the belief in building strong relationships with customers, offering innovative supply chain management products and services; a creating innovative technology solutions. This consistency has also allowed the company to grow by adding new customers and increasing the business with their existing customers (Smith, 2006). Environmental Trends and Current Business Model McKesson Medica l-Surgical is a spin-off of what used to be a drug wholesaler; Gil Minor III created what is currently considered a powerhouse medical and surgical box; which is where the market was trending (Smith, 2006).The company has taken advantage of creating convenience in the medical industry. Instead of selling from a brick and mortar pharmacy, this company has taken advantage of selling via supply chain directly to its customers as well as on-line sales. From a strategic perspective the company has managed to create success in various ways. McKesson business units’ success is based on consistency, innovation, creativity, from one division to another. The company has taken medical supplies and services to a different a level.They are not the typical CVS or Eckerd Drug store; the company caters more to medical professionals, such as doctors, psychiatrists, but more to medical professions who have connections with hospitals. The company also provides medical supplies and services to m ost major hospitals as well as other medical institutions. The innovation of the supply chain management, medical technologies, and the acquisitions and expansions has been successful for McKesson. A key element is also their ability to place the customer first.From a strategic management and planning perspective, below are some of the strategies used by McKesson to build and sustain success in their businesses. McKesson Strategies Incorporated This Millennium| McKesson Technology and Information Technology & Other Changes| Provide service physician practices that are connected with large hospital systems. | Ongoing investment in technology has helped to differentiate McKesson in the market and has been a key element in its success| Rarely pursue the individual physician market, since distributing to so many mall, individual offices is not our core competency. | Continue to invest in creating innovative technology solutions that help improve the supply chain. | Offer third-party-log istics services to certain manufacturers, which have proven to be fruitful partnerships for both parties. | QSight, an innovative inventory management program allows hospital professionals to manage clinical inventory with an easy-to-use Web-based platform| Offer Integrated Service Center model to customers who might wish a different distribution model from traditional distribution. Acquisition and Expansion | McKesson does not sell pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter pharmacy goods or medical surgical products directly to consumers| Putting the customer first| (Smith, 2006) McKesson business model relate to various environmental trends; such as new and innovative technologies, with cutting edge improvements. Creation of a cutting-edge supply chain management; which is currently an important trend with many companies that are trying to improve their bottom line and stream line their business(es).McKesson also provide supplies and services to home health care, and been very successful with acquisitions and expansions. The environmental trends support the current business models and have created success within the company as well as the various divisions. McKesson Business Model Success According to Acur & Bititci (2003), â€Å"Today’s globally competitive environment is complex, dynamic and unpredictable. To deal with this level of change, uncertainty and complexity companies need to develop and review their strategies almost continuously to stay ahead of the competition.Within this dynamic environment strategy management requires considerable resources and effort in terms of managerial time, with increasing pressures for innovation, knowledge sharing and co-operation. † McKesson has proved that it is on the leading edge of technology in its industry; the company is continuously working toward new innovative ideas to create more efficient; better service; much of the operation has been focus on supporting supplies from a global supply chain manageme nt perspective. McKesson is the longest-operating company currently in the healthcare industries.The Medical-Surgical business unit of McKesson, similar to McKesson as a whole has been efficient with its strategic management and planning as well as successful as a SBU of McKesson. McKesson Annual Report as of Fiscal Year End March 31, 2011 shows the Medical-Surgical Distribution and a service has increase consecutively since 2009. McKesson Business Model Reinventions McKesson has reinvented several models within the last five years which have proven to been successful for the company as a whole and its strategic business units.Value creation and strategies should be identified at each business unit within an organization to create an integrated approach to strategic management. Strategic objectives should be deployed and implemented. To compete from a global environment; which is constantly changing the operational environment of a business strategy planning and management should be a continuous process, which will provide a closed-loop-control system which will facilitate management of the organization performance as a whole as well as individual business units (Acur, et al, 2003).McKesson has reinvented their supply-chain planning and management from business unit to business unit. New and innovative technologies; placing the customer first; expansion and acquisition is what McKesson has done repeatedly and been success as whole as well as with its individual business units. Key Resources and Generic Strategy Deployed Within the Business Model One of McKesson’s key resources within the Medical-Surgical Business Units is the uniqueness of its distribution – supply chain.Unlike some pharmaceutical that companies focus on distribution to Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, and other similar store chains; McKesson focus its supply chain on physician who have practices which are connected to large hospitals. McKesson supply-chain increase efficiencies from an operational perspective with its electronic ordering and purchasing system; with the improved system the company can offer faster and better customer service and deliveries. Another area in which McKesson offer uniqueness from a company and business unit perspective is managing their human resources to help impact the bottom line – from a financial point of view.According to Raynor (2007), â€Å"Performance management is increasingly regarded as a business process with real bottom-line impact, versus an HR program. † â€Å"Instead of being viewed as an HR program, performance management was now discussed in terms of business impact. † Summary From management perspective sustainability is the ability to meet the needs of the present, yet not compromise the ability to meet future needs (Haugh & Talwar, 2010). McKesson Medical-Surgical Business Unit financial in the last few years has reflected financial sustainability.McKesson’s supply chain operation from a global perspective, the ability to continuously improve and create new technologies; as well as new ways of doing business in the pharmaceutical industries has placed McKesson above many other pharmaceutical companies. The focus on human resource development with the creation of the Performance Management Design Team places McKesson and its business units above many companies today. All companies have various resources which play an active role in the performance of a company.However, most companies under-rate the importance of in my opinion their internal customers. Employees play an active part in how a company performs financially. From a psychology perspective a happy person is can think better and perform better than one who is unhappy. Knowing how to manage ones human resource can improve how a company perform; and can increase innovative ideas from employees. All other resources can only be a good as a company’s human resource. References Acur, N. , & Bititci, U. (20 03). Managing strategy through business processes.Production Planning & Control, 14(4), 309. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Fortune 500: 15. McKesson. (2011). Retrieved from http://money. cnn. com/magazines/fortune/fortune500/2011/snapshots/2219. html Haugh, H. M. , & Talwar, A. (2010). How Do Corporations Embed Sustainability Across the Organization?. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 9(3), 384-396. doi:10. 5465/AMLE. 2010. 53791822 Leveraging Business Intelligence for Revenue Improvement. (2008). hfm (Healthcare Financial Management), 62(8), 1-8. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.McKesson. (n. d. ) McKesson About 2BU Our 2BU Company Businesses 2BBusinesses. Retrieved August 20, 2011, from http://www. mckesson. com/en_us/McKesson. com/About%2BUs/Our%2BCompany/Our%2BBusinesses. html Raynor, E. (2007). Developing the Performance Culture at McKesson Medical-Surgical. Organization Development Journal, 25(4), P19-P25. Retrieved from EBSCOhost. Smith, C. (2006). Distributor CEO extends reach from hospital bedside to the home. Healthcare Purchasing News, 30(9), 16-21. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.

Nursing Management Essay

Nursing Management, named 2003 Publication of the Year by the American Society of Healthcare Publication Editors, places special emphasis on the new skills needed to succeed in today’s turbulent health care arena, and prides itself on being a strong, independent platform for the expression of a broad range of opinions and views. It is devoted to nursing management concerns including recruitment, retention, reimbursement news, legal issues, and the pressing health care industry. Nursing management is performing leadership functions of governance and decision-making within organizations employing nurses. It includes processes common to all management like planning, organizing, staffing, directing and controlling. Importance of nursing management and function of the nurse manger: Nursing Management a useful source for current advice on how to manage health care delivery across the continuum of care. Novice nurses’ orientation to clinical nursing practice occurs in the critical period between graduation and acquiring the professional nurse role. Accommodating this transition process presents a challenge to expert clinicians in communicating essential behaviors intrinsic to the nursing discipline. In general, the beginning nurse lacks confidence in performing many new skills, and initial responses to problematic situations can escalate into dilemmas without intervention from an experienced clinician of we can say by nurse manager. Therefore, to gain recognition as a discipline that nurtures, supports, and provides guidance for new members, strategies must be developed to improve the transition of the novice nurse to professional nursing practice. Nurse Managers are key to retention, but limited by the scope and multiple skills needed for the role. The role and expectations for nurse managers in ambulatory settings are rapidly changing. Several recent trends should be of concern to nurse executives. Increasingly complex health care services are being provided in this profession. The Nurse Manager plays an essential role in healthcare. She sets the tone of any Healthcare System. The Manager is the backbone of the organization. The quality of patient care, as well as staff recruitment and retention success, rests with this key role. Over time it will be the strength of the nurse manager group that determines the success or failure of nursing leadership, the COO, and even the CEO. As critical as it is to develop those concrete and pragmatic skills noted above, there is also a delicate subtle art to being a Nurse Manager, to balancing the tensions between quality and cost, to dealing with multiple stakeholders, presenting conflicting agendas, to dealing with stress and pressure every day, to implementing processes needed to ensure that individualized compassionate care is provided consistently in the most efficient and effective manner possible ,these qualities in the manager comes from experience. He has the pivotal role in creating an environment that provides quality care for patient and opportunities for growth and development and staff. Constructive and positive attitude towards employ relation makes good manager sense . manager attitude is critical to the ability to staff to meet both there own profession goals of the organisation. the nurse manager has two main roles manage of patient care and provide the necessary source for that situation. The manager action must be superior in grievance handling, employ discipline. On the other hand nurses ensuring that patients receive the best care possible by highly competent and caring. A vital component of nursing consists of communicating effectively with patients and their family. One would assume that this principle would also apply between colleagues. Nurses are professionals and therefore should communicate accordingly with fellow peers as one’s attitude of another can jeopardize or influence others in regards to an effective working relationship and environment in a health care environment characterized by a shortage of nurses, retention is important to achieving good outcomes. The nursing is to provide quality patient care. This mandate becomes harder all the time, especially given the financial and staffing issues that healthcare organizations are facing. Nevertheless, the Nurse Managers is the person responsible for maintaining quality on the unit. She must define what quality means on her unit, set standards for quality, develop consistent processes, eliminate errors, measure results, and constantly improve performance. Benner (1984) discussed the need for clinical experts in patient care areas to provide clinical teaching for new nurses who are in the beginner or advanced beginner levels in their nursing practice. Because novice nurses do not typically understand the contextual meaning of newly learned theoretical concepts, they require guidance in the clinical setting that is generally provided by a more experienced nurse. As a nurse manager, you are expected to handle all the problems on your unit – whether internal or interdepartmental, concerning competencies or complaints, or concerning patients or families. But you’ve come up through the ranks, you’ve seen it all, and you can handle everything thrown at you. Nurse Managers were interviewed and all ward-based G grade charge nurses within the trust were sent a questionnaire to ascertain: the level of satisfaction with the way the changes had been introduced; whether they were in favor of the changes; and if they had sufficient time, knowledge, resources, preparation and support to enable them to undertake their new role. A random sample of charge nurses was also interviewed. It was found that the majority of charge nurses were in favor of the development of their role, believing it to be both inevitable and necessary. However, many felt that the change process had been managed ineffectively. There had been insufficient consultation during the change process, preparation and support were perceived as inadequate, the roles of the various protagonists were often unclear, and the lack of supernumerary status led to role conflict and confusion. As a consequence the new ward managers were often unable to fulfill the true potential of this demanding but exciting role. The nurse manager who clarifies the vision of collaboration, practices as a role model for collaboration, and inspires others to achieve this difficult goal. In addition, the nurse manager manipulates the environmental resources and facilitates self-confidence of staff. The management paradigm that unites the work environment with individual ability is most likely to facilitate collaborative practice. Difference between the expert nurse and the novice nurse: For many years student nurses were trained in a more disciplined approach with considerable time allocated to working in the hospital environment and specified times allowed for gaining theoretical knowledge throughout their formal training. Nurses therefore gained a tremendous amount of experience and competency in their practical skills. With the introduction of more specialized equipment and technology it was now desirable to improve the professional status of nurses and nursing education. The introduction of university trained nurses has been met with much criticism. Student nurses are now being empowered and informed with theoretical knowledge from many health disciplines that allows them to use a holistic approach to patient care. The changes to nurse education were hoped to improve the professional status of nurses although this transition has not been without problems. Integrating inexperienced nurses onto the unit with the nurturing and encouragement they need is a primary charge to the Nurse Manager. Yet the pressure of daily life on a nursing unit often precludes time for true mentoring and the TLC that is integral to fostering trust and commitment in orienting staff. A failure in this realm leads to diminished morale and high turnover among the nursing staff. Experienced nurses who are already working in stressful conditions with continuous staff shortages and poor recognition of service see the student nurse sometimes as an extra hindrance to their already increasing workload. Student nurses are theoretically competent but lack the clinical expertise and experience to complement this knowledge which can also add to the professional pressure that experience nurses encounter. Most nurses would like to see themselves, as promoters of nursing but are frustrated and disillusioned with their profession. It would seem then that student nurses as a result of this dissatisfaction are often devoured by some nurses instead of being encouraged and nurtured in their enthusiasm for nursing. the novice nurses has no enough experience to grasp aspect and recurrent meaningful component of the current situation for example a newly graduated nurse student, he has no understanding of situation exists he can not perform well as we aspect, in that case the responsibility of the manager is much, he is responsible for all activities more work load and stress due to the novice nurses. He determines which aspects of situations are important and which can be ignored him in the case of novice nerse,the manager kept one question in mind, he can perform this work or not. So the responsibility of the nurse manager is more in case of novice nurse. The performance of novice nurse is guided by principals and rules of conduct, so the manager has another responsibility to create some rules and limitation for novice nurse. Expert nurses have an ability to take decision according to the situation, Able to focus on the accurate region of the problem of the situation because judgment is based on understanding of paradigms. Effectiveness of practice not hindered by any wasted regard of alternative diagnosis or solutions. In this case the responsibility of the manager is less, and free to perform to another work. Novice nurse has no experience so he can not judge, what is the actual situation and he can not take decision, he is waiting the order of manager, so the responsibility and the work varies. Novice nurses can main health problem but experienced nurse can do well, all discussed problem. The main thing is, satisfaction of patient, it is only possible by experienced nurse. Expectation of medical surgical team by new nurse manager with respect of experienced nurse: Nursing has always been a physically demanding profession. Today the physical demand is as great as ever with the added challenge of highly technical and increasingly complex treatment modalities. The nurse is an analyst, a communicator, a facilitator, a problem solver, a decision maker, and above all a clinical expert. Nursing requires a broad theoretical base and a new and ever changing clinical skill set, along with the ability to integrate theory with clinical practice. Without the necessary educational preparation and on-going in-service training the nurse will feel overwhelmed, stressed, and unsupported. And to the Nurse Manager falls the task of assuring that her staff doesn’t lag behind and that high quality patient care is sustained regardless of newly imposed expectations. The pressing need for health care reform in this century has contributed to an increasing interest in educating health care providers who can deliver cost-effective, high-quality care. Demand for primary care nurse practitioners has risen significantly, and nursing education has responded by increasing the numbers and graduates of nurse practitioner programs. Although this century brings new opportunities for expanded nursing roles, it also presents challenges for nurse practitioners to sustain a holistic perspective while providing quality care. The new Nurse Manager may be uncomfortable or frustrated when she realizes that she has 100% responsibility for everything that happens on her unit, without 100% authority. That’s because she has to rely partially on other departments e. g. housekeeping, food services, pharmacy, etc. for her success. The successful seasoned manager has developed interpersonal skills, interdepartmental relationships, and the skill to apply effective influence, even lacking formal authority. In this profession the main thing is that how we can control the critical condition. he main objective if this profession is, that how we can recover the patient as soon as possible and some times to save his life in the most serious condition, in these condition the expert or we can say having tremendous knowledge and ability to take decision it doesn’t matter, he is an manager or experienced nurse but the matter is that to take correct decision within time. it is the profession in which we prefer the experience and practice not degree, because in this field it is necessary to save life of anyone and this is comes from practice not achieve a degree of management . ere the expert means who has experienced in the care of patients with restrictive airway disease in an emergency department setting, has experience in the insertion of peripheral access devices on daily basis. He provides assistance with physician insertion of central venous access devices and arterial lines Expert has 25 years of experience in the management of pain in patients in variety of settings in acute care and in medical office practice, Expert has clinical experience in an acute care hospital setting. His areas of expertise include outpatient surgery, medical, surgical, telemetry, intensive care, and the emergency department. He carried out all patient care functions within the realm of hospital policy and nurse practice act as a licensed practical nurse caring for the urgent visit patient under the auspices of the emergency department. Nurse Experts provides healthcare consulting and technical advice to attorneys, physicians, insurance and accreditation organizations, health professionals, private investigators, injured and 3rd parties, media and production. Our nurse experts also provide special services to hospital and nursing home risk management departments. On the above discussion we can say that medical surgical team wants a person who can help in his case it does not matter he was a manager or a nurse but he has an ability to handle the situation with responsibilities, he can take active part in his operation and not commit mistake because in this profession there is no chance of mistakes. Now the one question arise that how they satisfied there job, the answer is that if he has ability to handle the situation, he has ability to satisfy the patient, provide good curing, in this profession the main thing is that how we can deal with the patient problems, provide better treatment so that the patient recover soon then they are perfect in there job and then we can say that they satisfied there job.

Pharmacology Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

Pharmacology - Assignment Example Activated tyrosine kinase in turn activates the signalling pathways such as protein kinase C pathway, Scaffolding proteins, Ras/Raf mitogen – activated protein kinase pathway, and phosphoinositol 3’ – kinase/Akt pathway (Arora and Scholar, 2005). These activated pathways alter the DNA synthesis along with cell growth, differentiation, and others. Almost all the TKI have side effects. The common side effects of TKI are anaemia, neutropenia, oedema, thrombopenia, hypothyroidism, diarrhoea, and vomiting (Hartmann et al., 2009). At the same time, TKI molecules are now approved for clinical trials in human. TKI application for cancer treatment in dogs and cats was approved earlier, with TKI drugs such as Palladia (Toceranid), Gleevec (imatinid) and Kinavet (mastinib) (London, 2009). Before conducting the safety pharmacology tests, the regulatory guidelines for testing the undesirable pharmacodynamics effects on physiological functions should be focused. This is because, in the early phase pharmacology studies, all risk factors can be found out and eliminated. TKI are found to have adverse cardiovascular effects. So, when testing TKI in dogs and cats, telemetry has to be used for the continuous monitoring of systemic arterial pressure and chronotropic effects. The pharmacodynamic effects of TKI can be determined in the organs using tumor specimens. Surrogate marker can be used as an alternative approach. These tissues act as human models and TKI effect on these tissues reveals the potential effects of TKI molecules. (Kufe et al., 2003). These pharmacological screening methods enable the scientists to find out the adverse effects of TKI, and facilitate them to come up with ways on how the programme should be modified for human safety. The effect of the drug in or gan function, and importantly the relevance of its potential in humans

Ecology lab report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Ecology lab report - Essay Example This report looks at diversity of different species and draws conclusion about the findings. In community ecology, there is a study of how species interact within themselves in a given community. This study considers variables such as structure, abundance, distribution and demography. Further, some patterns of ecology like equitability, food web, productivity, and species richness and community assembly are considered in modern study of communities in ecology. Background History. In a community, species interact in different ways. There has been a cleavage on how community works in the field of ecology. There are different biotic and abiotic factors that affect the way species in a community interact. Competition, mutualism, parasitism, commensalism and predation are some of the biotic factors that affect the way a community exists. Depending on how the factors interplay, a community may change within a given time frame, thus looking different from the way it was before. Competition occurs when there are finite resources to be used by an increasing population of different species. Competition is a very important limiting factor in biomass, population size and richness of species. There exist different types of competition. Competition can happen between individuals in a direct manner, or between populations or species. Interference competition is that which happens when an individual of a species directly interferes with anothe r individual in other species. For example, if a hound makes a kill and is chased from it by a lion, this is called interference competition. (Hollar p 66). When Deers fight during a rut, this is a manifestation of competition in form of interference. This takes form of aggression between individuals. Individuals interfere with others through survival, foraging, preventing others from reproduction and physical prevention of others to establish a habitat. Exploitative

Group project analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Group project analysis - Assignment Example In this case, a group is treated as a single student regardless of the gender, age of ethnicity of the members forming it. This reflection paper explores the latest group assignment we deed establishing the dynamic involved with group as well as key issues. The group I belonged was made up of five members including myself working toward a common goal of completing the class assignment on time and at the highest quality level possible. Because the mark scored by the group was to appear on the result slip of the respective members of the group, it was expected that the contribution of members would equal to each other. Second, there was expected to be effective mutual communication between the members to enable them integrate the individual work into group work before submission to the lecture for marking as the lecturer had specified beforehand that piecemeal work was completely unacceptable. Third, there was expected for members not only to complete the assignment but also to learn new ideas from their interaction in the group to enable them grow their knowledge base as well as their skills in team/group work. Although the ultimate goal of submitting the assignment on time was achieved, the final score deviated from the expected score (95% instead of 100%) because of several challenges faced. Contrary to the prior expectation of equal contribution from members involved, only three members significantly contributed to the final document of the assignment. This does not mean that the two members did not contribute, they contributed but at a smaller percentage compared to the three most active members. This reminded me of the influence of personal factors such as behavior and attitudes on contribution in group or team work (Ramayah et al, 2003) considering other factors constant; same lessons timetable and same goal of excelling in our

To what extent does the current law afford victims of domestic abuse Essay

To what extent does the current law afford victims of domestic abuse effective protection and support - Essay Example The 2004 Act is not restricted to just protecting previously married partners. The Act has repealed s4 which required the courts to have regard to the non-married status of cohabitants when making decisions in respect of domestic violence incidents . Legislation on domestic violence is not just limited to couples who have lived together as man and wife or as a cohabiting couple but now covers anyone who has lived in the same residence as part of a family. This includes same-sex couples as well as parent and child relationships where either the parents are attacking the children or the children are attacking the parents. It has been the long-held opinion that very few cases of domestic violence ever get to court to be fully prosecuted. There is a generalisation that most of the couples are reunited before the case gets to court . This issue has been addressed in recent develops within the criminal justice system by creating a fast-track approach, for domestic violence incidents. Throu ghout the country most police forces have now adopted a system whereby all such cases involving domestic violence of any sort have to be ready to be heard at court within 14 days of the incident.

Cameron Mackintosh and Megamusical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Cameron Mackintosh and Megamusical - Essay Example The paper begins with a brief introduction of the great figure. It attempts to elucidate the nature and specific characteristics of a megamusical and proceeds to present a detailed overview on the subject shedding light on international trends in megamusicals and the role played by the critics' reviews and the scholarly courses in its development. Then specific role and tremendous effort of Cameron mackintosh has been brought to light and in the end a brief summary of his remarkable achievements is presented. Mackintosh, Cameron born was a British theatrical producer who oversaw the era of the international "megamusical" in the 1980s and 1990s, becoming the world's most prominent and powerful impresario. Mackintosh was born on Oct. 17, 1946, in Enfield, Middlesex, England, to Ian Mackintosh, a Scottish timber merchant and jazz trumpeter, and Maltese-born Diana Tonna Mackintosh, who had been actor Nigel Patrick's secretary when the couple met in Italy during World War II. Eight-year-old Mackintosh was taken to see a production of the musical Salad Days, after which he demanded to speak to the author, Julian Slade, who gave him a backstage tour and instilled in the boy a fascination with theatrical production. Mackintosh studied stage management at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London but left after one year. He became a stagehand at London's Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, cleaning the auditorium after performances to earn extra money. His first West End presentation, a 1969 revival of Anything Goes, failed. In 1976, however, his production of the musical revue Side by Side by Sondheim ran 781 performances in London before transferring to Broadway, his first stateside effort. (Lawson, 1999) Before we move further to discuss his journey with the development of Megamusical, it is preferable to present a detailed overview of the overall development of the megamusical and combine Mackintosh's role along with it. Megamusical: An Overview Sternfeld (2006) explains in detail that the term may appear to be comical, like many other neologisms, but to describe the content in this paper it may be most precise and accurate. This term Megamusical actually refers to the type of musical genre which today is the prominent compulsion on the Broadway and got attention in the decades of the 1970's and 1980's. This paper doesn't use this word for the first time, as in the 1980's it began to appear on the New York Times. By different reviewers and journalists, the tag was sometimes selected sarcastically and has originated its way into theater analysis and olden times. There exist a number of synonyms such as extravaganza, blockbuster musical and spectacle show, however, the most accurate is the megamusical. The surroundings of the show and the show itself are the aspects that differentiate a megamusical from a common musical. The most prominent of the genres of the megamusical in the 1980's were the sports style as sports were of significance in those days, however, over the years it has evolved into other flourishing genres. However, a sturdy constancy materializes as an assembly, but a megamusical doesn't demonstrate all of the characteristics of the

Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 16

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ILM-Level 2 (Problem Solving and making decisions) Assignment

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Megan Essay Example for Free

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Housing and Sustainable Development

Housing and Sustainable Development 1. What is ‘Sustainable development? Sustainable development is a very simple proposal of very high significance, which suggests achieving equilibrium between economic, social and environmental issues and concerns. â€Å"If we are to maintain and improve the quality of our own lives and pass that quality on to future generations, we must use finite natural resources in an efficient way without waste, and protect the natural environment to enhance the ability of future generations to maintain and improve their lives.† (Housing Corporation, 2008) There are mainly two definitions of sustainability which are related to ‘Planning Field, the first one says, â€Å"Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.† (Housing Corporation, 2003) And secondly the UK definition says, â€Å"Ensuring a better quality of life for everyone, now and for generations to come.† (Housing Corporation, 2008) The main aim of sustainable development is to ensure that the people can use the necessary services without the use of automobiles. They should be promoted to use the public transport. The placement and location of the development should be such as to modify the access to the local amenities by walking, and using public transport. The features of our built environment are very fundamental in attainment of sustainable patterns. This may include the reduction of green house gases and CO2 emissions, less pollution, preservation of the natural resourc es, consistent and comprehensive local communities and wealthy and safe economy. (Archive2 official documents, 2009) This seminar paper will try to explore the relationship between housing development and sustainability. The term ‘Sustainability is very vast and depends upon various aspects like economy, transportation, environment, social communities, residential development etc. In this seminar paper I will explain the role of housing sector in the process of achieving sustainable development. On the other side it will explain the benefits to the housing sector via achievement of sustainability. Eventually this seminar paper will enlighten the role of the planning systems in achievement of sustainable housing development, with the help of some major issues in new housing development, like transportation, higher density, social inclusion, mixed land use development and use of brown field sites. I will also try to focus on the provisions in the planning systems for the sustainable development in rural areas, with the help of PPS7. 2. Housing development and Sustainability With the reference to the above mentioned definition of sustainability, housing development plays a very important role in the achievement of sustainability, because housing development consumes the resources in its construction, maintenance and use, on a larger scale. There is a correlation between housing and sustainability, it is a two way process. Integrating morality of sustainability into housing development, its maintenance, and restoration will not make important input in accomplishment of general sustainability objectives, but it will also offer significant progress in the quality robustness and cost efficiency of the housing development. How housing development contributes to sustainability? Global climate change is the most extensive and potentially harmful environmental issue now days, as a cause of the green house gases emissions, remarkably CO2. The solution on this issue can be found in decreasing the travel overall and minimising the use of cars specifically. Housing sector also has a significant contribution to play, in features of the dwellings, the structure and the location of the housing development. The unhealthy change in the local climate occurs due to the poisonous gases and green house gases emissions from the houses in the development. This is the main reason of the contribution of housing development in achievement of sustainability. (Archive2 official documents, 2009) When the life of any building ends, the recycling and reuse of the materials and resources will help in reduction of the quarrying and other resource activities for new resources, this will eventually help in the reduction of landfill amount at the demolition of the mines and quarries.   With respect to the green house gas emissions and the higher consumption of energy from every house produces some dangerous gases like SO2 (causes acid rain), NOx and CO, these gases are very poisonous for human health. The maximum use of energy efficiency will optimistically reduce the emissions of these pollutants. There is a chance of causing the ill health effects called as, ‘sick building syndrome (Archive2 official documents, 2009) due to very compact and air-tight arrangement of houses in the development and the increasing utilisation of synthetic materials. So the cautious selection of building materials will help to enhance the use of renewable resources, helping to improve the macro and micro level climate in the development. (Housing Corporation, 2003) How sustainability benefits housing development? There are some benefits which housing development gets through sustainable patterns, like energy efficiency, social inclusion, and economic effectiveness. These terms are related with the environmental, social and economic development of the community. Many poor families are not able to heat up their houses at a required level; also some houses suffer from the condensation and dampness, which affects the health of the community. The sustainable housing development not only include the environment responsive and energy efficient houses but also will have provision of employment, schools, shops, primary health care centre etc local amenities which will be accessible for the residents of the development using public transport or by walking. This new sustainable housing development will be a mixture of various groups like income groups, age groups and tenures. This will help in achieving the social inclusion. (Archive2 official documents, 2009) 3. Planning systems and ‘sustainable housing development Achievement of the sustainable development is one of the important issues in front of our society, where we live, work. In 1992, ‘The Rio Earth Summit, documented that, in the achievement of the sustainable development, the local government has a very important role to play, because it has the control of the local development and the land use. This role of the planning systems is explained practically in the UK Governments ‘A Better Quality of Life a Strategy for Sustainable Development for the UK (May 1999). The national strategy sets out four ‘key objectives that must be achieved simultaneously: Effective protection of the environment Maintenance of high and stable levels of economic growth and employment Social progress that recognises everyones needs; and Prudent use of natural resources.† (Nicholas et al, 2005) In the new planning system, as mentioned in ‘Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004, the local planning authorities are supposed to encourage the sustainable development by means of application of sustainability considerations while preparing the planning documents like ‘SPD and ‘DPD. This technique will be useful for the local planning authorities to appraise the insinuation of the sustainability in their local development plans. (Dudley MBC, 2006) To achieve the broad objectives of sustainable development, the country requires a â€Å"transparent, flexible, predictable, efficient and effective planning system† (ODPM, PPS1, 2005, p3, paragraph 7). UK government has made some provisions in the planning system like, planning policy guidance and statements (revisions), national planning policy, regional planning guidance, and the code for the sustainable homes, which will provide a structure for the planning of ‘sustainable development. These provision s in made in the planning systems will optimistically help the local planning authorities to implicate and encourage the sustainable patterns in the new developments. Planning Policy Statement 1 (PPS 1) Delivering Sustainable Development (2005) states that â€Å"Planning authorities should ensure that sustainable development is treated in an integrated way in their development plans. In particular, they should carefully consider the interrelationship between social inclusion, protecting and enhancing the environment, the prudent use of natural resources and economic development.†(ODPM, PPS 1, 2005, paragraph 24). 4. Elements encouraging the ‘Sustainable housing development Mixed land use development and higher residential densities Mix land use means; use of the land, for development of houses, businesses, schools, recreational areas, etc., public, semi-public, and private development, in the close proximity of each other. There are some important prospective of the mixed land use development. It helps to reduce the often travelling because it brings the various deeds and amenities comparatively close to each other. Mixed land use development raises the ‘safety and security of the development. Also helps to increase the access to the local jobs and employment. The reduced residential density, isolated land use and detached street patterns are related with the increased automobile use and increases the ‘obesity and the persistent illness in the community. The increased residential density can minimise the ‘land take. It helps in reduction of travel and minimises the use of private vehicles by enhancing the use of public transport.   Higher residential densities decrease the area of the land r equired for roads, car parking, which helps to make the development more pedestrian responsive. It also helps in increment of Social inclusion by growing number of people inside walking distance. It helps to make the development socially strong and sustainable. Eventually this will increase the number of people on the street, which can enhance the liveliness and apparent safety of the development. The important thing to be kept in mind while providing a location for high density areas in the development is, to locate these areas nearer to the traffic nodes and should be having easy access to public transport. If the high density areas are located away from the public transport, the ‘car dependency in the development will start to increase creating the development unsustainable. Mixed land use and the increased residential density is the key in achievement of sustainable patterns and making the development more comprehensive. (Archive2 official documents, 2009) Use of Brownfield sites    In UK, the term ‘Brownfield site is described as, ‘previously developed land, and on which redevelopment is possible. In general, this land has been utilised previously for commercial or industrial development, and which is now in a dilapidated condition and probably polluted. The deficiency of ‘Green land availability for new development, in the recent time, ‘Brown field sites came in to the picture, particularly in those areas where the requirement of the ‘residential or ‘commercial development is more. The ‘Brownfield sites are meant not only for the residential or commercial development, but also can be utilised as open spaces, recreational spaces, local amenities etc. The repossession and reuse of ‘Brownfield site is a key factor of UK governments ‘Sustainable Development Strategy, which incorporates a variety of ‘economic, social and environmental objectives. Redevelopment of ‘Brownfield sites helps to improve th e environmental strength and the ugliness of the surroundings. The increased use of ‘Brownfield sites promotes the practicability of public transport, also makes helps in utilising existing communication and infrastructure. It also enhances the overall residential densities, and proposes chances for the improved quality residential developments, with the provisions of the employment and the other local amenities. The ‘Brownfield sites can be redeveloped in Urban as well as Rural areas, depending upon the accessibility and feasibility. (Archive2 official documents, 2009) Car free development (sustainable transport) Any housing development to be considered as sustainable neighbourhood development should minimise the necessity of private transport, like cars. There should be promotions to walking, cycling and use of public transport. This will not only result in reduction of the pollution but can be considered as a important factor in the creation of a healthy ‘community cohesion, a neighbourhood development, where its residents feel relaxing, walking which will result in more social interaction to make the development community healthy and wealthy. Mixed land use development and higher residential density will help in reduction of general travel and will promote walking and cycling, reducing the use of private transport. (Department for Transport, 2008) There are several ways which will encourage and promote a reduction in ‘car dependency, like Proposing entirely or partially a ‘car free environment, and maximising provision of walking plazas and designing separate tracks for cycling. Controlling car spaces and charging for residential car parking. Controlling the admissions of the cars in specific period of the day in the whole development or certain areas of it. Limitation of ‘Non-residential car parking and providing restricted parking at workplace. Promoting use, offering some concessions and favouring actions on eco-friendly cars or scooters. The transportation decisions in the proposed development will totally dependent upon its location, scale and the kind of the development proposed. Also there should be a focus on the capacity of the existing transportation network. (Department for Transport, 2008) 5. Sustainable housing development in rural areas UK government has made a provision in the form of ‘Planning Policy Statement 7 Sustainable Development in rural areas, to encourage and deliver the sustainable patterns in new housing development in rural areas. ‘The policies in PPS 7 applies to the rural areas like country towns, villages and the wider, mostly undeveloped countryside areas which are on the periphery of the larger urban settlements. (ODPM, PPS 7, 2004, p3) As specified in PPS 7, local planning authorities should emphasis on the location of the new development in rural areas, that it is near to the ‘local service centres where the basic needs like jobs, residences and the local amenities will be provided closer to each other, so that they can be accessible via public transport and by walking or cycling. (ODPM, PPS 7, 2004) In UK there are various ‘country towns and ‘villages which are having social, historical and architectural importance, or the make a considerable participation to â₠¬Ëœcountryside character. PPS 7 suggests to the local planning authorities to make sure that the proposed new housing development admires and where essential, promotes these specific values of that area. PPS 7 also advise planning authorities to prepare a ‘positive framework for enhancing the sustainable development which supports the conventional ‘land-based activities and the provide the entertaining facilities and amenities which needs the ‘country side location by making sure that doing this will not affect the value and natural characteristics of the rural area in which the development is proposed. (ODPM, PPS 7, 2004, p8) 6. Eco Housing in India- ‘Government of India had taken an initiative for encouragement of ‘Sustainability in new emerging housing developments. Currently in is being tested in ‘Pune, Maharashtra on a trial basis, and is called as ‘Eco housing policy. This initiative was formed with the partnership of the local government authorities (PMC, PCMC) with some national and international private organisations like, USIAD (United states agency for international development), TERI (Tata Energy Research Institute), IIEC (International Institute for Energy Conservation) etc. The main objective of this project to construct urban and rural sustainable ‘habitat, encouragement and distribution of the achievement gained via this project, through a Pilot study in Pune, to the other large urban cities in India. Also to start a ‘procedure of improvement in housing market for ‘Eco Housing in India to carry ‘the supply and demand of eco housing mutually, was the initiative goal of this project. This project got a financial aid by US-AEP (United States Asia Environment Partnership). The main characteristic feature of this project is estimating ‘eco-ranking of existing building output and appraisal schemes for acclimatizing to the Indian reference and creating catalogue of ‘eco-friendly materials, tools and techniques as advices and suggestions to the Builders and housing developers in Pune. (Eco Housing Corporation, 2009) Eco housing program has started to create awareness and getting noticeable reply from other ‘Municipal Corporations like Municipal Corporation of Greater Mumbai (MCGM), who appointed SciTech Part (STP), Pune for assisting MCGM in modifying the measures of the program to suit conditions of Mumbai City. (Eco Housing Corporation, 2009) 7. Summary- Housing is a corner stone component of sustainable development. Providing higher density residential development will encourage sustainable patterns like social inclusion, car free development, through planning systems. In the surrounding area there are many dilapidated sites we can find. Instead of using new green field site for the development, planners can amalgamate these waste land, and increase use of brown field sites for new development, will obviously help in encouragement in environmental and social sustainability. Doing this will help in enhancement of the surroundings of the housing development, restoring the urban form of the area. Mixed land use development will reduce the car use of the residents, bringing required amenities like shops, retails, employment within the walkable distance or by using public transport. Some rural areas having natural and architectural or historical importance should be treated carefully while proposing the new housing development. This wil l help in retaining the ‘village character of that area. Indian government also initiated an ‘eco-housing policy for encouragement of sustainable patterns in new housing developments. Though it was in a starting age, in current times many municipal corporations became aware of their own environment and social issues. They have started adopting this new policy of eco-housing. Pune Municipal Corporation with the help of University of Pune, planning to construct an institute which will help in spreading this ‘key issue of sustainability through education.