Healing Hospital: A Daring Paradigm Essay

As health care providers, it is natural to want to heal the patients completely. Today, many people are wanting and needing more from their health care system. The healing hospital paradigm incorporates the process of physical healing, as well as the mind and spiritual healing (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). Spirituality is the foundation of the meaning of life. For some, the foundation is built on religion and for others it may include things like music, art, family or the community (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). This paper will identify the concepts of a healing hospital, technological advances, and the physical design of the hospital, along with the culture in which promotes a holistic approach to total patient care. When planning to create a healing environment in a hospital setting, the most important thing to remember is the patient. Healing environments give the patients a sense of comfort, and a sense of safety. This type of environment helps the patient and family cope with the stressors of injury and illness. The components of a healing environment include three important elements. The first is a healing physical environment, which encompasses not only how to care for the patient, but to care for their families, caregivers and also the members of staff (Eberst, 2008). A healing environment should focus on reducing noise levels as well as fewer night time interruptions of sleep, this is known to promote rest and healing. Providing a room with a focus on lighting, music, color and architectural design, can also promote healing (Ananth, Kreisberg, & Jonas, 2011). Working in a quieter environment helps staff enjoy an overall less stressed area to do their work, which results in fewer errors. T he next component of importance is that of an integrating work design with new technology. This focus is on patient privacy, a more efficient work environment for staff, and advanced technology in the hospital to support the healing process. The last component is essential to creating a Healing Hospital. Incorporating the â€Å"Radical Loving Care† philosophy to all that staff the hospital, from housekeeping to the physicians. This philosophy was developed by Erie Chapman, a well-known healthcare industry leader. The philosophy encourages a culturally compassionate, delivery of care to patients and their families. This type of care promotes healing a patient using a holistic approach,  meeting the physical needs of the patient as well as their emotional and spiritual needs (Eberst, 2008). A great example of a healing hospital is Mercy Gilbert Hospital, built in 2006, located in beautiful Arizona. This facility operates under the 2008 CEO of the year, Laurie Eberst. (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). During the building of this hospital, Ms .Eberst focused not only on the structure of the facility but also the staff and culture of caring that they deliver to their patients and family members. One program that stands out is the â€Å"No One Dies Alone† program. Volunteers for this program are specially trained to be with the dying patient when loved ones are not able to be present. Also, the fact that the code team stays with the patient who has passed in order to honor the life of that patient (Erie Chapman Foundation, 2009). These are all standards of care at Mercy Gilbert, and what helps this hospital stand out from the rest. The challenges to creating a healing hospital include many of the same challenges of building any healthcare system. Some of these issues include the process of getting the entire healthcare team involved and participating in a new model of delivering care to the patients. The budget for the education, training the entire staff and providing the newest technology for the hospital. Nurses and physicians experience high burnout rates from the physical and mental challenges of their careers. Stresses of the occupation can bring about physical illness, including musculoskeletal, as well as mental issues such as depression (Ananth, Kreisberg, & Jonas, 2011). Nurses and physicians need to heal their own mind, body and soul in order to care for others using a compassionate and loving culture of care. Another challenge is being able to engage the whole community, making new partners for a better living environment. The foundation of health and better living starts with the people of the comm unity being more proactive in their health (Neigher & Hakim, 2011). In the King James Version of the Bible, one verse that relates to a healing hospital is Galatians 3:28, it states that â€Å"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus†. (King James online, n.d.). This verse represents the healthcare community in all that they do. They should, in a healing  environment, as well as in their communities, treat everyone equally. It does not matter where a person comes from, how much money they have, what type of insurance one holds, or how much they contribute to society, everyone should be treated equally and wholly. In a radical loving and caring culture, the belief is that we are not human beings having an occasional spiritual experience, but that we are spiritual beings having a temporary human experience (â€Å"Spirituality,† n.d., p. 1) Each and every encounter we experience as humans, with another, is a blessed encounter. In conclusion, a healing hospital environment provides comfort and compassion to patients and their families during difficult, stressful times in their lives. A positive environment promotes total body healing. Change is something that is constant for growth. It takes only a few committed individuals to start the change in any organization (Neigher & Hakim, 2011). References Ananth, S., Kreisberg, J., & Jonas, W. (2011). Exploring the science of healing. Retrieved from http://www.samueliinstitute.org Eberst, L. (2008, March/April). Arizona medical center shows how to be a ’Healing Hospital’. Health Progress, 89, 77-79. Retrieved from https://library.gcu.edu:2443/login?url=http://search.proquest.com.library.gcu.edu:2048/docview/274635012?accountid=7374 Erie Chapman Foundation. (2009, April 12). Days 102-104- top ten healing hospital list & CEO of the year. Radical Loving Care- The Journal of Sacred. Retrieved from http://journalofsacredwork.typepad.com Neigher, W. D., & Hakim, S. M. (2011, June 17). Creating a Sustainable â€Å"healing culture† throughout a healthcare system: using community psychology principles as a guide. Global Journal of Community Psychology Practice, 2(3), 1-25. Retrieved from http://www.gjcpp.org Seeking Spirituality. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.spiritualfocus.com/spiritual-quotes The official King James Bible online. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.kingjamesbibleonline.org/Bible-Verses-About-Hospitals/

Disadvantages of Single Sex Schools

Around here, one of the common topics of conversation among the parent community is, â€Å"where are you going to send your kids to high school? † We genuinely have no idea. Our options are made much more complex by the fact that all of the six high schools within walking distance of our house (two public, four private) are single sex. When I talk about not wanting to send my boys to a single sex school, most parents are surprised that I would care.My reasoning is almost entirely about socialisation – I know enough people who found it very hard to talk normally to members of the opposite sex once they got out of their segregated environment to know how much the experience can (doesn’t always, of course! ) damage your social life. My mother is a good example – she’s told me often enough how hard she found it to go from a girls school to doing first year science at university – one of 4 women in classes of 150.That’s obviously extreme, b ut I imagine she would have found it easier to cope if she’d be learning alongside boys in her highschool also. Most of the reading I’ve done on the topic (a while ago) suggested that girls should go to single sex schools, so they didn’t get oppressed by boys who would stifle their willingness to speak up and learn in a classroom, and boys should go to co-ed schools so that the girls would calm them down and create a better learning environment.Hard to know where to find those girls willing to sacrifice themselves for the boys, though. But a recent article in New York Magazine suggested that I’m way behind the times. These days, there is a whole industry in explaining just how differently boys and girls learn, and how important it is to provide a learning environment that caters separately to boys and girls. Many of the most exclusive Sydney private schools have bought into this – here’s one example.But the New York Magazine article points o ut, gently but firmly, how methods based on averages fail to take account of the enormous distribution in attributes of both sexes. Even if boys, on average, hear slightly worse than girls (a hypothesis based on one very small study) – the range of hearing levels in boys and girls suggests that if you take an individual boy and girl, you chances are pretty close to even that the boy will have better hearing than the girl.Similarly for a whole set of learning attributes – boys are popularly supposed to learn better using visual spatial clues – but many girls will also. So an educational philosophy that is based on separating out children using gender as a guide to learning styles is likely to misclassify many of them. But the most interesting aspect of the New Yorker article, for me, is that the differences in results, if they even exist, are very small for middle to upper class children like mine.If single sex schools or classes make a difference, they generally only make a difference for children who are struggling. (which makes me sceptical about the effect – most children who are struggling will do better if teachers and a school care enough to try radical options, mostly because the teachers and the school are engaged, not so much because of the radical options). And in most contexts (at least in Australia) those struggling children are least likely to have any radical options available to them – their local state school will be it.

Torus Fracture at Distal Radius Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Torus Fracture at Distal Radius - Essay Example Some of the initial cares include splinting, pain control, and mechanisms aimed to reduce swelling (Morritt, 2014). The torus fractures that are evident at the distal radius are commonly present during childhood but rarely observed in adulthood (Colaris, 2014). Since the children's bones are still undergoing growth and tend to get relatively soft. Due to this reason, among the children, whose bones of their distal radius have high tendency to buckle, most of the fractures will affect the radius mostly at the distal. By this I mean that the bones around the children’s distal radius are soft since they are steal young and relatively weak, therefore they can easily undergo breakage.   At times, this particular type of fracture is compared to green stick fractures, or rather a buckle fracture since they get often witnessed in the skin and forearm radius, among many others (Schranz & Fagg, 1992). Fortunately, this type of fracture takes a shorter time to heal since they only requ ire casting and immobilization though it doesn’t demand necessitation for reduction. The victims of this fracture may put cast or splints for between three to four weeks and further taken to X-rays (Mancini, De Maio & Ippolito, 2005). The main purpose of the x-ray is to check whether the bone has healed to the level of expectation before the removal of any immobilizing devices. The treatment duration for The Fracture is usually shorter than that of a greenstick fracture, which demands a casting for six weeks and requires an earlier reduction.

Case Study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 3

Case Study - Essay Example E.ON has shown good business sense when it adopted some serious almost desperate measures to control emissions for which its employees and their non operation actions were responsible. Employees cannot be restricted where daily work related operations are concerned. However when it comes to daily non-operations activities, the firm wants to ensure that its employees are seen as environment-caring souls. Thus E.ON has come up with a series of actions that is meant to reduce emissions and these measures include giving up expensive cars, car pooling, use of company’s hybrid cars and even preferring public transport or bicycles. E.ON understands that UK is currently facing an emission crisis. In a desperate attempt to reduce CO2 emissions, UK is planning to close almost one third of its power plants in next 12 years. By 2020, UK wants major reduction in emission to achieve a 60 percent reduction by 2050. Increasing concentrations of ‘greenhouse gases’ from human activities arc expected to cause a significant change in the earth’s climate. This may have important consequences for the environment of the UK. The main gases involved are carbon dioxide (CO2 ), methane (CH4 ), nitrous oxide (NO), chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and ozone (O3 ). These gases absorb outgoing infra-red radiation which has been reradiated from the earth’s surface. Observed global temperature increases over recent years are consistent with estimated increases caused by increased greenhouse gas concentrations. Although a molecule of CO2 is less potent than molecules of other greenhouse gases, the quantity of emissions is relatively so large that CO2 is the major contributor to global warming. Under its Climate Change Program, the UK is committed to reducing CO2 and CH4 emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2020. Total UK emissions of CO2 fell by 7 per cent, and of CH4 by 15 per cent, between 1990 and 1995, largely reflecting the decreasing use of coal in

The History of State Terrorism Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The History of State Terrorism - Article Example Through a historical perspective of terrorism, a student of the evolution of terrorism recognizes the various essential aspects that make contemporary terrorism of today different from traditional terrorism of the past. Whereas the nature and means of terrorism have changed over the past centuries in history, the results and effect of terrorism remain unchanged through different ages. When the history of state terrorism is explored in detail, one is reminded of the saying 'The more things change - the more things remain the same'. It is common that the terrorist party tends to appeal strongly to emotion when the state machinery is essentially rational. Similarly, the terrorist movement instills its politics with a powerful moral tone and a weak-versus-strong strategy reliant for the most part on its psychological impact on the adversary, where the state machinery operates on the basis of 'realist' policies and an understanding of the balance of power. "Today's terrorism is what speci alists call group or bottom-up-terrorism, but top-down (state) terrorism has been far more prevalent throughout history. It enjoyed its heyday in the twentieth century with the advent of totalitarianism. In terms of victims, top-down terrorism has taken a vastly higher toll than its bottom-up counterpart." (Chaliand and Blin, 2007, p 6). Therefore, top-down or state terrorism has been a reality through various periods in the history of terrorism, though it is most treacherous and malicious in the twenty-first century. Although there have been several significant attempts to counter the threats of this terrorist tendency, including the Global War on Terrorism, the state of affairs with regard to state terrorism has not changed greatly. That is to say, historical evaluation of state terrorism confirms the concept of the saying - 'The more things change - the more things remain the same'. Whereas terrorism has a long history of its development and state terrorism has been in place for quite long centuries, not many talked about 'state terrorism' until very recently. That is to say, state terrorism was not given great importance until in recent times and a profound understanding of state terrorism is essential to realize the concept of the saying - 'The more things change - the more things remain the same'.  Ã‚  

Philosophy Nr.2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Philosophy Nr.2 - Essay Example Therefore, it is essential to have social discipline in any society. Individualism is the basic principle on which the societies of the present age are founded. Every person wishes to procure, whatever he feels that he is eligible to obtain. In this manner, the individualist theory of justice has been transformed into a crucial collective theory of the present age (Aron 26). In instances, wherein individual distinction prevails in society; the principle of collective consciousness, which is controlled by mechanical solidarity, remains in existence. Values, sentiments and morals should be the same for all the people. In cases, where these common principles are impaired, society will be exposed to the danger of disintegration (Aron 26). Individualism in Europe chiefly emerged on the basis of the thoughts of John Stuart Mill and Friedrich Nietzsche. John Stuart Mill’s renowned essay On Liberty, declared that individuals should exercise sovereignty over their mind and body. Nevertheless, he was convinced that his ideology did not subscribe to the selfish ideas, propounded by Adam Smith. He believed that individuals should have the freedom to investigate moral, religious, and feminist ideas (Individualism). As such, Mill focused on personal freedom, which he considered indispensable, for achieving the greatest good of the greatest numbers. According to Mill, individual dignity depends on personal freedom (Individualism). Ultimately, this would lead to the exploration of the unconventional ideas. The individual was viewed by Plato and Aristotle, as a social and political being. In the Republic, Plato contended the state was responsible for molding the individual psyche, via its educative and socializing functions. He also promoted the views of Socrates, who stated that dialogue between the people, led to the formation of a knowledge base and principles of virtue and morality among them. (Self and

Leadership and Ethics Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Leadership and Ethics - Coursework Example The integrated model provides numerous benefits to major organizations. The transformational model applies in departments that have a high level of communication. In this model, the leaders encourage their employees to enhance their productivity as well as their efficiency in production through communication of tasks to be performed and thereafter providing rewards when they accomplish the set goals. The rewards take the form of bonuses, salary increments. Alternatively, when employees fail to meet their goals they are given lenient punishments (Starratt, 2004). The leadership style often requires full participation of all levels of management to ensure success. The top management is in charge of decision-making and policy formation. The middle and lower level management are in charge of providing necessary recommendations to top management to facilitate decision-making. Moreover, they are in charge of training employees, evaluating employee performance and correcting any production problems. In most cases, the low level management delegates authority to employees as well as group employees into production teams to evaluate their group performance (Walter, 2009). Ultimately, the leadership style focuses on organizational goals and delegation of small tasks employee group leaders to accomplish them. Successful organizations have therefore integrated sustainable excellence in their business strategies. Most successful leadership policies have implemented the V model in developing internal sytsems. In this regard, the organization focuses on p roduct/project life cycle where results are obtained during the product development. This involves integrating the project definition and project testing and implementation within limited time. Project definition involves conception of operations, identification of project requirements and

How Should I Judge the Goodness of My Actions Essay

How Should I Judge the Goodness of My Actions - Essay Example Mills contends that individuals who have experienced the two pleasures have a higher preference to how they exist, using higher faculties. He implies that people with more awareness to the world need more for them to be happy. Those who are knowledgeable, while subject to ignorance in enjoying base pleasures, maintain withstanding lower grades of pleasure. Finally, as people, we act in specific ways in order to meet out desires and the decisions made are governed, somewhat, by sanctions. Two types of sanctions exist, i.e. internal and external. External sanctions are outside of the person and are inclusive of such means as the influence from other people; for example, the approval, and disapproval of other people to our actions (Kahn, 2010). It can also be from ideas like the fear of God and punishment from God for acting contrary to his word. Internal sanctions, on the other hand, are equivalent to one’s conscience. These are the inner thoughts resonating in one’s mind with regards to actions or ideas. Internal sanctions have a greater influence since the mind has a consistent presence in one’s lifetime. ... Those who help others in order to be happy do so out of an effort to get personal benefits and not for duty alone. Therefore, firstly, motivation for this type of good will needs to be duty bound and not for the manner in which it makes one feel when showing generosity. Duty’s second characteristic contends that true duty must not be performed with calculated effect (Munzel, 2012). This means that if an individual decides to donate boreholes to a community in Africa he would not desire to get a tax deduction for it. Duty also requires one to act out of respect for morality, where humanity should behave according to duty and its properties, rather than for the self-serving outcome or motivation. Action, therefore, is only taken to be good if its reasoning does not contradict itself and makes sense. Kant is emphatic of this when he discusses lying, questioning whether he would be contented if his lying maxim were a universal law to him and to others (Munzel, 2012). On examining the idea, universal application of lying, would fail with all people practicing and expecting lies. Therefore, reasons governing actions can also be referred to as imperatives. He separates exteriorly motivated duties and pure duty by referring to them as hypothetical and categorical imperatives respectively. Categorical imperatives are concerned with the principle an action follows, unlike hypothetical imperatives. The debate between the two is whether an individual’s sense of duty is compromised by consequential appeal, i.e. where murdering an individual is to the benefit of other many people, is the killing justified? Kant would hold that killing is not permissible in any situation even where the person is a dictator who oppresses and kill

The Color of Water Essay Example for Free

The Color of Water Essay The Color of Water by James McBride was a story about a young boy trying to figure out his racial identity but his mother would not talk about her past or what race she was. All James knew was that she was white living in a black power neighborhood and that fact terrified him. He thought that to grow up he had to know his racial identity but through all the trouble and hard times he went through he learned that his race did not matter. It was his education that was the most important. Ruth attitude about her race effected James through his childhood and as a young adult, she negatively affected his racial development, and Ruth eventually clears up his questions that he has been dying to get answers from. Ruth McBride’s attitude toward her own race affected her son, James McBride, as both a child and as a young adult. Ruth mainly looked down on her race because of her father. All he care about was money and the store, he did not care about his own wife or family. He also molested Ruth when she was a young girl. When James was a young boy he always questioned her about race. He wanted to know if he was black or white and he also asked what color Jesus was. James mother would not completely answer his question. She responded saying that James was a human and education was all that mattered, and that Jesus was the color of water. As a kid, James knew that his mother was white, and that terrified him. He knew that a white lady living in a black neighborhood, also with black kids, was living in danger. James really realized his mother’s danger when Ruth and James were walking home and a man came up and stole Ruth’s purse. James figured out how strong and brave or crazy his mother was when she did not fight the theft back and all she told James was that it was just a purse and it did not matter. When James grew up, he thought that Ruth was going crazy, and he didn’t respect her like he did in the past. If James would have known about his mother’s past, it wouldn’t have change much. He might have been more apologetic for her but that would be about it. Ruth’s impact on James’s racial development is negative, but she had good intentions. James never knows what his racial background is and that bothers him throughout his life. If he would have known what his mother’s background was maybe then he would understand himself in his eyes, but it does not take your race to figure out yourself, it takes learning who you are on the inside. Ruth was trying to make it a positive impact on his racial development. Ruth knew that race did not matter, it was about what was on the inside of the person, but James did not understand that concept. Race never concerned him by saying he was not going to associate himself with a person because of their background but he want to know about their race, and Ruth had no cares about their race, which is a better way to go at it. Ruth offers James confusion as he grapples with his racial identity as a younger boy, but she offers him clarity as a young adult. When James was young, Ruth would answer any of her questions and that bothered him but he knew not to push her to her limit or he would get the belt. He does not know what half of his race is, he know he was black from his father but knew nothing about his mother’s race. Ruth was not ashamed to be a Jew, but she did not support Judaism because of her father, Tateh. She was not hiding the fact that she was a Jew from James but she did not want to think about everything that she ran away from when she left Suffolk, Virginia and her family, more importantly her mother, Hudis Shilksy. When James turns into the young adult he finds out that knowing your race does not help you in life like a good education does. Even though he has learned this Ruth starts to explain his questions about race to him. In the story The Color of Water, James has unanswered questions as a child. At the end of the book James learns about Ruth’s race and he finds out his racial identity. James also finds out God’s color, He is the color of water and water is neither, black or white. Ruth had harmful memories when she was a Jew because of her father and when he might her first husband, Dennis, she changed her faith and found happiness. Ruth’s race affected Ruth which later on affected her son James negatively. Her angry about her past led to James’s confusion about his own racial identity, but later on got all his questions answered.

Business Law - Case Study Essay Example for Free

Business Law Case Study Essay A.Known Facts John wanted to extend his house and built an office from there. He approached Sue after locating an advertisement from the Yellow Pages. As Sue’s price did not seem reasonable, John then approached Drawit Pty Ltd, which charged a hundred dollar less. John paid a deposit. Later, John went to Franks Hardware and Timber Yard. He made known to Frank, the sole proprietor, the purpose and requirement of the materials and placed an order. John signed a standard form contract and paid a deposit. Two months later, problems arose which caused John to delay his business. John incurred financial losses. B.IDENTIFYING THE ISSUES 1.0CONTRACT BETWEEN JOHN FRANK. It is obvious that there is a contract for the sales of goods between Frank and John. Therefore, terms implied by statute into the sales of goods will only be relevant here. 1.1Is it a consumer or non-consumer contract? Here, we need to consider the definitions of consumer both under Trade Practices Act (TPA) and Goods Act Part IV (GA-IV). As the total price of the goods is $20,500, it is under the TPA s4B(1) (a)(i) prescribed limit. Having satisfied this, we need to consider s4B(1) (a)(iii). There is no evidence showing that John had acquired the goods for the purpose of re-supply or transform them. It might be a consumer contract under TPA. $20,500 exceeds the threshold amount under GA-IV s85(1) (a). John then needs to satisfy s85(1) (b). His materials were of a kind that is ordinarily  acquired for personal consumption. Moreover, s85(1) (c) and (d) did not apply. Therefore, it might also be a consumer contract within s85 of the GA. A consumer contract subjects either to TPA or GA-IV means that Goods Act Part I do not apply. 1.2 TPA or GA-IV? A seller must be a corporation to be under the TPA. As Frank Hardware is a sole proprietor, it therefore is not subjected to the TPA. It then must fall under GA-IV. GA-IV applies to all consumer contracts for the sale of goods that take place in the course of business, irrespective of whether the seller is a corporation, a partnership or a sole trader. 1.3What are the Implied terms that are breached? (i)GA-IV s(90) Fitness for particular purposes John had a contract with Frank for the supply of materials and the sale took place in the course of a business. John made known the purpose for which the goods were required and had relied on his skill and judgement in choosing the appropriate materials. It was also reasonable for John to rely on Frank. Therefore, there is an implied condition that the materials supplied be fit for that particular purpose. However, the materials were not of the purpose for which it was supplied. This implied term had been breached. (ii)GA-IV s(89) Merchantable quality As the materials were sold in the course of a business, there is an implied condition that the materials be fit for their normal purpose(s) having regarded the price. When the materials were delivered, the pine is not limed and the oregon beams  have unsightly knots. John was not aware of the defect before the sale and if John had inspected the materials before sale it would not have revealed the defect. This is because John did not know that he actually had to lime the pine himself and the knots on the beams might not be easily seen. Therefore, there is evidence that this implied term had been breached. 1.4What is the effect of exclusion clause? As the materials bought by John is a kind normally acquired for personal consumption, Frank cannot rely on the exclusion clause to exclude his liability. This is evidenced by GA-IV s95(1). 1.5What are the remedies available? John can terminate the contract and sue for damages. This means that he may return the materials and receive a refund. However, the goods must be returned as provided by s99 that as long as the defect becomes apparent within a reasonable time after delivery, the goods may be returned within reasonable time after discovering the defect. John may also receive compensation for losses caused by the breach of implied terms. 2.0CONTRACT BETWEEN JOHN SUE. 2.1Offer or Invitation to Treat? First, we need to distinguish offer from invitation to treat. An invitation to treat is an invitation to others to make an offer. Generally, an advertisement amounts to an invitation to treat. This is held in Partridge V Crittenden [1968] 2 All ER 421, where Sue will be inviting John to make an offer. However, there is an exception. An advertisement can also be an offer. This can be illustrated in Carlill V Carbolic Smoke Ball Co [1893] 1 QB 256 in which Sue might probably argue that it was an offer. This being the case, Sue is the offeror will stressed that the offer was assumed to be accepted  by John upon saying â€Å" I think that’ll be okay †. An offer, once accepted, cannot be revoked. Therefore there will be a binding contract. Assuming that it is an offer, it can either be a counter offer or a mere request for more information. 2.2Counter Offer or Mere Request for More Information? An offer will be rejected if there is a counter offer. A counter offer tampers with the original condition of the offer, it rejects the original offer and can no longer be accepted at later date. Looking at the words used in John’s reply â€Å" I hadn’t expect it to be so high †, it is possible that this was either an acceptance with a request for more information, or a counter-offer. If the court found the facts here sufficiently similar to those in Stevenson Jacques V McLean (1880) 5 QBD 346, it could hold that the words were a mere request for information. This being the case, the offer remains open and can be accepted. Another alternative is that the court might hold that John’s reply amounts to a counter offer as it seems to add new terms to the offer. This would be similar to Hyde V Wrench (1840) 3 Beav 334, in which the counter offer involved a reduction in price. As in that case, the counter offer made by John had the effect of destroying the original offer made by Sue. Sue is then free to accept or reject this counter offer. Sue, by quoting the price of $1500, clearly shows that she had accepted the counter offer and made a new offer. It is now up to John, the offeree, to accept or reject the offer. 2.3Acceptance or Rejection? Sue could rely on the fact that the mode of communication is instantaneous, i.e. a telephone conversation. She will argue that John’s response over the phone is assumed to be an acceptance to the new offer. This forms a contract in which she can argue that it had been breached. REMEDIES FOR SUE (Damages) However, John can argue that there was no contract because his response failed to satisfy the rule that an acceptance must be absolute and unqualified. In fact, it’s a statement of his opinion of what he thought and therefore he reserved the right to change his mind. An offer, which had not been accepted, does not form a contract. Therefore there is no breach of contract and that he did not have to pay the pro rata amount requested by Sue. REMEDIES FOR JOHN (Do not have to pay) Having considered both sides of the argument, it is more likely that there is a contract between John and Sue. And that it is a breach in which John had to pay. 3.0 CONTRACT BETWEEN JOHN AND DRAWIT. It is clear that there is a service contract in which Drawit is to provide a plan for John. Due to the fact that terms implied under Statute only apply to consumer contracts, we need to determine if one exists in order to enforce the implied terms. 3.1Is it a consumer contract? To illustrate whether it is a consumer contract, we need to compare the definition of consumer under Trade Practices Act (TPA) and Goods Act Part IV (GA-IV). s4B(b) (i) of the TPA required that price of the service be less that $40,000. If it exceeds that amount, it must be a kind ordinary acquired for personal use. s85(a) of the GA-IV restricted that amount to be under $20,000. Similarly, if exceeds that prescribed amount, it must be for  personal consumption. Given the service price of $1,400 and that John had acquired it for personal use, it is obvious that it falls under both the TPA and GA-IV. Therefore we know that there is a consumer contract. We then need to identify which of the Acts it falls into. 3.2TPA or GA-IV? TPA probably applies because there is evidence that Drawit is a corporation. This can be recognised by the ‘Pty Ltd’ in Drawits’s company name. Having recognised that it subjects to TPA, it is obvious that GA-IV does not apply. 3.3What are the Implied Warranties that have been breached? As Drawit provide the similar service as Sue, we assumed that John had also made know the purpose for which the plan was required and that relied on the seller’s skills to perform the service. (i)TPA s74(1) Due and skills Drawit supplied the services in the course of a business, so there is an implied warranty that the service will be rendered with due care and skill. The material supplied (plan) in connection with the service must also be fit for the purpose for which they are supplied. It is obvious that Drawit had breached this implied warranty because the material supplied was not fit for the purpose, i.e. it did not meet the Council’s standards. (ii)TPA s74(2) Fitness for particular purposes Applying our assumption that John had made known to Drawit his requirements for which the services were required and that Drawit had supplied the service in the course of a business. There is an implied warranty that the  service and the materials supplied in connection of the service will be reasonably fit for that purpose and that it is reasonable for John in that circumstances to rely on Drawit’s skill. The plan did not meet the Council’s requirement. This shows that it did not fit the purpose for which the services were required. Therefore there is a breach of this warranty. 3.4Can the implied terms be excluded? As the service provided is of a type ordinarily acquired for personal domestic or household use. Under s68 of TPA, Drawit cannot exclude or limit the implied warranties. 3.5What are the remedies that are available? John can terminate the contract and sue for damages. This means that he could get a refund for the services and also receive compensation for the losses caused by the breached of the implied terms.

Transformational transactional and autocratic leadership styles

Transformational transactional and autocratic leadership styles This section has contrast and comparison of transformational, transactional and autocratic leadership styles. Transformational leader motivate and inspires his team to perform tasks and to achieve the desired goal. On the other hand transactional leadership portrays direct and effective leadership style, the direct authority given to the leader with regards to punishing and rewarding team members depending on the results of the project. On the contrary, autocratic leadership is characterized by individual control over all decisions and little input from group members. It is also known as authoritarian leadership. Autocratic leaders typically make choices based on their own ideas and judgements and rarely accept advice from followers. It involves absolute authoritarian control over a group. Transformational leadership is a commitment to a vision and empowering others to achieve that vision (burns, 1978).It is a primary style of leading .Efficiency and motives are mandatory for transformational leadership include a commitment to a change as a process, ability to reconceptualize systems, to build networks and tolerance to complexity. In contrast to transformational leadership, transactional leadership is aimed at maintaining equilibrium or the status quo, by performing work according to the policy and procedures, maximizing self interests and personal rewards, emphasizing, interpersonal dependence and routinizing performance. Authentic transformational leadership is grounded in moral foundations that are based on idealized influence by developing a vision, inspirational motivation by creating high expectations, intellectual stimulation and individualized considration by giving personal attention to followers (bass and avolio, 1994).Apart from that involvement of team members encourages reciprocal clarification of objectives and specification of mutually helpful work process. Transformational leadership is particularly relevant for complex and complicated environments such as healthcare where change is essentially the norm (plsek and greenholgh, 2001). According to burns transactional leader approaches followers with an eye to exchanging one thing for another, but the transformational leader recognizes and exploits an existing need or demand of a potential follower, and looks for potential motives in followers, seeks to satisfy higher needs and engages the full person of the follower. On the flip side, autocratic leaders always promote the one sided conversation that restricts the creative and leadership skills of employees which can affect the outcomes of project. It is also believed that an autocratic leader hinders socialization and workplace communication, which can cause disagreements and conflicts. The most effective factor of the leadership is that a leader should be more energetic, enthusiastic and passionate about his work, concerned and involved in the process and also focused on helping the group members to get success. It is true that great things have been achieved through perfect and accurate leadership. In the process of leadership such leaders become strong role models and encourage followers to emulate them. In transformational leadership, leaders and followers make each other to advance to a higher level of moral and motivation (burns 1978). The major policy of transformational leader is to impart a strong vision that inspires followers to change expectations, perception and motivation of work to accomplish the goals. Transformational leaders are said to engender trust, admiration, loyalty and respect amongst their followers (Barbuto, 2005).It is also based on self reflective changing of values and beliefs by the leader and their followers. Transformational leaders are people who can create significant change in both followers and the organization with which they are associated (griffin, 2003). They lead changes in mission, strategy, structure and culture, in part through a focus on intangible qualities like vision, shared values and ideas, and relationship building. Transformational leaders also find common ground that allows them to enlist followers in processes of change. As every leadership style has both positive and negative aspects. The positive feature of transformational leadership is that, it is very useful in health care area like hospitals and NHSs. It can be very helpful for fresher staff on practice and also for students on training. Transformational leaders provide guidance, motivation and encouragement about their practice which can assist them to enhance their perception regarding workplace and advanced care work. The leaders create an environment where they can feel comfortable and facilitate them to communicate their concerns about practice and also articulate their viewpoints which can be obliged in research practice. Leaders have ability to generate enthusiasm and draw people together around a vision through self confidence(Fisher, 2009). The negative part of transformational leadership is that, some leaders may have narcissistic inclinations, flourishing on power and manipulation. Moreover, some followers may have dependent characters and form strong and unfortunate bonds with their leaders (stone, Russell and Patterson, 2003). It can create conflicts between the leader and followers which can affect the results. The morality of transformational leadership has been questioned, especially by libertarians and organizational development consultants (Griffin, 2003).A key criticism is that within it transformational leadership has potential for the abuse of power (Hall, Johnson, Wysocki and Kepner 2002). In transactional leadership, the leader pursues a cost benefit, economic exchange to met subordinates current material and psychic needs in return for contracted services rendered by the subordinates (Bass). As exactly said by Bass the transactional leaders work within the organizational culture as it exists; the transformational leader changes the organizational culture. Transformational leader trusts that people rise higher and learn more through positive inspiration than negative inspiration. In autocratic leadership, autocracy thoughts mostly come from great man theories of leadership. This approach stresses the greatness and authority of the leader that inspires subordinates. Transactional leaders bond the target to rewards, provide mandatory assets, illuminate expectations and provide different kinds of rewards for their victorious performance. They set specific, assessable, achievable, practical and appropriate goals for their subordinates. The leader actively observes the wo rk of subordinates, monitor for divergence from rules and standards and take suitable action to prevent mistakes. The autocratic leadership has also been some positive and negative traits. It can be more beneficial in some instances, such as when decision need to be made quickly without consulting with a large group of people. Some projects require strong leadership in order to get things accomplished quickly and efficiently and when leaders power has been challenged by the followers. It is also the fact that decision making becomes more fast and simple in autocratic leadership, as the leaders dont have to convince or discuss with anybody. In such circumstances, people always favour the ability to be told what do next. According to Money Zine, In fact, in times of stress or emergency, some subordinates may actually prefer an autocratic style-they prefer to be told exactly what to do, the autocratic leadership style is very effective when times are stressful. For an example, in hospital practice area, in emergency situations doctor needs to take appropriate action to save the life of patient. At that time the whole responsibility is of the doctor and he should have all the qualities of an autocratic leader by which he can provide the suitable command to his team and protect the precious life of patient. In many work settings long discussions have no place and this form of leadership limits arguments. It allows subordinates to have one task and work on it, by which employees can get proficiency to develop the company. The negative attributes of the autocratic leadership is that the leader usually prefer one side conversation and act as Hitler to order the work assignments. As the leader has all the power there is a chance that he can use his employees. This leadership style can create an environment of fear, offence and absenteeism. According to Money Zine, The communication style of an autocratic leader is usually described as one way. They tell u exactly what they want done. The pleasant work environment is very necessary, where everyone is friendly. According to leithwood, transformational leadership is that which facilitates of a redefinition peoples task and vision, a renewal of their commitment and the reorganization of their systems for goal accomplishment. It is a relationship of mutual stimulation and altitude that converts followers into leaders and may converts leaders into moral agents. Transformational leadership promotes capacity expansion and obtains higher levels of personal obligation amongst followers for organizational purpose. Transactional leaders use different type of rewards to swap over followers and this compliance only develop followers extrinsic motivations and extrinsic contingent rewards probably decrease the intrinsic incentives. Whereas transformational leaders who motivate followers based on social exchange and use economic exchange to complement leadership practices develop followers intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (Cardona, 2000). Moreover transformational leaders use flexible authority, strate gies as inspirational appeals and ingratiation, as well as hard tactics, such as barter and power, is more useful in motivating subordinates than transactional leaders use only hard plans. Meta-analytical evidence supports the generalizable findings that transformational leadership is more effective, productive, innovative, and satisfying to followers than is transactional leadership (Lowe, Kroeck Sivasubrahmaniam, 1996). The transactional leaders are very effective in providing guidance on competency resolutions which are intended to improving productivity and cutting costs. The relationship of transactional leader with their followers inclined to be temporary and not based on affecting bonds. On the opposite the transformational leaders encourage followers by tempting to strong emotions in spite of the definitive effect on the followers and do not inevitably attend to the positive moral values. The transactional leadership works in most of the cases where its provided and the subordinates are motivated by rewards. If the leader of the hierarchy has a strong personality and proficient enough to make important decisions, this verified compliance policy works best for them. For example, subordinates in clinical practice under the transactional leader, work efficiently to get rewards and in the race of getting rewards their skills might be improved. Rewards could be of any type like increment of wages o r extra bonus or emotional encouragement etc. Private notes of congratulation to successful followers can also help foster self confidence (Eric, 1992) The autocratic leadership style is quite different than transformational and transactional leadership. The autocratic leadership style works well during group projects. Many group projects are inclined to fail because members of the group depend on each other to take decisions; here the autocratic leader takes appropriate resolution in the favour of organization. Otherwise this leadership style always criticized by the followers. Some of the autocratic leaders who have caused fear in peoples mind because of their dangerous activities are: Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Saddam Hussein, Martha Stewart and Howell Raines. On the other hand, transformational leadership lacks the checks and balances of countervailing interests, influences and power that might help to avoid dictatorship and oppression of a minority by a majority (Bass, 1997). Apart from that a powerful transactional leader always found everything favourable to his way. And when people get used to doing things just the way the y are told, what and only as much they are told, their thinking and imagination power stopped working. It will be tough to find new leaders from the lower starters of power hierarchy and it can create stressful work settings. Output can be maintained but originality and breakthroughs will be hard to find. The transformational leadership style is similar to the charismatic leadership, because these leaders are very active and encourage their subordinates with lot of passion towards the goal. Transformational leadership is a part of the new leadership concept, which gives more interest to the charismatic and affective fundamentals of leadership. Transformational leader have an excellent power of influence that helps followers to achieve more than the leader expect from them. For example, Gronn(1996) remarks on the close relationship between charismatic and transformational leadership while pointing out the absence of notions of charisma in some work transformational leadership (Crawford, Gould Scott, 2003). There is an argument that transformational leadership is facilitative of change because it contributes to organizational development, success and institutional culture (Barnett, McCormick Conners, 2001).It is said that To bring about change, authentic transformational leadership pr omotes the moral values of integrity, devotion and fairness, as well as the end values of justice, equality, and human rights (Griffin, 2003, p. 8). Moreover, both transactional and transformational leaders are conscious about the correlation between an attempt and remuneration, their leadership is approachable and its basic concept is to dealing the present issues and leadership is depend on the leaders authority to support followers for their achievements. Besides it, the transactional leadership focuses on situational power, politics and benefits. It include principles, but characteristically those are essential for successful swap connections (for example, mutuality, honesty). According to Jim Barrett, In any situation the leader is the one who is the initiator. The advantages and disadvantages of autocratic leadership are understandable for certain circumstances. For example, organization needs a strong leader to make fast and right decision in emergency conditions. Though, in less stressful situations, it may be better to discuss on topic before taking action. Sometimes, autocratic leaders have better ideas and adopting this leadership style can lead to the success of the company. However, in most cases it has some undesirable effects like, it is said that autocratic leadership is only accepted when need emerges and these leaders cannot remain popular for more time among their followers. Consequently, autocratic leadership frequently leads to increased absenteeism and staff turnover, which can decrease the productivity and progress of company. In addition to it, transactional leaders inspire followers by alluring to their own self- interest and transformational leaders encourage the followers to transcend their own interest for the group o r company. According to burns (1978), transformational leaders motivate followers to move beyond their self interest and to contribute to the overall vision and success of the organization. By doing so, the followers then meet their need for finding meaning and purpose in their work and may become leaders themselves. There are some implications about the transactional theory that transactional leaders overstress the short-term goals, rules and procedures. This type of leadership may work well where the organizations have simple and clearly defined problems. The only contract between the leader and followers is the money which followers obtain for their compliance and endeavours and after the completion of contract there is no relationship between the leader and followers. Odom and Green (2003) argue that principles of transformational leadership applied to ethical dilemmas faced by leader offers the prospect of less litigation and better ethical outcomes than the more common transactional approach to ethics. The transactional leadership is not a true leadership style it focus on the short-term goals and limited the innovative work of subordinates. In comparison to transformational leadership, transactional leadership is looking unsatisfactory but not bad, in prospectively developing the leadership. It provide basis for grown-up connections but leaders should not practice it entirely otherwise it can produce an environment pervaded by authority, position, politics and bonuses. While transformational leaders reveal a wide range of proficiencies, contain both technological and people skills. They are forward looking visionaries, expecting potentials for the organization. At the end we can say that transformational leadership style is best than autocratic and transactional styles. Through great inspiration, vision, charisma and intellectual stimulation transformational leaders prospectively promote the concert beyond expectations and effect vast changes within subordinates and organization. This leadership style is well-suited to the present issues like ambiguity, universal and organizational instability. . As Carlson and Perrewe (1995, p. 834) observe, major changes in the organizations mission, strategies and level of follower commitment are likely to emerge as a result of transformational leadership.

The Mortal Sin Of Pride Essay -- essays research papers

The Mortal Sin of Pride   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 'The Cask of the Amontillado'; Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism, imagery, and the atmosphere to help fully explore the sinful nature of pride and its serious consequences within the short story. The character of Fortunato is the main capsule for the explanation of the dangers of being prideful of ones self. By examining Poe's use of symbolism, images, and effective backdrops around Fortunato the reader may begin to understand the importance of the deadly sin of pride.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poe deliberately explains to the reader early on within the short story, 'The Cask of the Amontillado';, that Fortunato takes extreme pride in 'himself on his connoisseurship in wine'; (153). The theme of having an overwhelming amount of self-pride, one of the seven deadly sins, is projected as a weakness of Fortunato and foreshadows the ideal that this deadly sin of pride may very well lead to the means of Forturnato's own destruction. Fortunato Believes that his 'connoisseurship in wine'; (153) is far more developed and advance than anyone else in the area, especially Luchesi and Montresor. For example when Montresor offered to take his business to Luchesi because he, Fortunato, appeared to be pre-engaged in the enjoying himself within 'the supreme madness of the carnival'; (153); however, Fortunato replied with ' 'Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry' '; (154). The reader may argue that Luchesi might have truly been... The Mortal Sin Of Pride Essay -- essays research papers The Mortal Sin of Pride   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 'The Cask of the Amontillado'; Edgar Allan Poe uses symbolism, imagery, and the atmosphere to help fully explore the sinful nature of pride and its serious consequences within the short story. The character of Fortunato is the main capsule for the explanation of the dangers of being prideful of ones self. By examining Poe's use of symbolism, images, and effective backdrops around Fortunato the reader may begin to understand the importance of the deadly sin of pride.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Poe deliberately explains to the reader early on within the short story, 'The Cask of the Amontillado';, that Fortunato takes extreme pride in 'himself on his connoisseurship in wine'; (153). The theme of having an overwhelming amount of self-pride, one of the seven deadly sins, is projected as a weakness of Fortunato and foreshadows the ideal that this deadly sin of pride may very well lead to the means of Forturnato's own destruction. Fortunato Believes that his 'connoisseurship in wine'; (153) is far more developed and advance than anyone else in the area, especially Luchesi and Montresor. For example when Montresor offered to take his business to Luchesi because he, Fortunato, appeared to be pre-engaged in the enjoying himself within 'the supreme madness of the carnival'; (153); however, Fortunato replied with ' 'Luchesi cannot tell Amontillado from Sherry' '; (154). The reader may argue that Luchesi might have truly been...

Didions Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream Essay examples -- Didion Dr

Didion's "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream" In "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream," the author Didion uses fiery imagery to parallel the San Bernardino Valley to hell.   It is a place where the "hills blaze up spontaneously," and "every voice seems a scream." (p.3)   Didions hellish descriptions of the geography reflect the culture of San Bernardino Valley.   It is "where the hot wind blows and the old ways do not seem relevant, where the divorce rate is double the national average." (p.4)   In this culture, the importance of   the "old ways," such as a long-lasting marriage, are devalued.   It is a society where the "dream [is] teaching the dreamers how to live," (p.17) and where reality doesnt hamper peoples obsessions and greediness.   In the essay "Some Dreamers of the Golden Dream," the San Bernardino Valleys self-indulgent culture devaluates societys morals and ethics such as religion, law, love, and life. In the San Bernardino Valley, tele-evangelism, Christian gospel spread through television, is prominent.   It is "the California where it is easy to Dial-A-Devotion, but hard to buy a book." (p.4)   It is a society where anyone with money can buy a devotion to God with the dialing of a number.   The usage of religion as a money-making business defiles the sanctity of societys most sacred and cherished belief.   However, money is made so morals and ethics are ignored.   Another example of this immorality is Edward Foley, Lucilles Millers attorney.   He sa...

Environmental Benefits And Challenges Of Urbanization Essay

This paper has been written to analyze in-depth, the pollution, covering air, water, chemicals, and other such related issues in the United States. Further, I would also be developing an environmental health teaching plan to address one of these issues. Environmental issues are becoming very prevalent in today’s world. The question is why the environment and its concerns are becoming more prevalent, important and famous now. For this, we will need to look at the history. For decades we have neglected this seemingly dangerous issue due to which it has been going unnoticed. The reason we never before paid heed to this concern or issue is because this issue’s repercussions were not evident in the previous years. As no such notice regarding this issue was taken into consideration, it could not even be rectified. (Abel & McConnell, 2007). However, with the advent of global warming and other factors such as acid rain, prevalence of carbon dioxide and the ever increasing penetration of green house gases has put many lives at stake making many people fear that this world will not continue to exist or survive for more than 10 years from now on that means that by 2018 this world will have used most of the resources and this is basically due to the wastages of resources available to us. The basic thing that we have to consider here is to think hard about the issue as to how we can prevent our precious resources from depletion, disappearance and from vanishing. To answer this question we can simply say that we should use our resources optimally. (Kemp, 2007). It is believed that the next war that would be held would be for the sole purpose of resources. The 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Centre highlights the hidden objective of the resources. Although this act would be illegal and an immoral thing or practice, therefore many countries other than the one going for the war would object to this act for spoiling the world peace. U. S is a super power of the world and it is always trying to get hold of the resources. They are doing this by capturing resources, snatching them and raiding the countries that have abundant of these resources such as O. P. E. C countries and countries with no or minimal problems of the water shortage or the countries thave abundant of resources like the crude oil, natural coal and the natural gas. (Harris 2004). The reason why some countries have been the target of the United States is because although these countries might have some kinds of resources, however they do not have any resources that can be used to combat the threat or the attack coming from the super power such as the US and countries that are the allies of the U. S. such as European Union that also includes Turkey. Furthermore, these countries have a very weak defence and military, but the most important two factors that are responsible for their vulnerability are mentioned below. †¢ Lack of Decisive and Prowess Leadership. †¢ Ignorance to the current affairs and the intelligence. This is one of the major problems that might create huge problems for the countries US has their eyes on. With all the afore mentioned details to the problem, now let us go deeper in to the affects of the ignorance this problem environment exploitation that is also supported by the fact that he next war expected to take place is on the resources. The mere resources which were once used with out any fear of them being depleted once are now being depleted all because of the lack of the knowledge and the lack of the far sightedness of the problem. Now this problem has become very prominent and inevitable. The depletion of resources is not a small problem but it is vice versa. It is a very big problem that can greatly affect our future generations and if this problem goes unsolved today then our generations will have no future or to put it more realistically our future generation is going to be at the mercy of an unsafe future with lots of pollutants in the air. Therefore, if this problem goes unrectified then its repercussions can be innumerable, our future generation is at stake and now is definitely the time to act upon. (Horner, 2007). The United States of America, in past many years have taken initiative to contribute towards environment uplift and betterment of the environment. Environmental hazards do not have any boundary. The boundaries separating the countries subordinate to environmental impacts. Global warming, green house gases, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide penetration know no boundary and their impact is much due to which there is a dire need now is to prevent exposure to these hazards. However, the US cannot alone can not take any initiative to combat this seemingly deadly hazard and so it requires input and the cumulative effort to prevent this penetration in to our lives and body but as the US is one of the major super powers of the world, it must take the initiative. Furthermore, US is well equipped with resources and can lead the world to save the environment. (Houghton, 2004). US has repeatedly been warned of the repercussions of the gases from chimneys that their factories and companies are producing and how their industrial wastage is discarded. Furthermore, US have broken many protocols and pacts on this regard and continue to exploit environment. US can also be given the name of one of the world‘s biggest pollutants. The environments can also affect international marketing decisions and the planning system of the countries. This is because two different states have two different governments and thus having different polices and laws. Therefore, the marketing decisions that are taken in a country are different from each other according to the social, economic and political environment that exists in the country. (Kitchen & Schultz, 2000). Reference Abel,D. C. & McConnell,R. L. (2007). Environmental Issues: An Introduction to Sustainability. 3rd Edn. Prentice Hall, Paperback. Horner,C. C. (2007). The Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming and Environmentalism. Regnery Publishing, Inc. , Paperback. Kemp,D. D. (2007). Exploring Environmental Issues (Kindle Edition). 1st Edn. Taylor & Francis. Kitchen,P. &Schultz,D. (2000). Communicating Globally: An Integrated Marketing Approach. London, Macmillan Business. Scorecard. (n. d. ). More Facts on Pollution. January 3rd, 2009. Retrieved from: http://www. scorecard. org/

Customer Profitability Analysis Essay

Activity Based Costing (ABC) is best known for its appilcation in computing product costs, but firms also find it useful in determining the cost of serving customers and as a basis for evaluating the profitabilty of a specific customer or group of customers. Why is this important? Most managers agree that 80% of their profits come from the top 20% of their customers and most important, the bottom 20% of their customers are unprofitable. For example, to compete with Walmart,Best Buy works hard to attract profitable customers and equally hard to discourage the unprofitable customers which those that are price shopping and looking for discounts and promotions and comparing prices to Walmart. Best Buy studies demographic and sales data for each store location to identify profitable and unprofitable customers. Customer profitabilty analysis idetifies customer service activities and cost drivers and determines the profitability of each customer or customer group. Here, customer service include all activities to complete the sale and satisfy the customer including advertising, sales calls, delivery, billing, collection, service calls, inquiries and other forms of customer service. Customer profitability analysis allow managers to: Identify most profitable customers Manage each customer’s cost-to-serve Introduce profitable new products and services Discontinue unprofitable products, services or customers Shift a costomer’s purchase mix toward higher-margin products and service lines Offer discounts to gain more volume with low costs-to-serve customers Choose types of after-sale services to provide How to calculate Customer Profitability Analysis The first step of CPA is to create a simple model of revenue by customer on the one hand, and total business unit costs and overheads on the other. Second, subtract the direct product and service costs from each customer (costs of good sold/cost of sales) to arrive at a gross margin per customer. Third, it should be possible to identify other costs specific to the customer such as a particular sales campaign or servicing and retention  costs. Orders of magnitude will do rather than getting hung up on 100% accuracy. Be consistent if applying any proxy. Fourth, sort customers by net profit and draw a cumulative profitability curve staring with the most profitable to the least. This is an effective way to visualize the relative profitability of customers and it soon becomes apparent which customers are critical to the business. Fifth, before taking any decision on non-profitable customers, make sure that you have strong retention activities in place to secure your most valuable customers. Sixth, get behind the real reasons why some customers are unprofitable and determine the appropriate strategies and tactics to enhance the profitability of your customer portfolio. Thought about sacking customers, should be put to one side until you have gained a clear understanding of the reasons. As we’ve seen there are lots of reasons for being unprofitable, and it is important to think ahead to potential value over time, not just recent history. (Six step to Customer Profitability Analysis, 2007) A good understanding of the profitabilty of a firm’s current and potential customers can help firms improve overall profits and become more competitive. This begins with an analysis of the cost to serve the customer. Customer Cost Analysis Not all customers require similar activities either before or after sales. Examples of customer-specific activities include: Order processing costs Billing, collection and payment processing costs Account receivable and carrying costs Customer service costs Selling and marketing costs Customer cost analysis is the process of identifying the activities and cost drivers related to servicing customers. Traditionally these costs are hidden in the customer support, marketing and sales function. Activity based costing can help managers to understand their costs to serve costomers. Different activities often have different cost drivers. Based on the activities and cost drivers involved in services performed to acquire and compelete a transaction, customer costs can be classified into the following  categories: Customer unit-level cost – resources consumed for each unit sold to a customer. Examples include sales commission based on the number of units sold or sales dollars, shipping cost when the freight charge is based on the number of units shipped and cost of restocking each returned unit. Customer batch-level cost – resources consumed for each sales transaction. Examples include order-processing costs, invoicing costs and recording of sales returns or allowances every time a return or allowance is granted. Customer-sustaining cost – resources consumed to service a customer regardless of the number of units or batches sold. Examples are salespersons’ travel costs to visit customers, monthly statement processing costs and collecti on costs for late payments. Distribution-channel cost – resources consumed in each distribution channel the firm uses to service customers. Examples are operating costs of regional warehouses that serve major customers and centralized distribution centers that serve small retail outlets. Sales-sustaining cost – resources consumed to sustain sales and service activities that cannot be traced to an individual unit, batch, customer or distribution channel. Examples are general corporate expenditures for sales activity and the salary, fringe benefits and onus of the general sales manager. Customers profitability analysis provides valuable information to the assessment of customer value. In addition, firm must weigh other relevant factors before determining the action appropriate for each customers. The folllowing are among these relevant factors: Growth potential of the customer, the customer’s industry and its cross selling potential Possible reactions of the customers to changes in sales terms or sevices Importance of having the firm as a customer for future sales references especially when the customer could play a vital role in bringing in additional business. Customer Lifetime Value Many companies now see the impotance of looking at the long term value of the customers, the expected contribution to profit during the full period the company retains the customers. This concept is called customer lifetime value ( CLV), and it is calculated as the net present value of estimated future profits from the customer for a specified time, which may be three or five years. Present value is used because the profits from the customer are expected to occur over a number of years. To provide a more comprehensive  and strategically relevant measure of the value of the customer, CLV takes into account the company’s expectations about the future potential growth in profits for a customer. CLV can be used to measure the value of a customer or group of customers and to determine how marketing and support services should be allocated to these customers to improve the firm’s overall profitability. Since there is a significant level of judgment involved in estimating th e variables in the calculation. It is also important to compare different calculations of CLV made with different assumptions about profit forecasts and discount rates. It have three types of potentially unprofitable customer who might be retained: New and growing customers, who promise profitable business in the future and may provide a stepping stone for penetratig lucrative new markets Customers providing qualitative rather than financial benefits including customers at the edge in the development of new markets who provide valuable insights into likely trend movements in consumer demand Customers providing increased capability because of their status as recognised leaders in their markets or field of expertise. Thus, where customer profitability analysis reveals that a particular customer is unprofitable, it does not necessarily follow that this customer should be eliminated. Nor does it follow that the customer must be persuaded to accept terms and cindition will rwduce the customer’s level of satisfaction. Negotiations with customers might well reveals that less frequent deliveris would actually benefit the customers without causing cos tky stockpiles. Clearly, there is scope for negotiating with customers to influence their behaviour without compromising the customer’s level of satisfaction. Some aspects of improved negotiation might include: Non-cash incentives from sunk-cost investments for example sponsoring a season of a major cultural events primarily yields advertising benefits however seats in the accompanying corporate boxes might also yield enticing customer incentives. Similarly, a company’s accumulated frequent-flyer points may perhaps be spent on customers new or existing Restructure of delivery runs to create a more timely but less frequent service for the customer Capacity maximization on delivery runs that are required for profitable customers by offering a more frequent service for the potentially unprofitable customers with unpredictable demands Purchase of equipment on behalf of customers which they can use rent-free, in lieu of discounts or agent’s commissions. The  cash saved on reduced discounts potentially should exceed the cost of the assets. Additionally, ownership is retained and a stronger bond is forged with the customer thereby generating greater negotiating power in future Free short-term financial advice which will create efficiencies for the customer leading to reduced internal workload and consumption of resources New products at no cost in return for reduced discounts to serve a dual purpose, improving customer profitability while providing a useful vehicle for the promotion of new products A trade-off between quantity discounts and settlement discounts that minimizes the costs of cash overdraft and maixmizes long-run production scheduling The overriding consideration with a customer profitabilty analysis is that management will at least be armed with information about unprofitable customers and can focus attention on developing those innovations or strategoes that might reduce the lack of profits of a particular customer wi thout reducing that customer’s satisfaction. Alternatively provided a shift of thinking is possible, management can restructure the manufacturing process that will ultimately lead to a shift in the rsults of a customer’s profitability. The role of mechanics of activity based costing in developing a customer profitabilty analysis should not be underestimated with activity based costing, a general ledger amounts are dissected, making the assignment of costs to customer easier. In particular, the associated on costs of employing sales staff and motor vehicles would be analysed in detail and be readily available. This would embrace vehicle operating costs as well as fringe benefits and payroll tax, holiday and long service leave entitlements, worker’s compensation insurance, mobile telephone and training costs. Several of these items might conveniently be omitted from non avtivity based costing customer profitability analysis because of the complex analysis required to divide the general ledger amounts between the activities of different salesperson. Why Calculate Customer Profitability? The reasons why we calculate customer profitability is to help the company to improve its cost performance and also for manager to make decision about which customer or market channel to focus on. Besides, to improve the profitability by eliminating non-profitable customers and maximizing sales or services to profitable customers. Also act as an understanding of the  true costs of each segments including taking into account non-production costs when determine profitability. Definition and concept Customer profitability analysis based on the recognition that each customer is different. Therefore each dollar of revenue or each dollar of cost generated by the customers does not contribute equally to a company’s profitability. The general approach to customer profitability is based on the segmenting that customer base to determine the revenues and costs contribute to each segment. This is often combined with an Activity Based Costing (ABC) approach. ABC is a costing methodology that identifies activities in an organization and assigns the cost of each activities with resources to all products and services according to the actual consumption by each. Traditional cost accounting often supports a 20-80 rule that 20% of the largest customers, who purchase the most products, contribute 80% of the profits. Using ABC, analysis have often found that 20% of the customers generated 300% of the profits. The remaining 80% of the customers are actually unprofitable and can result in loss of 200% of the profits (Good Practice Guideline 2002, pg 21). Once the profitability and non-profitability segments are identified, profitability segments are maximized while non-profitability segment are reduced or eliminate. Based on the diagram above, basically there are two basic approaches to customer segmentation, for example demographic which could be categories into geographic area, customer age, gender, and income level. Second approach is psychographic which include customer values, attitude and customer interest, Once customer segmentation have been identified, the annual revenue is being calculated per segment. How this is done will depend on the product or service offered by the company, Discount, service fee should be included to determine the true amount of the revenue generated, Next, annual cost is calculated per segment. This will involve directly attributable product or services cost including overhead cost and ABC approach is the most effective way to allocate the cost. Profitable customer is equal to annual revenue exceed annual cost. And non-profitable customer is equal to annual cost exceed annual revenue. However, this will involve more accurate analysis to determine this. As for pr ofitable customer, it  need more detail planning to develop long term customer relationship to increase the revenue. Therefore, customer retention and loyalty program are needed The ability to determine customer profitability on an individual basis can add value to the company customer relationship. The customer can be helped to reduce its costs and the company can become more profitable. (Good Practice Guideline 2002, pg 22). However, for least profitable or non-profitable customer, there are two options of action: Eliminate – ceasing to supply these customer. This can be done by no longer marketing or raising the price, or even change the product. Re-engineering – turning the least profitable or non-profitable customer into profitable customer by decreasing the costs and increasing revenue. For example, using differential prices. With a new understanding of which customers were profitable and which were not, Kanthal become dedicated to turning unprofitable customers into profitable ones. The company developed ways to retain the customers and decrease their administrative and selling costs (Kaplan and Cooper 1998:188). In short terms Kanthal tried the following: reduce the size of its product lines, accept orders only for stocked items use external distributors to reduce the cost of small accounts, change compensation to salesmen to emphasis profit rather than only sales volume, and engineer to reduce set-up times and improve operational efficiencies. (Good Proactice Guideline 2002, pg 21) Last step is to implement new strategies, example changes in pricing, cost reduction should be reviewed to determine the impact on customer profitability. Recently, many companies have learn to understand the causal relationsip between employess and customers and the impact on revenue growth and firm profitability (Epstein, 2000). Customer performance measure is measurement used by organization to measure the revenue growth and firm profitability through market share, customer acqui sition, retention, satisfaction and customer profitability. CUSTOMER MEASURE DEFINITION Market share Reflects the proportion of business in a given market (in terms of number of customers, dollars spent, or unit volume sold) that a business unit sells. Customer acquisition Measures in absolute or relative terms, the rate at which a business unit attracts or wins new customers or business. Customer retention Tracks in absolute or relative terms the rate at which a business unit retains or maintains ongoing relationship with its customers. Customer satisfaction Assesses the satisfaction level of customers along specific performance criteria within te value proposition. Customer profitability Measures the net profit of a customer, or a segment, after allowing for the unique expenses required to support that customer (Epstein, 2000) Market share can be defined as the percentage of all sales within a market that is held by one brand / product or company. Market share can be measured in several ways. However, the two most important measures are by sales revenue and sales volume (the number of units sold). These are to analyze the impact of their own actions on market shares, as well as their profit implications. Lacking such knowledge, one might be tempted to oversimplify the cause-and-effect relationships between market shares and marketing variables, or to equate market shares to profitability (a not unusual tendency even among seasoned businessmen). Many individuals in business indeed keep a close watch over day-by-day changes in market shares, so much so that market-share movement to them is almost synonymous to market information (Cooper, 2010). By comparing the profit obtained from various market share the organization may identify which market share gives more profit and should be focus on those customer desire and wich customer gives less profit and the organization may choose either to improve their product/ service or lowering te product/ service on that market share. Characteristics of new, loyal and lost customers are particularly important for companies to understand. Marketing analysts group customers into segments of recent new purchasers, high-volume purchasers and non-purchasers using customer transaction data, and analyze the resulting segments to identify their common characteristics. Attributes of new customers provide a good appearance of a company’s likely acquisition target market. Similarly, characteristics of lost customers may define less desirable market segments, or may reveal problems in customer service or product satisfaction. Improvements in retention programs are saving companies significant time and money – keeping existing customers buying is much less expensive than  acquiring new customers (Customer Acquisition, Retention and Attrition Analysis, 2014) Measurement that will show the situation of business are : The number of new customers per quarter of year Total sales to new customers per quarter of year Sales to new customer as a proportion of total sales When business is good marketers can afford to take an evolutionary approach to customer acquisition and retention by continually optimizing branding, creative, advertising mix, and offer strategy. But during challenging business situations, an evolutionary approach is bound to yield underwhelming results (Customer Acquisition & Retention, 2014). The difference in sales in a market share from year to year, will act as indicator to the organization regarding percentage of new customers obtained or lost customers. Customer retention is the ongoing customer relationship that yields revenues from the sale of additional products or services. The revenues become more profitable as the customer becomes easier to serve. Since the customer is buying again it is assumed that less sales effort is required, customer service costs decrease, and the costs of acquiring customers decline. Customer loyalty encompass customer retention but also includes the customers’ recommendation of the produ ct or service to other potential customer. As for example, word of mouth recommendation is important to Southwest Airlines, whose reservation system has never been accessible to travel agents. It has relied on advertising and customer loyalty to spread its message to potential customers. The airlines which began flying in 1971, has consistently been profitable. Convinced that customer loyalty is a important factor in increasing profitability than is market share, Southwest Airlines strives to build customer loyalty by providing at low fares dependable, frequent service over relatively short routes, delivered by friendly employees (Epstein, 2000). Measures of customer loyalty were selected because they reflected both length (retention) and depth (cross sell) of the bank-customer relationship. Length of relationship is reported by both division-reported customer retention rates (percentage of customers who remained customers during 1993) and mean customer-reported relationship tenure. Relationship depth is measured by division cross-sell rates, which record the percentage of customer  households with multiple accounts (account cross sell) or multiple services (service cros s sell) (Hallowell, 1996). Companies are very aware that acquiring a new customer is more expensive than retaining an existing one, so companies cannot afford to lose customers due to poor service at the contact center level. The contact center must be viewed as an essential extension of the company, and an important part of the brand experience. Therefore, ensuring that the experience is pleasant, efficient, and satisfies the customer’s need is crucial to success. The most common method for measuring customer satisfaction is through surveys, either during or after the call. While this method provides some intelligence around the customer experience, it doesn’t offer the most accurate view of customer satisfaction. This is due to the small sample size and the fact that the only questions asked are those deemed important by the enterprise. Surveys also lack detail, such as which of a customer’s experience with your company caused the review, which agent handled the interaction and what was the root cause of a dissatisfied call. Lacking this critical information, enacting meaningful change is extremely challenging. Without the use of speech analytics, contact center operators are left w ith an incomplete view of customer satisfaction and a disconnect between the scores they receive and the actions that caused the scores. Speech analytics uncovers the reality of what happened during a call, enabling companies to improve the business processes and agent behaviors most affecting the customer’s experience. Nexidia’s Managed Analytic Services team uses speech analytics technology to locate the agent behaviors and business process that have the greatest impact on the customer. As example, the team first begins by identifying the calls which contain sentiments of dissatisfaction. By building searches that contain words such as â€Å"unhappy,† â€Å"speak to a manager† or â€Å"frustrating,† the team creates a category of calls in which the customer seemed upset, or the call escalated. More refined searches such as â€Å"this is the xth time I’ve called,† or â€Å"my hold time was excessive† will yield further insight. The team drills into this category of calls to create sub-categories. These sub-categories show which types of calls most often contain frustration, such as billing calls or calls for technical assistance. The team also identifies which agents have the most dissatisfied calls and compares the percentage of these calls to total volume. The second step in evaluating  customer satisfaction begins by identifying behaviors and processes that typically cause customers to become upset. These include excessive transfers, requests for call backs, and long non-talk times. The team creates call categories which contain these issues, providing a foundation for performing root cause analysis. Studying the root cause arms companies with the information needed to understand why these â€Å"trigger† events occur, and what steps can be taken to prevent them. As behaviors and processes are modified, monitoring customer satisfaction becomes a continuous cycle, thus ensuring maximum return on investment. (Nexidia Managed Analytic Services, 2010) The relationship of customer loyalty and customer satisfaction can be seen in the following categorization of customers; it is important to understand fully the environment which the customer is working, as extrinsic factors may drive them from one category to another: Apostles. Customer who are loyal and satisfied and recommend the service to others. Mercenaries. Customers who may switch service suppliers to obtain lower price, but are highly satisfied. Hostages. Customer who are highly dissatisfied but have few or no alternative. Terrorists. Customers who have alternatives and use them, and also try to convert other customers by expressing their dissatisfaction (Epstein, 2000). Customer profitability of a various group of customer may be identify by measuring the profit gain by a group of customer from year to year. Profitability measures were determined based on their hypothesized relationship to customer satisfaction and loyalty. Both of the measures used, ROA and NIE/Rev (non-interest expense as a percentage of total revenue), reflect profit at the individual division. See Roth (1993) for an analysis of similar performance measures in service firms. Given the intent of this study, NIE/Rev is preferred to ROA as a more appropriate measure of profitability. Retail bank profit can be separated into, first, the results of operations (revenue-enhancing as well as cost-incurring) which influence expenses and revenues that are not sensitive to interest rates, and second, treasury activities, which influence interest-sensitive costs and revenues. This paper addresses primarily non-interest-sensitive components of profitability, hypothesized to relate to customer loyalty. ROA contains both interest-sensitive and non-interest-sensitive components, while NIE/Rev is generated only from non-interest-sensitive costs (the revenue portion of NIE/Rev may be somewhat  related to customer-relevant interest rates). Appendix 1 discusses ROA, NIE/Rev and the other measures used in more detail (Hallowell, 1996). By comparing the profit of different group of customer, the difference amount of profit will act as indicator which group of customer that gives high profit and low profit. Other than that, customer profitability may be determined by other tools of measuring customer performance such as market share, customer acquisition, retention,and customer satisfaction. Five reasons why customers can be unprofitable. They are: (Six step to Customer Profitability Analysis, 2007) 1. The sales force is under continual pressure to close deals and offers discounts to secure business within the sales period. 2. Pricing errors due to incorrect estimates of time. 3. A one-size-fits-all approach to serving customers leading to over servicing where the business levels does not justify it. 4. Loss leaders are offered to customers who always shop around for a deal, in the expectation that profit will be recovered over the lifetime of the customer. 5. The connection between customers and costs is not made and over time some become a greater drain on resources. Conclusion Customer profitability analysis provides a method to help firms see and understand the profitability of their customers. It takes effort and management sponsorship to make it feasible and worthwhile. It is a method and not an end in itself, but without it that investment in slick technology might not be such a good idea, if it only speeds up your ability to attract the wrong customers. Your allocation of resources to customers may also be based on erroneous information. If you have this understanding it uncovers new options for profitable growth and can help you work out which customers to attract, which to really hang on to at maybe greater cost. To help decide which to grow, CPA must be augmented with an understanding of potential lifetime value. It is recommended that Customer Profitability Analysis (CPA) be measured through Activity Based Costing. There are various group of customer, therefore it would be better to differentiate them through segmenting b demographic or goegraphic or so on, to make it easier to recognised which group of customer that gives high/low profit, and which of  the customers should be focus on, eliminate or re-engineering. Other than that, CPA may be measured by analyzing the customer performance measure of market share, Customer acquisition, retention, and customer satisfaction. Increase in Customer Profitability might be caused by increase in market share, customer retention which wil lead to increase in customer acquisition and probably increase in customer satisfaction. REFERENCES Cooper, L. G. (2010). Market Share Analysis , 1. Customer Acquisition & Retention. (2014). Retrieved October 23, 2014, from Lenati: http://www.lenati.com/our-expertise/customer-acquisition-retention Customer Acquisition, Retention and Attrition Analysis. (2014). Retrieved October 23, 2104, from Microstrategy: Best in Business Intelligence: http://www2.microstrategy.com/download/files/Solutions/byDepartment/CRM/Customer_Acquisition.pdf Dikoli, M. S. (1995). Customer Profitabilit Analysis: An ABC Approach. 5. Epstein, M. J. (2000). Management Accounting Guideline. Customer profitability analysis , 8. Faculty of Finance and Management. (2002). Customer Profitability Analysis , 36. Nexidia Managed Analytic Services. (2010). Customer Satisfaction Analysis , 2. Six step to Customer Profitability Analysis. (2007, May 7). Retrieved October 23, 2014, from Accounting Web: http://www.accountingweb.com/topic/six-steps-customer-profitability-analysis

Business Requirements at Canadian Tire Essay

The Canadian Tire Corporation (CTC) was initiated in 1922 when two brothers opened an auto parts store and garage in Toronto, Canada. From 1922 to 2003, their organization grew into a much larger network of businesses, including retail, financial services, and petroleum operations (Haggerty, 2003). There was 45,000 employees working at the various CVC businesses across Canada, and more than 1,000 stores and gas bars. As stated in the reading, CTC businesses were actually comprised into five groups including the following: Canadian Tire Retail, Canadian Tire Financial Services, Candida Tire Petroleum, PartSource, and Mark’s Work Wearhouse. Initially, this group of businesses used numerous different hardware, software, operating systems, network services, development tools, and applications. As explained in the reading, the systems at Canadian Tire Retail included POS (point-of sales) systems which were networked to the Canadian Tire Retail data center. The systems at Mark’s Work Wearhouse, on the other hand, operated differently and remained separate from the other CTC corporations. While Canadian Tire Retail ran IBM-AS/400 systems in stores, CTFS utilized IBM RS6000 with Intel-Based workstations. PartSource and Canadian Tire Petroleum’s daily transactions were relayed directly into the corporate network from their point-of-sale systems. The Canadian Tire Corporation’s IT department operated and supported over a hundred different mainframe, server, desktop development and integration tools, ten different hardware platforms, 14 operating systems, seven database management systems, and over 450 different production applications. Much of the systems were described as â€Å"niche† and â€Å"sunset† technologies indicating outdated and inefficient technology. For this reason, and others, IT spending at CTC was considerably higher than the industry standard, and this would only continue to grow. It was necessary for Canadian Tire Corporation to develop an integrated data warehouse system. There were many key individuals whose roles were essential in the shift to developing a new MODULE 2: COURSE PROJECT BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS 3 strategy for Canadian Tire Corporation. Perhaps the most crucial role was that of Andy Wnek, Chief Information Officer/Chief Financial Officer. Wnek led the strategic plan in 2002 (and going forward) to develop the first IT strategy document in many years. Michael Eubanks was hired as Director of Marketing IT which came with the responsibility of creatively partnering more with Canadian Tire Retail. Bridget Martens was assigned as Business Intelligence Manager in early 2003. She was given the responsibility of coordinating the business intelligence program as it began. These individuals played key roles in the development of the business intelligence initiative at Canadian Tire Corporation. The implementation of a data warehouse involved laying out a vision to be â€Å"an agile IT team, aligned to business priorities, operating a simpler technical environment with the appropriate standardized processes† (Haggerty, 2003). In order to achieve this vision, many requirements were necessary to move forward. First of all, Canadian Tire Retail’s image had historically reflected that of a wholesaler, and the IT group had the challenge of changing this image to that of a retailer, rather than a wholesaler. In order to do this, the team realized that more data was necessary in order to analyze data as a retailer. They were required to look at data on a more analytical basis, analyzing the product, store, and margin trends (Haggerty, 2003). In order to do this, the IT group built the IW in which data was extracted, transformed, and loaded from a variety of sources. This was the essence of building the data warehouse: to consolidate the date into one main system where the information could be analyzed to help form critical business decisions. Additionally, three imperative requirements were identified during the IT strategy 2003. These included the requirements of: becoming better aligned to the business to support strategic and operational priorities and adaptability to changing business priorities, controlling costs through simplifying the technical architecture, improving productivity, and controlling expenses, and implementing governance of IT resources including standardization, risk management, and MODULE 2: COURSE PROJECT BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS 4 developing/implementing sustainable processes. The requirements laid out in this vision actually prompted the development of four programs from the periods of 2003 to 2005. The first program involved implementing a CIO governance program. The second program, provided â€Å"organizational and people capabilities† (Haggerty, 2003) and specified key services that the IT group would need to be able to support to the organization. The third involved process improvements which helped to organize an annual IT strategy planning process. The fourth program involved technological direction which â€Å"laid the foundation for re-architecting the organization† (Haggerty, 2003). The areas of business intelligence and data management, application deployment, integration and messaging, standardization and simplification, and security deployment were five areas that required immediate attention. For this reason, these areas also serve as requirements for the data warehouse and business intelligence initiatives to take place. Canadian Tire Corporation is an example of a company in distress whose current architecture and infrastructures did not suffice for longevity and success. The case study further details the journey of CTC, along with its web of networked businesses, as it attempted to change business strategy in an effort to create a more enhanced system of data warehousing and business intelligence. MODULE 2: COURSE PROJECT BUSINESS REQUIREMENTS 5 References Haggerty, N. & Meister, D. (2003). Business Intelligence Strategy at Canadian Tire [Case Study]. Ivey Management Services.