Quantum Software Case Study Essay Example for Free

Quantum Software Case Study Essay Quantum Software is a fairly new organization â€Å"No ties, no suits coats, first name only† that was founded by Stan Albright and Erin Barber. The company develops computer software specifically oriented to the needs of independent oil businesses. They’ve had a lot of success over the past 3years and are growing fairly fast. Quantum has gained over 200 employees and has made about 95 million dollars in sales. Currently, Employees at Quantum Software work 16 hour days 6 days a week. In order to keep the morel and sprit up, Quantum recognizes that their employees have been working extra hard and they want to compensate them by having a weekly â€Å"Beer Bust† party. Bill Carter, the corporate attorney, doesn’t agree with the â€Å"beer bust† idea. Instead he believes that serving alcohol at a company’s sponsor party can be a big liability to Quantum. A â€Å"beer bust† sounds fun and relaxing. However Bill Carter makes a good point, serving alcohol at a company’s sponsor party can be a huge liability on the company’s future. Recently an employee by the name of John Hooker lost his balance and fell on the snack table during one of the â€Å"beer bust† events. Luckily John didn’t get hurt. When having these types of events the company cannot guarantee that a person like John will not over drink and possibly drive home drunk and cause a serious accident. These are all things that Quantum needs to take into consideration. Accidents happen all the time and Quantum needs be aware that these â€Å"beer bust† can be a great liability to the company. I can understand that Quantum wants to reward their employees for their hard work. Working long days 6 days a week can get over whelming. What Quantum needs to do is analyze the situation. The company is growing really fast and they need more people. Hiring more programmers can help balance their work load making 8 hour days 5 days a week possible. I don’t think that having a weekly â€Å"beer bust† is a permanent solution. It is obvious that employees at Quantum like to be recognized for their accomplishments and hard work however in the beginning of the case study is it mention the most of the employees drop in to â€Å"unwind† to these â€Å" beer bust† events. Most, meaning that not everyone who works at Quantum shows up or participates in these† beer bust† parties. What I would recommend quantum to do at this point is to pass out an employee surveys and ask their employees what they want or prefer. Some employees might not like the type of environment and rather spend their free time doing something else. Others might like the idea of working fewer hours and having weekends off as a reward. An employee survey can actually help the company out by providing feedback and letting the company know what they like and dislike. The â€Å"beer bust† events have been going on for a while and have become a sort of a company’s tradition. I’m not saying to eliminate the whole â€Å"beer bust† events. The â€Å"beer bust† parties can be a great way to socialize, relax and unwind. Having social events like these can help co workers become closer and share ideas and knowledge which can be beneficial to the company. If Quantum decides to continued the â€Å"beer bust â€Å"parties, what needs to be done is that they need to need to get with Bill carter, the corporate attorney and come up ways to handle a situation if it occurs. Limiting the number of beers a person can have at each event can help by not over drinking or by providing some sort of transportation such as bus or taxi to take employees back home after a â€Å"beer bust† event. These are rules that can be implemented by the company in order to not only save Quantum from a future law suit but also to save a life. The fact that both Eric and Stan are not really listening to Bill’s concerns can and will affect the company’s future. Bill is the corporate attorney and he knows the law. I would recommend bill to talk to both Eric and Stan another day. Eric and Stan are in a relax mode at this point probably had a few drinks or two and might not think that what Bill has to say is quite as important as it really is. Scheduling a meeting with both Eric and Stan and going over what can happen if they don’t start implanting rules.

Globalisation small firms and government intervention

Globalisation small firms and government intervention It is believed that the history of globalisation process first began with the movement of people out of Africa into other parts of the world, and because of this movement of people, goods, ideas and customs today we find adaptations of influences from other parts of the world today in many areas of the world. Today however, we the integration of many different markets and economies of the world including the telecommunication industry and this has made the world into what is now called the Global Village. It is in this vein that governments are beginning to protect their firms or industries (mainly the infant or young firms) from the threats and stronger competitive forces of demand and supply working in the international markets which we will look at in details later. It is also critically important to understand the fact that these forces can only be limited up to a certain time before hand the government will realize the need to get involved in international business. The world is moving away from self contained economies towards interdependent and integrated global economic system. UNDERSTANDING GLOBALISATION What is globalisation? By definition globalization means: The act of economies moving away from self contained entities, isolated by from each other by barriers to cross border trade and investment; by distance, time zones, and language; and by national differences in government regulation, culture, and business systems. And now moving towards a world in barriers to cross border trade and investment are declining. From our definition above its important to understand that globalization has two facets; Globalization of markets more of the economic integration and growing interdependences worldwide. Globalization of Production which refers to the sourcing of goods and services around the world with a few to reduce cost but obtain quality. Charles W. L. Hill International Business, Competing in the global market place 7th edition Dimension of market globalisation As a wide subject globalization has been investigated from various angles including economics, history, anthropology, political science, sociology, and technology. On the other hand when looking at market globalization we will be looking at the consequences of economic, technological and government policy trends. With this we can focus on the dimensions pushing the world market identified by Cavusgil et al (International Business -strategy, management and the new realities, Pearson Intl Edition Integration and interdependence of national economies: countries in themselves are said not to be self reliant thus the need to depend on other nations for the resource not in their reach. The internationally active companies make the government in some way realize the need for international trade. The internationally active firms devise multi country operations through trade, investment, geographic dispersal of company resources, integration and coordination of value chain activities. The sequence of value adding activities performed by these firms in developing, producing, marketing, and servicing a product, the aggregate of these activities will give rise the economic integration and interdependence of national economies. Rise of regional economic integration blocs: these are coming as far as the 1950s, the like of the North American Free Trade Area (NAFTA), Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation group (APEC), in Africa we have groups like the Common Market for East and Southern Africa (COMESA), and Southern Africa Development Corporation (SADC). These groups promote the idea of trade and investment among member countries through reduced trade and investment barriers. In more advanced arrangements like common markets barriers to the factors of production are eliminated. Growth of global investment and financial flows: as a result of conducting international business transactions, firms and governments buy and sell large volumes of national currencies (such as dollar, euro, yen etc). Also the globalization of capital around the world has brought about the interconnectedness of world, especially in the commercial and banking global industry. Convergence of consumer lifestyle and preference: a check around the world has shown that there is an increasing similarity in consumer spending activities. Lifestyle and preferences are speedily converging. Consumers in various areas have shown similar preferences of household, automobile and electronic goods. Major brands in the world have enjoyed a worldwide following, the likes of Nokia phones, Samsung products; the demand of certain car brands is also actively similar around today. All this similarity has been attributed to the result of international travel and exposure to different cultures. However it is also important to note that this has led to loss of culture and national values. Globalisation of production: international global rivalry among the firms has pushed a lot companies to area of low cost production and marketing. Companies are struggling to increase their economies of scale, standardization of product and reduction of costs of production or operation at all cost. We see I.T companies moving into areas like India, textile companies into China, and Mexico in the attempt because of low labour costs. THE DRIVING FORCES OF GLOBALISATION Under this subject we shall look at the forces or factors leading towards market globalization; Liberalization and adoption of free markets: The fall of the Berlin wall among many other things is what led to the fall of command economies into global economies. We also saw a lot East Asian countries embarking on ambitious market based reforms. India also followed suit in 1991, this was followed by privatization of state owned companies to private ownership and this attracted a lot foreign capital investment to these countries like China, South Korea, Malaysia, Indonesia and India. Generally this is focusing on how governments around the world are becoming less strict. Reduction of barriers to trade and investment: Because of the formation of national economic blocks governments are getting into agreements to reduce or simply eliminate trade barriers so as to improve trade relationships between them and neighboring countries. This also being a key dimension in the theory of market globalization. Industrialization: Due to economic growth and the move towards modernization around we see many emerging markets with fast growing economies a focus on the Asia, Latin America and Europe clearly depicts this. Also countries like Brazil emerging to leadership in the aircraft industry, Czech Republic in automobile and India in computer software. Because of Industrialization, economic development and modernization the standard of living have been positively impacted through the gross national product of various countries Merging world financial markets and technology: As the world is merging in most its activities business transactions are becoming more and more simplified, international firms can now can source for funds internationally and involve themselves in foreign currency transactions. The international banks are willing to offer these foreign currency transactions with easy within provided guidelines. Information technology has been critical in these international transactions between buyers and sellers will not even have to move but send money electronically once they receive their goods and service from foreign suppliers or customer. The benefits of globalisation Briefly before we can look at the threats posed by globalisation we will just look at some of the benefits that come from globalization; Increased Investment: As we have alluded to the fact that companies are able to expand due to the fact that they can source for finance globally, they can therefore easily expand to other countries of desire through different strategic alliances. With this move places which are considered feasible by the organization receive a lot of investments. These could either be short term or long term investment. Government can benefit from taxes that the multinational/international companies will be paying. Increased competition: Increased competition has led to improved standards of goods and services. As a result competition from international companies abroad the local markets begin to fear loss of their market to the international firms and to prevent this they will start to embark on project like the New Product Development, Innovation, Research and Development in order to compete more effective. This results in better products being offered at both the local and international markets. Focusing on your comparative advantage: Because of globalisation countries can focus on the goods and services they can produce without being over strained and this improves the economic welfare of a national. Creation of employment: Despite the fact that globalization can lead to labour drain it can create employment for the locals through international investments which could Foreign Direct Investments or Joint ventures. Threats Posed by Globalisation Cavusgil et al in International Business management acknowledges the following factors as threats that may come with globalisation; Offshoring and the flight of Jobs Offshoring is the relocation is the relocation of manufacturing and other value-chain activities to cost effective areas. Despite the fact that globalisation creates countless of jobs and opportunities around the world it also has cost many people their jobs. With the need to maximize on the scale economies many firms have transferred some of their jobs. General Motors (USA), Ford, and Volkswagen have transferred thousands of jobs from their factories in Germany to countries in the eastern part of Europe. Offshoring Has brought about job losses in numerous mature markets. Loss of national sovereignty Countries are losing the ability to control internal affairs, the activities of multinational companies can have an effect on the economic, social and political structures of a nation. Some multination companies have internal economies that are bigger than the economies of some countries and these organizations have been able to direct or exert influence on governments through their huge contributions. The only way out for government survival is to allow a market liberalized economy to control forces on the market. Effects on the poor It is believed that the poor are becoming poorer and the rich are getting richer in developing economies, this is because low wage pays, poor working conditions, and the employment of child labour among many thing present a negative effect. The International Labour Organization statics are showing that over 250 children are in full time employment however intervening to stop may worsen the living standards in the lives of many who maybe related to these children though at the same time this is at the expense of child education. On the hand these conditions seem to be in other countries, the footwear industries are paying well in the Vietnams; countries that were once being exploited for low labour cost are now experience a tremendous economic growth rate which is evident on their GDP. These are countries like Chile and India. Effects on National culture Dilution of culture, because of globalisation nations that may not have very strong cultures like the one existing among the Muslim world (have a strong standing cultural value); nations are at risk of losing their culture or it becoming diluted as foreign companies will bring their global brands, unfamiliar products and new values. In this view we see children around the world behaving almost in the same manner and have about the same everywhere among these has been the demand for iPods among young people Specific Threats to smaller firms (SME) Intense Competition (Rivalry): International firms have enough resources, capital, skilled and talented people who can design products tailored to customer needs. Shake Outs or Loss of business customers: The smaller local firms may fail to compete and the end result maybe to close up the business because they have lost their customers who are the focal point in any business. Loss of skilled and experienced employees: International firms have enough money to pay anyone they know who has an understanding of the market and is skilled enough to be an asset for the company and these will come from the local competitors causing high labour turnovers in the industry. Threat of takeover possibilities: The other feel is the local and government may have is that International may takeover some big firms and start running the industries that governments may also be depending on and not only for taxes. In our summary to these threats what we can say is that globalisation exposes the smaller firms to intense rivalry or competition in the local market, this being mainly because the international firms are enjoying reduced operation costs, advanced technology, can leverage skills and labour around the world more easily, have enough resources or capital to compete effectively and at an international level. 4. GOVERNMENT AND SUPRANATIONAL AUTHORITIES SUPPORT The oxford dictionary defines government as, a group of people who rule a state. The Merriam Webster Dictionary defines government as the continuous process governing, controlling or direction. It also defines supranational as the organization or movement that transcends national boundaries, authorities though they have limited power. The most practical examples being the United Nation, European Union in Europe, International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank these are some among the most outstanding supranational authorities. There basically for major reasons that justify why government should intervene in international trade as identified by Cavusgil et al in our Pearson international business edition of strategy, management and the new realities we have the following: Protection of the National Economies: This mainly came from the labour activists who were against the outsourcing of jobs from Europe and the united states to India and where asking for government intervention to curtail the import of cheap products and increase trade barriers. Protection of Infant Industries: This is our focus of the report. Emerging industries, companies are often inexperienced and lack the technology and skill to compete with already established global firms and industries. National Security: Nations impose trade barriers on products that they deem critical to national defense and security; these could be in the form of military technology and computers. These trade barriers can be used to boost local production and capacity. National Culture and Identity: Sometimes governments wants to protect some occupations, industries, public assets that are central to national culture and identity as we shall look at later. Methods and Techniques used to protect small firms (How they can protect small firms) Trade Barriers Government can impose some trade barriers to ensure the infant industries are protected until such a time when they can effectively compete. Government will present trade barriers like the Quotas (being the restriction on the quantity of products that a country can import for a specified period of time). Tariffs can be another technique government can use, increased would mean the products of imports would become more expensive than the local products or services people might end up resenting these products. Investment Barriers These are investment restrictions in particular industries or being able to acquire a local firm. These restrictions are common in industries such as broadcasting, air transportation, financial services, military technology, and the oil industry. These are left to enable the infant industries to grow until such a time when they can compete. Most of these laws were very prevalent in India, and Mexico. Subsidies This id monetary aid or resource support from the government to the smaller firms to help them with production and other services that they need to help them grow. This is in the effort to reduce import by all means and encourage exports and therefore subsidies can also take the form of tax breaks, actual cash or services at reduced prices. Reduced Investment barriers within the bloc For the firms within the bloc such the European Union the countries within the bloc ensure that trade and investment barriers are reduced and this also allows currency flow within the bloc. Membership to such supranational organizations also fosters a huge market for export within the bloc. Cavusgil et al, International Business -Strategy, Management and the new realities, Pearson intl edition. The government and supranational bodies can encourage the following emphasize on high value adding industry activities especially on the value chains, taking advantage of the monetary and fiscal policies, be a member of a bloc as already alluded to as this brings out more exposure to export market and protection. In summary what we can say is the smaller firms should try by all means to take advantage of the support and protection from the government and supranational organizations. With time international firms will finally break through different regions and free trade zones and begin to offer competition. It is important to note that managers can use the support to gather resource and competitive advantage on an international level. RECOMMENDATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS Finally we can recommend that it is important for the government and other supranational bodies to protect their local industries as this builds their economies, and makes their firms strong enough to contend with the firms in the international market. This also builds the trust of the people or citizens in these regions as they know that their government or organizations are willing to support and thus see the need to keep them in power. On the other hand global firms despite the barriers that may exist still manage to breakthrough into protected industries and blocs using different strategies developed by their managers. International firms can also prove to be very beneficial sources of income generation for the government inform of taxes and economic development as they increase competition this results in excellence and more professionally managed industries at a global level.

The Peace of Westphalia, 1648

The Peace of Westphalia, 1648 In 1648, the Peace of Westphalia signalled the end of a decades old European conflict. It is difficult to decipher the true meaning of the Peace of Westphalia because it represented the end of a war which ended in a way which was different from where it began. Religious confrontation morphed into a struggle and opportunity to advance state strategic interests. However, Leo Gross, Andreas Osiander, and Derek Croxton each make varying arguments on the effects of the Peace of Westphalia. In The Peace of Westphalia, 1648-1948, Leo Gross contends that the Peace of Westphalia is significant because it consecrated the principle of toleration by establishing the equality between Protestant and Catholic states and by providing some safeguards for religious minorities.  [1]  Thus, he states the Peace of Westphalia was the starting point for the development of modern international law.  [2]  Essentially, no one country would have a right (divine or other) to have power over another, as each states was acknowledged as sovereign. However, although this would be nice in theory, history has shown that Europe bled itself dry because of conflicts in the centuries following the Peace of Westphalia. Gross states that the Peace of Westphalia marked mans abandonment of the idea of hierarchical structure of society and his opinion for a new system characterized by the coexistence of a multiplicity of states, each sovereign within its territory, equal to one another, and free fr om any external earthly authority.  [3]  This statement is fundamentally flawed, although perhaps in theory, each state was equal they were absolutely not equal. It would be foolish to treat all states following the Peace of Westphalia as equally sovereign. For example he German states gained the right to ally themselves with states outside of the Holy Roman Empire, but the Swiss and the Dutch gained de facto sovereignty. Gross strengthens his argument when he acknowledges precedents set by previous treaties; however his constant romanticization of the Peace of Westphalia harms his argument, as it seems he focuses on his nostalgic viewpoint of the Peace of Westphalia.  [4]  Because no formal declaration of sovereignty existed at the time of the Peace of Westphalia, the parties involved found it individually beneficial to advance their national strategic interests, by enhancing state power. For example, Frances cardinal Richelieu was a brilliant realist strategist. Even thoug h the Austria and Spain were Catholic powers, he believed that Frances national interest could be advanced by opposing these two powers. France even continued to fight Spain while seeking a separate peace with Austria. Moreover, Grosss argument contains a glaring post hoc ergo. Gross states that we should search not so much in the text of the treaties themselves as in their implications, in the broad conceptions on which they rest and the developments to which they provided impetus.  [5]  The fallacy is that Gross claims that because the Peace of Westphalia was before our modern conception of sovereignty, it does not necessarily follow that the Peace of Westphalia alone created our modern conception of sovereignty. There were many more factors at play. Grosss argument is too straightforward as it assumes that all actors following the war were fundamentally equal. In Sovereignty, International Relations, and the Westphalian Myth, Andreas Osiander contends that The Peace of Westphalia is a product of nineteenth and twentieth century fixation on the concept of sovereignty. I conclude by discussing how what I call the ideology of sovereignty has hampered the development of IR theory  [6]  According to Osiander the (Thirty Years) war continued because the Swedish and French crowns wanted to enhance their positions in Europe.  [7]  He comes to a conclusion that if the war war not fought to ward off a threat to the independence of other European actors posed by the Hasburg dynasty, then the tradition of the 1648 peace cannot be right either  [8]  Nineteenth and twentieth century historians readily espoused the view somehow that the Danes, Dutch, French, and Swedes were really defending themselves while also selflessly helping others to ward off oppression  [9]  He claims this is why the Peace of Westphalia is often seen as an anti-he gemonial order.  [10]  He directly accuses Leo Gross as spreading this false view. Osiander claims that many subsequent literature on this view, assume Grosss views to be self evident and implied in the treaty. Osiner strengthens his argument when he quotes another scholar who agree with him, Stephen Krassner. Osiander claims that history has viewed the Hasburgs as the villains of the Thirty Years War, and that the original crisis did not break out because the Hasburgs were powerful, but because they were weak.  [11]  Andreas Osiander views the Peace of Westphalia through the viewpoint of a postmodernist. He is challenging our previous knowledge of the Peace of Westphalia, and underlying assumptions held by previous scholars. He is purposely reversing traditional notions of historical interpretations such as the belief of the Hasburg dynasty as the villains of the Thirty Years War. Osiander is correct to warn there may be a harm of placing our values, our beliefs, onto histo rical events. Osianders argument is important as it forces us to re-examine commonly held beliefs about the Peace of Westphalia and its significance. Moreover he claims that Sovereignty as currently understood does not go back to the seventeenth century; that even then and nevertheless, relations among autonomous actors were perfectly possible without waiting for the concept to be invented; that the degree of autonomy of the actors might very.  [12]  He strengthens his argument when he acknowledges that the relationships between the actors involved in the Peace of Westphalia were very complex. In The Peace of Westphalia of 1648 and the Origins of Sovereignty, Derek Croxton doubts as whole, that sovereignty was a main principle of the Peace of Westphalia. Croxtons main argument is that de facto sovereign states existed at a time when few statesmen had anything like the modern conception of sovereign equality as the founding notion of the international system.  [13]  Croxton acknowledges that the main difficulty of the origins of sovereignty lies not in rulers which claims themselves to be sovereign but other leaders who acknowledge that sovereignty.  [14]  He accurately points out that papal authority was already in decline, the Peace of Westphalia just quickened the pace of the decline.  [15]  Croxton states that many scholars claim that sovereignty was dispersed to kings and princes in the Holy Roman Empire following its defeat in the Thirty Years war. However, he bluntly and correctly notes that the Holy Roman Empire lasted for another 158 years  [16]  an d that although the estates were given new rights, including the right to make alliances with outside powers and a territorial right of dominions, the rights demonstrate the limits to their sovereignty rather than its triumph superiority within their own.  [17]  Moreover, Croxton claims that The idea of sovereignty was not new in the 1640s; the question was whether sovereignty should be multipolar.  [18]  This view correctly challenges the assumption that the Peace of Westphalia was a groundbreaking event, even though it did make changes to the international system of politics. Throughout the readings, it is apparent that the relationship between the European states was very complicated, intricate, and included interrelationships based upon numerous factors. These factors could include a balance of religious, imperial, interstate and intrastate relationships. The Peace of Westphalia promoted the division of power, but ironically it also created a new balance of power among the European states. The The Peace of Westphalia promoted more moderation on behalf of all states, as whenever a power tried to dominate Europe (i.e. Napoleonic France or Hitlers Germany), there emerged a coalition of opposing forces to restore the balance of power. The balance of power did not avoid crisis, but it did create an equilibrium in which no one state had the ability to completely dominate the others.

Cystic Fibrosis Essay example -- essays research papers

Cystic fibrosis is the most common autosomal recessive genetic disease of white Indo-Europeans (Caucasians). Three main systems are usually affected by cystic fibrosis. These include the lungs and respiratory tract, the digestive tract (especially the pancreas and intestines) and the sweat glands. The lungs will normally have a thick mucus line them in cases of cystic fibrosis which requires physiotherapy to dislodge the mucus and create sputum. The digestive enzymes that would come from the pancreas are blocked by the thick mucus; thus the person afflicted with the disease has trouble digesting foods that are high in fat and protein. In cases that involve cystic fibrosis the salt that is lost during perspiration is much more than in "normal" situations. The upper respiratory tract is normally lined with a little bit of mucus that is sent out of the lung by the constant movement of the cilia that line the respiratory tree. "It is clear from detailed research that poor mucus clearance is not due to uneven ciliary beating. However, there is no doubt that mucus is poorly cleared against gravity in the presence of bacterial infection" (Harris 13-14). The pancreas itself secretes fluids that aid in the digestion and absorption of food in all of us. When cystic fibrosis is present these enzymes are not going where they are needed. Most of the time there is need for supplemental nutrients, supplemental minerals, and/or dietary management. In the case of dietary management there is a plan for seven to eight small meals throughout the day. "This meal pattern enables the patient to consume more food without feeling too full and enhances the utilization of nutrients" (Ekvall 391). The sweat gland of a cystic fibrosis patient, when viewed under the microscope appears normal. The secretions that the gland gives off are where the abnormality occurs. "It is known that the basic defect in cystic fibrosis is expressed as an abnormal regulation of the movements of salt across the layer of cells that line certain specialized ducts such as the sweat gland duct" (Harris 26). This causes a great deal of salt loss and therefore requires most cystic fibrosis patients to ingest salt pills to compensate for the loss. When all of the treatments are used together most patients of this fateful disease live long happy lives. The physiotherapy... ...te as easily. Whether it is because the treatment did not get started early enough, or the disease is out of control death is a factor that must be considered in most cases involving cystic fibrosis. Death will come to all of one day, but it may come earlier to some. The problems that some families may have with their communication can cause great pain and suffering when it comes time to dealing with the death of a loved one. "The long standing problems of communication that exist in many family groups may be accentuated when the prospect of death shows itself" (Bowers 58). Cystic fibrosis is a disease that can take the life of some one who is very close to our hearts. Education of the treatments, side effects, and problems involving this disease is key to winning the battle against it. The more people can know about different situations that better. If there is some one in a school that has this disease try to educate the entire school about this person's situation so that the entire student body can help in the fight. If educators and students all join in the fight, this disease can be kept down and help those afflicted lead as "normal" a life as possible.

Use of Diction and Imagery in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Essay

Use of Diction and Imagery in Richard Wright’s Black Boy Black Boy, which was written by Richard Wright, is an autobiography of his upbringing and of all of the trouble he encountered while growing up. Black Boy is full of drama that will sometimes make the reader laugh and other times make the reader cry. Black Boy is most known for its appeals to emotions, which will keep the reader on the edge of his/her seat. In Black Boy Richard talks about his social acceptance and identity and how it affected him. In Black Boy, Richard’s diction showed his social acceptance and his imagery showed his identity. First, the diction that Richard Wright uses in this passage of him in the library shows his social acceptance. An example of this is when Mr. Faulk, the librarian, lets Richard borrow his library card to check out books from the library. Richard writes, a note saying, â€Å"Dear Madam; Will you please let this nigger boy have some books by H.L Mencken. † Richard uses, â€Å"nigger boy,† on the card so the other librarian would think that Mr. Faulk had written the note, not him. Richard having to write the word â€Å"nigger† on the library shows that if Richard would have written â€Å"black boy† instead, the librarian would have known he would have written the note. The fact that Richard has to lie and write a note to just be able to get the books from the library is an example of his social acceptance. Another example of diction showing Richard’s social acceptance is when Mr. Faulk gives Richard the library card and he tells Richard not to mention this to any other â€Å"white man.† By reading this statement by Mr. Faulk, it clearly shows how unaccepted blacks were and how afraid people were to be connected to them, even if it only involved giving the... ...mple of imagery is when Richard’s friends run up to him with his article in their hands and a baffled look on their faces. This shows that Richard is a very talented writer for his age and that Richard is a very ambitious person because his school never taught him to write the way he does. This also shows that Richard took it upon himself to become a talented author and wants to be a writer when he grows up. In conclusion, an author’s writing can tell a lot about himself. The writer will tell the reader something about themselves, either through diction, syntax or by other methods. In Black Boy, Richard writes in a way that allows the reader to learn information about his life. Learning about the author through his/her writing is the best way to learn about them because this way you get to learn what author thinks about the topics that he/she are talking about.

Characteristics for good governance in Afghanistan Essay

Good governance is perhaps the single and most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. The terms â€Å"governance† and â€Å"good governance† are now fully part of the language of development whereas bad governance is broadly recognized as a root cause of poverty, good governance is often seen as a way to cure all social and political and economic ills. Donors and companies are increasingly basing their aid and investments on countries based on governance conditions or plans for reform. Some equate governance failure with global trends such as climate change or the youth bulge as a force are able to rapidly undo development efforts, whereas governance success has the potentiality to quickly leverage and sustain development gains. Governance is thus a central part of the development landscape. Governance is also a powerful component of integrated programming for Mercy Corps and many non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Since, at its core, gov ernance is about decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, its influence cross-cuts all sectors and locations of relief and development programming. Mercy Corps believes that each country needs to decide its own economic and social priorities with leadership from government, in partnership with and accountable to the people who live in the country. Good governance brings the informed will of the people into governments’  decision-making. In this way, good governance is not an end in itself, but rather a means to building and sustaining secure, productive and just communities Characteristics for good governance in Afghanistan Afghanistan is going through a transition period which involves the transfer of security responsibilities from international troops to Afghan authorities. At the same time it is being considered that transition of security arrangements alone would not solve the issues in Afghanistan. Rather the overall scenario has to go through a transition. The country has to seek a suitable reconciliation process and above all the Afghan political system has to go through a process of change so as to make it able to govern its people properly. There have been controversies regarding Afghan government and its capacity to deal with the challenges within the country. In fact, it has been observed that Afghan government has not been able to provide rudimentary requirements of life to majority of its people and have not been able to seek appropriate solution to various political problems that influence the system to a great extent. There has been a label of corruption and many, both in national and int ernational circles, do not believe that it has the potential to achieve ‘good governance’. Though the international community has, on various occasions, emphasized that their support is conditioned on the basis of good governance yet there has not been major steps taken by Afghan government to make achievements in this regard. A decade of support and assistance seems to have gone in vain and the country still suffers from myriads of problems. The capacity of good governance is judged by its potential to offer the basic requirements of life to the people easily and readily. Moreover, it must strive to raise the standard of living of the masses. Government stands as one of the most important actors in good governance. It is the government that decides whether good governance is achieved or not. There are certain important characteristics that must be achieved so as to establish it. Good governance has to be participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. Good governance str ives that there should be participation of all the important groups of the society within the decision making process  and must involve both men and women. Participation could be either direct or through legitimate intermediates institutions or representatives. It is important to point out that representative democracy does not necessarily mean that the concerns of the most vulnerable in society would be taken into consideration in decision making. Participation needs to be informed and organized. This means freedom of association and expression on the one hand and an organized civil society on the other hand. Unfortunately, in our country Afghanistan the decision making is not carried out through proper participation of the representatives of the people. In fact, the decision making process is very much centralized. An important characteristic of good governance is that it is consensus oriented. There are several actors and different opinions in a given society. Good governance requires mediation of the different interests in society to reach a broad consensus in society on what is in the best interest of the whole community and how this can be achieved. It also requires a broad and long-term perspective on what is needed for sustainable h uman development and how to achieve the goals of such development. This can only result from an understanding of the historical, cultural and social contexts of a given society or community. Afghan government has not been able to develop a strong consensus and the ruling class does not seem much bothered about any sort of consensus. Accountability is a key requirement of good governance. Not only governmental institutions but also the private sector and civil society organizations must be accountable to the public and to their institutional stakeholders. Afghan government, on the other hand, has been formed in such a way that it is difficult to hold the Presidential Office accountable for its policies and actions. It can do whatever it wants without standing accountable to its people. As a matter of fact accountability can be achieved when there is transparency and the rule of law. However, both these characteristics seem to be non-existent in Afghan society. Transparency and rule of law can be maintained when there is proper separation of power and the different organs of state can function on their own independently. In fact, judiciary and law enforcement agencies must be capable to hold the law as the top priority matter. In Afghan political system the separation of powers is not clear and the judiciary is composed of what the Presidential Office decides. Moreover , the powerful and the rich are mostly considered  above the law and the poor and weak have to go through the ‘quagmire of law and order system’. Good governance requires that institutions and processes try to serve all stakeholders within a reasonable timeframe. It means that it should be responsive. In the same way it should also ensure equity and inclusiveness. A society’s wellbeing depends on ensuring that all its members feel that they have a stake in it and do not feel excluded from the mainstream of society. This requires all groups, but particularly the most vulnerable, have opportunities to improve or maintain their wellbeing but what Afghan government has to offer us is the negligence of the most vulnerable. The minority groups in fact suffer from lack of proper participation in decision making and they find their existence threatened within the society. Good governance also means that processes and institutions produce results that meet the needs of society while making the best of resources at their disposal. The concept of efficiency in the context of good governance also covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of environment. It is correct that all the characteristics mentioned above cannot be a chieved by a government or a society as they portray what an ideal governance must hold, but it is also true that there are many nations in the world that, to a satisfying extent, have achieved most of them. Therefore, Afghan government has to strive to achieve these characteristics if it really wants to achieve ‘good governance’ and wants to serve its people in a better way. Conclusion Good governance is perhaps the single and most important factor in eradicating poverty and promoting development. Good governance is often seen as a way to cure all social and political and economic ills. Donors and companies are increasingly basing their aid and investments on countries based on governance conditions or plans for reform. The capacity of good governance is judged by its potential to offer the basic requirements of life to the people easily and readily. Moreover, it must strive to raise the standard of living of the masses. Government stands as one of the most important actors in good governance To conclude; the good characteristics for Afghanistan government are: 1. Delivery of basic services to its people 2. Defending and protecting national interest and lives of its people. 3.  Implementation of law and protecting its sovereignty. 4. Monitoring and implementing of law and the three branches of government as Judiciary, Executive, Legislature 5. Effective and adequate organizations and departments headed by right persons, decision making and implementing etc. . 6. Participation between government and public. 7. Prevention and fight against corruption and social injustice. 8. Good relations with neighboring countries like IRAN, Pakistan 9. Accountability to the public and heard the voice of vulnerable in country. 10. Government should prepare the ground for domestic and foreign investors. 11. Tasks based on meritocracy 12. Fight against discrimination which still exists and plays a vital role in our country. 13. Improve of economy and decrease unemployment, poverty level. 14. Control and monitor the monetary policy in country by central bank of Afghanistan. Reference 1. http://go.worldbank.org/M1JHE0Z280 2. David Brown is Director, Special Projects, at the Public Policy Forum, Ottawa, Canada and former President of the IIAS. David Brown 3. International Review of Administrative Sciences 2005; 71; 241 DOI: 10.1177/0020852305053883 4. http://msg-itlg.blogspot.com/2008/01/advantagesdisadvantages-of-electronic.html

The Children’s Health Fund of New York City

The Children’s Health Fund is a national non-profit organization that was founded on providing health care to the nation’s needy and underprivileged children. The CHF began over 25 years ago by reaching out to homeless kids in New York City and delivering health care through a mobile medical clinic (MMC) driven around the city to locations and neighborhoods seeking out children to provide basic health care to.Over the years, the organization has expanded across the country with MMCs in different cities with the CHF offering a full range of programs, from not only children healthcare, but healthcare for needy families, health education and preventative care, to the diagnosis and management of acute and chronic diseases (â€Å"Health Care for Kids† n. d. ). More recently, the CHF and MMCs have expanded their service to include mobile clinics in response following national disasters and crisis events.The CHF and the mobile health care service it provides has had its number of challenges in implementation over the years. With the main challenge of reaching out and expanding coverage to help those of need, there are several other areas that challenge the organization and its operation. The MMCs face the challenge of accommodating the proper amount of space and medical equipment needed to provide high quality healthcare. This challenge is a goal of each MMC to provide a central home for individuals to receive care and come back to for continued treatment.With this concept presents another challenge in that each MMC need of keeping up to date, and secure medical records for those who visit, so that they may continue to come back for care and treatment when the MMC comes back to their neighborhood or area (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012). In order to accomplish the goals of meeting these challenges, the CHF must have network systems that can support the operations of running medical equipment and communications networks needed to o perate a MMC.That is why over the years CHF has been working to continue to upgrade and keep their MMCs up to date with the latest technology and communication that can power these mobile healthcare hubs. According to Healthcare IT news, the CHF has recently partnered with Verizon to create its first telemedicine clinic in providing 4G LTE wireless broadband connections to new mobile sites (Monegain, 2013). The CHF and Verizon plan to continue forward in the coming months and continue to deliver new uses of technology to mobile units across the nation.For the CHF to be able to roll out new technology and software to support their mobile units, the organization naturally needs strong financial support. The CHF is very fortunate to have a number of private individuals and corporate partners who help secure funds for the organization. However, a large quantity of financial aid comes from Congress and other government programs. One such government program is the HITECH stimulus. The sti mulus is for healthcare providers that exhibit having meaningful use of certified electronic health records (â€Å"Healthcare IT Index† n.d. ).With EHRs already a practice of the MMCs, the CHF should be entitled to financial assistance that can continue to facilitate software and technology improvement. A common concern with many organizations is whether or not the implementation of new technology and software will cause a loss workers or staff, or if conditions will emerge that will render parts of their operation obsolete. In dealing with the CHF and doctors offices, this is not believed to be the case.With new software applications, doctor office staffs and MMCs will not become obsolete, but will have their jobs reinforced with easier ways to handle patient information and documents (Brown, DeHayes, Hoffer, Martin, & Perkins, 2012). With help in this area, the staff can shift attention to more important areas such as giving patients the personal care and treatment they nee d. Overall, the CHF is a successful organization that provides valuable services and assistance to many citizens of need in our nation.With its continued focus on quality service, growth, and improvement over the last 26 years, the CHF is a well known entity that many people depend on. With the CHF prepared to continue its legacy and service in years to come, recommendations could be made regarding their future efforts. Continued expansion of their crisis and natural disaster mobile assistance would be desirable action. Just like with the number or under privileged children and their families, natural disaster events will continue to be unfortunately present, and it’s important to help others rebuild and get the necessary assistance when nothing else is available.Also, the CHF as it continues to grow and expand across the US into new cities, the organization needs to continue partnerships with local corporations and medical institutions. These corporations can offer their ser vices and expertise to possibly facilitate the MMCs operations, and working with local medical institutions can help staff MMCs and other locations with med students, nursing students and others in a partnered-learning environment.