Eassy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Eassy - Essay Example This paper shall compare non-profit and profit healthcare organizations particularly focusing on the following aspects of these organizations: mission and purpose, organizational structure and scope, governance and oversight, leadership styles, expectations and accountability, compensation practices, strategic planning and budgeting processes, stewardship and fiscal responsibility, ethical challenges and dilemmas, investor relations, community benefit, social responsibility and stakeholder responsibility, potential impact of health reform on organizational initiatives, environment and organizational culture, and performance improvement and effectiveness – quality measures and indicators. These parameters shall provide a clear picture of distinctions in the application of these two types of organizations. Discussion The main distinction between the profit and the non-profit organizations is that one organization is driven by profit and the other is not driven by profit. More sp ecific differences shall be discussed below. Mission and Purpose Non-profit healthcare organizations have basically an altruistic and non-monetary mission and purpose. Drucker (in Cox, p. ... 2). The mission of non-profit health organizations is not to maximize profits, but to serve the members of the community where it is physically located, providing the members of the community the best healthcare services they can offer (Cleverley, et.al., p. 8). On the other hand, for profit organizations have more financially-related purposes. Its goal of earning profits is mostly sought for distribution to its investor-owners or for reinvestment to the organization for the long-term benefit of these investors (Cleverley, et.al., p. 8). In effect, for profit organizations are usually owned by investors, whereas non-profit organizations are owned by entire communities; and while non-profit organizations seek to benefit the community, the for-profit healthcare organizations aim to benefit its owners and investors. Money contributed to the organization are given with the hope of doubling or earning more profits, whereas, money given or invested to nonprofit organizations are not expect ed to make profits, but they are expected to serve the larger community. The growth in the organization is actually stated in terms of growth, efficiency, and quality; whereas, the mission for non-profit organizations are stated in terms of charity and community service, alongside growth (Gray and Institute of Medicine, p. 6). Organizational Structure and Scope Organizational structures specify the roles and responsibilities of individuals which are tasked with pursuing and fulfilling the goals of the organization (Zietlow, et.al., p. 5). Assigned individuals include the board of directors/board of trustees, committees, staff, officers, outside contractors,

To what extent has globalization influenced one or more aspects of the Essay

To what extent has globalization influenced one or more aspects of the culture in your country illustrate your answer with examples - Essay Example But likewise, as economies become more intertwined, we find that they can also become more vulnerable to unexpected shifts and new forms of opaqueness. This isn’t a reason to turn away from globalization, but it is a reason to be vigilant. This essay will look at the way Russia has become more dependent on other countries through the process of globalization and it will suggest that this has mostly been for the best. Although the exact moment of globalization occurring in Russia is a debatable question considering the length of Russia’s history and its extensive involvement in world affairs, it could be send that most of the post-Soviet period has been marked by the rapid acceleration of Russia’s integration into the world economy. Boris Yeltsin, Russia’s first post-Soviet leader, led the country through a kind of economic shock therapy that involved deregulating markets, selling off state assets, and making Russia a better place to do business. It took awhile for these changes to help make Russia into a stable place to do business, but this began to happen under the premiership of Vladimir Putin. He was helped of course by rising world demand for Russia’s energy and other commodities. Prices for have been increasing a lot in recent years (before collapsing recently), and this helped Russia look to the rest of the world as a good place to do business. Britain decided to go full steam ahead with economic global integration. Of course, with current economic events shaking the world economy, we begin to see some of the potential negative effects of globalization for Russia. The problems point to one of the serious drawbacks of globalization: when you open your economy up to the other economies of the world you can get very rich as long as they do well—but you also become very vulnerable to their problems too. But in the course of this important debate it is vital to remember the benefits that have come with globalization. These changes have not

Hybrid Vehicles and Alternative Fuels

Hybrid Vehicles and Alternative Fuels Hybrid vehicles alternative fuels are a key part in reducing pollution. Many people do not realize what might happen if alternative methods of transportation are not developed in the near future. Development of hybrid vehicles is growing more important with each passing day. With no end in sight for lower prices of gasoline much of society is beginning to feel the economic squeeze. Hybrid vehicles could help reduce emissions, and reduce dependence on foreign oil thus taking society out of crude oil chokehold. Hybrid vehicles, when one thinks of them many things may come to mind, things such as small, ugly, not â€Å"cool,† but one needs to look beyond the exterior and what the benefits are. Hybrid vehicles could possibly be one of the most important elements to the future habitation of this planet. Resources are being depleted and used up. Resources that are everyday occurrences for society such as oil, coal, and many other resources that are being depleted, and need to be replaced with other viable solutions for energy. Energy sources such as wind fields, solar panels, and many other new option are growing more and more important each day. However, nothing seems to be more daunting than the oil crisis that looms over most of the world. Oil prices continue to grow every day, causing an economic squeeze on many lower income families. â€Å"Over the next 30 years oil demand is expected to grow by 60%† (Dooly, Fitzpatrick, Lewis, 2007, p.657). Also, not to mention the pollution problem that continues to grow daily, with pollution rates rising steadily and no end in sight society is swiftly approaching crisis mode. â€Å"With the introduction of modern passenger cars and vastly increased demand for power, the twentieth century saw rapid increases in the use of fossil fuels† (Dooly, Fitzpatrick, Lewis, 2007, p.657). This may not surprise many people, as it is widely known that sport utility vehicles (SUV’s) have been the option to fulfill societies need for power. This increase in vehicles is promoting the growing pollution problem; the increased burning of fossil fuels has pollution rates growing high er with each passing day. Nevertheless, as it is thought that the increase of use of fossil fuels has only been a problem for the past twenty years, this problem was getting a head start over 150 years ago. According to Dooly, Fitzpatrick, and Lewis (2007, p.657) â€Å"since the industrial revolution in the mid 1800s worldwide energy consumption has been growing steadily.† This is shocking to think that that long ago pollution was already beginning to grow. With the growing talk of global warming and its effects on the earth, and its surroundings, the thought thereof is intimidating alone. Over the past several years scientists have done extensive research into global warming. Research has varied greatly from scientific group to group, one side saying that it is real and is happening, and the other saying that there is not enough supporting evidence to confirm the theory of global warming. Yet on the other hand, the majority of society does know one thing, that pollution, whether from factories, cars, or any other business establishment belching out smoke, cannot be a good thing. In contrast to the gloom and doom of pollution and how it can affect the earth, and several aspects of life, now begins the adventurous quest to make the world a better place. Not only for the present, but also for the future inhabitants of this earth. Reversing pollution problems cannot and will not be done overnight, and it will most certainly not be done by just one person. To reverse this deepening rut that has been dug, it will take a combined effort of nations to make a difference. One might ask why the word adventurous is used to describe reversing this cycle of pollution. As of now there really is no catalyst to begin ending the cycle and begin with the newer greener lifestyle. There are still, however, many things that can make a great impact. To give an example on how far things have gone in the wrong direction in the mode of travel and vehicle use is best summed up by Briggs, Hoogh, Morris, and Gulliver (2008, p.12) â€Å"nationally the trips made on foot has declined by more than 20% since the early 1990s† this is a good example how the vehicle use has grown by a great margin in the past ten years. When there is a decrease in trips made on foot, bicycle, or even subway or train, there has to be an increase somewhere in travel. This increase more often than not occurs in an increase made by a motor vehicle. The increase in travel has made a global impact on many things. The increase in demand of oil, and increased emissions affects many other elements of everyday life. Obviously asking to completely reduce trips made by vehicle is a lot to ask. It may be too much, especially with the fast paced lifestyle. It cannot go unnoticed by society; trips are being made more frequently, and for longer distances. It is expected that European transport is to grow greatly in transportation, in both road, and air transport (Van Mierlo, Maggetto, 2006). On the upside of all of this negative talk, rest assured that there is something being done. Over the past fifteen to twenty years many advances have been made to reduce emissions in vehicles. Many new fuels are being tried and developed in an effort to find viable solutions to gasoline (crude oil). This process is a slow moving operation amid much trial and error, and brick walls, nonetheless breakthroughs have been experienced. As of now there is not only one, but several fuels that have potential for being the next gasoline. Talk of methanol, ethanol, hydrogen, electric, and many other lower priority fuels that have essentially not been given the recognition that the others have. Not only would a new fuel such as ethanol. Help reduce dependence on foreign oil, but the other advantage would be lower emissions. Romm stated: Alternative fuel vehicles (AFV’s) face two central problems. First, they typically suffer from several marketplace disadvantages compared to conventional vehicles running on conventional fuels. Hence, they probably require government incentives or mandates to succeed. Second, they typically do not provide cost-effective solutions to major energy and environmental problems, which undermines the policy case for having the government intervene in the marketplace to support them (2006, p. 2610). These are important issues to the hybrid cause because it is an opposition, which will make it tougher to make hybrid vehicles and have them catch on. The road for hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels is not going to be an easy one. Ethanol is probably one of the alternative fuels that is at the forefront of the race, and making the strongest bid to become the next solution to gasoline. Ethanol has done several good things since it has started. Ethanol is taken from corn. This alone most likely is going make the market for corn better than it has been in the past couple of years. Corn is also expected to reach peak prices in the near future. However, there are two sides to the story of ethanol. While none of it has been confirmed as of yet, it is claimed that cost of production of ethanol and transporting it that it actually ends up being more expensive to use. Farrell et al., (2006, p. 506) also said â€Å"whether manufacturing ethanol takes more nonrenewable energy than the resulting fuel provides. It has long been that the calculations of net energy are highly sensitive to assumptions.† Could this be a futile enterprise to produce this fuel? While much of this has not been given proper analysis by prof essionals in the field, it is still something one would need to keep in mind, should a time of consideration of buying an ethanol burning vehicle arise. Another downside to ethanol is that when it comes to fueling arrangements, stations that carry it are mostly in the Midwest, after that, fill ups are few and far between. Biodiesel is an alternative fuel source that is being tested. Research continues to be conducted to improve it; it has already been tested and works. New ways to produce it are on the horizon. Producing it from soybeans is an option but not yet thoroughly researched and developed. â€Å"For the diesel engine seed-oil bio-fuels have been widely examined across the world, as a suitable alternative† (Crookes, 2006, p. 461). One of the neat things about biodiesel is that it can be made and refined at home. Used oil from deep fryers at restaurants can be used to make biodiesel. All of this sounds really great, but the bad thing with biodiesel is that it does not have the octane that comes with regular diesel. There are other disadvantages to biodiesel as well, For instance, in colder climates it does not function as well as regular diesel. The same can be said for towing with biodiesel it just does not have the power. While there are some cold hard facts about biodiesel, it is stil l a vital component to reducing dependence on foreign oil. â€Å"The hydrogen economy has received increasing attention recently† (Waegel, Byrne, Tobin, Haney, 2006, p. 288). This is for good reason too. Hydrogen is a fuel that if it is made to work will greatly reduce environmental impacts. Hydrogen has potential to be a great alternative fuel, if it pans out. â€Å"Whether the hydrogen is produced by steam reforming of natural gas, wind electrolysis, or coal gasification. Most benefits would result from eliminating current vehicle exhaust† (Jacobson, Colella, Golden, 2005, p.1901). Development however for hydrogen is not at its best. On a good note if hydrogen becomes a viable fuel, it would be a zero emissions fuel. If there is a significant number of people using hydrogen fuel vehicles in the future, a great decrease in emissions would inevitably follow. Although all of this sounds wonderful and dandy, there is a darker side to hydrogen. It is not fully developed, and this writer does not believe it will be in the near fu ture. Hydrogen is still extremely expensive. According to Waegel, Byrne, Tobin, and Haney, (2006, p. 289) â€Å"in terms of economics, hydrogen from natural gas is 50 % to 100% more than an equivalent amount of gasoline.† That is bad news for hydrogen, not to mention the price of transportation of hydrogen which also is expensive. Hydrogen most definitely has its work cut out for itself. Electric vehicles are next on the list of possible solutions as an alternative fuel. Even though it is not necessarily a fuel, it is still an alternate mode of transportation. Electric vehicles have many good qualities they do not put out emissions, and they are quiet. Both of those qualities are good for city living. Some experts believe that electric vehicles are going to be an integral part in reducing pollution. With proper engineering, this is quite possible. The most likely hybrid car in the foreseeable future is the electric vehicle with less fuel consumption, and reduced emissions. Minimal change in vehicle styles means that the safety would not be compromised, and nothing resulting in job loss (Romm, 2006). Electric most definitely has a strong place in this market. In fact electric cars may be starting to be seen more often. Especially in cities where transportation does not require going a great distance to do everyday tasks such as getting groceries, going to school, and things of that nature. With the new advantages in electric technology, businesses that need outdoor transportation are more likely to turn to electric vehicles rather than the traditional four-wheeler, or other all-terrain-vehicle. It is extremely plausible that electric vehicles will be popping up all over the world. Electric will be a contributor as an alternative fuel. Altogether there are various fuels that have a good chance of being the next gasoline. Ones such as electric do not have a chance to be a permanent option to gasoline. Electric will however be a large contributor. Keep in mind that these research efforts and new ideas for fuel are not intended to completely factor out gasoline. Gasoline will always be used for some application. What these new fuels are intended to do is reduce dependence on foreign oil, and help decrease gasoline prices while reducing pollution at the same time (Waegel, Byrne, Tobin, Haney). The next order of business is to get to the actual vehicles themselves. Contrary to what one might think, a hybrid car is not a new concept; in fact it is probably older than what most people think Many people think that hybrid vehicles are a very recent development, but many would be surprised at how old the concept really is. The history of hybrid vehicles goes back to 1665. Between that year and 1825, Flemish Jesuit priest and astronomer Ferdinand Verbiest created plans for a steam â€Å"car† for Chinese Emperor Khang Hsi, Frenchman Nicholas Cugnot built a steam-powered motor carriage capable of six miles per hour, and British inventor Goldsworthy Gurney built a steam car that successfully completed an 85-mile journey in ten hours. In 1839, Robert Anderson of Aberdeen, Scotland, built the first electric vehicle (Griffin, Shen, 2007, p.177). General Motors (GM) has made its mark on hybrid history. â€Å"Most of the early work by General Motors was due to the concern for increasing price of gasoline at the time of the oil embargo.† (Rajashekara, 1993, p.447) GM also had the first electric fuel cell vehicle in the Electro van, and also had an electric truck for military application. (Rajashekara, 1993) Contrary to what some people may think, research on hybrid vehicles started more than three-hundred years ago. Now evidently they began working with steam technology because they had no knowledge or the resources to create an internal combustion engine. When it is thought about for a short period of time, steam technology for the first steam boats had to have been tested on land before put to use on water. Therefore the first steam car advancements should not be thrown out as worthless for they did lay the groundwork for other future uses. Even when Rudolf Diesel invented the diesel engine, it was meant to run on peanut oil! This however did not turn out so that they ran peanut oil in it, because at the time diesel was cheaper to process. Now with the ever higher price of diesel, refining used restaurant oil to use in diesel engines is beginning to take on. Now that the history of hybrid vehicles is taken care of, it is time to get to the flesh of the issue, hybrid vehicles. Hybrid vehicles will be the most essential component to reducing pollution, and end the vicious cycle that has been started. Hybrid vehicles have grown by leaps and bounds over the past ten years. New prototypes are being worked on researched, and developed daily. However they do not always get a good review. Hybrid vehicles tend to be somewhat smaller than conventional vehicles. This condition tends to make people think somewhat differently about them. â€Å"Hybrids pose no more danger in a collision than do conventional vehicles.† (Griffin, Shen, 2007, p. 178) Also people who drive them are wrongfully stereotyped, stereotyped into being some sort of environmentalist democrat wanting to ban firearms, impose noise ordinances, and do anything they can to keep people from having any fun. Well this is just not true. It is negative images like this that can thro w an effort to promote hybrid vehicles askew. Hybrids are important in every aspect of a green future. Fewer emissions, cleaner air, reduced dependence on foreign oil and better gas mileage, are all benefits that are at stake if hybrid vehicles never catch on. Research was done to by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) by conducting a survey in the years 2003, and 2005, to find out influenced them to buy their hybrid vehicles, the survey results are illustrated below. Graph 1. Share of respondents The results appear to be not much different from year to year. These are however the most common reasons why hybrid vehicles are purchased, and with no surprises, saving money on gas at the head of the pack. The above results are promising ones. They show hope for the future of hybrid vehicles. Now what exactly makes a hybrid vehicle a hybrid vehicle? Hybrid vehicles are just that they are hybrids not only in a sense of how they are powered but also in other aspects in addition to having a power source other than that of gasoline or diesel. Many key elements and time consuming research go into developing a hybrid vehicle. For starters, weight reduction is a key component to making a hybrid vehicle. Even when using a conventional fuel, weight reduction should be given close attention. â€Å"The demand for weight reductions in automobiles has been increasing in recent years because of global environmental issues.† (Saito, Iwatsuki, Yasunaga, Ando, 2000, p. 516) Toyota has done something extremely great by making the Prius. The Prius is a type of hybrid car that runs on both electric and internal combustion engines. The Prius when starting from a complete stop runs solely on battery power, and at low speeds from 5 to 20 miles per hour, it also runs on battery. When it reaches higher speeds the gasoline engine kicks in to assist. The Prius is said to get 40 to 50 miles per gallon. The battery will not run dead because when the gasoline engine turns on it runs the alternator and charges the battery. While companies like Ford, Chevrolet, and others have made their mark on the hybrid economy, Ford with the Escape, and Chevrolet with the new hybrid Yukon, none of them have had quite the impact that Toyota has. When it comes down to it, it is hard to describe how very important hybrid vehicles will be to the future. Hybrid vehicles hold the key to a cleaner environment, and lessening dependence on foreign oil. As of now hybrids do not have the popularity in the world that is needed. If the world continues to pollute at the rate it is going at now, the implications will be serious. More effort is needed from everyone to make this world a better place, and while hybrid vehicles are going to be extremely important, that is not the only thing that can be done. If one is not in a position to be able to drive a hybrid vehicle, other opportunities are out there to help the environment. Recycling is something that always helps the environment, and doing things such as walking, riding a bike, or even taking the bus can have bigger impact than is thought. This writer concludes that hybrid vehicles are an integral part of making a greener environment. Without them, along with the increasing rate of po llution, many countries are headed on a crash course for disaster. References Briggs, B.J., Hoogh, K., Morris, C., Gulliver, J. (2008). Effects of travel mode on exposures to particulate air pollution. Environmental International, 34, 12-22. Retrieved February 30, 2008, from Science Direct. Crookes, R.J. (2006). Comparative bio-fuel performance in internal combustion engines. Biomass Bioenergy,30, 461-468. Retrieved February 17, 2008, from Science Direct. Dooly, G., Fitzpatrick, C., Lewis, E. (2008). Optical sensing of hazardous exhaust emissions using a UV based extrinsic sensor. Energy, 33, 657-666. Retrieved May 30, 2008, from Science Direct. Farrell, A.E., Plevin, R.J., Turner, B.T., Jones, A.D., O’Hare, M., Kammen, D.M. (2006). Ethanol can contribute to energy and environmental goals. Science, 311, 506-508. Retrieved February 8, 2008, from www.sciencemag.org. Griffin, M.D., Shen, Q. (2007). Hybrid vehicles- are university students in North Alabama ready to buy them? Journal of Alabama Academy of Science, 78,175-178. Retrieved February 20, 2008 from IEEE Jacobson, M.Z., Colella, W.G., Golden, D.M. (2005). Cleaning the air and improving health with hydrogen fuel-cell vehicles. Science, 308, 1901-1905. Retrieved March 5, 2008, from www.sciencemag.org. Rajashekara, K. (1993). History of electric vehicles in General Motors. 447-454. Retrieved February 15, 2008, from IEEE Romm, J. (2006). The car and fuel of the future. Energy policy, 34, 2609-2614. Retrieved February 27, 2008, from Science Direct. Saito, M., Iwatsuki, S., Yasunaga, K., Andoh, K. (2000). Development of aluminum body for the most fuel efficient vehicle. JSAE review, 21, 511-516. Retrieved March 1, 2008, from Science Direct. U.S. Department of Energy. (2006). Why purchase a hybrid vehicle? Retrieved April 15, 2008, from http://www1.eere.energy.gov/vehiclesandfuels/facts/2006_fact_fotw417.html Van Mierlo, J., Maggetto, G. (2007). Fuel cell or battery: Electric cars are the future. Fuel cells, 2, 165-173. Retrieved February 18, from Wiley interscience. Waegel, A., Byrne, J., Tobin, D., Haney, B. (2006). Hydrogen highways: Lessons on the energy technology-policy interface. Bulletin of science, technology society 26, 288-298, from Science Direct.

How does Golding convey Jack’s regression to a more savage state? :: English Literature

How does Golding convey Jack’s regression to a more savage state? William Golding conveys Jack’s regression to a more savage state in many different ways. One of the ways in which he does this is by using the setting. The fact that wild plants and creepers are growing almost everywhere around Jack is a typical stereotype of primitive land. Jack did not seem to be trying to avoid them, which could suggest that he has already started getting used to them, as a savage or primitive being would be. Also, Jack had not planned the way that he was going to take when travelling through the forest; instead, he just followed faint trails and hoped they would lead him to what he wanted. By doing this, he was already thinking like a savage. Jack seemed to have a very close connection with the forest that he was hunting in. With only small signs, he was able to realise that the forest was inhabited as other creatures, creatures that he was trying to hunt. Also, Golding describes the forest like he describes Jack, for example when he says ‘the forest and he were very still’. This emphasises the close connection between the two. Another way in which the author conveys Jack’s regression to a more savage state is by making him seem more animal like. Savages are thought of more as animals than people, therefore the animal-like description is very effective to show Jack returning to his savage roots. When searching for prey, he was described as a dog in more than one way, ‘his nose was only a few inches from the humid earth’, just like a dog or wolf hunts, and ‘dog-like, he was uncomfortable on all fours’. There were also some more subtle ways in which he was indirectly compared to animals that were savage-like. He was becoming hairier than he was before, just like an ape. This suggests the reversal of evolution. Also, he was almost naked, apart from his knife belt. This much like a savage or animal, but the fact that he was not at all embarrassed by this was even more significant. In our modern day world, walking around naked would be thought of as a taboo and is even illegal in a lot of places, but in the time that savages were around, it was very common for them to walk around wearing close to nothing. This is exactly the state of mind that Jack wants to revert to in order to hunt like a savage. Jack was also starting to use his senses more effectively like animals. ‘His nostrils flared’.

Hrm- Training Need Analysis

Training Needs Analysis Purpose A Training Needs Analysis (TNA) is used to assess an organization’s training needs. The root of the TNA is the gap analysis. This is an assessment of the gap between the knowledge, skills and attitudes that the people in the organization currently possess and the knowledge, skills and attitudes that they require to meet the organization’s objectives. The training needs assessment is best conducted up front, before training solutions are budgeted, designed and delivered. The output of the needs analysis will be a document that specifies why, what, who, when, where and how. More specifically, the document will need to answer these questions: why do people need the training? what skills need imparting? who needs the training? when will they need the new skills? where may the training be conducted? and how may the new skills be imparted? There are so many ways for conducting a Training Needs Analysis, depending on your situation. One size does not fit all. Is the purpose of the needs assessment to: lead in to a design of a specific purpose improvement initiative (e. g. customer complaint reduction) enable the design of the organization’s training calendar identify training and development needs of individual staff during the performance appraisal cycle †¦ and so on and so on. In clarifying the purpose of the TNA, consider the scope of the TNA. Is it to determine training needs: at the organization level? at the project level for a specific project? or at the department level for specific employees? Your answer to these questions will dictate: who will conduct the TNA how the TNA will be conducted, and what data sources will be used Training Needs Analysis Method Below are three scenarios in which you may find yourself wanting to conduct a Training Needs Analysis. This is not an exhaustive treatment, however, it will give you some tips on what to do. Employee Performance Appraisal In many organizations, each employee’s manager discusses training and development needs during the final part of the performance appraisal discussion. This method suits where training needs are highly varied amongst individual employees. Typically, the manager constructs an employee Performance Development Plan in collaboration with the employee being appraised. The Plan takes into consideration: the organization's strategies and plans agreed employee goals and targets the employee’s performance results the employee’s role description feedback from internal/external customers and stakeholders, and the employee’s stated career aspirations The employee’s completed Performance Development Plan should document the area that requires improvement, the actual development activity, resource requirements, expected outcomes and an agreed time frame in which the development outcome will be achieved. Check out our Training Management Template Pack for a customizable Performance Development Plan and instructions for use. You may find some commonality amongst individual training and development needs identified in the various performance appraisals. In this case, it may pay the organization to review and classify each of the needs and convert them into appropriate training courses (or other interventions). The next step is to prioritize their importance and aggregate the results so that you end up with a list of courses and participant numbers against each. Then negotiate a delivery schedule that fits in with managers/supervisors and employees whilst keeping an eye on your budget. Improvement Project Most, if not all, improvement projects have some employee training associated with them. Examples of improvement projects include planned and structured attempts to reduce the incidence of product defects, increase sales volume and decrease the number of customer complaints. Here, the Training Needs Analysis begins by clarifying the measurable organizational improvement targets and the employee behaviors required to meet these targets. For example, the organization might set a target of a 50 percent reduction in customer complaints by the end of the year. Employee behaviors required to achieve this target might be: empathetic listening to customer complaints regular follow up of complaint resolution †¦ and so on. To get to this point, though, the cause of the underperformance needs to be determined through a series of structured questions. If there is no one else to perform this initial diagnosis, you as the training professional may be called upon to do this job. A performance consulting approach can help you here. With this approach, the person doing the diagnosis first asks managers to identify their problems in concrete terms. Next, possible causes and solutions are discussed and training solutions identified, where appropriate. To do this successfully, the performance consultant needs to be well-versed in process improvement methods and employee motivation theory and practice. For small projects, you can use a simple employee performance flow chart in working with managers to help identify the cause of performance deficiencies. Where training is identified as an appropriate solution or as part of the solution, we then recommend that you work through a training needs analysis questionnaire with the appropriate stakeholders. This will give you the information you need to move to the training program design phase. An effective training needs analysis questionnaire worksheet will cover at least the following areas: The results from these structured interviews are then written up in a formal document, along with the answers to the other questions raised above. Check out our Training Projects Template Pack for an example of a customizable training needs analysis template that you can download today. The results of the TNA are then fed into the next phase of the instructional systems design life cycle; the high-level design of the training program. Following all of the above is of course more time consuming than getting a simple wish-list from managers and delivering a smorgasbord of training courses. However, by using a structured approach, you will avoid the 80 percent wastage of resources that any companies experience in delivering programs that don’t truly fit their needs. Constructing a Training Calendar When constructing an annual training calendar, be wary of simply asking managers what training they want delivered. Assessing training needs this way, you will most probably get a wish list with little connection to the real needs of the organization. When the time comes and they and their workers are pressed for time, you may fi nd it difficult to fill seats. Training is expensive, and there is no better method for wasting your scare training dollars. Why is this so? We find that many managers are not skilled in identifying which of their problems can be solved by training and which cannot. For a training calendar to be effective, it needs to be tailored for your specific organization’s real needs. Ask your managers what training they need. However, make sure you engage them in constructive dialog about what their real problems are and which of them can realistically be addressed through training. If the performance shortfall is a one-off problem, such as an increasing number of customer complaints, it may be more effective and cost efficient to address the issue on an improvement project basis. Training calendars are best suited to repeatable and regular demand, such as refresher skills training for infrequently performed technical tasks and for new recruits joining the organization. In these cases, review what training is required on a regular basis and look at what new recruits need to be proficient at soon after they join your organization. Generally speaking, consult with your management team by checking off which of the following areas require inclusion in your training calendar: management, leadership and supervision skills oft skills, such as communication and conflict resolution environment, health and safety human resource processes, such as performance management business skills, such as strategy, planning and process improvement technical line and staff skills such as telephone etiquette and inventory management In constructing your training calendar, we suggest you also consider looking at one or more of the data sources listed in the next section. Once you have composed your list of courses, assess demand for each course and the required frequency, all the while, keeping an eye on your budget. With a limited budget, we suggest you get your management team to help you assess priorities. Data Sources In conducting your training needs analysis, you may have a variety of data sources available to you. Which data sources you use will depend on a number of factors. These factors include: the amount of time you have available the human resources you have available he level of accuracy you require the reliability of each data source the accessibility of each data source The data sources that you have available may include: interviews/surveys with supervisors/managers interviews/surveys with employees employee performance appraisal documents organization’s strategic planning documents organization/department operational plans organization/department key performance indicators customer complaints critical incidents product/servic e quality data For example, if you are considering providing training in project management to project managers, you may want to interview the prospective participants, the project managers, and their managers on what problems they are facing. It may also pay to review planning and procedural documents to ascertain what project management methodology and tools your organization is using, or is planning on using. Data sources that may show light on where the training needs to focus the most are project performance data and post-implementation reviews. Which sources you will actually use and how much time and effort you expend on each will depend on your particular circumstances. Needless to say, there is no magic formula and you will need to exercise a fair amount of judgment in most cases. Although there are no hard and fast rules in conducting a Training Needs Analysis, we have outlined above some general guidelines and helpful hints. We can also help you with some practical TNA tools, such as a training needs analysis questionnaire and training needs analysis spreadsheet, in our customizable template packs.

Businesses Processes Are the Most Important at Summit Electric Supply Essay

1. Which businesses processes are the most important at Summit Electric Supply? Why? There are several business processes that were used by the Summit Electric Supply company. Among them the important ones are: 1) ERP software from SAP-> Scalability and investors visibility was the two factors most important to the company and both these factors were very well tackled by the ERP software.SAP functionality in sales and distribution, materials management and financials greatly benefited the company to boost its distribution capacity. 2) SAP’s NetWeaver BW – For Business Intelligence reporting and analysis this process was used. This helped the company to evaluate the profitability of its sales channels,using what-if solutions. 3) The â€Å"Batch management† process- Wires and cable are Summit most important product category. It buys these products in reels of length 5000 feet and then cuts them into various lengths and sells to the customers which make it difficult to maintain the inventory of this product. The batch management process removed the problem of maintaining the inventory of such products. 2. What problems did Summit have with its old systems? What was the business impact of those problems? There were a few problems that Summit went through with when they were using the old legacy systems. Some of the few problems they came across were— The old system caused them to have delay with their supplies. Also the system was complicated as it would separate different categories of products which eventually was difficult to combine when needed. The business impact from the problems was that the system was not able to keep up with the fast growing business. It limited the business as it was only able to handle a few range of numbers and location at a time. 3. How did Summit’s ERP system improve operational efficiency and decisions making? Give several examples. Summit’s ERP system improved operational efficiency and decisions making by advancing operations. It made the processing faster and distributed the supplies on time. With the old system the Summit had to do a huge amount of manual work. The employees would have to go into details with the customers just to find specific manufactures to identify a product. Once they have done that they would have to put it into Microsoft excel spreadsheet. The whole old system was too much time consuming. For example collecting and reviewing all the invoices manually would take up to a month and the company would have stacks of papers of the copies of the invoices to give to their vendors. Now the new ERP system has improved it. They are now able to produce more data quickly and they are able to view them more often. The ERP system has helped provide tools to help the company evaluate the sales channel with what-if scenarios. For example, now that the company uses this tool, they are now able to evaluate profitability by the branch, sale person, customers, and manufacture. Now the exposure to the internal working of the system, on how its operations are performed have been greatly enhanced which in turn makes the company and the management to make important decisions. 4. Describe two ways in which Summit’s customers benefit from the new ERP system. One way that the Summit’s customers are benefitting from the new ERP system is that they can rely on the company for their needs and products. The company is now more efficient with the new ERP system. The company wants the customers to feel that they can provide what all they have produced —all the products which the customers want are being dispatched to them in a short time period. Also customers can track their order status and from which manufacture it came from. Large customers that have long-term job sites are benefitting from the new system as well. The company built temporary warehouses on-site to supply the customers with its electrical products. They create what they call parent-child warehouse relationship to be able to work with the customers. That means that if a Summit’s office has more than a few temporary on-site warehouses than the warehouse can be controlled like subparts of the main Summits warehouse. With this system, it helps to prevent anybody from selling the consigned inventory into the warehouse. 5. Diagram Summit’s old and new process for handling chargebacks. The old process for handling chargebacks had so many flaws in it due to which the company was losing on revenue opportunities and sometime barely making any profit. Processing chargeback in the old system was very much manual. You have to compare the sales to contract. This means that a distributor can have up to hundreds maybe thousands of contracts. They have to identify the chargeback and which manufacturer with enough documentation of the contract. They would have to go through the customers invoices for detailed manufacturers to identify which chargeback they could have claimed. Then after identifying they would have to put the chargeback details in Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. The new process for handling chargebacks was more efficient. It automatically review Summit’s billing activity for the day and the compares it to all chargebacks agreements loaded in the SAP system by the end of every day. Whenever there was a match in the system they were able to claim. The system is after identifying the claimable chargebacks were able to create a separate chargeback document outside the consumer invoice. The system is able to process chargeback more quickly and is able to review it within the same day. Since it is fully automated, the company increased its claim by 118 percent over the old system.