Bauman decision Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Bauman decision - Essay Example They, plaintiffs, accuse Mercedes-Benz Argentina for brutally punishing plant workers, with the collaboration of the Argentinean military and police forces, whom the Mercedes-Benz Argentina viewed as union agitators. Plaintiffs claim that Mercedes-Benz Argentina had knowledge that the collaboration between the Mercedes-Benz Argentina and the state forces would result in kidnapping, torture, detention and murder of the workers, and that the plan was implemented in a certain manner. The manner is as follows; first, Mercedes-Benz Argentina labelled the appellants as â€Å"subversives† and â€Å"agitators† and this information they passed on to the state forces. Second, MBA had members of the military and state forces stationed within the Gonzalez-Catan plant. Third, MBA opened the plant to raids by the forces. Fourth MBA hired Ruben Lavallen, who is the police station chief and been behind much of the reign terror and installed him the chief of scrutiny, providing legal re presentation yet he was accused of human rights abuse. They also allege that MBA seemed to be pleased with the results of the raids and detentions since these actions helped in ending the strike and restoring maximum production at the plant. Plaintiffs brought a suit against DCAG in 2004 in the District court for the northern district of California under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). After a failed attempt to serve process at Stuttgart, Germany one of DCAG’s headquarters, they learned that DCAG purported to maintain an operational headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan after which they then attempted to serve DCAG in Michigan, Bauman v. DaimlerChrysler AG.DCAG moved to quash service and to dismiss the case since it lacked personal jurisdiction. In DCAG’s proxy statement submitted by the plaintiffs stated that since Daimler-Benz and Chrysler merged, DCAG maintained two operational headquarters, one in Michigan and the one at the current Daimler-Benz headquarters, Stuttgart. Co-Chairmen and Co-Chief Executive Officers of DCAG, Jurgen E. Schrempp, the former Chairman of Daimler Benz, and Robert J. Eaton, the former Chairman and CEO of Chrysler Corporation, both had offices and staff in Michigan and Stuttgart. Following the submission of this evidence, DCAG withdrew its motion to quash service after the respondents produced documents showing that the Michigan and Stuttgart were dual operational quarters. The service was authorized by a German trial court but was stayed by a German appellate so it could determine whether the process would infringe on Germany’s sovereignty. The defendants objected to these two documents and termed them as unauthenticated hearsay, but the district court dismissed the objection. The court also refused to further examine some of the plaintiffs’ evidence including the percentage of the DCAG’s worldwide sales that occurred through MBUSA in California and the overlap between the personnel of DCAG and MBUSA, since the court found the evidence irrelevant to whether MBUSA was an agent of DCAG and this was beyond the scope of supplemental briefing. The court ruled on DCAG’

Toyota Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Toyota - Essay Example The company has developed a separate system called Toyota Production System (TPS) in order to manage its production operations. This system gives more focus on avoidance of over production and this strategy may sometimes adversely affect the expansional notions of Toyota. Hence, it is recommendable for the company to engage in more large scale production. Similarly, the Toyota must improve its competitiveness by introducing effective long term promotional strategies as the company economically lags behind Japan’s No.2 Nissan Motor Co Ltd and third ranked Honda Motor Co Ltd. The company must design a well structured employee development program that would establish a balance between an individual’s personal interests and organizational goals. Likewise, it is advisable for the management to make interpersonal relationships with employees so that it can ensure effective information flow between the organization’s top level to bottom level and vice versa. For this pu rpose, the firm may arrange for periodical meetings or appoint unit supervisors.

2 case OD Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

2 case OD - Assignment Example 62). This advocates something that is more than reactive to the changes. A fully developed culture that is distinctive to the corporation necessitates from the need for change for the vigorous development of the corporation. This embraces the potentials and participation of every member of the company as going beyond passive. It would be unacceptable to assume that other companies would never be able o adapt the same system. The success of Setpoint lies on the role that the management places on their employees. It’s no less than adapting the saying that there are no small roles, only small actors. Because indeed, the company has shown that the concept of team is well integrated into their dynamics. Everyone was well-informed of their roles toward the achievement of a common goal as epitomized in their board. I believe that culture per se cannot be bought but it can be developed and the availability of money at a company’s disposal to achieve the development of culture is very helpful. The achievement of an evolved culture can be realized through the persistent efforts of the vital members of the company and including the involvement of all the employees. Everyone must be open for change and accept this change as a positive impact for the company. As consistently established, Organizational Development is a long-term commitment that needs time. It is not something that happens overnight. Culture is a combination not only of the management but also the organization (Brown and Harvey, p. 63). There are companies who are willing to shell out millions of dollars to be able to buy culture. This is only a manifestation of the necessity of culture. There are those who may have spent for brand imaging and public relations among others. But it is still the perception of those who are withi n the company and that which resonates to the public which

Influence of Mergers on Firm Performance Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Influence of Mergers on Firm Performance - Essay Example The result of a merger may therefore have a positive or negative influence on a firm’s productivity. This paper draws on theory and evidence in evaluating the extent to which mergers influence the performance of firms. Influence of Mergers on Firm Performance Mergers increase market power of firms, which is the ability to influence the price and supply of a commodity in the market without affecting customer loyalty (Peterson, 2002). The merging firms within a particular industry are able to establish a monopoly that is capable of controlling the quantities and prices of commodities produced. On the other hand, as DePamphilis (2002) observes, merging increases the competitive advantage of firms over competitors. A market leader results from mergers so long as government policy favors a monopolistic market and hence with the perspective of market power, mergers can be considered to have a positive influence on a firm’s performance. Organizational effectiveness can also be accomplished through mergers that pool resources from the merging organizations to form one firm with a strong resource base. A firm that has success to sufficient resources is capable of maintaining a competitive advantage. ... This allows the firm to have sufficient time to test the applicability of emerging inventions; hence it can not incur heavy losses. Moreover, merging firms enjoy the economies of scale due to the combined production (Sudarsanam, 2004). Mergers increase the new firm’s market share as a result of the amalgamation of the different levels of market share existing before the merger. In other words, firms do not lose their customers after the merger. A successful merger requires that each firm accounts for its input in to the merger, including its human resources and customers. A greater market share resulting from the merger leads to economies of scale, increased turnover and hence increased profitability (Bruner & Perella, 2004). Tax reduction has significant implications on a firm’s profitability. Each firm submits tax as a single entity depending on the level of profits. When a firm’s external environment is unfavorable and makes losses yet it continues paying taxe s, a merger comes in hardy to save it from collapse. Merging with a larger profit making company enables the loss making firm to continue producing while the larger firm enjoys a tax advantage. This may not be a favorable merger for the loss making firm and hence it may not have any positive impact on performance (Sudarsanam, 2004). Mergers develop a positive outlook of the new organization with regards to the stock market. The larger organization has the capacity to maintain stock stability than the original smaller firms. This stability is significant in maintaining the confidence of investors in the stock market, which on the other hand translates to a strong capital base that is necessary for a firm’s long term strategic

Holes Essay Example for Free

Holes Essay There are many different challenges that Stanley Yelnats (the main character) from the bestselling novel Holes written by Louis Sachar has to over come. Stanley was first seen in the movie when a tilted shot of shoes hit him in the head and he fell on the ground portraying he was weak and a bit stupid. Stanleys personality was also displayed when his mum was so shocked when the police came around to their house telling them Stanley had stolens, this shows that Stanley had never commited a crime before and wasnt usually a trouble maker. The movie directed by Andrew Davis portrays everything the book does and it shows nearly all the insight into Stanleys life that author describes in the book. There are many challenges but the main one is breaking the curse that Stanleys family has been stuck in for more than 100 years. This challenge shows many significant themes in this book like friendship, determination and fate. The main dispute for Stanley was breaking his family curse. Although he didnt know if it was even real and that he had broken it , it was clear for the audience watching the movie that he had. The curse was put on his family more than 100 years ago when the first Yelnats, Elya Yelnats went to a fortune teller called Madame Zeroni. She made him a deal that he could have one of her small pigs if he carried Madame Zeroni up the mountain when he was done making the pig nice and fat so he could give it to the father of the girl of his dreams. When he noticed that the girl really was stupid like Madame Zeroni warmed him he decided to move from Lativia to America. However he forgot to carry Madame Zeroni up the mountain so she put a curse on his family forever. This was portrayed by a dissolve of Madame Zeroni repeating that she will put a curse on his family to Elya leaving Lativia. The low angle of Madame Zeronis face made it obvious that she was not kidding and very serious about the curse. When Stanely carried Hectoria Zeroni (a descendant of Madame Zeroni) up â€Å"Gods Thumb† which was also portrayed with a low angle making it look very commodious, he broke the family curse. This challenge portrayed many key ideas and themes and one of them was friendship. Zero (Hector Zeroni) and Stanley didnt know eachother at all but due to them both being the outcasts of the group they started to get to know eachother and Stanley started to teach Zero how to read and Zero helped dig Stanley holes so he wasnt so tired and could teach him. These lessons however were then stopped by the Warden, who was introduced by a high angle on her boots which already made her look threating as you could compare it to some movies where the thief or cowboys boots got introduced before their face which usually portrayed they were a significant character that usually was there to cause harm. However this didnt stop Zero and Stanleys friendship growing, when Zero ran away form the camp as he had enough of it Stanley had to go and rescue his only close friend he had at the camp. This shows Stanleys friendly love for Zero portrayed by the dissolving of Stanley walking through the dessert and than of the sun showing how hot it was. The soundtrack of mysterious music kept you guessing to see if Stanley would end up finding Zero or not. The orange overalls that all the boys at Camp Greenlake wore made Zero recognizable in the dessert. The audience knew that when the two boys rejoiced both of them were very content due to the soundtrack turning from mysterious to faster more lively music. Another key idea that the challenge portrayed was change. Change for Stanley, his family and Hector Zeroni. There were many unanswered questions that produced tension, secrecy through the entire movie but these questions were all answered when Stanley broke the curse. There was quite a journey to break the curse for Stanley and during this period his character changed dramatically. He used to a gullable, weak , little boy that couldnt stand up for himself. But he turned into a strong, smart young adult that could even save someones life. His weak side was displayed through a high angle of Stanley searching for a camera in the shower, that he got told the Warden of the Camp had installed. This shows how gullable he was and believed everything the other boys in his hut said. As well as giving his findings in a hole to another boy who got a free day off as the Warden though he found it not Stanley. However when he was in the middle of the dessert. He saw â€Å"Gods Thumb† and took iniative. When Hector was to weak he carried him up and saved his life as he found water which the boys definitely needed as they were tired and dehydrated. When Stanley broke the curse it changed many other things mostly for his life and family. His dad finally created a way to make sweaty feet/shoes not smell and Stanley found his treasure that was buried for more than 100 years by Kissing Kate Barlow. This changed his entire lifestyle and he gave half of his treasure to Hector who used that to hire private investigastors and find his mum who he hadent seen for more than 4 years. As you can see the main challenge definitely portrays some key ideas and themes. It displays the friendship betweeen Stanley Yelanats and Hector Zeroni which is definitely one of the most important friendship. Furthermore it explains how Stanley, Hector and both of their families changed. Stanleys personality changed showed everyone how much you can change due to your circumstances and enviroment around you. He teaches everyone a good lesson and I would definitly recommend this to any person my age.

Benefits of CPOE With CDS for Hospital Organizations

Benefits of CPOE With CDS for Hospital Organizations Can a computer physician order entry and computer decision support provide benefit by improving patient safety, reducing medication and other errors, improving quality, and aiding in compliance for hospital organizations? Studies and research show that the usage of these systems provides many advantages over the present paper based order entry system and provide healthcare organizations with multiple benefits. Medication errors are a big problem in healthcare and top the list of harm that is placed upon patients in the United States everyday. These errors are preventable. Computer Physician Order Entry (CPOE) is a network technology that when coupled with a Clinical Decision Support (CDS) system can be a valuable tool in reducing the incidence of medication errors. (Dixon, Zafar, 2009, para 6) CPOE is most effective when used in conjunction with a healthcare organizations Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system. (Felkey, 169) CPOE coupled with CDS are network technologies that can benefit healthcare organizations in many ways. The Joint Commission (JCAHO), Healthcare Facilities Accreditation Program, (HFAP), and the National Quality Forum (NQF) all place patient safety high on their list of goals and best practice suggestions. One of JCAHOs core measures is the patient safety related standard which dictates the prevention of accidental harm through the analysis and redesign of vulnerable pa tient systems (e.g. the ordering, preparation and dispensing of medications. (JCAHO, 2010) HFAP and NQF have several Safe Practices demonstrated in their online crosswalk that demand healthcare organizations address the issues of patient safety directly; following is a list: performance improvements that reduce harm to patients, identifying and mitigating safety risks and hazards to drive down preventable patient harm, healthcare organization must develop, reconcile, and communicate an accurate patient medication list throughout the continuum of care, and the safe adoption of CPOE. (HFAP NQF 2009) JCAHO, HFAP, and HQF all work closely with the Centers for Medicare Medicaid Services (CMS) to set patient safety and quality compliance standards for US healthcare  organizations. Many providers follow guidelines imposed by the CMS for coding and payment. According to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) at least 44,000 people, and perhaps as many as 98,000 people, die in hospitals as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented. (IOM, 1999) The FDA stated in their 2005 report that medication errors result in at least one death per day and 1.3 million injuries per year in the United States. (as cited in Figge, 2009, para 1) Walker states that of all the steps in the medication use process, the areas most associated with errors are prescribing and administration. (2008, para 2) CPOE is a mobile capable network technology that allows a physician to enter orders electronically for medication, laboratory services, imaging, procedures and admissions from almost anywhere at anytime. (Dixon, Zafar, 2009, para 4) This mobile functionality can improve a physicians efficiency allowing them to use their precious little down time to get more things done in less time. The wireless capability of CPOE can allow it to communicate with Personal Digital Assistants (PDA). A Harris Interactive Poll reported that 18 percent of the nations physicians reporting using a PDA as an integral part of their professional duties. (as cited in Ying, 2003, pg 59) This functionality gives physicians who employ the PDA technology the capability to input orders on the go and between other tasks in their busy daily work schedules; allowing more flexibility and efficiency in the physicians workflow. When fully integrated with an EMR, the CPOE/CDS system can generate alerts by looking for drug interactions, medication contraindications, dosing and frequency suggestions based on current information contained in the patients EMR, the pharmacy formulary and the CDS system clinical support databases. (Dixon, Zafar, 2009, para 5) Some information that could be compared and evaluated includes the medications that the patient is presently being prescribed against the patients diagnosis, co-morbidities, and vital statistics. The CPOE/CDS system uses evidence based medical information and would be customized by the hospital organization using selected guidelines, protocols, and algorithms. (Walker, 2008, para 18) The CDS can be programmed to look for errors based on the data sets the healthcare organization has selected. The system can then alert for errors and offer suggestions for medication dosing, medication administration, and treatment plans tailored to the individual patient. Remml inger, documented potential benefits of CPOE including eliminating lost orders and illegible handwriting, improving the consistency of documentation, reducing variances in care, improving consideration of the patients clinical data, and improving coded data for outcomes analysis. (as cited in Gray Felkey, 2004, pg 192, Figure 1) Eliminating most handwritten clinical data in healthcare organizations is a priority that the IOM and the Institute for Safe Medication Practices has suggested for healthcare; CPOE and CDS systems are two initiatives that can facilitate this objective. (Walker, 2008) The IOM has also suggested that healthcare organizations implement process improvements when implementing healthcare technology. (AHRQ 2009) Since the CPOE is an electronic order system, illegible handwriting is no longer entered into the  system because paper orders have been eliminated and all order entry is done electronically. The present ordering system allows for verbal orders to be given over the telephone, written and submitted in person or faxed. The numerous possible avenues an order can follow to get into the hospital order entry system invite a multitude of opportunities for things to go wrong. Paper orders can be virtually impossible to read at times due to illegible handwriting, over-handling, and image c opying issues. Remmlinger notes that one of the quality improvements seen with CPOE is eliminating lost. (as cited in Gray Felkey, 2004, pg 192, Figure 1) Data is entered directly into the CPOE system; eliminating the need for a patient to carry the order. Paper orders also require a scanning process to enter the order into the electronic environment adding another step in the process where errors can occur; pages can be missing, scan badly, or get indexed incorrectly. This step in the workflow process also contributes to a lag in the time between when the order is received by the healthcare organization and when it actually enters the patients medical record. The elimination of handwritten orders used in the order entry system cuts out the risks associated with the handwritten and/or paper order; providing safety for the patient and improved quality. By removing illegible handwriting from the system this ensures that every order is readable and available in real-time. (as cited in Gray Felkey, 2004, pg 192, Figure 1) The extra work generated by a paper order is eliminated as well, making for an efficient and complete ordering process and on time documentation. This saves everyone time, improves processes which in turn saves money for the patient and the healthcare organization. Process improvements like this contribute to complete, timely, and accurate documentation making for a safer and more accurate real-time picture of the patients status at any given time from virtually any location, while implementing best practices as recommended by JCAHO, HFAP, and the NQF. Dosing for drugs becomes more standardized when using the CPOE/CDS system; by assessing the individual patients vital statistics included in their EMR.T. (as cited in Gray Felkey, 2004, pg 192, Figure 1) The CDS can calculate dosing by using patient information such as current age, weight, height which is included in their EMR and then comparing that information with the recommended dosage given in the pharmacy formulary. The CPOE/CDS also uses evidence based decision support and can give outcomes analysis based on the current plan of care or give suggestions based on an alternate plan of care. The CDS can predict possible outcomes based on historic data when coupled with alternate plans of therapy. CPOE also promotes efficiency gains by checking the EMR for duplicate orders for clinical tests and other therapeutic events that have already been performed. (as cited in Gray Felkey, 2004, pg 192, Figure 1) Duplicated orders will cause an alert to be generated, resulting in the avoidance of unnecessary testing or other clinical events. This is much safer for the patient considering some clinical tests such as contrast Cat Scans are performed with inherent risk involved. The CPOE/ CDS system checks for duplicate orders therefore improving patient safety, saving time, money and providing better coordination of care while allowing for best resource utilization. A 2005 CPOE study presented an improvement report that showed a 50% reduction in medication errors with CPOE, eliminated illegibility and transcription errors after implementing a commercial CPOE system. (Grandville, Kupetsky, Molinari, Campbell, 2005) Another 2005 study found a 7.6% error rate resulting in 143 errors out of 1879 prescriptions. (Gandhi, Weingart, Seger, Borus, Burdick, Poon, Leape, Bates, 2005) Analysis of the findings: basic CPOE sites had a similar rate of incidence; while employing advanced dosing and frequency checks could have prevented 95% of potential Adverse drug Effects. (ADE). (Gandhi et al, 2005) This finding supports the recommendation given by the IOM suggesting CPOE and CDS should be implemented together to provide the best possible technology to improve patient safety and quality of care. CPOE CDS systems benefit a healthcare organization by improving patient safety through goals and best practices that help reduce medication prescribing and administration errors and offer process improvements that increase efficiency by reducing duplication of services, improve quality while saving money and time for both patients and the healthcare organization. Improvements in processes along with the careful implementation of technologies assist healthcare organizations to be compliant with increasing requirements imposed by various agencies and providers.

Self-Promotion and Celebrity Endorsements of Healthy Lifestyles Essay

Self-Promotion and Celebrity Endorsements of Healthy Lifestyles In his book Celebrity and Power: Fame in Contemporary Culture, P. David Marshall states "The close scrutiny that is given to celebrities is to accentuate the possibility and potential for individuals to shape themselves unfettered by the constraints of a hierarchical society" (246). Therefore, celebrities are seen as role models for a lifestyle that might never be fully attainable by the average person, but can be imitated. What is ironic then is that following a celebrity-endorsed lifestyle does not create individuality, but reduces it. While celebrities endorse products, they also appear in advertisements which promote a healthy lifestyle where through the abstinence from vices such as smoking and drinking, to the consumption of healthy products such as milk, or the changing of habits to create a more environmentally friendly world. While these advertisements may have noble intentions an examination of the linguistic messages, iconic messages, and the target audiences, shows that t he celebrities who appear in advertisements promoting healthy lifestyle choices are also promoting their own creative projects at the same time. An interesting example of how celebrities promote themselves while promoting a healthy lifestyle is seen in an advertisement sponsored by Budweiser beer and featuring the band *NSYNC. Appearing in the May 14, 2001 issue of People Magazine, the ad encourages parents to talk to their children about underage drinking. If parents visit the website and read about the program, they can enter to win a family trip to Washington D.C. to see the group in concert. The linguistic messages work to not only promote the cause, but the band and the beer.... ...sement does achieve some level of cross promotion because of the audience it is reaching. In conclusion it is evident that whether explicit or less obvious, there is always some element of cross-promotion in advertisements featuring celebrities. Although the celebrities may genuinely care about the causes which they are promoting it is obvious that their very presence in the advertisement draws attention to themselves and allows the reader to make connections to any creative projects they are working on at the moment. The advertisements work in part because the celebrities featured are those in the public eye at the time of publishing and that they are easily recognizable. The linguistic message, the iconic messages (both coded and non-coded) work together along with a strategic targeting of similar audiences to promote more that one thing in the advertisement.