The Elderly and Chronic Diseases - 5483 Words

The Elderly and Chronic Diseases Introduction Chronic disease and conditions are usually defined as those diseases which last for more than six months and which have a severe effect on the life of the individuals (Chronic Conditions and Injury, para.1). While chronic diseases can affect people of all ages and demographics, these types of diseases are very often found in the elderly. Chronic disease are also characterized by †¦multiple risk factors, long latency periods, a prolonged course of illness and functional impairment or disability (Key indicators of progress for chronic disease and associated determinants, 2011, p. 1). Chronic disease is also found to be more prevalent in the ageing demographic of most countries. Australia is one of the developed countries that have a growing ageing population, and this has a decided impact on the Australian Health System and Services, which is in fact expected to increase in the future. ...the increase in certain risk factors and the prolonging of life due to improvements in medic al interventions, the prevalence of chronic disease is expected to increase in the future (Key indicators of progress for chronic disease and associated determinants, 2011, p. 1). An alarming statistic that should be taken into account is that, ...it is estimated that chronic diseases currently account for 70% of the total burden of ill health in Australia, as measured by disability-adjusted life-years, and this is expected to increase to 80%Show MoreRelatedElderly Populations Case Study968 Words   |  4 PagesOne in six Canadians have a chronic disease, with these chronic diseases being especially prevalent in the elderly population, individuals 55 years of age or older. Elderly populations have four times the rate of chronic disease compared to the overall population (Government of Canada, 2017). In fact, population aging was stated as one of the three most prominent elemental determinants of chronic disease development, along with globalization and urbanization, by the World He alth Organization (WHO)Read MoreAlzheimer s Disease And Vascular Dementia1510 Words   |  7 Pagesis a disease that is seen to be affecting many of our elderly population nowadays. Dementia patients show progressive symptoms, which become severe with age. Some of the symptoms include memory loss, difficulty performing intellectual activities and overall lose of cognition. There are many causes of dementia so therefore the prevalence rate of it is increasing yearly. Dementia can be caused due to genetic vulnerability such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), lifestyle choices and from other chronic disordersRead MoreDisease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services Essay1457 Words   |  6 PagesDisease Trends and the Delivery of Health Care Services Final Project Axia college 1/15/2012 Many health care professional have great concerns about the growth of the aging population, chronic disease and the epidemic of obesity, and how will the United States healthcare system prepared for this continuing epidemic. The fact that the aging population along with obesity epidemic is a global healthcare concern, many health cares’ professional is baffled about how to address the growing epidemicRead MoreHow to Live to Be 1001662 Words   |  7 Pagesminority elderly persons will grow much more rapidly than the number of White elderly people over the next 50 years. The percentage of older adults in the United States that is made up of Blacks and other non-White minorities will increase from 10.2 in 1990 to 15.3 in 2020 and 21.3% in 2050. (Fried p.4) In 2005, 9.4 percent of African Americans, 9.3 percent of Asian Americans, and 6.5 percent of Hispanics were older than 65. The leading causes of death among the elderly are chronic diseases, notablyRead MoreAgeing Between China And China1319 Words   |  6 Pagesburden of chronic disease. It is reported that in 2013, there are 202 million older people in China (Wu Dang, 2013), more than half of them had at least one chronic noncommunicable disease (Wang Chen, 2014), and more than 37 million have disabilities (Wang et al. 2014). By 2030, there will be a 40 percent increase in the burden of chronic noncommunicable disease (Wang, Marquez Langenbrunner, 2011). Health care for elderly people is under pressure and the increasing population of elderly has generatedRead MoreHow Hong Kong is Dealing with the Aging1094 Words   |  5 Pagesthe following content, it is mainly focus on the part of â€Å"Community support and health service†. It is because the health of the citizens is an important aspect to the government in a city and health problem can directly affect the attitude of the elderly negati vely (Public Health Agency of Canada, 2011). Moreover, the health services in Hong Kong are good but there are still something can be improved (HKCSS, 2012). Therefore, the part of â€Å"Community support and health service† is always one of theRead MoreThe Effect Of Cardiovascular Disease On The Underlying Liver Disease1728 Words   |  7 Pagesprogressively predominant, and more elderly population with already diagnosed liver disease will be seen by geriatricians. It very useful to understand predictive factors for survival in cirrhotic patients in order to help with therapeutic decision-making, including allocation for liver transplantation (Fox et al., 2011). There are associations between cardiovascular disease (CVD) and liver cirrhosis. The effect of cardiovascular diseases on the underlying liver disease is well-recognized. The managementRead MoreOutcomes Management of Nursing Essay1567 Words   |  7 Pagescorrelation with the patient being elderly and having a diagnosis of heart failure and assess what can be done to positively change these statistics, which increase the quality of care we as healthcare professionals provide to our patients. A Rationale for Selecting the Issue or Problem of Interest Hospital readmissions can occur throughout the patient’s transition through the healthcare system. Many times readmissions occur among those who are frail and have chronic conditions. Readmissions accountRead MoreHealthcare Providers And Policy Makers1562 Words   |  7 Pagespeople in the world is ≠¥60 years of age, and this number is expected to increase to 1 in 5 by 2050, with a bigger percentage living in developing nations (Shetty, 2012). This demographic transition is associated with a variety of implications on disease burden, disability and dependency, healthcare systems, and socioeconomic policies, especially for countries that are already strained in these resources. This systematic review yields four main conclusions in regards to addressing some of the issuesRead MoreMalnutrition Among The Elderly : Malnutrition1681 Words   |  7 PagesMalnutrition in the Elderly The general objective of this research paper is to increase awareness about a mostly hidden epidemic among the elderly. Studies show one in every two older people are at risk for malnutrition. (Drewnowski Evans, 2001) Findings also show that hunger among the elderly is an enormous, far-reaching problem found in places across the globe, but the United States seems to be an unlikely place to find starvation where food is plentiful. Consequently, because of ineffective

Week 1 Checkpoint 1 Payment Methods Free Essays

Week 1 checkpoint 1- Payment Methods. Resource:  Chapter 1 of  Medical Insurance: An Integrated Claims Process Approach Write  and post a 250- to 300- word response to the following questions: ?  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Describe, the fee-for-service and capitation payment cycles. Include the relationship among provider, patient, and payer in your presentation, and their roles in the process. We will write a custom essay sample on Week 1 Checkpoint 1 Payment Methods or any similar topic only for you Order Now Fees for services are listed on the doctor’s fee schedule and there are known to be separate fee’s with each code and sometimes these codes are not billable. So in saying this the patient may have to pay some fee’s before they leave the doctor’s office because of some sort of procedure they had done. So the way the relationship goes for the fees for service is like this. The patient makes their usual monthly payments to their health plan or it’s set up to be automatically withdrawn from their paycheck. If they make their payments on time then they can have medical services done by a physician. The patient then pays for any fee’s or co-pays for the medical services that were provided on that day and then the Medical Biller will then bill the health plan. The patient may be reimbursed for the some money they had to pay out of pocket. Capitation payment cycle is way different. Capitation means that there is a fixed prepayment that is paid to the medical provider for members of their plan for only necessary services provided to them. By using the capitation payment cycle the doctor may be taking risks for receiving fewer patients. Some doctor’s offices prefer this though because they are a small doctor’s office and only want to deal with people that have certain medical insurances so their biller and coder doesn’t have to learn everything else. The only thing with this though is that they medical insurance is going to pay the doctor’s office the same amount of money each month no matter what. This may cause problems for the patient because if they don’t go see their doctor that month then they are still getting charged. How to cite Week 1 Checkpoint 1 Payment Methods, Essay examples

Educating Students with Diverse Abilities - Autism free essay sample

1. 0 Introduction: Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are one of the most common disabilities teachers will face in the classroom. Approximately 1 in 160 children are being diagnosed with having ASD, with autistic disorder (autism) and Aspergers disorder the most prevalent (Australian Advisory Board on Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2007). Australia promotes an inclusive education system meaning that all students with disabilities are encouraged and entitled to be educated within a general school setting where possible. Research shows that distinct improvements in children with ASD can be made if early diagnosis and the right interventions are implemented as early as possible (Australian Advisory Board on Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2008). It is therefore important that generalist primary school teachers are educated about ASD and its multitude of diversity in order to be able to enhance the learning experiences and produce positive outcomes of children with ASD in their classrooms. 1. 1 Overview of Autism Spectrum Disorder: In majority of situations, difficulties in communication, social skills and repetitive behaviours become more evident as the child lags further behind in meeting age appropriate milestones, or shows signs of differing behaviours compared with other children the same age. Each of these indicators can range from very mild to severe and will display differently in each individual child. While every child will display communication, social, and behavioural patterns that are unique, they will all fit into the overall diagnosis of ASD. 2. 0 Implications on Learning: While each child who is diagnosed with ASD will differ greatly on an individual level, all of them will share some common characteristics which will greatly impact on their learning. Learning can be affected in a number of ways and in every case, early intervention has a strong impact on reducing symptoms and increasing a childs ability to develop and learn new skills (Rosenberg et al. , 2008). The State of Queensland (Department of Education and Training) (2006) assert that in an educational setting, ASD impacts on: social interactions, communication, restricted interests in behaviour and sensory processing. Those who do speak are often monotone, and use unusual pitch, rhythm and syntax (Rosenberg et al. , 2008). According to Kunce and Mesibov (1998, p. 231) difficulties with language and communication can interfere with the students ability to, process, understand, or remember verbal information and even students with apparently well-developed language skills may fail to adapt well in an unmodified classroom environment because of social-communication difficulties. A relationship appears to exist between competence in communication, behaviour and overall level of functioning (Light, 1983). Thus, language is a critical area for intervention and must be dealt with as early as possible. Whether through speech therapy or an augmentative system, the main focus of intervention should be on producing functional language for communication (Light, 1983). All children with ASD display restricted, repetitive and stereotyped models of behaviour and interests (Rosenberg et al. , 2008). Children with ASD may have an extreme preoccupation with a particular subject or object which they are infatuated with to the exclusion of any other activity, or may engage in behaviours such as rocking, spinning or finger flicking (Rosenberg et al. 2008). This can impact on learning because it is hard to motivate a student with ASD to take an interest in learning about new subject areas as well as concentrating and staying on task. Most children with ASD are intolerant of change and insist on having the same routines or rituals followed every day. If not maintained, they may become awfully distresse d and may even engage in self-injurious behaviours such as biting, scratching or punching which the child inflicts upon their own body (Rosenberg et al. , 2008). This can be very serious and educators must try to determine the cause and motivation behind the behaviour in order to alleviate it. The child for example may be frustrated about something, may be seeking sensory stimulation, or may be doing it for attention. Once the source of the problem is established a constructive method for treatment can be developed. Some strategies include, tactical ignoring, positive reinforcement, giving the child stimulating activities, and in some cases medication. Rosenberg et al. (2008, p. 255) advise that in educational settings, using the behavioural theory is most useful. Children with ASD might also have difficulty absorbing or interpreting the processes of some or all senses. Some individuals may suffer hypersensitivity to lights or sounds, some may have tactile sensitivity and avoid touching certain objects. This can affect the childs focus, attention span, ability to stay on task, coordination and motivation to participate in certain activities. All of these implications interfere with the everyday activities children are involved in at school and can make learning very challenging. This can affect the childs ability to learn effectively, perform basic tasks, and form friendships. Yet with the right strategies in place their developmental progress in all areas can be enhanced (Ferraioli Harris, 2010). 2. 1 Classroom Challenges: Teachers may face a number of challenges in the classroom when educating a student with ASD however, with the correct approach these students can become active contributors in the classroom. Even though each child with ASD will differ greatly on an individual level, all will present common obstacles for the classroom. Teachers must be able to meet the needs of students by creating an inclusive and productive learning environment for all. As children with ASD often have limited communication abilities and inadequate social skills, it can be challenging for the teacher to implement effective learning activities that cater for all developmental levels within the classroom. It can also be difficult to for them to form meaningful friendships which can lead to isolation. Problems in these areas often lead to difficult behaviour (Trapani, 2004). This is a provision endorsed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that students with disabilities are educated to the maximum extent appropriate with students who do not have disabilities (Osborne Dimattia, 1994, p. 1). This most commonly consists of inclusive programming in mainstream classrooms with individual programming, in addition to having necessary support. By creating an Individual Education Plan (IEP) for each child with ASD, the teacher can focus on the childs strengths, program according to the childs needs and adapt the classroom environment to maximise learning. Many accommodations can be made to classroom practices which will enhance the learning opportunities for all students as many of the instruction techniques applied to children with ASD can also apply to a number of other children in the classroom. For example, a highly recommended approach to teaching students with ASD is to use visual aids because students with ASD often demonstrate strengths in concrete thinking, rote memory and visual-spatial relationships (Australian Advisory Board on Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2008). While this is beneficial to the student with ASD it will also be beneficial to many other students in the classroom who are also visual learners. Rosenberg et al. (2008) advises that one crucial step towards making sure children with ASD are included in a positive way in the classroom is to ensure that classmates are well informed about the special needs of a peer with ASD. Students with ASD who had positive inclusion experiences had nondisabled classmates who were told explicitly about their peers special needs (Rosenberg et al. , 2008, p. 261). In New South Wales, the State of NSW, Department of Education (2004) and Training have developed the Disability Action Plan 2004 to 2006 in order to comply with the New South Wales Disability Services Act 1993 and the Australian Government Disability Discrimination Act (1992). Education providers, including teachers in New South Wales are expected to comply with the standards of the Action Plan in order to ensure that every child, no matter their disability receives a quality education and is given every opportunity to reach their full potential (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006). This must be done through taking appropriate measures to ensure that programs are designed to cater for individual requirements so that any student with a disability is able to participate in learning experiences on the same basis as a student without a disability, and without any discrimination (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006). People with disabilities have the same basic rights as anyone else and should be treated equally. 3. 1 Ethical Standards for Teachers: Parallel to this, teachers also have ethical responsibilities to adhere to. Teachers must value and respect the diversity of all students by putting their welfare and educational needs first (Groundwater-Smith et al. , 2006). Teachers are obligated to ensure that all students with disabilities are free of any discrimination, are treated fairly, have appropriate adaptations in place, receive suitable support to assist learning, programs of study are provided in a way which the student can learn effectively, and that assessment is adapted so that the student can clearly demonstrate their understanding or competency (Groundwater-Smith et al. , 2006). Teachers must ensure that students with disabilities are free of victimisation or harassment, and that adjustments are made to facilities and programs to cater for their needs (Commonwealth of Australia, 2006). Teachers also need to promote acceptance of people with disabilities amongst other teachers, students and the wider community. 4. 0 Conclusion: In conclusion ASD is a disorder where those diagnosed with it are identified with having impairments in social interaction, communication and behaviours. As a result all students with ASD have unique learning styles and experience difficulties in educational settings. References: http://www.autismaus.com.au/uploads/file/pdfs/EI_Position_Paper_AAB_June_08.pdf http://www.autism.org.uk/

Old Man And The Sea Essays (378 words) - American Literature

Old Man And The Sea The Old Man and the Sea was written by Ernest Hemingway who was born July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois. He later died of suicide in 1961 in Idaho. This book was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1953, and Hemingway won the Nobel Prize in literature in 1954. He was an ambulance driver in World War I and wrote many major works. CHARACTERS Santiago, the main character, was a wise old Cuban fisherman who was very experienced in the ways of the sea. Despite his age he had young eyes and great determination to catch the Marlin. Santiago had to survive much pain and loneliness to capture the Marlin The Marlin was eighteen feet long and purple with stripes on his side. This fish eventually became Santiago's brother. It demonstrated its great skill and mobility by fighting for three days before being caught. Manolin, a young boy, admired and learned how to fish from Santiago. The boy was caring towards the old man and refused to allow Santiago to fish alone again. PLOT Santiago had gone eighty-four days without catching a fish, and Manolin's family refused to allow the boy to fish with the old man because they believed that he had bad luck. The night before the old man was going to fish, the boy and the man talked baseball, which they both loved. The next day Santiago caught a big marlin which started to drag the boat. The fish continued to swim and did not seem to lose much energy. While it took three days for the old man to catch the marlin, he had to catch other fish for nourishment. Santiago's hands were cut and bruised from the line; his back was extremely sore, and he was acting strangely, talking and arguing with himself. Then on the way back to the village, sharks ate the marlin despite the old man's trying everything to stop them. After the long trip home, Santiago was exhausted but was considered a hero by the village people after they measured the length of the fish's skeleton. The boy was worried and promised to always go with Santiago from then on. SETTING This book takes place in Cuba in the 1940's. The story continues over the course of three days. Distinguishing Characteristics Hemingway's style of writing is direct and terse. He challenges the reader to think about human emotions and courage.

Armenian Genocide essays

Armenian Genocide essays The Armenian genocide was perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkish government against its defenseless and law-abiding citizens, who were a Christian minority in a Muslim state. This was a campaign instigated and carried out by a regimental government against its loyal subjects. The rationale behind this horrendous massacre is political, but its aim was to loot, destroy and seize Armenian properties and businesses, and to perform the complete annihilation of a culture and civilization. Although the Turkish government currently denies that an Armenian genocide occurred and claims instead that Armenians were being removed from the eastern war zone, the systematic fashion and widespread organization of the genocide proves that it was directed by the Young Turkish government. The political atmosphere of the Ottoman Empire in the late 19th and early 20th centuries was tempestuous; when the Ottoman government entered the European War in 1914 it had ruled Armenia for only four hundred years, and a majority of its population was comprised of the Armenian people (Houannisian 24). The Armenian citizens were scattered throughout the Ottoman Empire; the whole Empire was their heritage, and it was a heritage that they were required to share with the Turks, who held the reins of political power. The alternative to an Ottoman State was not an Armenian State, but a partition among the Powers, which would have ended the ambitions of Turk and Armenian alike. The Powers concerned were prepared for a partition, but an agreement on division was not within reach. The problem the Armenians faced was not how to overthrow the Ottoman Empire but how to preserve it, and their interest in its preservation was even greater than that of their Turkish neighbors and co-heirs. Therefore, a national entente with the Turks was imperative, and seemed attainable in the middle of the nineteenth century. The efforts of Sultan Mahmoud and the influences from France and ...

The Long History of Perfume

The Long History of Perfume Perfume is thousands of years old, with evidence of the first perfumes dating back to Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia and Cyprus. The English word perfume comes from the Latin per fume, meaning through smoke. History of Perfume Around the World The Ancient Egyptians were the first to incorporate perfume into their culture, followed by the ancient Chinese, Hindus, Israelites, Carthaginians, Arabs, Greeks, and Romans.   The oldest perfumes ever found were discovered by archeologists in Cyprus. They were more than four thousand years old. A cuneiform tablet from Mesopotamia, dating back more than three thousand years, identifies a woman named Tapputi as the first recorded perfume maker. But perfumes could also be found in India at the time. The earliest use of perfume bottles is Egyptian and dates to around 1000 BCE. The Egyptians invented glass and perfume bottles were one of the first common uses for glass. Persian and Arab chemists helped codify the production of perfume and its use spread throughout the world of classical antiquity. The rise of Christianity, however, saw a decline in the use of perfume for much of the Dark Ages. It was the Muslim world that kept the traditions of perfume alive during this time- and helped trigger its revival with the onset of international trade. The 16th century saw the popularity of perfume explode in France, especially among the upper classes and nobles. With help from â€Å"the perfume court,† the court of Louis XV, everything got perfumed: Furniture, gloves, and other clothing.   The 18th-century invention of eau de cologne helped the perfume industry continue to grow.   Uses of Perfume One of the oldest uses of perfume comes from the burning of incense and aromatic herbs for religious services, often the aromatic gums, frankincense and myrrh gathered from trees.  It did not take long, though, for people to discover perfume’s romantic potential and it was used both for seduction and as preparation for love-making. With the arrival of eau de cologne, 18th-century France began using perfume for a broad range of purposes. They used it in their bath water, in poultices and enemas, and consumed it in wine or drizzled on a sugar lump. Although niche perfume makers remain to cater to the very rich, perfumes today enjoy widespread use- and not just among women. The selling of perfume, however, is no longer just the purview of perfume makers. In the 20th century, clothing designers began marketing their own lines of scents, and almost any celebrity with a lifestyle brand can be found hawking a perfume with their name (if not smell) on it.

Walmart case study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Walmart - Case Study Example This together with the ‘open door policy’ states that management needed to consider the â€Å"associates† views in the decision making process. Walton was against worker unionization and he argues that it would lead to establishment of restrictive work regulations and dramatic pay hikes. Furthermore, he came up with the â€Å"sun down rule† which encouraged workers to complete their tasks on time (Hill and Jones, 2009). His policies were based on getting workers to perform to their level best while paying the insufficient salaries. However, they would be rewarded in stock ownership plans and profit sharing schemes. This strategy has worked for years nonetheless; it has been facing issues in the recent times. Issues Facing This Strategy This strategy has led the company to great heights and sustained its exemplary financial performance over the years. Over the recent past, there have been various issues emerging from the application of this strategy (Anthony , Kacmar and Perrewe, 2002). Wal-Mart is the private entity with the highest number of â€Å"associates† world over. This has created numerous problems with regards to human resource management. In the past, the company has been relying on the strategy of encouraging the employees to work hard with the promise of getting a promotion or incentives through stock ownership and profit sharing. This strategy has been regarded as being highly unfair as workers are exploited to work for long hours and they are not duly compensated for their contribution. Furthermore, it has been observed that the company rarely fulfills its promise of sharing its employees through profit sharing. The company has been faced by several law suits over pressuring their employees to work for long hours without paying them overtime wages. Moreover, the company has been under attack for paying its employees peanuts and pressuring them to work too hard (Heskett, 2011). This has resulting to increasing dissa tisfaction among the workforce and can be attributed to the decline in the company’s performance in the recent past. This policy is aimed at increasing the company’s productivity while totally ignoring the â€Å"associates† plight and contribution towards the company’s success. In most competitive firms, worker remuneration is based on output and this should be the case for the giant retailer. Labor unions have attempted to intervene but to no avail. The company’s â€Å"associates† are continually oppressed as its reputation and financial glory go down the drain. Labor unions have made concerted efforts to unionize the employees over the years but they have fallen on deaf ears. Wal-Mart has been noted to be one of the few companies that have strongly opposed against unionization of the â€Å"associates†. The company management argues that labor unions champion for increased salaries and impose strict working regulations (Heskett, 2011 ). This move is regarded to be highly capitalistic and aims at maximizing the company’s profits at the workers’ expense. This has created negative publicity concerning the company and if no immediate action is taken, it could have further detrimental effects on its profitability. In addition to, the company has

Reflective Journaling Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Reflective Journaling - Essay Example me a sense and meaning of the information being presented, yet, engaging in activities based on that information does further strengthen my grasp and insight into what is being taught. It is the practical application of the grasped information and facts that brings in an element of conviction in the overall learning outcome. Hence, I do happen to adhere to an adaptive learning style. I have realized through experience that the greater the extent of senses and learning faculties involved in a learning situation, the better rends to be the learning outcome (Wills, 2005, p. 14). Thereby, I did make an effort to gain a measure of proficiency in all types of learning styles. To be able to adapt to varied teaching and management styles, it is important for an individual to develop a measure of competency in different types of learning styles and approaches. Sticking to a single learning or management styles does hamper learning. This is because in the practical life one is bound to come across superiors, colleagues and subordinates who are comfortable with one or other different types of communication and management styles. It is a fact that every person happens to be more at home with certain specific teaching and management styles. However, a proactive approach towards gaining proficiency in various types of learning styles enhances the learning experiences one comes across. This allows a learner to coordinate with a teacher or a superior disseminating information and instructions using a specific style and approach and to adapt the insights so gained into a compatible form and format For instance if a teacher lectures a visual learner, such a learner can grasp and preserve the information being conveyed in a verbal format by translating it into visual formats like mind maps (Bulkeley, 2004, p. 80). The same can be done by a visual learner in a professional environment where the boss is used to verbal communication. Going by the fact that I am an individual with a

Servant Leadership Essay Example for Free

Servant Leadership Essay Servant leadership is a very hard thing to accomplish sometimes due to the fact that it can be difficult to fully put others in front of our own needs or wants. â€Å"The reality is that we’re all self-serving to a degree because we come into this world with a self-serving heart†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦The journey of life is to move from a self-serving heart to a serving heart. You finally become an adult when you realize that life is about what you give rather than what you get,† (Kouzes and Posner, p. 105). One way to become an effective servant leader is to watch and learn from other servant leaders. Another way is by learning from your own personal experiences with servant leaders. One of the first person that enabled me to act as a servant leader was my mom and dad. My mom and dad have different servant leadership qualities. I have absorbed their qualities over the years by the example that they set for my sister and I growing up. I think that for my family these are qualities that have been passed down through several generations for both on my mom’s side of the family as well as my dad’s side. â€Å"The core of any family is what is changeless, what is always going to be there—shared vision and values,† (Covey, 2004, p. 138). When it comes to my dad, he has always had a Win/Win attitude. â€Å"The principle of Win/Win is fundamental to success in all our interactions, and embraces five interdependent dimensions of life. It begins with character and moves toward relationships, out of which flow agreements. It is nurtured in an environment where structure and systems are based on Win/Win,† (Covey, 2004, p.216). My dad has a very strong character and he is content with his life. I believe that he has all of the three character traits that are described in the book, ‘The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People,’ by Stephen Covey. He has integrity, maturity, and abundance mentality. I think that in every situation my dad has shown these qualities in my life and has always put others in front of his own needs, especially family. My mom has always taught me to try and see the situation from someone else’s side before I react or judge someone. â€Å"As you learn to listen deeply to other people, you will discover tremendous differences in perception. You will also begin to appreciate the impact that these differences can have as people try to work together in interdependent situations,† (Covey, 2004, p.253). My mom has always been a great listener in her professional and personal life. She worked as a nurse practitioner for over 30 years, so she has really had to listen to people and then try in taking the information that she was given into a diagnoses for that person. In her personal life she has always been available for me to talk to her about anything. I have never felt judged by her when I had to share something that I was proud of and she always would try to understand my thinking on the particular situation. She would take the information that I would tell her and analyze it and try to understand it and then she would give her advice or opinion on the matter. When I hear the phrase â€Å"servant leadership,† I always think of Jesus. I think he is the greatest example that we have for a servant leader. He never asked any of his followers to do something that he wouldn’t do himself. â€Å"Jesus embodies the ultimate example of someone who fostered collaboration and strengthened individuals. A lot of people talk about Jesus as if he were a soloist. They seem to forget that a large part of his ministry was in collaboration with others,† (Kouzes and Posner, p.87). Jesus served other people through his teachings and examples. He was able to build a team that work together and a sense of trustworthiness with every member of his team. My final goal as a leader is to build trust between my coworkers and I and also to have a sense of synergy in my professional and personal life on a frequent basis. Organizations that seem to have trust among their employees are usually successful. It also seems that the organizations that don’t frequently trust at all will not be successful and fail. I know that being any kind of effective leader take work, but I know that I have the patience to battle through the tough times and enjoy the good and successful times  with my ‘teammates,’ whether it is my personal family or my professional family. â€Å"May we learn to see people through God’s eyes and enable them to act. May we learn to make heroes of those we lead, I’m grateful that many people modeled these leadership practices for me and for you. Someday, let it also be said of us that we came alongside and helped another human being flourish in their calling,† (Kouzes and Posner, p.97-98). Word Count: 841 References: Covey, S. (2004). The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. New York, NY: Simon Schuster Inc. Kouzes, J. M., Posner, B. Z. Christian Reflections on the Leadership Challenge. (2004). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.

U.S. Grant :: essays research papers

Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant rose to command all the Federal armies in the Civil War. Ulysses Hiram Grant was born April 27, 1822, in a two room frame house at Point Pleasant, Ohio. His father, Jesse Root Grant, was foreman in a tannery. When Grant was one his parents moved to Georgetown where they had five more children there, two boys and three girls. At seventeen Grant was harvesting, and hauling wood. his father got him an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point that year. In spite of grants real middle name they used Grants', mothers' maiden name, Simpson. He made few friends at West Point due to being shy and quiet. Grant was in almost every battle of the Mexican War. This experience, he said, was of great value to him, because he became acquainted with nearly all the officers of the regular army. Some of them including the great soldier Robert E. Lee were to be on the Confederate side in the Civil War. Grant came back from Mexico a captain, with favorable mention. In the Mexican War Grant formed the habit of drinking. Grant spent two years on the Pacific coast and missed his second childs birth. His colonel asked for his resignation due to him drinking and wearing sloppy uniforms, and Grant borrowed money from him to return home. Julias father gave Grant 80 acres to farm, near St. Louis. Grant called the place Hardscrabble. Two more children were born and Grant couldnt support his growing family so Grant worked as a clerk, selling hides to saddle makers and cobbles. After Fort Sumter was fired on April 12, 1861, President Lincoln issued a call to arms. Within two weeks Grant was drilling volunteers in Galena, because, as he said, there was no one else to do the job, the gathering was completed and Grant left. A few weeks later the governor telegraphed him to come back and accept the rank of colonel because the men he had recruited had asked for him. Grant reached his headquarters at Cairo, Illinois, September 4, 1861. Grant then set to work t o prepare his men for a long, hard struggle. In February 1862 Grant advanced into Tennessee. While he was invading this fort, the Confederate general, Simon B. Buckner asked for a truce. This was the same officer who in had loaned Grant money to rejoin his family in 1858. U.S. Grant :: essays research papers Ulysses S. Grant Ulysses S. Grant rose to command all the Federal armies in the Civil War. Ulysses Hiram Grant was born April 27, 1822, in a two room frame house at Point Pleasant, Ohio. His father, Jesse Root Grant, was foreman in a tannery. When Grant was one his parents moved to Georgetown where they had five more children there, two boys and three girls. At seventeen Grant was harvesting, and hauling wood. his father got him an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point that year. In spite of grants real middle name they used Grants', mothers' maiden name, Simpson. He made few friends at West Point due to being shy and quiet. Grant was in almost every battle of the Mexican War. This experience, he said, was of great value to him, because he became acquainted with nearly all the officers of the regular army. Some of them including the great soldier Robert E. Lee were to be on the Confederate side in the Civil War. Grant came back from Mexico a captain, with favorable mention. In the Mexican War Grant formed the habit of drinking. Grant spent two years on the Pacific coast and missed his second childs birth. His colonel asked for his resignation due to him drinking and wearing sloppy uniforms, and Grant borrowed money from him to return home. Julias father gave Grant 80 acres to farm, near St. Louis. Grant called the place Hardscrabble. Two more children were born and Grant couldnt support his growing family so Grant worked as a clerk, selling hides to saddle makers and cobbles. After Fort Sumter was fired on April 12, 1861, President Lincoln issued a call to arms. Within two weeks Grant was drilling volunteers in Galena, because, as he said, there was no one else to do the job, the gathering was completed and Grant left. A few weeks later the governor telegraphed him to come back and accept the rank of colonel because the men he had recruited had asked for him. Grant reached his headquarters at Cairo, Illinois, September 4, 1861. Grant then set to work t o prepare his men for a long, hard struggle. In February 1862 Grant advanced into Tennessee. While he was invading this fort, the Confederate general, Simon B. Buckner asked for a truce. This was the same officer who in had loaned Grant money to rejoin his family in 1858.

Speech of Introduction

The Speech of Introduction Name Class Time Introduction A. Acknowledge the Audience & Occasion: Good Morning foreign exchange students of Auburn University. I would like to welcome all of you to Auburn University first annual Foreign Exchange Student seminar B. Attention Getter: Our speaker for today Is smart, dedicated, and multi-talented young lady. C. Theses/Preview: It Is my pleasure to do the honor of Introducing all of you to SQL.I will inform you about her introspection on being a foreign exchange student, and her assign and interest for painting. Body (Establish Speaker's Credibility) A. Foreign Exchange: 1) Sin Is a part of the 1-2-1 program where she will be able to receive two degrees from each Troy University and Yuan Nan University In China. 2) Sin Is currently on her second year of college. 3) SQL enjoys being an International student, and her reasons for why are to vaults America and experience the extravagant American lifestyle. ) Sin also enjoys the traveling to and from America (All 20 hours of it) 5) Although there are many airdrops of being a foreign exchange student and English being her 2nd language, she loves the experience and suggests you make lots and lots of friends but most importantly to work hard and study hard. Transition: Now that I have examined Sin's insights on being a Foreign exchange student, I will now contemplate on her love for painting. B. 1) 2) Appalling SQL Is a very talented and dedicated painter In high school, she was an important member to the Art Club for 2 years 3) Show for Painting when she was a senior. ) She loved painting so much that she achieved a Job as a Painting teacher so that she could devote her time and passions into teaching children how to paint. Conclusion A. Cue/Review: In conclusion, now that I have given you insights on our speakers experiences and passion for painting B. Welcome Speaker/Topic: Please help me welcome Sin Sheen, who will offer her wisdom on being a foreign exchange student, with a round of applause. Delivery A. Eye contact B. Gestures C. Enthusiastically variety D. Time A. Acknowledge the Audience: Good Morning foreign exchange students of Troy University.B. Occasion: I would like to welcome all of you to Troy University first annual Foreign Exchange Student seminar C. Attention Getter: Our speaker for today is smart, dedicated, and multi-talented D. Thesis: It is my pleasure to do the honor of introducing all of you to Sin Sheen. Her passion and interest for painting. 1) Sin is a part of the 1-2-1 program where she will be able to receive two degrees from each Troy University and Yuan Nan University in China. 2) Sin enjoys being an foreign exchange student because of the American lifestyle and the traveling to and from America.All 20 hours of it) 3) Although there are many hardships of being a foreign exchange student and English being her 2nd language, she loves the experience and suggests you make lots and lots of friends but most importantly to work ha rd and study hard. 1) Sin is a very talented and dedicated painter. 2) she was an important member of her school's Art Club for 2 years 3) Her most substantial moment of being a painter was winning 1st prize in her schools Art Show. 4) She loved painting so much that she once devoted her time into teaching younger kids to paint.

Reward Management System

TERM PAPER OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TOPIC: REWARD MANAGEMENT SYSTEM {draw:frame} SUBMITTED TO: SUBMITTED BY: OVERVIEW: REWARD MANAGEMENT Reward management is about the development, implementation, maintenance communication, and evaluation of reward processes. These processes deal with the assessment of relative job values, the design and management of pay structures, performance management, paying for performance, competence or skill (contingent pay), the provision of employee benefits and pensions, and management of reward procedure. Employers and mangers should pay attention to their employees and special attention to the best employees. This is done to encourage good performers, to push them to greater heights. Positive recognition for people can ensure a positive and a productive organization. The recognition of outstanding performance aims to create an understanding of what behavior might add significant value to the organization and to promote such behavior. Awards- monetary and non-monetary – should be given based on the achievements and accomplishments of workers. The Business Research Lab, 2006) But first, let's take a quick look at the primary goals of rewards and recognition. Jack Zigon defines rewards as â€Å"_something than increases the frequency of an employee action_† (1998). This definition points to an obvious desired outcome of rewards and recognition: to improve performance. Non-monetary recognition can be very motivating, helping to build feelings of confidence and satisfaction (Keller 1999). Another important goal is increased employee retention. An ASTD report on retention research identified consistent employee recognition as a key factor in retaining top-performing workers. (Jimenez 1999). COMPONENTS OF REWARD SYSTEM An organization’s reward system compromises three components- Monetary rewards, Non-monetary rewards and psychological satisfaction. Monetary rewards Monetary rewards are those paid by any negotiable instrument- cash, cheque, money order and direct deposit. It can also be any item that can be readily converted to cash such as savings bonds or gift –cards/certificates. Non-monetary rewards These can be in the form of meals, trips, plaques, trophies, desk items, cups and mugs, personal items and clothing such as caps, shirts and sweatshirts and other items such as tools, electronics, radios and sports equipments. Psychological satisfaction This form of reward includes opportunities to perform meaningful work, social interactions with others in the workplace, job training, career advancement opportunities, recognition, employer brand, and a host of similar factors. REWARD SYSTEM {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:rect} * {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} * {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:li ne} * {draw:line} * {draw:rect} * {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} * {draw:line} * {draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:rect} draw:line} {draw:rect} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:line} {draw:rect} LINKAGE OF PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT TO REWARD SYSTEM Performance management is concerned with measuring individuals' effectiveness in their roles, understanding their aspirations and determining which development actions would be most appropriate. Reward management is about understanding individuals' motivating factors, and determining the level of pay, bonus and other rewards they receive. In some organizations the links between the two are strong and explicit, while in others they are kept deliberately separate. Work in these areas can be prompted by evidence of employee dissatisfaction, such as high turnover or poor morale, or by the desire to drive a change in some aspect of employees' behavior. The effectiveness of an organization's performance and reward management can have a major impact not only on morale and productivity but also its ability to attract and retain staff. Many companies have found that far from complementing the stated aims of the business, their performance and reward systems were actually driving counter-productive behavior. Motivation and Reward System Management Employee motivation is the psychological feature that arouses an employee to behave in a certain manner for accomplishing certain organizational goals. It is imperative for the organization to enhance motivation level of the employees in order to bring out the best in them. The motivation-level of the sales force must be kept high in order that the sales force efficiently realizes the sales goals. Reward system management is the framework that envisions formulation of different types of reward systems to boost the motivation of the salespersons. Role of Compensation and Rewards* in Organization: Compensation and Reward system plays vital role in a business organization. Since, among four Ms, i. _e__ Men, Material, Machine and Money, _Men has been most important factor, it is impossible to imagine a business process without Men. Land, Labor, Capital and Organization are four major factors of production. Every factor contributes to the process of production/business. It expects return from the business process such as Rent is the return expected by the Landlord. imilarly Capitalist expects Interest and Organizers i. e Entrepreneur expects profits. The labour expects wages from the process. It is evident that other factors are in-human factors and as such labour plays vital role in bringing about the process of production/business in motion. The other factors being human, has expectations, emotions, ambitions and egos. Labour therefore expects to have fair share in the business/production process. Advantages of Fair Compensation System: Therefore a fair compensation system is a must for every business organization. The fair compensation system will help in the following: If an ideal compensation system is designed, it will have positive impact on the efficiency and results produced by workmen. Such system will encourage the normal worker to perform better and achieve the standards fixed. this system will encourage the process of job evaluation. It will also help in setting up an ideal job evaluation, which will have transparency, and the standards fixing would be more realistic and achievable. Such a system would be well defined and uniform. It will be apply to all the levels of the organization as a general system. The system would be simple and flexible so that every worker/recipient would be able to compute his own compensation receivable. Such system would be easy to implement, so that it would not penalize the workers for the reasons beyond their control and would not result in exploitation of workers. It will raise the morale, efficiency and cooperation among the workers. It, being just and fair would provide satisfaction to the workers. Such system would help management in complying with the various labor acts. Such system would also bring about amicable settlement of disputes between the workmen union and management. 10. The system would embody itself the principle of equal work equal wages. Encouragement for those who perform better and opportunities for those who wish to excel. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY DATA COLLECTION The data I’ve chosen for my study is SECONDARY data. The relevant secondary data is collected from the sources like Internet and books. RESEARCH OBJECTIVES The purpose of this study is to: Investigate the relationship between the human resource function and payroll administration Evaluate the link between pay and performance Understanding the overall objectives and structure of the organisation, and the factors that have prompted the review of performance and reward Understanding how the current performance and reward management systems work, how they are perceived, and what effect they are having Agreeing what behaviours and capabilities should be rewarded, and what reward elements and approaches should be used, for which employees Goals and objectives of rewarding in an organization The main purpose of this rewarding strategy is to support business goals and to recruit and retain high performers’ . Compensation and rewarding is important. A recognition programme can be arranged anytime and it does not have to be expensive. All it needs is fairness, high visibility and consistency. To be fair, a programme must not favor one employee over another. Making certain that a programme is highly visible will help to ensure consistent implementation . The reward should just be part of the process. Recognition, however, can be achieved by the reward given at a gathering of employees. A good manager automatically knows that employee satisfaction is essential to healthy teamwork and productivity. The best manager will always try to find ways to bring out the strengths in every employee but when an employee just isn't fit for the job, the manager should take a hard look for a better way to use their talents. Management To insure fair and consistent application, set of rewards and recognition programmes should be developed. This should be characterized by pre-arranged frequently scheduled ways of acknowledging contributions and accomplishments for an individual or team. Reward and recognition should be given as acknowledgements and appreciation for attendance, safety, customer service, productivity, public service, outstanding achievements and the like. Attendance reward is given as an incentive to reduce the number of unplanned sick days or lost days due to injury and to reduce the level of over time required to back bill absent employees. Customer service rewards help to promote and recognize employees for outstanding customer service. Sales award provides an incentive for employees to increase the sales margin over the previous fiscal year, such as in a bookstall. Another approach to employee recognition is by providing employee rewards and recognition at anytime for demonstration of behaviors and values of the organization; contributions to the goals and objectives of the organization or work unit and to acknowledge individual or team accomplishments. Such behaviors and contribution are team work, project completion, suggestion for a new or modified business practice, exemplary efforts, employee appreciation, employee of the month and honouring separating employees. PAY AND REWARD SYSTEM Pay is an important feature of human resource management – after all, it is the main reason why people work. It is a sensitive and controversial area that has been extensively debated at both practical and theoretical levels. In the US the term ‘compensation' is used to encompass everything received by an employed individual in return for work. For example, Milcovich et al (2001: 6) state that: â€Å"Employees may see compensation as a return in exchange between their employer and themselves, as an entitlement for being an employee of the company, or as a reward for a job well done†. The term ‘reward management' covers both the strategy and the practice of pay systems. Traditionally, human resource or personnel sections have been concerned with levels and schemes of payment whereas the process of paying employees – the payroll function – has been the responsibility of finance departments. There is a trend towards integrating the two, driven by new computerized packages offering a range of facilities. There are two basic types of pay schemes, although many organizations have systems which include elements of both: Fixed levels of pay. Wages or salaries which do not vary from one period to the next except by defined pay increases, generally on annual basis. There may be scales of payments determined by age, responsibility or seniority. Most ‘white-collar' jobs were paid in this way until recently. Reward linked to performance. The link may be daily, weekly, monthly or annualized. Payment for any one period varies from that for any other period, depending on quantity or quality of work. Sales functions are commonly paid on the basis of turnover; manual and production workers may be paid according to work completed or items produced. Catering staff typically rely on direct payment from satisfied customers in the form of service charges or tips (gratuities). Both methods work smoothly, provided that scales are easy to understand and the methods of measuring completed work are overt, accurate and fair. However, there has been considerable dissatisfaction with the management of pay on both sides of the employment relationship. In recent years, attempts have been made to remedy the situation through new systems and a greater reliance on performance-related pay. 5 Ways to Reward Employees (Without Spending a Dime) Your firm's employees work hard (well, most of them). And in a world where corporations like to boast about running â€Å"lean and mean,† it may seem nearly impossible to compensate employees for doing good work without breaking the budget. Here's the hard-earned advice to reward employees. 1. Flex those hours. If there's one free reward that rises above the rest, it's flexible work schedules. Nearly every expert suggested flex time as a perk that offers the most gain with the least pain. Give a little latitude in determining work schedules and to take time for family or personal issues (such as doctor’s appointment and banking errands),† advised Richard Martin, president of Alcera Consulting Inc. â€Å"As long as the employee is deserving and doesn’t abuse the privilege, this can go a long way to building trusting and mature relationships with key workers. † 2. Send a handwritten note. Supervisors should ask top brass to write a personal note to employees who deserve recognition. For example, Advanced MD CEO Jim Pack handwrites his thank-you notes to employees on a $2 bill. In three years of doing this, only one employee has asked if he could spend it,† said company spokesman John Pilmer. 3. Make work fun. â€Å"Everyone must be having fun and socializing while doing work. The environment of the organization must be very conducive. 4. Help them connect. Introducing employees to key suppliers, customers or someone in senior management can help make an employee's career, and it won't cost you a thing. 5. Lose the shoes. Kerrie Ray, an account executive with the Echo Media Group public relations irm, said implementing a â€Å"no-shoes policy† can make employees feel right at home with each other, which translates into increased productivity. (But she suggests keeping the footwear handy in case clients come in. ) â€Å"It's great to be in an office where employees are more concerned about doing quality work than what shoes or jewelry they have on,† she said. â€Å"We get so much done. † 6. Send them to the showers. (As in parties, not lathering and rinsing. ) â€Å"Every birth and wedding deserves a shower,†. â€Å"Echo employees always leave early on shower days, and the food is on the house. No need to make up the time. † 7. Reward effort as well as success. Even if their ideas sometimes fail, you want employees to keep producing them, said Alan Weiss, president of the Summit Consulting Group Inc. â€Å"When I consulted with the CEO of Calgon, we created an annual award for ‘the best idea that didn't work' and presented a loving cup at the annual awards dinner. This stimulated innovation and positive behavior, not ‘winning. ‘† 8. Give them a free pass. Levine suggests giving out a certain number of free days off to employees to use as they see fit. Employees get a few of these a year and can use them as they like,† she said. â€Å"They don't have to pretend to be sick. They can go to the beach, read a book, play with their kids †¦ it doesn't matter. † 9. Dole out cream and sugar. During the busiest times of the year, executives at the Cigna Group push coffee carts around the office, serving drinks and refreshments to their colleagues, noted Steve Harrison, author of â€Å"The Manager's Book of Decencies: How Small Gestures Build Great Companies. † As they serve, executives coach and encourage colleagues and hear about real consumer issues. 10. Blow out the candles. Cisco Systems Inc. ‘s CEO John Chambers hosts a monthly hour-long birthday breakfast for any employee with a birthday that month, says Harrison. â€Å"Employees are invited to ask him anything. They feel recognized, and he gains loyal employees who share their ideas. † 11. Spread the love. Ask co-workers to write something they truly like or admire about an employee on a scrap of paper, then frame them along with a photograph of the employee, suggested David Russell, author of â€Å"Success With People – A Complete System for Effectively Managing People in Any Organization. † 12. Offer a swap. Giving your best employees a chance to pick their own projects or trade tasks with a colleague empowers and rewards them at the same time, said Harrison. 13. Applaud their efforts — literally. If someone has done something really worthwhile, your entire staff must give them a standing ovation at the next meeting. 14. Say it with flowers. Reward the top employees by bringing in flowers and arranging them in a spectacular crystal vase on their desks. â€Å"Everybody knew what having the custody of the flowers meant,† â€Å"Surprisingly, even the men competed fiercely for custody of the flowers. 15. Walk it as you talk it. The City of Dallas sponsored a walkathon where employees set goals for walking a certain number of steps each day, offering a free gym membership to those who walked the farthest. Not only did they get more fit, they turned their daily walks into traveling staff meetings. â€Å"Group members must be able to update one another on projects, solicit team input and improve their fitness,† 16. Pass the bucks. Handing out monopoly money that can be redeemed for gifts and other goodies may not be strictly free, but it pays off handsomely in the long run. For example, associates at Bank Atlantic can pass out â€Å"WOW! Bucks† to colleagues who've done something outstanding, said bank vice president Gregory Dalmotte. The bucks can eventually be traded in for real goods. â€Å"There's a clear correlation that words of encouragement have created associates who perform at a higher level,† he says. 17. Share the memories. â€Å"My team created a scrapbook chronicling the impact I'd had on their company and gave it to me on my last day in the office,† said Lopeke. â€Å"People who’d worked on my teams wrote testimonials and creative graphics highlighting some our team successes. It's the best gift I ever received in my 40-year career. † 18. Elect them to the Wall of Fame. Several experts suggested setting aside a public space inside your firm and placing photos of employees who've accomplished something truly special, along with the details of what they did to earn their place on the wall. 19. Create your own â€Å"Club Med. † Set aside a quiet space or unused office in your building where employees can meditate, chill out, nap or otherwise re-center themselves, said John Putzier, author of â€Å"Get Weird! 101 Innovative Ways to Make Your Company a Great Place to Work. † 20. Stoke their passion. â€Å"Great employees are not mercenaries,† said Dr. Richard Chang, CEO of Richard Chang Associates Inc. , a performance-improvement consultancy. â€Å"They don’t just want to enjoy their work, they want to be passionate about it †¦ if you want your employees to feel valued and inspire their passion on your behalf, encourage them to make their own decisions. You can have systems in place to control the implementation of ideas, but you must be certain not to compromise the enthusiasm, creativity and hard work that make them possible in the first place. † 21. Give them a place to park it. Reserve the best parking spot for employees who've done something truly worthwhile, said Lopeke. And if it's next to the CEO's Lexus so the employee can chat him or her up on the way into work, so much the better. 22. Remember the spouses. Independent management consultant Nan Amish recalled one time when she had 16 employees trapped in a hotel lobby on a Sunday night, waiting for the ballroom to open so they could set up a trade-show booth. â€Å"I bought flowers at a farmers market, a nice $6 bouquet of roses for each person,† she said. â€Å"I told them to take them home to their significant others, apologizing for me taking them away from their families on a Sunday. The next day I got thank-yous from most of them. One wife sent a letter saying I could keep her husband until Friday. † 23. Publicize their successes. â€Å"We like to publicly recognize employees so the whole company can share in their accomplishments,† noted Scott Ragusa, president of contract businesses for staffing firm The Winter, Wyman Companies. â€Å"Each week, nominations for our quarterly ‘Clutch' award are shared with the whole company. The Clutch nominations are a way to recognize our administrative and nonmanagerial professional staff members who have come through in the clutch in supporting their departments or the firm. 24. Let them phone it in. Telecommuting programs can relieve stress and make workers feel more appreciated, as well as more productive. â€Å"Reward the employee by starting with one day of telecommuting, then add additional days as performance heightens,† suggested Brian Margarita, president of IT staffing firm TalentFuse Inc. â€Å"Having the option to cart the kids to so ccer practice, visit the beach during the afternoon or cut out early to avoid traffic congestion is becoming more important than working an 80-hour week for a larger paycheck. † 25. Remember the secret words. The two most underused words in corporate America that get the highest ROI (return on investment) and ROT (return on your time) are the simple words ‘thank you,'† noted Michael Guld, president of the Guld Resource Group author of â€Å"The Million Dollar Media Rep: How to Become a Television and Radio Sales Superstar. † While telling the employees , appreciation should be obvious, no one does it enough or is specific enough about what the employee did. â€Å"So when you share your appreciation, be specific about what you really liked, so they not only feel appreciated but can do it again. The Do's and Don'ts of Effective Reward Programs Effective Reward Systems. Reward systems should focus on positive reinforcement. Positive reinforcement is the most e ffective tool for encouraging desired behavior because it stimulates people to take actions because they want to because they get something of value (internally or externally) for doing it. An effectively designed and managed reward program can drive an organization's change process by positively reinforcing desired behaviors. There is a criterion for building effective reward systems that is the SMART criteria. These criteria should be used when designing and evaluating programs. Programs should be: Specific: A line of sight should be maintained between rewards and actions. Meaningful: The achievements rewarded should provide an important return on investment to both the performer and the organization. Achievable: The employee's or group's goals should be within the reach of the performers. Reliable: The program should operate according to its principles and purpose. Timely: The recognition/rewards should be provided frequently enough to make performers feel valued for their efforts. Case Study Employee Incentive Safety Program: â€Å"Rim Safe Colleagues at Work† Rim Hospitality is a hotel, resort and boutique property management company offering full-service property management solutions including Rim Office2 hotel property revenue management software, fully integrated real-time payroll, hotel revenue data collection & reporting, and employee staffing and training programs. With rising workers compensation expenses, Rim Hospitality needed to find a cost effective solution that would motivate employees to help reduce these costs, and also maximize efficiencies with employee productivity and scheduling. A comprehensive plan outlining all of the program objectives, requirements, communications, training, projected costs and benefits were developed. A safety team leader was appointed at each property to facilitate the program, maintain frequent communication about the program, and reinforce the messages coming from upper management. Consistent communication from the home office, to team leaders, to colleagues is an important reminder to drive this new behavior. They decided to implement a prepaid MasterCard card as the award. This provided the employee the freedom to choose what they want, when they want it, making them feel truly rewarded. The list of recipients is communicated to Springbok Services each quarter that provides the personalized MasterCard cards with a safety logo and bulk ships them to Rim Hospitality. Awards are handed out at each hotel property to provide a personal touch and give upper management the opportunity to again, reinforce the positive behavior they are looking for and share the results of the program amongst all the hotels in a motivating way. Rim Hospitality experienced positive results almost immediately which have steadily increased. Over two years, they reduced workers compensation claims by 29%. This meant a savings of $634,000 and a 3. 4 to 1 ROI to the bottom line. Peer-to-peer Employee Recognition Program: â€Å"Informal Awards Program† Applied Materials is the global leader in nano manufacturing technology solutions for the electronics industry with a broad portfolio of innovative equipment, services and software products. Applied Materials innovates and commercializes the processing and manufacturing technology that helps semiconductor manufacturers produce the world's most advanced chips. Applied Materials had implemented a peer-to-peer employee recognition program that was being manually tracked and awards were being fulfilled out of their company store. Managing the program was utilizing resources that could be focused on other productive projects. They needed to find a solution that would automate the program and award fulfillment. Applied Materials chose the Reward Incentive Management System (RIMS) from Springbok Services to fulfill this need. RIMS is a web based application that was easy to integrate with The Applied Materials reward and recognition program. RIMS fully automated the process of setting up and tacking budgets, nominating and approving awards, collecting recipient information and streamlining the award fulfillment process through its integration into Springbok’s MasterCard card management system. The goal of the program is to encourage outstanding performance and consistent behavior for employees and temporary or contract personnel to support corporate goals and values related to the following categories: Safety First: Individual award to promote positive safety-related behaviors and/or results that go beyond the normal job scope. Quality Counts: Individual award to promote positive quality-related behaviors and/or results that go beyond the normal job scope. Achieving Excellence: Individual award to promote outstanding behaviors and/or results toward corporate goals and objectives. TEAM Award Together Everyone Achieves More: Award to promote outstanding behaviors and/or results demonstrated or obtained by a team of 10 or less. Employees can nominate each other for awards, email notifications are sent to managers for approval, and once approved, the MasterCard prepaid card is mailed to the recipient. Fulfillment of awards through their company store has been eliminated and the whole award nomination and approval process has been automated and streamlined increasing both employee productivity and satisfaction. Health & Wellness Initiative: â€Å"Healthy Living† The Pepsi Bottling Group (PBG) is the world's largest manufacturer, seller and distributor of Pepsi-Cola beverages — some of the world's most recognized consumer brands. The PBG sales force of more than 30,000 customer representatives sell and deliver nearly 200 million eight-ounce servings of Pepsi-Cola beverages per day. PBG's focus is on superior sales execution, customer service, merchandising and operating excellence. In 2005, PBG was working to better manage the rising cost of health care for its employees. They decided they could do that by educating their employees on various health related issues. To narrow the scope of broad number of health related topics, PBG implemented an employee survey to get feedback on the interest of their employees. Beginning in January 2006, employees were provided the opportunity to complete a healthcare survey and receive a prepaid MasterCard card as an incentive. In addition to the employee receiving the incentive, participating spouses in the healthcare benefits program could qualify as well. Qualifying employees were collected on a weekly basis by a third party healthcare management company and the data file was submitted to Springbok. The prepaid Master Cards were made and mailed directly to the employees who completed the survey. The participation rate from employees in the survey was over double the rate PBG has projected going into the program. Following the survey period, results were analyzed and employees were offered a variety of healthcare educational classes to attend. When the class was completed, the employee received an additional prepaid MasterCard as a reward for completing the class. The educational program is on-going at this time. PBG rolled the program out with a multi-media communications campaign, from emails and newsletters, to direct mail pieces mailed to employee’s homes. A custom branded PBG Healthy Living prepaid MasterCard card was used along with a custom card carrier and envelope. This branding helped tie the incentive back to the program continuing to remind and motivate employees to further participate. They attribute the success of the program to the amount and consistency of communication and the attractiveness and flexibility of the incentive, Springbok’s prepaid MasterCard card. Employee Service Awards Program: â€Å"Iowa Telecom’s Personal Touch† Iowa Telecom is the second largest local telephone company in Iowa. They work hard to provide their customers with reliable dial tone, long distance and Internet services every second of every day. They provide telephone service to over 440 communities across the state. Their 600+ trained professionals are working across the state to provide reliable service with a personal touch. That personal touch is not only conveyed to their customers, but to their employees as well. With the large number of employees and diverse interests they have, Iowa Telecom was faced with trying to consolidate their service anniversary awards program, to a streamlined, single awards program. After considering a variety of different awards, Iowa Telecom decided to utilize Springbok’s prepaid Service Awards MasterCard. Since the fall of 2002, Iowa Telecom has been awarding their employees for length of service, celebrating the employees’ anniversary during the month it occurs. Each calendar year, an employee file is sent to Springbok to manage the program and order the prepaid MasterCard. Orders are placed for people whose anniversaries are in the following month. That schedule, gives Iowa Telecom plenty of lead time to verify the employee’s status and provide payment for the order. Orders are fulfilled and the prepaid MasterCard cards are bulk shipped to Iowa Telecom’s human resource department. They utilize the â€Å"service awards† branded card to reinforce what the incentive is for and the card is personalized with the employees name for that special recognition. To show appreciation to these loyal employees, Iowa Telecom President, Alan L. Wells, includes a letter of appreciation acknowledging the employees loyalty for service. This personal touch is consistent with the pleasant work environment and efforts to recognize and reward employees for their achievements. The program has been running over 4 years and employee feedback has been positive with regard to receiving the prepaid MasterCard card as it provides them the flexibility to choose their own reward by purchasing what they want, from millions of places, wherever MasterCard debit cards are accepted. Employee Sales Incentive Program: â€Å"Balkamp – NAPA Auto Parts† NAPA purchases auto parts from various manufacturers and redistributes them to NAPA warehouses. The role of Balkamp is to take the NAPA Auto Parts Store into new markets and to provide the necessary support to enable the store to gain market share. Balkamp adds value to NAPA stores through packaging, order quantities, catalogs, sales, pricing, service, promotions, warranty, obsolescence, innovation, and a product mix that includes hard parts, tools and equipment, accessories, service items, performance and SUV accessories, and chemicals. Coordinating with so many different parts manufacturers and their individual incentive programs, Balkamp was challenged with finding a way to increase sales by their district reps to their franchises and streamline the payments to the sales team upon achieving their goals. Balkamp also needed the flexibility of managing multiple incentive programs at the same time for multiple manufacturers. Grouping the awards into one payment vehicle simplified the process for Balk amp and the recipient. Balkamp selected a re-loadable prepaid MasterCard debit card that can be used anywhere MasterCard debit cards are accepted. The Balkamp incentive award program started in 2005 to help increase sales company wide through their distribution channels to their franchises. With 100+ district sales representatives, Balkamp can implement incentive programs relatively easily, communicate the goals, track the sales and award the sales person very quickly. Requirements are built for sales people to achieve certain criteria. For various products at different times, the sales people are tasked with selling truck loads of product through their distribution centers to any of their stores nationally. Upon reaching certain thresholds, the award amounts are loaded onto their prepaid MasterCard card from Springbok Services which they retain and can be re-loaded each time a new incentive threshold is achieved. Into the second year of the program, Balkamp is continuing with this incentive program as it has made a positive impact in increased sales, and decreased costs associated with administering their sales incentive program.

7 Harsh Reasons You Haven’t Gotten A Raise

7 Harsh Reasons You Haven’t Gotten A Raise You’ve been loyal, put in the time, done your best work, kissed the appropriate amount of derriere. Why, then, you ask, have you yet to get that raise or get promoted? Your last performance review doesn’t show any reasons why you shouldn’t be moving up the ladder. You work hard and you deserve it? Right! Well, maybe. But there are several reasons why you might not be getting the nod. Take a quick step back from the situation and see whether any of these possible impediments apply to you before freaking out or destroying the office printer with a baseball bat.1. You didn’t ask.This seems obvious, but it’s probably the number one reason people don’t get promoted or don’t get the extra pay they’re sure they deserve. It might feel uncomfortable to do it, but you have to make your needs known. If you don’t ask outright, your company is unlikely to just offer you extra money or a rung up the ladder. Arm yourself with some examp les of your demonstrated value to the company, take a deep breath, and make your request.2. You weren’t properly prepared.Or maybe you did ask, but didn’t come in armed and prepared to defend yourself with evidence and a proper request. If you can’t list your accomplishments and prove your value to your boss, she’s not likely to agree to give you more. Bottom line: be prepared with statistics about your field and examples of your own accomplishments.3. You’re not enough of a team player.You may be killing it as far as your responsibilities go, but are you reaching out and making it about the team and not just yourself? Your performance itself might be stellar, but you could easily lose out on a promotion because you’re only doing your job well, and not thinking enough about the team.4. You made it personal.Instead of focusing on and honing the argument for why you really deserve this raise based on your work, you made it about personal reaso ns. Next time you ask, think about step #2 and go in with a slew of facts and figures to support your request. Show off your accomplishments, pull out market research. Really dazzle.5. Your value stagnated.You might be crazy valuable, but if your value isn’t steadily improving with time, that still counts as not being valuable enough for that raise or promotion. Try taking a class or getting a new certification or skill and trying again. Expand your range and responsibilities so you can demonstrate the curve of your efforts.6. Your company is strapped.It might not be you at all. It could be office politics (in which case, learn to play that game ASAP) or it could be that your company just plain can’t afford it. Or perhaps your manager doesn’t have the bandwidth to advocate for you.If there is company dysfunction afoot, there are things you can fix and things you can’t. Try to figure out what your future prospects might be at this company. Talk to your bos s. If you’re going to stagnate for years, maybe start looking around for other, higher paying opportunities elsewhere. Make sure you’re being appreciated!7. You don’t deserve it.There’s always the risk that your perceptions of your own performance and value are just a little bit different from how others perceive you or the reality of the situation. In this case, try to systematize your value and see what you find out. Compare yourself across the industry, against your colleagues. Outline your accomplishments, then look them over with a cynical eye. Would you promote you? If the answer is no, make sure you get to work changing that answer.

20 Largest Book Publishers in 2019 That Every Author Should Know

20 Largest Book Publishers in 2019 That Every Author Should Know The Largest Book Publishers in 2019 Modern publishing is a tricky game - especially when trying to figure out the biggest names within that game. Most major publishers are part of a larger media conglomerate, and a search for the year's largest book publishers will often yield companies that work with  other forms of content rather than books.So to help you zero in on the prize, we've published this guide to the largest contemporary book publishers - i.e. no companies that mainly publish magazines or highly specialized materials, such as instruction manuals. We have included educational and journal publishers, which are often linked to traditional literary publishers and may be relevant to our readers. But other than that, all these companies work with the kinds of books you’d find in bookstores.Without further ado, here they are: the 20 largest book publishers in 2019 according to recent data, along with brief profiles of who they are and what they do. (To learn how to get published by one of them, check ou t this post.) Who are the biggest book publishers in the game? Find out here!  Ã°Å¸â€œâ€" The 20 largest publishers in 20191. Penguin Random House (Big 5 Publisher)💠° Annual revenue: $3.3 billion 📇 Notable imprints: Alfred A. Knopf, Crown Publishing, Viking Press 📚 Biggest titles of 2018: Becoming by Michelle Obama, Educated by Tara Westover, and  Born a Crime by Trevor NoahFormed in 2013 through the merger of Penguin Books and Random House, Penguin Random House (PRH) is not only a Big 5 publisher - it's considered to be the biggest publishing house in the industry. It has over 200 divisions and imprints, in addition to those listed above. PRH itself is jointly owned by multinational companies Pearson PLC and Bertelsmann, accounting for a rather substantial sum of their finances each year. In terms of actual publishing stats, PRH puts out over 15,000 books a year and sells about 800 million copies of print, audio, and ebooks annually.2. Hachette Livre (Big 5 Publisher)💠° Annual revenue: $2.7 billion 📇 Notable imprints: Grand Central Publishing, Little, Brown and Company, Mulholland Books 📚 Biggest titles of 2018: The President is Missing by Bill Clinton and James Patterson, Calypso by David Sedaris, and In Pieces by Sally FieldHachette Livre is another Big 5 publisher, the largest in France and one of the most prominent publishers in all of Europe. It’s owned by the Lagardà ¨re Group and encompasses over 150 imprints. Hachette Livre was officially formed in 1992, when the publishing assets of Hachette SA (its former parent company) were collected into a single subsidiary. HL has been growing ever since and currently publishes about 20,000 books a year - even more than PRH, for those keeping score.3. Springer Nature💠° Annual revenue: $1.9 billion 📇 Notable imprints: BioMed Central, Nature Research, Palgrave Macmillan 📚 Biggest titles of 2018: Academic journals on a range of scientific topicsSpringer Nature is a research and educational publisher formed through the merger of several groups, including Macmillan Education and Springer Science + Business Media. For those who think the former sounds familiar, Macmillan is another Big 5 publisher, just like the first two entries on our list. That’s why Springer’s assets are so sizable, despite being so recently established.Springer mostly publishes academic journals, but as with many educational publishers, it’s still closely linked to traditional publishing - namely, in the form of Macmillan Publishers proper (see #10 on this list).

Job Serach E-mail Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Job Serach E-mail - Assignment Example Through my sales executive role, I was aggressive and utilized my energy in implementing sales and marketing strategies. I was able to implement numerous promotional strategies through my everyday tasks Creating cordial and healthy relationship with the clientele and my fellow employees as well as those whom I led has also been my role since at the end of the day, the client has to be treated right. My duties and responsibilities also revolve around keeping a close eye on the target markets, sales and marketing endeavors, identifying gaps in the global markets, which help in maintaining high level of management. As indicated on my resume, I am highly skilled in leadership, sales and marketing, strategy formulation and implementation, policy research and analysis and administrative support to department heads, and managing everyday office tasks. I have a demonstrated ability to prepare reports since this is the best way to monitor what the office needs. I am a team player and thrive in a well-coordinated and dynamic environment. I believe that I would be a perfect fit and it will broaden my

BRIEF CASE Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

BRIEF CASE - Coursework Example Teresa D. Oglesbee is the bereaved and Pfeil is a private funeral home. Oglesbee attended a private viewing at Pfeil in the evening of September 12, 2010. Oglesbee used the front door to exit the building after the viewing. Pfeil official escorted her carrying an umbrella since it was raining. Oglesbee moved ahead of the Pfeil official and fell in an eight-inch drop at the public sidewalk, causing her to suffer injury. The drop was not marked and the official did not warn her about the eight-inch drop. Oglesbee sued Pfeil in tort for negligence arguing that her fall resulted from Pfeil’s neglect and failure. Pfeil discovered this and moved for summary judgment. Pfeil argued that the company had no duty to warn Oglesbee because the drop consisted of an open and obvious danger, which she could have easily observed without necessarily being warned against it. Oglesbee filed a case against Pfeil upon suffering an injury caused by falling into an eight-inch drop at Pfeil’s premises. The offended party usually moves to court to sue the offender for remedies. In this case, Oglesbee is the offended party, and also the plaintiff. Her interest was to sue Pfeil for damages caused by negligence and failure of duty of care to its invitees. Pfeil sought summary judgment after discovering Oglesbee move to court. Pfeil won the case against Oglesbee based on the fact that the drop at Pfeil’s sidewalk was an open and obvious danger; therefore, the company was not responsible for Oglesbee’s injury. Oglesbee decided to appeal to the higher court. The case was forwarded to the court of appeal. The plaintiff/appellant feels that the agent of the defendant/appellee had a duty of care in tort to ensure safety of invitees through providing and keeping posted adequate warnings at the scene under the conditions that prevailed at the time of her injury. These conditions are hazardous and dangerous to people leaving the premises especially when there is no light, sign or

3.3 Financial Analysis Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

3.3 Financial Analysis - Assignment Example ould likely result in liabilities hence previous trends and records of the organization can be used to assess the profitability of an organization as an investment opportunity (Ou & Penman 2009, pp.295–329). To understand the significance of the financial well-being of an organization, this paper will conduct a financial analysis of Chateau hotel redoubtable as an investment opportunity for the Smithsons. The core objective of investing in a business is to get a return for the price invested. Inferring to the statement of the financial position of the hotel basing on the analysis of two years (year ended December 30 2013 and 2014), the hotel made an improvement in the value of the total assets from â‚ ¬3,263, 000 to â‚ ¬3,881, 000. Additionally, the company made an improvement in the equity shares from 800 shares to 1000 shares with each of the share selling at â‚ ¬100. However, the company has an outstanding long-term loans and current liabilities with inclusion of the bank overdraft, payable dividend, taxation owing deposit by customers and payable-trade creditors cumulatively summing to â‚ ¬3,263, 000 for the financial year ended 2013 and â‚ ¬3,881, 000 for the financial year ended 2014. This implies that a liquidation of the assets of the company would be sufficient to settle the liabilities of the company without outstanding profit. However, inferring to the income statement of the company, it is evident that the rental income of the hotel had declined from â‚ ¬505, 000 in the year 2013 to â‚ ¬448, 000 in the year ended 2014. Analysis of the financial figures of the hotel indicates that the hotel is currently running at diminishing returns, which makes the chances for solvency and the resale of the company to be difficult. Equally, owing to the declining financial position of Chateau hotel redoubtable, the hotel is not profitable thus; investment in the hotel would demand a change in the strategy in the manner with which it is operated to realize profit.

Novating design team to a contractor

Novating design team to a contractor Synopsis Clients within the Construction Industry prefer to use the JCT Design Build Contract rather than other traditional procurements methods. Novation is a process that allows Clients to oversee the early stages of design development of a project and then transfer the responsibility for the design to a Contractor after the contract has been awarded. By transferring the responsibility to the Contractor through novation the Client takes minimum risk contractually while retaining an influence on project design from the initial stages. This process transfers maximum risk to the Contractor as he becomes responsible for all future design of a project and all past design completed up to the point of a contract being awarded, this includes any design errors. Both Contractors and Designers must work together closely on any design and build project, but particularly when novation has taken place. For a project to be profitable and be completed on time it is essential that there is a good working relationship between Contractor and Designer. Research to establish if the process of novation has an adverse affect on the working relationship between Contractor and Designer was conducted. The aims were to identify factors that may affect the working relationship of the two parties and to understand the opinions of both Contractors and Designers about what affect novation has on their working relationship. The objectives of the research were to highlight specific problems within the process of novation and recommend improvements to industry. To achieve this research in the form of a literature review, questionnaires and an interview with Contractors and a Designer was performed. The report recommendations are aimed at Clients to hold more pre-contract meetings with Contractors not just Designers, and understand the criteria a Contractor follows when appointing a Designer to ensure compatibility between parties when in Design and Build contract together. Acknowledgements I would like to express gratitude to the following people and organisations for their time, knowledge and support in assisting the in the successful completion of this research project: My final year Supervisor Dr Ron Craig of the Civil and Building Engineering Dept of Loughborough University, for constructive criticism and guidance throughout the process of developing the dissertation. HBG UK Ltd for using a lot of Commercial Managers, Design Co-ordinators, Legal Correspondents and Personnels time in completing the literature review and aiding in the data collection. The Commercial Manager of the second Contracting Company questioned The Architect questioned for his experience and opinions of the process of novation. Mr Andrew Moss for proof reading the final draft of this report and suggesting possible alterations. Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction to Subject The Design and Build form of J.C.T contract (please see chapter 4.0) has become more popular with construction Clients that employ Contractors to construct new buildings and/or renovate existing structures. The Authors research has shown that the percentage of contracts tendered for under a Design and Build form of J.C.T has increased over the last five years. In conjunction with this the traditional form of JCT contract has decreased in popularity with Clients. In many cases the designs which make up part of the contract between the Client and Contractor, under JCT Design and Build, are completed by a Design Team on behalf of the Client before the contract between the Client and Contractor is made. To ensure that the Contractor who successfully tenders for a project retains the Design Consultant that the Client employed prior to the contract being made it is sometimes necessary for a Client to novate (please see chapter 5) the design team across to the Contractor. The purpose of this report is to investigate into the problems, if any, with the process of novating a design team to a Contractor from the Client and suggest solutions. This report will also detail the affects on the working relationship between the Contractor and the Designer, and how novation either aids or hinders the working relationship 1.1.1 Aims of Chapter One To introduce the Dissertation subject area. The reasons behind the investigation of this Dissertation. To outline the work carried out and a description of the contents of the Dissertation. Detail a well constructed hypothesis that the investigation will either prove or disprove. To outline a guide to the report, and introduce each individual chapter. To detail the aims of the report and the objective that must be achieved to meet the aims. 1.2 Rationale behind I nvestigation The interest into the investigation of Are there always problems with novating a design team to a contractor? came about after the Authors industrial placement. While working on site for a Contractor on a J.C.T. Design and Build contract where the design team was novated it became apparent to the Author that there were many differences of opinions between the Designers and the Contracting Company. The main items of debate and disagreement between the Contractor and the Design Team were the Clients requirements. In the Authors experience there was a large difference of opinion of how design changes and/or variations should be treated between the Design Team and the Contractor. Whilst profit-driven Contractor seemed to always look for the cheapest and most cost effective way of bridging any design problem; where as the Design Team gave the impression that they were more concerned about the aesthetics of the design and the Clients design opinions rather than the buildability and cost. Many design variations that were requested by the Client, or those forced upon the Contractor were not always as the Contractor had specified to the Design Team. The Contractor felt that his time was wasted by the Consultant not designing elements as originally specified. The working relationship between the Contractor and the Designer seemed to deteriorate from the project start date, until beyond the design completion stage. After the Author had asked other members within the Contracting Company about the novation of a Designer to the Contractor it became apparent that the relationship between Contractor and Designer was similarly affected on other projects. The Author had discussions with the Client of the project he was placed on. The Client stated that more building work was being undertaken using the J.C.T. Design and Build form of contract as this reduces the risk to the client and/or the person funding the project. The Author found that under Design and Build more risk was placed on the Contractor, and that management techniques had to change to appropriately manage higher risk projects. He also realised that as more contracts were being made under the Design and Build form of contract with the Designers being novated to work for the contractor a greater knowledge of the subject area would be beneficial to the Author in the management of Design and Build contracts. 1.2.1 Originality of Thought The Author had discussions with his Supervisor before commencing the research about the subject matter. A hypothesis was agreed upon that gave the Author scope to research areas of the process of novation in design and build contracting that have not previously been discussed in an undergraduates research project for the Supervisor. The process of novation being used in the design and build contract has recently become popular with Clients. The aim of the research is to establish if Contractors and Designers have not yet fully adapted to the change and improvements in the working relationship between the parties must be made to ensure that they remain competitive and profitable. 1.3 Subject Definition Novation is a process in which [1]a contract between party A and party C is turned into a new contract between party B and party C. This process can only be achieved if all three parties agree that novation can take place. A Deed of Novation[2] is commonly used to terminate a contract between parties A and B, and then create a new contract between parties A and C. There are standard legal documents, blank deeds of novation, which are available as downloads from the internet, for example at (www.citysolicitors.org.uk/legal_activities as of 28/03/06). A deed of novation has been used for many years before it became popular with Clients in the construction design and build context. It is used in the sale of manufacturing companies, where components made are used by other larger companies. For example, the purchase of a windscreen wiper company by a new owner whilst retaining the commitment to an existing customer car manufacturer. Novation has many other wider applications other than construction; Porsche in their latest brochure[3] offer a novated lease for their new motor cars. In this case an Employee of a company (the lessee) signs a lease agreement with Porsche (the lessor). A Deed of Novation, then supplied by Porsche, is signed by Porsche, the Employee and the Employer. This then transfers the responsibility for the payment to the Employer. Novation is used in a construction context where the relationship between two parties has developed over time and the introduction of a third or new party is necessary. There then needs to be provision to contractually protect the existing parties in the relationship. 1.4 Report Intention The intention of this report is to investigate how the working relationship between the Contractor and the Designer novated to the Contractor from the Client could be improved to their mutual benefit, and to the benefit of the Client. However, the report may show that there is no improvement to be made, and that the process of novation as it presently stands is adequate. 1.4.1 Aims To identify clearly factors that may affect the relationship between the Contractor and the Designer under novation To discover any adverse characteristics that may cause a poor working relationship between the Contractor and the Designer To clearly understand the opinions of Designers and Contractors that has been involved with novation To understand the attitudes of Designers and Contractors towards novation To clearly understand the definition of novation and the context in which it is used within the construction industry To identify any differences in attitudes between Contracting Companies towards novation under a J.C.T. Design and Build contract To understand why Clients now prefer to use the Design and Build form of contract rather than the Traditional contracts they favoured to use To identify why Clients within construction novate the Design Team across to the Contractor 1.4.2 Objectives To highlight specific problems within the process of novation that requires improving To investigate how the process of novation may differ between contracts and/or with varying Clients To identify differences between the Contractors and Designers opinion of novation under the J.C.T. Design and Build Contract To highlight areas within construction where it is necessary to use novation in Design and Build contracts To advise the Contracting Companies of the most economic way of managing a Design Team that has been novated by a Client To identify if a Contractor and Designer have a better working relationship, i.e. have a greater understanding of each others objectives and needs, under a traditional contract rather than novation under a Design and Build Contract 1.4.3 Hypothesis The working relationship between Contractor and Designer is adversely affected by Novation. 1.5 Overview of Research Methodology The methodology of the research for this project will take the form of the following; please see the methodology in chapter three for a detailed discussion on the report methods used: A review of past and current literature concerning the background of novation within the construction industry. A review of specific literature concerning the working relationship of a Contractor and Designer. Discuss the definition of novation within construction, and where it is most commonly used in the industry. Design a questionnaire to send out to a selected Contractor and a Designer. Design an interview format and questions for a specific Contracting Company to answer on the subject of novation. Design an interview format and questions following the results of the previous interview to issue a separate questionnaire to a different Contracting Company to analyse company differences. Analyse results gathered in the interview to form a conclusion about the effect of novation in construction. Make suggestions or recommendations to the industry and Clients within the construction industry. 1.6 Overview of Main Conclusions The Authors completed research shows that there are ten factors that could adversely affect the working relationship between a Contractor and a Designer under a novation agreement. The Author found through analysing an interview and questionnaires completed by two Contractors and an Architect that the reasons for novation having an adverse influence on the working relationship of a Contractor and Designer were that: The time allowed for Contractor to Tender is not increased The loyalty of Designer to Client remains evident after novation to the Contractor There is usually a large distance between the Designers head office and the project Insufficient design fees are allocated at the tender stage There is an increased risk of error in design There could have been a previously poor working relationship between the parties The Designer may be inappropriate for the project The performance of the Designer is not consistent throughout the process of completing the design Novation is usually late or rushed from the Client There is an increased probability of conflict between the two parties The Author found that many of these factors were specific problems which could be attributed to the process of novation under a design and build project. Therefore, the results support the hypothesis of the research. However, additional research is required if the hypothesis is to be proven to be correct. 1.7 Guide to the Report Chapter One: Introduction This section introduces the study and outlines the hypothesis, aim and objectives of the research. It indicates the origin of the Authors interest in the subject, why the hypothesis was chosen, and describes the methodology that was followed. Chapter Two: Literature Review This section examines the literature research conducted by the Author. It is an investigation into the definition of novation, and describes where it is used within the construction industry. This section details the current view of the contractor in a novation agreement. Chapter Three: Methodology This section of the report describes the methodology which was used to conduct this research. It shows how the information was collected. It also includes the topics covered within the interview and the design of questionnaires that were employed. Chapter Four: Design and Build Contracts This section describes the forms of J.C.T. contract used and highlights the advantages and disadvantages to the Design and Build form of JCT contract. It provides an introduction into Design and Build and details the differences between the Employers Requirements and Contractors Proposals that are a key feature of the Design and Build contract. Chapter Five: Novation This section of the report describes in detail the uses of novation within a construction context. It gives a definition to the process of novation as used in a Design and Build situation. This chapter details the conflict of interest the Contractor and the Designers tend to experience due to novation. It illustrates the problems that may arise in the design, payment of design fees and the varying levels of the Consultants performance. Chapter Six:Analysis This section of the report is the analysis of the questionnaires sent to Clients within the building industry and their Project Managers and the Designers. It analyses the interviews conducted with the contractors and additional information gathered. Chapter Seven: Conclusion This section of the report presents the Authors conclusions based upon the findings within the analysis chapter of the report. It suggests solutions to the aims and objectives set out in the introduction, criticises the hypothesis around the report was based and highlights the possibility for further research. Chapter 2 Literature Review 2.1 Introduction The literature review is a comprehensive analysis of all relevant articles, books and publications to this research project. Derek Swetnam[4] describes the literature review as a report; That is central to the dissertation and in all styles of work it has a number of functions: It shows that you have read widely around your chosen topic It demonstrates your critical understanding of the theory It acknowledges that work of others It informs and modifies your own research The Literature review in this chapter is broken down into eight sub-headings. The chapter talks about the description of novation, then goes on to describe where novation is used today both in and outside the construction industry. The literature review describes the process of a Designer being novated to a Contractor. The final section of this chapter discusses and analyses in what way the literature which is reviewed is relevant to the Authors research project. 2.1.1 General Aims To break down the causes of the problem highlighted in the hypothesis into logical stages. To collect and analyse previous research and literature to further investigate the subject area of this project. To research any previously made recommendations. Make recommendations which have been concluded from a detailed literature review. 2.2 Aim of This Literature Review What is the description of Novation and in what context was it used before in construction? Where is Novation used today outside of construction and what is its main purpose? What other uses are there of Novation within construction other than a Designer being novated to a Contractor? When did Novation of a Designer to Contractor become popular with Clients in the construction industry? Have there been problems with the novation of a Design team to a Contractor in the past? When is Novation practical in construction contracts? What are the risks to the Contractor in the novation process? 2.3 Contents of Literature Review 2.3.1 Description of Novation David Janssens[5] stated that: Occasionally, an Employer may stipulate that the successful Contractor is to engage one or more of the Employers consultants to complete the design and detailing of the project in the post-contract stage. Such consultants are employed by Contractors under novation agreements, i.e. a novation agreement is a new agreement in substitution of a previous agreement between the Consultant and the Employer. Novation exists when an agreement or contract between two parties is going to be broken and a third party enters to take the place the agreed or contract role of the party which is leaving the agreement or contract. Novation can also exist when a third party enters into an agreement or contract without any other party leaving. Jeremy Hackett[6] stated that: Novation is a legal concept, formally providing for the re-employment of a Consultant by the Contractor, as part of the contract agreement between the Employer and Contractor. Should the Contractor merely choose to re-employ the same individuals who have previously sat the other side of the interview table from himself that would not be novation, but its effect would be very similar. 2.3.2 Uses for Novation. Novation is not only used within the construction industry, the use of novation in law is much more commonly used in the buying and selling of manufacturing companies. In this context a novation agreement maybe drawn up by lawyers of a manufacturing company which intends to sell to buyer whilst still retaining the same business clientele. In this instance a customer of the business being sold would be novated across to the new buyer of the business, this ensures that the customer can always source what ever item the new buyer manufactures. Ann Arbor[7] Stated that: A hospital in Texas is taking electronic commerce beyond purchase orders and usage reports to adoption of digital contract management. The sooner hospitals are able to sign up to participate in new contracts, the sooner they are able to access contract pricing. Using the enhanced form management program, materials managers can submit forms online where suppliers can approve them, also online. In this example a hospital in Texas is using the agreement of novation over the internet to sign up for new contracts much faster than it was able to previously. This has benefited materials managers the most as they are able to source cheaper or higher quality materials from differing suppliers and simply transfer the agreement they have with one supplier to another using novation. 2.3.3 Alternative uses of Novation within construction. The section above discusses how different forms of novation are implemented in areas other than the construction industry. However, within the realms of construction there are many more uses for the novation agreement to be used. The use of novation within construction has only been commonly used during the past decade or so, the main reason for this is the introduction of the JCT Design and Build Contract which made the novation of Designer to the Contractor much easier for the Client. Before the introduction of Design and Build Contract novation was present in the same format it exists today in other industries as mentioned above. If during the construction process a Client was unable to fund any further necessary works and there was a willing buyer to stand in for the Client, it may be in the interest of the entering party to continue to use the existing Contractor. The easiest and least time consuming way to do this would be using the Novation agreement. The second way in which novation occurred in a construction context before the introduction of the Design and Build Contract was if the Contractor was suffering from financial issues or the relationship between himself and the Client has been irreparably affected in someway. If a situation like this occurred it was beneficial for the Client to take on board a new Contractor through a novation agreement. This removed the necessity for the remaining works to be re-tendered, and the likelihood that the Client would have to pay an excess for the works to be completed. 2.3.4 When did novation become popular with Clients Jim Smith[8] stated that: The choice of a procurement method is probably the single most important decision the client makes, other than the decision to build. The various procurement methods can be described, as defined by Masterman (2002), under these three distinct categories: Separated and co-operative. Integrated. Management orientated. In the last few years and particularly within the past decade the procurement methods for contractors have been moving away from the more traditional contracts as described above. The change to a procurement method which uses the second and third categories above has largely been Client-driven; the main reason for this is that the Contractor has to accept a high level of risk if he is to tender successfully for a project. As more design development has been shifted across to the Contractor it is becoming easier and more cost effective for the Client to shift higher levels of risk to the Contractors. The Design and Build contract and all its variations have expanded considerably to accommodate a Clients needs in recent times. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) [9] in 2000 stated that: Design and build and its variations have expanded considerably in the last decade. It has increased dramatically in the 1990s going from a 10 percent share during the 1980s up to a 35 percent share of the construction procurement market, with management contracting declining to a 10 percent share. Chan stated[10] that: 21% of private Clients in the UK use the Design and Build system, of which 42% commonly use Design-Novate and Construct for their projects. Design-Novate and Construct has also been widely adopted in Australia and Hong Kong. David Jaggar[11] Stated that: The major advantages of design and build are that all the risks, both financial and period for completion, are transferred to the design and build contractor, with the client only dealing with one organisation, so eliminating the complexities and frustrations of dealing with a range of separate organisations. The approach also overcomes the problem of the separation of design and construction, so saving overall time and allowing the design to reflect improved buildability in the construction solution. The argument against this is that a Contractor may be taking a higher percentage of higher risk projects. However, as a Client is off loading a lot more risk than what was traditionally not possible in the past they are able to fund much more projects and engage a lot more designers. The result of this is that the Contractor has more work to tender for and a much higher chance of winning projects as more tenders will be processed. 2.3.5 Issues arising from using Novation in construction. Jim Smith[12] stated that: There is considerable debate as to the merits and demerits of the approach and it is fair to say that many design professionals were unhappy about the approach, not least because there was a reduction in their own influence and independence. However, a valid view put forward, which undoubtedly design and build suffered from in the 1980s, was that the quality of the final building was often inferior and the role of design was devalued, as the design and build contractors shaped the design to suit their particular methods of construction. More recent views from clients noted above indicate that they were satisfied with the quality of their completed design build projects. The Design Manager of a Contracting Company plays a critical role in the development of design to determine a contract value for a project. The role involves being able to balance cost and quality and time constraints within a framework. This is an essential skill for all Design Managers or Project Co-ordinators. The Design Manager will work closely with the Commercial Manager at the tender stage of a Design and Build contract when novation of the Design team is being used by the Client. It is crucial that both managers work together to reduce the amount of design and financial risk the contractor will have to carry through the contract period if the tender submission is to be successful. Allinson[13] states that: The developments in the construction industry, the continuing specialisation of professions and the rising application of alternative procurement methods have all contributed to the gap between design and management, but they have also emphasised the need for a design professional with management and technological skills. The management of the process should ensure a successful and deliverable project When Design and Build contracts first became widely used by Clients in the 1990s Contractors tended to manage the building works in the same way they managed traditional contracts. Here a Project Manager was responsible for the development of the construction and concluding the outstanding design issues as well as resolving any building sites day-to-day issues. Project Managers were supported by a number of other managers such as Services Engineers, Site Management and Quantity Surveyors. Jim Smith[14] states that: However, a single reporting source on all aspects of design and cost has not always benefited the client, contractor or the project. Projects have been organised in a very flat structure with numerous lines of responsibility reporting directly to the project manager. The larger projects would have over half a dozen separate factions directly beneath the project manager, including the above stated managers, structure coordinators, documentation managers, tendering coordinators, contract administration, project administration and occupation health safety and rehabilitation (OHSR). In practice, this structure has proved to be an inefficient and ineffective form of management on many projects.