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MGT 323 Saudi Electronic University The Home Improvement Project Discussion

MGT 323 Saudi Electronic University The Home Improvement Project Discussion.

NO MATCHING!!!!! NO PLAGIARISM!!! NO PLAGIARISM!!! The Assignment must be submitted on Blackboard (WORD format only) via allocated folder. Assignments submitted through email will not be accepted. Students are advised to make their work clear and well presented, marks may be reduced for poor presentation. This includes filling your information on the cover page. Students must mention question number clearly in their answer. Late submission will NOT be accepted. Avoid plagiarism, the work should be in your own words, copying from students or other resources without proper referencing will result in ZERO marks. No exceptions. All answered must be typed using Times New Roman (size 12, double-spaced) font. No pictures containing text will be accepted and will be considered plagiarism). Submissions without this cover page will NOT be accepted. Use APA style if you need write referencesAssignment Workload: This Assignment comprise of a Case Study. Assignment is to be submitted by each student individually.Assignment Purposes/Learning Outcomes: After completion of Assignment-1 students will able to understand the 1. Demonstrate a deep understanding of project management concepts and theories as well as approaches to project management (L.O-1.1)2. Demonstrate an understanding of the project budgeting and cost control in project management (L.O-1.6, 4.1)3. The ability to write a coherent report on project management case studies or new themes. (L.O-4.5)
MGT 323 Saudi Electronic University The Home Improvement Project Discussion

To compete in the global market and the networked economy, companies should rely on effective supply chains. It is important to focus on the important areas of Supply Chain Management. They are Vendor Management, Productivity Improvement, Supply Demand Forecasting and Inventory Management. From Peter Drucker’s new management paradigms, it is known that, the concept of business relationships extends beyond traditional enterprise boundaries and seeks to organize the entire business processes throughout a value chain of multiple companies. Development of Supply chain Networks was done in 21st Century and It changed the pattern of the business world. Supply Chain Management (SCM): Supply chain management (SCM) is managing the network of Inter connected business, and it involves the ultimate provision of product and services required by the customers. There are many ways to define and describe Supply Chain Management. One of the famous definitions is the definition provided by the APICS Dictionary as “Design, planning, execution, control, and monitoring of supply chain activities with the objective of creating net value, building a competitive infrastructure, synchronizing supply with demand”. Initially there was no Development in this area. But eventually, a lot of developments took place in Supply chain management. There were six major movements, which took place. They are Creation Era, Integration Era, Globalization Era, Specialization Era Phase 1, and Specialization Era Phase 2. Creation Era (Early 1980s): The major attention was on the Japanese Practice of management. This era focused on few characteristics of Supply chain management like need for large-scale changes, re-engineering, downsizing, driven by cost reduction programs Integration Era (1960s and developed through 1990s): This Era focuses more on the development of Electronic Data Interchange systems. After this, started focusing on the expansion of inter-based Collaborative systems. This era focused on Technical stuff. Globalization Era (late 1980s): As the name of the Era indicates. This era concentrated more on Globalization. Many companies started to integrate global sources in their business. This increases the competitive advantage, added value and reduced the cost through global sourcing. Specialization Era – Phase One: Outsourced Manufacturing and Distribution (1990s): As the name indicates, this era focused on specialization model. Basically, the model creates manufacturing and distribution networks and they are composed of multiple or individual supply chains in specific to products, suppliers or customers who work together to design, manufacture, distribute, market, sell, and service a product. The focus was on core competencies and adopt specialization model. Specialization Era – Phase Two: Supply Chain Management as a Service (began in 1980s and went along till 2006): Even this Era concentrated or focused on Specialization Model. Supply chain specialization enabled companies to improve their overall competencies in the same way that outsourced manufacturing and distribution has done; it allows them to focus on their core competencies and assemble networks of specific, best-in-class partners to contribute to the overall value chain itself, thereby increasing overall performance and efficiency. The ability to quickly obtain and deploy this domain-specific supply chain expertise without developing and maintaining an entirely unique and complex competency in house is the leading reason why supply chain specialization is gaining popularity. Both the eras mainly concentrated on Specialization models. Supply Chain Management 2.0 (SCM 2.0): This is software which is used in many companies to create, share and collaborate between supply chain managers. Web 2.0 is a trend in the use of the World Wide Web which is used to increase creativity, information sharing, and collaboration among users. At its core, the common attribute that Web 2.0 brings is to help navigate the vast amount of information available on the Web in order to find what is being sought. Supply Chain Management basically runs on seven major principles. They all were discussed by the experts of Logistics Practice of Anderson Consulting (no called as Accenture). It laid out a compelling case for excellence in Supply Chain Management. It gave out some excellent principles which will be helpful in Supply Chain Management. There are seven Principals. They are: Principle 1: Separate the customers basing on the service needs into distinct groups and adapt the supply chain to serve these groups distinctly. Principle 2: Customize the logistics network and meet the service requirements and profitability of customer segments. Principle 3: Keep a track on the market signals and align the demand planning accordingly across the supply chain. Make sure to ensure the consistent forecasts and optimal resource allocation. Principle 4: Differentiate product between the customer and speed conversion across the supply chain world. Principle 5: Manage the sources of supply chain strategically in order to reduce the total cost of owning materials and services. Principle 6: Develop a supply chain-wide technology strategy which supports multiple levels of decision making and gives a clear view of the flow of products, services, and information. For the short term, the system must be able to handle day-to-day transactions and electronic commerce across the supply chain and thus help align supply and demand by sharing information on orders and daily scheduling. From a mid-term perspective, the system must facilitate planning and decision making, supporting the demand and shipment planning and master production scheduling needed to allocate resources efficiently. To add long-term value, the system must enable strategic analysis by providing tools, such as an integrated network model, that synthesize data for use in high-level “what-if” scenario planning to help managers evaluate plants, distribution centers, suppliers, and third-party service alternatives. Principle 7: Seventh principle is to adopt channel-spanning performance. It measures to gauge collective success and reaches the end-user effectively and efficiently. Let us understand what happens when we translate the principles into practice. Companies that have achieved excellence in supply chain management tend to approach implementation of the guiding principles with three precepts in mind. They are Orchestrate improvement efforts Supply Chain management is very difficult to understand. So, the complexity of it makes it difficult to envision the whole, from end to end. But the trick is using a blue print. Many of the successful managers realize the importance to use the time and effort in developing the total perspective and idea and using it in form of a blue print for change that maps linkages among initiatives and a well-thought-out implementation sequence. The Blue print must have all the day to day operations and must coordinate the change initiatives and must cross company’s boundaries. The blue print must have all the information; it requires rigorous assessment of the entire supply chain. It should have the information of supplier relationships to internal operations to the marketplace, including customers, competitors, and the industry as a whole. Basically, it should have information about relationships between everyone in the company. Current practices must be ruthlessly weighed against best practices to determine the size of the gap to close. Thorough cost or benefit analysis lays the essential foundation for prioritizing and sequencing initiatives, establishing capital and people requirements, and getting a complete financial picture of the company’s supply chain-before, during, and after implementation. Recognize the difficulty of change Change is always good. Most companies change programs which do a much better job of designing new operating processes and technology tools than of fostering appropriate attitudes and behaviors in the people who are important in making the change program work. People resist change and people do not like change, especially in companies with a history of “change-of-the-month” programs. People in any organization have trouble coping with the uncertainty of change, especially the real possibility that their skills will not fit the new environment. Many of them cannot get adapted to the new environment. I think by implementing these seven principles of supply chain management, most of the companies can have significant change and can have good profits. The best prescription for ensuring success and minimizing resistance is extensive. It is always good for people to grab the attention. People love attention. So, visible participation and communication with the senior executives encourages them. This means championing the cause and removing the managerial obstacles that typically present the greatest barriers to success, while linking change with overall business strategy. Many progressive and successful companies have realized that the traditionally fragmented responsibility for managing supply chain activities will no longer do. Some have even elevated supply chain management to a strategic position and established a senior executive position such as vice president-supply chain (or the equivalent) reporting directly to the COO or CEO. This role ignores traditional product, functional, and geographic boundaries that can interfere with delivering to customers what they want, when and where they want it. Reaping the Rewards By following the above, by doing it so will improve asset utilization, reduces cost, and creates price advantages that help attract and retain customer and thus enhance revenue. Special effort and coordination is required by the overall Supply chain systems. Without any specific effort to coordinate the overall supply chain system it is difficult to reach a certain point. Each organization in the network has its own agenda and operates independently from the others. However, such an unmanaged network results in inefficiencies and Losses. For example, a plant may have the goal of maximizing throughout in order to lower unit costs. If the end demand seen by the distribution system does not consume this throughput, there will be an accumulation of inventory, and hence will have high or low food cost percentage. Decision Variables in Supply Chain Management In managing the supply chain, the following decision variables must be taken into account. Location – Deals with facilities and sourcing points Production – Information about what to produce in what facilities and areas. Inventory – How much to order, when to order , Safety stocks Transportation – mode of transport, shipment size, routing, and scheduling For Example let’s consider the Beer Game The Beer Distribution Game (The Beer Game) is a simulation game created by a group of professors at MIT Sloan School of Management in early 1960s to demonstrate a number of key principles of supply chain management. The game is played by teams of at least four players, often in heated competition, and takes from one to one and a half hours to complete. A debriefing session of roughly equivalent length typically follows to review the results of each team and discuss the lessons involved. The purpose of the game is to meet customer demand for cases of beer through a multi-stage supply chain with minimal expenditure on back orders and inventory. Players can see each other’s inventory but only one player sees actual customer demand. Verbal communication between players is against the rules so feelings of confusion and disappointment are common. Players look to one another within their supply chain frantically trying to figure out where things are going wrong. Most of the players feel frustrated because they are not getting the results they want. Players wonder whether someone in their team did not understand the game or assume customer demand is following a very erratic pattern as backlogs mount and/or massive inventories accumulate. During the debriefing, it is explained that these feelings are common and that reactions based on these feelings within supply chains create the bullwhip effect. Counter measures for Bullwhip Effect: Theoretically the Bullwhip effect does not occur if all orders exactly meet the demand of each period. This is consistent with findings of supply chain experts who have recognized that the Bullwhip Effect is a problem in forecast-driven supply chains, and careful management of the effect is an important goal for Supply Chain Manager. Therefore it is necessary to extend the visibility of customer demand as far as possible. One way to achieve this is to establish a demand-driven supply chain which reacts to actual customer orders. In manufacturing, this concept is called Kanban. This model has been most successfully implemented in Wal-Mart’s distribution system. Individual Wal-Mart stores transmit point-of-sale (POS) data from the cash back to corporate headquarters several times a day. This demand information is used to queue shipments from the Wal-Mart distribution center to the store and from the supplier to the Wal-Mart distribution center. The result is near-perfect visibility of customer demand and inventory movement throughout the supply chain. Better information leads to better inventory positioning and lower costs throughout the supply chain. Barriers to the implementation of a demand-driven supply chain include the necessary investment in information technology and the creation of a corporate culture of flexibility and focus on customer demand. Another prerequisite is that all members of a supply chain recognize that they can gain more if they act as a whole which requires trustful collaboration and information sharing. Methods intended to reduce uncertainty, variability, and lead time: Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI) Just In Time replenishment (JIT) Strategic partnership Information sharing smooth the flow of products coordinate with retailers to spread deliveries evenly reduce minimum batch sizes smaller and more frequent replenishments eliminate pathological incentives every day low price policy restrict returns and order cancellations order allocation based on past sales instead of current size in case of shortage Creative Software: Different Software’s can be used by different Companies. Aramark uses software called Prima. It’s basically user friendly software. Aramark developed this software. The software has many features. The software is developed out of creativity. I am sure that many of the companies use this software. Features of this software are 1. New recipes can be added 2. Recipes can be edited. 3. Define and validate the specifications of the items 4. Identify appropriate HACCP procedures 5. Calculate meal component contributions 6. Verify nutrition analysis This software is used to take care of the Supply Chain Management stuff. This is used everywhere in Aramark. The person who uses the software enters the Invoices and posts them to the inventory. He makes sure that the Invoices are paid. He then takes the print outs of the Inventory count sheets and will plug the numbers once he is done with Counting. By using this software one can get to know the correct food cost percentage. This Software is developed so creatively. Many creative software were developed to solve supply chain management problems, few of the software’s are E-Business Peoplesoft SAP TradeBeam Gillani iERP[3] Role of Creativity of Management in Supply Chain Management: There are many Supply Chain Management Problems. We can put an end to these problems using Creativity. The major Supply Chain Management Problems are Distribution Network Configuration, Distribution Strategy, Trade-offs in Logistical Activities, Information, Inventory Management, etc. Distribution Network Configuration: One has to take good care of ware houses, production Facilities etc. When the organization or the company is large, It will be difficult to maintain all these things. The manager is responsible for this stuff. He should take care of all the ware houses, Production facilities and make sure everything Is going on good and there is no old stock left. He should order products and items from the same company. The manager should take care of the relationships between customers and the management. Distribution Strategy: This mainly deals with the transportation. Few products wil be shipped from different places, and the shipping cost will be more. Some times when the manager orders for less products, the shipping cost will be more than the price of the products. So, the manager should think creatively to avoid these freight charges. The manager should think creatively and try to reduce the cost by selecting good mode of transportation, which actually reduces the money. Trade offs in Logistical Activities: The target is to get the lowest Logistics cost. Trade-offs can Increase the cost. The creative way to put an end to this problem is to Order truck full of items rather than ordering half load truck items. By this way, can reduce the cost a bit. Information: Information plays a major role in Supply Chain Management because decisions are taken by making assumptions, by forecasting and by fore seeing the facts. It is really required to think and take a creativitive decision and required to think creatively to reduce the cost. Inventory Management: Inventory management plays an important role, because Supply chain depends upon the Inventory Management. Inventory must be counted by only one person every time and at the same time. This gives the approximate food cost. Raw materials must be taken care of. Correct amount of raw materials should be ordered and must be made sure that they are not wasted. Finished products are also important. Cash flow: Cash flow is very important. Payment terms and everything should be taken care of the manager creatively. Another creative Method to do good in Supply Chain Management is: Strategic Alliances: Strategic Partnering: Types of SP Quick Response Vendors receive POS data from retailers, and use this information to synchronize production and inventory activities at the supplier. The retailer still prepares individual orders, but the POS data is used by the supplier to improve forecasting and scheduling. – Example: Milliken and Company: The lead time from order receipt at Milliken’s textile plants to final clothing receipt at several of the department stores involved was reduced from eighteen weeks down to three weeks. Continuous Replenishment: Vendors receive POS data and use it prepare shipments at previously agreed upon intervals to maintain agreed to levels of inventory. – Wal-Mart, Kmart Advanced Continuous Replenishment: Suppliers may gradually decrease inventory levels at the retailer’s store or distribution center as long as service levels are met. Inventory levels are thus continuously improved in a structured way. – Kmart Vendor Managed Inventory (VMI):JITD – VMI Projects at Dillard Department Stores, J.C.Penney, and Wal-Mart have shown sales increases of 20 to 25 percent, and 30 percent inventory turnover improvements Requirements for Effective SP: 1. Advanced information systems 2. Top management commitment 3. Information must be shared 4. Power and responsibility within an organization might change (for example, contact with customers switches from sales and marketing to logistics) 5. Mutual trust 6. Information sharing 7. Management of the entire supply chain 8. Initial loss of revenues Important SP Issues: 1. Inventory ownership: 2. Retailer owns inventory 3. Supplier owns the goods until they are sold 4. Performance measures: Fill rate, inventory level, inventory turns Confidentiality: 1. Communication and cooperation 2. When First Brands started partnering with Kmart, Kmart often claimed that its supplier was not living up to its agreement to keep two weeks of inventory at all times. It turned out that this was due to the fact that the two companies employed different forecasting methods. Steps in SP Implementation: Contractual negotiations: 1. Ownership 2. Credit terms 3. Ordering decisions Performance measures: 1. Develop or integrate information systems 2. Develop effective forecasting techniques 3. Develop a tactical decision support tool to assist in coordinating inventory management and transportation policies Advantages of SP: Fully utilize system knowledge Consider the partnership between White-Hall Robbins (W-R), who makes over-the-counter drugs such as Advil, and Kmart. W-R initially disagreed with Kmart about forecasts, and in this case, it turned out that W-R forecasts were more accurate because they have a much more extensive knowledge of their products than Kmart does. Decrease required inventory levels: 1. Improve service levels 2. Decrease work duplication 3. Improve forecasts Disadvantages of SP: 1. Expensive advanced technology is required. 2. Supplier/retailer trust must be developed. 3. Supplier responsibility increases. Examples of SP: Successes and Failures: Western Publishing-Golden Books: – Western Publishing is using VMI for its Golden Books line of children’s books at several retailers. – POS data automatically triggers re-orders when inventory falls below a reorder point. – This inventory is delivered either to a distribution center, or in many cases, directly to the store. – Ownership of the books shifts to the retailer once deliveries have been made. – In the case of Toys R Us, the company has even managed the entire book section for the retailer, including inventory from suppliers other than Western Publishing. – Extra sales, increased costs to Western VF Corporation’s Market Response System: – The VF Corporation, which has many well known brand names (including Wrangler, Lee, Girbaud, and many others), began its VMI program in 1989. – Currently, about 40 percent of its production is handled using some type of automatic replenishment scheme. – This is particularly notable because the program encompasses 350 different retailers, 40,000 store locations, and more than 15 million replenishment levels. – VF’s program is considered one of the most successful in the apparel industry Spartan Stores – Spartan Stores, a grocery chain, shut down its VMI effort about one year after its inception. – One problem was that buyers were not spending any less time on reorders than they did before – This was because they didn’t trust the suppliers enough to be able to stop carefully monitoring the inventories and deliveries of the VMI items, and intervening at the slightest hint of trouble. Spartan Stores (continued) – Suppliers didn’t do much to allay these fears. The problems were not with the suppliers’ forecasts; instead, they were due to the suppliers’ inability to deal with promotions, which are a key part of the grocery business. – Since they were unable to appropriately account for promotions, delivery levels were often unacceptably low during these periods of peak demand Third Party Logistics: Outside firms perform materials management and logistics functions Long term commitments and multiple functions of 3PL: Advantages of 3PL: 1. Focus on core strengths 2. Provides technological flexibility 3. Provides flexibility in geography 4. Workforce size 5. Additional services 6. Resource flexibility Disadvantages of 3PL: 1. Loss of control 2.3PL employees may interact with customers 3.3PL’s address this with uniforms, logos, etc 4. Sharing of confidential info Examples: 1. Simmons and Ryder Integrated Logistics 2. On site rep, all logistics managed by Ryder, JIT manufacturing -SonicAir 3. Rapid delivery of spare parts 4. 67 warehouses 5. Sophisticated software for inventory and rapid delivery Distributor Integration: Parts are shared across the distributor network. Specialized service requests are steered to appropriate dealers or distributors. Trust, Pledges, Guarantees from the manufacturer and Advanced information systems are required. Disadvantages of Distributor Integration: Incentives for dealers – are they giving away competitive Advantages of Distributor Integration: Skills and responsibilities are taken from some dealers/distributors. Examples: Caterpillar, Okuma Work Cited http://www.scmr.com/article/330700-The_7_Principles_of_Supply_Chain_Management.php#id2579830-92-span http://www.quickmba.com/ops/scm/ http://forums.utk.edu/readings/RoleMarketingSC.pdf http://www.tdg.eu.com/documents/Supply Chain Design – A Question of Creativity.pdf Cooper, M.C., Lambert, D.M.,
Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp B. Trimble Digoxin Overdose Digoxin is derived from the leaves of a digitalis plant (foxglove). Some plants have chemicals that can cause symptoms similar to digoxin if eaten, such as lily of the valley and oleander. Digoxin is a substrate of P-glycoprotein. Drugs that induce or inhibit P-glycoprotein in the intestines or the kidneys have the potential to alter digoxin pharmacokinetics (Katzung, Mastes,
Share this: Facebook Twitter Reddit LinkedIn WhatsApp SNAP: Hunger in America Introduction In 1951, the first food stamp bill was introduced to the United States. From there on out, food assistance programs in the United States have served hundreds of millions of people to date. The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) started in the 1970s and groups of doctors have proven that the program dramatically reduced hunger in America. Strict regulations surround the program and are constantly changing to help people from abusing the money they are given, only about 2% of people actually abuse the SNAP program. According to Feeding America, in 2017 “40 million Americans struggle with hunger, the same as the number of people officially living in poverty.” This alarming statistic is clearly a huge trigger for the welfare state of America and something needs to be done about it. Poverty and hunger cannot be solved in a day or a month, but over time and with the help of many strong policies and other actions, these two social problems can hopefully one day be diminished. This paper will show how food programs such as SNAP, WIC, and the National School Lunch Program are effective and useful in helping address hunger in America. This paper will discuss and examine three major federal food assistance program— the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP); the National School Lunch Program and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC). In 2017, “58% of food-insecure households participated in at least one of the major federal food assistance program”(Feeding America). Programs and Policies SNAP provides necessary nutritional support for low-wage working families, low-income seniors, and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes. After unemployment insurance, SNAP is the most active federal program granting additional assistance during economic downturns. The federal government handles the complete cost of SNAP benefits and divides the cost of administering the program with the states, which conduct the program. SNAP is a unique policy due to its nonrestrictive qualities. SNAP is accessible to almost all households with low incomes. SNAP addresses the issue of hunger in America by helping support the funding needed to get food. In order to be eliglible, the closer one is to the poverty line the more assistance one will receive. About 70% of people who receive food assistance through SNAP are families and households. Parents need aid to support their kids and get food on the table. The cost of living for a family of 5 is higher than the cost of living to support one. Policymakers put this thought into action when designing this policy. This is why SNAP has been a successful stable policy for over 100 years. Not much has changed for the program other than the way the money is given out to participants. This goes to show the effectiveness of the program and the continuous need for it. Another policy that helps limit hunger in America is The National School Lunch Program. The National School Lunch Program helps feed children all across the United States, “22 million children in the United States rely on the free or reduced-price lunch they receive at school, and every one of them is eligible for free breakfast as well.” (Feeding America, 2018). By definition “The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It provides nutritionally balanced, low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. The program was established under the National School Lunch Act, signed by President Harry Truman in 1946.”(FNS, 2018). The last major federal food assistance program this paper will analyze is the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children, also known as WIC, which serves 53% of infants born in the United States, (FNS, 2018). The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children “serves to safeguard the health of low-income pregnant, postpartum, and breastfeeding women, infants, and children up to age 5 who are at nutritional risk by providing nutritious foods to supplement diets, information on healthy eating including breastfeeding promotion and support, and referrals to health care,”(FNS). The basic eligibility requirement for WIC is a family income below 185% of the federal poverty level. This program is massive and serves about half of infants born in the United States. Demographics and Costs Poverty and hunger sadly do not exclude anyone. According to The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program in Fiscal Year 2017, SNAP reached: 42 million participants in the United States, or 13% of the total population (1 in 8), (FNS, 2018). In December 2017, SNAP had 41 thousand people participating in the food assistance program with 20,376 participating households. The total cost of the program was $6,112 million (FNS, 2018). Close to 70 percent of SNAP participants are in families including children; almost a third are in households with seniors or people with disabilities. In December 2017, 29,636 children were participating in the National School Lunch Program and of that 21,695 million were receiving Free-Reduced Lunches. 391.5 million total school lunches were given out in the program and of that 67.19% were free and 6% were at a reduced price. This cost the NSLP is $1,109 million (FNS, 2018). In 2015, 15 million mothers were eligible for WIC, while only 7.94 million participated in receiving benefits from WIC. “The estimates of program eligibility consider poverty level, adjunctive income eligibility (e.g., due to participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program [SNAP], Medicaid, or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families [TANF]), national estimates of nutritional risk, and national- and State-level estimates of the duration of breastfeeding. The estimates of program coverage are derived using USDA Food and Nutrition Service’s” (FNS). This group of eligible mothers consists of all races and ages. Coverage rates are highest for Hispanic 62.7% and lowest for non-Hispanic 42.2% and coverage for Black only non-Hispanic was 57%. Those in the Western region had the highest coverage rate of 605 and those in the Mountain Plains region had the lowest coverage rate of 43.5%. (United States Department of Agriculture, 2016). History of SNAP The foundation for SNAP was first built in 1933 as part of the Agricultural Adjustment Act (AAA). The program was referred to as the Federal Surplus Relief Corporation. This program was established in the midst of the Great Depression when prices for crops fell dramatically and farms across America were struggling to deal with the excess supply. To formalize this food distribution and to avoid duplicating efforts by local relief agencies, Secretary of Agriculture, Henry Wallace, created the Food Stamp Program in the United States. The initiative called the “Food Stamps Plan,” was implemented in 1939 under the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt as a key component of the New Deal program. Food assistance was made available to low-income individuals through the purchase of food stamps and the provision of additional bonus stamps that could be used to purchase specific foods identified as being in surplus. Up until 2008, SNAP underwent a lot of trial and error between presidencies to make the program stable and uniform. In 2008, legislators focused on restructuring the food stamps program to place greater emphasis on nutrition. While this program provides money for food, nutrition is now a huge goal for the program as well and SNAP is now the most important health and nutrition initiative currently in the United States. There are now many proposals ensuring the program promotes healthy eating and nutrition. On February 7, 2014, President Obama signed the 2014 Farm Bill (also known as the Agricultural Act of 2014) into law. The legislation made many changes to SNAP, which the Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) has begun to implement. The 2014 legislation re-authorizing SNAP does not permit benefits to be used to purchase alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, hot food and any food sold for on-premises consumption. Therefore, soft drinks, candy, cookies, snack crackers, and ice cream are all eligible items for purchase with SNAP benefits. In the years ahead, stakeholders will be discussing how to improve nutrition among program participants now and in anticipation of the next Farm Bill. In 2015, the USDA awarded $31.5 million in funding to local, state, and national organizations to support programs that help participants in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) increase their purchase of fruits and vegetables. Implementation The goal of SNAP is to reduce hunger in America and help get working and non-working families the food assistance they need. SNAP gives families the opportunity to buy their own groceries and get the nutrients they need. The closer a family is to the poverty line the more benefits they receive in order to get an adequate diet. If a family has a higher income they do not need the same assistance as someone who is closer to the poverty line. The federal government has “spent about $70 billion on SNAP and other food assistance programs. 93% percent of SNAP spending went directly to benefits that households used to purchase food, and 6.5 percent went to state administrative costs, including eligibility determinations, employment and training and nutrition education for SNAP households, and anti-fraud activities,”(Policy Basics, 2018). Funding from the government goes right into the main bulk of the policy. There is no waste of money that’s left to be spent. Only 6.5% goes towards administrative costs because there is really nothing other than paperwork to be done for the program. Policy members have chosen to address the problem this way because it is efficient. Having a card that loads every month with specific benefits ensures participants are reducing program fraud, ensuring ease of use of food benefits by program participants, and to reduces the stigma associated with using food stamps for purchases. Having a card eliminates the stigma surrounding food stamps. Going to the food store with stamps was embarrassing for participants because it was obvious participants needed assistance. With a card, the feeling of embarrassment and the stigma around the stamps is eliminated. This enclines participants to use the program more and get what they need out of it. The application of a card is flexible and is why the policy works so well. This allows families the freedom of buying what they like with a controlled amount set up by the federal government. The card is a uniform and simple way to implement the benefits of the policy. For WIC, eligible participants are given a electronic benefits card to be used for a number of resources “ including health screening, nutrition and breastfeeding counseling, immunization screening and referral, substance abuse referral, and more,” (WIC Benefits, 2018). WIC also supplies food packages that have specific nutrients for WIC participants. This ensures women are getting the vitamins and supplements they need in order to have healthy breastmilk and healthy stomachs to support their child. The theories behind these policies are that if food is supplied to families they have a better chance of getting back on their feet. When a child is in school, how would they be able to focus without breakfast or lunch? With the National School Lunch Program, the assistance is supplied to help that child succeed. When children perform better in school this gives them the platform and grades they need to then get better jobs and eventually help support our economy. This chain effect starts young, when a child is healthier they are happier and can focus better. SNAP is now a seasoned program since it was first introduced into the government in 1933. First SNAP started with food stamps, but as technology advanced the benefits card was introduced to make the process easier. In the beginning of this program, participants would have to purchase food stamps to get more and now the government now fully funds this program for eligible participants. The approach of SNAP is generally the same from the beginning of time it just has been reworked and renewed to perfect the implementation process. SNAP is administered at the state level but is funded federally. Each state gets to decide what the application process is for each family but most of the time households apply to the program if they are eligible, document eligibility including their income and residency, and have an interview which can be done over the phone. Households that are found eligible then get a benefits card that is loaded each month. These cards are able to be used in most supermarkets. Households “must reapply for SNAP periodically, typically every six to 12 months for most families and every 12 to 24 months for seniors and people with disabilities,” (Policy Basics, 2018). WIC is funded federally, although “states, in turn, allocate the federal funds they receive to local WIC clinics that provide food vouchers and services to participants”(Policy Basics:WIC, 2018). The program for WIC has been around for so long because of its stable continual with healthier birth rates, more nutritious diets, stronger connections to preventative health care, and improved education. The labor and service costs of SNAP is low. 6.5% of program funding goes toward state administrative costs while less than 1 percent went to federal administrative costs, (Policy Basics, 2018). Only about 8% of WIC funding goes towards administrative costs. Relevance The three policies discussed in this paper are relevant to fit our understanding of hunger in America. When citizens have the aid of food assistance they are able to worry less about putting food on their plates and have more time and energy to work and support their families. The main issue associated with hunger in America is not the cost of food but the lack of resources families have in order to pay for food. Food paired with the cost of everything else families need, such as for paying for child care, clothing, living accommodations, and the time needed to work, take away from money to buy food. This is where SNAP and other food assistance programs come in. SNAP is not a program designed to eliminate hunger in America but it is a program designed to help and assist those in need of food to help better the welfare state of America and give those in poverty more nutritious and well-rounded diets. 2 out of 3 participants of SNAP are families, which is where WIC and the National School Lunch Program come in to assist as well. These three programs are the biggest and most important food assistance programs in America and in 2017 have helped over 5o million Americans. The National School Lunch Program and WIC both serve to better the children of America. With the assistance of these two programs, impoverished children can get a comparable head start to children who come from affluent families. This levels the playing field for impoverished children’s physical and mental health and ultimately promotes better health outcomes in the future. These programs are proven to be effective since they were started. Statistics have backed up these programs to show they actually work and are beneficial to helping poverty and hunger in America. Effectiveness and Efficiency SNAP has been proven to be effective in many areas. When responding to the recession “policymakers deemed SNAP to be effective for this purpose because of its broad reach among low-income populations and its high efficiency,” (Rosenbaum, 2013). SNAP gained a huge load of cases after the stock market crashed in 2008. The Recovery Act helped SNAP balance the number of new cases as the economy began to recover. Also, SNAP is growing slower than the economy which means that is is not contributing to the national debt of the country, (Rosenbaum, 2013). By helping assist families in getting the food they need, more time can be dedicated to working and more money can be spent on food. For every one dollar spent by SNAP users, $1.70 is put back into the economy. “Economists consider SNAP one of the most effective forms of economic stimulus. Moody’s Analytics estimates that in a weak economy, every dollar increase in SNAP benefits generates about $1.70 in economic activity,”(Rosenbaum, 2013). This statistic proves another benefit of the SNAP program. In my opinion, the most advantageous aspect of SNAP is the availability of participants able to utilize the benefits of the program. Once a family applies for aid and they are qualified, they will receive the benefits. All the household has to do is keep up with sending in papers about their finances supporting their cause or need for aid. Another advantage of SNAP is the ability of the program to Conclusion Based on the analysis of food assistance programs in America as discussed in this paper, we can assume these programs are highly efficient and beneficial to the welfare state of America. Although a suggestion to be made to SNAP can be for the program to really crack down on what food participants can buy. Right now the electronic benefit card lets participants of SNAP buy most things in a grocery store but if restrictions were tighter, this could also benefit preventative health care in America. SNAP does work hard at giving participants nutritional support, but for instance, WIC gives help to pregnant and young child mothers assistance with supplemental foods, health care referrals, and nutrition education. WIC really goes in dept to the services it provides to its clients. Most people who are impoverished and are on SNAP are probably on other social service benefits too and could benefit from more nutritious food. The National School Lunch Program has a list of restrictions to help better the diet of the meals given out to children. SNAP could look to these two programs to help better the nutrition part of the policy to help better the nutrition of those in poverty. References Cai, L.,

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Write an essay of at least 500 words discussing how database auditing and monitoring fit within a SOX compliance framework.Do not copy without providing proper attribution. This paper will be evaluated through SafeAssign.Write in essay format not in outline, bulleted, numbered or other list format.Use the five paragraph format. Each paragraph must have at least five sentences. Include 3 quotes with quotation marks and cited in-line and in a list of references. Include an interesting meaninful title.Include at least one quote from each of 3 different articles, place the words you copied (do not alter or paraphrase the words) in quotation marks and cite in-line (as all work copied from another should be handled). The quotes should be full sentences (no more, less) and should be incorporated in your discussion (they do not replace your discussion) to illustrate or emphasize your ideas.Cite your sources in a clickable reference list at the end. Do not copy without providing proper attribution (quotation marks and in-line citations).
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The Creative Concepts Of Thomas Chad Commerce Essay

custom essay Chad’s Creative Concepts is the brainchild of Thomas Chad. The company is an American designer and manufacturer of wooden furniture for vacation cabins. The company began by manufacturing custom made wooden furniture which was immensely popular and the company garnered a reputation for excellent workmanship and innovative design. As the company expanded, a decision was made to diversify operations by manufacturing standard furniture. This decision was made because as the company’s reputation grew it was able to sell some of its more popular designs to retailers around the region. At the same time, this allowed the company to penetrate a new customer segment that is more price-sensitive. In spite of the relatively high prices of custom made furniture, they still constitute the bulk of customer order because customers are able to choose the type of wood and design they like. Even though the company is growing rapidly, it is beginning to experience some problems. All of Chad’s furniture is manufactured at the same plant using the same equipment, which means that both lines of furniture must compete for the same resources. Since the profit margin and sales volume of custom made furniture is higher, the equipment and labour are shifted towards the manufacture of this furniture, even though the production of standard furniture is scheduled. As a result, the production of standard furniture is slowed down, causing quantities of work in progress to accumulate. Orders take longer to process and manufacture and customers end up waiting longer than promised. In addition, the quality of the standard furniture suffered as a result of shoddy workmanship. These problems are growing especially acute. Thomas Chad is aware that the production problems need to be overcome. Also, the company does not use much information technology and this puts it at a disadvantage in the long run as IT is a useful tool in helping a business to achieve its goals. This report examines some of the critical issues at Chad’s Creative Concepts. It adopts a holistic view on solving these problems by going beyond the functional areas. 2.0 Main Issues 2.1 Capacity Constraints Many organizations operate at below their maximum processing capacity, either because there is insufficient demand to completely fill their capacity or as a deliberate policy so that the operation can respond quickly to every new order (Shore, 1994). Often, though, organizations find themselves with some parts of their operation operating below their capacity while other parts are at their capacity ceiling. This is what is happening at Chad’s. It is the parts of the operation which are operating at their capacity ceiling which are the capacity constraint for the whole operating. Decisions made in capacity planning and control affect costs, revenues, working capital, quality, speed, dependability and flexibility performance (Srihan and LaForge, 1994). The first step in the capacity planning and control task is to understand and measure the likely fluctuations in demand and the extent of available capacity in the organization. Forecasting demand is characterized by high levels of uncertainty, whereas measuring capacity is characterized by high levels of complexity. The most common type of demand fluctuation which operations have to cope with is that due to seasonality. Seasonality affects may different types of operation and can be caused by climatic, economic, social, political and festive factors. Some operations also have shorter-cycle seasonality type fluctuations in demand over a month, week or even on an hourly basis. The second step of capacity planning and control is to identify the plans for coping with demand fluctuation. The third step in capacity planning and control is deciding which of the approaches to capacity planning are appropriate. Two techniques are useful in this task. The first is cumulative representations, which allow demand and capacity to be compared for feasibility. The second is the queuing theory, which is able to evaluate the consequences of capacity decisions in many queuing type service operations. At Chad’s the capacity constraints are caused by the limited number of employees and equipment. Even though sales are improving, the company maintains the same production workforce which is insufficient to cater to growing demand. The company should consider hiring more employees and buying more equipment. 2.2 Ineffective Supply Chain Management A supply chain is a strand or chain of operations within an organization’s supply network which passes through the organization. Supply chain management is a broad and strategically important concept which includes the entire supply chain from the supply of raw materials, through manufacture, assembly and distribution to the end customer (Nolden, 1987). It includes the strategic and long-term consideration of supply chain management issues as well as the shorter term control of flow throughout the supply chain. 2.3 Poor Quality Control for Standard Line Good quality control is essential for any organization. A business must ensure the quality and uniformity of its products and services to ensure customer loyalty. While the quality of its custom made furniture is not compromised, the same cannot be said for the standard line of furniture at Chad’s. The lack of quality may cost the company potential customers. 2.4 Poor Usage of Information Technology It is unfortunate that Chad’s Creative Concepts has such a low usage of information technology (IT). As pointed out in the case, many businesses have turned towards e-business to gain competitive advantage. Since Thomas Chad is ignorant of the matter, he should find out more information to comprehend just how effective and useful IT can be for a business. 3.0 Recommendations At face value, the problems faced by Chad’s Creative Concepts seem to revolve around operations management. However, if we dig deeper, we find other fundamental flaws in the whole business. Hence, while some of the following recommendations serve to solve the problems associated with operations management, others are directed towards overcoming weaknesses in the core business. 3.1 Implement a Just-in-Time (JIT) System The materials procurement process at Chad’s is inefficient, particularly for the standard line of furniture. The overall aim of just-in-time (JIT) operations is to meet demand instantaneously with perfect quality and no waste. It must be stressed however that this is an aim rather than a short term realistic target (Karmakar, 1989). Nevertheless, JIT does aim to produce parts and products just in time for them to be needed by customers and not earlier than they need them nor later than they need them. The central justification for just in time delivery is that the low inventory levels it produces not only save working capital but also have a significant impact on the ability of an operation to improve its intrinsic efficiency. This leads to a broader definition of JIT which can be seen as an operation’s philosophy which attacks all kinds of waste in the operations. JIT can be seen both as an overall philosophy of operations and also as a collection of tools and methods which supports its aims. As a philosophy, JIT can be summarized as concerning three overlapping elements (Zipkin, 1991). These are the elimination of waste in all its forms, the inclusion of all staff in the operation in its improvement and the idea that all improvement should be on a continuous basis. 3.2 Improve Scheduling Scheduling involves the timing and coordination of operations. Such activities are fundamental to virtually every organization. Chad’s could use Gantt charts to help managers visualize workloads and they are useful for describing and analyzing sequencing alternatives (Stevenson, 1999). In addition, both heuristic and optimizing methods are used to develop loading and sequencing plans. 3.3 Reconfigure the Value Chain The value chain is defined as a sequence of activities that should contribute more to the ultimate value of the product than to its cost (Atkinson et al, 2007). When value is added in the form of the value chain, it can be utilized to develop Chad’s sustainable competitive advantage. All organizations consist of activities that are linked together to develop the value of the business, and together these activities form the organization’s value chain. Value chain analysis is a useful tool for companies to identify the key activities within the organization which form the value chain and have the potential of achieving a significant and lasting competitive advantage for Chad’s Creative Concepts. Short term cost advantages can also be obtained by reconfiguring the value chain. This can be done at Chad’s by making structural changes in the value chain such making improvements in its capacity utilization, reducing processing time, and enhancing vertical integration. As a result, costs are lowered and value is added (Huff et al, 2009). All these result in lower costs, competitive furniture prices and greater customer satisfaction. 3.4 Maximize the Impact of Information Technology Chad’s has very low utilization in its operations. It should overcome this weakness as the internet has the potential to create new opportunities for it to achieve low cost leadership by allowing it to manage costs and achieve better efficiencies. Transaction costs are greatly lowered through IT. Paperless transactions reduce procurement and other paper costs. Transaction costs can also be lowered by removing intermediaries that add costs. Collaborative design efforts that employer internet technology can link designers, suppliers and customers, thus reducing costs and speeding the process of new ideas generation. Chad’s can go one step further by introducing more applications and e-business. One way this can be done is through the extended value chain by using IT to link the company’s own value chain with the value chains of suppliers and customers. As a result, value is added not just through Chad’s own value creating activities, but those for its suppliers and customers as well. This is also part of the virtuous business cycle. However, Chad’s should be aware of the pitfalls of using this strategy. The main threat is imitation by competitors, especially when business is done online. This is because many of the advantages related to connecting directly on a real time basis to the customers, such as software can be easily duplicated by others without any real threat of copyright infringement (Dess et al, 2008). Another pitfall is that companies become so enchanted with using the internet to cut costs that they lose sight of the big picture. When one business activity such as cutting costs is given a priority over others, then the whole organization will suffer from lopsided and myopic strategic planning (Timmons and Spinelli, 2009). 3.5 Deleting the Standard Line of Furniture If Chad’s is unable to overcome its production problems, it must seriously consider whether it should continue with the standard furniture line. After all, this range accounts for a mere 40% of volume and 25% of sales. Plus, the profit margin is considerably lower compared with that for custom made furniture. Therefore, the company should consider deleting this line if it proves to be unprofitable. Ultimately, the decision to determine whether or not to delete the standard line of furniture must be based on sound management accounting principles. It must be remembered that some fixed costs are unavoidable costs and in fact, the contribution earned from an unprofitable division can be used to offset these fixed costs. Therefore, Chad’s must determine whether the loss in revenue from the deletion of standard furniture would lead to improved overall profitability. 3.6 Rethinking the Business Model All businesses have some form of business model. Some take great pains to craft it while others improvise as they go along. However, a business model is the heart and soul of the company for it is what directs all the company’s actions. Therefore, Thomas Chad should ask himself, “What is my business model?” Is it to specialize in custom made wooden furniture or to be a manufacturer of all types of wooden furniture? Once, this is clear, the company is than able to formulate its strategies towards achieving this goal. If a company has a haphazard and confused notion of what it stands for, it will not succeed in the long term. When strategic moves are contemplated by a company, they normally involve some variation of Porter’s generic strategies or other approaches. One approach that is increasingly popular now is rethinking the business model. According to a recent survey, nearly 70% of American companies are trying to create innovative business models whereas 98% are in the midst of modifying existing models (Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart, 2011). Still a majority of these companies view the creation and evaluation of business models as an isolated activity, devoid from how they will impact the business and how they will connect with the business models of rivals (Huff et al, 2009). Consequently, companies fail to achieve their strategic goals. In addition, many companies are oblivious that virtuous business cycles can be created through business models, in the manner of high technology companies like Microsoft, Google and Facebook. Competitive advantage is reinforced when these cycles are aligned with company goals. When the right choices are made, a company can strengthen the virtuous cycle of its business, transform rivals into complementary enterprises or even weaken rivals (Burns and Mitchell, 2006). This strategy is using business models to gain competitive advantage. A good business model has three characteristics (Casadesus-Masanell and Ricart, 2011). One, it is aligned with company goals. When designing a business model, the choices made should reflect the outcomes that help a company achieve its targets. Two, it must be self reinforcing. Each of the choices made through a business model must reflect each other. There must be internal consistency. For example, if AirAsia were to decide to provide a level of comfort comparable to that offered by a full fare carrier such as Malaysian Airlines, the change would require reducing the number of seats on each plane and offering food and drinks. These choices would undermine the company’s low cost structure and wreck its profits. If there is weak reinforcement, the business model should be tweaked by discarding certain choices and adopting new ones. Three, a good business model is robust. It must be able to maintain its effectiveness over a long period by shaking off four main threats. They are imitation (whether competitors can replicate the company’s business model), holdup (the ability of customers, suppliers or other players to capture the value that is created by taking advantage of their bargaining power), slack (complacency within the company) and substitution (whether alternative products or services can lower the perceived value customers have about the company’s products or services). Even though the period of effectiveness is shorter nowadays than it once was, robustness is still a critical parameter. Based on these criteria, Chad’s Creative Concepts should rethink its business model. It must display enough humility to know that all is not perfect and find ways to overcome weaknesses. 3.7 Reinventing the Business All businesses, even the most successful ones, will inevitably stop growing. There are many reasons why this could happen. A company could stray from its core business activity or stay with it for too long. It may have difficulty in realizing its strategy, or customer tastes could change, or the company could obsessively cut costs just for the sake of cutting costs. As a result, they need to reinvent themselves from time to time (Pearce and Robinson, 2000). The ability to move from a maturity stage of one type of business to the growth stage of another type of business is what separates the long term success stories and the ‘one hit’ failures. All businesses undergo what can be described as a financial S curve, which is similar to the product life cycle curve (Nunes and Breene, 2011). This occurs when a company grows slowly at first then experiences a period of rapid growth before facing a period of decline. Most companies focus far too much on one S curve without realizing that they should actually create multiple S curves in order to stay competitive. This means that a company should move from one financial S curve which is its maturity or decline stage to another which is in the growth stage (Atkinson et al, 2007). Such an approach is most prevalent in the mobile phone industry in which companies periodically reinvent their product offering. On the other hand, successful companies like Google seemed stuck in a trap in which it cannot move from its existing business model and strategy, though it is not for want of trying. To move from one S curve to another, Chad’s needs to be aware of some ‘hidden’ curves (Nunes and Breene, 2011). While this may seem premature for a company that may not even have crossed its first S curve, the company needs to stay ahead of the game and think for the long term. The first is the hidden competition curve. This means that a company’s competitors constantly change from the time it was founded to when it achieves peak profitability. Successful companies realize that there are shifts in customer needs and wants and therefore create the next platform for new competition. The second hidden curve is the capabilities curve. Each successful company has its own sets of capabilities that permit it to succeed at business. These can range from production methods, employment of IT and human resource. Here, it is worth noting that its workforce is an invaluable asset at Chad’s. The employees are extremely loyal and show great dedication. There is excellent teamwork and members are free to exchange ideas. The company should build up on this major strength and unleash the full potential of its human capital. However, the competitive advantage attained from these capabilities is not permanent so companies need to formulate new capabilities to jump on to the next S curve. The third hidden curve is the talent curve. Many companies make the fatal mistake by not retaining critical talent at a time when it matters most. For example, when companies are approaching their peak, they might opt for a leaner structure and eliminate many employees. As a result, they could lose talented people who might be needed in helping the company move on to its next S curve. Luckily, this is a mistake Chad’s avoided making even during the worst times of the financial crisis. To succeed at reinventing its business, Chad’s Creative Concepts needs to balance its short-term and long term thinking. It needs to realize that measures that may be successful in the short term may not necessarily be the best to sustain long term growth. It needs to organize its strategies well to prevent overload. Tasks and responsibilities should be delegated to the extent possible and the company should not overburden top executives as that will impair their strategic thinking abilities. Business reinvention also calls for taking advantage of surplus talent (Robbins and Judge, 2007). As mentioned earlier, Chad’s has a strong workforce of talented and capable people and it is a waste to leave such talent unutilized. All too often, talented individuals feel stifled when they are not allowed to harness their talents and may move to another organization. These people may be the ones who are crucial to the company’s ability to move to the next level. For this purpose, employee development programs are essential to bring out the best in everybody. 4.0 Conclusion Chad’s Creative Concepts is a growing company that is experiencing growing pains. When it first started out business on a small scale, it faced few problems. However, as it expanded and diversified operations, the company finds itself facing a myriad of problems. From an ineffective business model to poor inventory management, the company finds itself at a critical crossroad, even though it is growing rapidly. To overcome these problems, the company needs to do some soul searching. It must be able to articulate its raison d’etre and formulate its strategy from there.

Healthcare Architecture Origin and Development

Healthcare Architecture Origin and Development. Chapter 1: Healthcare Architecture History that Time Forgot To trace back the history of healthcare and hospitals were unknown as there were many evidences of origination for earliest hospitals across different continent, and all historical healthcare serve under as religious influenced. Physicians back than consists of religious figure from gods and witch doctor to monks and priest. Around 430BC, temples in Athens were dedicated to “healing gods”, Asclepius for treating the sick spread throughout Greece. These holy temples were known as the very first hospitals in the history of western civilization. Dream interpretations was the process of healing where priests would interpret the dreams visited by the god, is also known as incubation. Priest would take a holistic approach to treatment which include, mud, herbal remedies, psychotherapy massage, bathing treatments, set dislocated bones and opium to calm agony of patient which were prescribed according to the dreams they experience. One of the oldest architecture evidence of a healthcare centre which dated back to the 9th century AD at Mihintale, Sri Lanka were Buddhist monasteries. There is evidence of patient ward which measured 4m x 4m. These evidence Medicinal trough roughly 7 feet long and 30 inches wide have been found by archaeologist. It was suggested that it was used with mineral water and medicinal oil for hydrotherapy. Healthcare influenced by social environment Roman Warfare Era “Many of mankind’s greatest discoveries have been made within the frame of warfare.” The Roman Empire was built upon the success of its legions, and the foundation of that success lies in the innovations and discoveries of Roman medicine in the battlefield. In the first century AD, the Roman Empire was in constant warfare with neighbouring country but the Roman legions did not have any organized medical units. It was only when the Roman Empire expanded to Greece that many Greek physicians came to Italy and Rome, because it was only during warfare that physician are able to practice and flourish their medical skill by performing surgeries and treating wounded soldiers. “He who desires to practice surgery must go to war.” Hippocrates (c. 460-377 B.C.) a famous Greek physician During the first and second century AD, Emperor Trajan established the Roman Military Hospitals, or valetudinarium after recognizing the importance of medical treatment to reduce wounded and sick soldiers during long military campaigns. Trained Roman medical officer would travel together soldiers To the battlefield and set up temporary groups of small tents and fortresses. Over time, the Roman ethic of military improvement reform temporary Military Hospital into permanent facilities. Roman military hospitals were originally built near river for the access of clean water and adequate sewerage for sanitation purposes. Later in order to have an effective army, the military hospital was incorporated into part of Roman fort architecture and were put near the other wall, so that soldiers could get treated and be back into the battlefield. The architecture of a standard Roman Military Hospitals is similar to most healthcare centre today, rectangular in shape and consist of four corridors connected by an entrance hall. Each corridors consists of number of small ward with ante room and large ward that holds three bed off the end. Other spaces in the valetudinarium include a reception ward, staff quarters, kitchen, dispensary, large hall and medicine facilities. Religion Influence Era But unlike modern hospitals, these military hospitals were only reserve for sick and wounded Roman soldiers as Roman soldiers were usually treated with respect and honour in daily life. Unfortunately, the poor receive no sort of medical care which raises the issue social stigma. Even slaves and gladiator receive medical care. After 310 AD, the concept of healthcare available to only soldiers and the rich changes when the Roman’s adopted Christianity as religion, which promoted a caring and social community, revolutionizing morality and social behaviour. Christianity contributed an immense role in expanding healthcare provisions for the public. Many churches and monastery were built not only as place for spiritual worship, but to cater for travellers, the poor and the sick. St. Basil of Caesarea founded the first large-scale hospital in 369 AD. The hospital consists of 300 bed to care for victims of the plague. It was during the late 8th centuries in the Dark Ages, which Emperor Charlemagne that a hospital must be built attached each cathedral and monastery. Benedictine Abbey of Cluny was founded in 910 became a dominant factor in hospital work. “To help them as would Christ” was the principle founded by the monastic hospitals. Patients ward would be placed near the altar The Cluny order had an enormous influence on the culture and Romanesque architecture during the time. The monastery was form by cloister of buildings to form an open central space. The cross shaped plan in the abbey was where patient ward were place, where light and fresh is easily penetrate into the whole plan. Patients is able to gain spiritual healing in assisting with their recovery in front of the altar. Danger of bad design Healthcare Architecture Hotel-Dieu was the oldest hospital in Paris founded in the 7th century situated next to the Seine river and serve originally as a refuge for the homeless and sick. It was during the 17th century, Hotel-Dieu became hospices where the poor and sick is treated. With 1,200 beds in total and over 100 beds in some ward, Hotel-Dieu was the largest hospital ever built at the time. Although being the largest hospital, the hospital was designed poorly. Most of the wards in Hotel-Dieu does not have adequate ventilation, it was also maintained poorly and unsanitary. During plague epidemics, it was the only place that provided healthcare facilities for the sick. The hospital was faced with problem of overcrowding when it requires to house 3500 patients at the same time during the period, which the hospital was inadequately able to provide. Up to six patients were force to share a single hospital bed and infectious airborne diseases were able to spread easily across the hospital. Poor architecture design combined with uncontrollable spread of disease resulted in a high mortality rate of one death in four patients. In 1785 numerous discussion, design modifications and reformation to the Paris hospital system were made when a large part of the Hotel-Dieu was burned down by fire in 1772. Dr Jacques Tenon was appointed with drawing up proposals for improving the hospitals of Paris. He visited forty hospitals during his time in England to detailed spatial, sanitary and administrative elements of it. During his visit in Greenwich, it was when Jacques Tenon paid unusual attention on the functions and service arrangement. Documenting every architectural element detail from dining rooms, cabins bed, woollen mattress, feather pillow, the distance between the corridors, fire precautions, iron doors, alarm bells and many more. Jacques Tenon’s published the book “Memoirs on the hospitals of Paris” based on his records. Jacques Tenon and Bernard Poyet (architect) came up for the design for the new Hotel-Dieu in 1785 next to Notre Dame Cathedral after the approval of scheme by the Academy of Sciences. The hospital introduces a circular design with wards radiating from the centre point. The design was prioritized on improving the ventilation and hygiene of the building. Although the radial design for the new Hotel-Dieu receive complimentary for its effort. The death rate remained unchanged in the hospital due to most of the city’s serious accidents were admitted to the new Hotel-Dieu. There are still several issues regarding to the design of it. Radial design provides insufficient space to cater for all patient; ventilation and sun light is unable to penetrate efficiently into most of the wards room. The Turning Point of Hospital The modernization of hospital design began to flourish during the age of enlightenments. In the mid-18th century, hospitals were introduced to the pavilion design. With the improvement of medical facilities and knowledge, isolation and containing airborne infections has been the main focus in reducing mortality rate. “taking the quest for the separation of pathologies and the desire to prevent contagion effects to the extreme” The first Pavilion type hospital in England was the Royal Herbert Hospital designed by Sir Douglas Galton which was recommended by Florence Nightingale in 1865. Sidney Herbert which was the leader of War Office wishes to reduce military mortality rate of British veterans of the Crimean War. The main intention of the pavilion design was to improved sanitation, cleanliness and fire prevention. Semi- detached building separates the hospital into isolated complex. Each complex contains ward connected by a central corridor to all other parts of the hospital. All wards are raised from the ground to maximise cross ventilation (fresh air) and natural lighting (daylight penetration). The central complex is where the administration and services located. The pavilion plan spatial layout is an excellence respond to the lack natural ventilation and separation of contagious diseases. During an epidemic outbreak in the hospital, it is able to quickly shut down the infected block, isolating it from the rest of the building. The rectangular form of the Royal Herbert Hospital provides better efficiency in plate ratio maximizing number of wards in the hospital. The sharp decline in hospital mortality rates and rise in public health make the “pavilion principle” a trend for modern hospital design. Political Influence Healthcare Buildings In 1938 the Finsbury Health centre designed by Berthold Lubetkin was opened with his allegation that “nothing was too good for ordinary people”. The development of the NHS was an essential crossroads in British Social History, and the Finsbury Health Centre was that monument of a socialist idealism. Finsbury was once a thickly stuffed ghetto relieved by green space and filled with epidemic disease. Given the circumstances, local politicians were determined to redeveloped Finsbury into a model of social progress. Things had to be improved, housing, education, hygiene and health. The principle of Finsbury Health Centre was to make healthcare available for free at a single point of delivery and the spatial arrangement of the healthcare building was designed to accommodating many different kinds of medical treatment, as opposed to being scattered all through the borough. After six decades of National Health Service, many of Finsbury principle has been adopted which led to the belief of Berthold Lubetkin that the building serves as an instrument of social improvement. The form of the Healthcare centre is design in a letter H with public spaces located in the ground floor plan. Core public spaces such as the reception, lecture theatre and services are located in the centre section of the building with ramped services provided from the garden entrance. Both wings on the side of the building are flexibly planned clinical accommodation with different healthcare spaces. The floor plates of the building is extended from ground floor to first floor. Emergency patients can access independently to the basement floor from the rear service courtyard. The building is built from reinforced concrete frame with glass block and curtain wall infill, tiled wall surrounds and asphalt roof. Built EnvironmentHealthcare Architecture Origin and Development

Skills Required for Counselling

Skills Required for Counselling. Counselling offers a chance for a client to talk privately to a councilor about unknown emotions, issues with relationship, individual problems, and a councilor will be allowed to investigate your actual sentiments and be underpinned without judgment. Since everybody is diverse, a counsellor does not just relegate counsel (BACP, 2013). The exchanges in guiding are gone for helping you comprehend what is continuing for you and what would help you best. Suppressed sentiments, for example, outrage, uneasiness, melancholy and humiliation can get to be exceptionally extreme and directing offers a chance to investigate them, with the likelihood of making them simpler to understand oneself. A successful councilor has to attain certain skills to have a good counseling session (BAPC, 2013). The fundamental skill in a one to one counseling session, a counselor should genuinely and actively listen to client’s problem. Actively listening contributes to the counselling session in various ways. Listening makes a client feel safe, trusted, and a sense of acceptance. Expressing their inner world and fears will be easier to be verbalized. When a councilor actively listens the client’s defensiveness may reduce, it provides a foundation for contributing well timed challenges that encourage clients to bear responsibility then to keep away from the responsibilities. According to Jones the aptitudes of listening to and understanding clients is focused around deciding to recognize the separateness between “me” and “you” by getting inside customer’s inner edge of reference rather than staying in your outside casing of reference. Great motions, for example, little nods to show proceeded with consideration and bigger nods ones to demonstrate assertions (Jones, 2013). In a counselling relationship, attending skills in which the client who is looking for help ought to be the center of consideration. It can be occupying for the client on the off chance that they are attempting to discuss an issue and they begin to think their councilor is not by any stretch of the imagination giving careful consideration. There are along these lines two sides to the skill attending to, internal and external. At an internal level, the councilor needs to be truthfully focused to the client, instead of engrossed with some other matters. At an external level, the nature of the counsellor’s consideration needs to be passed on to the client. A portion of the routes in which going to can be passed on are through a slight forward lean, facial expression and motions that are receptive to the client, fitting eye contact. According Allen Ivey has depicted as ‘minimal encouragers’-sounds or one word statement such as ‘mmm’ or ‘yes’ (Mc.Leod, 2011) Questioning skills, reasonable addressing can help clients better evaluate, clarify and comprehend their interior casings of reference (Jones, 2008).Councilor has to be considerate in asking questions, it is best to ask clients as if its analyzing their problems. Actual questions could be to expand a counselor and client’s understanding of problems and problematic skills pattern. Councilor should be more focused on client’s present situation then past, however the past could give a clue of the present so it is not to be totally excluded. Questioning can also identify the root cause of the problem is which client is not aware of, tactical ways of questioning can tap the underlying roots problems which the client’s try to avoid. There are challengers to ongoing flow of the client’s story. The client might have lost their concentration and try to answer the councilor’s question. In this there is a possibility that question can be altering client’s process in an unhelpful manner (Mc Leod, 2011). Paraphrasing skills during counseling, the counselor rephrases the content of the client’s message in a simpler term. This is a way of expressing to client that the councilor had understood the client. It will also guide client to have the simplest understanding, concentration and also give her an opportunity to run through every details to focus. This may encourage the client to verbalize more on the situation or crisis. To the councilor it gives a scout the exactness of observations. The advantage of paraphrasing is to compile together numerous components of client’s messages, to distinguish a typical subject or example interferes with extreme confusions. This skill could be used to begin a session, end a session, pace a session, to audit advance and serve as an issue when changing points (Theoretical Approaches). Limitations, the standards for successful counselling ought to dependably be maintained. Be that as it may, we ought not to deny the councilors regularly confront limits that hinder their adequacy in their preparation and practice. The accompanying have been seen to present troubles for councilors. Knowledge those enter the trait of counselling regularly encounter the debilitation of not being satisfactorily outfitted with sufficient information in directing .There are the individuals who have experienced a degree program in social work or psychology who still express a requirement for further preparing in advising as their educational module. Universities should have more practice sessions for councilors to have a broader view of the subject but no skills to practice completely. Younger councilors may be constrained by the draught absence of mix of hypothesis to practice circumstances. Skills this could be effortlessly managed in the event that they secure more involvement with supervision from senior workers. Absence of introduction to a wide mixture of customer issues may be an alternate components restricting the councilor in his insight into issues and the essential aptitudes to work with them. Counsellors can take up social and family services to get more exposure to various type of counselling. This can help to build up the skills under proper supervision. Universities should have more practice and trial sessions for students to be opened to different scenarios of counselling. Rigid view of helping. There are the individuals who experience preparing in one modality or theoretical framework in counseling. As an issue, they get to be obstinate and run about their work with evangelistic seal, demanding that there is one and only viable method for helping people. A brisk review of the guiding order and many-sided quality of accommodating conduct ought to easily dispersed such a thought and help the guide embrace a more adaptable and open methodology. In the event that one is effortlessly inspired by research information to backing any specific school of thought or system, it serves to realize that essentially every supporter of a specific methodology guarantees his to be the best. What’s more there are no less than one hundred and fifty separate methodologies I guiding. Nobody methodology gives the response to the scope of human issues experience by directing. Experience, some clients would want a councilor to be experience in the area of counselling where the councilor has been exposed to many situations. Many years experienced councilor should be versatile in new trends and know the culture of the younger generation this is one limitation that the older experienced councilor can overcome. Matured councilor should not be over confident in his expertize. They should always respect their clients and not to overpower their client. In Asian standard clients prefers matured experience councilors. Age is another factor, nevertheless some clients may want to be counselled by similar age to feel comfortable. Experience could be for those who have gone through certain life cycles such as marriage, children and various challenges. This limits the councilor for who have not gone through this life cycle challenges. Individuals have their own challengers to face in the terms of life cycle changes. A councilor can overcome this by adapting an openness to life, to be able to learn experiences from seniors and with those with experience in different stages of life. Broken boundaries is a challenge that counselors face nowadays, diverse individuals come to process bunches with distinctive encounters and demeanor towards trust and classifiedness. Not everybody is, or could potentially be relied upon to be, in agreement with respect to these issues. Moreover, despite the fact that councilor have a tendency to verbally resolve to admiration the private nature of the methodology, numerous dangerous elements that develop later in the gathering point to ruptures of trust and classifiedness. Fears and Vulnerabilities not everybody is open to uncovering viewpoints that create fear and uneasiness most people abstain from recognizing, without taking into consideration discussing their own particular shadow selves. One upshot of this mental without a doubt at first, clients have a tendency to abstain from discussing issues that are truly disturbing them. Normally, customers will discuss the burdens of traversing the circumstances, regularly utilizing these themes as hidden references to see the issue. At the point when this example continues for a really long time the councilor will probably perceive and remark on it. Unexpressed Feeling It generally takes a while for some individuals to communicate with genuineness in a gathering setting where openness and input from others is supported. Uncovering upbeat feelings of individual triumphs can be simple, however this is frequently not the situation where negative or uncomfortable feelings are the primary centering. Despite the fact that issues of trust, classifiedness, and the benefit of offering considerations and feelings are empowered and discussed, it doesn’t mean counselor will have a simple time communicating. Some individuals will discover the fearlessness to open up after various sessions, and this may disappoint other people who try in discussing their apprehensions and weaknesses. In fruitful procedure assembles, the activities of gathering parts have a tendency to have a thump on impact; when hesitant parts watch that others are reliably taking the plunge to uncover themselves in the midst of emotions of powerlessness, they feel swayed to do likewise. Nonetheless, it takes a while for everybody to make a move, which can hamper the viability of the gathering. Emotional and behavioural issue get to be obvious when the understudy shows a redundant effect. Tireless example of conduct that brings about the huge interruption in different understudies. Such aggravations may cause critical impedances in scholastic, social, as well as word related working. Such a conduct example is predictable all through the singular’s life. There can be much trouble with these kids. These kids can now and again require more help than a standard classroom can give. Frequently more backing is required, however it can be troublesome discovering a harmony between getting the kid help and not restricting the kid’s right to gain entrance to the standard environment. In conclusion the aim of counselling is to help clients perceive chances to help them live in additionally fulfilling and remunerating routes as individuals and as parts of society. The Counsellor can be included in determining particular issues which could include settling on choices and helping a client adapt when in an emergency circumstance. The Counsellor can help a client resolve relationship issues, through helping them raise their mindfulness. To do this they will likewise need to work with the client emotions, considerations and observations and be mindful of both internal and external conflicts. Transcript Interviewed on 22nd November 2014 at 12.15pm. My client David who is 37years old. Married with two children girls aged 2 and 4. Client has lost lots of money because of addiction to soccer betting. Wife wants to end the marriage. David needed counselling as he was distress with the current situation. Work is also affected by the addiction. Councillor: Lavannya Client: David No Councillor Lavannya Client David Skills administered 1 Hello David Hi Attending Skills 2 Please take a seat and make yourself comfortable Yes thank you Attending Skills 3 How was your day today? Not good.(no eye contact just looking down) Questioning Skills 4 I am sure you are aware of with your visit here with me today? Yes I am. (looked up gave me a quick eye contact) Questioning Skills 5 Could you be comfortable to share more about yourself? I am 37yrs this year, working as a Navy regular with the SAF for the past 18yrs. No promotion for the past 7yrs.(paused for a while) Questioning Skills 6 Well how about your private family life? (Tighten lips, a small smile emerged).I am married for the past 5years wonderful wife and two children age 2 and 4. My family is my world. (speech began to stumble) Questioning Skills 7 It looks like you have a well settled family. Yes and I have ruined that happiness totally.(covered his face with his palms cracking voice)I have ruined it totally. Responding Skills 8 It seems like you are very much devastated. Please take your time. Go on when you are ready. (Silence for 5 min).took a sip of water. Gave me an eye contact took a deep breathe in. I have been in this online gambling for past 10 years. Started with $20 to $50 a day. Eventually it rise to $500 to $1000. The much I won double was the amount I lost. I used up all my savings. There was one time that I had lost so much money that I had to pawn my wife’s jewellery to pay to the bookie. I tried to stop. It’s online gambling soccer betting. Now I am still working in SAF but all the guys are also in this habit even if I want to kick out this habit it never happens. Now my children and wife have left the house and gone to her mother’s home. She wants to divorce me. Responding Skills 9 I can sense that you are going through a difficult situation at the moment. I also can understand that your wife has been very supportive to go through this with you. Nods silently. Yes she gave me lots of chances but I was really helpless .I got too influenced by it . Now it has gone too far that I am losing my family who are the world to me. I feel lost. Responding Skills 10 Let me recap gambling issue for 10years, tried to come out of it but influenced by camp friends. The hardest impact on you is that your wife is asking for a divorce. (Nods with saddened eyes).Could you please help me in a soft voice. I have not spoken to anyone about this not even to my wife on how I feel so frustrated. Paraphrasing skills 11 Well I would very much want to help you. I would suggest for you to meet your wife privately and speak to her about how you feel about all this. If you don’t mind I would like to call upon a rehabilitation councillor who is an expert in this gambling in your next session. Yes I would try to talk to her yes please thank you I would very much like to see an expert who can guide me into quitting. I feel hopeful now. Limitations and challenges 12 Good that you are feeling that way. I will get you a referral and also source out for other ways of quitting the habit. As for your wife the way you expressed she really cares for you .Probably you should open up your feeling to her. Yes thank you I will take try to speak to her.(smiles) Limitations and challenges 13 Good to hear that .I wish you could open up to your wife and let her understand the obstacle you are facing Yes I will do that as soon as I end the session. Thank you so much for taking your time. I sense some relieve. Attending skills 14 Its my pleasure I will do the necessary arrangement for you.I will call you tomorrow for the next session. Please feedback to me on your meeting with your wife. Yes thank you so much.(hand shake and left the room) Skills Required for Counselling