Electronic Medical Files: A Threat to Privacy? Essay -- Exploratory Es

Electronic Medical Files: A Threat to Privacy?      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Abstract:   Electronic medical databases and the ability to store medical files in them have made our lives easier in many ways and riskier in others.   The main risk they pose is the safety of our personal data if put on an insecure an insecure medium.   What if someone gets their hands on your information and uses it in ways you don't approve of? Can you stop them?   To keep your information safe and to preserve faith in this invaluable technology, the issue of access must be addressed.   Guidelines are needed to establish who has access and how they may get it.   This is necessary for the security of the information a, to preserve privacy, and to maintain existing benefits.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Imagine a gravely sick person in a hospital bed.   Tubes and wires connect him to whirring machines like medical jumper cables; he lays almost lifeless except for the barely perceptible vitality pumped into them by the system of machines we call life support.   Take a moment to think about the roles that computers play in this scenario.   Now imagine the scene and the patient's condition without computers.   That's easy.   There is nothing: no slow breathing, no whirring of machines, no dripping IV, no beeping heart monitor. Not only would the person probably be dead, but everything from the reclining bed to the nurse call button to the life support system relies on computers.      Computers have totally proliferated the world of medicine.   They are used to monitor vital signs, to operate artificial hearts and to compile and store medical histories.   Though not directly related to our well being, the last use is of utmost importance. Today, the use of medical databases and computer... ...Berkeley National Laboratory's Ethical, Legal, Social Issues in Science Project 2.White House release, Wednesday, December 20, 2000 on www.cdt.org/privacy/medical/001220whitehouse.shtml; posted by the Center for Technology and Democracy 3. www.ama-assn.org/sci-pubs/msjama/articles/vol_285/no_13/jms0404014.htm#ref3; Journal of the American Medical Association. 4.www.techtv.com/cybercrime/privacy/story/0,23008,3320805,00.html; a website with good facts corroborated from other sources 5.   Sara Baase, A Gift of Fire. Published by Prentice Hall, 1997. p 61 6.www.aclu.org/action/medregs/readstories.html; medical privacy anecdotes from newspapers gathered by the A.C.L.U. 7. Personal Communication:   F. Makedon, class discussion, Sept, 2001 8.www.netreach.net/~wmanning/otadig.htm; part of an extensive website dedicated to medical privacy issues

Structural Functionlism Theory

In any political system are structures that have different functions to ensure an effective and smooth running of things in that particular political system. This is why this essay will discuss the problems faced by opposition political parties in Zambia using the structural functionalist theory. First it will explain what structural functionalism is, then it will define structures, functions, a political party and an opposition party then before giving the conclusion it will discuss the problems faced by opposition parties in Zambia.Johari (2011) defines structural functionalism as a means of explaining what political structures perform what basic functions in a political system, it is a tool of investigation. Macions and Gerber (2010:14) states â€Å"this approach looks at society through a macro-level orientation, which is a broad focus on the social structures that shape society as a whole and by this society evolves like organisms†. According to Johari (2011:73) â€Å"fu nctions deal with the consequences involving objectives as well as processes of the patterns of action, Structures refer to those arrangements within the system which perform the functions.For example the police are a structure within the political system that have a function of maintaining peace and order. â€Å"In the concept of functions, three basic questions are involved- what basic functions are discharged in any given system, by what instruments those functions are performed and under what conditions the performance of these functions are done†,(Ibid). Merton (1957:51) says â€Å"functions are those observed consequences which make for the adaptation or re-adjustment of a given system and dysfunctions those observed consequences which lessen the adaptation or adjustment of the system†.A political party is a body of men united for promoting the national interests on some particular principles in which they are all agreed. It is also defined as a group of men prof essing the same political doctrine. These parties perform a lot of functions. Political parties unite, simplify and stabilise the political process. They seek to widen the interests they represent and harmonise interests with each other. They provide a link between the government and the people. Easton (1965) adds on â€Å"political parties seek to educate, instruct and activate the electorate†.That is they perform the job of political mobilisation, secularisation and recruitment. Usually in a political system the government is under the control of a political party. If a political party does not have control of the government but have seats in the parliament then it is an opposition party which means it opposes the government. An opposition party carriers with it all the functions of a political party. Opposition parties are there to check the smooth running of government, in other words they offer checks and balances to the government.In Zambia’s political system are different structures that perform different functions that affect the opposition parties. Among these is the legislature that comprises of the president, cabinet ministers and members of parliament also known as the national assembly. Its function is to make laws that benefit the society as a whole. When a bill is read in the national assembly it has to be supported by the majority of the house in order for it to become a law. Mainly the opposition reject bills that they find not suitable for the society.But of late in Zambia the president has appointed opposition members of parliament to save as cabinet ministers in government which leads to some of them being expelled from their respective political parties. This affects the opposition because â€Å"a party is supposed to form a government based on its own ideology†, (Ibid), therefore when the opposition members of parliament are brought into government they need to adopt and adapt to the ruling party’s ideology hen ce disadvantaging the opposition when it comes to decision making in the national assembly.The Media is also another structure involved with the dissemination of information to the society. According to Almond and Powell (1966) a political party needs to communicate with the electorate. Every time opposition parties receive coverage in an article, have their face on television or their voice on radio, they assume that they increase their chances among potential voters. In Zambia however instead of the media being one of the means of popularity exposure for opposition parties, it tends not to give them enough time because of the media being influenced by government.Zambian Economist (accessed on 17. 12. 13) states â€Å"if the press was free we would for example expect high degree of information compared to a government controlled media†. Hence this becomes a problem for the opposition. The Judiciary has a function of enforcing the law and making sure the rule of law is observ ed. The Zambia Reports (accessed on 9. 12. 13) states â€Å"UPND chairperson for Tourism and Culture Ephraim Belemus said Acting Chief Justice Chibesakunda was compromised and her continued stay at the helm of the Judiciary had proved costly to the justice system of the country†.From this quotation we can tell that in Zambia the opposition political parties have been shut from making meaningful contribution to the nation. This absence of effective participation in the political process is a very serious limitation that Zambian opposition parties face. The executive is in charge of implementing the law and is headed by the president. When a law is made in parliament it has to be ratified by the chief executive officer who happens to be the president.In some cases and in a democratic nation per say the president ratifies laws that are not in favour of the opposition for example in Zambia as the Electoral Institution for Sustainable Democracy in Africa (accessed on 10. 12. 13) r eports â€Å"in May 1996 the Zambian constitution was amended, a presidential candidate needs to be Zambian by birth† this disadvantaged the opposition parties present then like UNIP and its president Dr Kenneth Kaunda is not Zambian by birth.Having discussed the problems of these structural functions on the opposition political parties, it is important that we also discuss how these problems can be improved. To start with the legislature, being a law effecting body Sisson and Snowis (1975) states â€Å"the involvement of the legislature in the making of the law must be considered their central and most fundamental function†. In this case both the opposition and the ruling parties need to participate effectively because the end results should not only benefit a particular party but the society as a whole.â€Å"Modern or modernising societies assume that the legislative institutions ought to serve as auxiliaries in the mobilisation of public support for policies† , (Ibid), as such members of parliament (MP’s) including opposition MPs should be funded to develop their constituencies. The media should be free from any form of corruption or any limitation, government if anything should invest in the media so as to allow it disseminate quality information to the nation at large. Unlike The Zambian situation were the Zambian Economist (accessed on 17. 12. 13) on March 17, 2013 referred to the Zambian media as a â€Å"corrupt media†, the media should bebias free, it should also give the opposition parties just as much attention as it gives the ruling party to allow the opposition share their views about government proceedings and its policies to allow them penetrate to all parts of the nation. The media plays a big function in the popularisation of the parties that wish to form a government in the future. For example the Post Newspaper is seen to have played a big role in the coming into power of the Ruling Patriotic Front (PF) becau se it made the party popular to the nation through its publications when the PF was in opposition.The Judiciary is a mechanism for the resolution of disputes and Zambia being a democratic country the judiciary should be able to provide the opposition with legal support. Under the separation of powers, the judiciary does not make laws it’s the work of the legislature neither does it implement the law which is the work of the Executive rather it interprets the law and applies it to the facts of each case. According to Garner (1952) â€Å"justice means punishment to the wrong doer†. The major task of the judiciary is to ensure equal justice under the law.Ball (1971) states â€Å"The judges may be nominated by the head of state†, this does not mean the judges work for the head of state or the president they work to ensure that there is fair justice within the society. â€Å"The decision of the courts contribute the element of ‘legitimacy’ to the output s of the government. Thus it becomes essential that the behaviour of the courts must not be obstructive or destructive so that the smooth running of the organisation becomes a problem†, (Ibid). Therefore the judiciary needs to be as independent as possible, this would allow free participation of the opposition in the political process.The Executive as its very name indicates, the first and foremost function of the executive is to run the administration of the country. In accordance with Johari (2011) the maintenance of internal peace and order should be the principle function for which the government should be established. For this purpose the executive keeps the police force that acts under its command, it should maintain defence forces to serve the country against external aggressions. The executive’s concern should be to formulate national policies for domestic as well external purposes.All these functions of the Executive should benefit the society as well as opposi tion political parties, for example since the police force is under its command the opposition should be provided with the police service when they go to hold their rallies and campaigns. In conclusion, opposition parties in Zambia are faced with many structural functional problems some of which have been named in the discussion above, members of the opposition political parties are being lost to the ruling party to benefit their desire of having the overall decision making, and legislative work is purely dominated by the ruling party.The media is a very important tool of investigation in the political process in that it provides the society of the happenings around if it is restricted to publish certain information by the government, society will have no means of knowing the wrongs of government making it difficult for opposition parties to provide checks and balances. The judiciary is heavily monitored by the ruling party giving no freedom to opposition parties to effectively part icipate in the political process. The Executive is also biased in the implementation of the law.

Education system essay Essay

From the articles I have read, it seems as though parents, teachers, and the education system continue to blame one another for poor student performance in school and on state tests. However, I believe that each of these groups plays a key role in student success or failure. School administration and board members seem to be completely oblivious to the real reasons students perform poorly and parents lack involvment in their children’s schooling and education at home. I do believe that income does play a key role in education, however, I don’t agree with it. Schools in low income neighborhoods don’t recieve the proper funding to provide students with the materials they need to be successful in school, but the students don’t score high enough on state tests to earn the school money for these materials; it’s a lose lose situation (Barbanel, 2002). For these issues, I believe the lack of government involvment and recognition is the cause of student failure. Despite all these factors, students should also be held accountable for being successful in school. Even if schools recieve proper funding, materials, and training, it is ultimately up to the student to stay motivated to succeed. From personal experience, I found that it was much easier to stay motivated in classes that I felt engaged in. The classes that teachers made a connection with me in and really knew their stuff were always the classes I had a higher success rate in. I think teacher involvement is a huge deal in school, it makes a student want to go to school, and feel like they belong rather than just going because they have to. Recently, Maine and fourty-four other states have adopted the new Common Core standards that will make academic standards even higher for kids in grades K-12 (Gallagher, 2013). The purpose of these standards is to increase critical thinking skills and teach students to solve problems on their own. Common Core is designed to allow teachers to be facilitators and students to take responsiblity for their own education. However, as positive and ecouraging as Common Core sounds, experts say that a drop as high as 40% will be seen in the new testing in 2015 (Gallagher, 2013). ____________________________________________________________ BARBANEL, J. (2002, March 31). Elementary and Middle School Report Cards. Retrieved from The New York Times: http://ethemes.pearsoncmg.com/0205405940/article_06/index.html Ghallagher, N. K. (2013, July 7). Back-to-school means facing tougher academic standards this fall | The Kennebec Journal, Augusta, ME. Retrieved from http://www.kjonline.com/news/test-scores-likely-to-drop-under-new-standards_2013-07-20.html

The Tattooed Soldier

October 29, 2012 The Tattooed Soldier This book showed us many injustices in the United States and in Guatemala. We see many things happening in each country that let us see how daily life is in these countries. In Guatemala we see the army killing innocent people. No one is safe in Guatemala especially in the capital. We see that those who are fighting against the army to gain justice are targeted. These people are fighting for the rights they deserve and instead of being heard they are getting killed.Most try to run away to be safe but they are soon found and killed. We see this happening to Antonio and Elena in the story. They move to San Cristobal to be safe but soon they are found and Elena is killed along with her son. In the United States we see different injustices happening in Los Angeles. We find out that the LA riots are about to begin. They inform us briefly the unfair beating of Rodney King. The police are no longer respected and many gangs are shooting random people inc luding children.These gangs are marking their territory by tagging and anyone who tries to take over is killed. We see how unfair life is to the homeless and more specifically with immigrants. The government does not protect homeless people and they are left alone to die. Since undocumented people can’t get welfare they are forced to find other ways to get money. Undocumented people cannot get help from the government either so when they get robbed, raped, or beat they cannot go to the authorities. Along with these injustices there many others that are unfair to people.

It Strategy

B19 – IT Strategy Syllabus Start January 31, 2013 Ends April 25, 2013 Day and Time: Thursday 12-14 & 14-16 Instructors:Stefan Henningsson (sh. [email  protected] dk) Jonas Hedman (jh. [email  protected] dk) + guests Course Description This course uses the IVK Case Series to examine important issues in IT management through the eyes of Jim Barton, a talented business (i. e. , non-technical) manager who is thrust into the Chief Information Officer (CIO) role at a troubled financial services firm. The course follows Barton through challenges, mistakes, travails, and triumphs.We take this journey with him, commenting on and debating his choices and decisions. During his first year as CIO, Barton confronts issues related to skill and talent management; IT costs, budgets, value, and chargeback systems; priority setting and financial justification of IT investments; project management; runaway projects and underperforming vendors; security risks and crises; Web 2. 0 policies; com munications with other senior executives; vendor management; infrastructure standardization; support for innovation; and risk management. As Barton encounters these issues, we address them too, through associated readings.As we examine and critique both research and conventional management wisdom on these topics, we’ll derive a framework for managing IT as a business leader. Course Book The main text for this course is the book â€Å"Adventures of an IT Leader†, also called IVK after the company in the book. Adventures of an IT Leader Robert D. Austin, Richard L. Nolan, Shannon O’Donnell | Apr 21, 2009 Publisher: Harvard Business School Press (1 Mar 2009) ISBN-10: 142214660X ISBN-13: 978-1422146606 Among other places, the book is available from http://amzn. com/142214660X Obtaining Harvard Business School Publishing MaterialsSome of the readings in this course must be acquired online from Harvard Business School Publishing. You can access the site to download th ese materials here: https://cb. hbsp. harvard. edu/cbmp/access/17620259 At this site you will need to use a credit card to purchase copyrighted materials, which you will then download in PDFs and be able to print as is convenient. Please be sure to use this link, not the main HBSP website, so that you get the discount associated with the course. Course blog The course blog is the official source of information, where updates, session presentations, etc. ill be posted. http://www. itu. dk/courses/EB19/F2013/ Session 1: Introduction to the Case Method and the Course (Thursday, January 31, 12:00 to 12:00, ScrollBar) Reading (please read before class): â€Å"A Note on Case Learning,† HBS 899-105 (download/purchase from HBSP website) IVK 1 – The New CIO â€Å"Understanding Financial Statements† HBS 5238BC (download/purchase from HBSP website) Assignment Questions (think about and discuss with others before class): Consider the exhibits at the end of IVK-1; what do th ey tell you about the IVK Corporation’s business situation? Why has this company replaced its CEO?If you were Jim Barton, would you accept the CIO job offered by the new CEO? If he accepts, what should be his plan of action? What should he do first? Second? What would be your best single piece of advice to Barton if he decides to take the job? What should he watch out for? Where should he be careful? Session 2: Challenges Facing the New CIO (Thursday, February 7, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) *** IBM Guest Presentation *** Reading: IVK 2 – CIO Challenges IVK 3 – CIO Leadership IVK 4 – The Cost of IT Assignment Questions: How do you interpret the kid’s advice to Barton: â€Å"You need to know what you don’t know? †Davies predicts that Barton will be gone in a year; why does he say this? Do Maggie’s notes (exhibit at end of IVK-2) shed any light on Davies’ assertion? What should be Barton’s plan for reaching out to oth er CIOs and industry experts to gain expertise quickly about running an IT department? Whom should he talk to first? Do you agree with Ruben that IT is a â€Å"unique† business function, that it is different from other departments in the organization? What did Barton learn from his trip to the bookstore and subsequent night of studying? Session 3: The Value of IT (Thursday, February 14, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar)Reading: IVK 5 – The Value of IT â€Å"Zara: IT for Fast Fashion† HBS 604-081 (download/purchase from HBSP website) â€Å"IT Doesn’t Matter† HBS 0306B (download/purchase from HBSP website) â€Å"Dog Eat Dog† http://online. wsj. com/public/article_print/SB117735476945179344. html â€Å"The IT Productivity Gap† http://ebusiness. mit. edu/erik/Optimize/pr_roi. html â€Å"Zara: IT for Fast Fashion† Assignment Questions: How would you advise Salgado to proceed on the issue of upgrading the POS terminals? Should he upgrade to a modern operating system? Should the POS applications be rewritten to include any additional functionality?If so, what functionality? What benefits does Inditex/Zara get from its IT infrastructure? How difficult would it be for a competitor to acquire these same benefits? IVK Assignment Questions: What is the â€Å"right† amount for a company to invest in IT? How should Jim Barton respond to the CEO when he asks: â€Å"What is the ‘right’ amount for IVK to spend on IT? ’ What is the purpose of a â€Å"chargeback† system for returning IT costs to business units? Why implement such a system? As we learn in IVK-4, at IVK business units control all of the IT budget; what do you think of this arrangement?Should Barton try to â€Å"pull back† some of the budget that is allocated to business units, to create his own discretionary budget? How does IT create or enable the creation of value within a company? How should we value IT capabilities requi red to keep us in business, but that do not differentiate us from competitors (so-called â€Å"qualifiers† in the discussion in IVK-5)? Session 4: Managing Projects (Thursday, February 21, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) Reading: IVK 6 – Project Management IVK 7 – The Runaway Project â€Å"Cisco Systems, Inc. : Implementing ERP† HBS 699-022 (download/purchase from HBSP website) Managing Project Uncertainty: From Variation to Chaos† by Arnoud De Meyer, Christoph H. Loch, and Michael T. Pich, MIT Sloan Management Review 42, 2, (Winter 2002); CBS Library Database: http://search. ebscohost. com/login. aspx? direct=true&db=bth&AN=5982685& amp;site=ehost-live&scope=site Cisco Systems Assignment Questions: Cisco was highly successful with its enterprise resource planning (ERP) effort. What accounts for this success? What were the most important things that Cisco did correctly? Did Cisco do anything wrong on this project? If so, what? Was Cisco smart or lucky wi th its ERP implementation?IVK Assignment Questions: Which side would you take in the debate between Henderson and Calder? What do you think of the approach that Davies seems to have used (judging from documents found by Barton) to managing uncertainty in projects? What should Barton do to get the IR initiative back on track? Should he fire NetiFects? How do you manage project problems you cannot anticipate? Session 5: Prioritization, Governance (Thursday, February 28, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) Reading: IVK 8 – IT Priorities IVK 9 – Governance â€Å"Volkswagen of America: Managing IT Priorities† HBS 605-003 (download/purchase from HBSP website)Volkswagen of America Assignment Questions: What is your assessment of the new process for managing priorities at Volkswagen? Are the criticisms justified? Is it an improvement over the old process? Who controls the budgets from which IT projects are funded at Volkswagen of America? Who should control these budgets? How sh ould Matulovic respond to his fellow executives who are calling to ask him for special treatment outside the new priority management system? IVK Assignment Questions: Should Barton try to take control of the entire IT budget? Should he ask for a percentage of the overall budget to be placed under his control?Or should he try to fix the committee structure put in place by Davies? What should Barton do about â€Å"managing Beckworth? † Managing Williams? Session 6: Crisis and Damage control (Thursday, March 7, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) IVK 10 – Crisis IVK 11 – Damage http://www. nytimes. com/2011/01/16/world/middleeast/16stuxnet. html Symantec Internet Security Threat Report: Executive Summary April 2010 http://eval. symantec. com/mktginfo/enterprise/white_papers/b-whitepaper_exec_summary_internet_security_threat_report_xv_04-2010. en-us. pdf Viruses and threats Questions: What type of malware is the Stuxnet, and how did it work?How did the Hydraq Trojan operate? Could it be a potential threat to IVK? IVK Assignment Questions: What is your assessment of how IVK handled the crisis during the event itself? Did they do a good job of crisis management? How would you recommend that Barton handle the analyst meeting? If you were on the team coming up with the strategy for the meeting, what guidelines would you suggest to Barton? Session 7: Communication (Thursday, March 14, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) *** Danske Bank Guest Presentation *** Reading: IVK 12 – Communication â€Å"The Lessons of ValuJet 592,† by William Langewiesch (March 1998) The Atlantic. ttp://www. theatlantic. com/issues/98mar/valujet1. htm â€Å"Ready to Acquire: IT resources for a growth-by-acquisition strategy†. To be distributed. IVK Assignment Questions: Which option for securing IVK in the aftermath of the attack would you choose? Would you recommend shutting the company down? If so, when? Do you agree with the CEO’s decision about what to disclo se about this possible hacker attack? How should Barton handle the CEO’s new tendency to offer him helpful but misinformed advice? How should Barton communicate with people outside the IT department to rebuild his and his department’s credibility?How frequently should he communicate with the CEO? With his peers? Should he rely on â€Å"The Doctrine of Completed Staff Work† as he formulates a communication strategy? Session 8: Emerging technologies and Sustainable IT (Thursday, March 21, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) Reading: IVK 13 – Emerging Technology â€Å"Three strategies for Green IT† by Hedman & Henningsson http://www. computer. org/portal/web/csdl/doi/10. 1109/MITP. 2010. 141 (see also course blog) â€Å"Organizational self-renewal: The role of IS in developing organizational eco-effectiveness† by Hedman, Henningsson & Selander. 2012. To be distributed in class. Green IT TBDIVK Assignment Questions: How would you respond to Bernie Rubenà ¢â‚¬â„¢s three questions concerning possible action on the blog issue? What technology can IVK use to improve business? March 28: Easter Break Session 9: Outsourcing, Infrastructure, and Vendor Partners (Thursday, April 4, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) Reading: IVK 14 – Vendor Partnering IVK 16 – Standardization and Innovation IVK Assignment Questions: Which vendor should IVK choose for the IR project? Which approach to an SLA? Service delivery model? How much technical expertise does a company like IVK need to keep in house if it plans to outsource much of it’s IT work?How can it retain expertise when most of the interesting work is being done by vendors? What information should a company like IVK ask for in a â€Å"Request for Proposal† (RFP) document? What questions should they ask a vendor to answer? Should the IR project implementation be â€Å"fixed price† or another sort of contract? Which approach should IVK take to infrastructure standardizat ion? Are IT standardization and innovation (or flexibility) in conflict in an organization like IVK? How do you interpret the kid’s story about the great man who went missing? Session 10: Managing Talent (Thursday, April 11, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) Reading:IVK 15 – Managing Talent â€Å"Bridging the Gap Between Stewards and Creators† (download/purchase from HBSP website) Online Streaming Video: â€Å"Panel Discussion: The Organizational Dilemma of Stewards and Creators† http://www. uwtv. org/programs/displayevent. aspx? rid=4858 Assignment Questions: What should Carter and Barton do about the Ivan Korsky situation? Should Barton seek a technological way of monitoring what his employees are doing? Why or why not? Should IVK have a management system for identifying its top value people assets? If so, how might such a system work? How would it interact with training and skills development?Should Barton reorganize the IT function so that the best talent is in a central â€Å"shared services† organization available to the entire organization (rather than just a particular business unit)? What are the pluses and minuses of such an arrangement? What might Barton be able to learn from the way jazz ensembles work about how to manage top notch IT talent? Session 11: IT Risk Management (Thursday, April 18, 12:00 to 16:00, ScrollBar) IVK 17 – Risk IVK 18 – Looking Forward â€Å"The Evolution of Security† http://www. acmqueue. org/modules. php? name=Content&pa=showpage&pid=478 â€Å"CareGroup† HBS 303-097 (download/purchase from HBSP website) The Myth of Secure Computing† HBS 0306J (download/purchase from HBSP website) IVK Assignment Questions: What do you think of CEO Williams’s explanation of his actions in the aftermath of the crisis described in IVK-10? How should a company like IVK approach its cost and risk tradeoffs? CareGroup Assignment Questions: What caused the network outage at CareGr oup? Consider the lessons learned that Halamka enumerates at the end of this case—are these the right lessons? Has he missed any? Session 12: Mini-project presentations (Thursday, April 25, 12:00 to 14:00, ScrollBar) ***Mini-project presentations ***

The Greatest Nature Essays Ever Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Greatest Nature Essays Ever - Essay Example Sometimes, we also feel tired of the demands of our parents, the world and even our trusted friends, from us. Sometimes, with all the difficulties I go through and the expectations of my parents from me, I feel so all alone. Many times, I wanted to give up but many times, I am thankful that I have places like Repulse Bay where I can find comfort and strength. Repulse Bay is a beautiful place in Hong Kong which attracts many people every day. It is a busy area where merchants bring their goods from other places. Although many modern structures are built around the bay, it still looks magnificent so that many local and foreign tourists go to the place. Among the uncountable visitors, I have been one of those who went there, appreciating and loving its beauty. Repulse Bay for me is more than a tourist attraction. It also served as my teacher in so many ways. As a young child, I always wanted to go to Repulse Bay because my experiences there were always enjoyable. My parents bought me things and I get to eat all the food that I wanted. I loved the busyness of the place. All the people there seemed to be happy, with bright smiles and cheerful moods, enjoying everything that was happening. I especially loved the place because it feels like home. There are many big buildings around so I know that I am not very far away from the modern world that I have been accustomed to. As I grew up, I went out to the bay with my friends. We went there to celebrate special occasions such as birthdays and I can say; I always enjoyed the place and the friends who were just wonderful. I was able to enjoy many activities in the place, knowing that at the end of the day, I will be safe and comfortable again in my own bedroom. However, life is not always comfortable. Still, it is a good thing to have somewhere to go that one considers as a place of comfort. The greatest thing that really happened to my relationship with Repulse Bay was not when I was with my family who

International Product Life Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

International Product Life Cycle - Essay Example The firm with the innovative product serves the home market first and then exports the product to foreign markets. This point can be clearly supported by the following statement. Many of the products found in the world's markets were originally created in the United States before being introduced and refined in other countries. In most instances, regardless of whether a product is intended for later export or not, innovation is initially designed with an eye to capture the U.S. market, the largest consumer nation. In the second phase, production starts in foreign countries either through licensing or re-engineering of the product. Importing countries in the initial stages, generally, wealthy countries import innovative products gain product familiarity. As product familiarity increases, demand in the foreign markets expands. This attracts more players and results in manufacturing in foreign countries. (Hill W.L) This production in foreign countries slowly replaces exports of the innovative firm. In the third phase, firms manufacturing in foreign countries gain production experience and move down the cost curve. Sometimes they manage to produce the goods at a lower cost than is possible for the innovative firms. ... Of these, only three are U.S. firms, with the rest being from Western Europe, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Mexico, Brazil, and Malaysia. In the fourth phase, these foreign firms have adequate product experience and economies of scale to export their products to the innovator's home country. Black-and-white television sets, for example, are no longer manufactured in the United States because many Asian firms can produce them much less expensively than any U.S. firm. Consumers' price sensitivity exacerbates this problem for the initiating country. Some of the key characteristics and features of a product are its quality, styling, and performance. These characteristics are affected by consumer needs, conditions of product use, and ability to buy. The factors that affect product attributes change from country to country. For example, in the US, bicycling is a recreational activity. So buyers want their cycles to be lightweight and have the speed that is essential for rapid touring. However, in Nigeria, the bicycle is often a measure of transportation and customers prefer cycles that are heavy and durable. In Nigeria, speed and lightness are not the criteria for purchase decision-making. Looking at these four phases, one can deduce that in the first phase the product was new. In the second phase, the product was maturing. In the third and fourth phases, the product gets standardized. In phase four, the product becomes a commodity. In this phase, the product is manufactured in less-developed countries and exported to developed countries. Understanding this cycle helps international marketing managers to understand the patterns of international trade and production and helps them in preparing a logistics plan.