Household Products Database of Compounds Describe the element selected and address the following questions:
Household Products Database of Compounds
What are some household and consumer products that contain this element?
What are the element’s natural sources?
What are some relevant technologies that make use of the element and/or its compounds?
What are some consumer chemicals that contain this element and/or its compounds?
What are some practical applications of this element?
How many electrons does the element have and what type of ion will it form (Draw the atomic shell diagram and ion shell diagram for the element)?
Choose any one of the elements listed below:
Aluminum (Al)
Arsenic (As)
Beryllium (Be)
Boron (B)
Bromine (Br)
Calcium (Ca)
Carbon (C)
Chlorine (Cl)
Fluorine (F)
Hydrogen (H)
Iodine (I)
Magnesium (Mg)
Nitrogen (N)
Phosphorus (P)
Potassium (K)
Silicon (Si)
Sodium (Na)
Sulfur (S)
Tin (Sn)
Household Products Database of Compounds Visit
Source: Household Products Database. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/index.htm to find a list of chemicals contained within various household products. You can search for your selected
element and the site will pull up products that contain the element.
The Cognitive and Moral Development Theory Order Instructions: Now that you have read, discussed, and reflected on the work of five theorists focused on students’ cognitive and moral development, it is time to begin to think about how this influences learning in the classroom in context.
• Choose one of the five theorists: (Piaget, Vygotsky, Erikson, Lawrence Kohlberg or Carol Gilligan) you studied this week and a key concept of his/her work that you want to consider.
• Identify a topical issue that is relevant to learning today (e.g., one-to-one technology, poverty, standards such as the Common Core, anti-bullying programs). Explore how the theorist’s work does or does not align with current trends and directions in middle school. Be sure to think critically about whether or not the theory “holds up” to the work being done today. Perhaps the theory is out of date or perhaps educators are headed in a direction that does not make sense given what we know about learning and development. Be sure to consider how the diversity of the modern classroom may impact your thinking about your chosen topic.
• The focus of the paper is your analysis of the issue. It should include your insights and your critique of the topic. Make a persuasive case for your exploration and be sure to use research to support your arguments.
You may use the first person reserved writing for this assignment as you are speaking about your own practice/knowledge, but you need to do so in a formal manner.
The Cognitive and Moral Development Theory Sample Answer
THEORY TODAY
The general development associated with childhood age is critically influenced by each and every experiences or interactions as suggested by the educational theory of cognitive development by Jean Piaget. The argument resulted in the belief that most interactions and experiences form a base structure in most children which becomes significant in the classroom. The theory poses significant influence through various means, for instance, the curriculum being taught and mode of teaching are proportionally applicable to the necessities of childhood developments (Cowan, 2014). The theories central concept to be considered is the four-stage model that depicts how a child’s mind process information in a similar way to other kids. Sensorimotor is the initial stage, and during this stage, the child is still developing the understanding of basic things like knowing themselves through environmental interaction (Cowan, 2014).
At this stage, learning can take place with the aid of the assimilation process and accommodation. The preoperational stage comes to the second stage, and at this stage, the infant still has no knowledge of conceptualizing information and learning can be possible through the use of ideal physical items as well as classification of information or objects in a simpler manner. The third stage is the particular operations. At this stage, the infant’s accommodations have advanced due to an accumulation of physical experiences and the child can now conceptualize some objects. Finally, is the formal operations stage whereby at this stage the individual does not need concrete objects to make rational decisions, and moreover he or she posses abilities to abstractly reason and think like an adult.
The concept of Piaget’s theory apparently aligns with current trends and directions in middle school due to the following reasons. Its concept has critically shaped the manner in which people understand the development of children in the contemporary world (Cowan, 2014). The concept has been vastly applied in numerous school systems in various parts of the world particularly in the in the initiation of educational curriculums for children. A good example to precisely explain the concept is the idea of having age in stages in infant development in most schools. The idea was developed from Piaget’s theory, and it facilitates prediction of abilities of what an infant can or cannot understand considering their individual stage of development. The concept is moreover aligned with the current trends in middle school is the understanding of children psychology. The idea aids current teachers in understanding the child’s psychology since the theory suggests that infants generate their knowledge and effectively learn via experiences (Cowan, 2014).
I do concur with this opinion apparently because most of the contemporary educators efficiently utilize the skills and ideas of Piaget’s theory in shaping their curriculums as well as its programs. The main objectives of doing so are basically to create an environment in which infants effectively gain or learn educational information via experiences. One to one technology has become imperative in today’s learning via the following reasons (Altuna, 2015). Most education institutions use computers in learning.
Technology equips educators to efficiently meet the needs of students through the various manners that involve, learning work, practical demonstration of certain concepts and content input (Altuna, 2015). Advanced technology further speeds the coverage of wider content hence saving on time. The application of technology greatly aids students with disabilities hence enabling them to be on the same pace with other students, for example, audio recording through headphones, and audiovisual techniques significantly support the students with dyslexia disabilities (Altuna, 2015).
To sum up, Piaget’s theory of cognitive development in infants is apparently significant and more so applicable to current trends in middle school by shaping the curriculum as well as the creation of programs that embrace technology, for instance, the use of computers in learning.
The Cognitive and Moral Development Theory References
Altuna, J., & Lareki, A. (2015). Analysis of the Use of Digital Technologies in Schools That Implement Different Learning Theories. Journal Of Educational Computing Research, 53(2), 205-227.
Cowan, N. (2014). Working Memory Underpins Cognitive Development, Learning, and Education. Educational Psychology Review, 26(2), 197-223.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Order Instructions: Full instructions are not available yet. Please be with me. I will forward Complete Instructions once I receive them.
Details of task Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle
This assessment is an exploration of your experience and learning in the immersive simulation of week 11 using Gibbs’ Reflective Cycle.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle
Word limit: 2500 words including references
Value: 35%
Presentation requirements: Please observe the following formatting instructions:
Word document (doc; docx) [do not PDF or lock the document as Markers will work within the document to provide feedback]
12 point font and double spaced
Student ID only (no names) in either header or footer
Page numbers
Criteria for marking: To be available at a later stage.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Sample Answer
REFLECTIVE ESSAY
Introduction
Reflective practice has been shown to close the gap between practice and theory, thereby improving the quality of care. This is because people critically think about their actions and experiences to learn what they will do better in the future. Gibbs reflective cycle is the most preferred model for reflection because it encourages systematic thinking process about an experience or activity. The model was developed by Professor Graham Gibbs and is useful in helping reflective practice. The model comprises of 6 stages including; a) Description, b) feelings, c) evaluation, d) analysis, e) conclusion, d) action plan. This essay is a reflection of my experience in an oversee hospital (Health Academy, n.d.).
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Description
I was visiting an overseas country for some religious function where I fell ill. I was rushed to one of the healthcare facility in the region and was admitted for further check up. I was given a bed in a shared room with many other critically ill patients. The ward was very crowded and noisy as most of the patients have visitors beside their bed. The Ward looked more like a recreational center more than a healthcare facility. It seems like there was no limit to the number of visitors that made the room crowded. The room was so crowded that some few visitors were sitting on the floor and some were even singing. I was issued with a bedpan to use for urine elimination, but it is hard to pass urine as the room was too crowded, and there were no curtains around my bed that I can draw to have privacy. The beds were not comfortable, and instead of using white bed sheets for patient’s bed, they use colorful bed sheets.
After waiting for few hours, the doctor finally came to check me. He did not greet me or at least introduce himself when he arrived. He just hastily performed physical examination and left. He is non-English speaker who made it difficult for us to communicate. The doctor-patient relationship was awkward, and he avoided eye contact. Consent was taken by the resident nurse when she came to take blood pressure. After a few minutes, the doctor returned to explain some medical procedure that I was expected to undergo. I did not understand what he was saying, so he asked the visitors in the room if there was anyone who was fluent in English to help with the translation. A random stranger offered his help and came to translate the procedure. The medical procedure involved injecting a needle in my spinal cord to collect some sample. I did not like this practice as it compromised my confidentiality and dignity. This experience was shocking and uncomfortable. The anxiety made me call for help from a close friend.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Feelings
This experience was shocking and uncomfortable. I felt frustrated that I was put in such scenario. I was annoyed because I was powerless to do much about the situation. I was upset by my inability to confront the healthcare staff in front of the visitors. I was angry that the doctor did not bother to develop a good rapport with his patient. He understands the importance of patient’s dignity, then why did he allow a stranger to translate my medical condition. The situation left me distressed that made me ring my friend for moral support. It is only when I reflected on the experience and realized that good healthcare service is not a routine to many but a privilege. Although I felt hesitated, I knew that it was essential to reveal the mistakes on time so as to improve the quality of care being delivered in this healthcare facility.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Evaluation
The only good thing observed is that this is a small healthcare facility and that the staff seemed to work as a team and communication between them was easy. However, the facility was understaffed, and one nurse was expected to handle more than five patients. I was not happy with the care provided in this healthcare facility. My main concerns were of the wrong quality of services; for instance, there was no privacy as the ward was noisy, crowded and I could pick some stale smells such as smell of urine. We served pureed food in plastic dishes did not provide any feeding aid even for patients in critical conditions. Moreover, lack of patient’s dignity is dehumanizing experience and frustrating. The two medical staffs that I interacted with were cold and uncaring. All these internal and external factors were not in agreement with a healing environment that supports inherent healing capacity of patients and their healthcare providers.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Analysis
I believe that the healthcare systems are developed to stimulate and support the healing capacity of the patients. An effective healing environment is described by people’s relationship and the surrounding circumstances. Human beings are multidimensional and complex such that their healing involves cohesion of the mind, body, and spirit. Also, individuals are significantly influenced by their physical environments. Therefore, a holistic healing calls for a patient –centered approach (Smith et al., 2013).
These facts are supported by Florence Nightingale environmental theory. Based on this theory, disease is health restoration process, and the staff has a major role in balancing the internal and external environments to facilitate quick recovery from the disease. Providing suitable environments for patients includes an environment with proper ventilation, heat, noise, free from bad odors and with appropriate lighting. The quality of space and privacy is dear to me and other patients I believe. Surprisingly, I noticed that the healthcare facility was crowded and dirty. The spaces between beds were too small that it could not accommodate the visitors appropriately. Other restrictions observed include lack control over the lighting and noise made by the visitors. No safety net is put in place in this healthcare facility, which made it difficult to control one’s emotions and pain (Sakallaris et al., 2015).
Another barrier noted during this experience is cultural and language barriers. From my knowledge, no assessment was done, they did not ask about my values or beliefs. In fact, the staff seemed distance and disinterested. To deliver quality care, the healthcare providers must appreciate the fact that culture plays an important role on the patient outcomes. Culture is complex as it includes shared beliefs, values, traditions and in some cases language. Each encounter with a patient is an opportunity to learn about another different culture and to understand the cultural aspects that should be integrated into the patient care plan (Weaver et al., 2013).
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Conclusion
Patients have high expectations whenever they access healthcare. From my experience, the healthcare staff in healthcare facility lack clinical professionalism and particular imperative clinical skills. They need to polish their cultural competence to improve their focus on nursing care. This is because of organizational culture, as well as its staff attitudes plays a vital role in delivering of care. Therefore, effective and quality care starts with the staff because spot checks and regulations cannot mitigate poor care (Hatah et al., 2015). Also, patients need to talk openly about the nursing care they receive. I should have voiced my opinion to the relevant authorities.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Action plan
Respect and dignity are some of the core healthcare professional values. The healthcare staffs are expected to comply with the patients and to understand their needs, priorities, and abilities. Some of the action plans that can be adopted by the healthcare facility include undertaking refresher training on how to engage patients in their care plans. This includes introducing themselves by their names during their first encounter as it helps to create a good rapport between the patient and the healthcare providers (Huisman et al., 2012). To improve communication between the healthcare providers and patients, the healthcare staff should undergo training so that they can understand the importance of addressing the patients respectfully and to remain culturally competent. Also, the administration needs to understand the importance of developing a healing environment. Human dignity and confidentiality are also important aspects for each patient. The organization should hire a translator who can help with translation instead of asking a total stranger to translate as this is breach of patient’s privacy and confidentiality (Weaver et al., 2013).
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Critical reflection
In my opinion, the healthcare facility that I attended needs a transformational leadership so that they can focus on patient healing and establish culture excellence. Healthcare facilities are driven by their commitment to promoting healing and health creation (Neck & Manz, 2012). Therefore, they must develop appropriate structures, healthcare processes as well as resources that stimulate and support the healing process using deliberate positive relationships, shared decision making as well as person-centered care planning. The healthcare organizations should learn to prioritize and optimize the well-being of their patients (Spring et al., 2015).
Patient’s wholeness is congruence of the mind, body, and spirit experienced through their interactions with the healthcare providers. Therefore, healing process is operationalized by the environment. The healing relationship is established deliberately and calls for skillful communication and attention to the clinical relationships (Sakallaris et al., 2015). Another critical skill important for healing process is trust. Trust develops slowly and is a consequence of respect, integrity, and kindness. To inspire trust, it requires congruency between personal morals and the healthcare disciplinary or professional ethics. Mindful training has been shown to improve clinician resilience and to enhance their communication skills and consequently improve physician-patient relationships that result in better patient outcomes (Medeiros, Enders, & Lira, 2015).
Social support is also important in improving patient well-being. There is substantial evidence on the effect of social support from healthcare staff, and the family reduces mortality and improves health outcomes (Strom & Egede, 2012). However, the healthcare providers need to establish the limit on the number of people visiting patients at a time. This will help create a healing environment and reduce cross infections incidents. It is important to establish a balance between the physical environments and social support that does not affect other patients (Medeiros, Enders, & Lira, 2015). An unlimited number of visitors per patient results into overcrowding that may result to noncommon aspects important to patient’s health such as aeration. Also, overcrowding in the ward also influences the sanitary conditions of the ward as it makes it difficult to maintain hygiene or cleanness and about lighting and spread of contagious infections. Another common issue presented with poor healing environments includes unnecessary noises that are dangerous to the patients. It disrupts a piece of mind and may cause increased agitation (Erenler et al., 2014).
From this experience, I also learned that culture greatly influences health. Culture refers to the pattern of ideas or behaviors shared by certain group of people in the society. Culture is diverse and continuously evolving, but their evolution rate varies from culture to culture (Hatah et al., 2015). When in a foreign country, cultural shock occurs and the struggle between cultures and in balancing between understanding the new cultural values and respecting their own. For instance, I found the hospital staff cold and unfriendly. I later came to learn that not looking directly in the eyes when talking to another person is a sign of respect. Also, they are not unfriendly but that how they present themselves to people that they respect. However, it would also have been appropriate if the healthcare providers had explored other cultures so that they can learn and integrate the patient’s cultural values during care (Iwelunmor, Newsome, & Airhihenbuwa, 2014).
One approach to understanding culture is to check if it is ‘individualist’ or ‘collectivist.’ Understanding the difference between the two will help the healthcare providers to learn the best strategies during care planning. Evidently, the influence of culture on patient outcome is vast. This is because it affects people’s perceptions about disease, beliefs, causes of illness and health promotion approaches (Hatah et al., 2015). Understanding patient’s cultural value is important to prevent cultural bias associated with healthcare perceptions and preferences. Increasing awareness of cultural values helps the healthcare providers to negotiate the differences and to incorporate them during diagnosis as well as a treatment plan. If the healthcare providers in this healthcare facility are trained, they will demonstrate awareness of their culture; promote trust and better patient’s outcomes (Weaver et al., 2013).
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Conclusion of reflection
The recognition of patient strong beliefs and incorporating them in healthcare improves patients trust and their satisfaction. Developing care plans for more ethnically and diverse populations should include cultural competence. Healthcare practice is a continuous process that is based on relevant physician knowledge and appreciation of cultural influences that affect care (Hatah et al., 2015).
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle Conclusion
This experience was frustrating and distressing but very informative. Healthcare providers should be trained to augment their ability to care for the diverse society. The healthcare practice is a lifelong learning process, and health care providers must learn to integrate new culture into their care plan. Also, it is important to improve knowledge on the principles of holistic care and that of a healing environment.
Reflective Essay Using Gibbs Reflective Cycle References
Erenler, A. K., Akbulut, S., Guzel, M., Cetinkaya, H., Karaca, A., Turkoz, B., & Baydin, A. (2014). Reasons for Overcrowding in the Emergency Department: Experiences and Suggestions of an Education and Research Hospital. Turkish Journal of Emergency Medicine, 14(2), 59–63. http://doi.org/10.5505/1304.7361.2014.48802
Hatah, E., Lim, K. P., Ali, A. M., Mohamed Shah, N., & Islahudin, F. (2015). The influence of cultural and religious orientations on social support and its potential impact on medication adherence. Patient Preference and Adherence, 9, 589–596. http://doi.org/10.2147/PPA.S79477
Health Academy. (n.d.). Teaching reflective writing. Retrieved from http://www.heacademy.ac.uk/resources/detail/new-to-teaching/STEM-esources/teaching-reflective-writing
Huisman, E. R. C. M., Morales, E., Van Hoof, J., & Kort, H. S. M. (2012). Healing environment: A review of the impact of physical environmental factors on users. Building and Environment, 58, 70-80. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2012.06.016
Iwelunmor, J., Newsome, V., & Airhihenbuwa, C. O. (2014). Framing the impact of culture on health: a systematic review of the PEN-3 cultural model and its application in public health research and interventions. Ethnicity & Health, 19(1), 20–46. http://doi.org/10.1080/13557858.2013.857768
Medeiros, A., Enders, B., & Lira, A. (2015). The Florence Nightingale’s Environmental Theory: A Critical Analysis. Escola Anna Nery, 19(3), 518-524. https://dx.doi.org/10.5935/1414-8145.20150069
Neck C.,& Manz C. (2012). Mastering self-leadership: Empowering yourself for personal excellence (6th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall.
Sakallaris, B. R., MacAllister, L., Voss, M., Smith, K., & Jonas, W. B. (2015). Optimal Healing Environments. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 4(3), 40–45. http://doi.org/10.7453/gahmj.2015.043
Strom, J. L., & Egede, L. E. (2012). The Impact of Social Support on Outcomes in Adult Patients with Type 2 Diabetes: A Systematic Review. Current Diabetes Reports, 12(6), 769–781. http://doi.org/10.1007/s11892-012-0317-0
Spring, B., King, A., Pagoto, S., Van Horn, L., & Fisher, J. (2015). Fostering Multiple Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors for Primary Prevention of Cancer. The American Psychologist, 70(2), 75–90. http://doi.org/10.1037/a0038806
Smith, L. L., Lake, N. H., Simmons, L. A., Perlman, A., Wroth, S., & Wolever, R. Q. (2013). Integrative Health Coach Training: A Model for Shifting the Paradigm Toward Patient-centricity and Meeting New National Prevention Goals. Global Advances in Health and Medicine, 2(3), 66–74. http://doi.org/10.7453/gahmj.2013.034
Weaver SJ, Dy S, Lubomski LH, et al. (2013). Promoting a Culture of Safety. In: Making Health Care Safer II: An Updated Critical Analysis of the Evidence for Patient Safety Practices. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); Mar. (Evidence Reports/Technology Assessments, No. 211.) Chapter 33. Available from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK133394/
Public Service Project Initial Research Plan Order Instructions: Please read the attached files then fill up the:
Public Service Project Initial Research Plan
Initial Research Plan
Thank you
Public Service Project Initial Research Plan Sample Answer
Initial Research Plan
Name: Click and type here to enter your name Programme: Click to select your programme
Dissertation or Public Service Project (PSP): Click to select Dissertation or PSP
Answer the following questions based on your research subject and drawing on elements covered in the previous research module. This form will facilitate ‘Advisor Matching’ and will inform early discussions with your Advisor. You will attach this completed form when emailing potential Advisors.
1) What is/are the research question(s) that you would like to address in your Dissertation, or if undertaking a Public Service Project (PSP) what is the problem or opportunity that you wish to research?
1. Which human resource strategies influence employee engagement within organizations in Qatar?
2. How do these human resource strategies influence employee engagement within organizations in Qatar?
3. How can these human resource strategies be changed in order to improve employee engagement within organizations in Qatar?
2) What is the purpose of your study and how will your research contribute to existing theory or practice? If undertaking a Public Service Project (PSP) what are the implications for your organization, and how do you envisage the outcome of your research study will contribute to your target organization? Consider the objectives and scope of the intended research. The purpose of this study is to identify and explore the human resource strategies that influence employee engagement within organizations in Qatar. For that reason, this study will provide new insights and knowledge on how these human resource strategies can be changed in order to improve employee engagement.
3) Provide a brief explanation of the methodological approach to your research.
This is an interpretive qualitative study. Therefore, the research will use epistemology helps to get the knowledge by examining the phenomenon in different ways. It is because; the social background varies from that of natural science.
4) What type of research methods will you use to collect and analyze your data? You should consider whether you will be taking a quantitative or qualitative approach and explain the rational for your choice.
The case study will be used to research on processes, people and even groups. Using a single entity in Qatar will be a useful approach to help understand how a human resource strategy influences the employee engagement and by use of another company will help in comparison issues. Case studies employ some of the techniques that can be used to collect data in the qualitative methodology. They include the observation and interviews that are the primary data and lastly the corporation documentations in the secondary data.
5) Explain how you have access to the subjects of your study? What is your approach to gaining access to the subjects of your study? Please give details.
The study will use purposive sampling to choose the sample that they know will offer the appropriate data on how the human resource strategies influence employee engagement in Qatar
6) What conclusions and recommendations do you hope to draw from your research?
This interpretive research shall strive to explore how human resource strategies devised and implemented by human resource management (HRM) professionals as well as managers of organisations in Qatar can influence employee engagement subsequently leading to increased employee commitment, satisfaction as well as retention in their respective groups. Some of the recommendations include; organisations in Qatar should improve their current HRM strategies to improve employee engagement and consequently increase the productivity and profitability of their respective companies.
7) What are the ethical considerations when carrying out your research?
It is vital for the researcher to adhere to the moral issue. When collecting data, the researcher will take into consideration the privacy of respondents. In addition, the research will not force people to participate but those willing and able and qualify for the investigation will participate.
Personal Professional Development Plan Reflection Order Instructions: Week 8 Personal Development Portfolio
Personal Professional Development Plan Reflection
Reflecting on your Professional Development Plan
Throughout this module, you have been working towards the creation of your Professional development portfolio, a document which will stay with you throughout this programme and empower you to identify and achieve goals.
In Week 2 of this Module, you were asked to make an initial entry in your Professional Development Portfolio. In that entry, you were required to think about the potential for change being required in your own employment environment, the extent to which those changes will impact on established ways of doing things and the possible nature of your own personal involvement in the change process. Now, with the benefit of the intervening weeks of discussion, we invite you to revisit those questions again in a slightly more detailed fashion.
This week, you will complete the final phase of your Professional Development Portfolio.
Your PDP will be a document you will regularly revisit throughout your programme. Be sure to keep it in an accessible place so you can update it with new goals; reflections on your learning; and plans for further study, development, and research.
To prepare for this PDP Assignment:
• Review your PDP from Week 2.
To complete this PDP Assignment:
• Complete the last part of your PDP – Reflecting on your Professional Development Portfolio.
• In formulating your PDP Assignment, consider the following questions:
o What do you now see as the most likely drivers for change in your own employment environment over the next 3-5 years? What type of opportunity and threat will be created by those change drivers?
o In what areas of the organization’s operating practice do you believe that the most significant changes will be required? Who will be the main (external and internal) stakeholders whose views will need to be taken into account during the process of change?
o What are the core skills required of the change agent who is ultimately entrusted with the primary responsibility for achieving successful change? To what extent do you believe that you currently possess each of those core skills?
o What will you do over that 3-5 year period to remedy any perceived shortcomings in your current skills profile?
Personal Professional Development Plan Reflection Sample Answer
ODC PDP W8
What do you now see as the most likely drivers for change in your own employment environment over the next 3-5 years? What type of opportunity and threat will be created by those change drivers?
At the moment, there are various drivers for change at my company. For example, mobile devices such as phones are widely sorted clients when it comes to searching and buying fashion products (Banks 2014). This can be attributed to their convenience. Another change driver is the intelligent use of data to increase efficiency. In addition, there is the rapid expansion of multi-channel stores that integrate brick-and-mortar and electronic stores (Mawby 2011). However, these change drivers are likely to create not only opportunities but also threats. With respect to opportunities, the retail business will be able to establish a multi-channel store. This will enable customers to order and pay products through online platforms. Multi-channel stores would supplement the firm’s brick-and-mortar store. Another opportunity is that through intelligent use of data, the retail firm will be efficient because it will be able to collect information to help it in creating good buying experience. On the other, the retail company may face threats such as competition from its rivals. Owing to the fact that the fashion sector is highly competitive, there are no economies of scale for large companies (Laksmana & Yang 2015). Again, if the retail company expands than its rivals, it is likely to incur fixed expenses, which are financially unrealistic. The competition would also make the fashion firm homogenous as it will lack the incentives to differentiate its fashion items. Homogeneity minimises the necessary incentive to invest in R&D, since it will be reluctant to invest as it might think that it will be doing the entire sector (Wood et al. 2015).
In what areas of the organisation’s operating practice do you believe that the most significant changes will be required? Who will be the main (external and internal) stakeholders whose views will need to be taken into account during the process of change?
Demography: The retail company will have to considerably change its target demography. This will be important in reaching a wider clientele base. During this process, the main stakeholders to take into consideration will be customers of all ages and workers particularly, the sales people. Location is another area that requires significant changes. In the retail sector, location is vital therefore, the retail organisation will have to open more branches in high-end streets and improve its branding to remain competitive.
What are the core skills required of the change agent who is ultimately entrusted with the primary responsibility for achieving successful change? To what extent do you believe that you currently possess each of those core skills?
Some of the main skills required for change agent include trustworthiness, conflict management, coaching, facilitation, persistence and resilience, advanced communication skills, good listening skills, empathy, team building skills, and analytical skills. Furthermore, a change agent should be disciplined, well organized and flexible such that she/he is able to addressing evolving priorities and work-related challenges (Tan & Kaufmann 2015). I am able to organize employees in small groups to work towards realizing a common goal. Moreover, I have been on the forefront to resolving conflicts among employees who would rather disagree as a matter of principle. My outstanding listening and communication skills have enabled me to communicate change effectively across the organisation. Through team building, I have been on the forefront to instil confidence among employees an aspect that makes most of them have a sense of belonging and feel valued and this is paramount for the effective change process.
What will you do over that 3-5 year period to remedy any perceived shortcomings in your current skills profile?
To address my perceived shortcomings, I would improve my communication skills. An effective change agent must be able to communicate well with stakeholders. Communication plays an important role during the change process. This is because communication is critical when it comes to preparing the retail company transition from its current to future state. Effective communication is necessary in helping meet the retail firm’s objectives (Tan & Kaufmann 2015). Therefore, as the change agent, it is of great importance to be able to communicate effectively across the firm. Moreover, I would improve my listening as well as interpersonal communication skills. This would involve seeking to engage in dialogues, listen and talk only when necessary.
Personal Professional Development Plan Reflection Bibliography
Banks, S 2014, Drivers of change: Retail industry in Australia, SIES Journal of Management, 14, no.1, pp. 3-8
Mawby, E 2011, How to succeed in the retail industry. Journal of Business & Retail Management Research, 6, 2, pp. 1-12
Tan, A., & Kaufmann, WH 2015, making good change agents: Attitude, knowledge, skills. Academy Of Management Journal, 55, 2, pp. 381-398
Laksmana, I. & Yang, Y. 2015, “Product market competition and corporate investment decisions”, Review of Accounting & Finance, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 128.
Wood, Y.I., Sturny, A., Neill, L., Brown, A. & Aprea, R. 2015, “The “New World” and international pâtisserie competition”, British Food Journal, vol. 117, no. 4, pp. 1226-1238.
Gender has little or no influence of the lives of people in Irish society! A critical appraisal. Your
answer must reference academic journal article, research reports,and academic books as supportive
Your answer must reference academic journal article,research reports and academic books as supportive evidence)within the social sciences are used. Your opinion should be appraised against the available evidence. Evidence-based practice is the integration of individual clinical expertise with the best available external clinical evidence from systematic research and patient’s values and expectations into the decision making process for patient care.
Community Housing Development Systems in Kansas City Order Instructions: Local Community Organizing and Change: Altering Policy in the Housing and Community Development System in Kansas City
Community Housing Development Systems in Kansas City Sample Answer
Questions
Article 1: Local Community Organizing and Change: Altering Policy in the Housing and Community Development System in Kansas City (450 words)
Community Housing Development Systems in Kansas City
Does it pass the Litmus test below? – Please itemize your answer.
Yes, it passes the litmus test
There is evidence that the problem is related directly to local community organizing and changes as well as how community development systems in Kansas City are developed. The article entails how the local community holds government and non-government institutions accountable for improving the housing and the community welfare in Kansas City, Missouri.
The problem is also grounded in the literature. The literature is purely on community development and in what is referred to as the Community Creating Opportunities in Kansas City as well as on a global context
The article represents a meaningful literature gap
There is an amenity to scientific study due to the insistence on fact and analysis of the facts.
What was the social problem and research problem being addressed in the study?
The social problem addressed by this research is the issue of housing in Kansas City, Missouri.
What theory/theories or conceptual framework was used?
The conceptual framework of Community Based Organizations and the theory of Community Organizing are discussed, centered on the Communities Creating Opportunity (CCO).
What type of design (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed) was used?
The design of the research was qualitative. It centered on a specific case study within a community in Kansas City.
What method(s) was used to collect data?
The data collection was done through an empirical study of past research done on Kansas City’s housing problems. This was through the use of secondary sources.
Who was the population? What sampling strategy was used?
The population used is the St. Matthews community; who are inhabitants of Kansas City’s metropolitan area. The sampling used is not specified as it is based on sampled from past research work done.
What are the limitations of the reliability and validity of the study?
The study does not justify the sample effectively. There is no direct research done such as an effort to collect primary data and the information given is as old as 2004. It is thus highly irrelevant for used and not up to date.
What were the variables or themes of interest?
The variables in the research include housing and community welfare. These variables are specific to the community of St. Mathews Parish in Kansas City.
What were the findings?
The activities of the Communities Creating Opportunity (CCO) were tantamount to better opportunities and improvement of the housing situation in Kansas City, Missouri.
How can the findings & implications be applied to Individuals, Groups, Settings, Communities, Professional Practice, Policy
The findings can be applied to communities in other parts of the country to educate them on the importance of city government, power in multitudes and how individuals can benefit from group sensitization and the activities of a group. This can hence educate the community on the policies that can be set up to guarantee welfare.
How can you apply the findings & implications to your:
Personal life: These findings can be applicable to one’s personal life as they relate to the aspects of social justice and self-determination. The development of synergy through community organization is important to the individual as one is able to learn how to harness this power.
Professional life: Professionally, the existence of working unions and trade unions is testament to the success of community-based organizations. This article reveals why one should be part of such a community, group or organization.
Article 2: Emotional Intelligence: Significance of Psychology and Spirituality (450 words)
Does it pass the Litmus test below? – Please itemize your answer.
Yes, it passes the litmus test
The research centers on how emotional intelligence can be developed by psychology and spirituality. There is evidence that from the social setting of a person, there can be significant impact on their psychological development especially to do with the concept of emotional intelligence.
Some of the literature topics that form the basis for this paper include; behavior adaptation, spiritual intelligence, and emotional intelligence. All these aspects regard the topic of research; which is the impact of psychology and spirituality on emotional intelligence.
There is a meaningful literature gap in the article as well. This gap is addressed by the topics related to the literature in this study.
The study is inherently scientific. There is a clear definition of the methods used, the findings as well as the scientific deductions made. This conceptualizes the basis of the scientific survey on the variables.
What was the social problem and research problem being addressed in the study?
The social problem addressed by this research is the association of emotional intelligence with the ability to belong in a social setup. This is linked to the conditioning of the being with regard to their spiritual and psychological upbringing.
What theory/theories or conceptual framework was used?
The ANOVA conceptual framework was applied as a hypothesis testing mechanism. The t-test tool was applied to differentiate men and women on aspects of Spiritual Quotient as well as the Emotional Intelligence.
What type of design (quantitative, qualitative, and mixed) was used?
The design of the research was a mixed methods approach. The quantitative aspect of the research was based on the sampling that took care of number and gender perspectives. The research was also qualitative in that it used the scientific metric to measure spiritual quotient as well as the emotional intelligence.
What method(s) was used to collect data?
The data was collected from a primary source using questionnaires and interviews among the sampled population.
Who was the population? What sampling strategy was used?
The population used was a group of 150 University students aged between 21-24 years doing a masters’ degree at a University in Pakistan.
The study is biased to a community assumed to have a definite set of IQ and EI scores. The use of this community affects the randomness of the research. The study is also not effective on the religious aspect of spirituality which is important among different religious sects.
What were the variables or themes of interest?
The variables of interest in the research include; emotional intelligence, spiritual quotient, and psychology as they apply to the social setup of a community or institution.
What were the findings?
The study revealed that students studying psychology were more spiritually intelligent compared to students studying other disciplines. This proved that education is a factor is a spiritual intelligence more than are the aspects of religion and emotional intelligence.
The study also revealed that people with a higher spiritual quotient also demonstrated a high emotional quotient.
How can the findings & implications be applied to Individuals, Groups, Settings, Communities, Professional Practice, Policy
The findings relate to a social welfare perspective of emotional intelligence. This is the understanding that brings a community together. At the same time, the ability to live within a set of guiding principles; referred to as Spiritual Quotient is vital in the development of the EI of the person.
How can you apply the findings & implications to your:
Personal life: As a person, one understands the value of emotional intelligence to the life of the individual by reading this article. Spiritual Quotient is also crucial to the purpose and quality of life of the individual.
Professional life: Professionally, the ability to understand and respect different cultures and religions within the workplace is related to emotional intelligence. However, as the research proves, without a significant spiritual quotient, emotional intelligence is difficult to master.
Community Housing Development Systems in Kansas City References
Kaur, H., Singh, V., & Singh, P. (2012). Emotional intelligence: Significance of psychology and Spirituality. Pakistan Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 9(2), 32-36.
Speer, P. W., & Christens, B. D. (2012). Local community organizing and change: Altering policy in the housing and community development system in Kansas City. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 22(5), 414-427.
Developing an Implementation Plan Order Instructions: Developing an Implementation Plan
Max Points: 150
Developing an Implementation Plan
Details:
Consider the population in which the solution is intended, the staff that will participate, and the key contributors that must provide approval and/or support for your project to be implemented. These stakeholders are considered your audience.
Develop an implementation plan (1,500-2,000 words) using the “Topic 3: Checklist” resource. The elements that should be included in your plan are listed below:
Method of obtaining necessary approval(s) and securing support from your organization’s leadership and fellow staff.
Description of current problem, issue, or deficit requiring a change. Hint: If you are proposing a change in current policy, process, or procedure(s) when delivering patient care, describe first the current policy, process, or procedure as a baseline for comparison.
The detailed explanation of the proposed solution (new policy, process, procedure, or education to address the problem/deficit).
The rationale for selecting a proposed solution.
Evidence from your Review of Literature in Topic 2 to support your proposed solution and reason for the change.
Description of implementation logistics (When and how will the change be integrated into the current organizational structure, culture, and workflow? Who will be responsible for initiating the change, educating staff, and overseeing the implementation process?)
Resources required for implementation: staff; educational materials (pamphlets, handouts, posters, and PowerPoint presentations); assessment tools (questionnaires, surveys, pre- and post-tests to assess knowledge of participants at baseline and after intervention); technology (technology or software needs); funds (cost of educating staff, printing or producing educational materials, gathering and analyzing data before, during, and following implementation), and staff to initiate, oversee, and evaluate change.
Prepare this assignment according to the APA guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center. An abstract is not required.
You are required to submit this assignment to Turnitin. Please refer to the directions in the Student Success Center.
5 NRS 441v.11R.Module 3_Checklist.doc
SAMPLE ANSWER
Obtaining research approval and Developing an Implementation Plan
The approval process will start at the department level. This entails conducting a comprehensive discussion on the project, its idea, its rationale and its economic relevance to the healthcare system and the patient’s outcomes. The support and corrective criticism from the department will be of significant improvement to this capstone project. The Administrative support and approval are particularly important because it influences the changes within the organization (Black et al. 2014).
To start with, key stakeholders will be identified. This includes representative from the staffing pool, patient population, the departmental managers, clinical operations director, research nurse scientist and the Chief nursing officer. This team is important as they will play an integral role in evaluating the data collected, evaluation of the proposed strategy in providing additional strategic solutions that may seem feasible. The research nurse scientist will brief the key stakeholders by outlining the research idea in respect to the negative impact on the healthcare system and to the patient’s safety. The clinical relevance of the proposed solution to the problem will also be discussed. The questions asked will be answered and re-evaluated further in order to obtain clinical relevance. It is most likely that the stakeholders will not support the research idea, so I will avoid overwhelming the key stakeholders with ideas and instead, I will let them participate actively to enable them to reach their approval without any coercion or biases (White et al. 2013).
After obtaining approval from the departmental level, I will consult the IRB to seek permission to carry out the research of human subjects. Seeking approval from the university ethics body is important because they ensure that the investigation content is legal, valid and ethical. This is because before approving the study, the appropriate protocol is followed, consent forms are filled and that ethical issues arising on HIPAA or data security plans are sorted out appropriately (Black et al. 2014).
Description of the healthcare problem Developing an Implementation Plan
CHF is a chronic disease that affects approximately 5.8 million people in the USA. In addition, further 670,000 are diagnosed with CHF annually. The large fraction of the people diagnosed with CHF is geriatric population. The average readmission days are within 30 days after hospital discharge. Approximately 25% of the patients diagnosed with CHF are readmitted shortly after they have been discharged from the hospital. This is because the patients are ill-prepared when discharged from the hospital, and they end up getting frustrated and confused. The poor education is attributable to the low nursing ratio and inadequate patient-physician interaction period. Despite the guidelines established on the importance of patient education to avoid readmissions, the most effective strategy of education is still unknown (Black et al. 2014).
Proposed solution Developing an Implementation Plan
The traditional classroom training as begun to shift towards a more contemporary appropriate approaches such as integration of skill based and interactives of education. The patient education is increasingly shifting towards these trends whereby there is gradual incorporation of the audiovisual and interactive technology-based method of education. The use of mobile and electronic platforms in this generation is paramount in order to improve the patient’s plans as it helps the healthcare providers to conduct ongoing educational needs that are beyond the inpatient setting through interaction and communication of needs for nurses (White et al. 2013).
The aim of the capstone project is to explore if deploying the standardized patient education programs lowers the incidences of exacerbations, emergency visits, and re-hospitalization. The proposed solution is the integration of technology to educate patient from the time they have been admitted and after they have been discharged using telemonitoring, telephone coaching and patient follow up assessment. The proposed solution aims to reduce emergency visits and readmission rates by 80% (Black et al. 2014).
The rationale for the proposed solution and Developing an Implementation Plan
Poor education is the leading cause for high rates of admission among patients diagnosed with CHF. With the increased advancement of technology, there are numerous opportunities which can be used to address and improve the preventive measures. Therefore, using the teach-back system to educate the geriatric population on the factors that are associated with exacerbation of CHF is an effective strategy. This is even better in that the integration of the new electronic tablet based platforms will help train the patient to help them have a smooth transition of care, and to pre-discharge gaps of patient education, thus reduce the readmission rates which are estimated to consume approximately $26 billion annually, and where $17 billion of it could be prevented. As all research points out, inadequate patient education is the contributing factor (White et al. 2013).
Developing an Implementation Plan Literature review
Approximately 20-50% of geriatric patients diagnosed with CHF undergo readmission in 2 weeks -90 days after they have been discharged. Research indicates a positive impact of post-discharge care in reducing the re-hospitalization rates and in improving patient’s quality of life (Adib-Hajbaghery, Maghaminejad, & Ali, 2013).
There has been a substantial increase in the number of hospital readmissions of patients diagnosed with CHF. There have been a considerable number of state-level variations in the discharge of skilled nursing facilities. However, there is limited information on the hospital-level variation of SNF rates and its association with increased readmission rates. Some research studies were conducted by evaluating the data obtained from fee charges of Medicare patients who had a principal diagnosis of CHF indicated that shortage of skilled nurses resulted to an increase in readmission rates ( Chen et al., 2012).
Despite the fact that guidelines on the importance of patient education to avoid readmissions have been established, the most effective strategy of education is still unknown. One study conducted to explore if the teach-back method of patient education aids in the reduction of readmission rates found that the teach-back method of education reduced readmission rates by 8.4 %. The study concluded that the teach-back method is an effective teaching method as it helps the patients retain the information for a significantly longer time than patients who had been taught using briefer teaching (White et al. 2013).
Another study conducted by Vedel and colleagues indicated that integration of Transitional care reduced the readmission rates by 8-29%. The paper concluded that high-intensity training which involves the combination of telephone coaching, telephone follow up and clinical visits reduced readmission risk effectively. Therefore, it is highly recommended that healthcare providers should integrate these interventions in their healthcare facility (Vedel & Khanassov, 2015).
Implementation logistics
The implementation process involves these 3 main aims including a) establishment of the value of the telephones and iPads mode of delivering education to the geriatric population, b) formulation of the responsibilities and competencies required by the team members for smooth running of activities and c) to develop the procedures and process of device protection, storage, safety, and software maintenance. The main aim of the implementation process is to ensure that staff competency is maintained high (Sawyer et al., 2016).
The approach of implementing comprehensive transition patient education among the geriatric population will begin from the shared governance perspective. I am well aware that despite providing supportive evidence of integrating technology when delivering patient education during and after discharge, implementation of the evidence-based change will be faced with challenges such as lack of adequate implementation support and insufficient time. To address these issues, the research team will use the monthly briefing sessions to establish an environment that supports the implementation of the modernized patient education program. This involves taking steps to ensure that the staffs have the tools and adequate time to incorporate the evidence-based practice into the existing workflows (Black et al. 2014).
In this context, the first step, the department based committee leaders from the quality improvement department will identify staff who will engage in “ transition patient education care using telemonitoring and telephone coaching role” champions. These champions will participate in the preliminary training session with the research nurse scientist in order to make them gain an understanding on what is expected of them, and their responsibility of developing a cohesive work group with the other staff members. These champions selected will lead the other team members through the implementation process using a comprehensive and structured approach that includes communication of the value of the project, staff training on workflow and the approach of integrating change into the organization’s culture (Sawyer et al., 2016).
This kind of involvement is important as it helps the leaders and staff to become supportive throughout the implementation process. The messages staff obtain from the leadership contributes to the adoption or rejection of the proposed change. Positive message from the management brings out a culture of adoption which is instrumental in securing the front line nurses perception of the benefits of their involvement during the implementation process (Black et al. 2014).
Resources needed for the implementation
The resources needed for successful implementation of this project is in terms of human resource, monetary resources, and time resources. This project is expected to take approximately 6 months. During this period, the staff will be educated on the processes as well as the standard procedure for safe care of the electric devices to avoid patient contamination, and on the storage of these devices including the charging instructions and infection control measure. This is to ensure that each of the nurse champions receives comprehensive but simple instructions on the best strategies to educate the patients using the technology and teach-back strategy (Sawyer et al., 2016).
During study evaluation, the data will be collected using survey tests and questionnaires in order to establish a baseline of the patient’s knowledge, which will be applied to evaluate the outcome of the intervention. The technologies that will be integrated include laptops, iPads, and the internet. The data collection will be done by two people. The estimated cost of operations is approximately $ 200,000 (White et al. 2013).
Developing an Implementation Plan References
Adib-Hajbaghery, M., Maghaminejad, F., & Ali, A. (2013). The Role of Continuous Care in Reducing Readmission for Patients with Heart Failure. J Caring Sci., 2(4), 255-267. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.5681/jcs.2013.031
Black, J., Romano, P., Sadeghi, B., Auerbach, A., Ganiats, T., & Greenfield, S. et al. (2014). Remote monitoring and telephone nurse coaching intervention to reduce readmissions among patients with heart failure: study protocol for the Better Effectiveness After Transition – Heart Failure (BEAT-HF) randomized controlled trial. Trials, 15(1), 124. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1745-6215-15-124
Chen J, Ross JS, Carlson MD, Lin Z, Normand SL, Bernheim SM. et al.(2012). Skilled nursing facility referral and hospital readmission rate after heart failure or myocardial infarction. Am J Med. 125(1):100. e1–9.
Sawyer, T., Nelson, M., McKee, V., Bowers, M., Meggitt, C., & Baxt, S. et al. (2016). Implementing Electronic Tablet-Based Education of Acute Care Patients. Critical Care Nurse, 36(1), 60-70. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.4037/ccn2016541
White, M., Garbez, R., Carroll, M., Brinker, E., & Howie-Esquivel, J. (2013). Is “Teach-Back” Associated With Knowledge Retention and Hospital Readmission in Hospitalized Heart Failure Patients?. The Journal Of Cardiovascular Nursing, 28(2), 137-146. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/jcn.0b013e31824987bd
Vedel, I. & Khanassov, V. (2015). Transitional Care for Patients With Congestive Heart Failure: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. The Annals Of Family Medicine, 13(6), 562-571. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.1370/afm.1844
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry Order Instructions: Assignment Task
“The growing influence of OPEC, economic growth from non-OECD countries, Climate Change Policy and the access to new fossil reserves are having an effect on how the future of refining is shaping up globally”
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry
From the above, present a critical analysis of the veracity of this statement and the possible implications for the UK Oil and Gas Retail Industry.
Total Marks for Assignment: 100
Note: I underlined the keywords of understanding that would give you direction on how to do the write-up. Mind you I am from the United Kingdom and when it comes to critical analysis, the answers should focus on UK oil & gas retail industry NOT America oil & gas retail industry PLEASE.
(Front page, Introduction, body, Conclusion, Page number, references (Harvard style), NO:- table of contents, Executive Summary, and Abstract)
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry Sample Answer
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry
Introduction
The global oil and gas industry has undergone major turbulence, with economic, environmental and policy factors influencing global refining to significant extents. The mounting influence from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), non-OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries’ economic growth, changes in climate policy and new fossil reserves access; have been instrumental in shaping the future of refining globally. As a result, oil supply fluctuations and disruption have been witnessed across the UK, consequently destabilizing the industry. Most recently, plummeting of fuel prices has been witnessed across the UK and globally, with experts predicting more slumps in the future. Therefore, it can be argued that the above statement is valid and that the dynamics indicated could have lasting implications for the oil and gas industry in the UK.
The petroleum market in the UK is composed of over 200 companies involved in either refinery, distribution of marketing. UK’s oil and gas industry is classified as mature and grow in reference to demand is virtually stagnant (UKPIA, 2012). Due to the numerous changes affecting the industry in recent years, the retail industry has endured reduced returns as business turns into a low-margin-high-volume undertaking. The increasing number of supermarket encroachment in the industry is also a major threat to oil and gas retailers.
This paper is a discussion of the impact of changing global refining trends and how this will affect the oil and gas retail industry in the UK.
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry Discussion
Statement veracity
It is indeed true that economic, environmental and policy factors identified in the statement including influence from OPEC, non-OECD countries’ growth, changes in climate policy and new fossil reserves access are shaping the future of global refining. This is bound to influence the retail industry extensively as will be discussed in this paper. The impact of the dynamics identified above on global refining are elucidated as follows:
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry and Influence from OPEC
OPEC is known to control crude oil prices and supply and is thus highly influential in the oil and gas industry. OPEC consists of a group of countries in the Middle-East, formed to create bargaining power in the oil and gas industry and thus influence the supply and prices of oil. Based on their bulk production and low production costs, OPEC is a major influence of oil prices across the globe (Devold, 2015).
At a time when the world was experiencing a major slump on oil and gas prices due to an influx in supply in 2015 for example, OPEC continued to supply more oil, conscious of the fact that this would only make the prices fall even further. OPEC nations decided to maintain their production targets of 30 million barrels a day in a bid to uphold its market share (Reuters, 2014). This was a reaction to the increase in the supply of Canada’s oil sands and the U.S shale oil production, which was a threat to OPEC’s markets. OPEC’s major objective as to keep pumping and thus drive the competing players, whose production costs are higher, out of the market. This led to major plummeting of prices, falling by over 70% in 18 months (BBC, 2016). It is not until February 2016 that OPEC countries initiated deal talks with Russia to freeze their production in order to prevent negative effects on their economies. While the deal is considered a noble idea, many remain skeptical about whether it will really happen and whether it will lead to any changes in the industry (CNBC, 2016).
Based on the above discussion, it is notable that OPEC is very influential. Such influence from OPEC affects global refining and consequently impacts on the oil and gas retail industry.
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry for Non-OECD countries’ growth
As non-OECD countries continue to experience exponential growth, their oil consumption keeps increasing. This is unlike their OECD counterparts whose demand is actually declining. According to a report by International Energy Agency (2015), non-OECD countries are now demanding more oil than OECD countries, with leading regions being the Middle East, Asia, India, and non-OECD Americas. This is expected to increase overall demand for oil as non-OECD countries prominent in the energy industry. Based on the law of demand and supply, an increase in demand for oil by non-OECD could lead to an increase in prices of oil over time. This could consequently impact global refining and eventually affect the UK retail industry.
Changes in climate policy and Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry
Oil refinery has become a highly regulated industry sector in a bid to reduce the climatic impact associated with this activity. Devold (2015) notes that as the severity of climate change continues to be witnessed, higher standards are expected from industries in terms of environmental conservation efforts. Climate policies emphasize creating a low carbon economy and the refinery sector must, therefore, adjust to accommodate such policy changes. However, the oil and gas industry almost entirely relies on fossil fuels, which are a major target of climate policies due to the high level of carbon emission. Companies operating in the industry must work towards developing newer technologies to reduce carbon emissions or seek alternative sources of energy. These might be expensive in the long run, thereby impacting supply and prices of fuel. The effect trickles down to the retailers because any changes affecting refining are felt throughout the supply chain.
New fossil reserves access for Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry
Increased access to new fossil reserves insinuates greater supply of crude oil into the market. It also means that there is greater competition in the oil and gas industry. The result would be declining prices due to excessive supply, which in turn affects the retail industry’s profitability levels.
The oil and gas retail industry in the UK has endured considerable fluctuations in supply, demand, and prices for oil and gas as a result of the dynamics indicated above. These fluctuations affect the retail industry in different ways as discussed below.
Gas and oil prices have been declining in the recent past, yet future trends remain significantly unpredictable. Based on the discussion of how various dynamics influence global refining, it can be established that any change in prices or factors affecting the refining process would have an impact on the U.K retail industry. In the event of higher prices, retailers in the oil and gas industry are likely to suffer reduced demand, which would, in turn, affect their profitability (Inkpen and Moffett, 2011). Their ability to access and purchase fuel would also be curtailed, further affecting their performance.
It could be argued that with lower prices, the demand for oil and gas might increase, such that retailers counteract the low process with high sales volume. However, this may not be practical in the UK where the industry has reached the maturity stage, with little or insignificant changes in demand based on low prices (UKPIA, 2012). As a result, the retail sector has to endure declining profitability and revenue growth (PWC, 2016). Other sectors such as agriculture and manufacturing are however bound to gain from the current situation because low prices insinuate lower production costs for them.
The demand for oil and gas products is not necessarily increasing in the UK market despite the lowering prices. This insinuates that competition remains high and retailers must adopt strategies aimed at increasing demand. Offering lower prices and other incentives are the most common bargaining points for retailers. This further reduces their profit margins, making the industry more difficult to survive in. According to UKPIA (2015), retailers are now forced to make arrangements with popular brand names to sell fuel under their name in order to attract customers.
Global trends in refining and consequent implications on competition has led to the closure of some of the U.K’s refineries due to economic pressure. This means that the country’s resilience in the event of oil shortage has been severely affected because there is a large dependence on imports (Deloitte, 2012). Accordingly, the retail sector is at risk of running out of stock in the event of an oil crisis. This would affect retailers to a significant extent, affecting the continuity of their businesses. Furthermore, increased imports expose the retail sector to external supply chain shocks, which makes the industry highly volatile (Deloitte, 2012).
The increase in the supply of oil and gas as a result of increased access to new fossil reserves and oversupply from OPEC countries for example means that there is increasing competition among suppliers, wholesalers and manufacturers as they seek to reach potential clients. This could be to the advantage of retailers because suppliers are more likely to bear the cost of transport and deliver the products in a bid to capture the market. This helps in the reduction of transport costs and also enhances convenience (Deloitte, 2012). However, increased competition has led to unhealthy competitive tactics among retailers, resulting in unfair competition and eventually ousting weaker retailers. It is notable that retailers with strong financial capability such as hypermarkets and large supermarket outlets are making arrangements with manufacturers to purchase oil directly, at lower prices. The supermarkets trend has been instrumental in the decline of the retail industry because regular players in the sector can no longer compete with these outlets, which are capable of selling fuel at considerably low prices (UKPIA, 2015). The effect is a continued exit by UK gas and oil retailers. Therefore, the effect of price fluctuations as influenced by the major dynamics that affect global refining can be considered detrimental to the UK retail industry.
Fluctuations in returns from oil and gas is detrimental to the retail sector of gas and oil. This can be explained by the loss of industry attractiveness, which has led to the exit of a significant number of retailers and declined investment into the retail market in recent years. According to UKPIA (2015), UK’s filling stations declined from 19,000 to 8,494 sites between 1990 and 2015. The high-volume-low-margin business environment, thus limiting margins for retailers. Coupled with increasing competition from large supermarket outlets that tend to source their fuel directly from manufacturers, the retail sector is no longer as lucrative as it was initially. Therefore the changing dynamics in the economy, environmental and policy factors are likely to have a momentous impact on the growth of the oil and gas retail industry.
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry Conclusion
This discussion undoubtedly proves that any changes in policy, environmental factors, competitive environment, price and demand for oil and gas greatly influences the refining activities globally and consequently impacts on the UK gas and retail market. The identified dynamics including the influence of OPEC, a growth of non-OECD countries, climate policy changes and access to new fossil reserves play a major role in influencing the gas and oil industry. Such influence can be observed through changes in supply, demand and prices of oil and gas; all which affect the retail industry in the UK. Based on fluctuations in demand, supply and prices, the retail industry in the UK has been experiencing challenges ranging from decreasing demand to a reduction in profitability and investment returns. As a result, the number of retailers in the industry has dropped significantly as investors exit the market. The retail industry for oil and gas in the UK is losing its attractiveness and the level of investment in this industry has declined portentously. Unfortunately, salvaging the situation could take a considerable amount of time before the retail sector is re-established. In conclusion, it can be justified that the influence from OPEC, non-OECD countries’ growth, changes in climate policy and new fossil reserves access are shaping the future of global refining, with a consequent detrimental effect on the UK gas and oil retail industry.
Development in Oil and Gas Retail UK Industry Reference List
Baumeister, C, & Kilian, L 2016, ‘Forty Years of Oil Price Fluctuations: Why the Price of Oil
May Still Surprise Us†’, Journal Of Economic Perspectives, 30, 1, pp. 139-160, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 18 July 2016. Retrieved from eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/pdfviewer/pdfviewer?vid=30&sid=21a9104a-940f-4075-a65f-42cd654b35e3%40sessionmgr102&hid=122
BBC 2016, Oil price ‘may have bottomed out’, Retrieved from www.bbc.com/news/business-35782239
Biello, D 2016, ‘Cheap Oil Undermines Climate Cleanup’, Scientific American, 314, 3, pp.
12-15, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 July 2016. Retrieved from eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=d13de989-7695-4fc9-b9b3-be98563bd482%40sessionmgr4002&vid=1&hid=4113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=112935884&db=aph
Brower, D 2016, ‘Caution despite hopes of Saudi-Russia supply deal’, Petroleum Economist,
1, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 20 July 2016. Retrieved from eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=1cfb799f-b008-4abb-823f-bc2e19304cac%40sessionmgr4002&vid=15&hid=4113&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d#AN=113213321&db=bth
Cosgrave, J 2016, Could Russia and OPEC really strike a deal on oil?, Retrieved from
The Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC) 2016, Global Climate
Disclosure Framework for Oil & Gas Companies, Retrieved from www.iigcc.org/files/publication-files/Global_Climate_OG_DisclosureFramework.pdf
Deloitte 2012, influence from OPEC, non-OECD countries’ growth, changes in climate
policy and new fossil reserves access are shaping the future of global refining, Retrieved from www.ukpia.com/docs/default-source/download/UK_Petroleum_Retail_Market_Study_Final_Report_v3_STC.pdf?sfvrsn=0
Devold, H 2015, Oil and Gas Production Handbook: An Introduction to Oil and Gas
Production, Lulu.com, North Carolina.
Inkpen, AC., & Moffett, MH 2011, The Global Oil & Gas Industry: Management, Strategy &
Finance, PennWell Books, Oklahoma.
International Energy Agency, 2015, Energy balances of non-OECD countries, Retrieved
from https://www.iea.org/publications/freepublications/publication/WorldTrends_NonOECD_countries2015.pdf
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Reuters 2014, OPEC keeps oil output target at 30 million barrels per day, Retrieved from
To complete this exercise, convert the list below to an appropriate reference list in Harvard style. When you finish, make sure to put them into alphabetical order as required by Harvard style.
A book with the title: ‘Occupational Health and Safety’, published in Sydney in 2004 by McGraw-Hill, with authors M. Stewart and F. Heyes. This is the second edition.
A book with the title: ‘Internal Control and Corporate Governance’, with authors K. Adams, R. Grose, D. Leeson and H. Hamilton, published in Frenchs Forest, NSW by Pearson Education Australia in 2003.
An article by M. Scardamalia and C. Bereiter, called ‘Schools as knowledge-building organizations’, published in 1999 in a book edited by D. Keating and C. Hertzman, called ‘Today’s children, tomorrow’s society’ in New York by Guilford as pages 274 to 289.
An article by J. R. Savery and T. M. Duffy, called ‘Problem based learning: an instructional model and its constructivist framework’, published on pages 31 to 38 in the journal ‘Educational Technology’, volume 35, number 5, in 1995.
An article called ‘Integration and thematic teaching: integration to improve teaching and learning’ by S. Lipson, S. Valencia, K. Wixson, and C. Peters, published in 1993 in the journal ‘Language Arts’, volume 70, number 4, pages 252 to 263.
A video recording of a television documentary called ‘Embers of the sun’, produced in 1999 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney.
A Web page with the title ‘Telstra conferencing – video overview’, found at the address: http://www.telstra.com.au/conferlink/videoconf.htm on 11 August 2004. No date on it, though Mozilla gives a last modified date of 4 July 2004.
Note: This exercise appears on several Web sites and is not an original document prepared for this programme.
Converting References to Harvard Style Sample Answer
A book with the title: ‘Occupational Health and Safety’, published in Sydney in 2004 by McGraw-Hill, with authors M. Stewart and F. Heyes. This is the second edition.
Stewart, M., & Heyes, F., 2004. Occupational health and safety. New South Wales, Australia: McGraw-Hill.
A book with the title: ‘Internal Control and Corporate Governance’, with authors K. Adams, R. Grose, D. Leeson and H. Hamilton, published in Frenchs Forest, NSW by Pearson Education Australia in 2003.
Adams. K., Grose. R., Leeson. D., & Hamilton. H., 2003. Internal Control and Corporate Governance. Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Education.
An article by M. Scardamalia and C. Bereiter, called ‘Schools as knowledge-building organizations,’ published in 1999 in a book edited by D. Keating and C. Hertzman, called ‘Today’s children, tomorrow’s society’ in New York by Guilford as pages 274 to 289.
Scardamalia, M. and Bereiter, C., 1999. Schools as knowledge-building organizations. Today’s children, tomorrow’s society: The developmental health and wealth of nations, pp.274-289.
An article by J. R. Savery and T. M. Duffy, called ‘Problem-based learning: an instructional model and its constructivist framework,’ published on pages 31 to 38 in the journal ‘Educational Technology,’ volume 35, number 5, in 1995.
Savery, J.R. and Duffy, T.M., 1995. Problem-based learning: An instructional model and its constructivist framework. Educational Technology, 35(5), pp.31-38.
An article called ‘Integration and thematic teaching: integration to improve teaching and learning’ by S. Lipson, S. Valencia, K. Wixson, and C. Peters, published in 1993 in the journal ‘Language Arts,’ volume 70, number 4, pages 252 to 263.
Lipson, M.Y., Valencia, S.W., Wixson, K.K., and Peters, C.W., 1993. Integration and thematic teaching: Integration to improve teaching and learning. Language Arts, 70(4), pp.252-263.
A video recording of a television documentary called ‘Embers of the Sun,’ produced in 1999 by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in Sydney.
Embers of the Sun (1999). Sydney: Australian Broadcasting.
A Web page with the title ‘Telstra conferencing – video overview’, found at the address: http://www.telstra.com.au/conferlink/videoconf.htm on 11 August 2004. No date on it, though Mozilla gives a last modified date of 4 July 2004.
