The Price of Doing Good: Consequences of Ethical Decision Making
Consider the following two scenarios:
Scenario 1:
James works in the accounting department of a large firm. While going over the books for the past several months, James notices that someone has altered the figures to increase earnings by several thousands of dollars. He suspects that the errors, which are in the company’s favor, are too consistent to have been honest mistakes. He knows that he should report his findings through the company’s ethics hotline. However, he worries that doing so will jeopardize his security and reputation with the company.
Scenario 2:
Mary owns a small toy manufacturing company. One of her employees has noticed that one of the pieces on the most popular toy can detach from the toy. This could pose a potential choking hazard to young children who play with the toy. No customers have yet reported problems with the toy. Mary wonders if she should report the potential hazard before anyone gets hurt. However, the recall would cost her company money and result in loss of sales during the busy Christmas season.
As the scenarios illustrate, making ethical decisions often requires a trade-off for an organization or individual. After a scandal results from ethical wrongdoing, the proper course of action seems clear. Even so, organizations continue to struggle with making ethical decisions on a day-to-day basis as they weigh the cost of making such decisions.
To prepare:
•Choose a positive example from the past ten years of a business organization whose leaders acted ethically when they encountered an ethical dilemma. Select, analyze, and describe the ethical decision making and actions in the organization.
By Day 7 of Week 6, submit a 4-page (not including cover page or references) analysis of the ethical situation. Your analysis must include the following:
•An explanation of the ethical framework applied by the organization to make its decision, including support for your analysis from scholarly research
•An examination of both the positive and negative consequences of the decision, including the tradeoffs that the leadership of the organization made in making their decision
•A minimum of five references
SAMPLE ANSWER
Applying Ethical Frameworks at McKinsey & Company
Introduction
McKinsey is a global consulting firm that was founded about 87 years ago and has enjoyed a growing reputation for high ethical standards based on its culture of trust and values that advocate for client confidences, and always having the best interests of the clients at heart. However, the company faced a public scandal involving some of its most senior directors that rocked the organization, including all its 18,500 employees and over 1,400 partners across the globe who wondered what could have gone wrong at the firm (Raghavan, 2014). The first scandal involved Mr. Anil Kumar one of McKinsey’s Directors who pleaded guilty to charges of insider trading in 2010 after which he also confessed to Giving secrets he accessed while doing his job to Raj Rajaratnam of the Galleon Group hedge. The next scandal involved Rajat Gupta a former managing director at McKinsey who also gave secrets to Mr. Rajaratnam, although at the time he was a board member at Goldman Sachs (Raghavan, 2014). These two scandals were extremely public and significantly damaged the good reputation of McKinsey in the eyes of the public and most importantly its clients. Once Mr. Dominic Barton was appointed as the global managing director of McKinsey & Company, he made it a personal mission to transform the organization’s culture so as to prevent any such future scandals. The strategy he undertook is critically analyzed below.
Recognizing the Ethical Issue
The very first step that McKinsey took under the leadership of Mr. Barton was to recognize that an ethical issue did exist. Instead of blaming others or the individual responsible for the ethical breaches, the company shouldered the blame and took action to prevent future breaches (Kotalik, et al. 2014). When Dominic took over the global company, everyone at the firm was in a state of shock as the older members asked themselves how such a thing could happen to the company they knew, worked for, and were dedicated to. On the other hand, the younger members were wondering what mess they had gotten themselves into by deciding to build their careers at McKinsey, yet all signs were indicating that there was a major problem at the firm (Raghavan, 2014). However, with a cool head and a mission to transform the culture if the organization and restore the integrity that the firm was known for, Mr. Barton knew that he would have to take drastic measures to create change. Barton clearly saw that the organizations values were not the problem and that the problem lay in the enforcement of the ethics code that had guided the firm for decades (Raghavan, 2014). Once he had identified the problem, he set out to implement strategies that would eliminate the problem now and in future.
Putting Safeguards in Place
After identifying the key ethical issues that caused the two scandals, Barton realized that there was a weakness in the implementation of the ethics code that had guided the company since its inception, and he decided to put safeguards in place to protect the company (Jackson, Wood, & Zboja, 2013). One of the first safeguards he implemented was a personal investment policy that restricted the firm’s employees and members of their families from trading in the securities of any of its clients. The next safeguard was a rule that required all company consultants to fill an online questionnaire about crucial topics such as investments and ethics, which are vital to the operations of the company. These two initiatives were met with significant resistance from the company’s European partners who had never been restricted from trading in the stocks of any client so long as they did not deal with the client directly (Raghavan, 2014). However, the new policies were received gladly by the company’s American investors who had witnessed the arrest of Mr. Kumar in horror, and they agreed that changes were necessary to avoid any such things happening in future. He also created a department of professional standards that would be responsible for ensuring that all employees adhere to the honor-system and values-based ethics code that was the foundation of the company.
Building a robust self-sustaining ethics infrastructure
In order for an organization to have a robust ethics system, it is not enough that the company has a written code of ethics, but just as important is that the company appoints a committee of independent non-executive directors who are not part of its board. The committee will be responsible for ensuring that the code of ethics is adhered to throughout the organization and that every employee is in compliance with the ethics code (Morales-Sánchez & Cabello-Medina, 2013). Barton understood this, crucial ethics principles applied it as part of his reform strategy by getting the approval of the Shareholders Council, which acts as the company’s board to implement the new policies he had created. He took a further step by redefining the role of the company’s disciplinary panel and making its activities very public, which caused quite a stir within the organization as employees were openly shamed and punished while others were even dismissed (Raghavan, 2014). All these policies are self-sustaining and as long as they remain in place and are consistently implemented, McKinsey can look forward to better days without drastic ethical scandals. However, for the self-sustaining ethics system to survive and thrive it has to be supported by the top management as well as all the staff so that it can become part of their everyday culture to nip any ethics violations in the bud long before they become toxic to the organization.
Talking with Employees at all Levels often
In the 1980s, a researcher named Tom Peters championed the idea of managing employees by walking around, which could not be more relevant in modern organizations today, just as it was in those years. By walking and around and talking to employees managers and supervisors can communicate to employees what is expected of them and how they are doing in terms of achieving the expectations (Craft, 2013). These informal interactions are crucial as they provide an opportunity for managers to interact with employees in an informal setting where the employee is comfortable and can freely air their views and concerns about ethics and other work issues (Craft, 2013). In the case of McKinsey, such an approach might prove quite difficult to implement given that they have a global workforce distributed across the whole world, but the firm has found innovative ways to implement this strategy. One such strategy was the introduction of the Survey of Leadership initiative, which was launched in 2011 that allows subordinates to anonymously submit their appraisals of the behaviors of their leaders, who are the senior partners (Raghavan, 2014). This initiative was criticized by many senior partners who thought that their subordinates would use it to report frivolous issues that would tarnish the names of some partners, such as incidents at the staff cafeteria. However, the system was implemented and majority of the reviews are actually positive with only eight percent being negative.
Choosing to Live the Corporate Values and Opening Communication Channels
It is crucial that every organization realizes that no ethics or compliance manual can completely cover all the ethical dilemmas that employees face on a daily basis, which makes it crucial for organizations to equip their employees with corporate values that shall guide them in times of uncertainty (Thiel, Bagdasarov, Harkrider, Johnson & Mumford, 2012). By ensuring that all employees understand the driving values of the organization that live through every decision made at all levels of the organization, the leaders can have the peace of mind that comes with knowing that even when one is not there to provide specific guidance regarding tricky decisions, employees will still make the right decisions based on those values. Barton has taken the same approach at McKinsey by inspiring the organizations values in all employees through various methods such as the orientation process where employees are tested on their understanding of the firm’s code of ethics using hypothetical situation. Another indicator of how Barton impacts McKinsey’s values on employees is through his talks to newly recruited employees where he shows them how important the company’s values are in their daily operations (Raghavan, 2014). When speaking to new consultants Barton makes it his goal to stress the importance of looking at ethics broadly not just in form of specific examples, but more importantly he shows them how they should always use values in making all their decisions.
Conclusion
In conclusion, McKinsey is an appropriate example of how an organization can recover from ethical scandals and implement strategies to protect the organization from any future ethical debacles, while enhancing the ethics culture within the entire organization. The strategies implemented by McKinsey under the leadership of Dominic Barton were appropriate for the company, especially in the consulting industry where ethics is vital for success. However, it is important that all firms that have not yet implemented effective ethics infrastructure do so immediately given the crucial role that ethics plays in the corporate culture of most organizations. As much as all the strategies analyzed above are crucial to all organization, I believe that the most important of all of them is that ethics should be a part of an organization’s culture and should be reflected in all its values.
References
Craft, J. (2013). A Review of the Empirical Ethical Decision-Making Literature: 2004-2011. Journal Of Business Ethics, 117(2), 221-259.
Jackson, R., Wood, C., & Zboja, J. (2013). The Dissolution of Ethical Decision-Making in Organizations: A Comprehensive Review and Model. Journal Of Business Ethics, 116(2), 233-250.
Kotalik, J., et al. (2014). Framework for Ethical Decision-Making Based on Mission, Vision and Values of the Institution. HEC Forum, 26(2), 125-133.
Morales-Sánchez, R., & Cabello-Medina, C. (2013). The Role of Four Universal Moral Competencies in Ethical Decision-Making. Journal Of Business Ethics, 116(4), 717-734.
The 2011 National Business Ethics survey reported that 45% of respondents witnessed ethical misconduct at work, a record low for the survey; 63% of those respondents reported the misconduct, a record high. Of those whistleblowers, 22% reported retaliation (Ethics Resource Center, 2012).
These statistics seem to indicate increased attention to ethical business practice. However, they also point to an ongoing need to continue to strengthen commitment to ethical business practice. Business professionals and scholars need to know how to face ethical dilemmas and make sound ethical decisions. DBA students should have a basic understanding of various ethical frameworks and understand how these frameworks influence real-world business decisions. Northouse (2013) stated, “[e]thical theory provides a system of rules or principles that guide us in making decisions about what is right or wrong and good or bad in a particular situation. It provides a basis for understanding what it means to be a morally decent human being” (p. 424). Ethical values are used daily for decision making in business. Understanding and analyzing various ethical frameworks will enable you to better solve ethical dilemmas.
To prepare:
•Read the case study, “Hierarchical Motive Structures and Their Role in Moral Choices,” found in this Module’s Learning Resources, and complete the exercise on pp. 482–483.
By Day 3 of Week 6, post a solution to the ethical dilemma posed in the case study. Justify your proposed solution, and explain the reasoning you used to arrive at your solution. Incorporate the justifications you provided in response to the exercise on pp. 482–483. Identify which ethical frameworks outlined in the Learning Resources or in other scholarly literature align with your reasoning. Explain how your reasoning aligns with those frameworks.
•Use academic justification and two scholarly resources, in addition to those presented in the Learning Resources, to support your solution.
Moral choice scenario
Respondents were asked to read and put themselves
in the following situation:
You have just learned information that strongly
suggests that a person, who has been charged with
engaging in an unethical action, has been falsely
charged. He is going to be severely reprimanded
based upon an offense he didn’t commit. The
information you have suggests that the wrong person
was fingered for falsifying entries on official documents.
But one of your friends, a peer within your
command and someone you have known for years,
has asked you not to say anything. While you are
sure your friend didn’t commit the unethical act, he
may be implicated in some way if you step forward
with what you know. You don’t even like the guy
who is going to get the reprimand, but you’re sure
that he’s not the one responsible for the unethical act.
The issue is about to come to a close, and it is likely
that if you come forward, your friend and possibly
three or more other people may also be implicated.
Respondents were asked to adhere to the following
procedures in order to provide the underlying motives for their decision to act or not:
Step 1: Please take a couple of minutes to gather
your thoughts and focus on your personal reasons
for why you answered: ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ to
the above question (A). Do this slowly and
carefully, in order to thoroughly identify, in
your own mind, why you answered ‘‘yes’’ or
‘‘no.’’ Then list five (5) reasons in Column #1
of the table on the next page so as to reflect
your personal reasons for answering ‘‘yes’’ or
‘‘no’’ (see Response recording protocol). Please
make a point to express your own actual reasons
for answering ‘‘yes’’ or ‘‘no’’ above. Your reasons
can be single words, phrases, or a sentence
or two as necessary.
Step 2: After listing your five (5) reasons in
Column #1 of the table, please return to your
first reason in Box #1 and think about why
this reason is important to you personally. We
want you to explain or justify this reason and
to put your explanation for why Reason #1 is
personally important to you in Box #6 (the
first box in Column #2). Sometimes it may
be difficult to put your reasons into words. A
trick or aid to help you do this that has proven
useful is to think about how you would
feel if the reason you gave (Column #1–Box
#1) did not happen. Place your answer for why Reason #1 is important to you in Box #6.
Step 3: After explaining why Reason #1 is
important to you, please look at your response
in Box #6 carefully. Think about why this reason
is important to you personally. Again, take a
moment to explain or justify this reason (Column
#2–Box #6) and put your response in Box
#7, the first box in Column #3 of the table. If
you have difficulty putting your explanation
into words, think about how you would feel if
the reason you gave in Box #6 did not happen.
Place your answer for why Reason #6 is important
to you personally in Box #7.
Step 4: Repeat Steps 2 and 3 for each remaining
reason in Column #1. The numbers in the top
left corner of each box are reminders of the
sequence to follow.
Please do your best to provide an answer for each box.
Would you take action?
Yes No
1 2
482 Richard P. Bagozzi et al.
Response recording protocol
References
Agle, B. R., R. K. Mitchell and J. A. Sonnenfeld: 1999,
‘Who Matters to CEOs? An Investigation of Stakeholder Attributes and Salience, Corporate Performance,and CEO Values’, Academy of Management Journal 42(1), 507–525. Anscombe, G. E. M.: 1963, Intention (Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY).
Antaki, C.: 1994, Explaining and Arguing: The Social
Organization of Accounts (Sage, London).
Bagozzi, R. P., M. Bergami and L. Leone: 2003, ‘Hierarchical Representation of Motives in Goal Setting’, Journal of Applied Psychology 88, 915–943.
Baier, A. C.: 1991, A Progress of Sentiments: Reflections on Hume’s Treatise (Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA).
Bartone, P. T., S. A. Snook, G. B. Forsyth, P. Lewis and
R. C. Bullis: 2007, ‘Psychosocial Development and
Leader Performance of Military Officer Cadets’, The
Leadership Quarterly 18, 490–504.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Reason for your decision
Why is it important for you?
Why is it important for you?
To ensure that my colleague got justice
It would make me happier to know that I saved someone who was innocent.
Failure to save him would leave me with a feeling of guilt
To ensure that those who were planning evil against my colleague got justice for their action
Living with them would arouse fear in me
Getting them reprimanded for their mistakes would help me feel safer. I would stop fearing that they will do the same to others in the organization including myself
To free myself. I would feel pressurized to work with people for whom I would always be required to keep a secret.
Their being reprimanded would mean that I would stop being accountable to them.
There was a chance that they would be changed to better persons in the society
To help correct the guilty persons
Protecting the lives of wrong doers prevents them from changing for the better.
It would be sad to have a friend deteriorate in terms of discipline and manners because I cannot take action.
To participate in creation of a more just society
I feel there is always a need for every one of us to participate in the creation of a more just society. If any one of us failed, the society would have failed, the society would have failed and would be required to live with the consequences
The consequences of living in a society in which I am guilty of helping in the creation of is an unforgivable act.
The dilemma involves either choosing to hide the acts of an evil friend or protecting an innocent person. I believe that my decision to tell the truth would be mostly affected by my self-respect. The decision would be highly charged by the fact that I would not want to be associated with supporting the wrong doers at the expense of someone who was innocent. People who have a high self-esteem are more likely to be ethical (Bucaro 2013; Cohen, 2007; Bellamy, 2008). Such people put the risk involved in obtaining justice behind the justice itself. They feel that their decision is vital for the way a case goes and therefore opt to make the most positive contribution towards it. However, other factors would also play a part in my choosing to take action to save my colleague.
First, I would feel guilty for facilitating a wrong doing to take place. The very act of making it possible for evidence to be declared sufficiently incriminating as to warrant someone who is innocent to be declared guilty would be very hard to live with. Compared to allowing people who are guilty to be arrested would count far lesser compared to that even if they were very close friends.
In conclusion, the need to do the right thing, probably in the face of society can make me make an ethical decision. Some people would be more comfortable protecting their friendship or their own security. However, I would trust the justice system to protect, the society, my colleague and myself in such a dilemma situation. I think helping find justice for an innocent person would help me to obtain better friends than those I would be protecting by choosing to say no
References
Bellamy, A. J. (2008). Fighting terror: Ethical dilemmas. London: Zed Books.
Identify a global organization with a multinational presence.
Identify and research a cultural issue that affects this organization’s interactions outside the United States.
Define the issue and provide an overview of how became an issue in the organization.
Prepare an analysis of the ethical and social responsibility issues your organization must deal with as a result of being global.
Write a 1,050- to 1,400-word paper summarizing the results of the analysis. Include the following:
•Identify ethical perspectives in the global organization.
•Compare these perspectives across cultures involved in the organization.
•Describe a viable solution for this issue that could be acceptable by all stakeholders.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Cross Cultural Perspectives: Nike Inc.
Today’s speedily developing globalized economies and contest have forced organizations to spread out their business internationally for sustenance in their respective industries, which has introduced numerous cultural barriers within nations. These cultural barriers generate ethical disquiet when the firm expands its operations outside the its mother country. This document will focus on an international firm, specifically Nike Inc., and a cultural concern that affects its interactions outside the U.S, stressing on ethical perspective.
The Nike Inc. is a renowned global business entity. From the start, the firm has turned to other nations as a means of inexpensive labor. Nike first surfaced as Blue Ribbon Sports founded by Philip Knight along with Bill Bowerman. The firm decided to shift to Asian countries, for instance, Japan, in order to save money through a reduced cost of labor and manufacturing (Azam, 1999).
As the corporation continued to enlarge its line of merchandise, it also extended its outsourcing to additional countries such as Pakistan, China, and Vietnam among others. In Pakistan, the firm faced severe allegations of poor operating conditions and the usage of infant labor. The accusations were that there existed young kids edging the soccer balls produced by the firm. Many states that soccer balls have been produced largely for years include Sialkot, Pakistan in companies such as Nike, and it has been approximated that thousands of kids have been employed for soccer balls’ stitching. Dissimilar cultures have diverse analysis on how much duties children could have. The way infancy is perceived not only diverges among countries but additionally from one civilization to another. Childhood practices do not simply diverge across nations but also inside a single culture and throughout dissimilar ethnic groups (Khan 2010). For instance, even in some poor nations, policies developed to safeguard the nations against severe poverty levels are created towards empowering kids through education. Subjecting kids into working situations deprives them of their childhood rights of education and socializing and also introduces them into slavery. Numerous cultures in the world protect the children since they are their future. I find Nike’s preference to child labor very inhumane in the eyes of every individual and global culture.
Nike, as a result going global, must obey and accomplish its cultural and ethical responsibilities in order to remain globally competitive. The company must rise beyond the allegations it has previously underwent. Nike faced a lot of ethical and social responsibility challenges in their expansion to other countries. Firstly as analyzed, the issue of child labor along with the sweat shop crisis has introduced the company into numerous legal challenges. This is an ethical issue that Nike has to obey in order to remain in the international business. Additionally, Nike has been faced with another obstacle of awarding the workers an extremely low wage forcing them to do unpaid overtime in nations like Vietnam and Indonesia through a subcontractor. Nike will have to conform with locally and internationally set wage limits for its workers, which is the price of going global and which must be accomplished. An added difficulty faced by Nike is deprived operating conditions, filthy working conditions, along with compulsory labor in many of the factories that produce their products. Nike has been accused of damaging the environment that is attained through air and water pollution, noises and adjunct in the typical weather as a result of pollution. Nike must ensure that it maintains the environmental standards of the areas they operate in, if not making them better. Production measures must be put in place to avert air pollution including other forms of damaging the environment (Burns, Spar, & Harvard Business School, 2000).
Ethical Perspectives
Duty perspective
This perspective is concerned with people’s obligations to others. Duties are usually seen as natural, collective, balanced, and self-evident. In our case duty ethics like moral law a company actions have a responsibility to observe a set of rules. According to this perspective, Nike has a duty to comply with moral guidelines and, consequently, it is frequently considered a type of basic ethics. Nike has shown absolute failure in the duty perspective, it has subjected kids to illegal labor, it has persistently paid unimaginable wages to its workers along with many other failures.
Rights Perspectives
This perspective stresses on the responsibility among self and others, grounded on the task that the collective owes the individual. Thus, the collective’s duty is owed to the person in the appearance of rights (e.g., equality). In our case the rights perspective universalizes ethics, consequently, rights should be considered inalienable. This means that Nike must respect workers’ rights in whichever country they operate. Nike has denied the right to a fair wage, the right to education for kids, and the right to join unions.
Virtue perspective
Virtue ethics symbolizes a middle ground among duty and rights. Individuals have the responsibility to self-actualize and, thus, they should be given the space to complete that self-actualization. This viewpoint suggests that every human is born with intrinsic potential and, consequently, human growth is through the effort for self-actualization. A deed is judged grounded on whether it permits for expression of complete potential, thus, generating benefits for both a person and the community. Nike has evidently failed in this particular perspective since workers are subjected to forceful labor and are not allowed to express themselves in any way. Previously, workers were disallowed to join unions; this was done to cripple their voices (DiFazio & Aronowitz, 2006). When a firm wants to strengthen steady ethical patterns of behavior, effectual communications amongst members of that firm can create the difference linking success and failure. For a firm to act ethically, it should live and respire its policy of conduct, teach its workers and communicate its policy via its visioning statements.
The corporation has to ensure that it obeys the set international and local labor guidelines to recover its tarnished image and in order to support any future expansion to other countries. Additionally, the administration of Nike should view its hiring practices to make sure that the corporation is observing the regulations on recruitment, training, fitness, protection, and welfare. The administration should also supervise that the ecological practices are observed. This is to guarantee that the company follows measures that are responsible regarding waste disposal along with pollution prevention (Businessethics, 2010).
The firm should conduct and devise a training plan for the workers. Training and development endeavors enable employees to assume extended duties and larger responsibilities. The executive must also keep in mind that training and development plans are not complete solutions to all needs of the company. Effectual job designs, selection, placement, along with other activities of the HR unit are also very central.
Burns, J. L., Spar, D. L., & Harvard Business School. (2000). Hitting the wall: Nike and international labor practices. Boston, Mass: Harvard Business School Pub.
Select an organization you work for or one in your chosen field.
Conduct online research on the ethics of your organization and the industry it belongs to.
Write a 750- to 1,050-word paper describing how ethical principles can address organizational issues. Include the organization you selected and discuss the following with regards to that organization and its industry:
•What role do external social pressures have in influencing organizational ethics?
•How might these issues be relevant to organizational and personal decisions?
•What is the relationship between legal and ethical issues?
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Organizational Ethics
Gucci
The external social pressure has in the recent past become very instrumental in shaping the ethical practices of any business, which is especially seen in the businesses that fall under the smaller communities; industries. With this, the companies are pushed into giving very profound considerations on matters with regards to the environmental responsibility and the involvement of the general community. More so, with the advancement of the information age, there has been a very significant increase in the importance of the social pressure since ideas are exchanged very fast over a very wide area, exposing the companies that may fail to adhere to the expected social standards.
According to Crane and Matten (2007), the current move is towards an ethical era, whereby the ethical awareness of the consumers towards the implications of the products they purchase is constantly on the increase. As such, they tend to align themselves towards the ethical implications that the products have, not only towards themselves, but also to the world around them, encompassing the environmental impacts of the supply chain in entirety before the goods eventually arrive at the market (Partridge, 2011).
Gucci
Gucci is an Italian leather and fashion goods brand which forms part of the famous Gucci Group, owned by Kering, a French company formerly known as PPR. The company was founded in 1921 by Guccio Gucci, in Florence. As put across by the Business Week Magazine, in the year ending, 2008, the company made about €4.2 billion, and the following year rose to the 41st position in the chart of “Top 100 Brands” created by the Interbrand (Bianchino, et al, 1987). As the highest selling Italian brand, as at September, 2009, the company had about 278 stores directly operated worldwide and uses upscale department stores and franchisees to wholesale its products. As at 2013, the company managed to make sales worth $4.7 Billion US dollars. It is in this year that its market value rose tremendously to $12.1 Billion USD and a ranking of 38th position according to the Forbes list of the most valuable brands (Karmali, 2013).
As a company in an industry with a relatively high competition, Gucci has managed to forge to the current position, mainly through the good business practices that helps it retain its customers, while at the same time, attracting new ones. This move runs back to the 1990s, a period when the company underwent the time recognized as the poorest in its history. During this period, Investcorp shareholders, Maurizio distributors as well as the executives at Gucci America reined in one the sales of the accessories all of a sudden. It is from this point that the company realized the need for social corporate responsibility.
Ethical Transformation
The theme of ethics in organizations has significantly evolved over time, which, in the past was used to refer to the operation of a business in a way such that there is no violation or breaking of the law as well as the moral guidelines. However, as posited by McGoldrick and Freestone (2009), the term has undergone too much broadening to encompass the proactive efforts by a business towards practices considered honest as well as good citizenship. This is based on the expectations of the societies in which the companies operate in such a manner that they meet the customer expectations, charitable giving, and involvement in the community and fair working conditions for the employees.
The Relationship between Legal and Ethical Issues
Unlike in the past when companies mainly gave considerations to ethics in such a manner that they remained within the legal parameters, there has been very tremendous changes on the perceptions of ethics, otherwise termed as “Going beyond Law”. In the late 1990s, Gucci started to embrace the social responsibility with the aim of having a distinguishing factor between it and the other rival companies, which fostered a stronger relationship with the society. Currently, all companies have to act in a socially responsible manner in order to avoid the pressure that may develop from the public. As such, the legal issues may never exist within a company that has fully embraced the ethical practices, otherwise considered as social responsibility. A competitive company will go beyond merely the expectations of the law (Ward & Chiari, 2008).
The concept of business ethics has evolved significantly over time. Historically, it referred to operating a business in a way that does not break the law or violate any major moral guidelines. In the early 21st century, business ethics has broadened to include more proactive efforts toward good citizenship and honest business practices. This is based largely on societal expectations that companies meet demands for honest treatment of customers, community involvement and charitable giving, fair working conditions for employees and environmentally friendly business activities.
The encouragement of observation of ethics within an organization is an assurance of improvement in the success of the business since all the stakeholders will be involved in a unified participation towards the achievement of a common goal. According to Karr and Martens (2013), most organizations tend to underperform as a result of social pressure originating from the external sources. As such, these organizations find themselves in a dilemma, whereby, they may have to change their actions, policies and even behaviors in order to meet the expectations of the stakeholders, which in most cases tend to be much diversified. Instead of molding the employees in such a manner that they are able to cope with the current demands of the company while, at the same time, keeping in mind the emerging trends, they are mainly forged with regards to the existent pressure, which is current.
References
Arnold J. Karr and Cynthia Martens (11 November 2013). “Guccio Gucci SpA Wins Trademark Case in China”. WWD. Retrieved on 5th August, 2014.
Bianchino, Gloria, et al., eds. (1987) Italian Fashion. Vol. 1. The Origins of High Fashion and Knitwear. Milan: Electa SpA.
Crane, A., & Matten, D. (2007). Business ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Karmali, Sarah (February 28, 2013). “Beyoncé Leads New Gucci Empowerment Campaign”. Vogue. Retrieved 5th August, 2014.
McGoldrick, P. J., & Freestone, O. M. (2008). Ethical product premiums: Antecedents and extent of consumers’ willingness to pay. International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 18(2), 185–201.
Partridge, D. J. (2011). “Activist Capitalism and Supply Chain Citizenship: Producing Ethical Regimes and Ready-to-Wear Clothes.” CurrentAnthropology 52(S3): S97–S111.
Role and Responsibilities of a Pediatric and a Child Health Nurse
Order Instructions:
Assessment #1 – Assignment (Graded)
Assessment Task
Please note : There are extensions available for this assignment.
Please note: There are no re-submissions for this assignment
This assessment relates to the course topics 1 to 3 and asks you to write an essay on the provided Template and answer the following question.
“Discuss the role and responsibilities of a Pediatric and a Child Health Nurse. What role do these nurses play in keeping children safe?”
Objectives assessed
CO1. Explain the role of the Registered Nurse in family-centred care
CO4. Appraise strategies designed to prevent or minimise future health issues using a framework of health promotion, quality, safety and risk management
CO6. Apply knowledge of the cultural needs, rights and expectations of infants, children and young people and their families within a legal and ethical framework
Requirements for completing the assignment
1. You must support your answer by in text referencing and using appropriate resources from both the course and your own research. It is Harvard referencing.
2. The assignment length is 1000 words
3. The essay must include an Introduction, main body and conclusion
4. Research articles used must be 2006 and above.
5. Relevant Nurse competencies and mandatory frameworks must be included in your answer
6. A complete reference list will need to be attached to the end of your assessment template.
7. Submit your completed template and rubric sheet via Gradebook
SAMPLE ANSWER
Role and Responsibilities of a Pediatric and a Child Health Nurse
Pediatric and child health nurses are typically registered nurses providing their services to young people and children. The contribution of these nurses is tremendous in ensuring that children receive quality healthcare but continue to be instrumental in enhancing quality healthcare among children. The author delineates on the roles and responsibilities of pediatric and child health nurse in keeping children safe among other issues concerning their services.
Roles of pediatric and child health nurse vary from institution to another, but responsibilities remain similar. They are primary care givers as they provide preventive, curative, promotive, and rehabilitative care in all the levels of healthcare services that pertains to children. In health facilities, they provide care to sick children by comforting them, bathing, feeding, and ensuring their safety (Conard & Pape, 2014). They ensure that children are well treated for any ailments and provided with appropriate care. At the community level, the basic responsibilities of these registered nurses include assessing the health of the children, immunizing them, and ensuring that primary healthcare and referral services are provided.
Pediatrician nurses also play the roles of coordinators and collaborators. They must maintain good interpersonal interactions with the family, child, and health team members. Communication is very critical for nurses as it allows them to share with the parties concerned and in the process, improving the quality of services that they render. They also coordinate nursing care with other services to meet the needs of the children (Conard & Pape, 2014). For example, they coordinate with other parties in the sector such as social workers, physicians, dieticians, and physiotherapists to ensure that they render superb services to the children.
These nurses also play a role of an advocate. They advocate for the rights of the children and come up with strategies to render best care from the healthcare team (Conard & Pape, 2014). Another role of the pediatric and child health nurse is that of health educator. They have the responsibilities to teach the parents about the best strategies to prevent sickness, promote, and maintain health of their children. Information is a very critical aspect in ensuring improved services.
Nurses act as consultants in guiding parents on how to maintain and promote health of their children. For instance, they guide parents about the best-feed practices, best facilities to visit, and accident prevention among many others. They also counsel parents on health hazards and ensure that they can make appropriate decisions in different situations that they encounter (Gregorowski et al., 2013). They as well act as care managers whereby they monitor, organize, and evaluate patients’ treatment to ensure that the outcome is positive. They also participate in social services as they can refer children and families to other child welfare agencies to ensure that they get necessary support.
Another role of these nurses is carrying out research, which is a very important and integral part of the nursing profession. Research provides the basis for changes in the nursing practices; it improves the child health care, as well as improving the evaluation of such practice. Depending on the level of experience, these nurses may also play other roles and responsibilities such as carrying out physical examinations, immunization of children, screening of disease, diagnosing of sicknesses, and prescribing medication for the children (Gregorowski et al., 2013).
Nurses employ development strategies and frameworks to minimize or prevent future health issues. The most used framework many nurse embrace is of health promotion, quality, safety, and risk management. Health promotion encompasses three levels including primary, secondary, and tertiary level. These nurses aim to promote healthy maturation, intellectual, physical, and emotional bonding of children in the context of the family and community (Gregorowski et al., 2013). They as well provide care to those children in need and deal with disabilities. In primary level, they achieve this through education of children and parents and by providing basic needs and immunization to the children. At secondary levels, the role of these nurses is to provide care such as treatment to sick children. They, therefore, achieve this by assessing their needs, planning for the best care, implementing the plan, evaluating the condition of the child, and teaching the child and parent about healthcare. At the tertiary level, these nurses endeavor to ensure that children regain their normal health. They must as well ensure quality by adhering to the ethics when providing care such as prescribing the right medication and provide right immunizations to the children (Prospects, 2014). According to Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) (2008), nurses need to practice in a safe and competent manner, adhere to standards of professional and broader health system and ensure confidential of any personal information among others.
Safety is a very important role of the pediatric nurses. The safety of children in the health facility is a responsibility of the parent as well as of a pediatric nurse (Egerton, 2012). Risk management has become a very important factor and nurses need to know how to manage risks they are exposed to ensure that they do not compromise on their services.
Even as these nurses play their roles and responsibilities, they must consider cultural needs, rights, and expectation of the children, infants, young people, and families they come across within an ethical and legal framework. Cultures of parents do vary, and taking an initiative to understand their beliefs and values is important as it allows the nurse to align the services to suit the such needs (Egerton, 2012). The rights and expectations of the child or family members must as well be respected when rendering services. Law must also be adhered accordingly. The right to informed consent and end to life protocols must be respected when providing healthcare to the children. Ethics plays a key role in the nursing profession. Pediatric and child health nurses must respect and follow the codes of ethics in their service delivery. They must be honest, have integrity, be respectful, and endeavor to render services with diligence.
In conclusion, pediatric and child health nurses have a wide array of responsibilities and roles. I addition to promoting health among children, they also collaborate with parents and families to ensure that quality healthcare is rendered. It is therefore, prudent for the nurses to appreciate that situations keep on changing in their practice in terms of technological advancement, and they must always be on the look out to keep abreast with such changes.
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia (NMBA) (2008). National competency standards for the Registered Nurse. Retrieved from: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0CFYQFjAG&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au%2F documents%2Fdefault.aspx%3Frecord%3DWD10%252F1353%26dbid%3DAP%26chks um%3DAc7KxRPDt289C5Bx%252Ff4q3Q%253D%253D&ei=ly7rU_DZEo_n7AbL4I CQDg&usg=AFQjCNF8F4L8vBEpHna0npODjOPPsDxbgg&sig2=35goFOyCC7eCM-qHPctwvQ&bvm=bv.72938740,d.ZGU
Problem Description (Refined version of Assignment 4):
You’re developing the software for a company that monitors home alarm systems. After reviewing some of the your outline of patterns you would use, our customer that you create a couple diagrams of what you architecture looks like using the notations described in our book “Software Architectures in Practice” and that you apply the techniques described in Chapter 14 to analyze your architecture to verify that the architecture will satisfy the requirement of the system. The have provided a revised description (next paragraph), with some more details.
There will be one sensor for each door or window in the home that detects when they are opened. If the home alarm system is activated, the home (sub)system must (1) turn on the alarm within 5 seconds of sensing the opening of any opening other than a door next to a control pad, which allow 30 for the user disarm code to be entered before the alarm is turned on, and (2) send an alarm to the Alarm Monitor Company’s central monitoring location within 15 seconds for an opening other than a door next to a control pad, and 45 seconds for a door next to a control pad. The system at the central monitoring location, (1) records the event, and (2) notifies a human
operator what’s happening within 30 seconds of receipt of the alarm sent from the local home monitoring system, and (3) automatically dial the home, within 45 seconds of receipt of the alarm sent from the local home monitoring system, and hands-off the call to the operator, who will to attempt to verify that there is a break-in. If no one answers, or someone answers but doesn’t give the agreed to safe-word or give the in-trouble word, then the operator will notify the police within 1 minute if no one answers, or 2 minutes if call is answered. All actions taken are recorded.
Part 1 (5 points): Create an architecture
Create an architecture for the whole system based on the patterns you choose in the last exercise. (Is you decide to change patterns, describe the changes including why.) Your description should include the following:
1. A diagram showing the Company’s Central Monitoring Center, and multi-homes being monitored.
2. A diagram of the architecture for the Central Monitoring Center.
3. A diagram of the architecture in a typical Home.
4. A short description of each software component.
Use the notation described in the SWAIP book for now.
Part 2 (5 points): Describe the qualities that are important for the system.
Apply the appropriate techniques from Chapter 14 (or in the pattern description, if any) to verify that you architecture is likely to produce a system that achieves the quality goals you identified in Assignment 4 (i.e., minimums & maximums) and satisfies any constraints in the customer description (this constrains are qualities that you must achieve). If you need certain values, e.g. execution speed of the CPU or how many cores in the CPU, then either do some research on reasonable values make a list of the values you obtain from your research or any assumptions you made and give a reference to the source.
If you determine that for some reason, your architecture does not achieve your quality goals, then explain why. (You may find that some goals are not achievable).
Create a PDF file with your results for part 1 & 2.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Software Architecture
Introduction
A home security alarm is a system designed to detect intrusion and/or unauthorized entry into a building or area. They are often used in residential and commercial properties for protection against property damage or burglary (theft). The most basic alarm consists of one or more sensors to detect intruders, and an alerting device to indicate the intrusion. However, a typical premises security alarm employs the following components: Premises control unit (PCU), or panel, Sensors, Alerting devices, Keypads, Interconnections and Security devices.
Architectural Structure
The architectural structure of the home alarm system design is shown in the block diagram below. The central system will handle all the sensors and keypad input, output information to LCD screen, indicate system status on LED, and make buzz or voice alarm.
Figure 1: Architectural Structure
Hardware & Software Tradeoffs
The IR motion sensor is quite inexpensive hence it should be bought for this design. It is also necessary to acquire one of the smoke detector from home to be used to sound the alarm in case of smoke detection. The architectural structure of our design is shown in the block diagram shown in figure 1 above. The central system will handle all the sensors and keypad input, output information to LCD screen, indicate system status on LED, and make buzz or voice alarm. Besides some necessary resistor and capacitor connections to the ISD1420 chip, the software makes the major part of the work mainly to ensure that home alarm system if fully customizable and consists of a lot of features. It need to monitors all the sensors, and time the appropriate seconds in order to play certain voice pattern (ex. “Temperature, smoke error, please…” “Door or window error, please…”) depending on which sensor goes wrong. It also needs to handle the user interface via keypad and LCD screen.
Program & Hardware Design
Program Detail
The timing is the hardest part of the program. This implies that when any sensor goes wrong, the program has to wait for a number of seconds as set by the user, and then make ISD1420 chip play back the necessary voice pattern as envisaged. The voice playback chip does not have a very fast internal clock, so the delay function has to be played manually in the program after setting the address bits, and then making the chip play. Besides, we also need to implement the keypad function so it acts accordingly when the LCD is displaying certain menu. In the system there are 12 submenus. For example, set temp defines the lowest temperature allowable prior to sounding the alarm (70~120F, with a 1F step size). The Sec. Allow is the time in second before the voice alarm goes off (0~30sec, with step size of 5 seconds). The submenus are shown in the table below:
1.Enable System
2.(*)Temp Sensor
3.(*)Mot. Sensor
4.(*)Smk. Sensor
5.(*)Mag. Switch
6.Set Temp: 100F
7.(*)Voice Alarm
8.(*)Buzz Alarm
9.New Pswd:
A. Buzz Freq: 7
B. Buzz Skim: 3
C. Sec. Allow: 10
There is also a simple de-bounce feature for the keypad, and it will sound a buzz when any key is pressed. Also the backspace feature is implemented so that when a wrong password is entered by the user, it is possible to use this key to delete the number entered previous previously. The password is masked on LCD for a safer purpose.
Hardware Detail
The first sensor we have is the temperature sensor. This is done using a digital thermometer utilizing the same circuit. This was achieved through incorporation of the National Semiconductor LM34 temperature sensor, together with National Semiconductor LMC7111 OpAmp chip for the amplification of the output voltage going into ADC. The final connection of our circuit looks like the following.
Figure 2: Main Connections
The second sensor is the motion sensor which has some IC components as well as a few NPN transistors in the circuit. The base pin together with ground are taken and connected to the ADC pin input, however, the alarm goes off when the voltage exceed VTH (threshold voltage). The other sensor is the smoke detector which is equipped with piezoelectric buzzer, which has F (feed back), M (metal plate) three pins, and C (main electrode). The piezoelectric buzzer consists of an internal crystal and it sounds the alarm if small current is applied (voltage drop).
The final sensor is the magnetic switches and it is normally closed meaning that when the switch is right next to each other, the resistance is zero. So the switch is driven with a 10K pull-up resistor, and connects the output to the ADC. A simple AND/OR gate was built by using 1 74LS00 chip since we have two magnetic switches.
Result of the Design
Speed of Execution
The speed of the execution is very well. At start the system boots up with default password 1234 allowing the user to navigate through menu, and enabling or disabling each type of sensor. If a particular sensor is enabled, the LCD screen will output a * symbol just immediately before the sensor name. Enable/disable voice, the alert temperature, or buzzer alarm can be set by the user, and even specify the ring tone and frequency of the buzzer alarm as well as the time needed prior to the voice alarm goes off. The button de-bounce scheme also works fine so users can navigate through the menu and use the keypad perfectly. This is highly essential because it usually bring with itself convenience to the user as well as enabling timely operation of the home alarm system while at the same time making sure that the system is easy to use. This is an essential feature for easy working or operation of the system which enables the highest level of the system operation at all times.
Accuracy
After the user enables the security system, the green status LED will lid to indicate the system status. User can now enter proper password to unlock the system. If any sensor goes wrong, the LCD will output ERROR and with proper initial for the sensor (T for temperature, M for motion, S for smoke, D for door or window magnetic switch). The red led light be will flashing at 4Hz to indicate such event. If the buzz alarm is enable, it will sound the tone that user choose. If the voice alarm is enabled, it will wait for few seconds (user specified), if the system is still not locked, then it will start playing voice to indicate which sensor goes wrong. (For example, “Temperature Error, please check and unlock the security system.”) If another sensor goes wrong after that, the system will also act accordingly and indicate that in the voice alert in addition to the LCD screen. (“Temperature Motion Error, please check and unlock the security system.”)
Safety
As soon as user enters the correct password, the system will be unlocked and the buzzer and voice playback will stop. The user can now navigate through our menu and make any changes in the settings.
Usability
The home alarm system is very practical. It can be used not only in the home environment but also in a business environment too and works by monitoring the surrounding for not only protection of property as well as lives. Besides, the system is also highly customizable for the purpose of suiting each one’s need and preference.
Expectation and Improvement
The result of the home alarm system design meets the expectation whereby every sensor is supposed to be working and will sound specific alarm when the system goes into alert status. The keypad and LCD also offer great interface and users can be familiar with the system in less than few seconds. The system also has 4 output patterns using all 8 pins. The designed home alarm system is envisaged to effectively work in order to prevent intrusion or property damage which can further be improved subsequently for better performance.
An architectural structure of the designed home alarm system is shown in the prototype shown in the diagrams shown below.
References
Trimmer, H. W. (1981). Understanding and Servicing Alarm Systems. Stoneham: Butterworth.
Walker, P. (1985). Electronic Security Systems. Cambridge, UK: University Press
Weber, T. L. (1985). Alarm Systems and Theft Protection (2nd ed.). Stoneham, MA: Butterworth.
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2,500 word Written Report – 100 marks weighted to 70% of marks for the module
Your friend has accepted a new job and has the opportunity to choose between becoming an employee or an independent contractor. Advise your friend on how employee/contractor status is determined, the advantages and disadvantages of each status and the source of the terms contained within employment a contract.
70%
(ii) Marcia placed an advertisement in a shop window which read: ‘£50 Reward for the return of my black wallet which I lost yesterday, Sunday. Call 020 000 1111”.
Meanwhile, Frank found a wallet in the street and when he examined it, he saw an address inside which he understood to be that of the owner. He was busy for a couple of days so he waited until Tuesday morning before calling at the address with the wallet.
Marcia answered the door and was very pleased to see her wallet, complete with all of the contents. She thanked Frank and he went on to work.
That evening, on his way home, Frank saw Marcia’s advertisement in the shop window and he wondered if it was referring to the wallet he had returned. He called at Marcia’s house and she confirmed that the advertisement was hers. Frank asked for the reward and Marcia told him he was not entitled to it.
Frank is upset and puzzled and has asked you to explain why Marcia has refused to give him the reward.
30%
Parts and (ii) have different weighting therefore the word count for each part should reflect this. Approximately 1,750 words for part and 750 words for part (ii).
Please remember that you must provide properly referenced evidence for all of the claims/assertions you make.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Employment, Contract, and Reward
Part I
How Employment/ Contract Status is Determined
By definition, independent contractors are self-employed individuals and since these individuals are not considered employees, they are not covered by labor, employment, and related tax laws. As such, employers may be tempted to reclassify workers as independent contractors so that they can evade the payment of benefits and taxes alongside other liabilities (Cappelli & Keller, 2013). Whether or not an employee is covered by a certain tax, labor, or employment law hinges in relation to the definition of a worker. In many occasions, statuses often fail to provide a clear definition of the term employee. Therefore, there is no single standard, which can be employed in distinguishing between an independent contractor and employee. For instance, in UK, employers can determine the employment status of individuals by focusing the tax and employment laws. By focusing on the tax law, employers can manage to determine whether individuals are exempted from PAYE (Pay As You Earn) or not. On the other hand, employment law helps employers to determine whether their employees have employee’s rights or not (Bidwell & Briscoe, 2009). One can be considered an employee when he or she works under a contract of employment. An individual can be an employee under employment policy, but have a status that is different for purposes of tax. As such, employers need to work out the status of every worker in both tax law and employment law. All employees are considered workers, but an employee possesses additional employment responsibilities and rights, which are not applicable to workers who are regarded as employees.
In working out the employment status of an employee, several conditions are often taken into consideration. An individual is considered an employee when this person is needed to work regularly, unless he or she is on leave such as sick leave, holiday and maternity leave. A person is also considered an employee when he or she is needed to perform limited number of hours of which payments are made. Furthermore, an individual is taken as an employee when a supervisor or manager is accountable for his or her workload, dictating when a piece of task should be completed, and when this person cannot send a different person to perform his or her work (Cappelli & Keller, 2013). Any person is considered an employee when this individual is paid during holidays, when national insurance and tax is deducted from his or her wage; when he/she can join the pension scheme of his or her employer; when the employer’s grievance and disciplinary applies to him or her; when the person’s contract outlines redundancy procedures, when then this person’s employer provides tools, materials, and equipment needed for his or her work; when this person has a different job from that of his or her employer, when he/she works for his or her employer only; and when his/her stamen of conditions and terms of contract uses terms such as employee or employer. In case the employers are unable to determine the employment or contract status of an individual, the employer can use the ESI (Employment Status Indicator) to achieve this goal. On the contrary, this tool cannot be employed in determining the status of employment of some workers such as agency workers, company directors, individuals holding on office and persons offering services via intermediaries. The ESI tool operates by asking a series of questions concerning the working relationship between the engager and worker. Moreover, the presence of a contract that outlines the terms of the relationship between the worker and employer is significant in this process. Once the details needed by the tool have been provided, the ESI then displays worker’s employment status. The ESI tool can be relied on when the answers it has provided offer a clear reflection of the conditions and terms under which the worker being investigated provides his or her services (Cappelli & Keller, 2013). The outcomes of the tools can be relied on when the ESI has been completed by either an authorized representative or engager.
Advantages of Employment Status
As an employee, one can be entitles to several advantages. First, an employee is entitled to a steady or constant income. Employees are often paid fixed salaries, which helps in ensuring that they receive regular amount of income at the end of every month. Furthermore, this benefit is significant in ensuring that deductions are not made on the wages of employees even in situations where they may not attend work due to issues such as sicknesses or other commitments. As such, employees can be considered to enjoy the element of income security in that they are certain of the amount that they will receive at the end of the month based on the agreement they made with their employers (Bidwell & Briscoe, 2009). Moreover, employees are entitled to work within specified time frames. As such, any extra hour besides the normal working hours is considered overtime and the employer is often accountable to paying employees for such hours. The status of being employed also subjects the employees to benefits like health insurance among other insurance covers. As such, employees can obtain medical treatment in case of situations involving occupational injuries and other illnesses. Employees are also entitled to other benefits such as training, which can help in improving the worker’s levels of skills and knowledge in the field of practice.
Disadvantages of Employment Status
Despite having many advantages, employees the status of being employed has been noted to have many disadvantages. In relation to this, the incomes of employees are low despite being steady. Many workers are always not aware of the value of the input that they give to their employers. Moreover, while many workers lack the knowledge of the value of their inputs, they can also be fired at any moment. Thus, the status of being employed has no employment security. When employees are fired, their income often ceases to be steady for a prolonged period. Employees have also been noted to have limited levels of control over their work as they are often monitored by their employers who have total authority over them (Cappelli & Keller, 2013). Working as an employee means that workers do not own much of their time, which limits the personal activities in which individuals can be engaged. Moreover, being employed limits workers’ capabilities to decline performing tasks that are assigned to them despite these tasks being difficult or complex (Cappelli & Keller, 2013). Working with employers can also be stressful, especially in situations where tasks are needed to be performed urgently. Consequently, an employee may also experience problems working other employees who may prove stubborn. Lastly, the aspect of earning a fixed salary limits the amount of income that employees can earn at every payment period.
Advantages of Contract Status
Working as an independent contractor can subject an individual to several benefits. Independent contractors often know the value of their work and are at an advantage of charging substantial amounts for the services they are offering their clients. Moreover, the fact that these individuals have almost total control over the work enables them to perform these tasks in a relaxed environment (James & Harvey, 2003). Thus, independent contractors are not vulnerable to stress from other employees or employers as in the case of employees. Besides, independent contractors have the ability to decline performing task that they consider difficult or complex. Independent contractors have the ability to increase their level of income as the can look for jobs from many clients. Moreover, this benefit is enhanced by the fact that independent contractors have the knowledge of the quality of their input, which enables them to charge prices that are commensurate to the quality of service or tasks that they perform to their clients. Being that these individual are their own bosses, the level of job security that they enjoy is higher than that of employees. As such, they do not suffer from the fear of being sacked by employers as in the case of employees.
Disadvantages of Contract Status
Being an independent contractor can subject an individual to certain disadvantages. First, independent contractors are not entitled to steady incomes as there are seasons when they often experience shortage of clients. As such, these individuals are always forced to ensure that they generate more income during boom seasons to that they can compensate for leans seasons. Therefore, the level of income security that these individuals enjoy is lower than that enjoyed by employees. In addition, independent contractors are not entitled to benefits such as health insurances and other insurance covers (James & Harvey, 2003). As such, these individuals cannot obtain financial aid from their clients in cases involving illnesses or occupational accidents. As a result, they may be forced to cover for expenses arising from such events. Furthermore, independent contractors cannot benefit from incentives such as trainings that employers often offer to their employees. As such, independent contractors are always forced to cover for the costs of such incentives.
Source of Terms Contained within an Employment and Contract
Prior to entering into any contract, several statements are often made by one party with the aim of inducing or encouraging the other party or group to enter into a contract (Gunasekara, 2013). In relation to this, disputes may arise from such contracts concerning whether the statements made should be the term or part of the contract. Besides, these disputes may concern the statements that should be considered as mere pre-contract talk thereby excluding them from being the term or part of the contract. It is crucial to note that parties or groups that have entered into a contract are only bound the terms of the contract, and not by peripheral statements, which have been developed. In relation this, courts may be forced to focus on the proof of intention by either one or other groups that the statement should form part of the contract. For example, when the interval between the establishment of the statement and attainment of the ultimate contract and agreement is long, the statement can be considered as part of the contract. It is also significant to note that signing of an agreement qualifies that agreement to be the term of the contract. Furthermore, many employees are often issued with written statements that contain the key conditions and terms of the employment contracts. However, even independent contractors are often entitled to such documents (Gunasekara, 2013). Some of the information that should be provided in such documents are names of employee or contractor and employer or client, date of employment or contract, and continuous employment or contract started, working hours or duration of contract, and job location. As such, employees and independent contractors should be cautious prior to signing agreements or contracts with clients or employers or clients as breaching them may lead to adverse legal consequences.
Part II
Reward can be defined as a compensation or sum of money that is issued to a class of individuals or the general public for the performance of service that is considered special (Jansen & Zimmerman, 2011). In relation to this, the money that Marcia wants to give to anyone that finds her black wallets is considered a reward as it is a payment to a special service, which involves finding the lost wallet and taking it to Marcia. In many situations, police often offer rewards for information that can helps in arresting and convicting offenders. In legal terms, the individual promising a reward is offering himself or herself to enter into an agreement or contract with the individual who conducts the required action. As such, the legal principles of rewards are obtained from the contracts’ law. Taking this aspect into consideration, it can be argued that Marcia had offered herself into a contract with Frank.
A contract of reward is often created when an actual offer that is valid is made. In such a situation, the offer is considered a mere proposal or conditional promise by the individual issuing the reward (Jansen & Zimmerman, 2011). The person issuing the reward is referred to as the offerer in legal terms as in the case of Marcia. It is also vital to note that a consummated contract may be attained when the requested action has been conducted. Therefore, the case involved between Marcia and Frank is considered a contract as the required action, which involves finding the black wallet and taking it to Marcia, has been performed. The individual issuing the reward can do it on any condition that he or she wishes and the terms must be accomplished prior to the recovery of the reward. In relation to this, terms that Marcia stated were met by Frank as he found the lost black wallet and returned it to Marcia.
In legal terms, it is required the information provided must be timely and adequate for an individual to collect a reward from the offerer. In a situation in which the information was already known when it was provided by the informant, a reward cannot be given (Weber & Mayer, 2011). In relation to this, it can be argued that Frank presented the lost wallet when Marcia had already addressed the urgency that she needed from it. The advertisement made my Marcia indicated that she was to be contacted on Monday, while Frank contacted her on Tuesday. As such, it can be argued that Frank’s submission was untimely and inadequate. Moreover, in the legal terms it is required that the individual performing the required action be aware of the offer and purpose of performing such a service (Kraft, 2013). As such, any person that performs the required action without the knowledge of the offer or the purpose of his or her action is not entitled to the collection of the reward. In relation to this, Frank is not entitled to the collection of the reward, as he was unaware of the offer made by Marcia and purpose of his action. When Frank returned the lost wallet to Marcia, he did not ask for the compensation for his service as promised by Marcia. This action made Marcia realize that frank was unaware of the offer she had made. Moreover, Frank made his ignorance clear to Marcia when he returned to collect the reward after reading about the offer in the advertisement that had been posted by Marcia. As a result, Marcia acted in line with the law and declined to issue the promised offer to Frank. In this case, Marcia can be considered innocent.
The rule, which denies the person who lacks the knowledge of the offer or the purpose of his or her action from collecting rewards, is founded on the concept that in the absence of such knowledge the meeting of minds cannot exist (Goldenberg, 2014). Meeting of minds is significant in facilitating or advancing the realization of the terms provided by the contract. In relation to this, it can be argued that there was not meeting in minds between frank and Marcia as frank was unaware of the conditions provided by the contract prior to making his submission or presenting the lost wallet. Furthermore, it is vital to note that having the knowledge of the statutory remedy does not qualify the claimant to recovering a reward. Therefore, Frank could have managed to collect the rewards from Marcia in a situation in which he was aware of the offer and purpose of his action prior to delivering the wallet to Marcia.
References
Cappelli, P; Keller, R. (2013). Classifying Work in the New Economy. Academy of Management Review, 38(4), 575-596.
Cappelli, H; Keller, JR. (2013). A Study of the Extent and Potential Causes of Alternative Employment Arrangements. Industrial & Labor Relations Review, 66(4), 874-901.
Bidwell, J; Briscoe, F. (2009). Who Contracts? Determinants of the Decision to Work as an Independent Contractor among Information Technology Workers. Academy of Management Journal, 52(6), 1148-1168.
Goldenberg, P. (2014). Protecting the Reliance. Columbia Law Review, 114(4), 1033-181.
Gunasekara, C. (2011). Independent Contracting in Low Skilled, Low Paid Work in Australia. International Journal of Employment Studies, 19(1), 50-69.
James, Jr; Harvey S. (2003). Employment Contracts, US Common Law and the Theory of the Firm. International Journal of the Economics of Business, 10(1), 1-49.
Jansen, N; Zimmerman, R. (2011). Contract Formation and Mistake in European Contract Law: A Genetic Comparison of Transnational Model Rule. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies, 3194), 625-662.
Rosenberg, A. (2013). Contract’s Meaning and The Histories of Classical Contract Law. McGill Law Journal, 59(1), 165-207.
Weber, L; Mayer, J. (2011). Designing Effective Contracts: Exploring the Influence of Framing and Expectations. Academy of Management Reviews, 36(1), 53-75.
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Impacts of MIS on the Organization: Connecting the Dots
Order Instructions:
This paper is a continuation of 111287 so its important that the writer take note of what was written in that paper before written this paper. Alll discussions are about Amazon the topic chosen in the first paper , and it is noted hear in this questions that “You are required to include research from at least two first-person interviews and at least two peer-reviewed practitioner or scholarly journals”. This interviews must be conducted just as in the first part of this paper.
The second half of this paper , you will examine various ways in which MIS impacts your organization,( Amazon) as a whole, including decision making, organizational structure, data security, and the impact of emerging trends in IT. A key element of this Paper is the identification and framing of an organizational problem that relates to the topics covered in the course such as
Information Technology for Competitive Advantage
Storing and Accessing Information and Knowledge
Electronic Commerce
Information Systems Development
Information Systems and Decision Making
Your research should lead you to identify possible solutions to the problem(s) you identify. You will apply knowledge gained in the course in order to present advantages and disadvantages of various approaches to the problem(s).
Your task is to “connect the dots” in order to show the ways in which MIS shapes the strategic direction of the organization. In your paper, include a discussion of the following:
1. How has the organization leveraged IT to assist in its decision making? Which systems provide the clearest support for analyzing data and determining strategic direction?
2. How has technology impacted the organization’s structure? If modifications were made, were they explicit (that is, planned) or implicit (that is, changes emerged without planning)?
3. What security risks have IT systems created that were not there before and how has the organization addressed these issues? Has it implemented a planned risk management approach? What business risks are involved, if any, and how did/does the organization respond?
4. What new technologies will most likely directly impact the organization’s business? Will the organization be likely to adopt new technologies to achieve a competitive edge or take a wait-and-see attitude? What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
This Paper 2 will comprise 8–10 pages in APA format. One to three diagrams and presentation slides may be included, but they will be additional to the required length of the paper. You are required to include research from at least two first-person interviews and at least two peer-reviewed practitioner or scholarly journals.
Resources to be use
Course Text
• Management Information Systems for the Information Age
Chapter 7, “Enterprise Infrastructure, Metrics, and Business Continuity Planning: Building and Sustaining the Dynamic Enterprise”
This chapter discusses the value of service-oriented architecture and hardware and software considerations of an organization, analyzes commonly used metrics for assessing IT systems, and describes business continuity planning (BCP).
Articles
• Mukherji, A. (2002). The evolution of information systems: Their impact on organizations and structures. Management Decision, 40(5/6). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global database.
This article provides a brief history of the development of information systems and how these systems have changed organizations.
• Hitt, L.M., & Brynjolfsson, E. (1997). Information technology and Internet firm organization: An exploratory analysis. Journal of Management Information Systems, 14. Retrieved from Computers & Applied Sciences Complete database.
This article offers an empirical study supporting the idea that information technology drives firms to decentralize authority within the organization.
• Lucas, H.C., & Baroudi, J. (1994). The role of information technology in organization design. Journal of Management Information Systems, 10(4). Retrieved from Computers & Applied Sciences Complete database.
This article concludes that information technology design and organizational design are inextricably linked.
Kahn, R.L. (2000). The effect of technological innovation on organizational structure: Two case studies of the effects of the introduction of a new technology on informal organizational structures. Journal of Business and Technical Communication, 14(3). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM Global database.
This article compares the outcomes at two university campuses related to the implementation of technological innovation in their administrative offices.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Impacts of MIS on the Organization: Connecting the Dots
Three leaders from Amazon participated in interviews for this report, they are the Web Services Director, Andrew Jassey, the Business Development Director, Jeffrey Blackburn, and the Consumer Business Director, Jeffrey Wilke. I incorporated their views as part of this report.
How has the organization leveraged IT to assist in its decision making?
Amazon has implemented an IT customer services strategy that allows its customers to post reviews about products they have purchased on their website whether the reviews were negative or positive. Amazon was the first retailer to implement such a strategy way back when it started in 1994, which many in the book selling industry criticized because they thought that allowing customers to post negative comments about their purchases would reduce sales (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Kautz & Abrahall, 2014). However, Jeff Bezos did not falter as his motivation for implementing the feature as part of the company’s strategy was to give customers access to as much information as they wanted that would assist them in making their buying decisions.
It is no wonder that up to now Jeff has a public email that all Amazon customers can use to get in touch with him about any complaints that they may have. All managers at the company live in perpetual fear of emails about customer complaints that are forwarded to them by Jeff usually with an additional question mark, which gives them just a few hours to resolve the complaint. It is not difficult to see how IT has drastically impacted how the company makes decisions because according to Jeff, the customer is always right, which has driven many crucial changes in the company. Jeffrey Wilke, the Consumer Business Director remembers vividly an incident where Jeff Bezos, the founder, wanted them to scrap the whole email marketing system just because of one customer complaint. Which systems provide the clearest support for analyzing data and determining strategic direction?
Amazon’s customer feedback system is the most important part of their strategic decision making process as the company uses available data to make all its strategic decisions such as the introduction of Kindle e-readers and most of its products. Amazon uses information management systems as their core decision-making system as they take into account all the available information regarding customers, suppliers and their business partners to decide on what future strategies to implement. The company also tracks the information related to both their direct and indirect competitors, which is a key factor when they are deciding on what companies to buy and what partnerships they should enter into.
The early partnerships, which Amazon with established retailers such as Target, enabled the company to wield a unique advantage over its competitors by increasing their distribution networks significantly. In the company’s initial years it used basic information systems to keep track of customer behaviors, which paid of drastically as the company introduced new innovative solutions such as same day shipping for in-stock orders. The company’s information management systems are responsible for most of the strategic decisions made by Amazon as it has always used the data collected through the system to chart future strategies.
How has technology impacted the organization’s structure?
Technology has a huge impact on Amazon’s organizational structure given the fact that it is an online retailer and makes most of its sales through its various websites. One of the crucial changes the technology has had on the company is evident in the introduction of programs such as the associate program, which has contributed greatly to Amazon’s success through sales generated by its affiliates. Business Development Director, Jeffrey Blackburn states that technology enabled Amazon to host numerous websites operated by members of the affiliate program to make sales without which the company could not have generated the amount of sales and growth that it continues to experience up to date. Technology has also been crucial in the introduction of web services as Amazon has invested in web technologies so as to compete with companies such as Google and Hewlett Packard in the technology market especially by offering cloud services (Chen, Ramamurthy & Wen, 2012). The launch of the Kindle Fire and other Kindle devices has also been crucial in advancing Amazon’s strategy of increasing its market share given that the designers of the Kindle Fire tablet device wanted it to drive online sales made from tablets while at the same time competing with Apple’s iPad. The introduction of all these new products and services has affected the company through the creation of new departments such as the Web Services department, which has increased Amazon’s market share.
Technology continues to be the main avenue through which the company is diversifying its products and services creating numerous jobs and departments within the company as it keep expanding across many industries. Technology can have a significant impact on a company’s organizational structure given that just by the mere fact that a company is experiencing growth in its size, operations and market share the need for the adoption of information management systems keeps increasing (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Kautz & Abrahall, 2014). Initially when the company started there was no human resources department as Jeff managed all the company employees who operated from his garage and later on at an industrial park. However, if he tried to do the same today with the significant size of the company’s operation and a workforce of 132,600 employees as of June 2014, he would be a miserable failure at such a task. Amazon employees the best human resources to manage its huge workforce not forgetting that the department is largely dependent on information management systems to keep track of all its employees and address employee issues. Without information management systems, Amazon would not be a profitable organization like it is right now.
What security risks have IT systems created that were not there before and how has the organization addressed these issues?
Cloud security systems risks
The advent of cloud services that are catching up with other technologies for storing data in the market has been touted as a rick free way of storing data and accessing it easily on demand at less cost than storing it yourself (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Kautz & Abrahall, 2014). However, recent studies indicate that cloud services are not as impenetrable as they were once thought to be and that hackers can still illegally access cloud servers that are not properly protected. According to Andrew Jassey Amazon’s Director of the Web Services, this is a new security threat that is facing Amazon as they recently launched their web services division and are providing cloud services to both their individual consumers and corporations such as Dell. Other affiliates using the company’s web infrastructure are also at risk because these systems utilize cloud computing systems.
Social engineering risks
Social engineering threats involve the use of methods such as phishing by cyber criminals to get access to financial information, which they can exploit and steal mostly from consumers and innocent web users (Géczy, Izumi & Hasida, 2014). Phishing involves the use of mirror sites that are identical to the real Amazon site to dupe customers into thinking that they are purchasing products from Amazon, while on the contrary, it is the cyber-criminal who is taking their money. Phishing sites have greatly increased, especially after Amazon launched different sites in countries such as the UK and Germany, which attackers are finding easier to copy. Another major contributor to this threat is the fact that domain names nowadays contain characters in Japanese, Hindi and other languages.
Mobile devices risks
Mobile devices make up the newest frontier in terms of security threats in IT systems especially given the fact that more and more consumers are making purchases from mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets (Briggs, 2014). In most cases it is difficult to implement the same level of security in a mobile device because of limited processor capacity and memory space, which is what cyber criminals are using to their devices. This threat is extremely relevant to Amazon given that Kindle purchases in recent years have exceeded purchases through its main website. Amazon also has iPhone and iPad applications in addition to android applications that are extremely vulnerable to cyber-attacks because of limited security.
Malware risks
Although malware is not a new problem since it has been present since the invention of computers it has kept evolving with hackers developing newer viruses designed to beat even the most sophisticated computer security systems (Géczy, Izumi & Hasida, 2014). The impact of malware on information systems is as crucial today as it was decades ago given that it is the most effective way to profits from cyber-crime by infecting an organization’s information system and acquiring information, which the cyber-criminals use for financial fraud. Although Amazon has one of the best if not the best firewall systems in the world, which is higher than military grade software, it is still vulnerable to malware attacks.
Misuse of web applications
Another threat faced by Amazon is the misuse its web applications, especially those hosted by third parties where the company has no control over the security systems used for such applications. Amazon has tried to reduce this risk by controlling the security of those web applications hosted and operated by third parties, mostly be acquiring rights to the applications or by acquiring the third party itself.
Has Amazon implemented a planned risk management approach?
Amazon has implemented a planned risk management system of which a great portion focuses on the security of its information systems, while the rest is dedicated to the security of its other business assets such as its distribution networks and its brand (Spears & Barki, 2010). The core principle of its information security risk management strategy involves continuous monitoring and evaluation of its firewalls and the hacking threats made to penetrate the firewalls on a daily basis (Géczy, Izumi & Hasida, 2014). Amazon has also implemented intruder detection systems at all access points to its information systems so that in case an intruder penetrates and access the entry point of the system the systems security department is notified of such intrusions that are quickly addressed. However, the bigger part of the risk management system is based on the preventative measures of continuous evaluation and improvement of existing systems so as to prevent the occurrence of the identified security systems and any new threats.
Amazon’s risk management flowchart
What business risks are involved, if any, and how did/does the organization respond?
The main business risks that face Amazon are technology risks, which is an external risk, while other internal risks include financial, employee, innovation and strategic risks (Deng, & Chi, 2012). The most prominent risks are the financial, innovation and strategic risks. For many years Amazon operated at a loss given that its priority was on increasing its market share instead of making profits. This was especially worrying for its investors in the late nineties as many dotcoms went bankrupt and lost significant amounts of investors’ capital. The company averted this risk briefly in 2001 when it made its first net profits in the fourth quarter. However, profitability has not been consistent through the years, but Jeff and the company executives have always maintained a positive outlook with the support of their investors who have seen the value of Amazon shares increasing over the years. The company has responded adequately to the financial risks by constantly increasing the annual sales of the company up to $74.5 billion in 2013. The company keeps taking calculated strategic risks as it ventures into new industries based on the driving principle of selling everything at affordable prices, which has seen it recently launch the Kindle Fire to compete with Apple’s iPad and other similar tablets.
What new technologies will most likely directly impact the organization’s business?
New technologies that are most likely to impact the organization’s business are extremely likely to be in the mobile devices industry, which is the next frontier of technology growth in the near future (Hui, Hui & Yue, 2012). However, the company is already way ahead of its direct competitors in the retail industry in terms of mobile technology through its highly advanced mobile platforms and applications, not forgetting its innovative Kindle devices. Given its diverse portfolio of products and services it is highly unlikely that any new technologies could drastically disrupt the company’s operations, especially under the leadership of their CEO, Jeff Bezos, who is a believer in innovation. It is hard to foresee any new technologies catching Amazon executives by surprise given the nature of their operations, what is more likely to happen is that Amazon will create new disruptive technologies that will cement its position as a market leader.
Will the organization be likely to adopt new technologies to achieve a competitive edge or take a wait-and-see attitude?
The most likely scenario is that if any new technologies come into the market, Amazon will be among the very first companies to adopt the new technologies so that they can gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. This prediction is based on the fact that Amazon has embraced many new technologies and even used those to launch new products such as the web services division, which offers cloud services that are not part of the general retail industry. All the three directors interviewed strongly support the fact that Amazon would never adopt a wait-and-see attitude in any of the industries it operates in given that it has always prided itself on being a pioneer and market leader.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
The main advantage of a wait-and-see approach is that it allows a company to adopt a new technology when others in the industry have already adopted the technology and it is working quite effectively for those who have adopted it. However, there is a downside to this approach in that a company may wait for too long before adopting a technology only for it to lose significant market share as its competitors benefit from adopting the new technologies much earlier. The main advantage of quickly adopting new technology is that the company can jump ahead of its competitors and capture new markets created by the introduction of the new technologies way before it can face stiff competition from other competitors (Twyman, Elkins, Burgoon & Nunamaker, 2014). The main disadvantage associated with this approach is that a company might adopt a new technology way too early, invest significant resources in the new technology only for the technology to become obsolete. Such scenarios are extremely common as was evidenced in the dotcom bubble burst of the late 1990s and the financial crash of 2008. However, Amazon has benefitted greatly from taking significant risks and this should not change in future.
References
Cecez-Kecmanovic, D., Kautz, K., & Abrahall, R. (2014). Reframing Success and Failure of Information Systems: A Performative Perspective. MIS Quarterly, 38(2), 561-588.
Hui, K., Hui, W., & Yue, W. T. (2012). Information Security Outsourcing with System Interdependency and Mandatory Security Requirement. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 29(3), 117-156.
Géczy, P., Izumi, N., & Hasida, K. (2014). Analytics-Based Management of Information Systems. Review of Business & Finance Studies, 5(2), 55-65.
Twyman, N. W., Elkins, A. C., Burgoon, J. K., & Nunamaker, J. F. (2014). A Rigidity Detection System for Automated Credibility Assessment. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 31(1), 173-202.
Briggs, R. O. (2014). Special Section: Information Systems Support for Shared Understanding. Journal of Management Information Systems, 31(1), 107-110.
Deng, X., & Chi, L. (2012). Understanding Postadoptive Behaviors in Information Systems Use: A Longitudinal Analysis of System Use Problems in the Business Intelligence Context. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 29(3), 291-326.
Chen, Y., Ramamurthy, K. K., & Wen, K. (2012). Organizations’ Information Security Policy Compliance: Stick or Carrot Approach? Journal Of Management Information Systems, 29(3), 157-188.
Spears, J. L., & Barki, H. (2010). User Participation in Information Systems Security Risk Management. MIS Quarterly, 34(3), 503-A5.
Three leaders from Amazon participated in interviews for this report, they are the Web Services Director, Andrew Jassey, the Business Development Director, Jeffrey Blackburn, and the Consumer Business Director, Jeffrey Wilke. I incorporated their views as part of this report.
How has the organization leveraged IT to assist in its decision making?
Amazon has implemented an IT customer services strategy that allows its customers to post reviews about products they have purchased on their website whether the reviews were negative or positive. Amazon was the first retailer to implement such a strategy way back when it started in 1994, which many in the bookselling industry criticized because they thought that allowing customers to post negative comments about their purchases would reduce sales (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Kautz & Abrahall, 2014). However, Jeff Bezos did not falter as his motivation for implementing the feature as part of the company’s strategy was to give customers access to as much information as they wanted that would assist them in making their buying decisions.
It is no wonder that up to now Jeff has a public email that all Amazon customers can use to get in touch with him about any complaints that they may have. All managers at the company live in perpetual fear of emails about customer complaints that are forwarded to them by Jeff usually with an additional question mark, which gives them just a few hours to resolve the complaint. It is not difficult to see how IT has drastically impacted how the company makes decisions because according to Jeff, the customer is always right, which has driven many crucial changes in the company. Jeffrey Wilke, the Consumer Business Director remembers vividly an incident where Jeff Bezos, the founder, wanted them to scrap the whole email marketing system just because of one customer complaint. Which systems provide the clearest support for analyzing data and determining strategic direction?
Amazon’s customer feedback system is the most important part of their strategic decision making process as the company uses available data to make all its strategic decisions such as the introduction of Kindle e-readers and most of its products. Amazon uses information management systems as their core decision-making system as they take into account all the available information regarding customers, suppliers and their business partners to decide on what future strategies to implement. The company also tracks the information related to both their direct and indirect competitors, which is a key factor when they are deciding on what companies to buy and what partnerships they should enter into.
The early partnerships, which Amazon with established retailers such as Target, enabled the company to wield a unique advantage over its competitors by increasing their distribution networks significantly. In the company’s initial years it used basic information systems to keep track of customer behaviors, which paid of drastically as the company introduced new innovative solutions such as same day shipping for in-stock orders. The company’s information management systems are responsible for most of the strategic decisions made by Amazon as it has always used the data collected through the system to chart future strategies.
How has technology impacted the organization’s structure?
Technology has a huge impact on Amazon’s organizational structure given the fact that it is an online retailer and makes most of its sales through its various websites. One of the crucial changes the technology has had on the company is evident in the introduction of programs such as the associate program, which has contributed greatly to Amazon’s success through sales generated by its affiliates. Business Development Director, Jeffrey Blackburn states that technology enabled Amazon to host numerous websites operated by members of the affiliate program to make sales without which the company could not have generated the amount of sales and growth that it continues to experience up to date. Technology has also been crucial in the introduction of web services as Amazon has invested in web technologies so as to compete with companies such as Google and Hewlett Packard in the technology market especially by offering cloud services (Chen, Ramamurthy & Wen, 2012). The launch of the Kindle Fire and other Kindle devices has also been crucial in advancing Amazon’s strategy of increasing its market share given that the designers of the Kindle Fire tablet device wanted it to drive online sales made from tablets while at the same time competing with Apple’s iPad. The introduction of all these new products and services has affected the company through the creation of new departments such as the Web Services department, which has increased Amazon’s market share.
Technology continues to be the main avenue through which the company is diversifying its products and services creating numerous jobs and departments within the company as it keep expanding across many industries. Technology can have a significant impact on a company’s organizational structure given that just by the mere fact that a company is experiencing growth in its size, operations and market share the need for the adoption of information management systems keeps increasing (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Kautz & Abrahall, 2014). Initially when the company started there was no human resources department as Jeff managed all the company employees who operated from his garage and later on at an industrial park. However, if he tried to do the same today with the significant size of the company’s operation and a workforce of 132,600 employees as of June 2014, he would be a miserable failure at such a task. Amazon employees the best human resources to manage its huge workforce not forgetting that the department is largely dependent on information management systems to keep track of all its employees and address employee issues. Without information management systems, Amazon would not be a profitable organization like it is right now.
What security risks have IT systems created that were not there before and how has the organization addressed these issues?
Cloud security systems risks
The advent of cloud services that are catching up with other technologies for storing data in the market has been touted as a rick free way of storing data and accessing it easily on demand at less cost than storing it yourself (Cecez-Kecmanovic, Kautz & Abrahall, 2014). However, recent studies indicate that cloud services are not as impenetrable as they were once thought to be and that hackers can still illegally access cloud servers that are not properly protected. According to Andrew Jassey Amazon’s Director of the Web Services, this is a new security threat that is facing Amazon as they recently launched their web services division and are providing cloud services to both their individual consumers and corporations such as Dell. Other affiliates using the company’s web infrastructure are also at risk because these systems utilize cloud computing systems.
Social engineering risks
Social engineering threats involve the use of methods such as phishing by cyber criminals to get access to financial information, which they can exploit and steal mostly from consumers and innocent web users (Géczy, Izumi & Hasida, 2014). Phishing involves the use of mirror sites that are identical to the real Amazon site to dupe customers into thinking that they are purchasing products from Amazon, while on the contrary, it is the cyber-criminal who is taking their money. Phishing sites have greatly increased, especially after Amazon launched different sites in countries such as the UK and Germany, which attackers are finding easier to copy. Another major contributor to this threat is the fact that domain names nowadays contain characters in Japanese, Hindi and other languages.
Mobile devices risks
Mobile devices make up the newest frontier in terms of security threats in IT systems especially given the fact that more and more consumers are making purchases from mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets (Briggs, 2014). In most cases it is difficult to implement the same level of security in a mobile device because of limited processor capacity and memory space, which is what cyber criminals are using to their devices. This threat is extremely relevant to Amazon given that Kindle purchases in recent years have exceeded purchases through its main website. Amazon also has iPhone and iPad applications in addition to android applications that are extremely vulnerable to cyber-attacks because of limited security.
Malware risks
Although malware is not a new problem since it has been present since the invention of computers it has kept evolving with hackers developing newer viruses designed to beat even the most sophisticated computer security systems (Géczy, Izumi & Hasida, 2014). The impact of malware on information systems is as crucial today as it was decades ago given that it is the most effective way to profits from cyber-crime by infecting an organization’s information system and acquiring information, which the cyber-criminals use for financial fraud. Although Amazon has one of the best if not the best firewall systems in the world, which is higher than military grade software, it is still vulnerable to malware attacks.
Misuse of web applications
Another threat faced by Amazon is the misuse its web applications, especially those hosted by third parties where the company has no control over the security systems used for such applications. Amazon has tried to reduce this risk by controlling the security of those web applications hosted and operated by third parties, mostly be acquiring rights to the applications or by acquiring the third party itself.
Has Amazon implemented a planned risk management approach?
Amazon has implemented a planned risk management system of which a great portion focuses on the security of its information systems, while the rest is dedicated to the security of its other business assets such as its distribution networks and its brand (Spears & Barki, 2010). The core principle of its information security risk management strategy involves continuous monitoring and evaluation of its firewalls and the hacking threats made to penetrate the firewalls on a daily basis (Géczy, Izumi & Hasida, 2014). Amazon has also implemented intruder detection systems at all access points to its information systems so that in case an intruder penetrates and access the entry point of the system the systems security department is notified of such intrusions that are quickly addressed. However, the bigger part of the risk management system is based on the preventative measures of continuous evaluation and improvement of existing systems so as to prevent the occurrence of the identified security systems and any new threats.
Amazon’s risk management flowchart
What business risks are involved, if any, and how did/does the organization respond?
The main business risks that face Amazon are technology risks, which is an external risk, while other internal risks include financial, employee, innovation and strategic risks (Deng, & Chi, 2012). The most prominent risks are the financial, innovation and strategic risks. For many years Amazon operated at a loss given that its priority was on increasing its market share instead of making profits. This was especially worrying for its investors in the late nineties as many dotcoms went bankrupt and lost significant amounts of investors’ capital. The company averted this risk briefly in 2001 when it made its first net profits in the fourth quarter. However, profitability has not been consistent through the years, but Jeff and the company executives have always maintained a positive outlook with the support of their investors who have seen the value of Amazon shares increasing over the years. The company has responded adequately to the financial risks by constantly increasing the annual sales of the company up to $74.5 billion in 2013. The company keeps taking calculated strategic risks as it ventures into new industries based on the driving principle of selling everything at affordable prices, which has seen it recently launch the Kindle Fire to compete with Apple’s iPad and other similar tablets.
What new technologies will most likely directly impact the organization’s business?
New technologies that are most likely to impact the organization’s business are extremely likely to be in the mobile devices industry, which is the next frontier of technology growth in the near future (Hui, Hui & Yue, 2012). However, the company is already way ahead of its direct competitors in the retail industry in terms of mobile technology through its highly advanced mobile platforms and applications, not forgetting its innovative Kindle devices. Given its diverse portfolio of products and services it is highly unlikely that any new technologies could drastically disrupt the company’s operations, especially under the leadership of their CEO, Jeff Bezos, who is a believer in innovation. It is hard to foresee any new technologies catching Amazon executives by surprise given the nature of their operations, what is more likely to happen is that Amazon will create new disruptive technologies that will cement its position as a market leader.
Will the organization be likely to adopt new technologies to achieve a competitive edge or take a wait-and-see attitude?
The most likely scenario is that if any new technologies come into the market, Amazon will be among the very first companies to adopt the new technologies so that they can gain a competitive advantage over their rivals. This prediction is based on the fact that Amazon has embraced many new technologies and even used those to launch new products such as the web services division, which offers cloud services that are not part of the general retail industry. All the three directors interviewed strongly support the fact that Amazon would never adopt a wait-and-see attitude in any of the industries it operates in given that it has always prided itself on being a pioneer and market leader.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of each approach?
The main advantage of a wait-and-see approach is that it allows a company to adopt a new technology when others in the industry have already adopted the technology and it is working quite effectively for those who have adopted it. However, there is a downside to this approach in that a company may wait for too long before adopting a technology only for it to lose significant market share as its competitors benefit from adopting the new technologies much earlier. The main advantage of quickly adopting new technology is that the company can jump ahead of its competitors and capture new markets created by the introduction of the new technologies way before it can face stiff competition from other competitors (Twyman, Elkins, Burgoon & Nunamaker, 2014). The main disadvantage associated with this approach is that a company might adopt a new technology way too early, invest significant resources in the new technology only for the technology to become obsolete. Such scenarios are extremely common as was evidenced in the dotcom bubble burst of the late 1990s and the financial crash of 2008. However, Amazon has benefitted greatly from taking significant risks and this should not change in future.
References
Cecez-Kecmanovic, D., Kautz, K., & Abrahall, R. (2014). Reframing Success and Failure of Information Systems: A Performative Perspective. MIS Quarterly, 38(2), 561-588.
Hui, K., Hui, W., & Yue, W. T. (2012). Information Security Outsourcing with System Interdependency and Mandatory Security Requirement. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 29(3), 117-156.
Géczy, P., Izumi, N., & Hasida, K. (2014). Analytics-Based Management of Information Systems. Review of Business & Finance Studies, 5(2), 55-65.
Twyman, N. W., Elkins, A. C., Burgoon, J. K., & Nunamaker, J. F. (2014). A Rigidity Detection System for Automated Credibility Assessment. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 31(1), 173-202.
Briggs, R. O. (2014). Special Section: Information Systems Support for Shared Understanding. Journal of Management Information Systems, 31(1), 107-110.
Deng, X., & Chi, L. (2012). Understanding Postadoptive Behaviors in Information Systems Use: A Longitudinal Analysis of System Use Problems in the Business Intelligence Context. Journal Of Management Information Systems, 29(3), 291-326.
Chen, Y., Ramamurthy, K. K., & Wen, K. (2012). Organizations’ Information Security Policy Compliance: Stick or Carrot Approach? Journal Of Management Information Systems, 29(3), 157-188.
Spears, J. L., & Barki, H. (2010). User Participation in Information Systems Security Risk Management. MIS Quarterly, 34(3), 503-A5.
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An analytical business report on what ethical consumerism means for businesses
Order Instructions:
Write an analytical business report on what ethical consumerism means for businesses. Choose one company evidencing how they operate ethically. This must take into account the ethics and values of the company you choose to focus on.
In your report (which must be written in business report format), you need to cover the following topics:
• An executive summary which gives a brief overview of the argument in your report including key findings and conclusions
• A brief overview analysis of ethical consumerism, identifying the examples of some of the products which fall into the ethical category,
• A detailed review of one company claiming to operate ethically. Discuss the approach(es) they have used to become a more socially conscious business, linking this with the ethics and values of the company that you have identified.
• A short opinion survey on what influences consumer buying behaviour, carried out by you from a sample of students at GSM London
• A conclusion which includes critical evaluation of ethical consumerism based on the evidence that you have gathered both from your primary and secondary research, focusing on one company you have chosen for detailed review
Supporting material will be posted on Blackboard, but you will be expected to undertake research using newspaper/magazine/web articles, journals and text books.
Word Limit – Not more than 2000 +/- 10%
I want you to remember that this job is analytical business report. it is not just essay writing please speak to your writer very well. Previously you and i agreed to continue using Marks and Spencer since i use M&S for presentation therefore the writer would write should be on M&S
NB
Remind writer what she /he wrote initially on Marks & Spencer regarding Ethical Consumerism
The task is 8 pages.
SAMPLE ANSWER
What ethical consumerism means for businesses
Executive Summary
Ethical consumerism can be described as the intentional purchase of products or services that are considered to be made ethically. Consumers have become more ethically conscious with more people striving to know more concerning the way products they purchase are produced. Notably, several studies have also revealed a positive correlation of ethical production and company performance. This has in turn motivated more companies to develop ethical policies that their production ethics, practices, structures, and relations. This report focuses on critically analyzing the current market trends concerning ethical consumerism and what it means for business. In this regard, special emphasis has been directed towards the ethical processes of M&S as a case study comparing it with that of the Co-op bank and the findings of my personal survey. The analysis of these three cases in this report have demonstrated a need for companies to reconsider their policies in regard to the emerging trend or risk losing on consumer confidence.
Introduction
Over the recent past, the concept of ethical consumerism has increasingly attained prominence among the wealthy capitalist nations across the globe and has more recently gained mainstream appeal. Terms such as conscience consumption and responsible are no longer purely associated with hippie lifestyles or fringe politics, but rather are now increasingly entering into everyday practice and language of the ordinary consumers (Singh et al., 2012). Consumers now more than never before are basing their choices on the issue of care and collective concern. For this reason, the big question that this report seeks to answer is on what ethical consumerism means for business.
The rise of ethical consumerism connects to a broader range of concerns around environmentalism, unsustainable lifestyles, and anti-materialism. For instance, a study by Global Market Insite across 17 countries including U.S.A., Australia, India, Japan, China, and various European countries recently showed that 54 percent of consumers would be prepared to pay more for the organic, Fair Trade or environmentally friendly products (Potter & Lewis, 2011). In the light of this and several other similar findings concerning ethical consumerism, it is clearly visible that the way to go for business in the current market is ethical production and operations. For this purpose, this report proceeds to further analyse the issue of ethical consumerism and what it means for business with special interest on Mark and Spencer.
Ethical Consumerism
Ethical consumerism can be described as the intentional purchase of products or services that are considered to be made ethically (Healey, 2013). Products considered ethical in this case would imply that the process of producing these products has minimal or no harm or exploitation of any form to persons, animals, or the surroundings. In practice ethical consumerism is achieved when buyers engage in positive buying in favour of ethical goods or by moral boycott that entails company based buying or negative buying. The rise in ethical consumerism has led to a rise in ethical based decisions in the market. This has been facilitated by increased understanding and information concerning businesses practices.
More business and companies want to be recognized as producing ethically and improving their ethical standards. In this context, as Healey (2013) notes ethical production has become the new form of competitive advantage of businesses in the contemporary market. More people are basing their buying choices on ethical aspects of the products such as whether they are sourced, made, and distributed ethically. Businesses, therefore, need to recognize that consumers now want more than just good value for their money. Indeed, customers are increasingly looking for other aspects of the product in the company, product, or brand such as ethical sourcing, manufacturing and dissemination, as well as clear information concerning nutrition. In addition, consumers now consider transparency, fair labour, protection of human rights and health, respecting the environment, sustainability, and corporate social responsibility. As such, businesses need to consider how effectively they meet these changing ethical trends of consumers if they are focused on remaining profitable yet sustainable.
The current trend in the mass market identifies a need for companies to devise new strategies or reinvent their business strategy in respond to today’s ethical consumer. Studies show that consumers prefer ethical products such as fair labour-certified garments, products made through sustainable technologies, cosmetics produced without animal testing, and fair trade-certified chocolate and coffee (Harvey, 2012). A recent survey on Melbourne households showed that 40 percent of the participants had gleaned items (Chatzidakis et al., 2012). Another study undertaken by YouGov found out that consumers have become more ethically conscious with 78 percent saying they would wish to know more about the way good they purchase are made including the factory conditions. Some 58 percent said they already purchase FairTrade products while 19 percent said they would buy the FairTrade items if they were made more widely available across the high street (Carrington et al., 2010).
Certain trust criteria by consumers such as creditworthiness are considered to form the basis of sourcing or purchasing behavior. Natural capitalism proponents hold that comprehensive outcomes of production form the basis of using products as opposed to cumulative outcomes (Harvey, 2012). As such, moral criteria form a broader shift away from commodity markets to a deeper product economy. However, there is little validation of consumer reporting in these surveys because of the gap between what people report and what they actually practice. These are buyers whose decisions are based on the social and ethical positions of a product such as labour practices and environmental impact with regard to their own values (Brunk, 2012). Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the ethical aspects of production with studies showing increased consciousness. In this regard, some of the core factors that were found to be influencing consumer behavior are companies sources their products, how they treat their workers, and the impact they have on the environment.
Mark & Spencer
Corporate social responsibility within M&S has traditionally been construed as basically the offering of quality and good products for a good value for their customers and the patristic regime of shop assistants. In 1999, the company became a member of the Ethical Trading Initiative, which is an alliance of companies and organizations to good practice and promotes improvements in working conditions globally. The principle goal is to oversee that the working conditions for employees is up to appropriate standards. In addition, M&S subscribed to the Environmental Code of Practice to make sure that the existing processes in the company no chemicals, inputs, or dyes used in the garment production causes unwanted health or environment risk during their manufacture (Harvey, 2012).
M&S has been recognized on several occasions as a result of this recent initiative to become a greener retailer. More recently in 2007 the company unveiled what they call “Plan A”, a 100 point program of action aimed at giving the company a head-to-foot environmental makeover in ethical production within the next five years (Johnson, 2008). This can be compared with the Co-op bank’s ethical values of honesty and social responsibility.The two values entail being honest on what the company does and how they do it as well as taking responsibility of the community and environment.
Suppliers
Concerning their operations with suppliers, M&S has strived to develop a stronger rapport with their suppliers by initiating open dialogue. In 1999, they created a set of principles within their collaboration with their suppliers. The document offered a set of guidelines for suppliers in complying with the required laws and regulation in terms of working hours and conditions, terms of pay and employment, and health and safety. M&S has also been organizing supplier exchange forums where peer-to-peer learning is encouraged among suppliers. M&S developed a balanced scorecard for foods where equal weight is given to technical, ethical, environmental, and commercial issues. Through supplier conferences, M&S is able to bring together suppliers across seven of their main sourcing countries where they share experiences and conduct debates to reach a common understanding. The aim of these conferences, exchange forums, and debates is to highlight and develop strategies for higher standards in ethical environmental and trade performance.
Environment Policy
M&S in 2011 updated their standards to include new sections on environmental management as well as minimizing energy and water use. Their approach to chemical management requires that every of their dyehouse to complete a rigorous audit and also emphasizes on regular performance reviewed. The supplies must also first comply with the M&S Environmental and Chemical Policy. Through their partnership with Greenpeace NGO, M&S focuses on achieve zero discharge from their dyehouses by the year 2020 (Bucic et al., 2012).
Product Attributes
M&S focus was on converting all its tea and coffee to FairTrade to match the growing significance of ethical consumerism. A total of 38 product lines were switched, increasing the value of all the FairTrade ground and instant coffee sold in supermarkets across UK by 18 percent and that of tea by about 30 percent (Johnson, 2008). As a result of the initiative, the 2012 M&S report confirms that 138 commitments have been realized, and the company now recycles 100 percent of its waste (Johnson, 2008). M&S labels their entire general merchandise product in their stores with its country of origin.
The company has realized many other achievements in terms of ethical consciousness including a five million customer participation in Plan A activities and a significant decrease in carrier bags usage by up to 1.7 billion bags within a five-year period. The company has since achieved a 31 percent attribute on its products. About 257 of their products are now made using the certified sustainable palm oil. Over 50000 people facing workplace barriers have completed M&S placement. The company’s sales of FairTrade food has henceforth increased by 88 percent since the year 2007 (Carrington et al., 2010).
A comparison of M&S’s Plan A with the Co-op bank’s ethical policy reveals some similarities. One of the latest considerations that are comparable to M&S is the genetically modified food. Co-op bank’s ethical policy currently cover environmental and animal welfare, economic development, international development, and human rights much more like that of M&S (Harvey, 2012).
Personal Survey
In an attempt to further evaluate the issue of ethical consumerism, I conducted an opinion survey on 50 students from GSM London. The survey was done through face-to-face interviews where respondents were requested to answer some structured questions concerning their buying behavior especially one that had to do with ethical consumerism. The findings of this study yielded results that concur with several other past studies on what influences consumer behavior. One of my findings was that economic status was a major factor. Consumers also consider how the company treats their customers. Other factors reported to directly impacting on how consumers spend their money include how companies source their products, how they treat their workers, and the impact they have on the environment. A cross section of the students said they would be more willing to buy ethically produced products than others if they were able to identify them. However, they noted a lack of information that could help them identify the ethical products despite the high consciousness concerning ethical consumerism. Some of the stores as the report has indicated concerning M&S have a way of helping buyers identify their ethical products through the use of labels.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is quite clear from the discussion that ethical consumerism has become a common trend and a major determinant of consumer behavior. Consumers are increasingly becoming aware of the ethical aspects of production with studies showing increased consciousness. Some of the core factors that were found to be influencing consumer behavior on the basis of my personal survey are companies sources their products, how they treat their workers, and the impact they have on the environment. More companies in their quest to match and meet the changing demands of consumers have embarked on more ethical practices in their production. M&S through their ethical programs such as engagement with suppliers, environment policies, and Plan A has achieved substantial levels of success in becoming greener. Ethical production is largely linked to increased sales and better company reputation as seen in the Co-op bank and M&S examples. Customers are more willing to buy from companies they deem more ethical as compared to others.
References
Brunk, K. (2012). Un/ethical Company and Brand Perceptions: Conceptualising and Operationalising Consumer Meanings.Journal Of Business Ethics, 111(4), 551-565.
Bucic, T., Harris, J., & Arli, D. (2012). Ethical Consumers Among the Millennials: A Cross-National Study. Journal Of Business Ethics, 110(1), 113-131.
Carrington, M., Neville, B., & Whitwell, G. (2010). Why Ethical Consumers Don’t Walk Their Talk: Towards a Framework for Understanding the Gap Between the Ethical Purchase Intentions and Actual Buying Behaviour of Ethically Minded Consumers.Journal Of Business Ethics, 97(1), 139-158.
Chatzidakis, A., Maclaran, P., & Bradshaw, A. (2012). Heterotopian Space and the Utopics of Ethical and Green Consumption.Journal Of Marketing Management, 28(3/4), 494-515.
Harvey, B. (2012). Ethical Banking: The Case of the Co-operative Bank. Journal Of Business Ethics, 14(12), 1005-1013.
Healey, J. (2013). Ethical Consumerism. Thirroul, N.S.W.: Spinney Press.
Johnson, M. (2008). Marks & Spencer Implements an Ethical Sourcing Program for its Global Supply Chain. Journal of Organizational Excellence, 23(2), 3-16.
Singh, J., Iglesias, O., & Batista-Foguet, J. (2012). Does Having an Ethical Brand Matter? The Influence of Consumer Perceived Ethicality on Trust, Affect and Loyalty. Journal Of Business Ethics, 111(4), 541-549..
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The topic for this essay is to write about “What do you understand about Monitoring and Evaluation in Public Health”
It should be written in two full pages and proper grammar must be employ for this paper and its due tomorrow Saturday . The writer must use proper grammar as this is a very important paper that will be use for competition to see the best writer.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Monitoring and Evaluation in Public Health
In the sector of public health, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) aims at knowing if the anticipated results will be achieved as designed in the health action plan. Moreover, M&E helps to determine if the public health strategies are bringing about positive contributions for health in the community.
After evaluation, program managers are able to decide what services need to be improved as well as disseminate to stakeholders regarding the success of the program (Sturmberg & Martin, 2013). During the evaluation, information is gathered systematically and this helps the stakeholders in understanding the program, making decisions on future program planning, and improving its effectiveness. Some of the questions that are relevant during evaluation include; if the program is meeting the anticipated needs, the people being served by the program, the program’s cost-effectiveness, if the expected outcomes have been achieved, the actions being done differently by the community after the public health program implementation, the weaknesses and strengths of the program, if there were unintended program impacts, and the activities that contribute most.
Evaluation can be done at various points of a program life. A needs assessment is done before the program commences. It aims at determining the program’s needs and how they can be addressed. Process evaluation is done during the beginning stages of the implementation. It purposes at seeing if the program is progressing as planned. Outcome evaluation takes place during program maturity to assess if the objectives are being fulfilled. Impact evaluation is done during the program’s full maturity to determine the unforeseen or expected impacts brought about by the program (Sturmberg & Martin, 2013).
On the other hand, monitoring involves observing and recording a program or project’s activities regularly and as they are taking place. Information on all the project’s aspects is gathered routinely. After assessing how the activities are progressing, feedback is given on the progress, and decisions made for improving the performance. Basically, monitoring public health programs aims at achieving different intention (Sturmberg & Martin, 2013). First, it promotes accountability. Second, it verifies if funds are being used for the intended purposes. Monitoring can also guarantee continued funding.
Similar to evaluation, monitoring should be conducted before the public health project or program begins. This aims at assessing risks and a sit visit. There should also be monitoring after the program has taken off and before it is completed. This should be based on compliance supplements, funding source requirements, and risk.
Monitoring and evaluating programs are based on the fact that resources, environments, and needs change. Hence, being always ready to meet the change challenge via continuing feedback is a chance that evaluation offers. Both processes are for the best interests of all who are part of the program (Publishing, 2013). They support program sustainability, which ensures long-term resource planning. Both processes are systematic and tailored to programs or projects’ unique elements. Data is collected and conclusions drawn based on program practicality, relevance, and utility.
For all public health professionals, evaluation and monitoring skills are cardinal to the effective design as well as implementation of programs (Publishing, 2013). They are also necessary for using and analyzing data for advocacy of public health programs and projects. They are extremely useful and valuable tools for people aiming at strengthening the existing programs’ quality. The population being served also benefit in that improved outcomes are promoted.