AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention Research Program, 1992-1998
AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention
Cooperative Agreement for AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention Research Program, 1992-1998
Order Instructions:
Select 10 research articles relevant to your intended research topic. Develop a literature matrix that summarizes the individual articles. You may create a matrix similar to the matrix posted in Doc Sharing, for Cooperative Agreement for AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention Research Program, 1992-1998
SAMPLE ANSWER
Cooperative Agreement for AIDS Community-Based Outreach/Intervention Research Program, 1992-1998
Authors
Title
Journal
Publication Date
Study Design
Data Type
Subjects
Results
Comments/Outcomes/Implications/conclusions
Janet J. Myers, Lucy Bradley-Springer, Mi-Suk Kang Dufour, Kimberly A. Koester, Stephanie Beane, Nancy Warren, Jeffrey Beal, and Linda Rose Frank
Supporting the Integration of HIV Testing Into
Primary Care Settings
American Journal of Public Health
June 2012
a retrospective case study
Both quantitative and qualitative data
38 321 participants
The findings of the study showed that compared with other AETC training; HIV testing training was longer and used a broader variety of strategies to educate more providers per training.
During education, providers were able to understand their primary care responsibility to address public health concerns through HIV testing.
In conclusion AETC efforts illustrate how integration of the principles of primary care and public health can be promoted through professional training.
Christy L. Beaudin and Susan M. Chambre
HIV/AIDS as a chronic disease: Emergence from the plaque model
The American Behavioral Scientist
May 1996
a healthcare survey of AIDS cases in the US across all groups
Quantitative data
476, 899
The findings of this study show that there was an increased impact on human resource as well as public healthcare services
In conclusion, the HIV/AIDS epidemic provides challenges for public policy because of the many complex scientific, human service, and public health activities involved.
Scott C. Ratzan, J. Gregory Payne and Holly A. Masett
Effective Health Message Design: The American Responds to AIDS Campaign
The American Behavioral Scientist
November 1994
A case study of healthcare communication
Quantitative and qualitative data
Multimedia message
The results of this study show COAST model can be effectively adopted to pass health communication messages
In conclusion, there is need for combination of these strategies for continued effective AIDS campaigns
Ronald O. Valdiserri and Gary R. West
Barriers to the Assessment of Unmet Need in Planning HIV/AIDS Prevention Programs
Public Administration Review
Jan/Feb 1994
A case study of CBOs and NMOs
Quantitative and qualitative data
229
The results shows that there are various barriers to effective protection of AIDS
The study concludes that despite the intervening obstacles, comprehensive, methodologically sound needs assessments conducted collaboratively by the providers and consumers of HIV prevention services are essential to development of effective prevention programs
Donna H. McCree, Gregorio Millett, Chanza Baytop, Scott Royal, Jonathan Ellen, Perry N. Halkitis, Sandra A. Kupprat, and Sara Gillen
Lessons Learned From Use of Social Network Strategy in
HIV Testing Programs Targeting African American Men
Who Have Sex With Men
American Journal of Public Health
October 2013
A case study between April
2008 and August 2010.
Quantitative data
149
men
The results of the study show that several common lessons regarding development of the plan, staffing, training, and use of incentives were identified across the sites. Collectively, these lessons indicate use of SNS is resource-intensive, requiring a detailed plan, dedicated staff, and continual input from clients and staff for successful implementation.
In conclusion, SNS may provide a strategy for identifying and targeting clusters of high-risk Black MSM for HIV testing. Given the resources needed to implement the strategy, additional studies using an experimental design are needed to determine the cost-effectiveness of SNS compared with other testing strategies.
Marilyn M. Metzler, Donna L. Higgins, Carolyn G. Beeker, Nicholas Freudenberg, Paula M. Lantz, Kirsten D. Senturia, Alison A. Eisinger, Edna A. Viruell-Fuentes, Bookda Gheisar, Ann-Gel Palermo, and Donald Softley
Addressing Urban Health in Detroit, New York City, and Seattle Through Community-Based Participatory Research Partnerships
American Journal of Public Health
May 2003
A case study of three urban research centers
Quantitative data
Three urban centers
The results of this study indicate that activities critical in partnership development include sharing decision making, defining principles of collaboration, establishing research priorities, and securing funding. Intermediate outcomes were sustained CBPR partnership, trust within the partnership, public health research programs, and increased capacity to conduct CBPR. Challenges included the time needed for meaningful collaboration, concerns regarding sustainable funding, and issues related to institutional racism.
The study concludes that the URC experiences suggest that CBPR can be successfully implemented in diverse settings.
Hilary L. Surratt, Wendee M. Wechsberg, Linda B. Cottler, Carl G. Leukefeld, Hugh Klein, and David P. Desmond
Acceptability of the female condom among women at risk for HIV infection
The American Behavioral Scientist
May 1998
A six-site cohort standardized study design
Quantitative and qualitative data
318
The results of the study shows a significant correlation between use of female condoms as well as other community-based preventive measures and HIV/AIDS prevalence
The study concludes that sustained use of preventive measures would go a long way in reducing prevalence of HIV/AIDS
Lisa R. Metsch, Daniel J. Feaster, Lauren Gooden, Tim Matheson, Raul N. Mandler, Louise Haynes,
Susan Tross, Tiffany Kyle, Dianne Gallup, Andrzej S. Kosinski, Antoine Douaihy, Bruce R. Schackman,
Moupali Das, Robert Lindblad, Sarah Erickson, P. Todd Korthuis, Steve Martino, James L. Sorensen,
José Szapocznik, Rochelle Walensky, Bernard Branson, and Grant N. Colfax,
Implementing Rapid HIV Testing With or Without
Risk-Reduction Counseling in Drug Treatment Centers:
Results of a Randomized Trial
American Journal of Public Health
June 2012
randomized controlled
trial
Quantitative data
1281 participants
The study findings show that a combined on-site rapid testing participants received more HIV test results than off-site testing referral participants (P < .001; Mantel-Haenszel risk ratio = 4.52; 97.5% confidence interval [CI] = 3.57, 5.72). At 6 months, there
were no significant differences in unprotected intercourse episodes between the
combined on-site testing arms and the referral arm (P = .39; incidence rate ratio
[IRR] = 1.04; 97.5% CI = 0.95, 1.14) or the 2 on-site testing arms (P = .81; IRR = 1.03;
97.5% CI = 0.84, 1.26)
In conclusion, this study demonstrated on-site rapid HIV testing’s value in drug treatment centers and found no additional benefit from HIV sexual risk-reduction counseling.
Benjamin P. Bowser
The Social Dimensions of the AIDS Epidemic: A Sociology of the AIDS Epidemic
The International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy
2002
Theoretical approach
Qualitative data
Numerous theories
The results of this study show that group and community-based strategies are appropriate for addressing various sociological challenges that continued to inflict on people living with AIDS as well as the AIDS epidemic
The study concludes that there is need for continued implementation of preventive measures to address AIDS menace
Chinazo O. Cunningham, John Paul Sanchez, Daliah I. Heller, and
Nancy L. Sohler
Assessment of a Medical Outreach Program to Improve
The study design involved an examination of total a of 2666 medical appointment records with unique patient identifier from CitiWide’s and Montefiore’s databases from 2003 to 2005.
The study involved collection of quantitative data on elements such as patients’
Assessing Australia’s obligations towards asylum seekers
Assessing Australia’s obligations towards asylum seekers
Order Instructions:
The welfare and future of asylum seekers in Australia have been very contentious contemporary issues. Findings based on content analysis of media releases in 2001 and 2002 reveal the unrelentingly negative way in which the federal government portrayed asylum seekers.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Assessing Australia’s obligations towards asylum seekers
Influence of the international human rights law on the sovereignty of Australia
In the recent years, public debate has increasingly related the issue of border protection with the presence of asylum seekers at the shores of Australia (Brennan, 2012). The Immigration and Multicultural and Foreign Affairs Minister has occasionally emphasized, with reference to unauthorized boat arrivals, that Australia as a sovereign country needs to defend the integrity of its borders. The Australian courts have also made affirmations on the issue of who should and should not enter and remain in the country. It’s evident that Australia is entitled to establish, administer and execute its immigration policy as well as maintain national security, and these objectives inevitably involve border protection (Creek, 2014).
Today’s concept of sovereignty, nevertheless, is not absolute. Sovereignty does not imply that a nation may do whatever it wants, whenever it wants, to whomever it wants. If it was this way, then there would be a breakdown in international cooperation. Australia, as a sovereign nation, acknowledges that respecting certain rights and obligations is paramount to the maintenance of its position in the international community (Foster, 2011).
Australia has shown its willingness to participate in the international legal system as well as entering into agreements with other sovereign states. In this regard, Australia has agreed to bind itself to the international system of rights and duties, which influences the manner in which sovereign states conduct their affairs. Some of the international rules that Australia has bound itself in the context of asylum seekers include; the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UNDHR), the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees (the Refugee Convention).Through the ratification of these treaties, Australia has shown its express agreement to ensure that new laws are enacted or existing laws are applied in line with the requirements of the treaties. Thus, as a ‘global citizen’, Australia must act in obedience to the treaties to which it has bound itself. Accordingly, the country needs to protect human rights and humanitarian treaties while protecting the integrity of its borders. In addition, Australia, as a ‘global citizen’ governed by the rule of law, has bound itself to the duty of enforcing its international rights and responsibilities by integrating them into the practices of the domestic courts, executive, and legislature. Australia is thus obligated to protect the fundamental human rights and freedoms of all asylum seekers who arrive in the country, regardless of the manner of their arrival (Foster, 2014).
Australia’s response to asylum seekers
The complexity and magnitude of issues arising from the influx of refugees and asylum seekers has posed numerous challenges to the world’s destination countries such as Australia. Australia has continually struggled with the maintenance of a balance between the protection of national borders and protection of millions of asylum seekers. Historically, Australia has for a long time accepted refugees for resettlement. Since 1945, over 700,000 displaced persons and refugees have settled in the country. Despite the country’s long-term commitment, Australia is experiencing a massive deal of misinformation and confusion in the public debate with regard to ‘boat people’, ‘queue jumpers’, ‘illegals’, refugees, and asylum seekers. These terms are often used interchangeably and/or incorrectly.
The Australian offshore policy provides for the detention of unauthorized both arrivals at offshore places such as Christmas Island until a Visa is granted or they are removed from Australia. The asylum seekers who do not meet the definition of refugees as provided under the UN Convention are resettled. The government has also set a program for assisting some asylum seekers while their applications for protection are being processed. The forms of assistance include welfare services such as professional assistance and income support and temporary eligibility for Medicare. However, these assistance are not usually granted to all applicants as one must be in financial hardship and their eligibility is usually reviewed by the government on a regular basis to establish any changes in the situations. Nevertheless, Australia has been criticized for using too much authority over its sovereignty to subject asylum seekers to unfavorable conditions that contravene international human rights law and the refugee law.
Australian politicians have been criticized for fueling anti-asylum seeker sentiments among the people in order to get votes, by labeling asylum seekers as “queue jumpers” and relating them to criminal activities such as smuggling (Tuckfield, 2014). More recently, there was a “stop the boats” campaign that aimed at reducing the number of asylum seekers drowning at the sea. In addition, the government has been advocating for the incarceration of innocent asylum seekers through adverse ASIO assessments. Furthermore, the former government ensured that foreign workers were placed at the back of the queue for Australian jobs.
The UN Human Rights Committee, in 2013, stated that Australia had acted in violation of the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) through the arbitrary detention of refugees, failure to provide an effective judicial remedy, and subjecting detainees to harsh conditions which are psychologically harmful (Creek, 2014). Thus, Australia should make efforts to ensure that the rights of asylum seekers are protected.
Bibliography
Brennan, F. (2012). Australia’s 20 year search for the right asylum policy. Eureka Street, 22(12), 27.
Creek, T. G. (2014). Starving for freedom: an exploration of Australian government policies, human rights obligations and righting the wrong for those seeking asylum. The International Journal of Human Rights, (ahead-of-print), 1-29.
Foster, M. (2011). Refugees, Asylum Seekers and the Rule of Law. International Journal of Refugee Law, 23(2), 431-434.
Topic: Assessment Tools and Diagnostic Tests
When seeking to identify a patient’s health condition, advanced practice nurses can use a diverse selection of diagnostic tests and assessment tools; however, different factors affect the validity and reliability of the results produced by these tests or tools. Nurses must be aware of these factors in order to select the most appropriate test or tool and to accurately interpret the results.
In this Discussion, you will consider the validity and reliability of different assessment tools and diagnostic tests. You will explore issues such as sensitivity, specificity, and positive and negative predictive values.
To prepare:
• Review this week’s Learning Resources, and consider the factors that impact the validity and reliability of various assessment tools and diagnostic tests.
• Select one of the following assessment tools or diagnostic tests to explore for the purposes of this
Discussion:
o Mammogram
o Physical tests for sore throat (inspecting the throat, palpating the head and neck lymph nodes, listening to breath sounds)
o Prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test
o Dix-Hallpike test
o Body-mass index (BMI) using waist circumference for adults
• Search from any accredited Library and credible sources for resources explaining the tool or test you selected. What is its purpose, how is it conducted, and what information does it gather?
• Examine the literature and resources you located for information about the validity and reliability of the test or tool you selected. What issues with sensitivity, specificity, and predictive values are related to the test or tool?
• Are there any controversies or issues related to any of these tests or tools?
• Consider any ethical dilemmas that could arise by using these tests or tools.
Post on or before Day 3 a description of how the assessment tool or diagnostic test you selected is used in health care. Based on your research, evaluate the test or the tool’s validity and reliability, and explain any issues with sensitivity, reliability, and predictive values. Include references in appropriate APA formatting.
Readings/Recommended References (you may choose your own textbook or articles for this paper)
• Seidel, H. M., Ball, J. W., Dains, J. E., Flynn, J. A., Solomon, B. S., & Stewart, R. W. (2011). Mosby’s guide to physical examination (7th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Elsevier Mosby.
o Chapter 2, “Cultural Awareness”
This chapter highlights the importance of cultural awareness when conducting health assessments. The authors explore the impact of culture on health beliefs and practices.
o Chapter 3, “Examination Techniques and Equipment”
This chapter explains the physical examination techniques of inspection, palpation, percussion, and auscultation. This chapter also explores special issues and equipment relevant to the physical exam process.
• Dains, J. E., Baumann, L. C., & Scheibel, P. (2012). Advanced health assessment and clinical diagnosis in primary care (4th ed.). St. Louis, MO: Mosby, Elsevier.
o Chapter 1, “Clinical Reasoning, Differential Diagnosis, Evidence-Based Practice, and Symptom Analysis”
This chapter introduces the diagnostic process, which includes performing an analysis of the symptoms and then formulating and testing a hypothesis. The authors discuss how becoming an expert clinician takes time and practice in developing clinical judgment.
• LeBlond, R. F., Brown, D. D., & DeGowin, R. L. (2009). DeGowin’s diagnostic examination (9th ed.). New York, NY: McGraw Hill Medical.
o Chapter 3, “The Physical Screening Examination”
In this chapter, the authors describe methods for physical examination and procedures for screening physical examinations. In addition, this chapter explains the necessary preparations and equipment for conducting exams.
o Chapter 17, “Principles of Diagnostic Testing”
The authors use this chapter to discuss the principles of diagnostic testing. The chapter specifies tools that may be used in the selection and interpretation of tests.
o Chapter 18, “Common Laboratory Tests”
This chapter details normal and pathologic results for common tests of the blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and serous fluid. Additionally, this chapter describes reasons for ordering different types of lab tests.
• Laine, C. (2012). High-value testing begins with a few simple questions. Annals of Internal Medicine, 156(2), 162–163.
Retrieved from a Library databases.
This article supplies a list of questions physicians should ask themselves before ordering tests. The authors provide general guidelines for maximizing the value received from testing.
• Qaseem, A., Alguire, P., Dallas, P., Feinberg, L. E., Fitzgerald, F. T., Horwitch, C., & … Weinberger, S. (2012). Appropriate use of screening and diagnostic tests to foster high-value, cost-conscious care. Annals of Internal Medicine, 156(2), 147–149.
Retrieved from a Library databases.
This article highlights the increasing cost of health care and stresses the need for high-value and cost-conscious testing. The authors provide a list of 37 situations in which more testing provides no benefit or may be harmful.
• Shaw, S. J., Huebner, C., Armin, J., Orzech, K., & Vivian, J. (2009). The role of culture in health literacy and chronic disease screening and management. Journal of Immigrant & Minority Health, 11(6), 460–467.
Retrieved from a Library databases.
This article examines cultural influences on health literacy, cancer screening, and chronic disease outcomes. The authors postulate that cultural beliefs about health and illness affect a patient’s ability to comprehend and follow a health care provider’s instructions.
• Wians, F. H. (2009). Clinical laboratory tests: Which, why, and what do the results mean? LabMedicine, 40, 105–113.
Retrieved from http://labmed.ascpjournals.org/content/40/2/105.full
This article analyzes the laboratory testing cycle and its impact on diagnostic decision making. This article also examines important diagnostic performance characteristics of laboratory tests, methods of calculating performance, and tools used to assess the diagnostic accuracy of a laboratory test.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Assessment tool and diagnostic test
The Dix-Hallpike test, also known as Nylen-Barany test, is a diagnostic maneuver whose use is detecting Benigh Paraxysmal Positional Vertigo. When conducting the test, a patient is required to sit upright and have the legs extended. The patient’s head has to be rotated at around 5 degrees. Then the patient has to lie down backwards hastily with the head at 20 degrees of extension Viirre, Purcell & Baloh, 2012).The provider observes the patient’s eyes for 45 minutes as there is a characteristic five to ten seconds latency period prior to the appearance of a nystagmus. A positive test is indicated by a rotational nystagmus in the ear that is nearer to the ground. In the presence of a positive test, a rotator nystagmus phase is usually towards the affected ear. The direction of the fast phase is denoted by the eye’s top rotating clockwise or counter-clockwise (Viirre, Purcell & Baloh, 2012).
Some individuals deny taking this test based on physical limitations. Discomfort associated with the test is usually due to vertigo and nausea that is likely to result. Its sensitivity is not 100%. Some people with a history of BPPV never indicate a positive test result. The test has 79% projected sensitivity in addition to a 75% probable specificity Viirre, Purcell & Baloh, 2012). The occiput’s plane and speed of the maneuver are likely to affect the test’s results. There are high chances of patients being tensed about producing the symptoms of vertigo which influences the brisk passive movements of the test. The maneuver of this test is limited by musculoskeletal as well as obesity issues.
Some of the factors that contribute to its wide use in health are the ease of use since a single examiner can have it administered, and it is cheap. It should not be performed more than once as demonstrating observable nystagmus is challenging (Viirre, Purcell & Baloh, 2012).
Reference
Viirre, E., Purcell, I., & Baloh, R. W. (2012). The Dix‐Hallpike Test and The Canalith Repositioning Maneuver. The Laryngoscope, 115(1), 184-187.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
Take note that this paper will be written using the APA course template in my act that was use for previous papers. It important that the writer adhere to that format and use at least 5 references as mentioned in the questions. For the benefit of dought , I will upload the template again . Remember that the paper must contain a minimum of 4 pages excluding the title page and also the reference page which is to be counted separately. if you have any questions please let me know instead of making mistakes on the paper as I will not have that much time for corrections.
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.
Write 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
Learning Resources.
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership: Theory and practice (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Chapter 16, “Leadership Ethics” (pp. 423–451)
Abrhiem, T. H. (2012). Ethical leadership: Keeping values in business culture. Business & Management Review, 2(7), 11–19.
Cuilla, J. B. (2011). Is business ethics getting better? A historical perspective. Business Ethics Quarterly, 21(2), 335–343.
Hartog, D., & Belschak, F. (2012). Work engagement and Machiavellianism in the ethical leadership process. Journal of Business Ethics, 107(1), 35–47.
Selart, M., & Johansen, S. (2011). Ethical decision making in organizations: The role of leadership stress. Journal of Business Ethics, 99(2), 129–143.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Consequences of ethical decision-making
A major responsibility of leaders in business organizations is to act in an ethical way, promote ethics in the company, and make decisions that are ethical. Ethical decisions are essentially understood as decisions, which are in agreement with one’s individual or organizational value system (Salvador & Folger, 2009). In this essay, the purpose is to provide a description of an ethical decision making in a firm whose leaders acted in an ethical manner when they faced an ethical dilemma. The analysis includes an explanation of the ethical framework that the organization applied to make its decision, as well as an investigation of both the positive and negative consequences of the decision and the tradeoffs that the company’s leadership made. A leader should be mindful of the messages that he/she is sending when making decisions. Ethical business practices basically include observing the highest moral and legal standards in one’s relationships with the entities in the organization’s business community, most importantly the customer of the business. It is notable that short-term profit for the organization at the cost of losing clients is certainly long-term death for the company (Brenkert, 2010).
The selected company is Lundbeck Inc., which is a pharmaceutical firm based in Denmark and is the only manufacturer of pentobarbital drugs for sale in the United States. In the year 2011, the company faced an ethical dilemma regarding the usage of its medications in capital punishments. Pentobarbital medicines are progressively more being utilized in the United States in place of sodium thiopental for fatal injections (Brockway, 2012). The drug was most recently utilized in capital punishments in Mississippi, South Carolina and Texas. According to Lundbeck’s spokesman, Andrew Schroll, the corporation has prided itself in manufacturing drugs that improve the lives of people. The company is officially opposed to capital punishment and disagrees with the way the drug is being utilized.
Andrew Schroll stated that how the medication is being used constitutes wrong usage of Lundbeck’s product. He added that Lundbeck is in an ethical dilemma whereby it is opposed to the usage of its products for the death penalty whilst at the same time the organization’s leaders want to ensure that patients who benefit from Lundbeck’s medicines get access to it (Death Penalty Information Center, 2014). The company’s top management sent letters to the penitentiaries in 11 states insisting that they should discontinue utilizing pentobarbital in their lethal injection protocols. Nonetheless, none of these penitentiaries responded. In fact, even more states have shown intentions of using the medication, and this includes Virginia. Pentobarbital is also utilized in treating seizures in human beings as well as in euthanasia and anesthesia of animals. Lundbeck is the only manufacturer of this drug for purchase in the United States. Accordingly, a lot of physicians have written to Lundbeck asking the company’s leaders not to suspend distribution of the medication (Death Penalty Information Center, 2014).
The company’s top management found itself in this precarious situation primarily as a result of a deficiency of sodium thiopental, the anesthetic that for long had been used as an ingredient in lethal injections in 35 of the 36 states that still apply capital punishment. Denmark and all other members of the European Union have abolished the death penalty. In essence, Lundbeck does not want to be involved in the execution business; however, it also does not want to lose its lucrative American pentobarbital market, which is crucial to the company’s revenue and profitability (Buhmann, 2012). Lundbeck’s top management acted ethically in this ethical dilemma by attempting to take some action since it called on the prisons to stop using its product in executions given that such behavior would be against the company’s mission of providing the world with life saving technologies. Ethics in business consists of actions of people within a company, and the company’s positions and actions on ethical matters (Death Penalty Information Center, 2014).
Lundbeck’s leaders are clear that the firm’s products should be utilized for healing and not for killing. There are several positive and negative consequences of Lundbeck’s decision to prevent the use of its pentobarbital drugs in capital punishments. The positive consequence is as follows: first, the company will prevent its major investors including Denmark’s largest pension investor, ATP, from unloading shares worth millions of Euros. If the company were committed to preventing the use of its products for executions in the United States, its reputation especially as viewed by investors would improve considerably. In turn, this would result in good, positive relations with the Lundbeck’s investors. It is noteworthy that an organization’s reputation is basically one of its most important assets. Business ethics creates goodwill within the market given that an organization that is famous for its ethical practices will create goodwill for itself within the marketplace (Salvador & Folger, 2009).
The negative consequence of the decision to prevent the use of the product to carryout executions in the United States is that the move would result in reduced sales and revenue, and more importantly reduced profitability. This is as a result of the fact that the prisons in the United States are a major customer-base which is crucial to the company’s bottom line. Business or organizational ethics is vital given that it influences and contributes to an organization’s performance, revenue and profit; image and reputation; and the ability to build relationships with the company’s investors. In addition, it influences and contributes to customer satisfaction; legal problems and penalties; investor and customer loyalty and confidence; as well as employee commitment (Brenkert, 2010).
Given that Lundbeck’s leaders acted ethically, the company’s long-term profitability is assured. It is of note that businesses that follow certain organizational ethics have better probabilities of survival relative to the companies whose sole goal is profit making, though they have to compromise on many things for that (Buhmann, 2012). Business ethics is important to organizations since ethical companies have the tendency of making much more profits relative to other companies. This is owing to the fact that customers of ethical organizations are loyal and contented with the product/service offerings of such organizations (Brockway, 2012). Moreover, organizational ethics helps to ensure efficient utilization of business resources since employees will emulate the company’s ethical leaders and follow ethical business practices. As such, employees will also desist from misusing company resources or property.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the selected firm whose leaders acted in an ethical manner is Lundbeck Inc., a pharmaceutical firm based in Denmark and is the only manufacturer of pentobarbital drugs for purchase in the United States. The company faced an ethical dilemma regarding the usage of its medications in capital punishments. Lundbeck does not want to be involved in the execution business, but at the same time, it does not want to lose its profitable American pentobarbital market which is crucial to the company’s revenue and profitability. Lundbeck’s leaders acted ethically in this ethical dilemma by trying to stop the usage of its products for the death penalty; the company’s leaders maintain that Lundbeck makes drugs to heal and not to kill.
References
Brenkert, G. G. (2010). The Limits and Prospects of Business Ethics. Business Ethics Quarterly, 20(4), 703-709.
Brockway, J. (2012). Danish Drug-Maker’s Death Penalty Dilemma. Crescent City, CA: CRC Press.
Buhmann, K. (2012). Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don’t? The Lundbeck Case. National Center for Biotechnology Information.
Description and original example of how probability is used in public health practice. Then, explain why using statistics and probabilities derived from a population (as is the practice in public health) could cause problems when applied to individuals in a clinical setting. Finally, differentiate between the focus of clinical practices, such as those of a therapist, pharmacist, RN, or MD, and the focus of public health practitioners. How can probability be applied in public health?
SAMPLE ANSWER
Using probability in public health practice
Probabilities are basically understood as the numbers which reflect the chance that a certain event will take place. Probability is used in public health practice by making inferences or generalizations regarding unknown population parameters (Nikulin, Commenges & Huber, 2009). When a sample from the population of interest has been selected, the characteristic being studied is measured. This characteristic in the sample is then summarized and then inferences would be made about the population basing upon what was observed in the sample. For example, researchers can conduct a study to explore the prevalence of trichomoniasis, also known as T. vaginalis infection which a widespread and curable sexually transmitted disease (STD). The study can be done for a period of 3 years amongst a probability sample of young adults, N= 3,000 in Madison, Wisconsin. From the results obtained from the sample, inferences would be made about the prevalence of trichomoniasis in the general population in the state of Wisconsin and/or the entire United States.
Using statistics and probabilities obtained from a population can cause problems whenever applied to patients in a hospital setting primarily because the public health professionals obtain their results by studying large numbers of patients and their results cannot be used in the clinical setting for a specific individual patient. For instance, public health practitioners make a number of declarations such as: the 6-year survival rate for stage one cervical cancer is 87% in the United States. Public health professionals calculated this figure by observing large numbers of women who were diagnosed with stage one cervical cancer. They then divided the number of survivors at 6 years by the number of those diagnosed. This will allow public health practitioners to compare to survival rates of the other sorts of cancers. Nonetheless, it is not useful in predicting a particular patient’s likelihood of survival for 6 years (Nikulin, Commenges & Huber, 2009).
The focus of public health practitioners is to protect the health of everyone in the community or entire populations; a community could be a town, a state, a neighborhood or even the whole country. Public health practitioners improve and protect the health of communities by means of education, research for injury and disease prevention and promoting healthy lifestyles. Conversely, clinical professionals focus chiefly on treating individuals when they have become injured or ill (Nikulin, Commenges & Huber, 2009).
Reference
Nikulin, M. S., Commenges, D., & Huber, C. (2009). Probability, Statistics and Modelling in Public Health. Cleveland, OH: Springer Publishers.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
Analyze the use and graphical representation of statistics reported in a published study on a public health topic
Produce appropriate numerical and graphical descriptive statistics for both categorical and continuous variables using SPSS
Interpret different descriptive statistics outputs, including what distribution they may reflect.
For this week’s Discussion, select two journal articles and analyze how the researchers used graphical descriptive statistics to communicate their findings. Also, look closely at the relationship between levels of measurement and types of graphical descriptions presented.
Brief summary of the two articles you selected. Then, describe the types of graphical descriptive statistics used in these articles. Finally, analyze how the level of measurement and the distribution of the data influenced the type of graphical descriptions presented. Be sure to use APA style when referencing your articles in your posting.
Article “A” Engebretsen, I., Tylleskär, T., Wamani, H., Karamagi, C., & Tumwine, J. (2008). Determinants of infant growth in Eastern Uganda: a community-based cross-sectional study. BMC Public Health, 8, 418–429.
Some of the two articles that have used descriptive statistics in reaching a conclusion are from Riccardo et al., (2011) and Engebretsen et al., (2008). The publication by Riccardo et al., (2011) was an infant mortality survey, which revealed that high quality perinatal and maternal services should be improved in Palestine. Similarly Engebretsen et al., (2008) examined child morbidity and mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, which revealed that poor household wealth, gender, family size, and age were associated with growth among Ugandan infants. This paper analyzes how the aforementioned publication used descriptive statistics to communicate their ideas.
To begin with, Riccardo et al., (2011) used bar charts, a pie chart, and line graphs to communicate his ideas. For the pie chart, the independent variable was the causes of infant deaths among Palestine refugees (ordinal type of measurement) while the independent variable was the frequency of occurrence (scale type of measurement). For the line graph, the independent variable was years (nominal type of measurement) while the dependent variable was the infant mortality rate (scale type of measurement). For the bar graphs, scale types of measurement acted as the dependent variables while nominal type of measurement acted as the independent variables.
The main graph used by Engebretsen et al., (2008) was a box plot. This owes to the reality that the box plot was meant to identify any outliers of the data used. Descriptive statistics such as the mean and variance were also used in analyzing the data. For instance, the variance was used to check the deviation of the observed variables from the mean. Ultimately, the mean was also used to compare the anthropometric indices according to sex.
References
Engebresten, S, M, I., Tylleskar, T., Wamani, H., Karamagi, C., Tumwine, K. J. (2008).
Determinants of Infant Growth in Eastern Uganda: A community Based Cross-Sectional
Study. BMC Public Health. 8: 418
Riccardo, F., Khader, A., Sabatinelli, G. (2011). Low infant Mortality among Palestine refugees
Despite the Odds. Bulletin of the World Health Organization 2011; 89: 304-311
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
1. By doing the optimisation using Excel Solver, you are required to construct a mean variance efficient portfolio frontier for any 10 randomly selected ordinary shares listed on a stock market. For all your calculations, you should use the 60 monthly returns, sample means, standard deviations, and covariance and correlation matrices. Plot the portfolio frontier and comment on the weights of the portfolios along the portfolio frontier including in your discussion the correlations among the 10 shares.
2. Identify a riskless asset and provide the rationale for your choice of the riskless asset.
3. By combining the riskless asset with the 10 shares, plot the straight line efficient portfolio frontier and select the tangent portfolio on the portfolio frontier.
4. Assume that the short selling is not allowed, how your efficient frontiers would differ from those with short selling allowed in questions 1 and 3 above.
5. Identify the appropriate benchmark index and justify your choice of the benchmark index.
6. Evaluate the performance of the tangent portfolio selected above using:
a) Sharpe’s Measure
b) Treynor’s Measure
c) M2 Measure
d) Jensen’s Performance Measure
e) The Appraisal Ratio.
7. Comment on the limitation of your analysis.
8. Critically evaluate the gains in the performance of the identified portfolio along with the associated risks from investing in other asset classes, for instance, investment in gilts (including index linked), corporate bonds, convertible bonds, commodities, real estate, hedge funds and exchange traded funds.
NB
This is a portfolio optimization assignment.
It has to be done with excel after the report writing on word.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Portfolio optimization
Introduction
Investing in the stock markets is highly dependent on the performance of the portfolio in which a certain investor has put his/her money. This principle of portfolio optimization was popularized by Markowitz who developed an appropriate method through which an investor could devise the most important stock portfolio for investment by avoiding risky stocks and prioritizing on investing in the stocks with the highest potential for maximum returns. Therefore, Markowitz portfolio indicates that it is necessary to increase assets and/or stocks in an investment portfolio the where the total risk of that portfolio is considered to be low or as measured by the standard deviation (or variance) of total return declines continuously, whereas the envisaged portfolio return is a weighted average of the expected returns of the individual assets. This implies that investing portfolios instead of individual assets and/or stocks, investors have a chance of significantly lowering the total risk of investing without necessarily sacrificing returns on their investments.
Therefore, the Markowitz’s mean-variance theory is usually implemented through the Excel Solver spreadsheet calculations meaning that it always optimize allocation of assets by finding the stock distribution through which there is minimization of the standard deviation or variance of the portfolio while at the same time sustaining the desired return on the stocks and/or assets. The origin of modern portfolio theory was in the 1950s with Harry Markowitz’s pioneering work in mean-variance portfolio optimization. However, prior to Markowitz’s innovation, heuristics were the ones who significantly influenced finance more than mathematical modeling. Mean-variance optimization is currently considered the core technique used by pension funds and hedge funds for portfolio diversification.
Most investors trade risk off against the envisaged return on their investments. Mean-variance optimization plays a crucial role in the identification of the investment portfolio responsible for the minimization of risk (i.e. standard deviation) for a given return. In most cases the line which is formed when the envisaged returns are plotted against the minimized standard deviation becomes the most efficient frontier for determining the most appropriate invetment portfolio.
Background of Stock Portfolio Optimization
There is a certain return for every stock in the market and it is assumed that a normal distribution is portrayed by this return. This implies that the distribution for these returns for the stock can be completely described using the mean which represents the expected return as well as variance of the returns. Moreover, between any pair of stocks covariance of the returns can be computed whereby the stocks that show positive covariances, it means that they move together while the stocks that show negative covariances move in the opposite directions. Therefore, if the envisaged returns for a certain stock return or a group of stock’s returns are known, a portfolio of these stocks can be put together because of their desired variance (risk) in the stock market as a result of their envisaged return. Thus, solver, excel is mainly used for the purpose of picking the portfolio in possession of the least variance for an envisaged return meaning that the investor is likely to gain profits from his/her investment.
However, the expected return as well as the portfolio’s variance can be calculated using the method that was developed by Harry Markowitz which is crucial in the computation of portfolio return in terms of the sum of individual stock covariances and variances between stocks’ pairs in a certain portfolio. This is definitely the right thing to do from a mathematical standpoint, even though all covariances between any portfolios pair of stocks is considered meaning there would be so many calculations that would be required to accomplish this task. Alternatively, another method was devised by William Sharpe for the determination of the envisaged return and variance for a certain portfolio. This is a simpler method compared to the previous one because it assumes that any stock’s return has two parts such as the beta part which depends on the entire market performance, and the second one which is independent of the market. These two methods have been extensively used to determine the performance of specific groups of stock portfolios in the stock markets across the world for a considerable period of time.
Discussion
In our considered example, the optimal portfolio in stock market provides a risk-return tradeoff for superior to investing in all the shares within the UK stock exchange market. For instance, through the computations of the Excel Solver it has been determined. For instance, the portfolio optimization analysis began with the analysis of descriptive aspects of the considered 10 stock returns over a period of 60 months including means, standard deviations, and median. Moreover, the correlation and covariance matrix as well as correlation coefficient all seem to indicate that there is significant relationship between the 10 stocks considered over the 60 months.
Moreover, there are also other performance ratios such as the Treynor’s measure, Sharpe ratio, Jensen’s Performance Measure, and the appraisal ratio. For instance, Treynor’s measure of 0.4 which is relatively low considering that it is below the half mark, this implies that selected portfolio is not that better since the higher the Treynor’s measure. The Sharpe ratio is almost identical to the Treynor measure, with exception of the fact that the risk measure is the standard deviation of the portfolio rather than only considering the systematic risk, as represented by beta. Therefore, the Sharpe ratio of 1.6 is indicative of a portfolio that is not performing better. This may be attributable to the selected stock with lowly performing returns, except a few which show considerable performance.
Jensen’s Performance Measure analyses the performance of an investment by not only looking at the overall return of a portfolio, but also at the risk of that portfolio. For instance, when two mutual stocks, rationally an investor would go the one that is less risky meaning that the obtained value of 0.2 is and indicative of considerable performance of the stocks. Finally, the Appraisal Ratio of 0.5 shows that it is necessary to attempt to beat the returns of a relevant benchmark or of the overall market. The appraisal ratio measures the portfolio performance by comparing the return of their stock picks to the specific risk of those selections, hence the higher the ratio, the better the performance of the portfolio in question.
This implies that two step must always be taken prior to determining where to invest in the stock market, where the first one regards the determination of the allocation of stocks/assets between the riskless portfolio and the risky assets and/or stocks. The second step is the determination of the allocation of resources between the risky and riskless portfolios. However, considering that all the portfolios of riskless and risky assets have a similar Sharpe ratio, all investors do not have one optimal portfolio, but their allocation is often determined by specific factors that are individual like the objectives of the investor or risk aversion of the investor, taking into account factors like the investor’s horizon, wealth, etc. Furthermore, the extent to which the volatility of the portfolio can be decreased is highly dependent on the correlation whereby, the lower the average correlation of the stocks within a certain portfolio, then it implies that that is the lower an investor can decrease the volatility of the portfolio. This is a clear indication that this has provided the author of this assignment with succinct knowledge of determining the optimal allocations in stock markets.
Conclusion
Through this assignment it has been shown that, it is possible to use specialized spreadsheets for the calculation of important risk and return related portfolio statistics in the stock markets as well as minimizing the overall risk or maximizing the expected return of a multi-stock portfolio. However, it is essential to know that irrespective of these calculations being useful when creating investment portfolios, they rest on the assumption that historical relationships between asset classes and individual assets will hold in the future. This means that it is always crucial for investors to choose a period that they feel is representative of a “typical” market cycle, in order to avoid a capturing a repetitive cycle that is not relevant.
Moreover, the mean-variance portfolio optimization has its limitations, despite the fact that it is very helpful in choosing appropriate portfolios. For example, using standard deviation (or variance) as a proxy for risk can only be considered valid for normally distributed returns, and not any other returns which is not always the case in the stock markets. In addition, the premise of the Markowitz theory means that investors are not likely to make any alterations to their asset allocation after it has been optimized. Finally, fund managers or investors may not necessarily be interested in the minimization of risk (i.e. standard deviation or variance), but instead they may be interested in reducing the correlation of a fund to a benchmark. These are the limitations of the used method, even it is very crucial in determining portfolio optimization.
Reference List
Arnold, G. (2008), Corporate Financial Management, Third Edition, New York, NY: Pearson Education Limited.
Craig, W. H. (2008), Excel Modelling and Estimation in Investments, Third Edition, Indiana University, Prentice Hall, Inc.
Goldfarb, D. and Iyengar, G. (2003), “Robust Portfolio Selection Problems”. Mathematics of Operations Research, Vol.28 Issue 1, pp. 1-38.
Jackson, M. and Staunton, M. (2001), Advanced Modelling in Finance using Excel and VBA. Chichester, England: John Wiley & Sons.
Markowitz, H.M. (1959), Portfolio Selection: Efficient Diversification of Investments. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons.
Markowitz, H.M. (1952). “Portfolio selection” The Journal of Finance, Vol. 7 Issue 1, pp. 77-91.
Sharpe, W.F., (1964), “Capital asset prices: A theory of market equilibrium under conditions of risk”. Journal of Finance, Vol. 19 Issue 3, pp. 425-442.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
Pay attention that each section has to have a reference list at the end of that section.I have also provided some resources to use in completing this paper, and the writer must clearly show all details and mastery of the different topic.
SECTION A (2 pages minimum)
Initial Public Offering
Initial Public Offering
One method utilized by companies to obtain the long-term capital necessary to run and grow their businesses is by providing the general public with the option to purchase stocks. The company’s first sale of stock is known as the initial public offering (IPO). When a company first offers the IPO, stocks are, on average, underpriced.
• Discuss the implications of such underpricing to established theories of market efficiency.
• Explain the role market efficiency might play in the underpricing theories presented by Loughran and Ritter.
Include a reference list at the end of this section before completing SECTION B
SECTION B (2 pages minimum)
International finance
International Finance
Critics of the field of international finance charge that the field is simply “corporate finance with an exchange rate.”
• Critique this statement.
• Do you agree or disagree with it? Why?
• Justify your answer with specific details.
Include a reference list at the end of this section .
Resources
• Readings
Course Text
• Corporate Finance
o Chapter 20, “Raising Capital”
This chapter presents the fundamental mechanics involved with initial public offerings (IPOs) of stock in a corporation, and the variety of characteristics, costs, and terms associated with the different IPO types.
o Chapter 29, “Mergers, Acquisitions, and Divestitures”
The several means by which one firm can acquire another are described in this chapter as well as the benefits and consequences of each method on the corporations, investors, and consumers that are involved. There is also a discussion on tactics used in avoiding hostile takeovers.
o Chapter 31, “International Corporate Finance”
This final chapter covers international corporate finance, including the basic vocabulary and mechanics of using exchange rates, the relationships between international financial variables, and how these are all used in international capital budgeting.
Article
•Loughran, T., & Ritter, J. (2004). Why has IPO underpricing changed over time? Financial Management (Blackwell Publishing Limited, Autumn), 33(3), 5–37. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
The authors of this article research the common practice of underpricing IPOs and how it has drastically fluctuated over the last several decades. They then propose and discuss three hypotheses to explain the level of changes that have occurred.
•Cohen, G., & Yagil, J. (2007). A multinational survey of corporate financial policies. Journal of Applied Finance, 17(1), 57–69. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
This article reviews findings from a six-country survey of corporate financial policies where it finds that investments were considered the most important financial decision and the internal rate of return was the most commonly used evaluation method.
•Ahern, K., & Weston, J. (2007). M&As: The good, the bad, and the ugly. Journal of Applied Finance, 17(1), 5–20. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
This article analyzes and rates the different theories surrounding the goals of mergers and acquisitions.
•Rhodes-Kropf, M., & Robinson, D. (2008). The market for mergers and the boundaries of the firm. Journal of Finance, 63(3), 1169–1211. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
In this article, the authors describe a new model they have developed that helps explain the process companies use for decision making on potential mergers and from using this model, they conclude that like-buys-like in terms of financial ratios.
•Statman, M. (2007). Local ethics in a global world. Financial Analysts Journal, 63(3), 32–41. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
In an increasingly global market, this article discusses the importance of evaluating ethics and fairness in different countries and seeking to improve the level at which is business occurs.
•Poulsen, A., & Stegemoller, M. (2008). Moving from private to public ownership: Selling out to public firms versus Initial Public Offerings. Financial Management, 37(1), 81–101. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
Throughout this research, the authors study over 1700 firms to determine the characteristics of those private companies that choose to sell out to a public company versus those who choose to become public by issuing an Initial Public Offering.
•Gondat-Larralde, C., & James, K. (2008). IPO pricing and share allocation: The importance of being ignorant. Journal of Finance, 63(1), 449–478. Retrieved from Business Source Premier database.
In making decisions on investing in IPOs, the authors discuss how banks and investors often form coalitions where both groups share the risk and in return the banks give lower-priced offerings to those in the coalition.
SAMPLE ANSWER
Initial Public Offering
Discuss the implications of such under pricing to established theories of market efficiency.
When information available in the market is fully factored in the prices of the traded securities, it is considered the market is efficient. The information available on the market only affects price changes presently with past information having no bearing on the present price – random walk. This is the justification for the view that stock prices tomorrow must also be random and unpredictable – market changes are based on present information only and not historical information or trends (Rhodes-Kropf & Robinson, 2008). Thus the concept of under pricing flies in the face of all that market efficiency stands for.
Proponent of the concept of under pricing have argued that it is important to give the initial investors additional motivational to invest in the stock. It is argued that, for the risk of investing in a company that has at best a conceptual track record and desired future, the investor expects to experience a growth in the share price over time (Poulsen & Stegemoller, 2008). Theories of market efficiency postulate that this is not possible to beat the market both in the short or long run. This is because the players and markets have access to the same information and have access to it at the same time.
Under pricing underpins that the market does not have access to the same information and that some players in the market have access to information that others do not have. It undermines the market efficiency theories as it precludes that it is possible to beat the market by either the use of expert stock selection or market timing (Rhodes-Kropf & Robinson, 2008). Market efficiency theories are the corner of the modern financial theory. The theories give credibility to the argument that highlights the futility of seeking out undervalued stocks, trying to predict trends or using technical or fundamental analysis.
Explain the role market efficiency might play in the under pricing theories presented by Loughran and Ritter.
Since research has shown that despite market efficiency, under pricing is still a much pursued strategy especially for Initial Public Offers (IPOs). Under pricing is best explicated by the price increase that follows all IPO post first day trading. In the 1980s on average IPOs experienced a 7 percent growth on the first day trading. This more than doubled to 15 percent between 1990 and 1998. During the internet bubble years, this grew fivefold to 65 percent between 1999 and 2000. With the burst of the internet bubble, this reverted to 12 percent between 2001 and 2003 (Loughran, & Ritter, 2004).
Given market efficiency which precludes that stock prices reflect all the information available in the market, and then the IPO under pricing strategy emboldens this view. This is best explained and argued out by the changing risk composition, the realignment of incentives and the changing issuer – spinning and analysts lust (Gondat-Larralde & James, 2008). These three hypotheses, supports the stock prices reflect the information available in the market and that none of the players has access to information not available to the public – this starts drifting towards illegalities.
Given the role market efficiency plays and holds, the changing risk theory argues rightly that under pricing is pursued as a strategy when the stock is considered high-risk. Investors are thus encouraged to take up the IPO when under pricing is a direct result of attainment of an equilibrium condition. When considering the realignment of incentives and changing user objectives, market efficiency dictates that changes over time will ride on the issuing firm willingness to accept and implement the under pricing strategy. Working under the assumption that underwriters derive benefits by taking on engaging in rent-seeking behavior strategy common with under pricing.
International Finance
Critics of the field of international finance charge that the field is simply “corporate finance with an exchange rate.”
It is important to appreciate that irrespective of how it is interpreted, exchange rates are critical. They are critical since they do play an important part in international finance. However this does not turn international finance into corporate finance with an exchange rate. In as much as domestic or foreign politics, environmental changes, culture and regulations, do have a major and significant contribution in influences that impact international corporations (Ross et al, 2008).
When considering the exchange rate, it is important to view it as more than just a process of currency exchange. It is also encompasses a pricing model within the confines of the international community. Over time, exchange rates change mainly driven by market changes both internationally and domestically (Ross et al, 2008). For an organization with international operations, it needs to understand the dynamics of the economies in the countries they operate. As the organization management seeks to consolidate the different operations and paint the right picture of the organization, it must consider the exchange rate between all the countries. Budgeting becomes even more challenging as real possibilities of currency fluctuations become wild and undermine or even erode gains made (Mercelo, Quiros & Quiros 2008). The same challenges must be overcome when planning for the future. Given an organization has to juggle between different currencies – in countries that it operates, the same stability offered by the ‘home currency’ will not always be the same in other markets. This currency fluctuations could erode or disrupt painfully laid down plans and expectations.
Using the financial theory perspective to explain this, research revealed that, for most managers of corporations with international operations will more often than not act in the best interest of the shareholders. Additionally, the same research revealed that this said managers did expect and actually embraced the market efficiency criterion. The availability of information is critical to any market – local or international (Maury, 2006).
In instance and operations that exchange rates does have significant influence, purchasing power parity becomes a very important the right strategy to counter balance the political and exchange rate risk in the international economies and international capital budgeting.
Understanding this dynamics and being able to convert this challenges opportunities for the organization that operates in international markets become an important part of the responsibility of the corporate finance division (Dominguez, & Tesar, 2006). Understanding how operation in an international market affect the overall organizational outlook requires that greater care be employed managing the different currencies and the exchange rates. It is thus true that, international finance is not just a simple “corporate finance with an exchange rate.”
References
Dominguez, K. M. E., & Tesar, L. L. (2006) Exchange Rate Exposure, Journal of International Economics, Vol. 68, No. 2, pp. 188-218.
Gondat-Larralde, C., & James, K. (2008). IPO pricing and share allocation: The importance of being ignorant. Journal of Finance, Vol. 63, No. 1, pp. 449-478.
Loughran, T., & Ritter, J. (2004). Why has IPO Underpricing Changed over Time? Financial Management, Blackwell Publishing Limited, Vol. 33. No. 3, pp. 5-37.
Maury, B (2006) Family Ownership and Firm Performance: Empirical Evidence from Western European Corporations, Journal of Corporate Finance, Vol. 12, No. 3, pp. 321-341.
Mercelo, J. L. M., Quiros, J. L. M., & Quiros, M. M. M (2008) Asymmetric Variance and Spillover Effects: Regime Shifts in the Spanish Stock Market, Journal of International Finance Markets, Institutions and Money, Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 1-15.
Poulsen, A., & Stegemoller, M. (2008). Moving from private to public ownership: Selling out to public firms versus Initial Public Offerings. Financial Management, Vol. 37, No. 1, pp. 81-101.
Rhodes-Kropf, M., & Robinson, D. (2008). The market for mergers and the boundaries of the firm. Journal of Finance, Vol. 63, No. 3, pp. 1169-1211
Ross, S. A., Westerfield, R. W., & Jaffe, J. (2008). Corporate finance (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Irwin.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
The Performance of employees within an Organization
The Performance of employees within an Organization; A CASE STUDY OF OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN QATAR
Order Instructions:
The Introduction to the dissertation should set out the background to the research study and address the following areas:
The context in which the research took place
• What is the background, the context, in which the research took place?
• Why is this subject or issue important
• Who are the key participants and/or
‘actors’ in the area under investigation?
• Are there important trends or pivotal variables of which the reader needs to be made aware?
• A clear and succinct statement of the aims and objectives that the dissertation is going to address.
• Have you presented a clear and unambiguous exposition of your research aim, the objectives you will address to meet this aim and your research questions?
The reasons why this study was carried out
• Was this study undertaken for example in order to test some aspect of professional or business practice or theory or framework of analysis?
• Was the research carried out to fulfil the demands of a business organisation?
The way the Dissertation is to be organized:
You should write your dissertation with the idea in mind that the intended reader and reviewer has some shared understanding of the area being investigated, however, underpinning concepts and arguments still need to be included as otherwise the depth of research will be compromised. In this way, you will not be tempted to make too many implicit assumptions, i.e. by making the erroneous assumptions that the reader has your degree of knowledge about the matters in question or can follow, exactly, your thought processes without your spelling them out. It should be a document which is ‘self-contained’ and does not need any additional explanation, or interpretation, or reference to other documents in order that it may be fully understood.
This short final section of the Introduction should tell the reader what topics are going to be discussed in each of the chapters and how the chapters are related to each other. In this way, you are, in effect, providing the reader with a ‘road map’ of the work ahead. Thus, at a glance, they can see
(1) where they are starting from,
(2) the context in which the journey is taking place,
(3) where they are going to end up, and
(4) the route which they will take to reach their final destination. Such a ‘map’ will enable the reader to navigate their way through your work much more easily and appreciate to the maximum what you have done.
SAMPLE ANSWER
The Performance of employees within an Organization
A CASE STUDY OF OIL AND GAS COMPANIES IN QATAR
Chapter One
1.0 Aim, objectives and feasibility of the dissertation
1.1 Background Information
Qatar which is a member of United Arab Emirates (UAE), and also among the members of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is considered to have been significantly influenced negatively by the global decline of demand for petroleum products following the market glut experienced over the recent past (Qatar Oil & Gas Report, 2015). This is attributable to the fact that, there has been a decline in oil demand as well as oil prices over the recent past, which has far reaching effects on the country’s economy as well as economies of the regional nations and members of GCC. For instance, according to Milmo (2016) there was a decline of oil prices by 70% in 2015 globally, which has to a considerable extent shaken the country’s economy. As a result, this situation has caused the country to operate below its proposed budget’s threshold, which has seen the country budget run through a deficit of approximately $13 billion, a financial figure that if compared to the economy of Qatar as a whole constitutes about 0.8% of the country’s GDP (Breunig & Tse Chern, 2015; Kulkarni, 2015; Milmo, 2016).
For an economy that is developing such as that of Qatar, an overreliance on oil and gas as well as their subsequent products as the core drivers of the economy, there is a high likelihood of the prices to decline at the slightest economic shock if this practise is replicated by the neighbouring countries as well as the region (Milmo, 2016). This phenomenon would equally result to a decline in the prices of related inputs that used to produce these products, leading to far reaching effects that negatively impact the economy as well as performance of companies operating in the oil and gas sector (Milmo, 2016).
According to the United Arab Emirates Oil & Gas Report (2015), despite the vast wealth that Qatar has accumulated because of its oil abundance, the country is still considered a developing country mainly due to the fact that there has been no wide diversification of the economy as observed in developed nations. According to Byun and Hollander (2015), Qatar scores poorly in terms of the Gini Index, which range from zero (0) to one (1) whereby the former corresponds to perfect equality (where income is equal for everyone) and the latter corresponds to perfect inequality (where the entire income is held by one person while the income of the rest equates to zero). In this case Qatar scores 0.41, which is considerably high compared to developed countries that in most cases tend to have a Gini Index score of approximately 0.3 meaning that Qatar has to implement the necessary measures to make sure that income levels among its population become more equally distributed (Byun & Hollander, 2015). This scenario may has far reaching impact on the performance of employees in oil and gas companies within an organisation context, which usually includes the departmental, managerial as well as leadership levels (Aguinis, 2012; Al Muftah & Lafi, 2011; Al-Harthy, 2013; Thao & Hwang, 2015).
According to Al Muftah and Lafi (2011), in recent times a significant number of organisations have become fully aware of the imperativeness of employee performance, which has led them to embark of devising ways that are appropriate to increase employee performance. In addition, efforts of finding out and implementing the ways and/or strategies through which high performance level among the company employees can be attained has become one of the fundamental practises and decisive factors pursued by most successful organisations (Lam, Yik & Schaubroeck, 2012; Thao & Hwang, 2015). However, irrespective of the declining global oil and gas prices, the performance of employees within an organisation often stems from managerial practises adopted by a particular oil and gas company. For instance, the mission of a company management with regards to its human capital is usually, to get the employees together with a purpose of accomplishing corporate goals and objectives through efficient and effective utilisation of available resources (Mathis & Jackson, 2011; Northouse, 2013). Manpower or employees’ performance can be substantially boosted through heightened efforts towards promoting factors that are fundamental in enhancing the employees’ job satisfaction, creativity, motivational level, as well as ensuring that the workplace environment is comfortable and conducive, among other factors (Appiah, 2012; Armstrong & Murlis, 2004; Bartram & Casimir, 2007).
Narehan et al. (2014) noted that, the prevailing social demands and economic conditions have drastically changed the role of work throughout the world. This assertion is made with reference to the previous role of work, which was primarily done as a matter of survival and necessity (Das et al., 2013; Fedor & Rensvold, 2012). Throughout the evolution of human resources capital, the role of work has progressively changed consistently together with the components of the workforce (Armstrong & Murlis, 2004). For instance, in today’s workforce, work is not only considered a necessity but employees also consider it to provide them with personal satisfaction. As a result, the management of oil and gas companies should strive to ensure appropriate motivation and leadership methods are adopted to achieve optimal performance from employees (Webb, Jeffrey & Schulz, 2011).
According to Al Muftah and Lafi (2011), work-life programs and benefits is one of the fundamental ways through which professional and personal goals and objectives among oil and gas companies’ employees can be attained. Alternatively, the behaviour of individual employees with regards to attitudes and perceptions also play a significant role in influencing the performance levels, hence there is need to ensure that the right attitude is maintained through motivation and appropriate remuneration in order to maintain high efficiency and productivity (Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman, 2011; Hu, & Kaplan, 2015). According to Hellriegel et al. (2012), various factors are attributable to the performance of employees at work place, since employees’ performance at work place is considered as the way of performing job tasks in accordance with the stipulated job description. Thus, considering that performance concerns completion of a task within prescribed boundaries, it is evidently clear that employees’ performance is affected by various factors that ought to be investigated in the context of oil and gas industry in Qatar. As a result, this research is aimed at identification and measurement of the level of factors that affect job performance effectiveness among oil and gas companies’ employees in Qatar within the context of an organization at departmental, managerial and leadership levels. The research will strive to identify the necessary variables including working environment, motivation, organizational culture, leadership and training. The study is a quantitative one and it will strive to establish the relationship that exist between the variables mentioned above and performance of employees in Qatar’s oil and gas industry.
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Human capital is among the most important assets that significantly contribute to the production levels in oil and gas companies (Narehan et al., 2014). Therefore, it is important to understand how the performance of employees or job behaviour among employees of oil and gas companies in Qatar assists departments, managements and executive leaders to influence organizational goals and objectives either positively or negatively. Considering that the performance of employees is affected by a wide range of workplace factors, this study focuses on investigating the oil and gas industry scenario in Qatar in order to determine the factors or variables that affect the performance of employees either positively or negatively. By doing so, the study will also play a critical role in highlighting how employees’ performance is affected either positively or negatively by these factors or variables together with the interactions between them. The variables or factors that have been determined to influence the performance of employees at workplace in the scenario of oil and gas industry include organization culture, leadership style, workplace environment, organization structure, financial rewards as well as job stress.
There has been description of these variables in different studies and their influence on the performance of employees at work place has been confirmed (Hellriegel, Slocum & Woodman, 2011; Hu, & Kaplan, 2015). An appropriate balance must be achieved between these variables or factors in order to ensure that oil and gas companies optimally utilise the potential of their workforce. This is important because, failure to achieve this balance the workforce may become counterproductive or underutilised leading to a decline in production levels, which subsequently results to a decline in the company revenues and profitability. Since these variables or factors can either positively or negatively influence the performance of employees across sectors, it becomes inevitable to investigate them as well as their interactions to determine the appropriate combination for optimal performance among employees to be achieved.
1.3 Aims of the Study
It is highly imperative for the determination of the fact that, employees’ performance within an organization at various levels such as department, management and leadership plays a significant role in influencing the company goals and objectives either positively or negatively. A consideration of the oil and gas company scenario, various factors in a work environment are believed to affect the performance of employees. Therefore, this study aims to focus on the internal as well as external challenges faced by employees working in oil and gas companies, especially during the surge of oil and gas prices which has negatively hit Qatar’s economy. The study will also discuss in details both the internal and external variables that affect the performance of employees in oil and gas industry in Qatar.
1.4 Research Questions:
What are the internal factors that affect the performance of employees within oil and gas companies within developing states such as Qatar in the face of oil price drops?
What are the external factors that affect the performance of employees within oil and gas companies’ undeveloped states as a result of the rise of oil price drops?
What are the approaches that can be employed in solving the internal and external factors that affect the performance of employees in these companies as a result of drops in oil prices?
1.5 Research Objectives
The primary objectives of this study include:
Establish the internal and external factors that impact employee performance in oil and gas companies in the state of Qatar following the drop in oil prices.
Establish appropriate recommendations and conclusions that identify approaches of solving the negative impacts of these factors on the performance of employees within organizations in Qatar.
1.6 Significance of the Study
The findings of this study have significances for the body of knowledge on employee performance as well as business practice. First, from an enterprise perspective it is highly imperative for oil and gas companies to identify factors that affect the performance of employees, which is essential in helping the companies in this sector to formulate appropriate workforce policies and guidelines aimed at optimal utilisation of potential, skills, knowledge and expertise of employees. Thus, through this study a methodological guidance is provided which has a practical significance towards oil and gas companies in Qatar to correctly develop human capital management and leadership practises not only at departmental level but also at executive level.
Secondly, the study may enhance employees’ performance awareness among stakeholders in oil and gas companies including managers and investors in the oil and gas industry in Qatar and across the world. For example, the research findings from this study may be of significant assistance to oil and gas industry managers in better understanding and managing of workforce and employees’ performance and investors may use employees’ performance efficiency as a benchmark of assessing the ability of a company operating in oil and gas company sector to create value. Also, the study is important in enabling oil and gas companies in Qatar to better understand the employees’ performance drivers, and have a more definite and direct understanding of the elements of employees’ performance in order to know how different elements can be combined for optimal harnessing of companies’ workforce potential.
1.7 Structure of the Dissertation
In overall, the aim of this dissertation is to investigate employees’ performance within an organization at departmental, managerial and leadership levels at oil and gas companies operating in Qatar with the aid of survey data gathered at firm level. Following the introduction as the first chapter, which provides background information about the research topic, aim, problem statement, objectives as well as significance of the study and the research questions; the reminder of the dissertation is organized in subsequent chapters as follows. The second chapter provides the literature review by discussing theoretical basis of the research topic based on previous studies and also describe the situation of oil and gas companies in Qatar. In this chapter, also the key terms are introduced in addition to reviewing existing theoretical and empirical literature on the research topic. The third chapter is the methodology and it describes the methods adopted to test the hypotheses, and also describes the target population, research sample and data as well as variables employed in the study. The fourth chapter is the data analysis and study findings and it presents the study results through analysed data and its interpretation. Finally, the fifth chapter is the discussion and conclusion and it is concerned with elucidation of the research findings with reference to findings of previous studies, making of conclusions as well as highlighting limitations of the study and giving recommendation for future research.
References
Aguinis, H 2012, Performance Management, 2nd edition, Pearson Education Inc: Upper Saddle River, NJ.
Al-Harthy, MH 2013, “Motivation: A Challenge for Oil and Gas Companies an Omani Case Study”, Oil and Gas Business, pp. 1-14. Available online at: http://www.ogbus.ru/eng/
Al Muftah, H & Lafi, H 2011, “Impact of QWL on employee satisfaction case of oil and gas industry in Qatar”, Advances in Management & Applied Economics, vol.1, no.2, pp. 107-134. ISSN: 1792-7552 (online).
Appiah, C 2012, Human Resource Strategies for International Growth, Routledge: London.
Armstrong, M & Murlis, H 2004, Reward management: A handbook of remuneration strategy and practice, 5th edition, Kogan Page Limited: London.
Bartram, T & Casimir, G 2007, “The relationship between leadership and follower in-role performance and satisfaction with the leaders: The mediating effects of empowerment and trust in the leader”, Leadership and Organization Development Journal, vol. 28, no. 1, pp. 4 –19.
Breunig, R, & Tse Chern, C 2015, “Sovereign Ratings and Oil-Exporting Countries: The Effect of High Oil Prices on Ratings”, International Review Of Finance, vol. 15, no. 1, pp. 113-138, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Byun, C, & Hollander, E 2015, “Explaining the Intensity of the Arab Spring”, DOMES: Digest of Middle East Studies, vol. 24, no. 1, pp. 26-46, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 July 2016.
Das, B, Smith, D, Hennigan, J, & Yeager, R 2013, “Situational Factors Affecting Performance-rating Ability”, International Journal of Operations & Production Management, vol. 13, no. 3, pp. 49-56, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Fedor, D, & Rensvold, R 2012, “An Investigation Of Factors Expected To Affect Feedback Seeking: A Longitudinal Field Study”, Personnel Psychology, vol. 45, no. 4, pp. 779-805, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Hellriegel, D, Jackson, S, Slocum, J & Staude, G 2012, Managing: A Competency –Based Approach. Thomson Learning Inc., Cincinnati, OH.
Hu, X, & Kaplan, S 2015, “The Effects of Unconsciously Derived Affect on Task Satisfaction and Performance”, Journal Of Business & Psychology, vol. 30, no. 1, pp. 119-135, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Jaffe, A, & Elass, J 2015, “WAR AND THE OIL PRICE CYCLE”, Journal Of International Affairs, vol. 69, no. 1, pp. 121-137, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Kilian, L & Lewis, LT 2011, “Does the Fed Respond to Oil Price Shocks?” Economic Journal, Royal Economic Society, vol. 121, no. 555, pp. 1047-1072.
Kilian, L & Vigfusson, RJ 2011, “Nonlinearities in the Oil Price–Output Relationship,” Macroeconomic Dynamics: Cambridge University Press, vol. 15, no. S3, pp. 337-363.
Krane, J 2015, “Stability versus Sustainability: Energy Policy in the Gulf Monarchies”, Energy Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 1-21, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Kulkarni, P 2015, “With the industry facing low crude oil prices for the foreseeable future, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region remains an oasis of increasing oilfield activity, due to minimal lifting costs”, World Oil, vol. 236, no. 10, pp. 80-86, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Lam, SSK, Yik, MSM & Schaubroeck, J 2012, “Responses to formal performance appraisal feedback: The role of negative affectivity”, Journal of Applied Psychology, vol. 87, no. 2, pp. 192 –201.
Lin, W 2011, “Relevant factors that affect service recovery performance”, Service Industries Journal, vol. 30, no. 6, pp. 891-910, Hospitality & Tourism Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Marais, J 2016, “Oil: What the slump tells us about the global economy (cover story)”, Finweek, pp. 28-31, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Mathis, RL & Jackson, JH 2011, Human Resource Management, South-Western Cengage Learning: Mason, OH, USA.
Milmo, S 2016, “Oil Dips, Prospects Rise? With oil prices low, what does the future hold for the global petrochemicals industry?”, TCE: The Chemical Engineer, vol. 897, no. 4, pp. 35-37, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Narehan, H, Hairunnisa, M, Norfadzillah, RA & Freziamella, L 2014, “The Effect of Quality of Work Life (QWL) Programs on Quality of Life (QOL) Among Employees at Multinational companies in Malaysia”, Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, vol. 112, no. 3, pp. 24-34. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2014.01.1136. Available online at: www.sciencedirect.com
Ngulube, P 2015, “Trends in Research Methodological Procedures Used in Knowledge Management Studies”, African Journal Of Library, Archives & Information Science, vol. 25, no. 2, pp. 125-143, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Northouse, PG 2013, Leadership Theory and Practice, Sage Publications: London.
Oglend, A, Lindbäck, M, & Osmundsen, P 2015, “Shale Gas Boom Affecting the Relationship Between LPG and Oil Prices”, Energy Journal, vol. 36, no. 4, pp. 265-286, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 15 July 2016.
‘Qatar Oil & Gas Report’ 2015, Qatar Oil & Gas Report, vol. 1, pp. 1-121, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Salehi, E, Save, S, Nel, W, & Almquist, G 2015, “Improve economics with GTL integration into oil sands operations”, Hydrocarbon Processing, pp. 41-44, Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Smead, RG 2015, “Natural Gas Market Movement and Enforcement Risk”, Natural Gas & Electricity, vol. 31, no. 12, pp. 15-19, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
‘United Arab Emirates Oil & Gas Report’ 2015, UAE Oil & Gas Report, vol. 4, pp. 1-125, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
Webb, A, Jeffrey, S, & Schulz, A 2011, “Factors Affecting Goal Difficulty and Performance When Employees Select Their Own Performance Goals: Evidence from the Field”, Journal Of Management Accounting Research, vol. 22, pp. 209-232, Business Source Complete, EBSCOhost, viewed 3 July 2016.
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
Knowledge Management Case Study
Knowledge management is more than clusters of relational databases, humming along to the tune of the organization’s strategic plan. It is about aligning information technology tools with organizational strategy, about understanding the organization, its environment, and its people.
Two case studies from the articles located below in the resources section, one authored by Yilmaz and the other by Cox, take very different approaches to the problem of implementing a knowledge management system. Yilmaz examines an international firm that has no contact at all with the end customer and takes up the problem of knowledge sharing, transfer, and the prerequisites necessary to facilitate the successful implementation of a KM system. Cox takes up the case of Xerox and the development of a commercial database system.
After reading both cases, prepare a 5- to 7-page analysis, fully documented and cited in APA format, that answers the following questions:
• What were the organizational objectives that were “solved” by the implementation of knowledge management in each case? What obstacles were faced and how were they overcome?
• How does the problem of “knowledge,” as raised by Cox, relate to the issues with the Eureka system? To what degree is this a persistent problem for organizations? Using additional resources, address the question of “organizational knowledge” as a definitional problem as well as a logistical one.
• How do attitudes within the organization, as well as the structure of the organization itself, impact the successful implementation of a KM system? How are these attitudinal issues best resolved?
Its important to clearly indicate all the different responses in your paper for easy understanding of your analyses
Resources to read and use to complete the paper
Articles
• Mohamed, M., Stankosky, M., & Murray, A. (2006). Knowledge management and information technology: Can they work in perfect harmony? Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(3). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM global database.
The authors address the distinction between the functions of information technology and the objectives of knowledge management and raise the question: are these two processes compatible?
• Yilmaz, Y. (2007). Pre-analysis process for knowledge management: A case study in a building materials company. VINE, 37(1). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM global database.
This article reviews how knowledge management (KM) methods can be implemented in organizations effectively and also provides a framework to explain how knowledge-based process analyses can be applied.
• Cox, A. (2007). Reproducing knowledge: Xerox and the story of knowledge management. Knowledge Management Research & Practice, 5(1). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM global database.
This article presents information on discursive transformations at Xerox, explaining that how knowledge is represented and what knowledge management might mean are heavily influenced by vested corporate interests. It also stresses the need to capture complexity in case studies if they are to promote a realistic or critical understanding of the organization
SAMPLE ANSWER
Knowledge Management Case Study
In the present day world, KM has a huge role in enhancing employee proficiency, operations efficiency, cost mitigation, and promoting a company’s image. It also helps in formulating attainable goals as well as an elaborate implementation framework. This paper aims at analyzing two case studies on KM; Turkish multinational and Xerox. The case studies are greatly insightful since they exemplify KM systems alignment to organizational objectives as well as different challenges that are experienced during the implementation process (Mohamed, Stankosky & Murray, 2006).
Organizational objectives that were “solved” by the implementation of knowledge management
Turkish multinational
Both the Xerox and Turkish multinational have features of distinct organizational objectives. It is evident that KM systems were useful in solving different organizational objectives in the two entities. According to the Turkish International Company’s analytical framework, one of its pertinent objectives is minimizing shipment costs. There is use of the KM systems’ framework so as to promote minimization of shipment costs to overseas customers. To ensure low shipment costs for the products, the company uses KM systems in evaluating appropriate platforms for averting high costs (Yilmaz, 2007).
Moreover, KM systems implementation enabled Turkish multinational to transfer a bigger shipment costs’ percentage to customers. Another organizational objective is the customers’ needs evaluation. Since the company has an expansive base of customers for its products both internationally and domestically, the company aims at excellently understanding the different customers’ needs. Therefore, the company utilized various KM systems’ platforms to achieve this (Yilmaz, 2007). The company utilizes KM systems in determining if the products the customers need are in stock. In case there are some materials not present in the stock, the novel components are included in the production system immediately. Such a KM framework bolstered the blueprint of the organization for satisfying the different customers’ requirements both internationally and domestically (Yilmaz, 2007).
Xerox
KM systems’ implementation is narrowed down so as to solve different organizational objectives. One of the outstanding organizational goals is rebranding. Xerox considers the rebranding framework to be a pertinent approach for bolstering competitiveness standards. In reference to the case study’s insights, there is a strong emphasis on KM systems so as to cater relevant rebranding standards. In relation to these perspectives, Xerox came up with a perfect blueprint for transforming its framework for management of information. According to Orr, the company relied on storytelling for information management but this was linked to numerous inefficiencies (Cox, 2007). As a result of this, the company increasingly adopted Eureka platforms within KM framework. The Eureka platforms were significantly more technical as opposed to the traditional storytelling approach. The escalated Eureka system integration bolstered the KM standards in the workforce of the company.
IT components’ integration in the organizational operations was another vital objective for Xerox. The company used KM systems as the vital stepping stone for IT efficiency enhancement across various units. While IT was a vital integration aspect into organizational operations, there was a need to determine the bet implementation platforms. The company was therefore able to use suitable software and hardware components across different departments. The company was hence able to achieve core competitiveness goals (Cox, 2007).
The obstacles and how they were solved
To Xerox, the organizational culture change was a major obstacle. It was mitigated through sensitizing the employees regarding the significance of utilizing the technical approach to the organizational information systems. The major obstacle that the Turkish multinational faced was lack of direct contacts with the overseas customers. This was solved through using marketing and sales entities who bridged the gap between the customers and company.
How the problem of “knowledge,” as raised by Cox, relate to the issues with the Eureka system and the prevalence of the problems in organizations
Cox has raised a number of aspects that are connected to the knowledge challenge. One of the notable challenges that Cox exemplifies relates to authenticity. The challenge is persistent based on the fact that a majority of the researchers based KM systems on past studies, which undermines originality standards that these researchers attain. This challenge massively relates to the Eureka system’s framework. Knowledge should validated formally since this fosters the achievement of the best originality standards.
The second challenge touches on oral perspectives. In cases where knowledge is passed orally, manipulation and distortion are highly likely. Moreover, vital details can be lost easily in interpretation or translation of knowledge. There is a strong link between this challenge and the Eureka system. Knowledge should be provided in structured databases and encoded, which massively prevents potential distortion. Cox emphasizes that generalization of information is a critical challenge.
Based on the Eureka system’s framework, information needs to be individualistic. As such, relevant solutions can be sought for every problem. From a varying standpoint, there is a great need to evaluate the persistence of these challenges across the organization. Essentially, the knowledge problems’ persistence degree is strongly based on the management systems an organization uses. For example, change management should be accompanied by effective platforms.
At the organizational level, the transformational leader has great potential to cope with different KM challenges. On the contrary, the various issues that are linked to Eureka system may be highly prevalent in organizations having rigid leadership structures. The extensive information technology systems’ implementation in the present-day organizations is a vital factor that positively contributes towards KM systems’ enhancement. Information technology possesses excellent components that can bolster the KM systems’ framework based on varying organizational requirements (Cox, 2007).
Founded on these attributes, organizations that use effective ICT frameworks face less knowledge problems. IT greatly helps an organization to identify the best Eureka system’s aspects that can be integrated in the operational blueprint. The employees’ competence is a vital attribute as it greatly influences knowledge problems’ persistence in organizations. A workforce that is highly competent can easily assimilate KM changes.
“Organizational knowledge” as a definitional and logistical problem
The issue on organizational knowledge may be analyzed as a definitional or logistical challenge. From the definitional standpoint, various forms of interpretations characterize organizational knowledge. Although some entities interpret it inaccurately, some organizations do it accurately (Maier, 2004). The interpretive framework’s efficiency determines the companies’ ability to avert the various knowledge implementation challenges. From the logistical viewpoint, the issue on organizational knowledge is influenced massively by the organizational leaders’ competence to implement the KM systems.
Effect of organizational attitudes and structure on the successful KM system implementation
KM systems implementation is influenced massively by attitudes and organizational structure in a company.
Organizational structure
The leadership systems greatly determine the effectiveness of the whole implementation phase. While some systems of leadership support KM strongly, others are less concerned. In essence, supportive leadership systems offer the best implementation environment since there is excellent KM systems’ implementation standards as opposed to unsupportive leadership systems (Maier, 2004).
It is primarily pertinent that the systems for decision making are concomitant with immense KM implementation requirements. For example, the platforms for decision making should offer an exceptional framework for defining and interpreting organizational knowledge. High decision making standards are incredibly vital in bolstering the KM systems’ outcomes.
The leader-employee relationships are very useful in shaping the efficiency achieved following KM systems’ implementation. There is a great need for excellent communication frameworks between the employee and leader. Communication inefficacies definitely have a negative influence on the implementation process (Fernandez, 2010).
Attitudes
If employees have positives attitudes in relation to different KM systems, excellent efficiency levels are achieved from KM systems use across an organization. In this regard, organizational leaders have a great role in boosting the employees’ attitudes towards KM systems. The leaders should also set proper working precedent in regard to the different KM systems’ stipulations. As a result, other employees are motivated towards embracing changes.
Resolving attitudinal issues
There are a number of strategies that an organization can integrate in its efforts to mitigate different structural and attitudinal issues. It is important to promote the employees’ awareness about the vital KM systems’ role in an organization. Leaders should be at the front position in promoting acceptable KM systems in all departments. Using information technology goes a long way in strengthening organizational structures so as to enhance integration on the most relevant KM systems. There is also a need to set aside sufficient resources for implementing KM systems in the organization (Fernandez, 2010).
Fernandez, I. B. (2010). Knowledge management: Systems and processes. Armonk, NY: M. E. Sharpe Inc.
Maier, R. (2004). Knowledge management systems. New York, NY: Springer Publishers
Mohamed, M., Stankosky, M., & Murray, A. (2006). Knowledge management and information technology: Can they work in perfect harmony? Journal of Knowledge Management, 10(3). Retrieved from ABI/INFORM global database.
Yilmaz, Y. (2007). Pre-analysis process for knowledge management. The Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems, 37(1).
We can write this or a similar paper for you! Simply fill the order form!
