Interesting Topic on Decision making Research Paper

Interesting Topic on Decision making - Research Paper Example Critical decision making on critical issues that affect the performance of the whole organization is normally coordinated and made by the top leadership of the organization. Organizations that make weak or poor decisions show the kind of bad leadership they have. This always reflect negatively on the organization. On the other hand, organizations that make strong or good decisions normally show the competency of their leadership and that impacts positively on the organizational performance. Decision making can follow the bottom-up system. This way, the decision is made by the line management and it is applied to the top management of an organization. Similarly, decision making can come from the top management down the management ladder. There are also situations where decision making is centric as well as when it is horizontal which involves making decision on the same level of management. Organizations need to concentrate on decisions that are in line with its strategic mission and vision statements. Such decisions ones made, should be implemented in order for their effectiveness to be felt in the organization. This paper is therefore aimed at finding out how decision making as an organizational tool works to impact the performance and outcomes of the organization. Indeed, when good decisions are made in an organization, and the decisions are implemented quickly, the performance of an organization will rise to show the increase. When a survey was done on 350 company executives to establish their organizational effectiveness, only 15% of them stated that their organizations help their businesses perform better than their competitors in their respective industries (Paul & Marcia 2006). The article sets it out clearly that what leads to different performance is the quality with which they carry out their services, speed, and how they execute their decision making process. In this case, one

Theory Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Theory - Term Paper Example This paper will examine EBP and identify theories that affect nursing interventions and implications in primary care nursing and also highlight some of its drawbacks. The use of EBP in healthcare setting differs from conducting research. This is because in clinical settings, EBP aims at implementing the latest evidence provided by research to guide patient care towards the best achievable outcomes. A prominent characteristic of EBP is that it encourages the cultivation of the spirit of inquiry, which basically questions existing of conventional practices. Through enquiry, practitioners of primary care nursing can challenge the conventional practices and create room for changes and improvements (Yoder-Wise, 2012). For instance, clinical questions designed in the PICOT format (they deal with patient population, the issue, comparison population, outcome and time involved) are crucial in establishing the most relevant search procedures that yield quality information in the least time possible. Then, before it is implemented or integrated, the information (or evidence) is critically appraised to ensure it is valid, reliable and applicable. The signifi cance of critically appraising evidence can best be understood from the perspective of increasing professional and public need for accountability in quality improvement and safety in primary care nursing (Yoder-Wise, 2012). This is even more pronounced by the fact that preventable harm is usually caused by key deficits in conventional practices that often go unquestioned. Decision making in EBP entails integrating knowledge and experience gained through an individual’s expertise, research evidence and client preferences in the perspective of available resources (Berwick, 2009). Therefore, decision making in EBP is a prescriptive approach towards how choices are made and is founded on ideas of improving theories so that they can be useful and relevant in

Cultural Anthropology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Cultural Anthropology - Essay Example On the one hand, there is legislation preventing the manual removal of human excrement. On the other hand, the Indian government is itself employing the Dalits to perform these much outlawed tasks. This expresses a strange duality in the existing system at all levels. When compared to the West, this tends to resemble parts of the Jim Crow regime where newly freed slaves were treated just as bad or worse. It was not uncommon for slaves to perform tasks of the same gruesome nature that are depicted in the Dalit video. Even after the slaves were freed, their socio-economic circumstances forced them to carry out the same tasks in order to fend for themselves. Another major concern exposed by the video is the hypocritical nature of the legal system when it comes to the rights of Dalits. Those in power to favor the high caste Brahmins and the like against the poor and defenseless Dalits. This in turn has skewed the legal system to such an extent that it is hardly recognizable as a system to deliver justice. The brutal murders and rapes of Dalit men and women in the twenty first century are without parallel in the West. It could be argued that the West has seen its fair share of brutality during the age of slavery but this is more than over in the current age. There is hardly any trace of brutality employed through institutional means against any specific section of the society in the West in the modern day. The last traces of social exclusion in the West date back to just before the Civil Rights Movement in the sixties. Under the social exclusion regime enforced in certain states, people of African American descent were not allowed into certain public areas such as restaurants. In addition, it was generally the discretion of a business owner if they wanted to serve African Americans or not. It was common to see signs in many shop windows telling African Americans to stay out. These problems were compounded by

Theory Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Theory - Term Paper Example This paper will examine EBP and identify theories that affect nursing interventions and implications in primary care nursing and also highlight some of its drawbacks. The use of EBP in healthcare setting differs from conducting research. This is because in clinical settings, EBP aims at implementing the latest evidence provided by research to guide patient care towards the best achievable outcomes. A prominent characteristic of EBP is that it encourages the cultivation of the spirit of inquiry, which basically questions existing of conventional practices. Through enquiry, practitioners of primary care nursing can challenge the conventional practices and create room for changes and improvements (Yoder-Wise, 2012). For instance, clinical questions designed in the PICOT format (they deal with patient population, the issue, comparison population, outcome and time involved) are crucial in establishing the most relevant search procedures that yield quality information in the least time possible. Then, before it is implemented or integrated, the information (or evidence) is critically appraised to ensure it is valid, reliable and applicable. The signifi cance of critically appraising evidence can best be understood from the perspective of increasing professional and public need for accountability in quality improvement and safety in primary care nursing (Yoder-Wise, 2012). This is even more pronounced by the fact that preventable harm is usually caused by key deficits in conventional practices that often go unquestioned. Decision making in EBP entails integrating knowledge and experience gained through an individual’s expertise, research evidence and client preferences in the perspective of available resources (Berwick, 2009). Therefore, decision making in EBP is a prescriptive approach towards how choices are made and is founded on ideas of improving theories so that they can be useful and relevant in

How have the Gulf States used oil as their foreign policy tool (mainly Research Paper

How have the Gulf States used oil as their foreign policy tool (mainly the oil embargo of 1973)and how effective has it been - Research Paper Example Oil ministers agreed on an embargo that would see a gradual reduction in production in 5% increments over time until they had achieved their economic and political objectives; after Libya embargoed all oil shipments to the U.S., Saudi Arabia and all other Arab oil producing nations followed suit leading to the 1973 oil embargo that was equally extended to Western Europe and Japan. The onset of the 1973 oil crisis, when members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) announced an oil embargo led to high rises in the price of oil per barrel, from US$3 to nearly $12; the short and long term economic as well as political effects of the oil embargo left devastating impacts all over the world (Ross). Price increases were also imposed in the embargo to accelerate the fall in demand of the new lower level oil supply thereby triggering a market rise in the oil price from $3 to $ 12 per barrel; since the global financial system was already under pressure from the coll apsed Bretton Woods Agreement, recessions and high inflation kicked in and persisted up to the early 1980s and oil prices continued to rise until 1986. From the mid 1980’s to 2003, the inflation-adjusted price of a barrel of oil remained stable at around 25$ per barrel but rose dramatically from 2003 beyond $30 per barrel reaching a high of $60 per barrel in 2005 and its peak was $147.30 in 2008. Many factors have been attributable to these dramatic increases in the prices of oil including the depreciation of the U.S. dollar, subsequent reports of the declining oil reserves, the tension in the Middle East, as well as the heightened speculation over oil prices. Geo-political events as well as natural disasters that are indirectly linked to the global oil market have had a significant impact on oil prices; for instance, the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict and

Moving away from hatred Essay Example for Free

Moving away from hatred Essay â€Å"On Saturday in the Serbian Town of Cacak (which is located in the Western-Central part of the country), fans of the local team Borac Cacak were conducting racial chants and wearing KKK attire aimed at one Mike Tamwanera. Usually when you have fans chanting or hissing at a player he usually plays for another team, but Tamwanera who is from Zimbabwe, plays for Borac Cacak. While arrests were made by Cacak police and the club has stated that these fans will be banned from future games, the act itself is extremely disgraceful. It is extremely disappointing to see Serbian people do this type of action The problem lies in the fact that these small group of fans who donned the garments known for extreme racism do not realize that the Ku Klux Klan have also been known to hate all minority groups including Slavic people who we Serbs are a part of. By wearing the white-cloth attire, these fans are showing that they support the hate done to their own people; its the same if Serbs wore Nazi uniforms and paraded around the town (Kross. 2006)† Looking back at these incidents, I am made to reflect on the acts of racism that I have seen and heard of here in America. One case here in America that has definitely struck a bone in me is the Jena Six (6) incident. As we know this is with regard to six (6) black teenagers beating up a white teenager and being charged with attempted murder and conspiracy. Looking at this incident, I am led to believe that the root of the case is rather complicated and is in fact rooted in decades of violence and aggression between Black and White Americans, which has led to a vicious cycle between the two. As Todd Lewan wrote in his article, â€Å"Clearly, something bad occurred in Jena, population 2,971, an old sawmill town in LaSalle Parish that, once upon a time, was Ku Klux Klan country. And, as most white and black residents readily agree, there is no good reason for embracing what unfolded here. † However, digging deeper into the story we see that the issue at heart is basically spawn by misunderstanding and hatred. Hatred that is drawn from differences we refuse to see beyond as human beings. This coupled by the fact that numerous injustices have been made in the past only add up to the existing problem. Racial acts are no longer the only scope of the norms and mores groups become socialized into but aggression and violence become a legitimate way by, which such groups express themselves. Looking back at the incident it is history repeating itself as Black Americans get back at White Americans for disputes and vice versa. In addition to this, the fact that racism is a group privilege as pointed out earlier only compounds the matter. This is since it bolsters the behavior and even perpetuates violent and aggressive acts such as the Jena 6 incident and even the beating of the gypsies in Europe. Moreover, the group does not see that such acts are wrong. Certain acts to them are merely a way by which they can express themselves and the like. Yet to think that even such actions are spawned from misunderstandings or inaccurate interpretations leads me to think that so much pain and suffering can actually be avoided if we simply open our minds. Taking into account the Jena Six incident as taken from Newsweek: â€Å"Decades of suppressed racial hostility spilled forth at the appearance of those swaying nooses. Word spread quickly that day; before long, scores of black students congregated under the tree. As black students, we didnt call it a protest, says Robert Bailey Jr. , one of the Jena Six. We just called it standing up for ourselves. School officials convened an assembly in early September, where local District Attorney Reed Walters appeared, flanked by police officers. I can be your best friend or your worst enemy, he told students, warning them to settle down. With a stroke of my pen, I can make your lives disappear. A visit to the school, along with the fact that the three white boys who admitted to hanging the nooses were only dealt a few days suspension, further inflamed the African-American community. It felt like they were saying, We can do what we want to those ns, says Marcus Jones, Bells father. Things reached a boil later in the semester. During the Thanksgiving holiday, someone set fire to the school, reducing the main academic wing to rubble (no one has been arrested, and though a link between what was ruled an arson and the racial discord hasnt been proved, many suspect there is one). The following day, Bailey was punched and beaten with beer bottles when he tried to enter a mostly white party in town. The white kid who threw the first punch was later charged with simple battery and given probation†¦ (Flores and Kovach. 2007). † We can see that the escalation to the whole incident could have been avoided if it was approached with more understanding from both races. It should not have been about White or Black but rather of what was socially and morally right or wrong. We have to realize that racism not only is morally wring but is also legally wrong. According to UN International Conventions, the term racial discrimination shall mean any distinction, exclusion, restriction or preference based on race, color, descent, or national or ethnic origin which has the purpose or effect of nullifying or impairing the recognition, enjoyment or exercise, on an equal footing, of human rights and fundamental freedoms in the political, economic, social, cultural or any other field of public life. Although it is defined and seen in a sociological standpoint as being a group privilege and can in a certain sense cause a debate as to whether or not such behavior exhibited by a group is deviant; the fact remains that it has moral, ethical and legal ramifications. Racism, be it in the form of a racial slur or an actual physical act (whether in retaliation or not) is just plain wrong. Yes there have been numerous indignations between various races in the past but we have to learn to bridge beyond differences in ethnicity and culture. Perhaps the next step in a progressive and linear development in achieving true equality is for us to start relearning the concepts we have learned. To unlearn what it is to hate and to start seeing others as being our equal. Of course this is easier said than done. In his article entitled â€Å"Racism in America: What has to happen for black and white to unite? † Jeff Hickman sites that a greater problem or obstacle to hurdle in overcoming racism is ignorance. In his words, â€Å"As we all know it takes only a very short time to teach a person to hate, and yet you can spend a lifetime in vain attempting to repair the misguided web of lies racism encompasses†¦One of the most difficult tasks in life to accomplish is to overcome the core fundamental principles that you are taught as a child. Parents, Grandparents, and role models, yield an enormous amount of influence in the moral development of a child (Hickman. 2007). † Taking this into account we can see that norms and mores carried from one racist group can actually be passed on to the next generation. Furthermore, studies have also shown the relationship of peers and role models in reinforcing a behavior. Such is the contention of Alfred Bandura, a psychologist who formulated the Social Learning Theory. According to his theory we learn basic skills and behaviors by observing what others or rather role models do. Given the case of racism the more alarming aspect is that violence and aggression are also passed on and reinforced. Rick Van Acker â€Å"the development of chronic aggressive and violent behavior is complex and appears to involve the interplay of multiple risk factors†¦factors related to family functioning, peer associations, and the community in which the child resides, however, probably account for the greatest variation in the learning and expression of aggression and violence† (pars. 3). Hence we have a vicious cycle that we must break. As they say, hate breeds hate. Going back to what Joseph Addison said, â€Å"If men would consider not so much where they differ, as wherein they agree, there would be far less of uncharitableness and angry feeling in the world. † This is something we must all take into heart. The problem raced by racism and the ignorance it has bred is not unique to White Americans, Black Americans, Serbians or what ever other race. The connotations we have and the diversity between races should not be viewed as taboo or dreadful. Instead we should learn to respect the diversity we have cross culturally and see it as part of what makes us beautiful. Moreover, we have to see beyond the differences and realize that we are all the same†¦that we are all human beings. Racism has always been both an instrument of discrimination and a tool of exploitation. But it manifests itself as a cultural phenomenon, susceptible to cultural solutions, such as multicultural education and the promotion of ethnic identities (Sivanandan pars. 1). It is not a hopeless scenario. We can change it through continuous education and culture sensitivity. We must remember that in the end, the world we live in does not shape our society but we as human beings are the ones that create, maintain and change the very fabric of the society we live in. References Fraser, Angus. The Peoples of Europe: The Gypsies. Blackwell Publishing P, 1995. Hickman, Jeff.â€Å"Racism in America: What has to happen for white and black to unite? † The People’s Media Company. 1 May 2007. 25 September 2007. http://www. associatedcontent. com/article/221501/racism_in_america_what_has_to_hap pen. html? page=3 UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 7 March 1966. New York. Kovach, Gretel C. and Campo-Flores, Arian. â€Å"A Town In Turmoil. † Newsweek Society. (20-27 August 2007 Issue). 25 September 2007. http://www. msnbc. msn. com/id/20218937/site/newsweek/page/0/ Kross, Final. â€Å"Racism in Serbia and Kezman. † Fox Sports. 18 October 2006. 25 September 2007. http://community. foxsports. com/blogs/FinalKross/2006/10/18/Racism_in_Serbia_and_Kezman Lewan, Todd. â€Å"Black and white becomes gray in La. Town. † The Associated Press. 2007. 24 September 2007. http://news. yahoo. com/s/ap/20070922/ap_on_re_us/a_place_called_jena Race and Ethnicity. 31 March 2003. Elaine Leeder and US2 Design. 24 September 2007. http://www. sonoma. edu/users/l/leeder/index. htm Racism. 25 September 2007. Wkimedia Foundation, Inc. 25 September 2007. http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Racism Shah, Anup. â€Å"Racism. † Global Issues. 20 December 2004. 24 September 2007. http://www. globalissues. org/HumanRights/Racism. asp#RacismagainstGypsies Sivanandan, A. â€Å"Poverty is the New Black. † The Guardian Unlimited. 17 August 2001. 25 September 2007. http://www. guardian. co. uk/globalisation/story/0,7369,538225,00. html World of Quotes. com. 2007. 2003 – 2006 Roy Russo. 24 September 2007. http://www. worldofquotes. com/topic/Difference/1/index. html. Van Acker, Rick. â€Å"Aggression and Violence: Factors Related to Their Development. † T/TAC. 1 May 1997. 25 September 2007. http://www. wm. edu/ttac/articles/challenging/aggression. html.

Lekta & the Dialectic Essays -- Philosophy Philosophical Essays

Lekta & the Dialectic The scope of Stoic logic encompasses various aspects of their philosophy and serves as the primary method through which the rest of their opinions about the world are shaped. Stoic logic is easily divisible into two realms, the realm of the dialectic, and that of rhetoric. Rhetoric, with all its breadth and superfluity, seems less valuable to Stoic logic than the more simplistic dialectic. For the Stoics, the wise man is always the dialectician, for the dialectic distinguishes the true from the false with brevity and completeness. One of the most interesting aspects of Stoic logic, the concept of sayables or lekta pertains to this dialectic. There are numerous characteristics and conditions of sayables which ultimately reveal a great deal about the whole of Stoic philosophy and pose interesting questions about the continuity of their theory. Distinct from speech, sound, voices and utterances, lekta possess qualities which distinguish them from other aspects of communication and thought. At its most simple form, absent of various other conditions, a lekton is simply a piece of language that articulates a state of affairs, carries a truth value, and â€Å"subsists in accordance with a rational impression† (LS 196). Now, while lekta cannot be simply termed as speech or ideas, they are linked in a special sense with both speech and a concept to form an opinion. â€Å"†¦three things are linked together, ‘the signification’, ‘the signifier’, and ‘the name-bearer’. The signifier is an utterance, for instance ‘Dion’; the signification is the actual state of affairs revealed by an utterance, and which we apprehend as it subsists in accordance with our thought†¦ the name-bearer is the external object, for instance, Dion ... ...olded various lekta to create their propositions, forming questions which could be universally comprehended and evaluated. Without lekta, the dialectic could not have existed. The Stoic lekta, which I believe to be a corporeal part in the Stoic hierarchy of ‘somethings,’ provide a means through which logicians and philosophers could engage in the dialectic which developed various truths which we read about today. Whether lekta are a body or not, it remains that their strong independence and resilience as somethings can be used as a means to the end of scientific truth. Engaging in rational debate with propositions filled with subjects and predicates was the cornerstone of Stoic philosophy. Without logic, and the sayables which pieced together their dialectic, the Stoics would have been unable to provide perspective on those truths which have persisted through time.