How Information Give You Competitive Advantage Essay Example for Free

How Information Give You Competitive Advantage Essay Importance of information value chain for a competitive business venture The Information Value Chain (IVC) is a concept developed by Sebastian Schwolow and Mikkel Jungfalk Andersen focusing on information, management, organisation and communication. Information is abundant and need to be filtered, managed for truly use as valuable information which is scarce, costs time and money. Effective management of information can reduce these costs and result in a true competitive advantage Producing, maintaining and nurturing valuable information requires a structured approach such as Information Value Chain. IVC involves defining information Requirement, Acquisition, Processing and Distribution with the secondary support of HR, IT infrastructure, Knowledge Management and Information Governance to convert abundant information for valuable information for use or decision making. How IVC Gives Competitive Advantage An important concept that highlights the role of IVC in competition is the â€Å"value chain† by Michael E. Porter. This concept divides a company’s activities into the technologically and economically distinct activities it performs to do business. We call these as â€Å"value activities.† A business is profitable if the value it creates exceeds the cost of performing the value activities. To gain competitive advantage over its rivals, a company must either perform these activities at a lower cost or perform them in a way that leads to differentiation to charge premium price. (Porters Generic theory of Differentiation, Cost Leadership, Focus Strategy) Porters Value Chain Analysis (VCA) helps to identify sources of Sustainable Competitive Advantages (SCA) for a company over its competition by looking at the value activities in a broader perspective. Porter Identified a set of interrelated generic activities common to a firm namely Inbound Logistic, Operations, Ou tbound Logistics, Marketing Sales and Service which facilitated by support activities such as Procurement, IT, HR and Infrastructure. IVC helps to identify the sources of SCA in each Value activities in Porters VCA. By focusing each Primary Value Activities in the Porters Value Chain. How well you identify, Acquire, Process and Distribute your information with proper Information Governance and Knowledge Management under each Value Activities such as Inbound Logistic, Operations, Outbound Logistics, Marketing Sales and Service, against the competition will give you the sources of competitive advantage in much broader sense.

Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management

Strategic Alliances in Supply Chain Management Strategic alliance or partnership is solely depended on trust, faith relationship between simultaneous stages in Supply Chain. This increases ability and dependability of various stages involved in the supply chain. As strategic alliances can be between two or more organisations so each stage should be managed by welfare of the others and should not change or use that stages for own advantage without consideration of the organisation involved. This alliance is kept formal in relationship between two or more organisation to achieve some beneficial goals through business by supply chain. Here organisations also work on their desired needs. Some of the Strategic alliance resources are: Products Distribution channels Manufacturing capability Project funding Capital equipment Knowledge Expertise or intellectual property This alliance is actually a collaboration of firms to work together to form a greater effect than before. There are some reasons which can improve the performance which are : Decision making is done by the consideration of other party. Easy coordination between the parties by their managers with the trust. This result in better operational implementation and scheme valuation. It will lead to redundancy due increase in supply chain productivity. This ensures proper sharing of sales and production information, hence helping in coordinate production and distribution decisions. Above diagram shows the model of forming strategic alliances. Here operating strategy is divided into three structures: Industrial Organizational Government Building strategic alliance and its trust Building these types of alliances is totally dependent on Managers of the organization. Mostly this is done by sharing clean information trusted by every results matching with supply and demand throughout the supply chain processes and lower cost. Here it shows that better relationship helps to lower the cost between the supply chain stages. Example: As far as trust over here is concerned a supplier can avoid forecasting about information received for the retailer. Similarly the retailer can lessen the receiving effort by decreasing counting and inspections on the trust of the suppliers quality and delivery. This ensures better coordination between supplier and retailer. Wal-Mart and PG have been trying to build a strategic alliance that will help for better coordination and actions can be mutually beneficial. A typical strategic alliance formation consists of some steps which are: Strategy Development: development involves feasibility of alliance, objectives and goals, decisions, focus on critical issues, technology and people with their challenges and resources. Partner Assessment: In this assessment partners strength, potential, developing managing styles, preparing criteria for partner selection and understanding their motives for joining alliances. Contract Negotiation: It is the development of realistic objectives among the group and forming the high calibre or developing synergy. Consideration on security of information, termination clauses, and penalties for poor performance is formulated. Alliance Operation: it is linking of budgets and resources to fulfil the strategic priorities, measuring the performance etc. Alliance Termination: It is the winding down of partnership due to failure or not meeting the clauses decided before. Advantages of Strategic Alliance Each partner can concentrate on different stages of the supply Developing competences and learning form the partners Suitability and protection of resources is maintained Developing low cost models hence financial benefit. Types of strategic alliances Joint venture: In this type of alliance two or more firms create legally independent company to develop competitive advantage Equity Strategic Alliance: There is sharing of different percentages of the company. Non-equity Strategic Alliance: It is alliance on a contractual- relationship to share the unique resources. Global Strategic Alliances: It is formed between a company and foreign company. Achieving Strategic Alliance by any Organization: It is agreed that the cooperation and the trust in supply chain are quite important and develops the value but it very hard to maintain, sustain and develop till the last point. Therefore two views have been analysed to categorize into any supply chain relationship. Those views are as follows: Deterrence-based view: In this view a variety of formal contracts are formed amongst to ensure cooperation Process-based view: with this view the development of trust and cooperation is built over a long time with the series of interactions between the parties. In practical situation the contract established between parties and design of such contract is impossible to make where all contingency is accounted in future by all parties so the only way out here is to trust each other and have a long relationship relying on developed contract. Example: If there is a situation where supplier sign the initial contract containing the contingencies with the manufacturers and then those manufacturers turns out of not referring that contract again. So here hope remains to resolve such contingencies with the negotiation. Designing a relationship with Cooperation and Trust Main steps for this are: Assessing the value of the relationship Identifying operational roles and decision rights for each party Creating effective contracts Designing effective conflict resolution mechanism Assessing the value of the relationship First step always becomes the designing of mutual benefit that relationship provides. In most supply chain, member of partnership brings distinct skills needed to tp supply customer order. Example: A manufacturer produces the product which transported to retailer by passing it through various stages and retailer makes it appear to customer. Here next step is to identify the criteria used for evaluating the relationship as well as the contribution of the member. These criterions are to increase the total profits. Stages in supply chain alliances help managers to carry out productive decisions and it makes easy for producing correct decision by managerial level. Therefore leading in productivity of flow in the supply chains. Example: When suppliers work hard to reduce replenishment lead times, the supply chain benefits because of reduced safety inventories at manufactures and retailers. Suppliers are unlikely to put in the effort if the manufacturers and retailers are not willing to share the increase in profit with them. Thus, supply chain relationship is likely to be sustainable only if profits are increased with proper sharing In this step clarification of contribution of each member should be done accurate. For this flexible mechanisms should be designed to monitor the relationship periodically. Example: Chrysler negotiates a certain level of improvement per year with supplier. Identifying operational roles and decision rights for each party In identifying such things managers responsible of various members should know the interdependence between the members. A source of any conflict may ruin the level of trust and may also the level of dependency. There can also be the structure of sequential interdependence where dependency precedes on members. While in reciprocal interdependencies partners come together and exchange information and inputs in both direction. Example: Wal-Mart and PG are attempting to create reciprocal interdependence through collaborative forecasting and replenishment teams. Major example of operational roles is as follows: The relationship among Dell, Sony, and Airborne. Here dell takes order for computers it assembles and monitors that Sony Manufactures. Airborne picks up computers from Dell warehouse in Texas and monitors from the Sony warehouse in Mexico. It then Merges two and sends a combined order to customer. Creating effective contracts Handling and encouraging towards sudden contingencies arouse within alliance is difficult for managers without contracts. So contracts are most effective for governance when complete information is available and all future contingencies are can be accounted for. Contracts play only partial role over long time in maintaining effective partnership in supply chain. Example: Caterpillar and its Dealerships can terminate agreements without cause with 90 days notice. Designing effective conflict resolution mechanism As conflicts are bound to arise in relationships, unsatisfactory resolutions cause the partnership to worsen, whereas satisfactory resolutions strengthen the alliance. So a proper conflict mechanism should give the parties an opportunity to communicate and work through their differences, in the process building greater trust. It is important to be sensitive to the context of the partnership while designing the conflict-resolution mechanisms. Managing Supply Chain Relationship for Cooperation and Trust Effective management of relationship develops cooperation and trust while poorly managed relationship leads to loss in supply chain profits. Good alliance evolves and matures through following stages: Organisational SWOT analysis Core competence identification and focus Outsourcing and partnership need establishment Intent and expectation statement Requirement clarification Partner search and selection Partnership contract and negotiation Contract formulation Operationalization of emerging joint endeavour Monitoring and Performance evaluation Staffing and people issues resolution Continual relationship management Example: Relationship between Marks Spencer and manufacturer of kitchen product provides an excellent example of fair sharing of benefits. After sometime of the products introduction, the manufacturer realized that costs had been miscalculated and exceeded the price at which the product was being sold to Marks Spencer. Meanwhile, given its low retail price, customers found the product an outstanding value and made it a big hit. Strategic Alliances help to Supply Chain of the business There are many benefits of Strategic alliance but managing it is been a difficult task and with probability of forthcoming conflicts in such alliances and businesses. Finally significant part in such alliances is that it helps a lot in supply chain business. Which are discussed as follows? Collaboration For developing an effective collaborative relationship with the supply chain partner the one thing that will help the most to improve communication is ability to understand the value of the supply chain that partner needs to receive from the relationship. Example: Some procurement department might believe that its supply partner should cut their price so low that they no longer make a profit. This is simply crazy. If an effort to understand the total value of supply partner needs and help them to receive that total value package, they will perceive you as a great partner and communication will become easier. Information Sharing Difficult challenge to overcome in collaborating with suppliers and customers comes when sharing of information is to be made clearly. Where the challenge of integrating inter-company processes is to be made for execution. To improve resource utilisation among all supply-chain partners and to increase end-consumer satisfaction across the various enterprises is a new openness that will be guaranteed for all the cooperating players in alliance. The main challenge is to overcome divulge of profit secrets. Supply Chain Improvements Supply chain improvement areas available for strategic alliance relationships: Management of supply channel conflict On-time product delivery Prompt response to complaints Greater consistency in parts, supplies, semi-assembled, and completed products Detailed agreement as to handling of product problems and customer complaints Improved supply chain productivity Specific (quarterly, yearly, etc.) volume commitments Key contacts that are dedicated to your account Improved supplier loyalty Prompt response to quote requests and price problems Confidentiality of shared business strategy Example: Just-in-time inventory purchasing and supplying as exemplified by the famous relationship between Wal-Mart and Procter Gamble has continued to prove successful. Home Depot and Dell Computers have also built powerful alliances with their suppliers for cost saving just-in-time inventory in similar applications Supply chain strategic alliances can help logistics teams provide value Mainly seen that cost centres, logistic departments are most crucial for customer care and good working of supply chain operation. Example: Supply chain management issues are related with aspects as logistics, distribution, and transportation in the paper industry which can be changed to facilitate promising value for customers and end users. In todays businesses the logistics and its associated activities are an integral function of most business transactions. So Logistics service providers account for the local cross-town delivery of a product to a customer or the activities required to facilitate an important global shipment between companies located on different continents.

Oedipus The King Vs Hamlet Analysis

Oedipus The King Vs Hamlet Analysis What is the different between Oedipus the King and Hamlet. Oedipus the King was written by Sophocles in 430-425 BCE. Oedipus the King is about King Oedipus finding out his true origins and him fulfilling a prophecy. In order to save his Kingdom Oedipus has to find out who murdered the king before him. Looking for the murderer Oedipus begins to learn about his origins and true self. Hamlet on the other hand is about a Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, trying to avenge his fathers death. There are many differences between Sophocles Oedipus the King and Shakespeares Hamlet; however there are also many things alike. In the play Oedipus the King Oedipus was born to a king and a queen. The parents wanted to know the future of the child so they had an oracle tell them a prophecy. The prophecy told them that he will kill his father and marry his mother. To protect themselves the parents sent the baby away to be killed. However, the child is not killed. Instead he is sent to another kingdom to be raised by a different king and queen. The new parents never tell Oedipus that he is not theirs. When Oedipus hears he is to kill his father and marry his mother, he leaves his parents and searches for a new home. While on the road after leaving his home Oedipus runs into a man. Oedipus and the man fight and he killed the man. He then finds a castle and becomes a king. Oedipus married the queen. To save his kingdom Oedipus must find the murderer or the previous king and remove him from the kingdom. While searching for the murderer Oedipus thinks that the man on the road that he killed was actually the previou s king. As he verifies his idea he learns that the king was actually his father and he is married to his mother, Jocasta the queen. When Oedipus goes to confront Jocasta he finds her dead body. He stabs himself in the eyeballs from the pain and grief that he has discovered. He is later banished from the kingdom (Sophocles, 969-1008). In the play Hamlet, Hamlet is the Denmark Prince. In the beginning, Hamlet is confronted by the ghost of his dead father, the previous king of Denmark. The ghost tells him that he was murdered by Hamlets uncle, Claudius, the current king. The ghost then asks him to avenge his death. Hamlet decides to act like he is crazy so he would have a better shot at killing him. While pretending to be crazy Hamlet has the Players act out a play that was similar to the murder of Hamlets father. Claudius stopped the play half way through. After he sent everyone away Claudius started to pray and Hamlet sneaks up on him about to avenge his fathers death. However, he decides not to kill him then because if Hamlet kills Claudius while he is praying then Claudius will go to heaven. He decides to wait until he has not had a chance to confess before he kills him. Hamlet is so against him going to Heaven instead of Hell because Claudius killed Hamlets father before he had a chance to confess to God, so Ha mlet believes he went to hell. Hamlet did not try and kill him again until the end of the play. At the end of the play Hamlet is sword fighting with someone that Claudius has made a plan with to kill Hamlet. The plan was that the guy would use a sharp poisoned sword so is Hamlet got cut he would be poisoned and die. The back-up plan in case Hamlet wins is that Claudius will offer Hamlet poisoned wine in celebration. However his mother drinks it. Hamlet was cut with the sword and after his mother died he stabbed Claudius with the poisoned and makes him drink all the wine. Then Hamlet dies (Shakespeare, (1011-1107). The two plays both have the same theme of self-destruction (StudyWorld). However, the plots were very different. Oedipus the King seemed to go backwards. Oedipuss past was revealed as the play progressed. But with Hamlet the reader seemed to already know everything. Oedipus the King and Hamlet are very different when it comes to time period and setting although they were both set mostly in the castle. Oedipus is set in the time of Greek gods in the ancient city of Thebes. Hamlet, however, was set in the country of Denmark in a time when Catholicism was very strong (Hibbison). The characters reacted to the situations that they faced in ways that reflected the setting. Oedipus would pray to the Greek Gods. Hamlet would pray to the normal God and his religion was reflected in his actions. Throughout the play Hamlet was reluctant to become a murderer. When Ophelia killed herself it was believed to be a sin because taking your own life is a sin in Gods eyes. There were some similarities between the two play. There were also several differences. The plays were both set in different time periods. Also, the plots were very different. Oedipus was trying to save his kingdom while Hamlet was trying to avenge his father by killing the king. Both are such wonderful pieces of literature and will not soon be forgotten.

William Wordsworth Essay example -- English Romantic Poets Biography B

William Wordsworth William Wordsworth is considered to be the greatest among all of the English Romantic poets. Although he did not always get the recognition that he rightfully deserved in the early part of his career, only through trials and tribulations did he reach the pinnacle of the literary world. "Wordsworth said of "the Prelude" that it was "a thing unprecedented in the literary history that a man should talk so much about himself": " I had nothing to do but describe what I had felt and thought" and " therefore could not easily be bewildered.""(Sinatra, 1) Wordsworth's innovative concept of nature and his frank exploration of his feelings and philosophical ideas created his own original poetic theory. Asserting himself as a noted figure in the English literary world, his accomplishments are unprecedented through out the world. William born at Cockermouth in the Lake District of Cumberland, England to John and Anne Cookson Wordsworth, on April 7th of 1770. Unfortunately Wordsworth lost his mother at the early age of eight, and the loss of his father five years later made him depend on his uncle for a good education." Schooling at Hawkshead was followed by matriculation at Cambridge University, where he entered St. John's college in 1787. Upon Graduation he revisited his beloved France to both learn the language and to develop himself into a man."(Frank N. Magil et al, 2200) His primary goal was the learn French due to his admiration of French society. "Much besides language, however drew the attention of young Wordsworth, much to the influence of his surroundings, William found himself developing two passions, one for Annete Vallon and the other for the French Revolution."( Frank N. Magill et al, 2200) ... ..., with his writing. Affecting the way I think and see things in the world. His depiction of nature adds rippling effects to minds young or old, the way he puts emotion into every word makes a person think of how deep of a person Wordsworth really was. William Wordsworth truly revolutionized both the Literary and artistic worlds. Bibliography: ï‚ · Drabble. The oxford companion in English Literature. Margaret and Oxford Press, 1985. ï‚ · Kunitz and Haycraft. British Authors of the 19th Century. H.W. Wilson Company, 1964. ï‚ · Magill, Frank N. Cyclopedia of World Authors. Salem Press, 1958-1997. ï‚ · Tucker, Martin. Moulton's library of Literature Criticism Vol. 2. Fredrick Lugor Publisher/co., 1966. ï‚ · Discovering Authors. ï‚ · http://www.newi.ac.uk/rdover/words/welcome.htm#Poetry ï‚ · gopher://ftp.std.com/11/obi/book/William.Wordsworth

A Comparison of Runes and Magic in Beowulf and in Anglo-Saxon England :: comparison compare contrast essays

Runes and Magic in Beowulf and in Anglo-Saxon England      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the Old English poem Beowulf we see the mention of runes, which were used with connotations of magic or charms. Examining evidence from historic times, we find that early Englishmen were fully conversant with the Germanic runic alphabet and that runes did have special connotations.    In Beowulf the hero is in deadly combat with Grendel’s mother in the mere. He is at the point of being killed by the monster when suddenly God shows to him the presence of a special sword nearby on the wall. Beowulf seizes the giant weapon and kills the monster. Then:      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   that sword had begun to melt  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   in battle-bloody icicles; that it melted away  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   was as much a marvel as ice itself  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   when the Father unwinds the bonds of frost,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   loosens the freezing chains of water,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Who keeps the power of times and seasons;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   He is the true God. . . . Already the sword  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   had melted away, its blade had burned up;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   too hot the blood of the poisonous spirit  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   who had died within. . . . the wave-sword burned up,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   quenched in that blood. . . . then the strange gold hilt  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   was placed in the   hand of the gray-bearded king,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   wise war-leader old work of giants;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   after the fall of devils it came into the hands  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   of the lord of the Dane-men, from magic smithies;  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   once the fierce spirit, long God’s opponent,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   guilty creature, and his murderous mother  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   had quitted this world, it came to the power  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   of the best overlord between the two seas,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   of all world-rulers in Scandanavia  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   who gave good treasures. Hrothgar spoke,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   examined the hilt, great treasure of old.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   There was engraved the origin of past strife,   when the flood drowned, the pouring ocean killed  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the race of giants. . . . On its bright gold facings  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   there were also runes set down in order,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   engraved, inlaid, which told for whom   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the sword was first worked, its hair-keen edges,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   twisted gold scrolled in the hilt,  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   the woven snake-blade(1605ff).    Chickering in his â€Å"Commentary† would have us believe that the melting sword is a reference to patristic theology, to St.

Different Change Models

Change is vital in any organizations bid to achieve its objectives. It is thus important for any organization to manage the change process carefully. Different change models such as Lewin’s, Mckinsey’s 7- s and Kotter’s eight step change models can be used to effectively handle the change resulting from the purchase of EEST by Quest Culture. Lewin’s model. A basic notion about this model is that change is a journey rather than a simple step. Kurt Lewin identified three stages of change; unfreezing, transition and refreezing.Unfreezing. According to this model, people in the face of a change will feel uncomfortable and hence various significant efforts will be necessary to get them moving (Janis I. L & Mann, 1977)). This entails the use of push principle and pull methods to keep them going. Transition. For change to occur, time is required. Various levels of misunderstandings may also be witnessed during this stage. Training, counseling and any other psycho logical support will be necessary. Refreezing.This is the final stage according to the model which involves putting the change process into action. In most organizations, this stage can have positive or negative impacts. Positive in that it makes the next stage of unfreezing easier and negative in that it might reduce the employees efficiency and effectiveness as a result of the change process Lewin’s model is very helpful in explaining human behavior. Every form of learning starts with a state of discomfort or frustration.Motivation and change mechanisms are thus necessary. Combination and elimination of excess positions as a result of the acquisition might result to discomfort hence Lewin’s model would be most effective in such situations. The advantages of this model include; Innovation. Solutions to problems or new ways to achieve the organizational objectives are established. Provides ways for evaluating progress towards the change hence making the change process easy. It helps in allowing the change process to be easily understood.It is done in steps which prove it to be an efficient model still applicable today. The main disadvantage of Lewin’s model is that it is timely for any change to take place. The other disadvantage is that during the refreezing stage, the employees might be worried of another change resulting to a change shock which might result in their inefficiency or ineffectiveness in discharging their duties. Mckinsey 7-s model This was developed by Tom Peters and Robert Waterman while working for Mckinsey & Co.and in 1978 by Richard Pascate and Anthony Athos (Janis I. L & Mann, 1977). The model considers a company as a whole by taking into consideration seven different factors: strategy, staff, skills, systems, styles (organizational culture and management styles), structure and shared values such as mission and vision statement. This model would be most effective in situations where change is to be effected in the who le organization as opposed to a single department, product or process.The advantages of this model include: It provides a better way to study and understand an organization; it is a guide to organizational change as it combines both coherent and emotional parts and since all the parts are interrelated, they must be attended to and addressed. The major disadvantage of this model is that since all parts are interrelated, a change in one causes the whole system to change. The other disadvantage is that the model ignores differences. Kotter’s eight step change model.Kotter identified eight steps for a successful change (Chapman, A. 2006). These include; Problem definition. This refers to what is causing the change. Identification of a change agent. The agent must have clear knowledge of the situation and experience of the change process. Constructing the vision. This is where the organization wants to be after the change process. Communication. For change to occur, communication (both upwards and downwards is necessary). Empowerment. Everybody involved in the change process needs to be empowered.Creation of short term goals. Rewards are very important at this step. Persistence. This is necessary even after meeting the short term goals. Implementation. This is by putting the change into the company’s culture and practices. Kotter’s eight step model can be most effective in various diverse situations as opposed to the other models. Organizations despite their size, public or private status can use the model. However the model may lack or override nuances or realties that could be specific to a certain type of organization.The principles may also apply equally to all organizations but how the principles will be implemented might be different from one situation to another. Advantages of this model include; Step by step model. Just like Lewin’s model, Kotter’s model is a step by step model easy to follow and understand. Enhances chang e in that instead on concentrating on the change alone, other factors such as acceptance and preparedness for change are also well thought-out.The major disadvantage of this model is that since each step is necessary, one step cannot be skipped otherwise the whole system will fail. The other disadvantage is that the model is time consuming since the steps involved are numerous. In my view the best model for the acquisition of EEST by Quest corporation is the Kotter’s eight step model as it prepares the employees fully before even the mission is created hence enhancing the transition process.

How to become an effective member in an Interprofessional Team Essay

Using Gibb’s reflective cycle and the Inter professional Capability Framework explain how your knowledge, skills and attitudes considered on this module will enable you to become an effective member of an inter professional team in your working environment The National Health Service (NHS) employs more than a million employees; therefore, a system that allows the services to run in sync with the skilled and responsive workforce cannot be denied (Daly, 2004). However, does it give us the privilege to say we have overcome the barriers to collaboration and communication within NHS? Certainly not otherwise, cases like the death of Victoria Climbe and Baby Peter would have been avoided, whereby consistent failing in communication and collaborative working among various concerned professionals and agencies was unearthed (Jelphs & Dickinson, 2008). Because of the word limitation for the essay, the essay will only seek to explore the interprofessional capabilities (i.e. knowledge, skills and attitudes) about collaborative working and communication that can enable me becoming an effective team member of an inter professional team in the future. To achieve this, I am going to exploit the first domain of the interprofessional capability (IPC) framework namely collaborative working using Gibb’s reflective cycle. The first stage of Gibb’s (1988) reflective cycle requires the description of the events (Jasper, 2003); Approximately 800 students undertook the Interprofessional education (IPE) module from various disciplines of health and social care courses. IPE can be defined as â€Å"education that occurs when students from two or more professions learn about, from and with each other to enable effective collaboration and improve health outcomes† (WHO, 2010 pp-7). The interprofessional group I was allocated to comprise of a mental health nurse, a midwife, two adult nurses, a physiotherapist and myself, a diagnostic radiographer. It was within the group; we had to undertake various facilitated activities as well as independent group works. The module was to offer awareness and learning about the issues of collaborative working, communication and many other topics; collaterally, it was also about demonstrating my knowledge, skills and attitudes towards these problems according to my experience as well aslearn from other   team members. By the end of the event, I was not only exposed to the notions of collaborative working and effective communication, but also to the barriers that can stop us from achieving them. The second stage of Gibb’s (1988) reflective cycle is about expression of the feelings about the event (Jasper, 2003). Initially, I was unsure about the benefits of ‘common learning’ however, it became clear as we progressed through the module (Barr, 2003). Everyone was friendly, showed respect and trusted other people’s knowledge. Moreover, a group work approach was apparent rather than an individual approach to the problems we encountered. I felt valued within the team because I could share my perception about the problems and discuss them effectively with other team members. I also observed that although some cases were not directly related to my profession, however, the team members ensured that I was on board with what they were proposing, hence maintaining a supportive and collaborative learning environment. There was a sense of all team members wanting to work collaboratively and effectively to perform well. Nevertheless, I was little annoyed when two of the nursing students were not engaging fully with the group work. However, it was interesting to note that as soon as they apologised about their inappropriate behaviour, justified why it happened (stress about doing another essay) and agreed not to repeat it; it had a really positive effect on me, and I was easily able to let off their behaviour. Although with hindsight, I think this may have a negative effect on the group if they had carried on repeating such behaviour (Jelphs & Dickinson, 2008). Furthermore, there was one of team members who did not attend any group works sessions in the second week, and even did not communicate with the team about her non attendance, which I thought was an unprofessional behaviour at this level. Nevertheless, the support given by the teaching team during facilitated sessions was commendable. Overall, my feeling about the whole event was quite positive. The third stage of Gibb’s (1988) reflective cycle involves evaluation of my experiences encountered during the event (Jasper, 2003). Gorman (1998) suggests that considerate amount of attention should be given to the structure of the team, the culture (interprofessional relationships) and processes as they can influence the behaviour of the team i.e. leading to collaborative working or hindrance. This was well recognised by all members at the beginning itself and therefore time was spent on discussion about it, as a result of which  the team was found to have congruity about shared commitment throughout the module. All the team members became clear about the roles of the professionals involved and their interaction with the patient-care pathway. Thus, it provided a good outline about role clarity, which was maintained throughout without any conflict (West & Markiewicz, 2006). Any challenges encountered within the group were well focused to the relevant question or working practice. Thereby, better understanding and sharing of accountability were seen. All these helped reduce the hindrance to effective collaboration. Also shared was information about the problems experienced at the clinical placement namely incorrect filing, assumption made about illegible handwriting, acronyms and short abbreviations, etc. that can often risk the patients care and can be seen as potential source for errors. The team leader maintained a well balance about the time that was to be spent for each activity. Therefore, we were all able to share successfully our values and perceptions about the issues relating to communication and collaboration. No personality issues were encountered (Jelphs & Dickinson, 2008). There were some brilliance movement of innovation and creativity seen, e.g. during poster creating activities and rich picture activity and each member participated in one way or the other e.g. I and a physiotherapist student put forward to present it to the other groups. Thus, overall I felt there was a good positive attitude maintained by all the team members as everyone was willing to collaborate and communicate effectively. I felt that synergy produced by contribution from everyone through interprofessional group works had far exceeded the potential of what I could have contributed individually (Jelphs & Dickinson, 2008). Although there was no absence of trust and fear of conflict among the group members however, lack of commitment was present as consistent non attendance was an issue for one of the team member, and it was felt that there was avoidance of accountability as that person did not feel it important to inform the team (Lencione, 2002). Another issue about inattention from two of the team members was resolved effectively by the team leader through good communication skills he possessed and it was a good learning example for me. Therefore, team leaders are required to facilitate the group to stay focused and help stop getting fragmented (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2006). I also learned about other factors that may contribute as  barriers to effective collaboration which included social conformity, risk shift, group think and diffusion of responsibility (West & Markiewicz, 2006). The stage four of the Gibb’s (1988) reflective cycle includes analysis of the event. The fact that in the UK, communication is still one of the commonest roots of problems described in complaints against the professionals should make us realise that communication should not take for granted (Health and social care information services, 2006 cited from Jelphs and Dickinson, 2008). The Oxford dictionary (2010) defines communication as â€Å"the imparting or exchanging of information by speaking, writing, or using some other medium.† And Mehrabian (1972) suggests that non-verbal communication (body language) can contribute around 70%, when interacting. Therefore, it is vital that the healthcare professionals are not only effective in communicating verbally but also non-verbally. We all agreed and aware that every one of us had in their codes of professional conduct about clearly documenting any intervention offered or given to the patient (HPC, 2009; The Chartered Society of Physiotherapy, 2005; NMC, 2009). As a result, I felt that the team were unified on decisions made about poor documentation that were noted within the examples/cases given and videos shown. As a group we all agreed that clear documentation can help reduce the risk of breakdown in communication and increase the likelihood of adequate sharing of information and hence quality of care. As whenever any critical information is transmitted through any medium there is always a risk of miscommunication attached to it and that is why effective communication is much more difficult to achieve in practice (O’Daniel & Rosenstein, 2006). Although this was conflicted with what the Nursing students (mental nurse and adult nurse), and physiotherapy student mentioned during the debate as they felt that there was the surplus amount of paper work to be done, which was affecting the quality of care provided to the patients, especially during handovers. Unlike in radiography, this is not the case as we often x-ray the patients without any notes, but a request form (legal document) is required indicating the type of examination required. Nevertheless, every patient needs to be registered on the system before we can do x-rays, which can take a while. However, we have to schedule the in-patients needed to be done out of ours and therefore, have to communicate with the ward nursing staff and porters. Furthermore, during any emergency situation requiring  mobile x-rays or Computerised Tomography examination effective communication with the accident and emergency (A&E) is necessary as otherwise it can delay the treatment and jeopardise patient’s well-being. Besides, I observed that the ‘nurses’ role was quiet at the core when it came about caring patients in the hospital. Therefore, I felt that it was necessary to work collaboratively and maintain good communication with the nurses in practice as they can help me by providing crucial information about patient’s physical and psychological status that I may need to consider when taking the x-ray’s requiring some adaption of techniques (Burzotta & Noble, 2011). The group did well to work in collaboration maybe because good communication was maintained all the time between the members. Mead and Ashcroft (2005) suggest that working in collaboration is vital as it helps to avoid any misunderstandings and hence keeping it immune from barriers of interprofessional collaboration. Nevertheless, an interprofessional team can comprise of individuals from different professional background and have a possibility of sharing same skills and knowledge, in which case clarity about their role and scope of responsibilities should get agreed as otherwise it can easily become a potential source of conflict for the teams (Thompson, Melia & Boyd, 2000). Care priorities can be affected by the codes of conduct, e.g. the main focus of doctor will be on patient’s medical condition, a physiotherapist will mainly remain concerned about the mobility issues; a social worker priority will be making available required care and support at home, nurses’ priorities to coordinate patients discharge, transport and medications to take home. Therefore, although we see everyone wanting to work collaboratively their priorities can differ (Thompson et al, 2000). I felt there was a positive feeling until the last day between the team members, and everyone felt proud about this opportunity through which we all mutually enjoyed. I am convinced that the experience gained will certainly enhance my practice as well as attitude towards other professionals with whom I will come in contact. Overall, I have gained a profound understanding and knowledge about how individuals’ responses and behaviour can influence others and the events, the need for good communication not only with service users and their family members, but also with other team members through this experience. I had become self-aware about my interprofessional skills and factors that contribute to  communication; and feel that this experience will be a very useful to support my understanding of how to be an effective member of an interprofessional team in the future. Also, as a healthcare professional I should always try to act responsibly and try to develop stronger relationships with other team members, therefore, allowing every chance of working collaboratively and communicating adequately, which could result into better health and well-being of patients and reduce the risk of failures (Jelphs & Dickinson, 2008; DOH, 2000). The next stage of Gibb’s (1988) reflective cycle includes discussion about the action plans. Therefore, if faced with similar scenarios or situations experienced while undertaking this module, I will ensure that the knowledge and skills acquire are well implemented to the situations and seek help from other interprofessional team members without any prejudice, but with pride (Daly, 2004). I also feel that to become more effective as a team member, continuous interprofessional development and active participation in these areas should not be neglected. Reading and reflecting through IPC framework domains can help me identify my progress as well as help me to engage and assimilate more within the interprofessional team (Interprofessional Capability framework, 2010). To conclude, this module has really helped me get myself out of my normal area of practice and to reach out for other disciplines; learn and relate positive and negative outcomes about working in collaboration and communication. In hindsight, the module was an eye-opener for me as, despite being aware about the need for collaborative working and importance of communicating appropriately; consistency of its application in practice was seen to be lacking. Nevertheless, it will be unfair to say that we have completely failed in these areas. I am quite convinced that although the ethos of working in collaboration can arguably be seen as a challenging aspect, however, the truth is real-life problems are always more complicated to be dealt single-handedly. Therefore, fostering of collaborative working culture through Interprofessional education can revolutionise the thinking of students as it has done mine too, thereby helping me prepare to become an effective member of future interprofessional teams, who will have collaboration and communication as one of their core parts of their practice. REFERENCES: Barr, H. (2003). Undergraduate interprofessional education: Education Committee Discussion Document. Retrieved December 10,2011, from http://www.gmc-uk.org/Undergraduate_interprofessional_education.pdf_25397207.pdf Burzotta, L. & Noble, H. (2011). The dimensions of interprofessional practice. British Journal of Nursing, 20(5),310-315. Daly, G. (2004). Understanding the barriers to multiprofessional collaboration. Nursingtimes.net. 100(09) 78. Retrieved December 22, 2011, from http://www.nursingtimes.net/nursing-practice/clinical-specialisms/management/understanding-the-barriers-to-multiprofessional-collaboration/204513.article. 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