Short term and long term environmental factors

Short term and long term environmental factors One of the important environment factor that effect the organization on short term and long term basis. It includes changes in government policies, changes made in law and legislation, war and conflict, government pressure in form of rise in tax, changes in government and new government wants to wave out all old plans. Economical Another factor that effect the environment is itself economy of the country which could affect on shorter term or longer term but most likely the economical effect most effect on longer period. It includes adverse movement in exchange rates, increase in taxation, lower interest rate, international economy effect, monetary issues, customer buying power, change in trend and life style of people due to poor economic conditions, like possibility of business would not generate as much as they were before this which ultimately result in reduction in human power which directly effect there buying power. Technological Technology is normally has short term effect excluding some mighty machinery which take years to build and changes take place. Technological factor includes change in technology as this is one of the major factor as we have seen in now a day communication and computer technology change rapidly as compare to others, once a new model enter in the market will definitely absolute the previous one. Other factors include changes in technological legislation, licensing and patents, intellectual property issue and global communication. Social Social is another environment factor that can affect both in short and long term to organization. Social factor include change in trends, fashion, style, organizational brand, people purchasing power, religious and ethical issues. Media play vital role these days as a mean of spreading awareness among people which can be in any sector. Major events has a short term environment affects. Importance of Environmental Factor Affecting Organization: It is obvious that any change in the environment factor can directly or in directly affects the organization operations in that particular environment. Politically if the is change in government policy or legislation that has direct effect on all organization and sectors all business have to adopt the changes take place. Technological if there has been change in technology as latest version of machinery launched every business which directly use such machinery to run there business need to update accordingly in order to survive in the competitor market otherwise competitor, take lead in business operations. Social and economy factors also has important influence on organization activities suppose, if organization is doing trade with international business partners in case of war both countries government impose restriction on the trade which affect both businesses on the other hand if economy is on downfall trend, in fact all businesses faces decline in the profit percentage as custo mers buying power has fall as a result of poor economic conditions. Expectation of Stake holders A stakeholder is any person or organization, who can be positively or negatively impacted by, or cause an impact on the actions of a company, government, or organization. Following are the stake holders of almost every business: Customers Employees Trade creditors Bank Government Shareholders Investors Local community Environment Every stakeholder has it on expectations from the company or business. Customers demand high quality but cheap price products and services. Employees has there own expectations like secure future, attractive salary plus bonuses. Trade creditors demand long credit period. Bank is interested in it financial performance and business is able pay the interest rates. Government is interested in business paying tax on time. Shareholders are interested in increase in wealth which result in business generates profits. Investors interested on return on there investment. Local community expects employment opportunities from business. Business would run its operations under environment friendly atmosphere. Changes that affect the strategy Factors that currently affect the TM Mobile house is technology change like upgraded version of computer mobile model therefore TM should have to buy new software that are currently used in mobiles and computers. Second environment factor that mostly affect TM is economic downfall which dramatically reduce the sale of TM. So under tight conditions TM has to change its strategy in order to survive under such condition. Due to poor economic condition customers are unable to pay more for the goods they bought infect they demand cheap product but good quality which result in to reduction in profit margin ratio. Government demand regular tax and council tax payment regardless business is earning profit or not. Bank demand there money back, employees feel unsecure future in TM employees are not happy as they would not receive bonus for the one and a half year. Investors consider it risky to invest in such economic condition due to fear of there investment being drowned. Task2 Business Strategies, Policies and Plans Strategic Objectives The company strategic objectives are how the company corporate objective is going to be achieved. These objectives usually split between: The strategic commercial objective The strategic financial objective The commercial objectives are in non financial term to achieve company desired targets. The strategic financial objectives are to maximize the profit of the organization, in modern terms maximization of shareholder wealth. Effectiveness Is a measure of the degree to which business achieve its goals. The strategy is effective if it achieve it objective. Business Plan A business plan is an official statement contains business goals, the reasons why they are going to be achievable, and the plan for reaching those goals. It also holds information about the organization or team attempting to reach those goals. Business policy Business Policy defines the scope inside which decisions can be taken by the subordinate in an organization. It permits the lower level management to deal with the harms and issue without consult top level management each time for decision. Business policy in guidelines issued by the organization to achieve there targets. Effect of Current Business Plan TM business plan is to maximize the profit, growth in sale at constant rate in future. TM goals are to grow and create monopoly in area which it operates and how to achieve the goals TM together its employee as a force to achieve its targets. Owner of the business make daily progress reports form them, and any changes in plan will properly convey to them through proper mean of communication tool like direct meetings, update the notice board regarding current changes and process of achieving those targets and goals. It targets also includes increasing customer confidence in there services. TM give guarantee for its services if there is any complain in it they can get it repaired with out charge, no one else in the market are offering such guarantees. For the time being TM is moving slowly towards maximizing profit as due the economic recession it been difficult for TM to achieve its targets. Employees are working well as they are working before the economic recession but due to slow p rogress in work that is why plan are not working and planed. TM is now 2nd operating in this area offering the same kind of services, but due to size of the business TM were in lead. Two more business was closed down due to unfeasible economic conditions. Now its time for TM to improve its services likely to make amendments in the plan as customers are switching back towards TM. Which is positive sign for TM as sale will grow as planed in future because of reduction in competition. TM is now increase the volume of finished good stock for resale purposes as he is expecting increase in the sale as well as profit. TM has following competitive strength and weaknesses, of its current strategies. Strength It has large space in shop so more customers can sit at a time. Its location is comparatively better than its competitor. However its competitor is in less busy area. Workforce, as TM has two staff who can serve the customers. Its competitor is hiring only on staff difficult for him to deal during busy time to handle each clients effectively. Range of services like computer, mobile, Money transfers and property. But its competitor has limited services like mobile and computer. Weaknesses Strategically TM is retrieving high profit margin form it sales on the other hand its competitor has edge on this. TM is not buying accessories of latest mobile phone, lack of training in employees, participation in saving schemes. Its competitor has edge on above mentioned weakness. Task 3 Options for Strategic Planning Strategic planning is creating a vision of the future and managing toward that expectancy. Its operating under a mission statement umbrella that focuses the organizations effort. Its an effective process for aligning your short-term decisions with your long-term goals. Strategic planning answers the three big questions: Where are we today? Where do we want to be in the future? What should we be focused on today, in order to make it more likely we will be where we want to be in the future? The basic strategic planning model involved four steps explained below. SWOT analysis can also be used for strategic planning. Strength and weakness can show business internal position where it can stand and opportunity and threats shows external factors that will affect the business directly or indirectly. Strength Have you got sufficient financial resources to fund any changes you would like to make? Is your product unique or market leading? Does business have superior industry knowledge? Are you involved with industry associations? Your reputation are you considered a market leader? Or an expert in you is filed? Does business have good relationship with your customer? Does business have strong relationships with your suppliers? Does business have a positive relationship with your employee? Is your business Innovative? Weakness Is your plant and equipment old or outdated? Is your product line too narrow? Have you got insufficient financial resources to fund any changes you would like to make? Does business lack industry knowledge? Does business lack innovative skills? Does business have a poor or impersonal relationship with your customers? Does business have a poor relationship with your suppliers? Does business have a poor relationship with your employees? Does business have low volume and are restricted in your ability to scale up? Opportunities Changes to legislation Changes to import/export constraints Good economic outlook Expand your product line Diversify your business interests Expand into your customers field Expand into your suppliers field Expand your customer base (Geographically or through new products) Does business has peaceful competitor? Are there any export opportunities? Will your market grow? Threats Changes in demographics Increasing regulation Do consumers have a choice to use a substitute product? Are substitute product sales increasing? Is your market in slow growth or in decline? Growing power of customers or suppliers to set price Changing needs of buyers Porters five forces Model Michael Porter developed a framework, which identified 5 forces that act to either increase or reduce the competitive forces within an industry. These five forces are à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢The Bargaining Power of Your Customers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢The Threat of New Entrants into your Industry à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢The Bargaining Power of Suppliers à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Threat of Substitute Products or Services à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¢Rivalry amongst Existing Firms Graphically presented as: Rivalry amongst Existing Firms Industry growth rates High fixed costs Intermittent over capacity Product differences Brand identity Switching costs Informational complexity Concentration balance Diversity of competitors Corporate stakes Exit barriers The Bargaining Power of Your Customers Differentiation of outputs Switching costs Presence of substitutes Industry concentration relative to buyer concentration Importance of volume to buyers Cost relative to total buyer purchases Impact of outputs on the cost of differentiation Buyer information about supplier products Buyer profitability Decision makers incentives Threat of backward integration The Bargaining Power of Suppliers Differentiation of inputs Switching costs Presence of substitute products Supplier concentration relative to industry concentration Importance of volume to suppliers Cost relative to total purchases in the industry Impact of inputs on cost or differentiation Information about suppliers products Supplier profitability Decision makers incentives Threat of forward integration The Threat of New Entrants into your Industry Economies of scale Proprietary product differences Brand identity Switching costs Capital requirements Access to distribution Absolute cost advantage Government policy Expected retaliation Threat of Substitute Products or Services Relative price performance of substitutes Switching costs Buyer propensity to substitute Comparative understanding of activity from organization If we take in to account the competitor of TM mobile house in some area that business is in good position, as no business is perfect in every aspect. If we take few things into consideration like JD has lower profit margin. JD offer limited services if we compare it with TM, but with extreme quality. Employ turn over in JD is too low as compare to TM. JD business is too innovative its owner keep the displayed products in the shop with latest models including there accessories. JD has good financial condition JD have sufficient working capital to support day to day activities. JD had obtained large credit from the supplier. It keeps his employee up to date regarding any changes in the technology. JD makes good relations with its existing customer and new one. How ever in some areas TM as a competitive advantage over JD. Feasible options for the future strategic planning It is better for TM to incorporate following option before making strategic plans, it includes product threat that is take in to consideration that if there are some new product entering the market there cost and also opportunity cost of not take it now in to consideration. What is the capital requirement to meet its day to day expenses as well as if want to introduce need products like latest models of mobile and if to upgrade the existing computers using as internet cafà ©, do TM has sufficient fund available if it has how efficiently use it. What ever services TM going to provide should be meet economies of scale criteria. Must take in to consideration the bargain power of the customers, whats there buying power what there expectation from TM and which product they normally demand for there normal consumptions. Most importantly take in to account the competitor position need to adopt those method in order to gain competitive edge, carefully identify those areas that need special attention. Identify those brands which has same quality but cheaper that meet the customers buying power. Changes in the legislation must take in to account how they affect our business. Need to improve the accessories in the shop but focus must be to identify if they were saleable or which has extensive demand. Focus on existing product present in stock that is out dated should be sold out on discount to retrieve money from it otherwise bear total loss from it. TM must keep there and its employee knowledge up to date, towards industry in which they are operating suppose TM is doing money transfers it should be aware of any changes took place in money transferring roles that need to be adopted. Improve the interpersonal skill with staff and with the customers always build working relations with the customers in order to retain business from them. All above mentioned issued need to take under careful consideration in order to make future strategy plan and setting targets to be achiev ed. Conclusion We discuss short and long term environmental factors affecting the organization, together with what are strategies, policies and plan and at the end take in to consideration strategy development models and which important areas are vital in making future strategies.

Visitor and The Speckled Band Fitting into the Short Story Genre :: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Roald Dahl Essays

Visitor and The Speckled Band Fitting into the Short Story Genre The aspects of a typical short story genre are a misleading title, an unsure opening, little knowledge of characters, short time scale, little setting and a typical ending. In the two short stories ' Visitors ' and ' The Adventure of The Speckled Band ' there are aspects of both stories which show a typical short story genre. In ' Visitor ' the title is suggesting that the story will have a visitor of some description but this could be a relative, friend or even an unexpected guest. Also it may be a planned visit but either way the title is a misleading one. The visitor in ' Visitor ' is robber yet in this story a robber isn't an unwanted guest but an expected one. In reply the police are unwanted guests who not expected. " This is a robbery ", this is not the sort of thing we would call normal but in ' Visitor ' it is. The robbers in ' Visitor ' are " professional people " where as the police are not. With the police being described as " young men " something which normally would be described as robbers. The roles have been reversed in ' Visitor ' with the robbers being the usual visitors and the police being the unwanted visitors. The opening of a short story is always very unsure and brief. " Not again, not so soon! " here the audience is thrown straight into the story without really knowing anything about what is going on. The very start of ' Visitor ' is anonyous " she saw the mini bus ", gives the story a scared and nervous beginning. " The knocking was confident but not intimidating. Civilised ", This being unexpected as you wouldn't expect this of a robber but more of somebody you were expecting or somebody you were aquainted with.The thought of 3 men, 2 well proportioned, 1 normal size would normally be quite threatening but not in ' Visitor '. The characters in ' Visitor ' are normal yet unauthodox yet methodically they worked. The roles have been reveresed. With the robbers being civil and the police being unprofessional. There is no real main character and all of the characters are only briefly described. The universal figure in ' Visitor ', Mrs Morrison is somebody we as the audience find little about. Also with it being a short story there is not much time to envolve that many characters in it so there are only very few. The timescale of a short story is only very short and this can create

Health Safety and Security Essay

Outline how legislation, policies and procedures relating to health, safety and security influence health and social care settings. M1: Describe how health and safety legislation, policies and procedures promote the safety of individuals in a health or social care setting. Within health and social care there are a number of acts and procedures set out in legislation which must be followed. These acts ad procedures influence care settings by offering practical examples of good practice and the way that health and social care should be delivered. They provide advice on how to comply with the law and determine what is reasonably practicable. The acts enforce a duty of care to everyone who is involved at all levels such as the service user, the service user’s friends and family and the staff. The first act I will be looking at is the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. This act was put into place to protect employees from exploitation and being over worked. The main features of this act are that employers-who employ more than five employees-must provide a written health and safety policy, take precautions to reduce the possibility of accidents occurring, provide training to enable staff to work safely, provide equipment (if needed) to ensure the health of those working. Employees must comply with health and safety policies in the workplace and report any potential hazards. Also, employees need to be fully informed of their rights and responsibilities and leave nothing to chance. ‘The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 is the primary piece of legislation covering work-related health and safety in the United Kingdom. ’ www. nidirect. gov. uk/ For the employees, this act means that training in all aspects of health and safety is compulsory so they would need to be fully informed about policies and procedures such as what to do in the event of a hazard to minimise any risk. So, the employee would know what to do, who is responsible, how to report the hazard and how to deal with it. Also, the employee would have important knowledge about fire regulations and how to evacuate the building (know where the fire exits are). It prevents employers from exploiting employees and having them work long hours and shifts in health and social care. Service users can be at risk if the people who are caring for them are overworked and tiered. Employers themselves could be held responsible if there are breeches of health and safety at work. If the training is inadequate for manual handling and the use of equipment then employees can be injured. Volunteers are subject to the same requirements under the Health and Safety at Work Act too. Some employee legislation is weakening, yet this act is strengthening in its influence and interpretation. This act also influences health and social care settings for service users. People receiving the service need to be sure that the building is a safe place to be. They can be vulnerable and dependent upon the staff and the work environment for their safety. This is a huge responsibility and the law reflects the magnitude of this. In schools, children have been known to of ‘gone missing’ or walked out. Relatives need to know that their children or siblings are being constantly monitored and that freedom and independence is balanced with health and safety procedures. The second act I will be looking at is the Data Protection Act 1984. This act introduced basic rules of protection of people’s personal information. ‘The Data Protection Act 1984 introduced basic rules of registration for users of data and rights of access to that data for the individuals to which it related’. http://www. out-law. com/page-413. It was designed to protect individual’s personal information from being passed on to other people, also known as confidentiality. ‘The purpose of the Act is to protect the rights and privacy of individuals and to ensure that data about them are not processed without their knowledge and are processed with their consent wherever possible’. http://www. soas. ac. uk/infocomp/dpa/policy/overview/ The principles of the Data Protection Act include: obtaining and processing data fairly, ensuring accuracy and relevance of information and taking effective measures to prevent unauthorized access to data. Individuals have the right to be told if a third party holds information about them, obtain a record of that information, and require correction if necessary. The Data Protection Act was reviewed in 1998; this newer act gave employees the right to see their personal records. This act was again reviewed in 2000 to include computerised data. For employees, this act ensures that their personal information can only be accessed by their employee and themselves. This protects the employee from hassle from third parties. For employers, this act prevents them from selling person information of there employees to third parties. However, this can be breached, but only on a need to know basis such as for public or individual safety and if the information is needed by a court order. In health and social care, the Data Protection Act protects service users/patients details being passed on to anyone unnecessary. However, their details may need to be passed onto other professionals if they are under the care of more than one health or social care professional. If the information is shared between these professionals, they understand that it will not be used apart from where it is needed. An example of this would be a school and carers or social workers. The school would need to know what situation the child is in and then they can adequately safeguard him/her. It may be that one parent is not allowed contact with their child. This keeps all involved safe. ‘Where information is shared, there is an implied understanding that the information will not be used except where it is strictly needed to help the professional provide the service’.

Definition and Examples of Elenchus in Rhetoric

In a dialogue,  elenchus is  the Socratic method of questioning someone to test the cogency, consistency, and credibility of what he or she has said. Plural: elenchi. Adjective: elentic. Also known as the Socratic elenchus, Socratic method,  or elenctic method. The aim of the elenchus, says Richard Robinson, is to wake men out of their dogmatic slumbers into genuine intellectual curiosity (Platos Earlier Dialectic, 1966).For an example of  Socrates use of elenchus, see the excerpt from Gorgias (a  dialogue  written by  Plato  around 380 BC) at the entry for Socratic Dialogue. See Examples and Observations below. Also, see: DialecticSocratic DialogueAporiaArgument  and ArgumentationDiaphoresisDissoi LogoiProofRefutation EtymologyFrom the Greek, to refute, examine critically Examples and Observations Socrates famous method of refutation--the elenchus--tended to induce the experience of emptiness in others: an interlocutor would begin thinking he knew what justice or courage or piety is, and in the course of the conversation would be reduced to confusion and self-contradiction. For his own part, Socrates was the ancient Hellenic version of the Cheshire cat, fading away into his own smile. . . . In short, Socrates had an uncanny gift for bringing others to the brink of anxiety.(Jonathan Lear, The Examined Life. The New York Times, October 25, 1998)A Model of the ElenchusThe elenchus is often used in describing the Socratic dialectical method. This model in its simplest form can be sketched as follows: Socrates lets one of his interlocutors pose a definition of x, after which Socrates will interrogate the interlocutor up to the point where the latter has to admit this definition was, indeed, wrong and that he does not know what x is. This model of the elenchus can indeed be found in some dialogues--I think especially in the early dialogues.(Gerard Kuperus, Traveling With Socrates: Dialectic in the Phaedo and Protagoras. Philosophy in Dialogue: Platos Many Devices, ed. by Gary Alan Scott. Northwestern University Press, 2007)Multiple MeaningsVarious terms are used in [Platos] dialogues in connection with Socrates manner of inquiring and interrogating, but none of them is used consistently by Plato in any precise or technical way that would legitimize it as Platos label for the philosophers approach. . . .Still, in the last 30 or 40 years, it has become rather standard for commentators to use the term Socratic elenchus as a label for Socrates way of philosophizing in the dialogues. . . .It is fundamentally unclear whether the elenchus is supposed to refer to a process (in which case it could mean to cross-examine, to put to the test, to put to the proof, or to indicate) or a result (in which case it could mean to shame, to refute, or to prove). In short, there is no general agreement about the elenchus, and therefore no consensus either about its employment in the dialogues.(Gary Alan Scott, Introduction to Does Socrates Have a Method?: Rethinking the Elenchus in Platos Dialogues. Penn State, 2004)A Negative MethodSocrates is considered one of the founding fathers of Western philosophy but, problematically for scholars, his thought is preserved only through the accounts of his students, most notably in Platos dialogues.His most significant contribution to Western thought is the Socratic method of debate or Method of Elenchus, a dialectical method of questioning, testing and ultimately improving a hypothesis. Through asking a series of questions, the method sought to show contradictions in the beliefs of those who posed them ​and systematically move towards a hypothesis-free from contradiction. As such, it is a negative method, in that it seeks to identify and demarcate that which a person does not know, rather than which he does. Soc rates applied this to the testing of moral concepts, such as justice. Plato produced 13 volumes of Socratic Dialogues, in which Socrates would question a prominent Athenian on moral and philosophical issues. So often cast as the questioner, it is hard to establish any of Socrates own philosophical beliefs. He said his wisdom was an awareness of his own ignorance, and his statement, I know that I know nothing is often quoted.(Arifa Akbar, Arrogance of Socrates Made a Compelling Case for His Death. The Independent [UK], June 8, 2009) Alternate Spellings: elenchos