Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 34

Essay Example This caused the bank to lose focus and only strive for greater profit margins rather than expanding its customer base. After some time, the Union Bank of Norway realized its mistakes and attempted to correct them with the introduction of a single system that tracked the data of each individual customer. Information about their customer base would allow the Union Bank of Norway to correctly predict what its customer would prefer or not prefer in the future. The data warehouse that the bank came up with attempted to address all of these problems. By getting to know its customers, the Union Bank of Norway has been able to base its marketing decision around the characteristics of its customers. Not surprisingly, customer response has been good to this new endeavor. Customers generally like to help organizations wherever they can, so it makes sense to take advantage of this by providing an avenue for them to use. The retention of customer information has helped the Union Bank of Norway ge t back to its roots—working one-on-one with the

Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 6

Analysis - Essay Example This article considered an application of ABC method in practice. As the case study related, Teva Ltd. benefitted from considering this method over more traditional ones because it helped her to reduce the unused capacity and finally to improve its production. EVA (economic value added) can be defined as an indicator of financial performance, and is computed by the difference between operating profits and a capital charge. It can be sustained that EVA is a true measure of economic profit, which takes into account all costs, implying also the cost of capital. Another measure is MVA (market value added), and it is an indicator of the wealth of the company. It is computed as the difference between market value of common stock, preferred stock, debt and the total capital. Basically, it is the difference of the amount investors can take out and the amount invested by them. Considering EVA in valuation has also drawbacks. One of them is the fact that EVA does not consider the growth opportunities of the company. To solve this issue, management should take into account the MVA method. The article discussed the use of EVA and MVA in valuation of a company’s investments. Although, probably in practice an NPV and IRR methods are easier to implement, EVA could be a more appropriate indicator to measure performance and to make the appropriate decisions when running a company. To recap, EVA is the difference between net operating profit and capital charges, whilst MVA is the difference between market value and invested capital. EVA is preferred to MVA mainly because it is more amenable to periodic performance management. Using EVA in valuation brings benefits such as resolving budgeting issues, easiness of the making decision process, and accountability of management for all economic outlays. Basically, EVA solves some of the conflict of interest between management and shareholders by encouraging managers

Economic Report on Housing Sector in Scotland Essay

Economic Report on Housing Sector in Scotland - Essay Example This paper is divided into three parts. Part A will present an analysis of the Scottish housing market for the first decade of the new millennium (2000-2010). It will look at the major factors affecting demand, supply, and price of housing units. In the process of analysis, it will also seek to determine whether the housing sector in Scotland is volatile or not and what are the reasons for this. Part B will go on to review specifics regarding the reasons for the ups and downs in the housing sector. Part C will differentiate between factors that are indigenous to Scotland and factors that may affect the whole of the UK housing sector. It will then end with recommendations to be implemented that when done, will hopefully reduce the volatility of the housing market in the UK in general and in Scotland in particular.  Ã‚  Available data shows that the average number of new housing units established per year in Scotland since the 1980s was 20,000 units; these have however peaked at 25,0 00 in 2007 and there has been a decline since then to around just 17,000 units in 2010. This decline was seen in the years 2009 and 2010. The average UK house price was  £163,244 at the end of 2010, with London being the most expensive region in the UK overall, and Edinburgh leading the price rise in Scotland.  Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire were areas that had recorded a housing demand growth of 4 percent over the year ending December 2010. These areas have benefitted from strong and stable economic opportunities.  

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Essay

The Influence of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) on the Economic Growth of the Host Economies - Essay Example ects of FDI on economic growth in host countries greatly depend upon the local conditions and contexts of doing business there: for example, human capital enhances the positive effects of FDI on host economies, while the existing technology gaps make it possible to implement even the simplest foreign direct investment reforms (Wang, Gu, Tse & Yim, 2012). Added to this is the role which market size plays in attracting FDI to host countries, whereas technology-absorptive abilities predetermine host returns from FDI (Li & Liu 2005; Blalock & Gertner 2008). These results have far-reaching implications for policy development and implementation, although all risks and factors changing the nature of FDI inflows to host countries need to be thoroughly considered. Even more interesting are the results of another study conducted in the three major countries-recipients of FDI. These include Malaysia, Chile, and Thailand (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, the researchers confirm that the effects of FDI on economic growth are very heterogeneous and primarily depend upon the level of GDP in host countries (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). At least in Thailand and Malaysia, the relationship between GDP and FDI is very explicit (Chowdury & Mavrotas 2007). Again, these findings have far-reaching implications for policymaking, since understanding causality between FDI and economic growth is crucial for the creation of policies that encourage the inflow of investments from abroad in the developing world. Both studies confirm the importance of the FDI-economic growth causality but also imply that the nature of this causality and its direction should be placed under professional scrutiny. As long as the effects of FDI on economic growth in host countries are characterized by considerable...This essay outlines the difficulties in establishing the functional relationships of FDI influence on economic growth in host countries. One of the greatest problems in this respect is the lack of suff icient empirical data. Another difficulty is the lack of organization and poor systematization of the existing knowledge. Theoretically, FDI promotes economic growth through an increase in investment volumes, leading to increased efficiency of all economic and financial operations. Another theory suggests that economic growth is a direct result of the technological diffusions caused by FDI. Objectively, there is no single explanation to the effects of FDI on economic growth: numerous variables moderate the relationship between FDI and economic growth in host countries, and the current knowledge of financial markets and macro/microeconomics does not allow producing a comprehensive theory of FDI and its impacts on host countries’ economies. In order to understand how and why FDI impacts host countries’ economic growth, the meaning of both terms needs to be clarified. For the goal of this paper, foreign direct investment is defined as â€Å"the process whereby residents of one country (the source country) acquire ownership of assets for the purpose of controlling the production, distribution, and other activities of a firm in another country. FDI impacts economic growth through structural effects, skill and technology, and size effects. TNC play a huge role in the transfer of capitals and skills from one country to another.

Economic Report on Housing Sector in Scotland Essay

Economic Report on Housing Sector in Scotland - Essay Example This paper is divided into three parts. Part A will present an analysis of the Scottish housing market for the first decade of the new millennium (2000-2010). It will look at the major factors affecting demand, supply, and price of housing units. In the process of analysis, it will also seek to determine whether the housing sector in Scotland is volatile or not and what are the reasons for this. Part B will go on to review specifics regarding the reasons for the ups and downs in the housing sector. Part C will differentiate between factors that are indigenous to Scotland and factors that may affect the whole of the UK housing sector. It will then end with recommendations to be implemented that when done, will hopefully reduce the volatility of the housing market in the UK in general and in Scotland in particular.  Ã‚  Available data shows that the average number of new housing units established per year in Scotland since the 1980s was 20,000 units; these have however peaked at 25,0 00 in 2007 and there has been a decline since then to around just 17,000 units in 2010. This decline was seen in the years 2009 and 2010. The average UK house price was  £163,244 at the end of 2010, with London being the most expensive region in the UK overall, and Edinburgh leading the price rise in Scotland.  Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire were areas that had recorded a housing demand growth of 4 percent over the year ending December 2010. These areas have benefitted from strong and stable economic opportunities.  

To What Extent Can USA and USSR Be Blamed for the Start of the Cold War Essay Example for Free

To What Extent Can USA and USSR Be Blamed for the Start of the Cold War Essay To What extent can USA and USSR be blamed for the start of the Cold War? After World War II, a new world order was created as USSR and USA emerged as the two superpowers. There were already existing tensions between these two before the war and the wartime alliance was more out of the need to destroy the common enemy, Germany, rather than out of mutual agreements between these two. It has been argued that the cold war was caused mostly by the USSR because of their Marxism- Leninism ideology and their leader Stalin. To a large extent according to the Orthodox historians, Marxism- Leninism was responsible for the Cold War as it was an expansionist, aggressive ideology. They expanded under the aim to ‘liberate masses’ from capitalism. This greatly threatened the USA politically as this ‘liberation’ meant a communist takeover in the ‘liberated’ country. Also, the Orthodox historians argue that Stalin showed numerous signs of his unwillingness to co-operate in his dealings with Eastern Europe. Though Stalin had promised at Yalta to initiate free and fair elections in the Eastern-European states, he went against his word and created communist governments in all the states that were supposed to be freed. In Poland, for example, when the Peasant Party refused to join the ‘Democratic Front’ as demanded by the communists, the leader and other party officials were subjected to harassment and forced to flee. These aggressive acts by the communists made the Cold War inevitable. Arthur Schlesinger argued, ‘Leninism and Marxism made it impossible for the USSR and USA to co-operate. ’ Gewiss also wrote in his book, ‘Rethinking the Cold War’ that Stalin and the USSR had to be blamed for the Cold War. However, it is also very difficult to attribute the Cold War to the USSR. The Revisionist historians also have placed the blame for the Cold War on USA. The USA did not realize how devastated USSR was from World War II. About 20 million people had been killed, 1,700 cities were destroyed and about 700,000 villages were in ruins. The USSR’s control of Eastern Europe was mainly because she felt insecure because of her status. However, USA had emerged more economically powerful as she had experienced a wartime boom. The USA knew her economic power and thus used it to finance all her plans. This economic boom she experienced lead to the need to trade to maintain her status. Revisionists argue that the USA was responsible for the Cold War in the fact that she wanted to spread the policy of democracy. The USA wanted to create a form of ‘dollar imperialism’. Some historians argue that with this new form of imperialism, there was no need to politically take over the country. This can be identified in the Truman doctrine. The USA wanted to contain communism, that is, to stop it from spreading throughout the world. However, this was a very important policy, the ‘policy of containment’, as it marked the official beginning of the Cold War for many. After Churchill’s famous speech, ‘The Iron Curtain Speech’, he indicated the need of an Anglo-American alliance to put a stop to the communists. This was rather significant as it created quite some suspicion in the USSR. Stalin even recognized ‘The Iron Curtain Speech’ as a declaration of war and he replied to this speech by indicating that Mr. Churchill believed that only English speaking nations had the power to control the world. Revisionists argued that this actually caused Stalin to start formally annexing Eastern Europe. However, to blame the Cold War on these two nations will not be all too justifiable because of other factors that contribute largely to the Cold War; one of which was fear which consequently lead to each party misinterpreting the other’s actions and reaching out of fear. Post revisionists argue that most of the actions carried out in the Cold War were out of fear. USSR’s need to control Eastern Europe was as a result of her fear of being attacked again as she said that Germany had only been able to attack the USSR because that states around her were not friendly. The USA misinterpreted USSR’s actions as aggressive and wanting to take over the world. Similarly, when USA introduced the Marshall aid, she did it in order to help Europe to recover from the alarming war loss and also to enable trade with Europe. This aid was interpreted by the USSR as an anti-communism act and consequently rejected this aid for all her satellites. The cold war has many interpretations however, although the USSR and the USA had large roles to play in the development of the Cold War, these attitudes play coupled with other activities that made the Cold War inevitable.

Health Organization Case Study

Health Organization Case Study Introduction Banner Health has its headquarters at Phoenix, AZ and drives 25 hospital branches, related health services in seven states of United States. Banner Health has grown from hospital system to an integrated system including services that are provided through Banner Medical Group and Banner Health Network. Banner Health is considered as a top system in providing stable quality health to the patients. It offers physician services, home care, comprehensive services and hospice. Specialized services are offered by the organization at Western States Burn Center, Banner Alzheimer’s Institute, Banner Heart Hospital and Banner Concussion Center. The organization runs in seven states of Colorado, Nebraska, Alaska, California, Arizona, Wyoming and Nevada (Banner health at a glance, 2014). Healthcare strategies for future Banner health offers simulation education program for healthcare professionals, which is considered as a largest program in the country. This program makes use of simulators, mannequins and virtual reality programs to provide new generation method of learning. Banner health employees can perfect their medical techniques prior to attending the real patients at the facility (Simulation education at Banner health, nd). The medical director of Banner health simulation medical center, Dr. Mark Smith says that he was convinced with the fact that innovation in the current activities would definitely throw light on showing efficient and high quality care towards the patients. He reminds that demand for health services are increasing, while the resources are becoming scarce with the aging population, evolving technology and uncertainty in the health system of the country. With the help of cutting edge technologies, Banner Health is improving the services and minimizing the errors (Banner Inno vation, 2011). Simulation training is a training method that gives an opportunity for the clinical experts to practice and do mistakes in the activities which have no consequences. Therefore, the trainers can easily estimate the cognitive and psychomotor skills of the clinicians. Training also includes examining the procedural knowledge of clinician, documenting capacity, decision-making capacity, communicating with the care team and patients, and time management skills of the person (Banner Innovation, 2011). The areas considered to be improved to buildup existing health network are enhancing patient care through skills in emergency care, surgical skills, common procedures, team work, labor and delivery skills. The cardiac life support training courses of Banner health were also restored. Preparedness to handle Ebola Cases Though there are no reported Ebola virus cases in any of the places where Banner health services are present, the organization is taking necessary steps to address the Ebola virus cases, if there is any need in the community. All the branches of Banner health have policies and procedures sufficiently in form to isolate the patient who is suspected to be infected with Ebola virus. It has been an important endeavor on the part of Banner health during the past seven months to conduct special training sessions for the hospital staff with the help of infection prevention specialists. These sessions focused on preventing the virus spread (Ebola virus, nd). Large hospital rooms in various facilities of Banner health are designed to isolate the Ebola patients or patients with infectious diseases, and treat them effectively. These isolation rooms are equipped with integral infection control precautions, specific equipment and airflow. As there is a constant practice of treating various contagious diseases here, these specific rooms are always engaged in accommodating patients regularly with the same precautionary measures. The guidelines provided by the Center for disease control and prevention for the safety of the staff and other patients at Banner health facilities are considered for preparing and planning the necessary activities (Ebola virus, nd). RN Case Manager Banner Health RN case managers help in providing right care to the patients at the right time. The resources are utilized to the maximum extent to augment the quality of health services and to coordinate healthcare with RN case managers. The case management teams differ based on diverse work settings. These teams comprise of RN case manager, case management technician and social worker. The specific needs of the patient are evaluated by the case management team. The roles of RN case managers in banner health are communicating with insurance companies and acute care setting. The roles of them in banner health network are home health visits, telephonic support service, planning long term care, coordinating communication within the network and communicating with insurance companies (RN Case Manager Careers, nd). Resource management Banner health offers nurse practitioner courses to introduce leading-edge technology tools such as electronic medical records, simulation learning centers and remote intensive care monitoring. Medical innovation at banner health is considered as good as healthcare professionals treating the patients. Banner health trains the nurses to confidently and safely deliver patient care. Employing nurses here opens options for nurses to continue clinical education, tuition reimbursement, scholarships and so on (Registered nurse careers, nd). Banner medical group comprises of more than 1300 practitioners across more than 65 specialities to deliver safer and quality patient care. The medical staff is transforming patient care delivery, which can be observed in patient-centered medical home implementation (PCMH). Care planning for patients is done through PCMH by coordination, tracking and working in teams. This results in efficient and quality delivery of healthcare (Healthcare careers at Banner health, nd). Banner health provides sufficient training in business through an advanced simulation center. Competitive compensation, private housing, electronic medical records, attractive bonuses, travel allowance and stability offered by Banner health are enjoyed by the employees of the organization (Banner staffing services Banner health travelers, nd). Patient satisfaction It is the policy of Banner health to resolve complaints related to the services, healthcare or any alleged actions. Several centers of the Banner health ensure care departments that can be contacted to give any complaint regarding the patient care. Banner health centers provide certain rights for the patient, offer pastoral care, have complaint policy, provide living will, healthcare power of attorney and mental healthcare power of attorney as advanced directive, provide communication assistance for the patients, and provide access to the hospital ethics committee (Patient satisfaction, nd). Advance directives and written statements generated by the patients can help the healthcare practitioners and family members to understand what the patient actually desires (Advance directives, nd). There is a notice of privacy practices prepared in the form of a fact sheet by Banner Health to protect the confidentiality of patient information. The notice explains the way patient information is used by the organization inside and outside the campus. The notice also explains the patient’s rights towards their own health information (Privacy practices for banner health, nd). References Advance Directives. (nd). Patients Visitors. Banner Health, retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/_Patients+and+Visitors/Advance+Directives/_Advance+Directive.htm Banner health at a glance. (2014). About banner health, Banner Health,Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/About+Us/Banner+At+A+Glance.htm Banner Innovation. (2011). Banner Health Innovation: Welcome to the future, Focus on Innovation, About Banner Health, Banner Health, Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/About+Us/Innovations/Focus+on+Innovation/_focus.htm Banner Health. Patient satisfaction. (nd). Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/NR/rdonlyres/16F5B8E2-5E22-4ECA-ABDF-92E62F879E01/25868/PatientSatisfactionEnglSpan.pdf Banner staffing services Banner health travelers. (nd). Banner health careers, Banner health, Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/Careers/Careers+in+Demand/Staffing+and+Travel/_BPR+BSS+Travel.htm Ebola virus. (nd). Banner Health Services. Banner health, Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/Services/Health+And+Wellness/Ebola/_Ebola+Virus.htm Healthcare careers at Banner Health. (nd). Physician careers, banner Health, Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/Careers/Careers+in+Demand/Physician+Careers/_Physician+Careers.htm Privacy practices for banner health. (nd). Patients Visitors, Banner Health, Retrieved fromhttp://www.bannerhealth.com/_Patients+and+Visitors/Patient+Privacy/_Privacy+Practices.htm Registered nurse careers. (nd). Banner health careers, Banner Health, Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/Careers/Careers+in+Demand/Registered+Nurse+Careers.htm RN Case Manager Careers. (nd). Banner Health Careers, Banner Health, Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/Careers/_RN+Case+Manager+Careers.htm?utm_source=careers-infocus-rncasemgrutm_medium=infocusclickutm_campaign=careers-infocus-rncasemgr Simulation education at banner health. (nd). Courses/Applications, Banner Health. Retrieved from http://www.bannerhealth.com/About+Us/Innovations/Simulation+Education/_Simulation+Education.htm