Outline Of A Thesis Proposal - 4676 Words

Thesis/dissertation proposal 1-Introduction For all the industrial process for producing and manufacturing new products and especially in the construction industry, there is a lot of factors control in the quality of the products and one of the most important factors that reduce the quality of the products is the quality opportunism, quality has become a very popular subject in recent years due to conceptual changes in the industry, the definition of quality in the past as â€Å"compliance to standards† is now found to be inadequate and replaced with the current definition as â€Å"customer satisfaction† (Abdel-Razek, et al., 2001). The approach to quality has evolved from control (QC) to management (QM) through assurance (QA) and reached†¦show more content†¦However competition can raise transaction costs (such as quality opportunism) if quality is difficult to measure or monitor (Heide, 1994; Buvik etal., 2001), that is for example the case when public authority buys experience goods/services such as health service, defense contracts, or transport services, for those public goods, it has been noticed the difficulty for authority to verify ex-post accurately that the contractor has fulfilled the contracted quality, relational buying mechanisms may be effective to cope with such opportunism (Buvik etal., 2000; Laing et al., 2004), as such mechanisms are forbidden in public buying by the regulation. Some authors such as Laffont Tirole (1993) claimed that the design of

Essay Invisible Man - 1560 Words

Kristopher McVeigh Mrs. Yeyna AP Lang p.2 14 October 2014 Invisible Man Sequel Consider a life underground. Reminiscent of darkness and disparity you might think. But not my life, I live underground, yet it is the most brightly lit place you shall ever enter. I live here alone, a humble existence, but I shall soon emerge. I consider myself an invisible man, wronged by both my own kind and by the white man. But that s the way of things, in this world you ve got to fight and claw for what you want, and never know who you can trust. All I sought was acceptance and equality. I am a man of the darkness, yet a man of the light and the whole world will know my name. I refuse to be invisible. I shall be seen. Oh Lord I shall be seen. Nigh on†¦show more content†¦I must truly shed my invisible skin and blossom into a force to be reckoned with. Awhile back I met a lady who changed my outlook on life. As I was buying some necessities for my hole of a home she asked me, Don t I know you from somewhere? As panic momentarily overtook me I scrambled for an excuse citing being new in town so as to the impossibility of this. But she had me nailed saying, You once spoke on behalf of women, seeking rights for all, isn t that right? To which I foolishly replied I may have in another time and place, as I tried to stay cautious, not sure of the woman s intentions. I had been crossed and manipulated too many times to fall for her, though her beauty made me want to instantly trust her as she radiates warmth like only a true woman of character could. As it turned out she had no intention of manipulating me as so many had before. After some small talk she invited me to dinner at local restaurant called, The White Buffalo. I hesitantly accepted as I needed a reason to emerge from my hole. She was a remarkable woman, of a caring nature, yet shrouded in mystery, an unspoken agreement between us to not inquire of each other’s past. It was better that way. But I m getting ahead of myself; I ll tell you more of Carol later. For now know that under her I blossomed like a flower under the first rays of spring s life giving light. Oh light, what is

Healthcare Data for Decision Making

Question: Discuss about theHealthcare Data for Decision Making. Answer: Introduction The concerns of the Director for Nursing were right because, as she explained, the hospital should rethink its billing strategies and adopt a more beneficial alternative. This is a clear indication that the hospital has been benefiting from its existing funding approaches. Despite advocating for a fair charge on all the patients based on the average length of stay at the facility; casemix-based is not a good funding approach. It is inappropriate and should not be used for the old patients targeted by the facility (Seah, Cheong Anstey 2013). Because it cannot suit these patients who usually stay longer at the hospital because of the complex nature of their aging conditions, casemix-based approach has resulted into losses. Because of this, the management of UTS Hospital should adopt the use of per diem funding. Per Diem is better than the casemix-based funding approach because it emphasizes the need of billing the patients based on the length of stay at the facility. Per Diem approach can enable the hospital to prevent any unnecessary losses that might be suffered as a result of classifying all patients into a single group (Curtis, Lam, Mitchell, Dickson McDonnell 2014). It will increase the hospitals income as all the patients will be charged on the services rendered during the entire period of stay. In fact, Per Diem funding is recommended because the facility serves elderly patients who, unlike other younger patients, are likely to stay longer at the hospital because they have complex needs that require much attention by the health care providers at the facility (Hanning Predl 2015). It is therefore recommended that the management should consider re-introducing the Per Diem approach because it is far much better than the casemix-based funding approach that is to blame for the hospitals poor performance. As an organization, UTS Hospital relies on the services of coders to correctly bill its patients so as to get the revenue to rely on in remunerating its staff, meeting its expenses and running its day-to-day operations. However, as the Chief Information Officer said, the hospital has been showing dismal performance because of the coding issues like inaccuracy that has negatively impacted on its billing processes and revenue collection (Ali, Guy, Wand, Read, Regan, Grulich, Fairley Donovan 2013). The coding errors at the hospital were caused by many factors. First, the coding officers did not have access to adequate health records to rely on while billing the patients. For a proper coding, the clinical coders should have enough data on the patients billing information such as billing procedures. However, without such documentation, the coders are likely to make errors that can in turn be costly for the hospital. This explains why the coding of the ICD-10-AMdiagnoses was poorly done. The other cause for coding inaccuracy is lack of proper training on coding procedures (de Lusignan, Sun, Pearce, Farmer, Stevens Jones 2014). A clinical coder who is not adequately trained, and lacks information on medical terminologies and updated information on diseases and classification systems is likely to err. Lastly, the coding errors can be prompted by poor coordination of employees. Since coding is a complex process, it cannot be properly done is all the stakeholders including insurance firms, epidemiologists, nurses, physicians, accountants and cod ers work as a team. To resolve the challenge of poor coding, the hospital should employ well-trained, competent and experienced coders. At the same time, all coders should be constantly educated, mentored and given in-house trainings on the latest changes in classification systems and coding techniques. Besides, the coding staff should adopt a multidisciplinary approach and collaborate with physicians, nurses, and insurance companies (Burns, Rigby, Mamidanna, Bottle, Aylin, Ziprin Faiz 2012). Optimal coding results can only be obtained if the coders do not work in isolation, but cooperate and consult with one another. The information given by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) is true. The CFO is right because the classification of UTS Hospital as an AR-DRG had nothing to do with the poor performance registered in the recent fiscal periods. It is true that, as he said, that the problem was to be blamed on the average stay of patients. Actually, the averaging measurement system is not the best alternative because it does not cater for individual differences (Hall 2015). It simply generalizes subjects assuming that having similar demographic features makes them identical. As a facility that mainly targets the gaining populations, UTS Hospital will lose a great deal if it continues using average for the measure of the central tendency. The average length of stay does not apply to the elderly patients because they are likely to stay longer at the facility. The conditions of the elderly patients make them more complicated. Unlike their younger counterparts, the elderly patients are likely to develop multimorbidity conditions that further complicate their health (Lichtenberg 20130. At the same time, they are prone to mental illness and have a higher rate of non-compliance to medication hence forcing them to require more attention and a longer stay at the hospital. This is why the hospital will lose a lot of money if the management does not refrain from using the average system. References Ali, H., Guy, R.J., Wand, H., Read, T.R., Regan, D.G., Grulich, A.E., Fairley, C.K. Donovan, B., 2013. Decline in in-patient treatments of genital warts among young Australians following the national HPV vaccination program. BMC infectious diseases, 13(1), p.1. Burns, E.M., Rigby, E., Mamidanna, R., Bottle, A., Aylin, P., Ziprin, P. Faiz, O.D., 2012. Systematic review of discharge coding accuracy. Journal of public health, 34(1), pp.138-148. Curtis, K., Lam, M., Mitchell, R., Dickson, C. and McDonnell, K., 2014. Major trauma: the unseen financial burden to trauma centres, a descriptive multicentre analysis. Australian Health Review, 38(1), pp.30-37. de Lusignan, S., Sun, B., Pearce, C., Farmer, C., Stevens, P. Jones, S., 2014. Coding errors in an analysis of the impact of pay-for-performance on the care for long-term cardiovascular disease: a case study. Journal of Innovation in Health Informatics, 21(2), pp.92-101. Hall, J., 2015. Australian health carethe challenge of reform in a fragmented system. New England Journal of Medicine, 373(6), pp.493-497. Hanning, B. Predl, N., 2015. New activity-based funding model for Australian private sector overnight rehabilitation cases: the rehabilitation Australian National Sub-Acute and Non-Acute Patient (AN-SNAP) model. Australian Health Review, 39(4), pp.365-369. Lichtenberg, F.R., 2013. The impact of therapeutic procedure innovation on hospital patient longevity: evidence from Western Australia, 20002007. Social Science Medicine, 77, pp.50-59. Seah, D.S., Cheong, T.Z. Anstey, M.H., 2013. The hidden cost of private health insurance in Australia. Australian Health Review, 37(1), pp.1-3.

Legal Challenge Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd and Code of Conduct

Introduction There is a case of sexual harassment at Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd. At a workplace, sexual harassment usually comes from colleagues and supervisors. In the case study, Rosetta’s colleagues are the source of sexual harassment to her. Stereotyping, norms, behaviors, poor communications, and inconsequential responses are the main factors that encourage sexual harassment at the workplace. The behavior may persist if no one intervenes or take any meaningful action.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Legal Challenge: Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd and Code of Conduct specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Workplace sexual harassment can assume several forms. In the case study, Rosetta’s sexual harassment includes unwelcome jokes, explicit sexual comments, displaying centerfolds, sexist comments, innuendoes, derogatory comments about her Italian background and Italian men. There are other forms, which include sex ual assault, rape, fondling, demands for sexual favors, inappropriate touching, catcalls, leering, and unwanted flirting among others. Although Rosetta did not experience the latter group, it is important to point out that uncontrolled sexual harassment usually gets worse as the behavior gains momentum. One must also point out that consensual sex, physical attraction, affection, and mutually encouraged flirting do not qualify to be acts of workplace sexual harassment. Although workplace harassment persists, it is illegal. The Criminal Code of Conduct, the Canadian Human Rights Act, and the Canadian Labor Code have all outlawed workplace sexual harassment. Given the legal position of Canada on workplace sexual harassment, Rosetta’s male colleagues should face charges or warnings from the supervisor, Al. However, Al assumed that the complaints were matters of casual jokes rather than sexual harassment. Al has also concluded that Rosetta left the job on her own freewill and that the complaint was not justified because the work was stressful. Problem Statement Obviously, Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd lacks a code of conduct for employees on workplace sexual harassment, diversity, and inclusion. As a result, Al lacks any ground of investigating the matter and presenting a solution to any sexually harassed female employees. In addition, Rosetta has failed to report her case to the supervisor. Analysis of Alternatives One major challenge, which is clear in the case study, is hesitancy to inform the supervisor about sexual harassment. In fact, the issue is emotional and personal. As a result, many employees fail to report cases of sexual harassment. Rosetta informed Eva White, a colleague about her experiences.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More However, she failed to report to the supervisor and opted to leave the job. One can attribute failure to report such cases to different factors. First, victims have personal risks and fear of losing the job. Second, the company’s policies on sexual harassment are not clear. In addition, there are no reporting lines and subsequent actions against the perpetrators. Rosetta is skeptical about the issue of reporting the case because she knows Al will not consider it as a serious issue. She also shows that Al would not take any action against male workers. Clearly, Rosetta does not know how to handle the issue of sexual harassment at the workplace. This may suggest that the company lacks any policy on sexual harassment. The best approach of overcoming workplace sexual harassment is prevention. In addition, the company should also take corrective measures in order to eradicate workplace sexual harassment. Prevention is the best approach of controlling sexual harassment and other acts of discrimination at the workplace. The approach should involve the introduction of sexual harassment policy, emp loyee training, and formal ways of reporting all forms of sexual harassment at the workplace. Sexual harassment policy can protect employees from sexual harassment. It also protects the organization from potential lawsuits because of the damages from the act. Maple Leaf lacks any sexual harassment policy. Male employees have centerfolds on the walls behind their machines. The lack of sexual harassment policy at Maple Leaf has encouraged such behaviors in the company. While male employees might consider such behavior as normal, Rosetta finds them to be discriminatory and forms of harassment and discrimination. Maple Leaf should introduce a code of conducts on sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination at the workplace. The company must define all forms of sexual harassment with reference to different laws of Canada on the issue. It should also indicate reporting procedures, investigation procedures, subsequent actions, and policy on any attempted retaliation. At the same tim e, Maple Leaf should insist on confidentiality, the role of supervisors, and harassment by other stakeholders rather than colleagues. Supervisors and HR manager must enforce the written policy on sexual harassment. Otherwise, the policy will not serve its purpose. Maple Leaf can achieve this by observing some simple procedures. The company should include the code of conducts for all employees in the employee’s handbook.Advertising We will write a custom case study sample on Legal Challenge: Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd and Code of Conduct specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More In addition, there should be constant reminders for other employees about the Maple Leaf code of conduct. Maple Leaf must also ensure that all employees acknowledge and adhere to the code of conduct. In this regard, they will understand the consequences of failing to follow the code. Any case of sexual harassment should have clearly defined actions. Once Maple Lea f has adopted sexual harassment policy, it would be necessary to conduct an audit and improve it based on emerging definitions of workplace sexual harassment. Training is mandatory on workplace sexual harassment. While Al and other male colleagues consider sexual harassment as casual and old jokes, Rosetta and Eva White do not think so. Majorities of Maple Leaf employees, including supervisors lack training on workplace sexual harassment. Maple Leaf can enhance prevention of sexual harassment through effective training of employees from different regions. Training must inform employees about sexual harassment, its forms, effects on the victim, and consequences on the perpetrators and the company. Training can take any form. Employees must recognize the importance of training on sexual harassment. All training approaches must also focus on the hostile environment, which may result from sexual harassment. The company should also create functional channels for sexual harassment complai nts. Rosetta could have reported sexual harassment if the company had a formal reporting system. A lack of a formal reporting channel for sexual harassment leads to several unreported cases. Reporting a sexual harassment case is a way of discouraging such behaviors in an organization. Senior executives must support sexual harassment claims by ensuring all supervisors implement the policy as stated in the code of conduct. They must also ensure fairness during investigation processes. The HR department must provide different alternatives of reporting claims of sexual harassment at the workplace. Once an employee has reported a case of sexual harassment, the employer must take the necessary action in order to prevent a similar misconduct again. Al failed in his responsibility as a supervisor. Sexual harassment has negative consequences on employees as Rosetta indicates. Thus, Maple Leaf must stop it before it takes place. Nevertheless, any reported case of sexual harassment requires in vestigation, discipline, counseling, and adhere to policy on non-retaliation. Recommendation Employees should not act in a manner, which cause sexual harassment to colleagues or cause uncomfortable situation. This is what Rosetta experienced among her male co-workers. However, one must remember that actions and effects of such behaviors on others may determine harassment regardless of intentions.Advertising Looking for case study on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Maple Leaf should provide a work environment, which is free of sexual harassment and any other form of discrimination against all employees. In this regard, the company must formulate and adopt a code of conduct with clearly defined sexual harassment policies and consequences of such behaviors. The policy must aim at preventing and addressing issues of sexual harassment among all employees. The policy must clarify sexual harassment, common harassment, investigation procedures, and a policy on employee dating and relationships. The company must conduct training and inform all employees about the importance of the sexual harassment policy and other policies. The role of the supervisor in sexual harassment, prevention, investigation, and correction should be clear. Al is unable to act on the case of Rosetta because he lacks guidance, does not know what sexual harassment is, and provides a casual approach to the whole issue. Supervisors must take an active role in protecting employees a nd ensuring a favorable work environment for all members of the company. The company should encourage whistleblowers like Eva White. Eva must pursue the case and ensure that the company takes the required procedures to address the alleged sexual harassment. In a lawsuit, Maple Leaf must demonstrate that it took the right step to address the issue. Moreover, the company must all prove that consequences, which perpetrators received, were equally severe. Rosetta worked in a hostile environment because of sexual harassment and derogatory statements about her background. Implementation The company must adopt a policy on sexual harassment and other forms of harassment, which create hostile work environments for workers. Implementation of the policy should aim at preventing any potential future behaviors. Employees must undergo training about sexual harassment policy. This would create awareness among employees about the outcomes of such behaviors. Supervisors must investigate all reported cases of sexual harassment in order to ascertain the truth. Failure to investigate the issue could lead to a lawsuit. It is difficult for workers to report cases of sexual harassment. Supervisors must not dismiss employees who report their cases because they might seek for outside help, which could be detrimental to the entire firm. In addition, the company must implement policies to protect whistleblowers. During training, employees must recognize that the company’s policy does not support retaliation because it is illegal. All supervisors and employees should follow procedures provided in the employee handbook when reporting cases of sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination. The supervisor must not attempt to favor any party and not dismiss the normal reporting procedures. The supervisor should review the case by initiating interviews with the complainant and perpetrators. Details are critical in this stage. The process should remain confidential because such is sues of harassment and discrimination can create a hostile work environment. After establishing all the facts on the case, the employer or supervisor must take an appropriate action against perpetrators of sexual harassment and other forms of discrimination. Actions could be dismissal for serious cases while other forms of sexual harassment may require warnings or counseling. In some cases, the company may also consider assistance from external experts. This case study on Legal Challenge: Maple Leaf Shoes Ltd and Code of Conduct was written and submitted by user Mina Lester to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.