Is The Us A Hegemon Essay Example for Free

Is The Us A Hegemon Essay A hegemon can be defined as a paramount power or state that can influence the course of events globally (free dictionary, 2008). By this very definition, America qualifies to be referred to as a hegemon. Since the collapse of the Cold War, the US has emerged as the most powerful nation on earth. Its influence is felt in the political, economic and military realms where its hegemony remains largely unchallenged. US administrations have not shied away from flexing their power and this has been increasing experienced in political matters where the US has pushed its agenda for new world order based on democratic ideals. No country is above the law. However, because of their position globally, powerful nations do at times take actions that are in direct contravention of laid down rules and procedures. In its attempt to democratize the world, the US has acted as though it was above international law. The invasion of Iraq is a case in point. Despite the Security Council’s condemnation of the planned invasion, the US and Britain went ahead to wage war and eventually topple Sadamm. President Chirac of France spoke out strongly against the trend by the US in taking unilateral decisions that contravened international law as it could set off a bad precedent (Litchfield, 2003). The detention of prisoners at Guantanamo Bay is a blatant disregard of the Geneva Convention that stipulates how prisoners of war are to be treated (UNHCR, 2008). By torturing the detainees and denying them their rights, the US has chosen to ignore international laws set up by the Commonwealth of Nations (Leonnig and Mintz, 2004) In summary, the US has taken advantage of its hegemonic status to carry out illegal acts as per international law. These actions do not augur well for international cooperation and peace as other nations will be tempted to act unilaterally and in direct contravention of the same laws that are meant to ensure world stability

M-Pesa innovation products of Safari

M-Pesa innovation products of Safari CHAPETER 1 BACKGROUND OF THE PROBLEM M-Pesa is one of the ingenious innovation products of Safari- com Kenya, it is a mobile money transfer that enables Safari-com subscribers to send and receive money to anyone of the mobile network. It was developed by Vodafone, which holds a 35% share in Safari-com. The M stands for mobile. Pesa is Swahili for money. Since its introduction in March of 2007, the M-PESA money transfer system has seen its popularity with the un-banked population surge, making the application a great success all over the country. For example, between March 2007 and September 2008, M-pesa person to person transfers hit the Sh54 billion mark with December alone last year accounting for an additional Sh14 billion. To call M-PESA a success would be an understatement. Today you can use your phone to pay for cab rides and electricity, to get money out of ATMs without owning an ATM card or even having a traditional bank account. This has caused jitters in the banking industry. It is worthy noting here that most of the Kenya’s live in local remote areas and do not have access to banking services. The M-PESA service does not require users to have bank accounts. All they need to do is register at an authorized M-PESA agent by providing their Safari-com mobile number and their identification card. Once registered, the user can buy digital funds at any M-Pesa agent and send that electronic cash to any other mobile phone user in Kenya by SMS. Recipients can either redeem this for conventional cash at M-Pesa agent outlets or buy Safari-com airtime for themselves and other subscribers. An M-Pesa-enabled mobile phone can also function as an electronic wallet, holding up to â‚ ¬500 (50,000 Kenyan shillings). The service has lowered transaction costs for users in terms of money, time and risk. An urban dweller that used to send money to his nuclear family, other relatives or anyone else using the post office, bus services or friends traveling home can now remit funds quickly and safely for a small fee. The recipient can then obtain cash using an M-pesa agent of choice. The service is being used to make payments for lower value goods and services, thus increasing the velocity of business. You can haggle with a hawker on the street and make an electronic payment for whatever you buy. Instead of traveling upcountry to pay school fees or cater for unforeseen expenses, parents can now agree with friends or teachers to make payments on their behalf after getting the money transferred electronically to them. People who were too poor to open a bank account can now have a transaction account at their disposal. Only about 2 million Kenyans have bank accounts out of a population of around 36 million. Therefore, the potential to broaden access to financial services is massive. Though the product has is clearly gained prominence among the low income earners, high income earners Small and medium organizations it has not gone down well with the major Banking key players who are opposing it. 90% of Kenyans do not have an account in a regular bank. Across Africa, only 20% of families have formal bank accounts, according to a World Bank survey. In Tanzania the percentage is as low as 5%, and in Liberia 15%. But the proliferation of mobile telephone services around the continent has opened a new way to extend financial service 1.1 Research questions What are the financial needs that M-Pesa meets as an agent of money transfer? Is the M-Pesa product reliable and accessible in meeting the financial needs in Kenya? 1.2 Research Objectives 1. To find out the effects/ contributions of M-Pesa as a product of Safari com to society 2. Find out the impacts of M-Pesa in the banking sector in Kenya 3. To find out who are the main population segments targeted by M-Pesa product in Kenya 4. To find out the methodologies used by Safari com as an M-Pesa provider to satisfy customers needs RATIONALE OF THE RESEARCH Known as M-pesa, or mobile money, the service is expected to revolutionize banking in a country where more than 80% of people are excluded from the formal financial sector. Apart from transferring cash; a service much in demand among urban Kenyans supporting relatives in rural areas, customers of the Safaricom network will be able to keep up to 50,000 shillings ( £370) in a virtual account on their handsets. Mobile phone growth in Kenya, as in most of Africa, has been remarkable, even among the rural poor. In June 1999 Kenya had 15,000 mobile subscribers. Today it has nearly 8 million out of a population of 35 million. In time, M-pesa will allow people to borrow and repay money, and make purchases. Companies will be able to pay salaries directly into workers phones; something that has already attracted the interest of larger employers, such as the tea companies, whose workers often have to be paid in cash as they do not have bank accounts. The M-pesa project is being watched closely by mobile operators around the world as a way of targeting the multibillion pound international cash transfer industry long dominated by companies such as Western Union and Money gram. According to the World Bank, remittances sent from nearly 200 million migrant workers to developing countries totalled  £102bn in the year 2007. The GSM Association, which represents more than 700 mobile operators worldwide, believes this could quadruple by 2012 if transfers by SMS become the norm. Vodafone has entered a partnership with Citigroup that would soon allow Kenyans in the UK to send money home via text message. The charge for sending  £50 is expected to be about  £3, less than a third of what some traditional services charge. SME’s in Kenya are making use of M-pesa. This is mainly because the service has been found to be liquid, flexible, acceptable, safe and reliable. M-pesa has also had an impact on microfinance institutions since members send virtual funds to their group leader, and the group leaders give the funds to the microfinance organization. Users can send between 100 Kenyan shillings ($1.5) and 35,000 shillings ($530) via a text message to a desired recipient; even someone using a different mobile network. The recipient then can obtain the cash from a Safaricom agent by entering a secret code and showing personal identification. M-pesa gives people too much access (24/7) to their cash which could undermine saving culture. Analysis shows that the M-PESA-based cash transfers are secure, enable a quick emergency response, are cost-effective and empower communities. Cash transfers give households access to a wider range of commodities. The injection of cash also strengthened the local economy. The role of information technology in empowering the poor the ability of mobile phones to send SMS expands the range of cheap communication available to the poor. Isolated communities now know how to receive remittances by using M-PESA. Communities also see advantages in using their mobile phones to develop early warning and security alarm systems to prevent cattle-rustling. Women also see income-generating opportunities by offering informal payphone services to other members of the community. Chapter 2 LITERATURE REVIEW The increasing speed of transactions has been a critical part of the innovation process. At the cutting edge of money technology, corporate America is moving beyond batch processing and air couriers, to networks for integrated accounting and payments processing systems. The definition of an instantaneous money transfernot by check, but by ATM or direct computer connectionis moving inexorably toward real time, on a par with exchanges of currency, but without the need to be physically face-to-face. And the closer technology brings us to real-time remote payments, the closer we are to genuine 24-hour banking and trading, and a worldwide set of assets that might be used for wealth storage, at least for those who are willing to accept some currency risk. Firstly, it is the young, male, urban migrants who are driving the uptake of services – customer adoption. Being early adopters of technology, these migrants are usually better educated and earn higher incomes than those in the vil lage. Because these migrants are the senders, they can choose the channel for money transfer. They then influence recipients in the rural area—who are usually female, less educated and poorer—to also use M-pesa. M-pesa has been successful because it relies on traditional practices and structures and modernizes these features. It is indeed a model based on indigenous payment practices, extended mobile phone networks and a large distribution network. With this service, Kenyans can open up a digital account on the cell phone, send and receive money, pay bills like electricity and obtain credit. Users can also withdraw money from ATMs The distribution network is based on agents who were already present in markets. Agents receive basic training from M-pesa. Only three months after the launch of M-pesa, the service had 400 agents, compared to 450 bank branches and 600 ATMs in Kenya. By mid 2009 M-pesa had 3400 agents. Safaricom’s M-pesa service in Kenya was one of 10 private sector initiatives in 2008 to be recognized by the World Business and Development Award as making a significant contribution to the UN Millennium Development Goals. M-pesa has also been recognized by several other awards, including: Stockholm Challenge 2008 – Winner, Economic Development category ( M-pesa) Kenyan Banking Awards 2007 and 2008 – Special Award for Product Innovation (M-pesa) Global Mobile Awards 2008 – Nominated, Best use of Mobile for Social and Economic Development (M-pesa) Global Mobile Awards 2008 – Winner, Best Broadcast Commercial (M-pesa ‘Send Money Home’ TVC) AfricaCom Awards 2008 – Changing Lives award and Best Solution for Rural Services award MSK Warrior Awards 2008 – Best Innovation. Kenya’s independent Financial Sector Deepening Trust (FSD), which aims to support the development of inclusive financial markets in Kenya, carried out a survey of M-pesa use in 2008. The survey aimed at establishlishing the opportunities and challenges presented by the service and how it could be introduced in other countries. The survey of 3,000 randomly selected households across Kenya, 300 randomly selected M-pesa agents and 50 M-pesa Head offices found almost 40% of households use M-pesa, with 63% sending regular financial support. Of those surveyed: 90% believe their money is safe with M-pesa 81% find M-pesa very easy to use and a further 15% say it is quite easy to use 84% say losing M-pesa would have a large negative effect. Compared with alternatives, those surveyed find M-pesa is: Quicker (98%) More convenient (96%) Safer (98%) Cheaper (96%) Concern Worldwide pioneered the use of M-pesa for bulk cash transfers during the post-election emergency in early 2008 in the Kerio Valley, one of the remotest parts of Kenya. During the violence, cattle rustlers attacked communities in the Kerio Valley, looting their livestock and displacing them. Concern’s initial response was to provide food aid, but carrying and distributing food proved very costly and insecure. Cash transfers were seen as a way of overcoming the challenges posed by the terrain and the security situation. Chapter 3 METHODOLOGY The study will be based in Nakuru a town which is surrounded by a network of small village towns, also comprising of low and middle income earners The study proposes to use both secondary data and primary data to achieve its objectives. The secondary data will be obtained from Safari-com website on issues of corporate and social responsibility, monthly newsletters and annual reports. The research will prefer qualitative as it is considered as the most appropriate on account of it being amenable to use of innovative techniques in exploring relatively unexplored research areas (kamoche, 2001; Yin 1994). The researcher will also use mixture of research methods and these are; semi structured questionnaires, surveys and oral interviews to collect data. Quota sampling will also be used to collect data regarding population segments targeted by M-Pesa product. 3.1 Data analysis and methods The data will be summarized and classified in terms of variable objectives of the study in order to enhanced further analysis and processing. The responses to the various items will be coded then keyed in a matrix for this purpose. The data will be entered, edited and cleansed to ensure correct entry of the response. Descriptive (frequencies, means, standard deviations and graphical illustrations) will be used for the analysis to help in establishing the findings on the objectives of the study 3.2 Information Validity and Reliability The questionnaire will be pre-tested with Safari com to authentic reliability. The pre- testing study/pilot study will be done, 100 km from Nakuru away from the study area and will be done to avoid any possible influence on trial respondents before the actual survey 4 REFLECTIONS Due to the size of general population in Kenya, time within which the research should be completed and the cost that would be involved if all the country were studied, the study will cover a cross section of Nakuru residents who will be represent the rest of the country. This study therefore proposes to use cross sectional survey because it is cheap to do and the results from the sample can be inferred to the larger population The M-Pesa product has been in the market for a barely two years and therefore there isn’t much literature about it however the results from this research will guide future research in this area 4.1 Ethical issues The first step was to seek permission from management by writing a letter to Safari-com management. This was important get authorization. Since various people including Safari- com employees, general public and other stakeholders will be interviewed it is important to seek permission from these people before interviewing or giving them questionnaires. Before commencement had the researcher will seek permission from management by writing while assuring them that the copy of research would be provided and none will be published outside without their permission. Under no circumstances would personal details to be divulged according to the data protection Act. It will be responsibility of the researcher to assure participants that it will be their sole decision to comment or give opinion. Another important issue is time and therefore it is upon the researcher to find time for interviews not to disrupt any organizations business. REFERENCES Alice t. Liu Michael K. Mithika- the credit bureau and m banking research study- USAID, April2009. http://news.bbc.co.uk/business: Mobile phone lifeline for worlds poor, 27/02/07 http://www.cato.org/pubs/books/money15.html http://globaltechforum.eiu.com/index, Kenya: Safaricom aims for the big game 02/08/2007. http://www.gurdian.co.uk/: Kenya sets world Kenya sets world first with money transfers by mobile, 20/03/2007 http://www.safaricom.co.ke, Annual results presentation, 21/05/2009 http://www.the times100.co.uk/ case study: Kenyans to use mobile phones to pay utility bills

European Medical Device Regulations

European Medical Device Regulations Practical Application Project The intent of the proposed revisions to the existing European Medical Device Directives is to better protect public health, ensure free and fair trade of goods, and adapt the legislation to the technological advancements observed throughout the industry.1 These revisions have been in process since 2008, when the EU Commission initiated a public forum to collect comments on the existing European medical device directives.TUV In 2010, the need for change was even more apparent with the discovery of the French PIP breast implant scandal. Emergo In 2012, the European Commission released the initial draft of the proposed regulations. The directive on active implantable medical devices (90/383/EEC) and on medical devices (93/42/EEC) was combined into one proposed regulation on medical devices, referred to as MDR. A proposed regulation on in-vitro diagnostic (IVD) medical devices, referred to as IVDR, is intended to replace the existing directive (98/79/EC). The European Parliament and the European Council amended the proposed regulations, and final texts were released in June 2016.1 The regulatory approach utilized in the MDR and the IVDR is a life-cycle approach, rather than pre-approval path as outlined in the existing directives. Guidance documentation related to Authorized Representation, Clinical Evaluation, Vigilance, and Post-Market Clinical Follow-Up were essentially incorporated into the regulations. The major changes included in the final texts of the MDR and IVDR are described below and the subsequent affects on manufacturers, notified bodies, regulatory agencies and patients are outlined. Scope Expansion The MDR and IVDR include a revised medical device definition, which broadens the application of the regulation to include products not currently covered under the existing directives. For example, the MDR will apply to products used for cleaning, disinfection or sterilization. Under the current directive, these types of products were considered accessories to medical devices and thus were out of the scope of the Directive.Emergo Other product groups now within scope of both the MDR and IVDR include devices that do not have a medical intended purpose, such as colored contact lenses, cosmetic implant material, lifestyle and nutritional diagnostic tests. TUV, BSI MDR/IVDR The definition of a medical device accessory was also revised, to include products that assist devices, which will cover additional products. Classification rules in MDR and IVDR changed as well. The MDR increased classification for some devices or requires heightened oversight by the Notified Body but did not change the actual classification of the device. Rather than utilizing the list-based classification system in the Directive, IVDs will be classified per the system developed by the Global Harmonization Task Force into four risk-based classes using seven distinct rules. For IVD devices that do not fit into the classification rules and were self-certified under the existing Directive, the IVDR will classify these devices into a higher risk class which will require Notified Body certification. This is a pivotal shift for the IVD industry since approximately 80-90% of IVDs will now require Notified Body certification to sell in the EU.BSI MDR/IVDR Placing Products on the Market The number of Essential Requirements increased, as well as the number of detail for each requirement. The concept of common specifications was added to the MDR. Referred to as common technical specifications in the IVD Directive, common specifications are documents (not standards) that describe technical or clinical requirements and provide a method of conformity to a requirement of the Regulation. Manufacturers are generally required to comply with common specifications, unless justification can be adequately demonstrated to ensure the same level of safety and performance. The regulations require common specification compliance for aesthetic products. Clinical Evaluation Clinical Investigation The requirements for clinical evaluation and clinical investigation are more rigorous under the new regulations. Clinical investigations may be required for class III and implantable devices if the existing clinical evidence does not fulfill the new requirements. Clinical performance studies will be required and significantly more evidence will be required for IVDs.BSI IVDR Both the MDR and IVDR control the conduct of interventional and other clinical performance studies and require the use of good clinical practices, including informed consent. Another major change is the Post-Market Clinical Follow-up requirement as part of the clinical evaluation cycle for the device. For clinical evidence that relies on equivalence with another predicate device, there are several additional requirements that will likely limit the path to market for this type of clinical justification. In order to leverage equivalence to another device the manufacturer must scientifically justify technical, biological and clinical similarity. There needs to be no significant difference in the clinical performance and safety of the device and the predicate. The manufacturer must be able to demonstrate access to the data on the predicate device in order to substantiate this claim. Since that data is typically proprietary between market competitors, this requirement will likely severely limit the use of comparator equivalence justifications. Supply Chain Enhancements Both the MDR and the IVDR implement new supply chain requirements that affect each step of the medical device supply chain. Each supply chain participant, including importers and distributors, will be responsible for verifying regulatory compliance. Better definition on roles and responsibilities is defined between the authorized representative, distributor and importer. Vigilance reporting of adverse events and subsequent implementation of corrective action (as required) will be expanded to include importers and distributors as well as the manufacturer. All members of the supply chain must be able to maintain traceability of devices and retain those records for at least five years after the last device is supplied to the EU market. The regulations define the financial liability of the manufacturer as well as the authorized representative in the case of injury caused by the device. Labeling Unique device identification (UDI) will also be required. The UDI is compromised of two parts, a device identifier(DI) and a production identifier (PI). The DI is a fixed portion of the UDI that identifies the model number of the device and links the device to the manufacturer. The PI is the variable portion of the UDI that identifies the lot/batch number, expiration date/manufacturing date or serial number for the device. There are many changes to labeling and instructions for use requirements. All device labels, on all levels of packaging will likely be revised as a result of the new regulations. There are special labeling requirements for certain implant products. The patient must have easy access to all safety information, including warnings and precautions, expected lifetime of the device and any mandatory follow-up. With regards to the actual implanted device, the patient must receive identification of the device including UDI information. Vigilance and Post Market Surveillance There are substantial changes to the post-market surveillance and vigilance reporting requirements under the new regulations. Some reporting rules were changed, which will result in more reports. The timeline for reporting serious public health threats did not change, but the timeline for reporting all other adverse events decreased from 30 days to 15 days. The reduced time allowed for reporting will likely result in an increase in the number of follow-up reports in order to provide additional information. The combination of the change to reporting rules and the reporting timeline shift will result in an overall increase in the number of vigilance reports submitted by manufacturers. A requirement for post-market clinical follow up was added as well as periodic (annual) safety update reports. These reports will summarize post-market data and analysis, a description of any actions taken as a result of post market trends and include sales volume data. The Affect on Key Stakeholders Manufacturers There is no provision for grandfathering of existing products under the new regulations. Therefore device manufacturers will need to review product portfolios to determine the affect of the new regulations and subsequent actions needed for both CE marked products and non-CE marked products. BSI MDR/IVDR Due to the increased clinical and regulatory requirements, manufacturers may need to invest in additional resources to adequately satisfy the clinical and regulatory requirements. It is possible that new clinical data will need to be generated, which is a substantial undertaking, both from an economic and resource perspective. Under the new regulations, device manufacturers (and authorized representatives) are required to retain at least one person permanently and continuously who is responsible for regulatory compliance, regardless of the size of the organization. The one exception noted for this is for manufacturers of custom devices who are micro-enterprises. Notified Bodies One of the major role changes driven by the new regulations is the evolution of the notified body role from an industry partner under the Directives to a police-like extension of the Competent Authorities. In the new regulations, notified bodies are required to undergo a designation process and stricter requirements for notified body staff are defined. The demand for notified bodies will increase dramatically, as not all current notified bodies may seek or may not seek full designation for all services currently supplied to manufacturers. Further increasing the demand for notified bodies, is the classification changes, especially in the IVDR, which will require more resources from designated notified bodies. Another major change in the MDR is that notified bodies will be required to submit their clinical evaluation assessment report to an expert panel appointed by the EU Commission prior to certifying a class III implantable device or class IIb device intended to intended to administer/remove a medical product. The regulations will require notified bodies to conduct unannounced audits at least once every five years, which originated as a recommendation from the commission in 2013. Notified bodies are required to test manufacturing samples, or even market samples. However, the responsibility for the cost of this testing is not defined. Regulatory Agencies In an attempt to harmonize efforts between member states, a new regulatory body called the Medical Device Coordination Group (MDCG) is defined with a primary purpose of increasing collaboration between member states while allowing the EU Commission to act when required. The additional vigilance requirements will demand more resources to support processing data at the member state level. Member states will be need to work together in order to coordinate enforcement activities and report surveillance plans to be incorporated into the European Market Surveillance Plan. Member states also can begin applying fees to cover the costs associated with the new requirements. Patients One of the primary objectives of the new EU regulations is to better protect public health. Patient access to information is enhanced. The addition of UDI and vigilance reporting to the European database systems will help make essential device information and user experience data more readily available. UDI information will improve recall and field safety corrective action effectiveness. Additional labeling requirements will better inform the end user. One drawback is that due to the tightened clinical requirements, patients may experience a longer delay in access to new medical devices and technologies. However, more robust regulatory controls with the intent to improve overall patient safety should outweigh this risk. The changes the new regulations bring to the European medical device community and vast. Although the new regulations will not go into effect until three years after formal publication in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJEU), it is important to begin preparing now for implementation. References: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-12-1011_en.htm Medtecheurope, European Unique Device Identification Database (EUDID), Accessed February 29, 2017 http://www.medtecheurope.org/sites/default/files/14_MedTech%20Europe_Background%20Paper_EU%20UDI%20Database_PUBLISHED.pdf EU Commission Recommendation. n.d. https://www.3ec.sk/fileadmin/user_upload/Product_Certification/UNANNOUNCED_AUDITS_2014.pdf.2. Commission Recommendation. September 2013, 2013. http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=OJ:L:2013:253:0027:0035:EN:PDF.

Planning for Success :: Business Planning Plans

Planning for Success   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Planning is a key factor in the success of any business, and conversely, the failure to plan adequately is one of the fastest routes to business failure. There are many considerations that an entrepreneur must decide such as: type of business, legal structure, permits and licenses, market planning, business plan, location, organization management planning, business telephone line, mission statement, and a business checking account. There are many sources of information to help to start a business in an organized way, such as a business plan from the office of Economic Development & Planning located in the County Office Building, or books in that can be found in any library.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first decision that the entrepreneur must make is what type of business he/she wants to start. The decision should be based on the amount of knowledge and skill that they have in the field that they are considering. The better that they know the industry, the stronger there likelihood they will have a successful business, and the better base they will have for the rest of the decisions that will have to be made in the time to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next important decision in the business planning process is the legal structure of the company. The three legal structures are Sole-proprietorship, Partnership and a Corporation. Each one of these legal structures has its advantages and disadvantages. The different aspects that each legal structure differs are: management control, capital, liability, income taxes, business continuity, and government regulations. The understanding of these different issues is crucial to the decision of which structure is the best one for the entrepreneurs business. Be sure to consult an attorney before making this decision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a sole-proprietorship, the owner retains total control of all the decisions that need to be made. The ability to raise capital is limited by the financial resources and the credit worthiness of the individual owner. The owner has the ultimate liability for all the actions and debts of the business. A sole-proprietorship is not a separate taxable entity. The individual owner reports business revenue, expenses and net income (or loss) on his/her individual tax return (form 1040). The business ends with death of owner unless previously sold or transferred. The government has very limited regulations, and few records are legally required. A D.B.A. (Doing Business As) form is available at most office supply stores or at a County Department of Economic Development office, which also requires a small fee. Planning for Success :: Business Planning Plans Planning for Success   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Planning is a key factor in the success of any business, and conversely, the failure to plan adequately is one of the fastest routes to business failure. There are many considerations that an entrepreneur must decide such as: type of business, legal structure, permits and licenses, market planning, business plan, location, organization management planning, business telephone line, mission statement, and a business checking account. There are many sources of information to help to start a business in an organized way, such as a business plan from the office of Economic Development & Planning located in the County Office Building, or books in that can be found in any library.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The first decision that the entrepreneur must make is what type of business he/she wants to start. The decision should be based on the amount of knowledge and skill that they have in the field that they are considering. The better that they know the industry, the stronger there likelihood they will have a successful business, and the better base they will have for the rest of the decisions that will have to be made in the time to come.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The next important decision in the business planning process is the legal structure of the company. The three legal structures are Sole-proprietorship, Partnership and a Corporation. Each one of these legal structures has its advantages and disadvantages. The different aspects that each legal structure differs are: management control, capital, liability, income taxes, business continuity, and government regulations. The understanding of these different issues is crucial to the decision of which structure is the best one for the entrepreneurs business. Be sure to consult an attorney before making this decision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In a sole-proprietorship, the owner retains total control of all the decisions that need to be made. The ability to raise capital is limited by the financial resources and the credit worthiness of the individual owner. The owner has the ultimate liability for all the actions and debts of the business. A sole-proprietorship is not a separate taxable entity. The individual owner reports business revenue, expenses and net income (or loss) on his/her individual tax return (form 1040). The business ends with death of owner unless previously sold or transferred. The government has very limited regulations, and few records are legally required. A D.B.A. (Doing Business As) form is available at most office supply stores or at a County Department of Economic Development office, which also requires a small fee.

Essay --

W hile social media has played an integral role in many prominent international events, there is a clear drawback to the technology, which the world witnessed in the horrific events in the recent brutal terrorist attack in Kenya. The shooting at the Westgate Premier Shopping Mall in Nairobi, which began Sept. 21 and lasted until Sept. 24 and resulted in 72 deaths, appears to be a highly sophisticated undertaking, and social media was a significant component with Al-Shabaab, a Somali-based Islamist group, claiming responsibility for the attack in Kenya. As the attack began, and during the three days in which the gunmen held hostages in the shopping mall, there were regular Twitter dispatches from the terrorists. What’s more, the terrorists exploited Twitter in an attempt to explain the rationale for the attacks. In fact, Al-Shabaab has had a series of Twitter accounts over the years and each of them has been suspended under a clause in the terms of service that bars direct threats of violence. Still, the terrorist group simply – as is quite easily done – creates new Twitter accoun...

Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual Development Essay

Sigmund Freud, born in 1856 was an Austrian neurologist who would later go on to found the discipline of psychoanalysis. He is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind and repression and his concept of the dynamic unconscious suggesting that it is our unconscious mind that determines how we as individuals behave, Freud also believed that the unconscious mind established sexual drives as the dominant motivation of human life. He considered the unconscious mind as being the source of mental energy which determined behaviour, basing his findings on the results of his use of hypnosis where he found that he was able to produce and remove symptoms of hysteria. There have been numerous approaches in the field of psychology that have put forward the belief that behaviour is directed by an individual’s goals but the idea behind a goal-directed unconscious is an original Freudian concept. The main underlying belief of this theory is that any individuals’ behaviour is the direct result of the influences that prior experiences have had on them where these influences have an even greater effect if they are from our childhood. Freud believed that our early experiences formed the solid foundations on which we would build the structure of our life and that the adult personality is indeed formed in childhood according to the situations, treatment and feelings experienced as a child. Freud defined the human psyche as comprising of three parts, the unconscious or sub-conscious containing material that we are unable to bring into our conscious awareness and therefore unknowable. The preconscious which consists of information that is not at the present moment in our conscious awareness but is stored in our memory and can if need be easily recalled to the conscious level; and the conscious part of our mind which is where all current and new incoming content is processed. Within these parts operate the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego that work together to create complex human behaviours. The Id is the only part of our personality that is present from birth and is entirely unconscious, seeking instant gratification and fulfilling instinctive human needs. The Id is governed by the pleasure principle desiring the fulfilment of all desires, needs and wants. If these are not immediately satisfied this results in a state of anxiety or tension. The Id serves of great importance early on in life, a child will cry as a  result of their Id if they are hungry or in discomfort and ensures that their needs are met. Later on in life it is not always realistic or indeed possible to immediately satisfy such needs, it would be morally and socially unacceptable for us to just help ourselves to other people’s things in order to satisfy our own needs and wants and so later in childhood our Ego comes in to play. The Ego is responsible for dealing with reality and acts to ensure that the impulses of the Id are satisfied in a way that is acceptable to the real world and functions in the conscious, preconscious and unconscious parts of our mind. The reality principle weighs up the pro’s and con’s of an action before deciding whether or not to act upon the impulse. Often the impulses of the Id can be satisfied but through delayed gratification with the Ego allowing the behaviour at an appropriate time and place. The Eg o is a part of the Id that has been somewhat modified and rounded by external factors in the environment in which we live. Freud originally used the word Ego to mean a sense of self but later revised it to represent a set of psychic functions such as judgement, control, intellectual functioning and memory. Finally we develop our Super Ego. The Super Ego is the part of our personality that holds our morals and ideals that we have acquired from our parents and environment and acts as a voice for right and wrong. As with the Ego it is present in the conscious, preconscious and unconscious parts of our mind. The Super Ego consists of two parts, the Ego ideal which sets out the rules and standards for good behaviour. Conformity to behaviours that are approved of by our parents and people in positions of authority give us feelings of pride and accomplishment. The second part of the Ego is the Conscience which holds information on all the things that are viewed as being bad by our parents and the society in which we live. Behaviours that are forbidden or at the very least frowned upon and fill us with feelings of guilt and remorse. The perfection principle of the Super Ego strives to suppress any unacceptable desires of the Id and to make our Ego act upon idealistic rather than realistic standards. One of Freud’s better known theories and also one of the most controversial is that of psycho-sexual development. He proposed that an instinctual libido is present in all of us from birth and develops in five stages. First is the oral stage which occurs from birth up until around the age of eighteen months. The main focus here being the  gratification and pleasures the infant receives through feeding. Children in this stage place objects into their mouths in order to orally explore their environment. At this young age the child is entirely dependent on their carers and thus develops a sense of trust and comfort in relation to those carers. This stage is dominated by the Id as at this point the Ego and Superego have not yet fully developed and all actions are based on the â€Å"Pleasure Principle†. The key experience for a child in the oral stage of development is weaning, allowing the child to become less dependent on their caretakers. Freud said that too much or too little gratification may lead to an oral fixation, which Freud claimed could result in them developing a passive, immature, manipulative personality. This fixation could present in an adult as issues with eating, smoking, nail biting and aggression. The second stage of psycho-sexual development is the anal stage taking place between around 18 months to three years old. Freud believed at this stage that the primary focus of the libido was on controlling bladder and bowel movements. Toilet training is the key experience here which brings into conflict the Id that demands immediate gratification and the Ego that demands delayed gratification. The resulting outcome of this conflict is heavily influenced by the parenting style that a child receives during toilet training. The ideal resolution of this conflict is a gradual adjustment whereby the child adjusts to moderate parental demands, learning the values of physical cleanliness and self control. Freud suggested that if parents over-emphasized toilet training or punished accidents then the child may develop what we term as an anally retentive personality, with the potential to become obsessively concerned with neatness and order. On the other hand if the parents were too lenient then the child may develop an anally expulsive and destructive personality whereby they are self-indulgent, messy and wasteful. Faeces and money are often linked in psychodynamic literature and according to Freudian theory; attitudes to money can reveal what the individual experienced during toilet training. The third stage of psycho-sexual development is the phallic stage taking place between the ages of three and six. During this time a child begins to gain awareness of its body and also the bodies of their parents and other  children, in particular genitalia. They begin to explore their genitals and learn the physical differences between male and female. During this stage boys experience what Freud termed as the Oedipus complex whereby the child wishes to remove his father in order to gain full attention of his mother’s affections. This urge to eliminate the father is controlled by what he termed as castration anxiety and so instead the child learns to imitate the father. Girls experience what Carl Jung in 1913 termed as the Electra complex where instead she wishes to remove the mother in order to gain full possession of her father. Freud however rejected this term as being psycho-analytically inaccurate believing that the reasoning behind the Oedipus complex applied only to male children and that it was wrong to share this analogy between the two sexes. He did however believe that girls experienced what he termed as penis envy and that initially the child experiences a lot of anger towards their mother for not sharing the same appendage as their father but in time they learn to identify with their mother in order to possess their father. Freud was very much influenced by the death of his father in 1896. In the three years following the death of his father, Freud became preoccupied with self-analysis where he realised that he had repressed feelings of anger and resentment against his father. He believed that as a small boy he had been in love with his mother and was jealous of his father. Freud based his theory of early sexual development on personal theory instead of exploring further using empirical methods. The fourth stage of psycho-sexual development is the latency stage taking place from around the age of six up until puberty. During this stage the child enters into a sexually dormant period, consolidating the habits of the previous three stages. The Ego and Superego take precedence over the Id due to the child’s defence mechanisms repressing its instinctual drives during the phallic stage. Now that gratification is delayed, the child is driven to derive pleasure from external activities such as friendships, education and hobbies. Any neuroses established during this fourth stage of psycho-sexual development may be due to the unresolved issues of the Oedipus complex or the Ego’s failure to focus on socially acceptable activities. The fifth and final stage of psycho-sexual development is the genital stage  that spans from puberty throughout the remainder of adult life. As with the phallic stage the genital stage is focussed upon genitalia but in this instance the sexuality is consensual and more often involving another adult in the form of a relationship rather than being solitary and infantile. This is due to the establishment of the Ego which shifts attention away from primary-drive gratification to secondary process thinking and to satisfy desire in a more symbolic and intellectual way through loving relationships, friendships and family. The genital stage is the time when a person is able to resolve any psycho-sexual childhood conflicts that they may have and allows psychological detachment and independence from their parents. In previous stages focus was placed solely on individual needs, now the welfare of others comes strongly into play and if all stages have been completed successfully then Freud believed that the individual should be a well-balanced and fully functioning person. Unfortunately it isn’t all that simple and the Id, the Ego and the Super Ego continuously come into conflict with one another. The Ego has to work to control the demands of the Id whilst at the same time having regard for the restrictions placed upon it by the Super Ego. At times these desires and constraints cause conflict that our Ego is unable to deal with resulting in anxiety and stress. Freud identified three types of anxiety, firstly neurotic anxiety which occurs through fear that we will lose control of the Id’s urges and the resulting punishment for inappropriate behaviour. Secondly reality anxiety which is a fear of external events often culminating in phobias, we are able to reduce such anxiety by avoiding the threatening object or situation. Thirdly is moral anxiety from a fear of violating our own moral principles and values that have been set down by our Super Ego. Neurosis also figured heavily in Freud’s psycho-analytical theory. He proposed that neurosis occurs when the Ego is unable to deal with desires that produce feelings of guilt and a sense of wrong. Through repression these thoughts manifest themselves through symptoms that have no physical dysfunction. The mental illness acts as a replacement for the guilt ridden desires of the Id allowing the Ego to avoid the conflict between itself and the Id. Such symptoms however are worse than the conflict they set out to hide, not only stopping the individual from being accepting of their repressed desires but  also causing them to become socially incapable of enjoying a happy and healthy life. He also believed that neurosis can be triggered by a traumatic childhood event that the individual is unable to handle. Often such experiences give rise to feelings of guilt that we seek to repress through use of various displacement mechanisms. Sometimes these repressed memories make their way back into our conscious minds in a different form producing a great amount of anxiety in turn triggering psychological disorders that seek to block out the real cause. Psychoanalytical therapy has proved productive in being able to help a client uncover unconscious defence mechanisms and help them find better ways of dealing with their anxiety or removing it all together. Psycho-analysis opened up a new view regarding the treatment of mental illness, suggesting that psychological distress could be reduced through talking about their problems with a therapist. The work of Freud was responsible for bringing about a greater understanding of behaviour that was unusual and differences were no longer automatically equated as unacceptable, with understanding comes greater tolerance. He radically changed the view of sexuality making it an acceptable topic of conversation and a natural part of a healthy, happy life. The approach is also credited with highlighting the importance of childhood and our unconscious mind. Despite the influential effect of his theories Freud is open to numerous criticisms. Many psychologists have adopted his ideas but there has been a great deal of modernisation on his original views. Carl Jung who was a pupil of Freud’s even disagreed with certain aspects of his theories; in particular Freud’s reliance on sex as the answer to many problems. Jung went on to develop his own theories known as Analytical Psychology. Erich Fromm rejected Freud’s view that the drives of the human being are solely biological, believing instead that it was down to our freedom of choice and ability to choose our own destiny. He believed any conflict arose as a result of the fear or uncertainty which that freedom entailed. Feminists are particularly critical of the work of Freud due to the sexist nature of many of his ideas. Neo-Freudian Karen Horney proposed that instead of penis envy girls in fact developed power envy and that in their inability to bear  children men develop womb and vagina envy. Scientifically the validity of Freud’s theory of psycho-sexual development is brought in to question due to his perceived personal fixation on human sexuality and the phallic stage of development proved controversial for being based upon clinical observations of the Oedipus complex. Many were critical of the fact that a lot of Freud’s ideas were based on case studies or clinical observations rather than empirical, scientific research. Contemporary criticism questions the universality of Freud’s theory of personality and psycho-sexual development. Anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski studied the matriarchal society of the Trobriand where young boys are punished by their maternal uncles not their fathers and thus suggested that in this case power is the source of Oedipal conflict not sexual jealousy. Contemporary research has also confirmed that although personality traits corresponding to the oral, anal, phallic, latent and genital stages are observable they are not necessarily fixed stages of childhood or indeed adult personality traits that were derived from childhood. While there is no denying that Freud is of great historical significance and he developed many ground breaking theories and ideas some of which still hold relevance today although many over time have been discredited. It must then be said that Freud’s theory of psychosexual development may in some cases offer us a limited understanding of a client’s issue it would not be ethical practice to rely entirely on this theory when working with a client. Due to its lack of credibility in many areas, Freud’s theory cannot be implemented as a full explanation or means with which to begin the process of understanding and healing. Bibliography Frankland, A. and Sanders, P. 1995. Next steps in counselling. Manchester: PCCS Books. pp.70-76 Hough, M. 2006. Counselling Skills and Theory. 2nd ed. London: Hodder Arnold, pp. 59-86. Malinowski, B. 1927. Sex and repression in savage society. [e-book] London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. http://openlibrary.org/books/OL17967917M/Sex_and_repression_in_savage_society [Accessed: 1st July 2013]. Cherry, K. n.d.. Freud’s Stages of Psychosexual Development. [online] Available at: http://psychology.about.com/od/theoriesofpersonality/ss/psychosexualdev.htm [Accessed: 19 Jun 2013]. Copperwiki.org. 1950. Human Centred Psychotherapy – CopperWiki. [online] Available at: http://www.copperwiki.org/index.php?title=Human_Centred_Psychotherapy [Accessed: 01 Jul 2013] En.wikipedia.org. 2013. Psychosexual development – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. [online] Available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Psychosexual_development [Accessed: 01 Jul 2013]. http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0072969806/286620/fei69806_ch02

Operation Research Essay

INTRODUCTION & HISTORY OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH Operational research came into existence in 1885 when Frederick W. Taylor emphasised the application of scientific analysis to methods of production. The name (OR) probably came from a programme under taken by Great Britain during world war2, â€Å"research in military operations†. After the success of OR in military operations, it quickly spread to all phases of Industry and Government. By 1951, OR had take place as a distinct science in the United States. Hence it is said that Or is â€Å"the art of winning war without actually fighting it†. OPERATIONAL RESEARCH IN INDIA: In India OR society founded in 1959, also became a member of International Federation of OR Societies in 1959. Now OR techniques are used in almost all the walks of our life and Or is emerging as an interdisciplinary areas of knowledge that can make contribution to the solution of the problems in diversified areas of interest. There is too much impact of OR in economics, management, engineering and other social & behaviour sciences. DEFINITION OF OPERATION RESEARCH: * Operational research is the art of giving bad answers to problems which otherwise have worse answers. T.L. SAATY * Operational research is the scientific approach to problem solving for executive management. H.M. WAGNER * Operational Research (OR) is the use of advanced analytical techniques to improve decision making. It is sometimes known as Operations Research, Management Science or Industrial Engineering. People with skills in OR hold jobs in decision support, business analytics, marketing analysis and logistics planning – as well as jobs with OR in the  title. ACKOFF & SASIENI NATURE OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH: Operational Research involves research on (military) operations. This indicates the approach as well as the area of applications of the field. Thus it is an approach to problems of how to coordinate and control the operations or activities within an organisation. In order to run an organisation effectively as a whole the problem that arises frequently is coordination among the conflicting goal of its various functional departments. Let’s consider the problem of the stocks of finished goods. The various departments of the organisation may like to handle this problem differently. * To the marketing department, stock of large variety of products is a means of supplying the company’s customers with what they want and where they want it. Clearly the fully stocked ware- house is of prime importance to the company. * The production department argues for long production runs preferably on a smaller product range, particularly if there is a significant time loss when production switched from one variety to another. * On the other hand, finance department sees stocks kept as capital tied up unproductively and argues strongly for their reduction. * Finally the personnel department sees great advantage in labour relations if there is a steady level of production leading to steady employment. To optimise the whole system, the decision maker must decide the best policy keeping in view the relative importance of objectives and validity of conflicting claims of various departments from the perspective of the whole organisation. Operations research thus helps to seek the optimal solution to a problem and not merely one which gives better solutions than the one currently in use. The decision taken by the decision maker may not be acceptable to every department but it should be optimal for the organisation as a whole or at least for a large portion of the total organisation. In order to obtain such type of solution, the decision maker must follow the effects and interactions of a particular decision. APPLICATIONS OF OPERATIOANL RESEARCH A. ACCOUNTING: * Cash flow & fund flow planning’s. * Credit policy analysis. * Planning of delinquent account strategy. B. CONSTRUCTION: * Allocation of resources to projects. * Determination and deployment of proper work forces. * Project scheduling, monitoring and control. C. FACILITIES PLANNING: * Factory size and location decision. * Hospital planning. * International logistics systems design. * Estimation of number of facilities required. * Transportation loading and unloading. * Warehouse location decision. D. FINANCE: * Dividend policy decision. * Investment decision. * Portfolio analysis. E. MANUFACTURING: * Inventory control. * Projection marketing balance. * Production scheduling. * Production smoothing. F. MARKETING: * Advertising budget allocation. * Product introduction timing. * Selection of product mix. * Customer’s preferences. G. ORGANISATION BEHAVIOUR: * Personnel selection & planning. * Scheduling of training programs. * Skills balancing. * Recruitment of Employees. H. PURCHASING: * Material transfers. * Optimal buying. * Optimal reordering. I. RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT: * Control of R&D projects. * Product introduction planning. CONCLUSION: Operational research, also known as operations research, is an interdisciplinary branch of applied mathematics and formal science that uses advanced analytical methods such as mathematical modelling, statistical analysis, and mathematical optimization to arrive at optimal or near-optimal.