Revision notes Essay

Hardware is the physical parts of the computer system – the parts that you can touch and see. A motherboard, a CPU, a keyboard and a monitor are all items of hardware What is Software? Software is a collection of instructions that can be ‘run’ on a computer. These instructions tell the computer what to do. Software is not a physical thing (but it can of course be stored on a physical medium such as a CD-ROM), it is just a bunch of codes. An operating system such as Windows XP or Mac OS X, applications such as Microsoft Word, and the instructions that control a robot are all examples of software. The Difference Between Hardware and Software? Computer hardware is the physical components that make up the computer system. Hardware is useless without software to run on it. Software is instructions that tell computer hardware what to do. Software is useless unless there is hardware to run it on. For a computer system to be useful it has to consist of both hardware and software. Central Processing Unit (CPU) The CPU is the ‘brain’ of the computer. It is the device that carries out software instructions. The Pentium processor made by Intel is an example of a CPU. CPUs usually plug into a large socket on the main circuit board (the motherboard) of a computer. They get very hot when they are operating so usually have a large fan attached to their top to keep them cool. Random Access Memory (RAM) Random Access Memory (RAM) is the part of the computer that temporarily stores the instructions that the computer is running, and the data it is processing. RAM is a volatile storage device. This means that if the computer’s power is turned off the contents of RAM disappear and are lost. RAM, like the CPU, also plugs in to sockets on the motherboard. When a computer is in use, its RAM will contain Read-Only Memory (ROM) Read-Only Memory (ROM) is used in most computers to hold a small, special piece of software: the ‘boot up’ program. This software runs when the computer is switched on or ‘boots up’. The software checks the computer’s hardware and then loads the operating system. ROM is non-volatile storage. This means that the data it contains is never lost, even if the power is switched off. Graphical User Interface (GUI) A GUI is an interface built around visual (graphical) things. Windows are regions of the screen used to display information. Icons are small pictures that are used to represent folders, software, etc. Menus are lists of options the user can select from. A pointer is an arrow that can be moved around the screen and is used to select things. Windows XP is an example of an operating system with a GUI. GUIs are quite easy to use due to the visual nature of the interface – the user has lots of visual clues as to what things do. However, to display all of the nice graphics required by a GUI takes a lot of computing power so quite a powerful computer is needed. Mainframe Computer A mainframe computer is a large computer, often used by large businesses, in government offices, or by universities. Mainframe computers are typically: Powerful – they can process vast amounts of data, very quickly. Large – they are often kept in special, air-conditioned rooms. Multi-user – they allow several users (sometimes hundreds) to use the computer at the same time, connected via remote terminals (screens and keyboards). Laptop Computer A ‘laptop’ computer is a light, compact and portable PC. Laptops contain a rechargeable battery so that they can be used even when not plugged in to a mains power supply. They also have a built-in LCD monitor. To make them as portable as possible, most laptops try to avoid any sort of cable or wire. Instead of a mouse, a track pad is used. Instead of a wired connection to a network or printer, ‘wireless’ radio connections are used. MICR Reader Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) is a technology that allows details from bank cheques to be read into a computer quickly and accurately. The cheque number and bank account number are printed at the bottom of each bank cheque in special magnetic ink using a special font. An MICR reader can detect these numbers. OMR Scanner Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) is a technology that allows the data from a multiple-choice type form to be read quickly and accurately into a computer. Special OMR forms are used which have spaces that can be coloured in (usually using a pencil). An OMR scanner can then detect these marks. Common uses of OMR are multiple-choice exam answer sheets and lottery number forms. OCR Scanner Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a software technology that can convert images of text into an actual text file that can then be edited, e. g. using word-processing software). The result is just as if the text had been typed in by hand. OCR is typically used after a page of a book has been scanned. The scanned image of the page is then analyzed by the OCR software, which looks for recognizable letter shapes and generates a matching text file. Advanced OCR software can recognize normal handwriting as well as printed text – this is usually called handwriting recognition. Sensors A sensor is a device that converts a real-world property (e. g. temperature) into data that a computer can process. Examples of sensors and the properties they detect are†¦ A sensor measures a specific property data and sends a signal to the computer. Usually this is an analogue signal so it needs to be converted into digital data for the computer to process. This is done using by an Analogue-to-Digital Converter (ADC). Sensors are used extensively in monitoring / measuring / data logging systems, and also in computer control systems. SensorWhat it Detects TemperatureTemperature LightLight / dark PressurePressure (e. g. someone standing on it) MoistureDampness / dryness Water-levelHow full / empty a container is MovementMovement nearby ProximityHow close / far something is. Switch or buttonIf something is touching / pressing it Printers Dot-Matrix Printer A dot-matrix printer is named after the pattern (a grid or ‘matrix’) of dots used when creating the paper printout. Dot-matrix print quality is poor, the printers are noisy, and there are much better printing systems available today. However, the dot-matrix printers are still used in certain situations: Since the pins actually hit the paper, several ‘carbon-copies’ can be printed in one go. An example of this is airline tickets, which have several duplicate pages, all printed in one go. The print mechanism is very cheap, and the inked ribbons last for a long time. So, where cheap, low-quality printouts are required, dot-matrix printers are used. An example is shop receipts. Inkjet Printer Cheap, high-quality, full-color printing became available during the 1980s due to the development of ink-jet printers. Ink-jet printers are very quiet in use. Since they have so few moving parts they are also cheap to manufacture and thus cheap to purchase. However, the ink is very expensive to buy (this is how the printer companies make their profits! ) so the printers are expensive to use. Laser Printer Laser printers are very complex devices, and thus expensive to buy. However they are very cheap to use. This is because they produce marks on paper using a fine dust called toner that is relatively cheap to buy. A single toner cartridge will often last for 5,000-10,000 pages of printing. The laser printer uses a complex system, involving a laser, to make the toner stick to the required parts of the paper. (This system is very different to a dot-matrix or ink-jet, and you don’t need to know the details. )The laser and toner system allows very fast printing compared to other printers (just a few seconds per page). Plotter Plotters create hard copy in a very different way to printers. Instead of building up text and images from tiny dots, plotters draw on the paper using a pen. The pens are held in an arm which can lift the pen up or down, and which can move across the paper. The arm and pen create a drawing just like a human could, but much more accurately and more quickly. Different coloured pens can be used to produce coloured line drawings. Designers and architects often use plotters since they work with huge pieces of paper, far bigger than anything a normal printer could work with†¦ Why Backup Your Data? If you delete a file by accident, your computer breaks, your laptop is stolen, or your business burns to the ground, having a backup copy means that you have not lost your precious data. You can recover your lost files and continue working. Most businesses use computers to store very important data (customer records, financial information, designs for products, etc. ) If this data is lost, the business could possibly have to close. Backing-up business data is essential. How Are Backups Created? Personal backups of the data on your hard-drive can be made by†¦Burning files to a CD-R. Copying files to an external hard-drive. Copying the files to another computer on a network. Businesses backup essential data by†¦Making copies of data very regularly. Using large-capacity media such as magnetic tape. Keeping old copies of backups, just in case. Automating the system so that nobody forgets to do it! Keeping backup media off-site (in case of fire or theft) What is a Network? A network is two or more computers, or other electronic devices, connected together so that they can exchange data. For example a network allows computers to share files, users to message each other, a whole room of computers to share a single printer, etc. Network connections between computers are typically created using cables (wires). However, connections can be created using radio signals (wireless / wi-fi), telephone lines (and modems) or even, for very long distances, via satellite links. Local Area Network (LAN) A Local Area Network is a network confined to one building or site. Often a LAN is a private network belonging to an organisation or business. Because LANs are geographically small, they usually use cables or low-power radio (wireless) for the connections. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a LAN that uses radio signals (WiFi) to connect computers instead of cables. At the centre of the WLAN is a wireless switch or router – a small box with one or two antennas sticking out the back – used for sending and receiving data to the computers. (Most laptops have a wireless antenna built into the case. )It is much more convenient to use wireless connections instead of running long wires all over a building. However, WLANs are more difficult to make secure since other people can also try to connect to the wireless network. So, it is very important to have a good, hard-to-guess password for the WLAN connections. Typically, the range of a wireless connection is about 50m, but it depends how many walls, etc. are in the way. Wide Area Network (WAN) A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large area. A WAN is often created by joining several LANs together, such as when a business that has offices in different countries links the office LANs together. Because WANs are often geographically spread over large areas and links between computers are over long distances, they often use quite exotic connections technologies: optical fibre (glass) cables, satellite radio links, microwave radio links, etc. Topologies The word topology means ‘arrangement’, so when we talk about the topology of a network, we mean how the different parts are arranged and connected together. There are three common network topologies†¦ Bus Network In this type of network, a long, central cable, the ‘bus’ is used to connect all of the computers together. Each computer has a short cable linking it to the ‘bus’. A bus network†¦Is cheap to install (just one long cable). Can be quite slow since all computers share the same cable when communicating. Will stop working if there is a break in the central bus cable. Ring Network In this type of network each computer is connected to a loop of cable, the ‘ring’. (If you took a bus network and connected the ends of the bus cable together, you would have a ring network. )A ring network†¦Can cope with a break in the ring cable since all computers are still joined together (it is now a bus network) Star Network In this type of network every computer is connected to a central device. The device passes messages between computers. At the center of a star network you might use a hub (cheap, but slower) or a switch (more expensive, but faster). A star network†¦Is quite expensive to install (you have to buy lots of cable and the central device)Is very fast since each computer has its own cable which it doesn’t need to share. Can cope with a broken cable (only one computer will be affected). Will stop working if the central device breaks. Is the most common network topology. †¢Any computer that is to be connected to a network needs to have a network interface card (NIC). Cables are still used in most networks, rather than using only wireless, because they can carry much more data per second, and are more secure (less open to hacking). †¢A hub is a device that connects a number of computers together to make a LAN. †¢A switch, like a hub, is a device that connects a number of computers together to make a LAN. †¢A router is a network device that connects together two or more networks. A common use of a router is to join a home or business network (LAN) to the Internet (WAN). †¢A proxy server is a computer setup to share a resource, usually an Internet connection. A bridge is a network device that typically links together two different parts of a LAN. What is a Record? The set of data associated with a single object or person is known as a record. What is a Field, and what is a Field Name? You’ll see that each of our student’s records contain the same items. These items are known as fields. Each field has a field name. What is a Key Field / Primary Key? It is very important that every record in a database can be individually identified. We need to be sure that when we access a record, we are accessing the correct one. Analogue to Digital Convertor (ADC) If you want to attach an analogue input device to a digital device such as a computer, you will need an analogue to digital convertor (ADC). A good example of a computer peripheral that requires an ADC is a microphone. When you plug a microphone into a computer, you are actually plugging it into an ADC which converts the analogue signals from the microphone into digital data that the computer can then process. Digital to Analogue Convertor (DAC) If you want to attach an analogue output device to a digital device such as a computer, you will need a digital to analogue convertor (DAC). A good example of a computer peripheral that requires a DAC is a loudspeaker or headphones. When you plug a loudspeaker into a computer, you are actually plugging it into a DAC, which takes digital data from the computer and converts it into analogue signals which the loudspeaker then converts into sound. The Effect of These Devices on Our Lives Look at the list of devices above. Now try to imagine living without them – washing your clothes by hand! Life would be a lot tougher. Microprocessor-controlled devices mean that we have more leisure time to relax and enjoy ourselves instead of doing household chores. We are able to communicate with people very easily using computers, mobile phones, etc. We can become part of online social networks, making friends with people from all over the world. Computers and Internet connections mean that many of the tasks that involved us leaving the house, for example, shopping for music, clothes or food, can now be done on-line. Online shopping gives us more choice of products and saves us time. It is also great from those who are unable to get out of the house easily, such as the elderly, or the disabled. Trailing Cables Computer equipment is often connected to lots of cables: power, network, etc. If these cables are lying on the floor, they can cause people to trip over them. Solution: Place cables inside cable ducts, or under the carpet / flooring Spilt Drinks or Food If any liquids are spilt on electrical equipment, such a s a computer, it can result in damage to the equipment, or an electric shock to the user. Solution: Keep drinks and food away from computers Overloaded Power Sockets Plugging too many power cables into a socket can result in the socket being overloaded, overheating, and a fire starting. Solution: Never plug too many cables into a socket. Always make sure there are fire extinguishers nearby Heavy Objects Falling Many items of computer equipment are very heavy: CRT monitors, laser printers, etc. Heavy items can cause serious injury if they fall on people. Solution: Make sure equipment is placed on strong tables / shelves †¢Use strong passwords to protect your user login account †¢Never reveal your login password to anyone else †¢Place a firewall between your computer and any network †¢Disconnect from networks when you are not using them †¢Encrypt any sensitive information (just in case they get in) Batch Processing It is often not desirable to deal with a set of data inputs until a certain number have occurred or a set time has passed. So they are stored until the system comes online to process the data in one ‘batch’. The advantage of batch processing is that it can be done during less-busy times on the computer or jobs can be queued up in order to fairly share a computing resource such as a super-computer. The main disadvantage of batch processing is the time delay between collecting the input data and getting an output. It can also be frustrating to find out only later that a batch run has failed due to a data input problem. Good Luck!

Commercialization of Organ Transplant

Ethics Committee Jacqueline Denies Curry Strayed University Business Ethics 309 Instructor Dry. Harvey Weiss Market Shortage of Organs The purpose for the centralization of organs for transplant is to make able to provide the availability of organs for patients/people who are in pain, and suffering, and destined to die from the terminal illness of organ failure. The number of patients in need of organs is growing, and the zero policy for organ donors does not show a sufficient response to the growing need of patients needing organs for the terminal illness of organ failure.Although the government does not condone the sale of human body organs there is evidence that financial incentives work, and would eliminate the organ market shortage. One financial incentive in suggestion, called the survivor benefits would help pay for the funeral costs, and give family donor recognition for being of service to fellow Americans (mm. ‘. Organ selling. Com. 2006). This may only appeal to fami lies that do not have a burial policy for their deceased, and it is why it is helpful in increasing the supply of cadavers organs while bearing financial assistance in funeral arrangements for their love ones.Against the Centralization of Organs The National Organ Transplant Act of 1984 is a ban on the purchase or sale of human organs because it would affect interstate commerce (organelle. Com, 2006). The Senate report simply stated, â€Å"It is the sense of the Committee that individuals, and organizations should not profit by the sale of human organs for transplantation† (organelle. Com, 2006).Criminal activity has entered the organ market in other countries where there has been reports of kidnapping, and murder of children, and adults to harvest their organs for sale, and in India organ trafficking y clinicians, managers, and clinician centers, middle men, and even state officials are under investigation for criminal acts. This raises a concern for the loss of lives of inn ocent people being victimized for monetary gain, and raises a question of doubt in the legitimacy of where, how, and from who was the organ obtained.My Position of Debate The advancement of medicine, and biotechnology achievements has made it possible to greater the procedure in the medical treatment from the terminal illness of organ failure. The loss of human dignity is the major concern when putting a price n human body parts, because of the threat of devaluing the life of a human being. My position on the debate of the centralization of organs for transplant is that organs should not be sold. Respectively, when we go to the hospital for broken bones, and infectious insect or animal bites are Just as fatal if medical treatment is not administered in a timely manner.Medical treatment is based on a need base, and organs for transplant should remain on a need bases. The best suggestions made in my opinion is by Lloyd Cohen, Ph. D. , J. D. Who states, â€Å"The best way to increase the supply of transplant organs is by establishing a future Market in cadavers organs†, by a contractual agreement, like the one we have here in Texas by signing the donor opt on the back of driver's license or by approval from the family of a donor (organelle. Co, 2006), and also the suggestion made by Thomas G. Peters, M. D. Or the donation of an organ a financial incentive for burial expense that is called survivor benefits would help to increase the organ supply, while giving some financial relief to those who could not afford to purchase a burial plan for their loved en. While researching material for this assignment it has also been reported that a donor has donated three cadavers organs. My Moral Judgment with a Moral Argument I think that good will is the moral principle of an individual who has made the decision to donate a vital organ, and that it is a very personal, and private one.Also it should be made known to the family so that there is no misunderstanding about the procedure to remove a vital organ (s) after departure. Religious folk might be offended by thinking that the body is desecrated, but if informed before death embers of the family may be more likely to honor a donor's agreement. The experience in knowing that a part of yourself has given some one the hope to survive a terminal illness to live life to the fullest of expectations is a rewarding acknowledgement of one's own pure self-interest, and is what makes it a Justified one.The Kantian Normative Theory The Kantian Normative Theory best supports my conclusion. According to Kant goodwill is the unique human capacity to act from principle. The willingness to save a life after the finality of your own is right by weighing the ratio of good that the action would produce. The only consequence of the donor is that there is no longer a use for the organ (s) donated. The reasoning in wanting to help cure the illness of organ failure for goodness sake from the sense of duty is a true m oral worth.Women unable to bear children because of organ failure who later had a successful organ transplant were able to experience the Joy of child birth. The concern of medication dosage is under observation for abnormality of child birth has thus far been premature birth. The reasoning for wanting to help cure a terminal illness for goodness sake from the sense of duty is a true moral thought. Conclusion In my conclusion I would like to mention a course study from last quarter, and it was World Religions.I learned that in every religion one seeks individual perfection during the course of their life time, and that most people reach that perfection before their finality in death. Eighty-three percent of individuals in the world has an affiliation with one or more sacred, and holy religions, and seventeen percent with no religion at all, and that most sacred scriptures are edited to teach the continuance of holy, and sacred ways as it pertains to the changing time or era. In thos e sacred religions the one common duty is to better humanity.

School Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

School - Essay Example Teen Court is held in the court room at the Easton court house. Teen Court is similar to a normal court, but the judge, jury, and lawyers are all kids, 14-17 years old. When I went to Teen Court, some of my classmates were lawyers, and another was the Judge. I was given a chance to explain what happened at the party, and I was questioned by my lawyer and the opposing lawyer. When my case had been heard, I was sentenced by the jury. They sentenced me to serve on three Teen Court juries, and to do thirty-five hours of community service. To make things worse, my parents were out of out of town and my grandmother was staying with me. I was so upset over this I did not know what to do. I wanted to tell my parents when they called, but decided to wait so that I wouldn't ruin their trip. It was on my mind so much I couldn't sleep, and I felt terrible that I had let my parents down. I was also worried that I would not be able to play basketball at school. I love playing basketball; it's one of my favorite sports. Thinking about how I had done something stupid that might ruin my future dream of playing basketball at college was a real eye-opener for me. I have never driven while under the influence nor have I ridden with anyone when they were drinking and driving.

Competitive Environment Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Competitive Environment Questions - Essay Example It takes place in imperfect market and monopoly market is a perfect example which provides restraints towards entry. There are no barriers to entry in a perfectly competitive market where the firms are price takers and have no power of price making behavior. Barriers to entry may be structural, legal or strategic (Besanko, et al, -2010, p. 473). Structural barriers affect the decisions associated with the cost and demand of the firms and it may occur due to economies of scale and network effects. Legal barriers from its name can be said to be barriers like patents, license etc from the ruling body. In case of strategic barriers, it includes various decisions made by the firms in restricting the entry of other firms with application of methods like innovative dealing arrangements, first mover advantage, and unique advertising and product differentiation techniques and so on (Competition and Barriers to Entry, 2007, p.3). 1 (b) Comment generally on the impact of ‘the Internetâ₠¬â„¢ on such barriers Internet auction market is an example of structural barriers to entry. The concept of positive network externality plays an important role in this case. The concept of positive network externality states that when a firm’s product is more attractive to a given customer base then more of the product is used by other consumers. Recent eBay. Com has emerged as one of the internet auction leader and its huge database offers the customers a wide array of products to be purchased at a time. The huge volume of transactions on this particular website is a typical example of barriers to entry towards other internet auction companies as in case of eBay they make huge money through the basis of commissions on transactions. Now a newcomer will have to either huge money which will not cover his cost or it will not be attractive as eBay because it already has a great market reputation and mammoth customer base (Besanko, et al, -2010, p. 473).The concept of strategic b arriers to entry is also associated with the structural barrier concept as the various companies through innovative production differentiation techniques like innovative advertisement, promotions, lucrative offer also try to capture markets as for example jabong.com, flipkart.com, snap deal.com and holds parity with the assumptions of monopolistic competition. In case of the airlines industry, with the use of internet has helped various travel agents reap a huge benefit through third party transactions on commission basis which affects the traditional travel agencies. Thus legal barriers are sometimes imposed (Dembrower & Grenblad, 2003, p. 3). 2. Explain and give examples of ‘collusive behaviour’, which is common in ‘Oligopolistic’ markets, AND identify the conditions necessary for ‘collusive agreements’ to survive in the long term. In oligopolistic markets various players cater to the same industry as for example in the soft drinks market two dominant players are Coca Cola and Pepsi. They formulate and implement optimal strategies against their rivals in order to make them worse off by calculating on their respective reaction functions (Bertrand game). Thus the

Intercultrual Communication in the workplace Paper Essay

Intercultrual Communication in the workplace Paper - Essay Example The American team is counting on bagging the contract and making a profit and they are very happy to know that their hosts speak fluent English albeit with a slight accent. Despite this reassurance they encountered problems almost from the beginning. During the first meeting itself they expected to cover significant ground yet the Japanese seemed to beat around the bush and not much interested in going ahead. In the second meeting too when certain issues were being discussed, the Japanese fell silent for a long time which the American found embarrassing and difficult to fill, ultimately they broke the silence by talking about the tourist spots of their city and the best way to get there. The Japanese even appeared to have some kind of telepathic abilities as all of them seemed to understand each other very well by a few gestures and nods, without exchanging a word amongst themselves before talking to the Americans. Though the Japanese agreed to the conditions set out and they took go od care of their guests and spent a lot of money on them, they always managed to wriggle out of signing the contract. Ultimately the Americans lost their patience and returned quite exasperated. Americans and Japanese are described as the "oddest couple in the world, at the opposite end of the cultural spectrum." ( http: //www.culturalsavvy.com / j

INTERPRETING CRIME AND CRIMINALS 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

INTERPRETING CRIME AND CRIMINALS 2 - Essay Example My research was able to establish that there is not much difference in the experiences of male and female victims of cyber-stalking. One distinct difference between the male and female victim is that males are more likely not to report incidents of stalking to the police or law enforcers. The findings in this research imply that stereotypes in cyber-crimes have been firmly entrenched in our minds; little information is known about male victims of cyber-stalking-about how they became victims, how they dealt with it, and how they learned to live with it. Cyber-stalking is an old crime given new teeth. It used to be just plain stalking-following and watching a person doing his or her routine activities. But now that we are in the age of cyber technology, it has evolved into a much more sophisticated crime. I have chosen this topic because it is very interesting to explore the unconventional angle in the commission of this crime. People are familiar about the statistics in this crime-there are both male and female victims—however, they tend to focus more on the female victim, and dismiss the male victim to be of lesser importance and concern. This crime is also considered one of the newer crimes created by cyber-technology. It largely explains why legislation and implementation has not caught up with it yet. There are many countries right now that have yet to make this act a punishable offence. Although the UK has firmly entrenched legislation to address this crime, it has the same problems as other countries--the implementatio n of these laws. This topic also interests me because I would like to find out how the victim became a victim, how he felt about being a victim, and how he was dealt with by police officers when he eventually reported the crime. I used the qualitative method of research in this study. More specifically I

ICS5 Extra Credit Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

ICS5 Extra Credit - Assignment Example The New Year flower fair marks the beginning of a year and the end of past events of the past year. The event is mainly associated with welcoming new things. Some of the common flowers that are purchased during the New Year flower fair event include orchids, snap dragons and chrysanthemums amongst other varieties. These flowers are provided fresh by the flower vendors hence symbolizing the start of a new era. The flowers that are provided in the Chinese Flower fair at the beginning of a new year have different meanings. One of the meanings is that the flowers act as a symbol of prosperity and wealth amongst the Chinese people. The flowers act as a symbol of high positions in ones career. Apart from the flowers fruits are also incorporated in the Chinese flower fair. Tangerines with some of the leaves intact symbolize that an individual’s relationship with others will remain secure and intact. For people who are newlyweds, it symbolizes the branching of a couple into a huge fam ily with many children. The flower fair involves dancing and display of various Chinese arts. It is an event worth participating because it reveals the strong culture of the Chinese people. San Jose - November 23-25, 2012 The San Jose Harvest festival is an event that takes place every November 23 – 25 at the San Jose convention center. ... These people meet and a lot of cultural and social exchanges are seen. The event includes the provision of different forms of art for kids. This creates the impression that the event does not discriminate on the basis of gender and this is the reason why it always has a lot of people attending for every year. At the kidzone section, there is also the provision of eco friendly forms of art that are not harmful to the state of the environment. There is also a section for bags and parcels. These commodities are mainly a target to the middle aged clients. The items are of the latest designs and the level of demand is very high. This event ensures that a lot of marketing is done for people with unique and different structures. The event is also associated with providing free children’s ID kits. The benefits of the event can hence be clearly seen. The event is also associated with charity where there are collections of food and clothing for charity. It is therefore not all about the money which is being made but the benefits that the event gives to the society. Vicente Fernandez performance art Vicente Fernandez is a cultural icon in Mexico who performs traditional Ranchera music. He is widely recognized in Mexico being quite an influential person. He has made good sales in his concerts in Mexico and in the United States. He holds an admirable record through his nominations for Grammy awards including the fact that he has collected quite a number of honors a good example being in the year 2002 the Latin recording academy naming him as the person of the year. Â   Vicente’s Costumes on stage speaks volumes of the nature of his performance and the message he wants to deliver to the audience. His voice characterized by some emotional aspects brings

Zara - strategic review report for the CEO Essay

Zara - strategic review report for the CEO - Essay Example Zara, a brand of Inditex, has achieved to establish its position as a leading firm in the global fashion industry.The strategies of Zara are reviewed in this paper in order to identify the key reasons of the brand’s success. These strategies are evaluated by referring to the organizational internal and external environment as involved in the brand’s operations and performance. Appropriate literature has been used in order to understand the brand’s current strategies and its prospects for future growth. The paper has been divided into four parts. In the first part emphasis is given on the analysis of Zara’s macro and micro environment. In this way, the effectiveness of the brand’s strategies, as aligned with the conditions in the brand’s environment can be evaluated. The second and the third parts of the paper focuses on the challenges that Zara has to face in regard to its internal strategic audit and the management of its stakeholders. In th e fourth part, certain strategic options are presented, as available to Zara under current market conditions. The review of the organization’s environment has proved that the growth of Zara can be related to the interaction of a series of factors, referring both to the internal and the external environment of the brand; the brand’s success cannot be considered as resulted by chance. Introduction This paper focuses on the review and the evaluation of Zara’s strategies taking into consideration the conditions in the brand’s environment. Particular reference is made to the UK market, as the basis for analyzing the performance of Zara, both currently and in the near future. The strategic decisions of Zara are reviewed and evaluated in order to check the brand’s future prospects. In addition, this analysis helps to identify the strategic options appropriate for securing the brand’s further growth. Question 1 [1059 words] In-depth analysis of the competitive forces and strategic issues shaping Zara’s industry from 2012 onwards 1.1 Macro-environment: PESTEL Analysis PESTEL analysis, as a strategic tool, is based on the idea that the performance of an organization can be affected by six factors related to its external environment (Henry 2008). The PESTEL analysis of the UK fashion industry would refer to six elements of this industry (Bowhill 2008): a) Political; Political environment in UK is quite stable; government supports organizational growth in regard to all industries. Recently, on the 13th of March, the British government has asked for an inquiry in regard to the status of the country’s retail sector (Holland 2013), probably under the fear that governmental decisions do not effectively support the

School Marketing For Primary Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

School Marketing For Primary Education - Essay Example This essay stresses that the macro-environment matter contains six issues and all of them contain had a crash on Primary education. The organisation's nearby macro-environment was then inspected beneath dealer, distributive and spirited environment and lastly the wider macro-environment was look at under the caption: political/legal environment, demographic environment, financial environment, technical environment, usual environment and civilization/social environment. Dissimilar civilization may have dissimilar social needs as healthy as the dissimilar requirements for school degree. This research focused on this truth that in end, firstly, the propensity of political/law environment will add to in the pending years, GST as the one characteristic instance for UKn following strategy. Secondly, in universal, the population is mounting slowly now, but the school age is lessening now. Therefore, for Primary education, demographic propensity refuses. Next, the financial system urbanized very quickly these years, consequently, the profits has been greater than before, from this consequence, more populace will think to attain Primary educational education. Subsequently, technical environment and civilization environment's tendency is increasing as well. More and additional populace begins to use new technology and the communal height has been greater than before as a whole. However, our usual reserve is declining radically.

Research Methodology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Research Methodology - Essay Example Finally, one has to note what one is likely to â€Å"‘conclude† in terms of the research problem and one’s hypothesis (an early conclusion in other words). All this goes into a brief and concise introduction, to be termed â€Å"Introduction† and/or â€Å"Abstract†, of the proposed research. To illustrate the research process thus described, I shall in the following adopt the perspective of anthropology, the science of culture, as an example of a an inductive, empirical social science with appropriate methods to tackle social science research questions ‘ Literature Review Having thus described the contents of the proposal, one now turns to these items, one by one, beginning with a focused analysis of relevant literary sources and notions in order to answer the research question. The review reflects â€Å"the state of the art† regarding knowledge of the research topic. The review will highlight various issues that are particularly relevant to solving the identified research problem. Setting and Sample: Next, one describes the setting and/or sample size. Depending upon one’s choice of research problem one describes the setting which, when social science research is conducted, may be a community (e.g., affluent, middle-class, poor), an institution (e.g., a school, a bank), a neighbourhood, street corners, a slum, etc. (Hannerz, 2007). Based upon this choice, a sample is defined. One may want to work with a small, large, partial or complete sample, a random selection, a certain quota or a representative sample. The economic anthropologist Polly Hill studied cocoa faming and development in southern Ghana. She used maps and air photography to define her sample (Hill, 1963). This may seem an extreme choice, but it isn’t for an anthropologist conducting research in a non-Western setting. Methodology 1. Induction-Deduction Research, the search for knowledge and problem-solving, is a process whereby one continua lly adds to knowledge (Ellen, 1984). By this understanding, research is an ongoing process. There are, however, certain procedures to be followed and standards to be adhered to, be they of an â€Å"inductive† (experimental: â€Å"arriving at a theory based on facts†) or â€Å"deductive† (â€Å"facts are organized to match theory†) nature. Based on this division, one arrives at a â€Å"positivistic† and â€Å"relativistic stance†, resulting in a contrast of â€Å"explanation† (deduction, positivism) and â€Å"understanding† (induction, relativism) (Manners and Kaplan, 1968; Alexander, 1983; Gellner, 1985). Within anthropology and with its emphasis on induction and empirical research, the contrast between induction and deduction has been conceptualized as two modes of inquiry that are opposed to one another. The renowned anthropologist Bronislaw Malinowski advocated 90 years ago long-term immersion in the research site chosen and the use of a set of qualitative methods, considered suitable to such an approach (Malinowski, 1922). Since the nineteen twenties and Malinowski’s statement, the tension of deduction and induction is thought of as contrast between the natural sciences, such as biology, insisting on distance, and the human and social sciences stressing the value of experience-nearness. The contrast has been exemplified by the different emphases placed upon

Steps in Hypothesis Testing Essay Example for Free

Steps in Hypothesis Testing Essay My research topic is a correlation study between quantity of water intake and number of sleeping hours for humans. I became interested in the topic when a friend of mine shared an interesting belief of his culture that drinking too much water can upset sleep. Although this is not the exact topic that I am choosing for this study, I believe that the groundwork for that research interest is to determine whether or not the average number of glasses of water that a person drinks in a day has any relationship with that person’s average number of sleeping hours. This is data that can be collected through a survey of at least 30 respondents to make the sample large. In following the 5 steps of hypothesis testing, my null hypothesis would be that there is no significant relationship between the average number of glasses of water consumed in a day and average number of sleeping hours (H0: Ï = 0) (Lane, 2007). This implies that my alternative hypothesis is that there is a significant relationship between the said variables (H1: Ï Ã¢â€°   0).The hypothesis will be tested at a 0.05 significance level. The statistic that will be used is the Pearson r correlation coefficient which will be computed using appropriate statistical software. Its probability value will be determined and compared against the 0.05 confidence level. If the probability value exceeds the confidence level, then the null hypothesis is accepted, and we can conclude that there is no significant relationship between the average number of glasses of water consumed in a day and average number of sleeping hours. If the p-value is less than or equal to the confidence level, then the null hypothesis is rejected in favor of the alternative hypothesis.   Reference Lane, D. (2007). Steps in Hypothesis Testing. Retrieved January 24, 2008 from: http://davidmlane.com/hyperstat/B35642.html

Issues in Hong Kongs TV Industry

Issues in Hong Kongs TV Industry In Hong Kong, the TV industry is developing faster and faster. TV industry also gives us more information, for example, finance news, talk shows, game shows, entertainment programs and so on. But with the development of modern science and technology, the TV industry must become more professional, innovative and creative. Nowadays, because of the rise of the TV industry, in some degree, it brings more economic benefits and also makes a big contribution to the society. It has two broadcast television networks in Hong Kong, ATV and TVB. But TVB was the territorys first free-to-air commercial station and is currently the most important TV station in this area. â€Å"The introduction of digital terrestrial TV has helped the existent free-to-air TV companies in the face of the competitive forces coming from a large number of cable and satellite channels. Such case shows that the traditional industry, although challenged, may be strengthened by new technologies, even if they imply in more dramatic changes in its market performance.† (Menezes 91). News and the Broadcast media are controlled by several companies, such as TVB belongs to television broadcasts, is Kongs first commercial wireless television station, as well as the worlds largest Chinese commercial television station. Companys business throughout the country, and involved in the program issue, pay TV, music, film, publishing and other industries, is one of the worlds largest Chinese com mercial media. And ATV belongs to Rediffusion Hong Kong Limited, It is the first television station in Hong Kong, also is the first Chinese TV station all over the world. One of which is government, they provide a lot of services to different people from different countries and television provides the major source of news and entertainment for the average family.TV industry in Hong Kong still has a large development space in the future. However, the main problem in the television industry is incoherent and inconsistent access to audiovisual content across Hong Kong (Leeuw 6). The existing of Hong Kong TV industry is also imperfect; there are still many disadvantages and problems to face. Such as only two Hong Kong television competitions, the other enterprises are difficult to enter. And it’s difficult to meet the demand of the market. Even though the TV industry has provided more services to us and changed the social pattern of the past, one of the problems we have to know, Hong Kong TV industry is still in a stage of development, due to the lack of unity and related factors. In the face of other markets outside of Hong Kong that tend to protect more and more of their respective TV industries, the Hong Kong TV industry appeared relatively helpless and disorganized. Hong Kong TV industry operation is very different; each TV station has its own running mode. It is true that the television industry broadcasters themselves have changed a lot because the contemporary of people are not suitable for TV from patterns of the past (O’Donnell 297). But they all have one thing in common; television is controlled by the private company. The TV industry in Hong Kong fit within the economic structure of the territory, favouring private enterprise and free trade. All of the television stations are commercial and most of their profits from the audience and advertising fee of the order. Hong Kong has two terrestrial television stations, Asia Television Limited (ATV) and Television Broadcasts Limited (TVB) It is a different business between these two televisions. TVB currently occupy a dominant position in Hong Kong, they are made its own programs by himself and made his own show to the audiences. Such as TV series, dramas, talk shows, news and so on. TVB has their own private company and doesn’t need to check from the government. On the one hand, because each program is taken by himself, to some extent, it saves a lot of money and the steps of censorship. On the other hand, it will bring a positive effect and attracts more choice to the young graduates who want to work in the television. It can attract more overseas domestic to watch them and bring more economic benefits. But for ATV, it changed many times to different people, and even nearly 20 years, building up a very large for TVB, to the point of TV production level is declining. Aside from importing news, entertainment series and movies from the West, most programs are imported from Japan, and several popular fictional se ries are imported from Taiwan or Korea. They don’t have the original programs, they need import programs to attract audiences and improve the television ratings. Even though there are still a few people who choose to watch import movies, more and more people refer to choose the original programs from the TVB rather than ATV, so far, ATV is hard to survive in the television industry. â€Å"The TV business is no longer restricted to few actors, the market offerings are reaching new access terminals meeting and integrating with the Internet and with other online multimedia services, and changing by creating new television formats, such as the personal and the interactive television†.(Toletti and Turba 8). However, the Government of Hong Kong doesn’t have its own television station; despite without the support of the government, the TV industry in Hong Kong still can be sustained and stable development. The government should support content producers in Hong Kongâ⠂¬â„¢s creative TV industry, setting policy for public broadcasting the television license fee, and licensing the public service broadcasters; creating a local TV framework so that local TV services can be set up across in Hong Kong. The content of the TV industry is in a state of change, in this modern society, the TV industry content contains many entertainment choices and commercial mode. In the face of the change of landscape, The content of the TV industry must be enhanced value structure, instead of the old content industry and to further optimize the content of change. TV industry and information content in the media setting is taught to be righteous, objective and diaphanous. (Televisao et al 6). With the Hong Kong TV industry users demand continues to grow, the old industry content is not suitable for this modern society. In the past, Hong Kong TV industry content production only the pursuit of low cost, efficient fast, cant bring more change and only pursue the maximization of interests, the content also structure of production with the seal of obvious and the television content lack of originality. But now, the simple manufacturing content is difficult to satisfy the needs of the people, more and more people pursuit of television production content and processes. Each television station has entered a competition in other parts of the range, increase the investment in the TV content, obvious effect is the quality of TV content production and to increase the price. The increase in the number of Hong Kong TV channels, prompting investment increase the arrival rate of TV content, the largest share in the advertising market, television advertising value from its content. New media becomes a part of the content, and the Internet as a new broadcast television content channel, TV content can be controlled by the cable, the value of the content will be further. As we know, the content is good or bad reflects the value of the television industry, good television production content, not only improve the quality of local TV industry, but also can bring new hope to the television industry, instead bad television production content will only hinder the development of the TV industry, and even affect the surrounding areas for Hong Kongs TV industry is not satisfied. The development of the whole TV content industry, mainly through elements and explore new market and stable development of advertising investment, in addition, the technology of change will continue to promote the quality of the TV content industry, television production company merger, as well as increase the cost and remain competitive. In other words, television content production is very important. For example, many television companies are starting to focus on the content of television production requirements, to attract more audiences for television content, but also can pull mo re companies invest in their TV industry. The production of TV content is one of the most important steps is to have clear goals and objectives, if produce content of goals and objectives without apparent consistency, it would be difficult to determine its success, and then make a production plan, point out that the production of TV content related to domestic TV industry a series of economic factors. As one of the most developed areas in China and even the whole Asia TV industry of Hong Kong, it is experiencing the development of digital TV industry, it is scope very broad, it even has affected around the region. Especially for Malaysia, China, Taiwan and so on. Because due to the impact of Hong Kong television industry and free-to-air commercial station, more and more people choose purchase Hong Kong TV programs to watch so that the local TV programs cannot get peoples attention, lead to a downturn in the television industry development in the region, and also it seriously affect the surrounding areas of peoples demand and economic growth. In Asia, the impact of the TV industry is bound to bring significant change to the economy of a region, because television industry is different from another social industry, it needs to provide more information to everyone. In addition, the introduction of TV programs in different countries can promote the development of the local TV industry advantage. Despite the advantage of the television industry can improve the development of a region, but for Hong Kong around the country, especially for China, Malaysia, the introduction of Hong Kong TV programs will impact their own TV industrys future needs. For example, in China (Guang Dong province), because of TV system is imperfect, lack of unified in the main body, affecting the development of the industry and enterprise scale is still small, scattered market main body, cannot form effective cooperation. So, they have to purchase the other country’s TV programs to satisfy the needs of the audience; otherwise will lose more market returns. On the other hand, even though can temporarily satisfy the audience demand for the TV programs, from a long-term point of view, buying programs in other countries will only hinder the development trend of domestic TV industry. The second example is, in Malaysia, Malaysias TV industry has been hard to success was largely due to the high cost of making content, technical requirements and the shortage of the funds, and young graduates even didn’t want to work in the television so that Malaysias TV industry didnt have enough manpower to support the development of the television industry. Therefore, Malaysias Government in order to maintain the local television industry can continue to develop steadily, so they need to the introduction of Hong Kong TV programs. On the one hand, with the countrys TV industry can learn from each other and improve the content of the local TV. On the other hand, it can bring more advertising revenue; attract more audiences to do something fo r the local TV industry. In conclusion, the technological evolution has changed the boundaries of the TV industry. Media technologies have provided a new way for the TV industry, with companies seeking new methods of advertising and business. In recent years, the development of a market economy in Hong Kong, especially for the Hong Kong TV industry system itself, use networks-both to enhance their reputations and win more audiences to enjoy all sorts of fun brought by the local TV industry. In the process, Hong Kong TV industry has gained much more freedom and independence, in the pursuit of interests and goals of service with the audience at the same time. Therefore, Hong Kong TV industry has affected the development of the society. The generation of the TV industry, not only changes people’s views of the TV industry but also makes people understand more about how the TV industry impact different area. TV industry provides more service for people to choose, let more people know Hong Kong production and development of TV industry. References Menezes, E., and Carvalho, R., Impacts of New Technologies on Free-to-Air TV industry, Journal of Technology Management Innovation, 2009, print Toletti, G., and Turba, L., Sofa-TV: The New Digital Landscape, International Journal of Digital Multimedia Broadcasting, 2009, print Televisao., Publicitaria, R., and Discurso., Is this the end of the conventional advertising in TV broadcasting? Canadian Center of Science and Education, 2009, print Leeuw, S., European Television History Online, Journal of European History and Culture, 2012, print O’Donnell, V., New Bottles for New Wine Sociology and Technology of Today’s Television Industry, Cultural Studies Review, 2012, print

The need for reward management and systems

The need for reward management and systems Reward management is not just about money. As shown in the above diagram, it is concerned with intrinsic as well as extrinsic rewards and with non-financial as well as financial rewards. Intrinsic rewards arise from the nature the job itself. Decenzo and Robbins ( 2005, p.274) stated that intrinsic rewards are self initiated rewards like pride in ones work, a sense of accomplishment or being part of the job. Intrinsic rewards related to responsibility and achievement they are inherent in individuals and not imposed from outside. On the other hand, extrinsic rewards arise from the factors associated with the job context such as financial rewards, promotion and benefits. They are external to the job and come from outside source. All reward systems are based on the assumptions of attracting, retaining and motivating people. Rewards are of two type Financial and non-financial rewards. Many people view money as the sole motivator but many studies have found that among employees surveyed, other non financial reward also motivate them and influence the level of performance. A recent study of reward practice by CIPDs shows that higher proportion of employers have adopted a total reward approach, in which they try to align the financial and non-financial elements. Non financial rewards indirectly increase workers financial position. It differs from workers to workers. For example an employee may value office furniture and other may find it useless whereas financial rewards can be wages, bonuses, or indirectly paid sick leaves and paid vacation. They are mainly of three types such as profit sharing, job evaluation and merit rating. However, Decenzo and Robbins (2005) classified financial rewards as shown in the diagram above as performance based, implied membership based and explicit membership based. They mentioned that performance based use commissions, piecework pay plans, incentive system, group bonuses, merit or other node of payment for performance whereas membership based rewards include cost of living increases, benefits and salary increases attributable to the labour market conditions, seniority, qualifications, and specialised skill. Membership-based rewards may attract many employees on the whole when the extent of the reward increas es with seniority.   Though, there are drawbacks:   They discourage poor performers from leaving and people from leaving the organization, they indirectly motivate job performance. However, Seniority-based rewards lessen turnover because the cost of leaving raise with the employers duration of service. 2.3 REWARD MANAGEMENT LINKED TO THEORIES OF MOTIVATION Employees motivation depends on the perception of achieving the reward, i.e. their expectations. Motivation theory describes why people at work act in the way they do, and what organisations can do to persuade people to apply their efforts and abilities in ways that will help to achieve the organisations goals as well as satisfying their own needs. Everyone has their own needs and a different set of goals. Employees can motivate themselves in different ways that will guide them to expect that their goals will be achieved whereas management can motivate people through methods like pay, promotion and praise. Motivation is important because there is reward. People work because they get revenue to spend on their individual, family and society needs. Some needs are the basics of life, what individual needs to survive physiologically. Maslow defined the hierarchy of needs with essential physiological needs at the base and going up through safety, social needs and ends in the need for self-fulfillment. However, some critics say that there is little empirical evidence to support this model. Herzberg differentiated between firstly hygiene extrinsic factors such as pay and organisation strategy and measures that will cause dissatisfaction in the workplace if absent or insufficient. Secondly, motivators which are intrinsic factors such as the worth of the work, attainment, appreciation, responsibility and potential for growth which will positively motivate people. Maslows Hierarchy of Needs and Herzbergs Two Factor Theory are a content theory of motivation. They both suggest that needs should be satisfied for the employee to be motivated but, Herzberg argue that only the higher levels of the Maslow Hierarchy (e.g. self-actualisation, esteem needs) act as a motivator. The remaining needs can only cause dissatisfaction if not explained clearly. Thus he stated that satisfaction and dissatisfaction were not necessary related. Taylor developed his theory of scientific management where he made three assumptions in his observation: Man is concerned with maximising money, People are considered as individuals and they can be treated like machines. Taylor had analyzed what motivated people at work which was money. He though workers should be paid for what they worked and pay should be associated to the amount produced Workers who work less would be paid less and Workers who did more than usual would be paid more. The main limitation in Taylors approach is that it overlook that each individual is unique Secondly, money is not an important motivation for everyone. Taylor ignored the fact that people work for reasons other than financial reward. Other theories of motivation have been developed as well which are believed to focus on cognitive or process theories that are how people consider their reward. Expectancy theory distinguishes two factors of value and probability. People value reward according to the level it satisfies their needs of security, community esteem, achievement and autonomy. Armstrong also agrees with the fact that Expectancy is the likelihood that reward depends on effort where there is more effort, the higher the reward but Marchington and Wilkinson (2006, p.325) argue that this is not a fixed and there may be other sets of expectation at different times. For that effort to be useful to the organisation, individuals need to have the correct ability and the right perception of their role. The theory implies that low motivation will be product of jobs where there is little worker control. (Marchington and Wilkinson 2006, p.326) Two other theories of motivation are significant to reflect on. Latham and Locke developed goal theory which describes that both performance and motivation are improved if people have challenging and monitored goals but accepted when there is feedback on performance. On the other hand, Equity Theory which advocates that people are more motivated when they are treated equitably and demotivated if they are treated inequitable while they deserved more than that. 2.4 STRATEGIC REWARDS Reward strategy is a declaration of intent that defines what the organization wants to do in the longer term to develop and implement reward policies, practices and processes that will further the achievement of its business goals and meet the needs of its stakeholders. (Armstrong 2006, p.643) Reward is more than compensation and benefits. Thus, a reward strategy must consider many aspects of the workplace in order to both attract and keep high value employees doing the correct things in the correct way so that they the organisation is successful. Reward policies provide guidelines for the implementation of reward strategies and the design and management of reward process. Basically, every employer must obey four major policies (White Druker 2000): internal alignment, external competitiveness, employee contributions, management of the pay system. Many research and studies on reward strategy has revealed that people are difficult and motivation is a complex process. What is obvious is that while financial reward is essential, for many people other factors are also, and can be more, important. Rewards are designed to promote behaviour that will contribute directly to the achievement of the organisations objective.Reward systems should be in line with the following: HR Strategy Business Strategy Organization Culture The elements of reward management and their interrelationship can be shown in the figure 1.2 Figure 2.2: Rewards management: elements and interrelationships Source: Michael Armstrong, 2006, A Handbook of Human Resources Management Practice, p.630 The elements of a rewards management system are: Job Evaluation Job evaluation is an organized method for defining the relative value or size of jobs within an organisation in order to institute internal relativities. It provides the basis for designing a fair grade and pay structure, grading jobs in the structure, managing job and pay relativities and guiding the success of equal pay for work of equal worth. However, there has been many criticism of job evaluation by some HR practitioners, in the late 1980s and early 1990s A numbers of major charges were made against it in many organisation. Critics argued that it was not only bureaucratic and rigid, but also time-consuming and unsuitable in todays organisations. 2.4.2 Grade and Pay Structure Pay grade is a system indicating rate and shows the rate at which an employee receives basic pay. It is also a means to compare ranks, which may have different names in the different services. Pay grades facilitate the employment method by providing a flat range of salary whereas Pay structure refers to the various levels of pay for jobs or groups of jobs by referring to their point as determined by job evaluation as compare to market rate surveys. it provides scope for pay increment in accordance with competence or contribution. Market Rate Analysis Market rate tell us the actual salary of some jobs. It is determined by the forces of demand and supply of the labour market. If an organisation pays below the market rate then it will probably have trouble in recruiting and retaining suitable staff. To know the market rate an organisation has to do pay surveys. It helps to obtain and keep high quality staff and response to market pressures. There are several ways in which a company can obtain data on market rates such as Local employment agencies, Job centres, Job adverts in national newspapers 2.4.4 Contingent Pay Contingent pay measures what do we value and what we are ready to pay for? It refers pay for individual that is related to performance, competence, contribution or service. Employee Benefits Benefits can be defined as all the indirect financial payments an employee receives for continuing his or her employment with the company. Benefits are generally available to all firms employees and includes such things as time off with pay, health and life insurance, and child care facilities. (Dessler 1997, p503) Today many organisations regard benefits to be an important approach in reward management in order to achieve a competitive advantage in labour markets. Both financial and non-financial benefits play an important function when it comes to attract, keep and motivate employees. As an addition to base pay financial benefits may improve an organisations ability to attract and retain employees, and non-financial benefits allows organisations to meet the specific needs of the employees. Allowances Allowances may be regarded as additional to base pay. Example of it may be meal allowances where some employees in any organsation are given a sum of money for a meal. Performance Management Performance Management refers to a process, which frequently measures work as it occurs. It is a way of obtaining better results by managing performance according to set of planned goals and competency achievements. It motivates people to do the right things by specifying their goal. Non-Financial Rewards It refers to rewards that are not related to pay but rather satisfaction arising from the job itself like recognition, success, responsibility, autonomy, and leadership skill. Total Remuneration Total remuneration refers to all the monetary reward and benefits than an employee received for working in the organisation. Total Rewards A total reward refers to all the rewards that exist like financial aspects of reward of basic pay, any bonuses and additional financial benefits with the non-financial benefits at the personal and organisational level. WorldatWork (2006) introduced a total rewards framework that proposed to advance the concept and help practitioners think and implement in new ways. Today, professionals primarily use the terms total rewards, total compensation or compensation and benefits to describe the joint strategies. There are five elements of total rewards, each of which includes programs, practices, elements and dimensions that together define an organizations strategy to attract, motivate and keep employees. These elements are: Compensation Benefits Work-Life Performance and Recognition Development and Career Opportunities 2.5 INDIVIDUAL REWARD SYSTEM Many sectors of employment use remuneration systems that contain direct relations to individual performance and results. On an individual basis this may be payment by results (PBR) for example bonus, piecework, commission, work-measured schemes and pre-determined motion time systems, measured day work (MDW), appraisal/performance related pay, market-based pay and competency and skills based pay. 2.5.1 Performance Related Pay Performance-related pay (PRP) is a method of remuneration that links pay progression to an assessment of individual performance. Performance pay may be defined as any remuneration practice in which part or all of remuneration is based directly and explicitly on employees assessed work behaviour and/or measured results (Shields 2007, p.348). Performance related pay is generally used where employee performance cannot be appropriately measured in terms of output produced or sales achieved. Like piece-rates and commission, performance related pay is a form of incentive pay. Individual performance is reviewed frequently (usually once per year) against agreed objectives is known as performance appraisal. Then employees are classified into performance groups which determine what the reward will be. The method of reward involves a cash bonus and/or increase in wage rate or salary. However performance related pay is not very understandable in the mind of researchers. Thorpe and Homan (2000) accounts both for research stating that one of the main advantages of performance related pay is that it attract and retain good employee while other research indicates that performance-related pay fails to motivate and that the employees generally regard the performance-related pay system as unfair in practice. Some drawbacks may be rewarding employees individually does very little to encourage teamwork and, such schemes also usually carried out only once a year assessment and payout, which may weaken any incentive effect. If a worker rated less than satisfactory receives no increase at all under an appraisal pay scheme their motivation and morale may be badly affected. Thus, it is important to focus appraisals on the assessment of performance, the identification of training needs and the setting of objectives, not on any dependent pay. 2.5.2 Individual Payment by Results (PBR) The aim of any PBR scheme is to provide a direct relationship between pay and productivity: the more effectively the employee works, the higher their pay. This direct link means that incentives are stronger than in other schemes. However, in recent years traditional bonus, piecework and work-measured schemes have decreased, as many employers have moved to 360-degree feedback, also known as multi-rater feedback that is employee development feedback that comes from all around the employee. Nevertheless, payment by result fails because material shortages or delays can affect production and Individual skills are not rewarded and indeed the most skilled may be put onto more complicated and potentially less rewarding work. 2.5.3 Piecework, Bonus Schemes and Commission Piecework is the easiest method of PBR workers are paid at a particular rate for each piece of output. This means the system is simple to operate and understand, although open to the shortcoming that it is often at the expense of quality. Pieceworkers must be paid at least the national minimum wage. Incentive bonus schemes is where for instance an extra payment is paid when production exceeds the established threshold, or where there is a raise in sales which surpasses given targets. Variable bonuses can also be paid in relation to performances achieved against pre-determined standards so that the higher the performance achieved, the greater the level of bonus produced. However, Armstrong (2006, p.635) mentioned that bonus payment are related to achievement of profit and or to other financial targets. Time rates are used when employees are paid for the quantity of time they spend at work. The common form of time rate is the weekly wage or monthly wage. Generally the time rate is fixed in relation to a standard working week (e.g. 40 hours per week). Time worked above this standard is known as overtime. Overtime is generally paid more than the standard time-rate. It reflects the extra contribution of the employee. The main advantages of time-rate pay are that they are appropriate for organisations that desire to employ workers to present general roles (e.g. financial management, administration, and maintenance) where employee performance is not easy to evaluate. Commission is a payment made to employees based on the value of sales achieved. For example, in sales jobs, the seller may be paid a percentage of the selling price or a flat amount of each unit sold (Werther Davis 1997 p.411). The rate of commission depends on the selling price and the amount of effort required in making the sale. Armstrong (2006, p.638) stated that commission provide a direct financial incentives and attract high performing sales staff. 2.5.4 Measured Day Work Measured day work (MDW) has been developed from both individual PBR and basic wage rate scheme. Salary is constant and does not vary in the short time provided that that the targeted performance is maintained. MDW systems need performance standards to be placed through some framework and undergo modifications as required. It involves full commitment of management, workers and trade unions. The pay structure is regularly formulated by job evaluation and with full employee agreement. MDW is now somewhat unusual. It suits organisations where a high, secure, expected level of performance is required, rather than highest potential individual performance. 2.5.5 Market-Based Pay Market-based pay refers to the salary level available in the market for the same type of work. Factors that help to consider the market rate are: the skills that are necessary are widely accessible, the unemployment level in general versus the employment rate and the jobs requirement for specialised skills. It is usually used in conjunction with other rewarding scheme like performance appraisal, but may be element of a reward strategy integrating several performance elements. 2.5.6 Competency and skills-based pay Competency and skills-based pay schemes are more common nowadays. There a direct relationship between the attainment, development and effective use of skills and competencies and the individuals pay. Competency and skills-based schemes measure what the employee is inputting to the job. Competency based systems have become more popular because many organisations use competencies in staffing and in performance appraisal for non-pay reason, such as training. There is an increasing trend for pay to be associated to the abilities of the individual. Competency based pay is used together with an existing individual performance related pay scheme and will reward them not on the basis of their performance but competencies. Leadership skill or team-working may be examples of competencies. Reward is given for the skills already gained and for the acquirement of new skills that would be helpful in other jobs in the same job band. This can promote multi-skilling and improved flexibility. 2.6 GROUP AND ORGANISATIONAL REWARD SYSTEMS Group pay schemes include those based on the performance of the team, plant or company. Team-based pay gained its importance with the increased interest in teamworking. It reflects the performance of the team. It is not easy to define the team, the goals, and the right reward. Peer group pressure can also be useful in increasing the performance of the whole team. Company based performance pay schemes are based on the whole organisation performance. The most common forms of this system tend to be based on overall profits (profit sharing), gainsharing systems. They are effective where communications and employment relations are good Share incentive plans involve the provision of shares to employees. In the journal of knowledge management, Milkovich and Wigdor, (1991) said: Team-based rewards may potentially result in a loss of motivation because of feelings of inequity due to a perceived free-riding of other team members and the use of an equality principle when allocating rewards rath er than an equity-based principle. (Milne 2007, p.33) 2.6.1 Gainsharing Gainsharing is a pay scheme that links workers pay to the success of organisational goals by rewarding performance above a pre-determined target. This is always led by measures of productivity, performance and quality. Gainsharing aims to develop these indicators by improving communications, staff involvement and promoting teamwork. It should be element of a full long-term strategy to maintain an effective system through involvement and sharing. It may thus be used as a substitute for bonus/piecework schemes, where quality is at times lost to quantity. The whole employees and management who have any association in the product of the organisation should be integrated in any gainshare plan. Marchington and Wilkinson (2006, p. 336) pointed out that such scheme have the merit that employees perceive their contribution to the total effort of the organisation and they do not consider themselves as individual units. They further mentioned that gainsharing plan will affect the role of trade union as their collective bargaining will become less important in determining wages or union will think employees will be more committed to the organiastion. 2.6.2 Profit Sharing Profit Sharing means rewarding employees a percentage of the companys profits. Singh (2006, p 385) defines profit sharing usually involves the determination of organizations profits at the end of the fiscal year and the distribution of a percentage of the profits to workers qualified to share in the earnings. Profit sharing helps employees to form part of oganisation success. However, Beardwell and Holden (1997, p.574) argued that there is little evidence that such schemes have any great consequence on the performance, motivation or attitudes of employees. 2.6.3 Share Ownership Schemes Businesses whose shares are traded on a stock exchange can offer shares to its promising employees. This compensation method can motivate employees to be committed to the business in the long run.There are different schemes available which companies can use to offer shares such as: 2.6.3.1 Share Incentive Schemes Under this scheme employer gives employees shares directly or ask them to buy. This motivates staff to be involved in the performance of the company. The Share Incentive Plan, previously known as the employee share ownership plan. For example, In the UK, a company using an ESOP can give employees shares worth up to  £3,000 each year. 2.6.3.2 Savings Related Share Option Schemes (SAYE) All employees and directors benefit from this scheme All scheme members get the right to buy a number of shares (normally at a lower price than their current price) after three, five or seven years. In this period of time, employee members save an expected amount to pay for the shares. If the shares increase in price, employees have a profit when they buy the shares. No income tax is paid on any gains made on these shares. 2.7 INFLUENCES ON PAY DETERMINATION According to Beardwell and Holden (1997 p.555) the pay system is affected by the following: 2.7.1 Beliefs about the Importance of the Job If a job is considered to be of high value, the salary scale of the job will be higher as compared to other jobs. 2.7.2 Personal Characteristics Individual characteristics like age, experience, education, skill affect the salary of a person. 2.7.3 Labour Market The demand and supply of labour affect pay determination. A business will have to match its pay with that of its competitors before setting its own pay structure. 2.7.4 The Strategies and Policies of the Company Each company has it own remuneration policy and strategy that determine the salary of its employees. 2.7.5 Government Rules and Regulation The government usually intervene for the welfare of employees like we have the equal opportunity Act, employment right Act 2008, and the employment relation Act 2008. Organisations have to consider all these Act before setting a fair compensation program. 2.7.6 Power of Bargaining Group Trade union action may affect the pay level. They can bargain for an increase in salary. 2.7.7 Cost of Living Due to high inflation rate, the cost of living tends to increase. Thus, this may affect the salary of employee.

Tess of the DUrbervilles Essay -- English Literature Essays

Tess of the D'Urbervilles Tess of the d’Urbervilles is subtitled ‘A pure woman’ and this is how Thomas Hardy sees and portrays her throughout his novel. As the novel progresses the reader is introduced to many aspects of Tess as she grows from being a child on the verge of adulthood to a mature and experienced woman. In some parts of the book Hardy describes Tess as very passive but in other parts of the novel she is shown as a powerful and even godly sort of woman. The character of Tess is first shown near the beginning of the book as a proud and shy young girl. She is very loving of her family and holds them in high regard especially her parents even though they sometimes do feckless, irresponsible things such as when her father went to Rolliver’s (a pub) before going on an important delivery to â€Å"get up his strength for his journey†. At the club-walking at the beginning of the book Tess is shown to be just an ordinary, innocent country girl â€Å"not handsomer than some others† but it is also indicated that she is very attractive. The white dress she wears symbolises purity and virginity and Hardy suggests that this purity comes from lack of experience as he describes her as â€Å"untinctured† by it. She is also shown to be very protective of her father and when she is teased by her friends about him it appears that she is quite sensitive and not resilient to embarrassment. At this point Tess is a â€Å"mere vessel of emotion† and she still has a local dialect but with some educated speech. Tess is more responsible than her parents as she takes the beehive delivery herself when her father is too hung-over to do it. She is, however, contrary to her ordinariness marked out from the rest of her friends and fellow country girls from the very start of the book by a red ribbon in her hair. This doesn’t seem very significant at first but as the story progresses the colour red is mentioned several times to describe her and single her out from the rest. Some other examples of this are the blood of Prince (the family horse) which splashes on her white dress after he dies, her red mouth which is described as a flower a couple of times throughout the novel and Alec when he is described as â€Å"the blood-red ray in the spectrum of her young life†. The colour red, in general, is also frequently used to symbolise danger, passion, death and anger. Tess at this point in the nove... ...the same chapter. This happened at twilight, which the time between night and day that Hardy believed people became very sensitive to the world around them. Hardy has mentioned this theory of his before when Tess returns to Marlott after getting pregnant with Alec d’Urberville’s child. It is silent around that time and Tess seems to enjoy silence and not think of it as the absence of sound. As Tess noiselessly walks up to Angel, who is portrayed as a genuine stereotypical angel playing a harp â€Å"in the attic above her head†, she is described using the imagery of birth, growth and nature seems to be in a sort of hallucinatory, erotic ecstasy. This chapter also uses synaethesia to describe how she felt as she heard the music coming from Angel’s harp such as â€Å"the harmonies passed like breezes† and â€Å"his notes made visible†. In my opinion I think that this novel is quite depressing and the reader feels sorry for Tess as her misfortunes are usually not her fault. Personally I think that Tess is quite weak and if she had not been so weak she could have taken control of her life like she did at the end when she murdered Alec instead of being as passive as she was throughout the novel.

Huck Finn :: essays papers

Huck Finn American Literature The purpose of this essay was to discuss the current debate over Mark Twain’s book The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. The debate is over whether or not the book is appropriate for students to read and learn about. The question is now being presented and petitioned upon the Board of Education by a group of parents and students in the Francis Howell school district. The group has many justifications for why Twain’s book should be removed from the curriculum and even the school’s library. One reason was the many racial slurs used in the book to refer to Jim and all African Americans in general. An example of this in the book was Huck telling about how black people would all come to hear Jim’s witch story (Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Page 6). The slurs are used repeatedly and could easily have been done without. A second reason is the tobacco use of Huck Finn. The young character in the book is known for smoking his pipe. Some Parents fear this may encourage students to smoke. A third reason is Huck Finn’s bad lifestyle. Huck skips school, uses foul language, becomes involved in a gang, and he is known for being in lots of trouble (Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Chapter 2). Many parents think this may provoke students to try to live like Huck does. A fourth reason is the portray al of Huck Finn’s father in the story. He is a bad father and an extreme alcoholic and he beat Huck(Twain, Mark. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Page 24). Many parents think students may grow up thinking this negative behavior is acceptable parenting protocol. Speaking from a teenage perspective, these accusations seem unjust and unreasonable. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is a great Novel and an instrumental teacher in American Literature. Twain’s book accurately depicts the more liberal time period of the day. The racial innuendoes used in the book are by no means acceptable. It is the belief of many that these words were however not used on the grounds of demeaning the African American race, but that it was just the way people spoke during that age.

The Language Of Laughter :: essays research papers

Laughter is part of the universal human vocabulary. All members of the human species understand it. Unlike English, French, or Swahili, one does not have to learn to speak it. We’re born with the capacity to laugh. One of the remarkable things about laughter is that it occurs unconsciously. You don’t decide to do it. While we can consciously inhibit it, we don’t consciously produce laughter. That is why it’s very hard to laugh on command or to fake laughter. It provides powerful, uncensored insights into our unconscious. It simply bubbles up from within us in certain situations. We also know that laughter is a message that we send to other people. We know this because we rarely laugh when we are alone. Laughter is social and contagious. We laugh at the sound of laughter itself. A whole room can erupt in laughter when actually only about a third of the people may know the joke. That is the power of laughter. Most laughter is not about humor; it is about relationships between people. When we laugh, we’re often communicating playful intent. So laughter has a bonding function within individuals in a group. As Victor Borge once said, â€Å"Laughter is the shortest distance between two people.† It’s often positive, but it can be negative too. There’s a difference between â€Å"laughing with† and â€Å"laughing at.† People who laugh at others may be trying to force them to conform or casting them out of the group. Laughter puts things into a new perspective. Everything that makes us laugh is typically something we relate to, but by laughing our brain is opened and sees everything in a different way. Laughter has the remarkable power of making an object come up close, of drawing it into a zone where one can finger it familiarly on all sides, turn it upside down, inside out, and break open its external shell.

Motivation Theories Essay

Content theories of motivation are based on the fact that the labor activity of workers due solely to the needs and focus on their identification. In turn, procedural theories of motivation are based on the fact that behavior of an individual is determined not only by a person’s needs, but also by the perception of the situation, expectations for the capacity, as well as the effects of the selected type of behavior, according to Motivation. Needs. It should be noted that Abraham Maslow recognized that people have many different needs and they could be divided into five main categories: he theory of justice expectations. According to this theory, the results achieved by the employee depend on three variables: the effort, the ability of a person’s character and awareness of its role in the labor process. The level of effort, in turn, depends on the value of interest and assesses the likelihood of relations efforts and rewarded. Achieving the desired results can lead to internal rewards of the satisfaction of the work performed, and external rewards – financial incentives, praise, career, etc. It is also believed that there may be a link between performance and employee to give him rewards that reflect the possibilities determined by the head of a particular employee and the organization. Value theory by L. Porter – E. Lawler in the practice of motivation is that it shows how important it is to create a motivational system to combine elements such as effort, ability, results, reward, satisfaction and perception. Furthermore L. Porter – E. Lawler showed that the high productivity of work is the cause of complete satisfaction, rather than a consequence of it. An important conclusion of this theory is the need to change the employee’s salary, depending on the success of his work. According to the theory of justice, people have their own assessment of the equity interest issued for certain results. Satisfaction – is the result of internal and external rewards based on their equity. Satisfaction is a measure of how valuable reward actually is. This assessment will affect the person’s perception of future situations. Motivational concepts that are also enough known are related to a group of content theories are the theory of David McClelland, in which he focuses on the needs of the higher levels: power, success and involvement. On this basis, according to McClelland, there is a fourth requirement – to avoid trouble, obstacles or opposition to the implementation of the above three requirements. Motivational and hygienic model of F. Herzberg. It is widely known among scholars and practitioners was another model of motivation, developed F. Hertzberg with employees in the mid 50-ies of XX century and known as the â€Å"two-factor theory of hygiene. † As hygiene factors, he took the following: company policy and administration;  working conditions; earnings; interpersonal relationships with superiors, colleagues and subordinates; degree of direct control over the work. Motivation, according to F. Herzberg, is achievement of objectives, promotion, high level of responsibility and autonomy, creative and business growth, recognition, interesting content work. According to F. Herzberg hygiene factors themselves are not a cause for satisfaction, but their degradation leads to dissatisfaction with work, according to Frederick Herzberg’s motivation and hygiene factors. Therefore, these factors are not motivating for employees’ value. Group motivators directly cause job satisfaction and affect the level of labor achievements. The theory of five nuclear factors by Hackman and Oldham. In the 70-ies of XX century was published a review of Hackman and Oldham the impact of the content of labor to maintain motivation. Developing the doctrine F. Herzberg, in their model, they identified five so-called nuclear factors, which, to them, a significant effect on work motivation. In accordance with the severity of these factors in the ordinary activities of the employee, they lead to the specific experiences that Hackman and Oldham called â€Å"critical mental states. Group theory of valence-instrumentality expectations includes concepts of Heinz Heckhausen, Vroom and a number of similar theories relating to procedural learning motivation towards work behavior. Common to these theories is the proposition that there is a requirement – not only requirement motivation. People consciously choose a course of conduct which, in their view, would lead to the desired results. These theories try to explain what objectives are formed, and why, how persistent they are pursued to achieve the expected results. The theory of Justice S. Adams. The group process of theories of motivation is aimed at organizational problems of production, the substance of the work, and is to be widely used in the western management â€Å"theory of justice†, developed in the 60 years of XX century. Adams, on the results of studies conducted in the company â€Å"General-Electric†. This theory postulates the search for the individual a certain state of equilibrium with its social environment (in particular, in terms of evaluation and pay, rewards for achievement). Individual compares two relationships: the relationship between his own effort and reward; same ratio, seen in monitoring the activities of others and to compare with their own efforts and reward. The theory of motivation of D. Atkinson. One of the theories is a process known as the theory of motivation of D. Atkinson, the essence of which is as follows. Employee behavior is the result of the interaction of the individual qualities of the individual and the situation of its perception. Each person strives for success, avoids failure and has two related motives: the motive for success and motivations to avoid failures. The theory of reinforcement B. Skinner. A significant contribution to the study of the mechanisms of human motivation to work made development of B. Skinner, who proposed the theory in 1938, increase motivation (reinforcement theory), the essence of which is as follows: people’s behavior is determined by their past experiences. Consequently, workers prefer a mission that in the past entailed positive results, according to Theories of Motivation. All in all, there are many motivational theories and many authors who have shown their opinion considering the issue. Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler, Maslow, Atkinson Heckhausen, and Hackman and Oldham have different point of view but all of them have something in common. The theories of motivation describe the reasons and personal development that a human has and expands its potential, as well as the need for self-actualization that can never be fully satisfied. Works cited Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs motivational model.

Network Based Grading System

Such systems do not relate expectations, outcomes and performance. As each students desires to desire a good score for each assignment , exam, project and/or report, the whole Network Based Grading System Network Based Grading System is vital in this generation, specially to teachers and students. This is a seem that could Nag network based grading system system ay sis as MGM Gilligan as pantheon Nagoya Lola an as MGM student at as MGM guru.Dahl mass anabolism zeugma Eng MGM grades Eng student gambit nag sang system gay intoning network based grading system. Gambit nag computer pawed gaming tong system. 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NC' Skip to main content Skip to navigation Resources How To About INCUBI Accesses Sign in to INCUBI MAC US National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health Top of Form Search terminates database Search Limits Advanced Journal list Help Bottom of Form Journal List v. 23(7308); 2001 Gag 11 MIMIC 120936 BMW. 2001 Gag 11; 323(7308): 334-336. MIMIC: MIMIC 120936 A new system for grading recommendations in evidence based guidelines Robin Harbor, information manager and Juliet Miller, director for the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network Grading Review Group Author information Article notes Copyright and License information This article has been cited by other articles in MAC.The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) develops evidence based clinical guidelines for the NASH in Scotland. The key elements of the methodology are (a) that guidelines are developed by multidisciplinary groups; (b) they are based on a systematic review of the scientific evidence; and (c) recommendations are explicitly linked to the supporting evidence and graded according to the strength of that evidence. Until recently, the System or grading guideline recommendations was based on the work of the IIS Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (formerly the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research). 1,2 However, experience over more than five years of guideline developm ent led to a growing awareness of this systemic weaknesses. Firstly, the grading system was designed largely for application to questions of effectiveness, where randomized controlled trials are accepted as the most robust study design with the least risk of bias in the results.However, in many areas of medical practice randomized trials may to be practical or ethical to undertake; and for many questions other types of study design may provide the best evidence. Secondly, guideline development groups often fail to take adequate account of the methodological quail ¶y' of individual studies and the overall picture presented by a body of evidence rather than individual studies or they fail to apply sufficient judgment to the overall strength of the evidence base and its applicant ability to the target population of the guideline.Thirdly, guideline users are often not clear about the implications of the grading system. They misinterpret the grade of recommendation as relating to its i mportance, rather than to the strength of the supporting evidence, and may therefore fail to give due weight to low grade recommendations.Summary points A revised system of determining levels of evidence and grades of recommendation for evidence based clinical guidelines has been developed Levels of evidence are based on study design and the methodological quality of individual studies All studies related to a specific question are summarized in an evidence table Guideline developers must make a considered judgment bout the generalizations, applicability, consistency, and clinical impact of the evidence to create a clear link between the evidence and recommendation Grades of recommendation are based on the strength of supporting evidence, taking into account its overall level and the considered judgment of the guideline developers In 1 998, SIGN undertook to review and, where appropriate, to refine the system for evaluating guideline evidence and grading recommendations. The review had three main objectives.Firstly, the group aimed to develop a system that would maintain the link between the trench of the available evidence and the grade of the recommendation, while allowing recommendations to be based on the best available evidence and be weighted accordingly. Secondly, it planned to ensure that the grading system incorporated formal assessment of the methodological quality, quantity, consistency, and applicability of the evidence base. Thirdly, the group hoped to present the grading system in a clear and unambiguous way that would allow guideline developers and users to understand the link between the strength of the evidence and the grade of recommendation. Go to: MethodsThe review group decided that a more explicit and structured approach (figure) to the process of developing recommendations was required to address the weaknesses identified in the existing grading system. The four key stages in the process identified by the group are shown in the box. The strength of the evidence provided by an individual study depends on the ability of the study design to minimize the possibility of bias and to maximize attribution. The hierarchy of study types adopted by the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research is widely accepted as reliable in this regard and is even in box boxier. 1 Box 1 Hierarchy of study types The strength of evidence provided by a study is also influenced by how well the study was designed and carried out.Failure to give due attention to key aspects of study methods increases the risk of bias or confounding and thus reduces the stud's reliability. 3 The critical appraisal of the evidence base undertaken for SIGN guidelines therefore focuses on those aspects of study design which research has shown to have a significant influence on the validity of the results and conclusions. These key questions differ between hypes of studies, and the use of checklists is recommended to ensure that all relevant aspects are considered a nd that a consistent approach is used in the methodological assessment of the evidence. We carried out an extensive search to identify existing checklists. These were then reviewed in order to identify a validated model on which SIGN checklists could be based.The checklists developed by the New South Wales Department of Health were selected because of the rigorous development and validation procedures they had undergone. 4 These checklists were further evaluated and adapted y the grading review group in order to meet SIGN's requirements for a balance between methodological rigor and practicality of use. New checklists were developed for systematic reviews, randomized trials, and cohort and case control studies, and these were tested with a number of SIGN development groups to ensure that the wording was clear and the checklists produced consistent results. As a result of these tests, some of the wording of the checklists was amended to improve clarity. A supplementary checklist cove rs issues specific to the evaluation of diagnostic tests.This was eased on the New South Wales checklist,4 adapted with reference to the work of the Cochrane Methods Working Group on Systematic Review of Screening and Diagnostic Tests and Caruthers et al. 5,6 The checklists use written responses to the individual questions, with users then assigning studies an overall rating according to specified criteria (see box boxer). The full set of checklists and detailed notes on their use are available from SIGN. 7 Box 2 Key stages in developing recommendations Synthesis of the evidence The next step is to extract the relevant data from each study that was rated as avian a low or moderate risk of bias and to compile a summary of the individual studies and the overall direction of the evidence.A single, well conducted, systematic review or a very large randomized trial with clear outcomes could support a recommendation independently. Smaller, less well conducted studies require a body of evi dence displaying a degree of consistency to support a recommendation. In these circumstances an evidence table presenting summaries of all the relevant studies should be compiled. Considered judgment Having completed a rigorous and objective synthesis of the evidence base, he guideline development group must then make what is essentially a subjective judgment on the recommendations-?one that can validly be made on the basis of this evidence. This requires the exercise of judgment based on clinical experience as well as knowledge of the evidence and the methods used to generate it.Although it is not practical to lay out â€Å"rules† for exercising judgment, guideline development groups are asked to consider the evidence in terms of quantity, quality, and consistency; applicability; generalizations; and clinical impact. Increasing the role of subjective judgment in this way risks he reintroduction of bias into the process. It must be emphasized that this is not the judgment of an individual but of a carefully composed multidisciplinary group. An additional safeguard is the requirement for the guideline development group to present clearly the evidence on which the recommendation is based, making the link between evidence and recommendation explicit and explaining how they interpreted that evidence.Grading system The revised grading system (box (box)BE) is intended to strike an appropriate balance between incorporating the complexity Of type and laity of the evidence and maintaining clarity for guideline users. The key changes from the Agency for Health Care Policy and Research system are that the study type and quality rating are combined in the evidence level; the grading of recommendations extrapolated from the available evidence is clarified; and the grades of recommendation are extended from three to four categories, effectively by splitting the previous grade B which was seen as covering too broad a range of evidence type and quality.