Corporate Income Taxes - Constructive Dividends, Redemptions, and

Essays on Corporate Income Taxes - Constructive Dividends, Redemptions, and Related Party Losses Research Paper Corporate Income Taxes Issues and Facts of unreasonable compensation, stock redemptions treated as dividends and related party losses. Closely held companies pay compensation to employees and shareholders, instead of paying dividends since compensation is deductible. The Internal Revenue Service Audit of a company will disallow a portion of compensation deduction on the basis that it was unreasonably excessive; thus treated as nondeductible dividend. The impact of this adjustment has not been of concern since dividends have been taxed to individuals at a rate of 15% versus compensation, which is taxed at a maximum of 35%. Besides, dividend distribution is not subject to employment taxes (Lassila Kilpatrick, 2008). The shareholders transfers common stock to the issuing company in exchange for property or money. The transaction is likely to be either the sale of stock to the outsider or the receipt by the shareholder of dividend from the company. The sale of stock by a shareholder to his/her company is taxed as dividends, instead of being taxed as sales. Some of the issues facing the Congress, courts and treasury over the years is the determination of which transfers of stocks are supposed to be classified as sales and which of them should to be treated as sales. But these parties do accept that transactions are treated as sales unless the transaction was equivalent to the distribution of taxable dividends. Taxes drive number decisions when it comes to owning rental properties. Therefore, landlords have a hard time in tax planning for rental properties. The largesse from the Treasury to the landlords does not have limits. After the deductions, IRS provides landlords with passive losses. Those which exceeds Rent received cannot be used in offsetting ordinary income like salaries. Tax Law and its Implications to Businesses The compensation of the taxpayer from the gross receipt of the business is against IRS laws and regulations on compensation. The taxpayer pays himself very high compensation to reduce the amount of net income of the business; thus reducing dividends distributed among shareholders. Therefore, excess compensation should be treated as dividends and should be taxed differently. Dividends do undergo double taxation since they are taxed at the company level as income and also when being distributed to shareholders as the share of profit. For tax planning purposes, the taxpayer should realize that dividends are taxed at the rate of 15%, compared to compensations, which are taxed at the rate 35% (Bankman, Griffith, Pratt, 2008). Therefore, it is even worse for the taxpayer to pay himself/herself high compensation on the basis of trying to reduce tax burdens. In fact, high compensation increases the tax burden on the taxpayer. The general view of section 162(a)(1) of the Internal Revenue Code as contained in IRS allows publicly traded firms to deduct an unlimited amount of executive compensation for corporate tax purposes because salaries of senior employees are always negotiated at an arm’s length by the profit-maximizing board. On the other hand, IRS uses section 162 (a) (1) to limit corporate deductions for the executive compensation paid by closely held companies because such companies lack enough finances to put in place checks and balances of publicly traded companies (Zelinsky, 2009). When family owned companies redeem shares, the purchase of those shares qualifies for capital gain treatment. Precisely, the sale of shares should be treated as the distribution of dividends to shareholders. The most important result of dividend treatment relates mostly to the difference in tax rates applied to dividends and the long-term capital gains. The long-term capital gains recognized by shareholders who sell shares held for more than one year are taxed at the rate of 20% (Brody Daiker, 2008). Therefore, the redemption of shares by the taxpayer and his son should be taxed at 20% federal rates since they have owned these shares for more than a year. Since there are some differences in the treatment of capital gains and dividends, the taxpayer should in future attempt to structure the corporate distribution as share redemption, other than treating it as dividends in order to reduce its tax burden. Solving the Problem and Communicating the Findings The problem of the unreasonable contribution can be solved by the taxpayer by reducing his level of compensation based on the current level of 5% on the gross receipt. The IRS will treat excess compensation as constructive dividends, which are taxed at the rate of 35%, other than the 15 % tax rate for compensation. As a result, the taxpayer would be forced to pay more taxes because of poor tax planning. In the case of stock redemptions in the construction company, taxes should be remitted at a rate of 20% on the redemption value as required by the federal tax laws. The rental loss from the construction company can neither be offset by tax liabilities for other companies of the taxpayer nor other income like the taxpayer’s salary (Hoffman, Raabe, Smith, Maloney, 2007). Therefore, based on the findings from unreasonable compensation, stock redemption, and rental losses, the client should accept Notice of the Proposed Amendment and adjust as per the requirement of the adjustments. This will relieve the taxpayer from future tax burdens resulting from failure to abide by the set federal tax laws. References Bankman, J., Griffith, T. D., Pratt, K. (2008). Federal Income Tax: Examples Explanations. London: Aspen Publishers Online. Brody, L., Daiker, S. B. (2008). The Insured Stock Purchase Agreement with Sample Forms. Washington D.C: American Bar Association. Hoffman, W., Raabe, W., Smith, J., Maloney, D. (2007). West Federal Taxation 2008: Corporations, Partnerships, Estates, and Trusts, Professional Edition. Stamford: Cengage Learning. Lassila, D. R., Kilpatrick, B. G. (2008). U.S. Master Compensation Tax Guide (2008). Illinois: CCH. Zelinsky, A. S. (2009). Taxing Unreasonable Compensation: Â § 162(a)(1) and Managerial Power. The Yale Law Journal, 637-645.

The Effects of Global Climate Change Free Essays

The Effects of Global Climate Change The humanity has made significant progress in all spheres of life. It is not an exaggeration to say that during the last century more inventions were made, than during the whole of history. Man flew into space, tamed atomic energy, found a way to cure many diseases that were considered incurable, and every new day is marked with a new breakthrough. We will write a custom essay sample on The Effects of Global Climate Change or any similar topic only for you Order Now However, there is a downside. For a long period of time people didn’t think about the consequences of their exponential development. Vast tracts of forests were cleared for agricultural purposes, thousands of tons of carbon dioxide dissolved in the atmosphere, hundreds of species on animals and plants become extinct every year. The rapid development of humanity renders a bad influence on Earth. One of the examples of these influence’s is climate change. It’s not a secret that a couple of hundreds of years ago the climate on Earth was colder than now. Many scientists warn about what is called global warming – a process of a constant increase of the annual temperature across the whole planet. For the first time its surge was recorded in the last quarter of the 20th century, and since that time the average temperature had increased by 0,7Â °?. The further one goes from the equator, the more obvious climate changes become. So what are the possible consequences of global warming? According to the recent reports of the United Nations, during the 21st century the average temperature will rise more than 1, 4-1, 8Â °? and will cause Arctic glaciers melt faster. The sea level will increase by 10 cm. It doesn’t seem to possess any danger, but in reality it will become a serious threat for those countries which are located not very high above the sea level. Some specialists predict that till the end of the current century the ocean will rise on the whole a meter. Netherlands, Great Britain, Japan, as well as the islands of Oceania and the Caribbean basin will be at risk. 30-40% of species and ecosystems will become extinct, because their habitat will change much faster than they adapt. If the temperature increases by one degree Celsius dramatic modifications to forests’ composition will occur. Some species have already begun to react to climate changes. For example, migratory birds start to fly away later in autumn and to come back much earlier in spring. Global warming will negatively affect precipitation maps. In arid regions, such as Central Asia, Australia, and Mediterranean, South Africa and so on, situation will become even more complicated due to the reduction of precipitation. At the same time, some regions may suffer from abnormal cyclones and the heavy rains that have become much more frequent. The recent hurricane in North America may be a demonstration of these processes. Such changes will have a bad effect on agriculture. Due to warming, it may improve in Northern Europe, but in Southern Europe, Africa and many regions of Asia high temperatures, droughts, floods and soil erosion will cause an irreparable damage. Specialists predict that yields in Africa and Asia will decrease, and Australia and New Zealand will face a great lack of drinking water. A risk of floods in Europe will increase, and the Eastern coast of the United States will undergo increased numbers of hurricanes and soil erosion. Besides, global warming will create a favorable environment for various diseases, so a dramatic growth of epidemics and pandemics can be expected. Scientists have discovered that Earth warms much faster than it did before, and there is convincing evidence that it is humanity who is responsible for that. At the moment research, which aim is to find solutions for this problem is being conducted. Every country should take action to prevent causing more damage to our planet, because the consequences will be serious for everyone. How to cite The Effects of Global Climate Change, Essay examples

Cause for Vegetarianism Essay Example For Students

Cause for Vegetarianism Essay Let American Consumer Counseling Help you Get Out of Debt! Cause for Vegetarianism Essay The choice of eating meat or not has been a debated issue for a continued number of years. There have long since been two sides: the proponents and opponents of meat consumption. More and more debates of its value and effect on the world have risen. Many claim it is wrong, while others think of it as a needed pleasure. Today, a greater percentage of the population eats meat. Only a few individuals seek the alternative route. Yet, there has been a steady rise in the number of vegetarians. Many may already know that religions all over the world have advocated a meat-free diet. While a few are lenient, the majority is steady. The reason a vegetarian diet has been preferred over meat dates back thousands of years. Take for example, the Christian tradition. Although most are now lenient, previously many great saints advocated a meat-free diet, for more reasons than one. In the beginning it was said by God, Here I have given you all vegetation bearing seed which is on the surface of the whole earthto you let it serve as food. (gen. 1.29) Later it was spoken by Jesus of the commandment, thou shall not kill. Jesus said, You heard that it was said to those of ancient times, Thou shall not kill; and whoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment.(Matthw.5.21) There is also the Hindu tradition, where a meatless way of life has gone on for thousands of years (until the invasion by foreign rule, forcing some to comply to foreign acts). This tradition has volumes of scriptures proclaiming vegetarianism. Take for example this quote from the Srimad Bhagavatam 1.7.37, A cruel and wretched person who maintains his existence at the cost of others lives deserves to be killed for his own eternal well-being, otherwise he will go down by his own actions. There are many more such quotes from scriptures all over the world. Yet nowadays, there is just the opposite of vegetarianism in compliance of these ancient texts. Although meat-eating has been denied to the human form by God and his sons and daughters of the past, people still adopt the process. Such are the statements of devout followers who adhere to a meat-free diet in accordance to scriptural texts. Those who advocate vegetarianism profess that many people are weak of heart and so succumb to meat eating. While those who advocate a meat-oriented diet say that a meat diet is essential for a normal and healthy life, for they provide protein. The Dutch chemist, Gerrit Jari Mulder, in his experiments, has proved in 1838, that protein is biologically essential, for every living creature needs a certain amount to survive. This fact about protein is due to the presence of amino acids, the building blocks of life. While it is true that animals provide essential protein for the human body, scientific reports have provided additional information that may seem to support a vegetarian viewpoint. In his Book Diet for Transcendence, Steven Rosen states from other sources that plants are the sources of protein and that animals are the secondary sources, having consumed such plants. Plants can synthesize amino acids from air, earth and water, but animals are dependent on plants for protein, either directly by eating plants or indirectly by eating an animal which has eaten and metabolized plants. There have also been many scientific reports of late showing the defects of a meat-oriented diet. Cancer and heart disease are nearly epidemic in nations with a high per capita consumption of meat, while they rarely occur in societies where little meat is consumed, quoted from Steven Rosens book Diet For Transcendence. Critiqe On Kirstie Laird EssayWith a variety of groups forming all over the world advocating vegetarianism, this issue will remain a top issue. .

Sprite free essay sample

: # 8220 ; Image Is Everything? Essay, Research Paper # 8220 ; Image is Everything # 8221 ; # 8220 ; Thirst is Everything, Image is Nothing # 8221 ; we have all seen this motto slapped on to every one of Sprite # 8217 ; s merchandises for last twosome of months. But what does it intend? Does it intend that person at a Pepsi convention should order a Sprite, a Coke merchandise, merely cause they like the gustatory sensation? Of class non, do if they did they would acquire kicked out at the really least. Advertisers use this kind of motto to catch your attending, and so they have you right where they want. In the most recent Sprite commercials that characteristic Grant Hill of the Detroit Pistons, they show us that the ground why we would hold a Sprite is merely for the gustatory sensation of it. But if this was all they are seeking to acquire across to us wouldn # 8217 ; t it be cheaper and wiser to utilize a 6 dollar per hr child instead than a cat that won # 8217 ; t measure pes in a topographic point for less that a 100 expansive. We will write a custom essay sample on Sprite or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Why would they do a commercial that contradicts itself? The ground an advertizement would belie itself like this is for one ground merely, to seek and gull our wants and desires into going our demands. Our demands are merely something that is a necessity for us to last, such as nutrient and H2O. We all know we couldn # 8217 ; t travel long without these simple yet indispensable things. While our wants and desires for things such as five star eating houses and luxury autos. Which by no agencies are needed to last, but merely do populating all the more merriment. Advertisers are Masterss on how to work our desires, and to do us believe that they are our demands. And it is by no agency is this easy or inexpensive for a commercial to be able to make. To be able to do us believe that our life would, in some manner, be better with this merchandise by our side. Sprite # 8217 ; s commercial that plays every clip you blindly surf the telecasting channels are all about image. The commercial that is shown the most, characteristics Grant Hill imbibing a Sprite. While they province in the back unit of ammunition and print on the screen, # 8220 ; Thirst Is Everything, Image Is Nothing # 8221 ; . When I foremost saw this I was believing, # 8220 ; cool a great drink that anyone can hold and non look out of topographic point # 8221 ; . But the more I thought about it and saw the commercial clip and clip once more a couple things stuck in my caput. First of all that merely two words are emphasized, and are in all caps on the commercial. Know which 1s? Yeah you got it THIRST and IMAGE, for the ground that these are the two that they want you to retrieve. Thirst so that when you # 8217 ; re thirsty you # 8217 ; ll believe of Sprite as the lone 1 that can acquire the occupation done. Again traveling back to your demands , and doing you believe that Sprite is a necessity for your endurance. And Image so you know you’ll look good while you’re imbibing it, but isn’t this traveling against the â€Å"Image is nothing† ? I thought it was, so I watched it once more, and I noticed something else, when they say those two words on telecasting they increase in the volume, to stress them once more more than all the others. But it doesn’t terminal here they still have Hill in the commercial toss offing a 20 oz. after what we believe to be the hardest game of his life. Why you ask, because he is spose to be the mean hoops participant, on any given twenty-four hours. But if this were true, and he was an mean participant, so we would wholly be on a pro squad doing more money than we can number. But this isn’t true so we merely imbibe it with the hopes that if it helped Hill it can assist us excessively. The commercial attempts to play towards our maleness, harmonizing to the definition supplied by Diane Barthel. She says that advertizers use # 8220 ; power/ precision/ performance/ tallies as a subject throughout advertisement to work forces # 8221 ; ( p.123 ) . Now who could deny that Grant Hill is a show of this, full if non the perfect illustrations. But why would Sprite usage this catchy phrase if what they wanted to state what about the exact antonym. That image is everything ; good the lone ground I came up with was that they wanted to play to one of your necessities. You have to imbibe to last, if non we all know what happens, we would shrivel up and decease. But if they can do us believe, if merely for a 2nd, that we can fulfill that demand better over any other drink with Sprite, and that in kernel we have to hold some in order to last. Then advertizers have earned their money, because so I can # 8217 ; t possible think of a ground non to travel out and purchase some. Sprite has been around for many old ages and will go on to be merely by coming up with these tricky and clever commercials to sell their merchandise. Coming up with different ways to play to our demand to be excepted in a higher group, to last or our desire to experience dominance above others. But if the lone manner they have to travel about this is to pass 1000000s in fancy commercial to state us things that we don # 8217 ; t even recognize at first. Then we should be seeing a clump more of flashy and artless ways to do us desire things being shown between our favourite shows. All of them are demoing us a better life with a # 8220 ; sprite # 8221 ; or any other merchandise they might be selling. And even if this lone gets through to a fraction of the people, their occupation is done. Because that fraction is still 100s of 1000s of people purchasing their merchandise.

Human Adjustment and the Loss of a Romantic Relationship essays

Human Adjustment and the Loss of a Romantic Relationship essays I don't know if I'm real without you. I don't know whats real without you. Turn on the radio at any point during the day and you are sure to hear at least one jilted singer crooning a heartfelt ballad about a lost love. The preceding excerpt from the song Shame by the group Stabbing Westward is one of many similar sentiments expressed through music since the beginning of time. Losing a loved one, whether due to a relationship break-up or through death can be an exceedingly painful process. It is one that is often full of conflicting thoughts and emotions and a profound feeling of emptiness. However, while countless songs and poems are written about the pain of loss, few are written about the eventual outcome surviving that loss. Despite how helpless the situation appears, humans are resilient creatures. Through time and appropriate support one can emerge from this period of grief and adapt to the situation. So what is this concept of love that has such a powerful and dramatic effect on us? It is a vague notion that is often best described by the Shakespeares of our time and not by science, however, some definition seems necessary. Aristotle once said, Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies. He also felt that there are four different kinds of love: storge (mutual affection), philia (friendship), agape (a forgiving moral love) and romantic love, which he coined eros (Enright and Fitzgibbons, 2000). Eros is the type of love that usually comes to mind when this word is used. Robert Sternbergs way of looking at romantic love has come to be accepted by many psychologists as an accurate description (Robbins, 1996, p. 18). He sees this hard-to-pinpoint emotion as best described by a triangle with one of three distinct components at each point: intimacy, passion, and decision/commitment. Intimacy is, according to Sternberg, those fee...

How to job hunt without your boss finding out

How to job hunt without your boss finding out The job search can be a bit weird if you already have a  job- everyone does it, or no one would ever have a new job. But it has to be done in a top secret way, because you can’t let your boss know what’s going on. Even if he or she knows you’re unhappy, you don’t want this person knowing that you tried to leave- especially if you don’t get a new job right away. And even if you have a great, open relationship with your boss and she wants you to do what’s best for yourself, it’s still awkward. You don’t want to be marked as a flight risk†¦so how do you manage the process without tipping off the boss? Don’t check out from your day-to-day work.If you’re clearly not putting time and effort into your daily work, it’ll be a first sign that something is off. It’s not only bad practice in general to let your performance suffer, but it’s also a clear sign to your boss that you’re trying to get out the door, one way or another.Don’t use your boss as a reference.This one probably seems obvious, but you’d be amazed at how many people think they have to use their current boss as a reference. I once had a friend who listed her current boss’s contact information on a (stealth) job application, then freaked out when the new company actually called the current boss. If you need a reference but don’t want to tip your hand with your current boss, use a trusted colleague who is familiar with your work and can vouch for you.Don’t use your work computer.At this point, it’s safe to assume that Big Brother is always watching- and in this case that could include your boss. Don’t use your work computer to search for new jobs, work on your resume, or reach out to potential employers. There’s a good chance this runs afoul of your company’s computer usage rules, for one, and if you’re applying to competitor companies, it could be a legal issue as well. So make sure you’re doing your job hunt stuff on your own time, on your own devices.Don’t shout about your plans on social media.If you’re not Facebook friends with your boss or connected on LinkedIn, you might think it’s safe to talk about your job search or send out a â€Å"hire me!† blast. Don’t count on that â€Å"friends only† post to stay private. There’s nothing stopping one of your other contacts from letting it slip that you’re hunting, or from sending your boss a screenshot of your â€Å"I hate this place, get me out of here† rant. If you really don’t want your boss to know you’re looking elsewhere, don’t post anything on social media that you wouldn’t want him or her to read.Ideally, your boss won’t know about your job search until you have an offer in hand and a lovely resignation letter ready to go. But if you practice some basic di scretion, it doesn’t have to feel like a Cold War spy mission, either.

Advantages of Establishing a Chemical Production Plant in Bhopal India Assignment

Advantages of Establishing a Chemical Production Plant in Bhopal India - Assignment Example The researcher states that each foreign country has its own statutory safety and environmental guidelines which could affect the success or failure of a manufacturing company. As an engineer who has been a successful corporate manager for a chemical production company, I have written this report to guide the management before establishing at least one production company in Indonesia within the next ten years. Based on the gathered ethical and legal issues in each target country, recommended solutions on how we could effectively decrease the risk of losing the large sum of money due to the difference in business and cultural practices will be tackled in details. Expanding the business in Bhopal India could offer the business more competitive advantages as compared to its competitors. Aside from the relatively low cost of labor, other operational necessities such as raw materials, electricity, taxes, and transportation costs are also competitive. Basically, the cost savings that the co mpany can get out of establishing a chemical plant in Bhopal or Kazakhstan will enable the company to sell the finish products at a more competitive price without the need to sacrifice its quality. As a chemical manufacturing plant, it is but ethical for plant managers to learn more and train employees regarding the socially and legally accepted staffing policy, health and safety management, the health and social consequences of establishing the chemical plant close to a densely populated geographic area, the toxicity of chemicals being manufactured at the chemical plant, and the proper way of handling and disposing the chemicals. Â  Likewise, it is equally important for the plant managers to develop proper emergency response strategies and train employees on how to cut down the harmful effects of these chemicals in case of emergency. All these are necessary in order to avoid unnecessary law suites which can be filed against the company.

UNIT 1 SEMINAR HUMAN SERVICES Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

UNIT 1 SEMINAR HUMAN SERVICES - Research Paper Example Unbalanced opinions act as propaganda and means of persuading readers on a particular topic. Essentially, subjective perspective is piece of information that is incomplete and an expression of feelings. The research will be useful to me since it will provide documentation of evaluation models and new methods in problem solving. This perspective helps in improving accountability and evaluation process in care giving and counseling (Royse, 2010). The research will establish models that depict the relationship between the program and its results. It is significant in enhancing effectiveness and efficiency in service provision. Research helps in developing new thinking and approaches to the problem facing the society. Hence, research on human service program will help the professionals to realize the established goals. In summary, Human Service practitioners are expected to use objective perspective while handling their clients. This is critical since it helps to build trust and enhances engagement with the listener. In addition, the perspective helps in developing attention and persuading ways of thinking (Royse, 2010). It makes an individual become prudent, realistic, frugal, and diplomatic in handling clients with a traumatized past. Moreover, the facts can help in clarifying elements and

The Use Of Union Dues For Political Activities Essay Example for Free

The Use Of Union Dues For Political Activities Essay A union is an association that represents workers well being to running their salaries, work hours and working conditions. The workers are involved in ensuring the unions sustain their activities with its due fees to pay for their services. Workers are mandated to pay union an outstanding amount are required to know the how their money is being utilized. The organization controlling the unions must give the employees with enough data on how their money is being used. The work of these unions levy for opinionated goings on continues to be a contentious issue for both community and private sector unions. This thesis will give an impression of the lawful issues of the use of union’s dues in America for both community and private sectors. Law protects all workers a right to join and get involved in union actions. Workers can negotiate and discuss with unions over service issues that affect the join workers about their operational terms. The bargaining items include issues like salaries, supremacy and penalizing procedures are some examples. The workers join the unions for various reasons including, when they feel:- o Are unhappy about some aspects of their occupation. o Sense that they are not involved meeting the required changes. o See the joining together as an answer to their troubles. The union best friend is bad operational system. If the managers listen to workers and let them dictate in policies that influence their jobs and treat them literally, then the workers won’t need to join the union. The manager who pay no attention to their employees well being and are dictatorial in their operational style often have their companies organized. Most job providers prefer to hire workers who have not joined unions, as the unions may limit the potentiality of the managers. This relates to decisions that openly affect joint workers working conditions. In the private sector for example a company may contract out part of its operations, and this may be legal but the effect of that pronouncement has to be discussed with the union. And if the senior workers are made redundant because of the decision to contract out, the contract terms must be evaluated to see the level of harm caused to the involved workers. HISTORICAL OVERVIEW I n the beginning of the 20th century, as the American economy was building up most employers created bad working conditions for workers. Most workers were from other nations to the US and they were not trained, could not communicate properly in English and had no money to pillow their jobs. Some were from the rural areas of America and were most occupants of the towns. They were misused because people looking for jobs were many. Due to economical growth, it resulted to understanding between the employers and employees. This understanding made people to loose their jobs, thus created poverty. During this period a private sector union was allowed to operate called the Wagner act of 1935 also called (National Labor Relations Act). The Wagner Act was enacted to guard employee’s rights and enable them to form join unions. This allowed them to have a right to be involved in such activities as strikes, picketing and collective bargaining. The Act also enhanced multiple employments as illegal, as the workers can not be interfered with or persuaded in practicing their rights to engage or not to engage in combined activities, dictate or interrupt the union activities, categorize workers to prevent them joining together forming an association, expulsion or placing charges against workers who file charges against their employers and or testify against their employees according to the Act’s provision, decline to negotiate with the union . The NLRB also formed a self governing organization to enforce American labor law and its primary actions were as follows:- o To identify the actual unit for cooperative bargaining in a company. o To manage documentation elections secret ballot that decided whether the workers were to be represented by a joint group. o To avoid and deal with illegal labor Acts. ‘The Taft – Hartley Act’ was enacted and represented a delicate change in connection between the unions and employers. The legislation was formed to bind some of the authority that the unions had secured under the Wagner’s Act; also it was made to defend the rights of organization and the workers too. The Taft Hartley Act is positive towards the employees concerns against unjust labor practices. Joint organizations cannot or persuade workers in the duty of their rights as provided under the Act, insight employees to discriminate each other especially those are not members of labor union for whatever the reason. Including:- failing to pay the union levy and joining fees as required to attain membership in the union, decline to negotiate with the management after a good number of employees have decided to be represented by a certain union group, persuade the associates and members to refuse to use products by companies involved in a labor dispute, and charge workers for extreme levy as a condition of relationship in a joint group. The Landrum Griffin Act has sustained this change in lawful surroundings and creating More limits in joint groups activities. The Act was enacted to protect joint members and their involvement in the activities and presentation of their joint groups. The Act controls how unions are managed. The Act has three sections including; o Bill of rights for union members, it assures clandestine and seasonal elections to choose their joint group representatives. It also gives the group members the right to take legal action against the union if it abuses their lawful rights. o Requires complete reports to the secretary of labor concerning all economical issues of the joint group. o Controls the persons who may be used or employed as union officers. Persons who are found guilty of illegal activities or may have investment interests that may not agree with interests of the joint groups are stopped from holding office. Most of the factors affecting the employees in the private sector are same as those affecting the public sector. The legal association between public sector and private sector employees and their bosses are legally not the same at federal and state level. The government is the supreme ruler and may be compelled by law to perform certain actions and provide some services. The administration officials have the permission to take legal action and make supposed decisions to ensure performance of those activities. Negotiation involves the sharing of decision making power between the administration and the joint groups. For instance; communal workers at a national level in the most states are forbidden to strike. In America the lawful history of the communal sector organizations has gone through major reforms. The communal joint groups can be categorized as being at the national level, state employee level and local county and municipal level. The community workers have no rights under the Wagner Act, with the exception of workers of the American Postal Service. The Postal Reforms Act in America has a private agency and legalized National Labor Relations Board to decide appropriate negotiating units, oversee version elections, and put in force the unjust labor practice of the Wagner Act. THE USE OF UNION DUES FOR POLITICAL ACTIVITY F ederal employees have started negotiating over the terms of their employment. This is due to Lloyd La Follette Act. The Civil Service Act and it gives power to set wages, hours and other terms and conditions of employment. It is prohibited that national workers or their joint groups from dictating in salaries, either before congress, its committee or before heads of executive agencies. It appears that on the collective negotiating events of the community unions at both the national and state levels have more officially authorized than their private partners. The national workers have a right to organize and form unions. National workers also have a right to present their views on salaries and terms of employment to companies which h they worked for. It is an illegal practice to discriminate an employee on basis of color, race, nationality, sex, age, political status and marital status. It is also an offence to interfere with exercise of employee rights or to take disciplinary actions against a worker or categorize an employee because of union activity, or to persuade a regulation that differs with a collective negotiating agreement. An important variation in the legislation is the absence of the right to strike among the federal level employees. While the use of the unions levy for the political activity has always been frowned upon in both the community and private sectors, thus the issue of has remained a major topic of the debate. Thus, many people argue that unless closely monitored, the joint groups will continue to utilize their members levy for political activity in regardless of the lawful constraints; for example the American Supreme Court has illegalized the use of union for political activity. The Supreme Court defined the term â€Å"agency fee† and this ruling applies to both communal and private sector workers. The joint group may require all the workers covered by a union security agreement t pay an â€Å"agency fee† which is designed to cover the cost associated with collective bargaining, contract administration and grievance administration procedures. The recent presidential promotion has once again highlighted the issue of the union dues being utilized for supporting purposes. Congress and many states have enacted or tried to enhance new laws to more lawful constraints in this area. On the one hand, many argue that all that all that is needed is for the current laws as interpreted by the courts are implemented and imposed and no extra legislation is needed. If an employee does not want his or her money used for political purposes, then they have the authority to block this from occurring. Another survey focuses on the pubic sector. The results show that much has been done to make services accessible, but how typical they are across the other sectors. Websites in the US commercial sectors including airlines, newspaper, banks, supermarkets, sport, retail and telecommunications have at some percentage achieved their goals. This ending therefore suggests that the private sector not superior than the communal unit when it comes to web accessibility. ESTMATED VERSUS ACTUAL CONFORMANCE The strategy study requested the respondents to estimate the proportions of sites in each member state that already conform at various levels. Only a few people said that they had data, about the public sector versus community. The most parallel information returned related showed a conformance with the public sector, where there were six clear estimates. The most states cannot know the actual conformance of their member states and those can offers low estimates, which makes it clear that they are not coming up with good standards. If we estimate the site studies are representing the administration websites in the states, they shows that there is a recognizable gap in data and comment in between the strategy planning and actual results. Changing this data difference should improve effectiveness of all related strategy interventions. This could be realized more independently by the member states but there may be positive outcomes through union efforts. The internet accessibility observatory project may provide a mechanism for such collaboration and its main objective is to contribute to better accessibility for all citizens and to improve the standards for online services and resources. Recommendation for public policy makers is to develop response mechanisms for closing the data gap between the strategy planning and actual results may provide a mechanism for such collaboration. To produce a strategy for improving awareness throughout the nation by reviewing all the examples of engagement, shows that this study is for improving awareness of web accessibility. Most of the sites studies are those put in place to provide the administration services. They are basically the government sites which offer some degree of interaction or transaction rather than purely informational sites. Provided this situation and the general move towards greater degree of transaction in the government services and web accessibility are more complicated sites might be not easy to make and keep them accessible or create awareness. In the event there is no statistical association between the accessibility and either of the key measures used in that report for online complexity or the availability of the government data online. It is urged that the underlying administration system is in that respect for more significant number of checkpoints and help in meeting a range of others. Position of salary protection laws differ from state to state. Washington is the first state to pass the salary protection law which was supported by a majority of supporters. In other states like California and Oregon took a different position took a different position. The plan allows and requires joint groups to seek annual written permission from each member before utilizing their dues to support a political activity. Conclusion The discussion over the use of union levy for the supporting activity will continue. Even if the laws are clear that the employees can avoid their money from being used for political purposes, this issue remains contentious. It is wise to say this remains a major issue with closeness of the recent presidential election as an example we see the republicans are always in the favor of salary protection legislation while the democrats opposed. Experts suggested that the power of the joint unions as a political voice had gone down. The recent figures on the campaign contributions suggest this conclusion may not be true. Therefore it is safe to assume that this issue will continue to be debated in congress and in state legislatures to every corner of the country. References Official Title and Summary retrieved on 2nd April 2008 available at www.sos.ca.gov/elections/bp_nov05/voter_info_pdf/entire75.pdf Should we restrict political use of union dues? / Political choice retrieved on 2nd April 2008 available at www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/05/06/EDGKDCKGA01.DTL 55k Cached Similar pages Note this The Worker Paycheck Fairness Act: Ending the Involuntary Use of retrieved on 2nd April 2008 available at www.heritage.org/Research/Labor/BG1156.cfm 58k Labor Relations :: Education :: Glossary retrieved on 2nd April 2008 available at www.massnurses.org/labor/education/resources/glossary3.htm 72k

Vision, Mission, and Strategy at Starbucks Essay -- Business Analysis

Starbucks was bought out by current CEO Howard Schultz in 1987. Since then, Andrew Harrer (2012) reports the company has grown to operate over â€Å"17,244 stores worldwide† (para. 1). Fortune (n.d.) reports in its yearly 100 Best Companies to Work for that Starbucks employs â€Å"some 95,000 employees†. From only a handful of stores in 1987 to a billion dollar franchise today, the success of Starbucks is due in great deal to their corporate culture, specifically how employees, or as Starbucks calls them, partners are treated. Joseph Michelli (2007) echoes this sentiment, â€Å"A great cup of coffee is only part of the Starbucks success equation† (p. 767). The Starbucks corporate culture is not easily summed up because it is multidimensional. However, Starbucks leadership reiterates several key words regularly; â€Å"everything matters†, â€Å"playful†, â€Å"human connection†, â€Å"respect†, â€Å"dignity†, and â€Å"care†. In fact, many of these words can be found in their mission statement. Starbucks partner mission statement reads: We’re called partners, because it’s not just a job, it’s our passion. Together, we embrace diversity to create a place where each of us can be ourselves. We always treat each other with respect and dignity. And we hold each other to that standard. (Starbucks.com, n.d., para. 2). Starbucks strives to be the place between work and home for its customers, and strives to create a place to work where productivity shines above any differences between colleagues. The hiring process begins with the interview. Online forums often reveal the same types of questions asked at interviews. These questions generally refer to how an individual handles conflict with colleagues, requests for information on how they might have disappointed a customer, why... ...leadership and a fair performance appraisal system. Works Cited Aguins, H. (2009). Performance Management (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall. CNN Money (2012). 100 Best Companies to Work For. Fortune Magazine. Retrieved from http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/best-companies/2012/snapshots/73.html Harrer, A (2012, January 26). Starbucks Corporation. The New York Times. Retrieved from http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/business/companies/starbucks_corporation/index.html Michelli, J.A. (2007). The Starbucks Experience: 5 Principles for Turning Ordinary into Extraordinary. New York, NY: McGraw Hill. Kindle Edition. Schultz, H. (2011). Onward. New York, NY: Rodale. Kindle Edition. Weber, G. (2005, February 1). Preserving the Starbucks Counter Culture. Workforce.com. Retrieved from http://www.workforce.com/article/20050201/NEWS02/302019989

Black Plague of London 1665

The Great Plague in London of 1665 Although people proposed a variety of causes for the great plague in London of 1665, the effects of the plague were certainly catastrophic. Europe experienced many outbreaks of plague prior to the year of 1665. Unfortunately, no one was quite sure what exactly caused the plague, which devastated each person who was affected. The effects of the plague on society wreaked havoc on victims both socially and physically. Consequently, Londoners were forced to try many drastic measures to prevent the spread of disease.Nevertheless, the great plague left the city of London greatly damaged. Even though different causes for the plague were mentioned, the most relevant and logical cause of plague was derived from London’s filthiness. Charles J. Shields writes: Although 17th-century Londoners were familiar with the plague’s symptoms, they had no idea what caused it. One pattern they noted, however, was that it went hand in hand with filthiness. Lo ndon was an ancient human habitation, dating from the days when the Roman army had built its outside walls.Without means to provide sanitation for all its inhabitants, the city evolved into a breeding ground for epidemics. (13) Dirtiness often accompanies congested areas, and London was undoubtedly no exception. According to Britannica, â€Å"the greatest devastation remained in the city’s outskirts, at Stepney, Shoreditch, Clerkenwell, Cripplegate, and Westminster, quarters where the poor were densely crowded† (Britannica 447). In seventeenth-century London, people who lived in poverty were believed to be at a high risk for contagion (Hays 124).Residents of London deposited their rubble outside of their homes so that the rain could wash the trash away (Shields 13-14). Consequently, the filth throughout London’s neighborhoods attracted many rats, which carried plague-ridden fleas (Trueman). Because rats lived near garbage, the rodents also resided closely to hum ans, particularly the poor. Nonetheless, when the rats died, the fleas found new human hosts. When fleas that were infected with the disease broke human skin, the microorganism, Yersinia pestis, attacked the lymphatic system, causing enlargement of lymph glands.Therefore, the protuberances were symptomatic of plague (Appleby 162-163). Meanwhile, many Londoners still believed that there could be another cause for the plague’s recurrence. Some people believed that plague was caused by natural factors, but others believed that plague was obtained through an occult element. The English were led to believe that plague was a â€Å"manifestation of divine providence and power, as a product of an environmental miasma, and as an infectious contagion that moved from one person to another† (Hays 124).Residents of London expected a penalty for their corrupt actions as a result of religious persecution, killing of a king, and the absurdness of government. In 1657, just eight years before the last plague, Clergyman Thomas Reeves handed out flyers warning that plague would be the Londoners’ consequence for immoral conduct (Shields 24-25). In fact, those who believed in supernatural causes of the disease sought counsel from a deity through prayer, omens, and charms (Hays 124). As a result of the plague, the community of London suffered both physically and socially.Immediately upon contracting the infection, one would have an array of flu-like symptoms, such as chills, queasiness, and regurgitation. In addition, sufferers developed signs of apprehensiveness and occasionally derangement (Shields 12). Another symptom of plague was the pungent stench of the victim’s breath. Some people carried flowers with them to act as a perfume to hide the bitter smell (Trueman). Andrew B. Appleby stated that the plague could be in bubonic or pneumonic form. The pneumonic form was transferred through sneezing and coughing around others.The pneumonic plague originate d from the bubonic plague because victims sometimes acquired pneumonia along with the bubonic form. The pneumonic plague was occasional in England. The symptoms included the coughing of blood (163). Furthermore, the affliction took a tremendous toll on the overall health of each victim by causing dark round marks around the groin, armpits, and neck. Also, the petechiae, or black spots, arose in other areas of the body (Hays 124-125). Unfortunately, these blemishes often turned into infected pus-filled welts.The last stage of sufferer’s disease occurred as the boils appeared. Of course death was inevitable, but the longevity of the plague’s victims was a mystery because each person’s reaction to the disease was different. For instance, after developing the ailment, some people would die within hours, and others would live as long as a few days. Entire families were destroyed by this annihilating illness (Shields 12). Equally important, the societal effects of pla gue were immense. In 1665, 68,596 casualties were recorded (Britannica 447).Consequently, the cadavers were covered with shrouds and placed in a mass grave because the sudden rise in deaths caused there to be a greater demand for coffins, yet a shorter supply. Not only did people lose loved ones, but they also had difficulty carrying out traditional funerals because the exposed corpses raised the risk of contagion. Although limiting guests at funerals went against society’s customs, Londoners needed to stay clear of the disease as much as possible (Hays 127). Gathering the dead was a difficult task to complete for the bearers.Bearers had to fetch bodies infested with the deadly plague, along with the bearers of the carts. The dead carts were used mainly for large parishes. The carts would grind while being pushed down the street, and the bearers would ring a bell while continually yelling for residents to release the corpses to the cart. Sadly, family of the dead had to witne ss their loved ones being towed away with the loss of dignity and respect for the deceased (Shields 48). London hired â€Å"nurses†, who lacked proper training and experience, to check on diseased victims. If sufferers could afford sustenance, these â€Å"nurses† would bring them food, too (Trueman).Society suffered through many hard times during the plague’s reign. Because of the plague’s atrocious impact on London, residents decided to take matters into their own hands. Since the plague escalated rapidly, the rich people of London left the city for the safe countryside. The poor had no resources to escape the plague’s wrath. In fact, soldiers were hired by London’s council to supervise the outskirts of the parish where the poor resided. No one was allowed outside the boundaries unless he had a document from his parish leader stating that he could leave (Trueman).On account of all the wealthy that left London to escape disease, the impact m ade by plague was mainly on the destitute (Hays 128). Because the disease was taking hold of the population so quickly, the Lord Chamberlain chose to close down the theatres in London. The roads outside of the city were congested with the traffic of people seeking refuge. The city of London was in complete chaos (Shields 31-32). Realizing that the plague was taking over London, the English government mobilized a new system of methods to battle the disease. When the plague hit, London was still following outdated rules from the plague of 1578.To begin the new set of rules for cleaning London, the government demanded that the garbage on the streets and the obstacles in the ditches were to be removed promptly. On the contrary, authorities believed that smoking tobacco and lighting fires to release smoke was profitable for the environment of the plague. Also, the Privy Council requested the slaying of stray animals, such as dogs and pigs. These animals were thought to carry the plague ( Hays 122-123, 127). In addition to the exile of the wealthy and the rise of cleaning standards, London also attempted to prevent the spread of plague by isolation.Accordingly, any family that had at least one member tainted by the disease was confined to their own home for over a month. As a caution to others, a red cross was painted on the door to display the infection of the family inside the house; however, only â€Å"nurses† were permitted to enter the plagued home (Trueman). Because of the forced seclusion from the outside world, many trapped plague victims rebelled against the authorities. For instance, neighbors helped to release the captive by removing the cross from the door of the victim’s house.The government endorsed severe penalties toward those who disobeyed the rules laid out for them to follow. Inevitably, the policy of solitude for the afflicted came to an end when the amount of homes that needed to be secluded became too great and the people who regul ated the guidelines were at a shortage; however, parishes did try to aid the imprisoned victims by raising taxes to provide food (Hays 125-127). Although isolation seemed like a feasible plan to the English government at the time of the plague’s existence, people naturally rebelled against being held hostage in their own home, even if food was provided for them.In conclusion, the great plague caused a tremendous uproar in the lives of the ones who lived in London in 1665. Even though numerous causes were offered to explain the root of the plague’s frequency, the most reasonable explanation of the disease’s occurrence was through the spread of contagion by fleas. As a result of the affliction of plague, society suffered great damage in a physical and civil aspect. Although no one was sure what caused the plague in London, many measures were taken to help prevent the expansion of the pestilence. After all, the plague of 1665 was the last of the plagues to claim Lo ndon.

Gamification

70 percent of global organizations will have incorporated gamification into at least one element of their training program by 2014 according to research firm Gartner. Gamification, put simply, is the use of game theory in platforms of interaction with employees, customers and the wider community. The advent of game technology allows training providers to integrate the positive reinforcements of gaming into the learning environment.While some may roll their eyes and make some assertion that big business is kowtowing to the younger crowd or that gamification is a passing fad, others embracing it and creating loyalty among customers and higher engagement among training participants. A common discussion among training specialists is the cost-effectiveness of training as some studies show that participants retain a mere 10% of content. Indeed, the prospect of sitting all day listening to someone talk about a topic that you have little interest in would test anyone’s tenacity for un divided attention.So while some readers would have already disengaged with this article (because they have little interest in the topic, maybe gamification would have been a better way to engage the nay-sayers to gamification) let us look further at why gamification works: Games give us real time feedback, if a participant gets something wrong they are corrected immediately. It does not wait for the participant to get back to the workplace, wait for the scenario to arise and fail with real-world clients or profits at stake. Games involve problem solving, which sparks our creativity.Games provide us with fun and enjoyment, which increases the motivation to continue playing and maintain our attention. Games involve goals which provide us with the motivation to complete the tasks. Games are based on storylines, storylines create affiliation and emotional attachment. Gamification could effectively destroy the need for those dreaded performance appraisals be it yearly or quarterly. As th e human resource professional in the organisation we are viewed as the uncool ogre come performance appraisal time. The line managers hate them, the employees fear them and we get sick of reminding everyone to do them.Gamification take the performance appraising away from line managers through developing a standardised inventory of correct answers, the employees are given goals promoting competition between departments, which increases social interaction between employees. The gamification pulls employees in rather than us as HR practitioners and leaders having to push the process onto them. It is amazing what a gold star can actually do. Positions that have KPI’s can now be set up as a game to beat your highest score, beat your co-worker with relevant rewards tied to it.

Edgewood Lake Hospital Essays

Edgewood Lake Hospital Essays Edgewood Lake Hospital Paper Edgewood Lake Hospital Paper Edgewood Lake Hospital (ELH) which opened in 1945, is a 30-bed, independent, not-for-profit hospital located in rural northern California. It provides inpatient and outpatient services to the close-knit community that resides within the forested and lakeside town the facility is nestled in. Although it is known for its great track record for quality and is held in high regard by the surrounding community, it has steadily experienced financial losses from 2006 through 2009. These losses can be attributed to factors both internal and external to the facility itself. Poor executive leadership by the recently replaced CEO, Richard Fuchs, has resulted in great financial losses for ELH. Further paramount financial losses have resulted from extreme budgeting discrepancies, mismanaged funds and failure to identify loss-contributors in time to rectify them. These losses have resulted in a decreased morale of the existing staff and have made recruiting for open positions difficult. The staff’s faith in the facility and its longevity has wavered and diminished as a direct result of mismanagement and the resulting financial instability. Nearby competition from a newer and better-equipped for-profit hospital that offers specialty care is a direct and impending threat. Increasing billing regulations from Medicare that call for replacing/purchasing new computer systems are sure to add to the surmounting financial pressures. The Board of Directors has hired a new CEO, Shannon Johnson, who comes from serving 5 years as CFO to Rocky Hills Valley Hospital, a critical access facility in rural northern California. She will be faced with the challenge of employing effective leadership in order to make ELH profitable within a 2-year time span. By examining the current state of the hospital, identifying its key stakeholders and scanning its internal and external environments for contributing factors and possible areas for improvement, strategies aimed at better positioning ELH both competitively as well as financially will be recommended. Key Stakeholders ELH has various stakeholders, each of which has a different relationship with and varying interests in the community hospital. One group of stakeholders would be the close-knit, small community that is offered inpatient/outpatient services by this facility. This stakeholder group boasts a county-wide population of 5,135 citizens. A more distinctive stakeholder group would be the elderly sector of the population, as they make up 54% of the payer mix that is responsible for all revenue received by ELH. The healthcare costs of these senior citizens are funded by the government through the Medicare program. Another group of stakeholders is the primary care providers within ELH. Although the hospital does afford them a facility to practice medicine in, growing discontent has resulted as of late within this stakeholder group. Due to the lack of specialty physicians in this facility, these providers have been forced to provide care that is out of their scope of practice and out of their comfort level. Another principal stakeholder is the newly hired CEO of ELH, Shannon Johnson. She is a graduate of a major university and is also a certified public accountant. Her role will be a vital one in whether ELH recovers from its recent history of financial losses as her executive leadership spearheads this effort. She was chosen by the board of directors as she brings with her experience in managing a hospital in a rural setting. Another stakeholder, as well as direct competitor, for ELH is Creekside Trails Hospital. Although each hospital serves distinct patient populations, a competition for patients in recent years has developed. External Environment In order to arrive at a well-rounded and all-encompassing solution to ELH’s critical state, the external environment must be examined. Looking closely at the environment external to ELH will allow for possible threats to the hospital’s success to be revealed and curtailed if possible. Upon scanning the external environment, opportunities for improvement should be identified and made an integral part of the final strategy to restore and revitalize ELH to its former glory. Threats The most direct threat to ELH is the strong community competitor, Creekside Trails Hospital. It is a 45-bed, for-profit facility located 35 miles away on the other end of the lake and is 50 years newer than ELH having been opened in 1995. It is a for-profit organization and offers more specialty services, namely cardiology care. This threatens ELH’s livelihood not only by creating a more appealing alternative for citizen seeking medical attention but also by becoming a viable option for current ELH staff looking for a more stable and promising place of employment. Another threat is the current state of rural hospitals nationwide. According to the case study, about 25% of Americans live in rural areas and only about 10% of physicians actually practice in rural areas. There is a 15% gap in the ratio of rural citizens to available practicing physicians. This is a threat to ELH’s need to attract and hire more physicians. In relation to rural hospitals, citizens have longer drive times to their medical facilities. This causes them to delay routine visits which subsequently exacerbates illness. National health policy and government reimbursement standards are also threats external to ELH. There are increasing regulations on quality, privacy, efficiency, costs and services while government reimbursement rates are declining. Increasing demands for quality and compliance while funding is steadily declining will lead to a growing gap in healthcare costs and affordability. The Medicare program is increasing its quality and compliance demands putting rural hospitals at a disadvantage to their inner-city counterparts. Reason being that rural hospitals have fewer coders and internal auditors to stay abreast of changing regulations which results in increases in fines and denied claims. Some demographics of Edgewood County are also a threat to the overall welfare of ELH. The following table was created from figures provided within the case study: Table 1 Income and Median Age: Edgewood County versus National Average | Median Household| Median Age| | Income| (Years)| Edgewood County | $ 44,238.00| 40. 8| National Average| $ 59,948. 00| 33. 3| Table 1 shows that Edgewood County’s median household income is 26. 2% less than the national average median income. This not only provides the population of Edgewood with less disposable income but also results in ELH having a smaller revenue pool than the national average. Another notable difference is that Edgewood County’s median age is 22. 5% higher than the national average median age. This will at some point mean a higher number of elderly patients, who if subsidized by Medicare, will create a need for more billing/coding staff to be hired creating yet another expense. Opportunities| | ELH and its surrounding community have historically shared a good relationship. When the former CEO proposed and built a wellness center dedicated to enriching the healthcare experience of its patients, the idea garnered much support from the town. The former CEO’s ability to raise $120,000 in community donations alone to fund the construction of the Edgewood Lake Wellness Center demonstrates that there once existed, and can again exist, a viable source of plentiful community support. The customer base was proven to be strong and loyal in favor of and support for the medical facility. ELH is the sole, or one of very few, healthcare facilities within a commutable distance for citizens of the town. This could provide a competitive advantage above larger hospitals in metropolitan cities which require extensive travel and great expense for citizens to reach. The new CEO, Shannon Johnson, has seen hospitals with bleak outlooks benefit greatly from joining healthcare networks. There are also other designations, such as that of being a Critical Access Hospital (CAH), which could prove helpful in turning ELH into a profitable and successful facility. Shannon Johnson’s previous place of employment was a CAH and so converting to this designation might be in her prospects for corrective strategies. The reimbursement for CAH’s is cost-based as opposed to the current diagnosis-related reimbursement. To be eligible for designation as a CAH, the facility must be at least 35 miles from next nearest hospital, operate fewer than 25 beds, have an average length of stay less than 96 days and must offer emergency services 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Position: Structure Analysis Issues After careful review of the external environment, several structural issues were identified related to Porter’s Five Forces of Competitive Position. One is the limited geographical coverage of ELH’s reach. It services a county of just above five thousand residents and also shares that small population size with another competitor. The geographical factors also work against ELH in that it is located in a rural area making it challenging and difficult to attract/hire physicians to fill vacancies on medical staff. Legislative effects threaten the solvency of ELH’s finances because while regulations are increasing and becoming stricter, funding is being decreased making it difficult for smaller hospitals to remain compliant. Internal Environment An examination of the internal environment of ELH is an equally important aspect of arriving at a solution methodology for this hospital’s current difficulties. The internal scan will be comprised of identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the internal environment as well as revealing any resources, competencies and capabilities of the same. Strengths  Its most notable strength is that ELH is held in high regard by members of the surrounding community. It is one of only 2 healthcare facilities easily accessible to residents of Edgewood County. Of the 2 facilities, it is the only one to have its own dedicated wellness center. Furthermore, ELH has been an integral part of the town for 50 years, a fact that provides an unattainable status by its nearby competitor. In addition, its medical staff has a very low turnover, measuring at 6% in 2008. Despite the misdirection under the previous CEO, ELH has a strong middle management with a significant tenure. It is this group that is responsible for maintaining morale positive and consistent. Now that Shannon Johnson has been brought on board, she is also a great strength ELH can draw from as the facility can only stand to gain from her bountiful experience with rural hospitals and steering them towards success. The hospital itself has a great track record of quality: it scored 100% for delivering discharge instructions versus national average of 69% and also scored 100% for providing smoking cessation counseling for congestive heart failure cases versus national average of 89%. Weaknesses  Prior to the hiring of the new CEO, lack of executive leadership was possibly the greatest weakness of the internal environment. In order for all the individual parts of any organization to function cohesively and properly, there must be solid and strong support from the top. Executive management holds the power to make or break its organization and when this position is filled by an unqualified weak-minded individual, only failure can result, as it did in the case of ELH and former CEO Richard Fuchs. The facility itself also has structural limitations that create yet another weakness. With 30 beds and a surrounding population of 5,135, ELH only has resources to service 0. 6% of the population at one time. Its capability to serve in the grand scheme of things is diminutive and very possibly one of the reasons new talent will not join the existing staff. Although the hospital has a history of outstanding quality in service, it also has a standing track record of poor financial performance. This is in large part due to the poor financial decisions made by the former CEO but is also a product of uncontrollable forces. For example, declining reimbursement by Medicare has resulted in extensive losses on Medicare patients. As seen in the case study’s Exhibit 1, which charts the various parties contributing to ELH’s payer mix, more than half of the patients are Medicare beneficiaries. Further financial weakness is identified in the steadily increasing operating costs. A collective bargaining agreement with a local union resulted in higher salaries for RN’s. Also, the inability to permanently fill physician vacancies has resulted in having to pay higher costs to temporary physicians. Low physician recruitment is a weakness that not only affects the bottom line but also the quality and continuity of healthcare offered to ELH patients. The areas that are most affected by this are that of general surgery and primary care. Resources, Competencies and Capabilities ELH has a variety of resources at its disposal. Careful identification and scrutiny of them will allow them to be called upon during the initiative to restore financial stability. The previously mentioned positive relationship that exists between the facility and its surrounding community leads to one  very valuable resource. Garnering support from the surrounding community it serves, both in terms of financial contributions and in terms of building loyalty, is an existing and proximal resource. The reputation enjoyed by ELH of having superior quality of care is a resource that should be placed at the forefront of the efforts to attract new physicians and new patients. The newly hired CEO, Shannon Johnson, will be an invaluable resource based on her previous experience and her CPA license signifying her great understanding of finance. Another resource, that currently seems to be the reason for the financial turmoil being faced by ELH, is the Edgewood Lake Wellness Center. This facility has already been constructed and paid for. It could prove to be a great resource if its use were maximized to provide a competitive advantage over Creekside Trails. A final resource and competency housed within the walls of ELH is the existing staff that has a proven record for performing quality service and whose ability to excel in healthcare as well as contribute in community service certainly provides a differentiation between ELH and its competitors. Not only is the staff capable of meeting and surpassing the expectations of quality held by the surrounding community, but ELH goes above and beyond to offer value-added services. The hospital created the Mobile Health Service Unit (MHSU), a large utility vehicle servicing residents at the perimeter of the county. It is equipped to perform physical assessments and other primary care services. Strategies and Recommendations. In order to make recommendations on how to make ELH profitable, secure fiscal solvency, address the physician recruitment problems, increase staff productivity/performance and stabilize the executive leadership team, environmental scanning was performed. The importance of environmental scanning is that it will reveal the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats of the entity. Identifying these characteristics will assist in creating a strategic plan meant to help the facility reach the aforementioned short-term and long-term goals. ELH should implement a new marketing strategy while maintaining its core competencies that have awarded the facility recognition and customer loyalty. The first strategy to be recommended is one of concentric diversification. ELH will not only serve as a medical facility like its competitor, but will also open up its wellness center to host community fitness events/initiatives, intramural sports activities of local youth and informative seminars open to the public. Another strategy is one of branding. The Mobile Health Service Unit seems to be one of its kind in the area – taking health to homes. The great service it offers to residents at the perimeter of the county should be marketed as a backdrop of care, concern and initiative by ELH for its patients, all patients, not only the ones who are able to commute to the facility. This existing resource could possibly be turned into a mode of offering transportation services to and from ELH for needy patients with scarce resources. A strategy that could be used as a last resort would be one of divestiture whereby ELH could be purchased by or integrate on some level with its competitor, Creekside Trails. A less drastic and very feasible strategy would be to change the designation of ELH to one of a critical access hospital. The new CEO has full working knowledge of how to obtain this designation, and the current size and location of the hospital make it a possible alternative as it would be easy to reduce number of beds from 30 (current) to 24 or less (required) and meets the requirement of being at least 35 miles away from nearest hospital, which it is. An aggressive proactive strategy for filling physician openings has been developed. A team must be created that is dedicated to attracting and recruiting specialty physicians. This team should at minimum include the Human Resources Director, middle management (who is tenured and can offer valuable insight into why ELH is a great place to practice), current over-worked caregivers as well as a representative from the town’s visitor center who can in collaboration create an attractive portfolio of the town itself and the quality of life it offers to its inhabitants, a listing of the quality recognitions and resulting loyalty ELH has acquired, a commentary of the excellent environment ELH provides for its staff as well as its plans for the future and growth prospects. Critical success factors have been identified to be the dire need for top management support, funding whether it be from local community or government, employee buy-in which middle management could easily obtain with their tenure and strong impact on internal culture and time efficiency which has been mandated by the board of directors to be 2 years to reach profitability and  meet physician staffing needs. With strong leadership from Shannon Johnson and buy-in via employee involvement from existing staff, it is not only possibly but highly likely ELH will differentiate itself enough to regain its competitive advantage and dominant position in the healthcare of Edgewood County.

Biography of Marcel Duchamp, Modern Art Revolutionary

Biography of Marcel Duchamp, Modern Art Revolutionary The French-American artist Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) was an innovator, working across mediums such as painting, sculpture, collages, short films, body art, and found objects. Known as both a pioneer and a troublemaker, Duchamp is associated with several modern art movements, including  Dadaism,  Cubism, and  Surrealism, and is credited for paving the way for  Pop,  Minimal, and Conceptual art. Fast Facts: Marcel Duchamp Full Name: Marcel Duchamp, also known as Rrose Sà ©lavyOccupation: ArtistBorn:  July 28, 1887 in Blainville, Normandy, FranceParents Names: Eugene and Lucie DuchampDied: October 2, 1968 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, FranceEducation: One year of school at the Ecole des Beaux Artes in Paris (flunked out)Famous Quotes: The painting is no longer a decoration to be hung in the dining room or living room. We have thought of other things to use as decoration. Early Years Duchamp was born on July 28, 1887, the fourth child of seven born to Lucie and Eugene Duchamp. His father was a notary, but there was art in the family. Two of Duchamps elder brothers were successful artists: the painter Jacques Villon (1875–1963) and the sculptor Raymond Duchamp-Villon (1876–1918). In addition, Duchamps mother Lucie was an amateur artist and his grandfather was an engraver. When Duchamp came of age, Eugene willingly supported his son Marcels career in art. Duchamp made his first painting,  Church in Blainville, at  the age of 15, and  enrolled in the Academie Jullian at Pariss École des Beaux-Arts. In a series of interviews published after his death, Duchamp is quoted as saying he couldnt remember any of the teachers he had, and that he spent the mornings playing billiards rather than going to the studio. He ended up flunking out after one year. From Cubism to Dadaism to Surrealism Duchamps artistic life spanned several decades, during which he reinvented his art time and again, often offending critics sensibilities along the way. Duchamp spent most of those years alternating between Paris and New York. He mingled with the New York art scene, forging close friendships with American artist  Man Ray, historian Jacques Martin Barzun, writer Henri-Pierre Rochà ©, composer Edgar Varà ¨se, and painters Francisco Picabia and Jean Crotti, among others.   Marcel Duchamp, Nude Descending a Staircase No. 2 (1912). Public domain. ​ Nude Descending a Staircase (No. 2)  deeply offended the Cubists, because although it selected the color palette and form of Cubism, it added a reference to explicit perpetual motion and was seen as a dehumanized rendering of the female nude. The painting also created a big scandal at the 1913 New York Armory Show of Europe, after which Duchamp was heartily embraced by the New York crowd of Dadaists. Marcel Duchamp, Bicycle Wheel (1913). Dan Kitwood / Getty Images Bicycle Wheel  (1913) was the first of Duchamps readymades: primarily manufactured objects with one or two minor tweaks to the form. In Bicycle Wheel, the fork and wheel of a bicycle are mounted on a stool. The Bride Stripped Bare by her Bachelors, Even  or  The Large Glass  (1915–1923) is a two-paned glass window with an image assembled out of lead foil, fuse wire, and dust. The upper panel illustrates an insect-like bride and the lower panel features the silhouettes of nine suitors, shooting their attention in her direction. The work broke during shipment in 1926; Duchamp repaired it about a decade later, saying, Its a lot better with the breaks. DidBaroness Elsa SubmitThe Fountain? Marcel Duchamp, The Fountain (1916). Photographed by Alfred Stieglitz. Public domain. There is a rumor that  The Fountain  was not submitted to New York Independents Art Show by Duchamp, but rather by the Baroness Elsa von Freytag-Loringhoven, another Dada artist who played with gender and performance art and was among the more outrageous characters of the New York art scene. While the original is long gone, there are 17 copies in different museums around the world, all assigned to Duchamp. After Renouncing Art Marcel Duchamp, Etant donnes (1946-1966). Mixed media assemblage.  © Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / ADAGP, Paris / Succession Marcel Duchamp. Fair use. In 1923, Duchamp publicly renounced art, saying he would spend his life on chess. He was very good at chess and was on several French chess tournament teams. More or less secretly, however, he continued work from 1923 to 1946 under the name Rrose Sà ©lavy. He also continued to produce readymades. Etant donnes  was Duchamps last work. He made it in secret and wanted it shown only after his death. The work consists of a wooden door set in a brick frame. Inside the door are two peepholes, through which the viewer can see a deeply disturbing scene of a naked woman lying on a bed of twigs and holding a lit gaslight. The Turkish artist Serkan Ãâ€"zkaya has suggested that the female figure in Etant donnes is, in some respects, a self-portrait of Duchamp, an idea also put forward in 2010 by artist Meeka Walsh in an essay in BorderCrossings.   Marriage andPersonal Life Duchamp described his mother as distant and cold and indifferent, and he felt that she preferred his younger sisters to him, a preference that had a profound effect on his self-esteem. Although he presented himself as cool and detached in interviews, some biographers believe that his art reflects the strenuous efforts he made to deal with his silent rage and unmet need for erotic closeness. Duchamp was married twice and had a long-term mistress. He also had a female alter ego, Rrose Sà ©lavy, whose name translates to Eros, such is life. Death and Legacy Marcel Duchamp died at his home in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France on October 2, 1968. He was buried in Rouen under the epitaph, Dailleurs, cest toujours les autres qui meurent (Besides, its always the others who die). To this day, he is remembered as one of the great innovators in modern art. He invented new ways of thinking about what art can be and radically transformed ideas about culture. Sources Cabanne, Pierre.  Dialogues with Marcel Duchamp. Trans. Padgett, Ron. London: Thames and Hudson, 1971. Print.Duchamp, Marcel, Rrose Sà ©lavy, and Ann Temkin. Of or By.  Grand Street  58 (1996): 57–72. Print.Frizzell, Nell. Duchamp and the Pissoir-Taking Sexual Politics of the Art World. The Guardian November 7 2014. Web.Giovanna, Zapperi. Marcel Duchamps Tonsure: Towards an Alternate Masculinity.  Oxford Art Journal  30.2 (2007): 291–303. Print.James, Carol Plyley. Marcel Duchamp, Naturalized American. The French Review 49.6 (1976): 1097–105. Print.Mershaw, Marc. Now You See Him, Now You Don’t: Duchamp From Beyond the Grave. The New York Times Sept. 29, 2017. Web.Paijmans, Door Theo. Het Urinoir Is Niet Van Duchamp (The iconic Fountain (1917) is not created by Marcel Duchamp).  See All This  10 (2018). Print.Pape, Gerard J. Marcel Duchamp.  American Imago  42.3 (1985): 255–67. Print.Rosenthal, Nan. Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968 ).  Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. The Metropolitan Museum 2004. Web. Spalding, Julian, and Glyn Thompson.  Did Marcel Duchamp Steal Elsas Urinal?  The Art Newspaper  262 (2014). Print.Speyer, A. James. Marcel Duchamp Exhibition.  Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago  (1973–1982) 68.1 (1974): 16–19. Print.Walsh, Meeka. The Gaze and the Guess: Fixing Identity in â€Å"Étant donnà ©s.† BorderCrossings 114. Web.

Flower Girl in Holland George Hitchock 1887 Term Paper

Flower Girl in Holland George Hitchock 1887 - Term Paper Example Hitchock uses unique materials in designing his works making his works to be presentable in the field of artistry. For instance, in the design of this work, he exploits the vast landscape as shown by the thick and firm brushwork, which he uses as the main apparatus in his work. The thick and firm brushwork indicates constant flow of motion in the painting. This illustrates the working routine of the flower girl in an evoking way. The painter illustrates the authenticity of his work in using something that everybody could have thought as having no use. Work of arts mainly depends on the authenticity of the artist that off course is an attribute of in this work. Hitchock also had a strong relationship with the women suggesting the inclusion of a flower girl as the protagonist of his work. His work is full of decorations making the sculpture to look even presentable. The work above is an exceptional for study because it provides a form of cleverly orchestrated tableaux. The painter uses the technique of gouache as shown by the squares and isosceles triangles. The squares and isosceles triangles depicts a sign of stability. A keen look at this painting shows that there is a deep meaning and reason to the idea of the painter. The motion depicted between the girl and the building conveys the exhausting rhythm which serves in showing the state of the subject. There are trees on the outside of the building making the setting seem remarkably peaceful. This is a representation of the human mind.