Education in China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Education in China - Essay Example And because of the rapidly growing economic sector and global presence of China, it is imperative to understand how the education system works in the country. This essay discusses education in China and the similarities and differences between the Chinese and American education system. Education in China is categorised into elementary school, middle school, and high school. Similar to the United States, twelve years are spent in elementary school and high school, though in China, it is divided quite differently. In China, six years are spent in elementary school, then three years in middle school, and three years in high school, with the initial nine years spent in compulsory education (Peterson, Hayhoe, and Lu 22). One should successfully pass a competitive exam in order to be admitted into high school. High school is offering vocational education and general education. Parents pay for their children’s high school education, and scholarships are granted to those from low-inco me families. High school students are required to stay in school from 8:00 am to 5:15 pm. Generally, a particular school in every city is authorised to offer special education for pupils with impairments (Wang 73). Home schooling is not practised in China, not like in the United States. There are hardly any non-academic extracurricular and sports activities. Nevertheless, numerous students take part in after-school activities to review for examinations, particularly for university admission exams, which they can take once, not like the ACT and SAT Reasoning Test which can be taken several times in the U.S. (Liu 62). In China, a large number of students in elementary school are taught mathematics by a professional math teacher. The math teacher is also allowed to teach Chinese literacy in grades 1 and 2. In several areas, math teachers may also teach science, but science is not a major subject in the elementary school curriculum (Peterson et al. 44). In schools in far-flung or rural places, elementary teachers are also allowed to teach all subject areas, just like in the United States. However, math teachers in elementary schools are usual in China and less usual in the U.S. Moreover, Chinese pupils use a single classroom for their primary classes whilst in the United States students use different rooms for different subjects or classes (Guo and Lamb 75). The major difference between the education system of China and the U.S. is that in the former, the system in general is far stricter with more rules and in the latter there are considerably fewer limitations and greater freedom (Liu 38). For instance, a pupil having the liberty to choose his/her own classes is not common in China. Every class that a student in China should take is fixed. According to Peterson and colleagues, this lack of freedom in China may be attributed to the huge population of students and giving every student the freedom to choose his/her own classes is clearly problematic. Another import ant difference between the Chinese and American education system is the notion of head teacher. The head teacher in China performs an extra responsibility in overseeing their particular classes, providing instruction, and knowing and communicating with the students and their families. The Chinese head teacher will not merely teach his/her particular class that

Impact of Great Depression on British and German Policies Essay

Impact of Great Depression on British and German Policies - Essay Example This was characterized by many detrimental consequences, including a decline in the global industrial output. However, different governments developed ways of dealing with the Great Depression, mainly through policy responses. Nonetheless, as compared to the present times, the policy responses adopted by governments in the Great Depression period are considered to have quite helpless, as compared to what the contemporary governments are capable of. Most of the policy changes undertaken by both Germany and Britain did not turn out to be fully effective in combating the effects of the Great Depression between 1929 and 1932.The Great Depression spread from North America to other European nations, including Britain and Germany, mainly because of the close relationship the United States had with some developed nations in Europe (Wrigley 2008). After the World War I, the United States was a key financier and creditor of most European nations. This was after their economies had been severel y devastated by the war. In the case of Germany, the country had lost in the WWI, thus was required to pay reparations to the European nations that won the war, in accordance with the Treaty of Versailles (1919). Germany also needed to undertake industrial reconstruction, following the devastating effects of the war. This situation forced Germany to borrow money from the United States in order to accomplish the demands. However, when the economy of America experienced the Great Depression.... Germany also needed to undertake industrial reconstruction, following the devastating effects of the war. This situation forced Germany to borrow money from the United States in order to accomplish the demands. However, when the economy of America experienced the Great Depression, the country had to recall its loan from Germany, and this was the major cause for the collapse of the banking system in Germany, which marked the beginning of the Great Depression in the Germany. The Great Depression had major effects on both Germany and the Great Britain. This affected the economic, social, as well as political spheres of these countries. As compared to the Great Britain, Germany was hit most by the Great Depression. In Germany, the rate of unemployment rose sharply. Beginning 1929, Germany started to experience increased unemployment rates, and this was felt until 1932. Overall, it is estimated that by 1932, 6 million of Germany’s workforce was unemployed. This represented 25% of t he workforce. On the other hand, the effect of the Great Depression in Britain was highly experienced in its industrial and export sectors. The effects on these sectors in Britain were felt until the period of the WWII (Wrigley 2008). In order to alleviate the severity of the Great Depression, all the affected countries, including Germany and Britain, adopted various measures, which they considered effective to address the situation. In all those strategies adopted, a major aim was to protect the domestic production of the country. This included the imposition of tariffs, setting quotas on foreign imports, and raising existing tariffs, among others. Nonetheless,

Tourism And Economic Development In The Caribbean Tourism Essay

Tourism And Economic Development In The Caribbean Tourism Essay The Caribbean is known for its beautiful islands and breath-taking shores. There are numerous sites in this region of thousands of diverse islands. To list a few reasons as to why its a huge attraction to tourists from all over the world, then the coral reefs, colorful fruits, golf courses, sailboats and the wonderful sunsets at the beach are just the tip of the ice burg. Its the perfect place to relax with the family and a Caribbean holiday is the best place if anyone is seeking for a little adventure. The Caribbean seems to have everything for a great vacation from horse riding to hiking, wildlife tourism and much more. Everything from exploring the beautiful waterfalls, going kayaking upriver and even canoeing gives the Caribbean the top most position in tourism category. The Caribbean has both extinct and live volcanoes. It gives a definite adrenaline rush for tourists seeking it. Its tropical rainforests consists of rare and exotic animal species. It is by all means, absolutely beautiful. The Caribbean region consists of thousands of islands and to name a few that are of great tourists interest and as stated in http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_are_the_names_of_the_Caribbean_islands: Anguilla UK, Antigua Barbuda, Aruba ~ Netherlands, Bahamas, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, Guadeloupe ~ France, Hispaniola, Jamaica, Martinique ~ France, Montserrat ~ UK, Netherland Antilles, Puerto Rico ~ US, St. Barthelemy, St. Kitts Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Martin, St. Vincent Grenadines, Trinidad Tobago, Turks Caicos ~ UK and US Virgin Island. Its not only about the adventures but the Caribbean features cites of its rich heritage and unique architecture. If we were to take a look into the most popular tourist attraction in the Caribbean then this would definitely include the Barbados; a small island also called as little England during the British era. It is called so, because it still contains a part of the thriving British legacy, cricket, Anglo Saxon activity and high tea. We have Antigua Barbuda that has more than 356 beaches (representing one for every year). This too is another popular tourist attraction. Then there is Guyana which is a one of the independent members in the Caribbean. It is also known for its beaches and countless rivers and lakes. The best side to it is that gold deposits and diamonds can be found at the river bottoms and hillsides. This place is popular for yachting and sailing. Another beautiful island is ST Lucida. This island is known for its mountains that are covered with forests and the wildlife in it. Such other marvelous sites in the Caribbeans are St Martin, Trinidad, Cuba, Jamaica, Cayman Islands and much more. Situated in the Caribbean Sea is the Roatan Honduras Island that has brought the economy a constant dramatic increase due to the scuba diving fans. This place offers its visitors everything, ranging from marine wildlife to scuba lessons and even certification. It is know for its coral which is very diverse and can be seen easily. Here, tourism is well developed, hotels are well equipped and the resorts are numerous. This place is even called the Caribbeans best kept secret. It is no doubt one of the most beautiful sites and experiences to have. According to Gmelch, George (Behind the Smile: the Working Lives of Caribbean Tourism. Bloomington, IN: Indiana UP, 2003), the Caribbean governments welcome tourists with warm hearts because they realized that the Caribbean economy is completely dependant on tourism, also being referred to as the engine of their growth. Economic development in the Caribbean has benefited merchants, farmers, fishermen and many more. According to Pattullo, Polly. (Last Resorts: the Cost of Tourism in the Caribbean. London: Cassell, 1996), Tourism is a huge contributor to the economies of all Caribbean countries and the biggest contributor to many of them such as Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas and the Virgin Islands Yolande Wilson MBA 08 In the Caribbean Tourism Fueled by Hotel Development: The Good and the Bad, explains that the success of Caribbean tourism is probably because people have the thoughts of aqua blue waters, warm sand beaches and luxury images on their minds. It is these precise thoughts that play a large role in the tourism business in the Caribbean. This puts all the focus on the tourism companies, services industries and real estate development. Tourism in the Caribbean is as early as 1862 where Jamaica had health spas and cruises that ran to the island but now, the tourism industries in the Caribbean estimates an anticipated contribution of over 18.7 billion dollars by 2011. Another author named C. James Hospedales wrote about the importance of tourism to Caribbean development in (Healthy Tourism in the Caribbean) Saturday, 22nd September 2007. He explained that 25 billion dollars were the gross output in the Caribbean tourism with more than 12 million tourists arriving for stay in the Caribbean and more than 6 million cruise ships. Hotels were completely booked and tourism became very important to the Caribbean economy. Tourism in the Caribbean is even compared to oil in the Middle East. They have also made it a motto Caribbean development through quality tourism which made it clear that the economy will be completely dependant on tourism for the coming years. With the arrival of the internet on 1995 which made it possible to spread the word of all the good and bad news. It was an effective tool in informing the world about this ravishing country. There was also the European tour operators whom made it easy for the tourists to get to the Caribbean from the European countries. However, with the success of increasing arrivals of tourists that helped boost the countrys economy, it also brought in the possibility of diseases being imported from different parts of the world. Yet this did not stop the Caribbean tourism organization from making sure that such issues along with injuries are minimized to its lowest. Their vision was that the Caribbean to be the safest, happiest, and healthiest of comparable destinations in the world Its obvious that tourism has affected the economy of the Caribbean region. These effects are mainly due to the travel and tourism industries. Through Paul McDaniels point of view, an eHow contributing writer in The effects of Tourism in the Caribbean, the economy was affected both positively and negatively. From these effects, wed notice that it includes the Caribbeans utmost and complete reliance on tourism and travel industries. But because, most of these tourism companies are never usually based in a particular Caribbean island, much of the money made does not stay on the Caribbean. This may also appear as a disadvantage for the Caribbean. However, without the competing companies, the economy could also be highly affected. However, David Jessop wrote about Grasping the full economic impact of Caribbean tourism Sunday | September 23, 2007 and questioned if the governments truly understood the importance of tourism, which in his words is the industry that now underwrites the regional economy. He provided reports that were produced over the last 2 years that explained the positive impact tourism had on the economy. These reports were based on the studies produced, supported and encouraged by the Caribbean tourism organization and Caribbean hotel association. It was a clear demonstration to the government that tourism has become the dominant force in the Caribbean. In these reports, the Caribbean tourism is expected to get over 56.1 billion dollars economically with about 15% increase in tourism employment from 2007 to 2017. Basically these earnings are expected to grow over 3 percent per year. Therefore, from these readings its pretty clear that the Caribbean region is economically dependent on the touris m industry. However, if these industries do not remain competitive, then the economic boost could come to an end. The problems that face the Caribbean tourism industry are those of globalization as well as interdependence. Therefore the beauty and nature of the country will not be enough to make the regions case. It requires the government to play a role in supporting it to the fullest. Whether its decreasing the taxes, providing public health education or even changing the policies to fit the countrys increasing economy. In a pacific islands report written by Sir Ronald Sanders in the Benefits of Caribbean tourism must be shared, he wrote about another problem that could affect the tourism industry in the Caribbean which is surprisingly the racial division notion in the island. This existing problem causes constant discomfort among many hotel owners that are expatriates, managers and the citizens yet they dare not deal with it. These problems are being left depressed like the racial division between the ownership on one side and the workers on the other. This problem is expected to worsen in the future if not dealt with now. Given the growing size of tourists coming into the country every year, it would keep requiring a large size of financial investments for the resorts and hotels in the Caribbean. These investments are primarily funded by the white expatriates that own tourism companies and can build or own resorts and any other tourism aspects in the business. This may seem as a problem because th e profits in this case are sent abroad. The country does not benefit and the balance is disturbed. In an abstract written by Harry G. Matthews, 6 May 2009 Radicals and third world tourism: A Caribbean focus, he talks about the metropolitan tourism in third world countries that have brought to question the tourist industries in a more political and social way. He talks about how it could affect the country and in this case, the Caribbean. He believes that tourism is an intrusion which is of metropolitan type, developed by the white people into the world of non-white. He also believes that these are merely fantasies sold to the tourists, causing the rise of cultures in countries like the Caribbean. Therefore the solution lies with the government of these countries where they are trying to bring forth an increase in sophistication. However, it is uncertain of how this action would actually take place. A critique; Tom Womeldorff analyzes the Caribbean tourism in an interesting way in Caribbean tourism: A Critical analysis 10/14/2009. He writes about the western mentality of escaping to tropical islands with exotic animals, plants and warm sunsets. This fantasy is offered by the Caribbean tourism resorts and travel agencies that aim to fulfill the western dream. And recently, the market has included the catering of tourists whom want to experience the exotic island to the fullest. These tourism agencies are expanding to provide whatever desires that could have tourist dollars following it. Therefore these tourist industries carefully construct the hotels and resorts to meet the conceptions and needs of tourists. This perception to perfection however comes with a cost. Although it provides as a source of income to the Caribbean people, it has made them completely commoditized because it requires that they put all their focus in the tourism programme, to make every thing possible. In The state and tourism: a Caribbean perspective by Hilton McDavid, Diaram Ramajeesingh, the abstract mentions an important something to think about and its how the tourism industries are now the center of attention. This is because the country is now tourism dependant. But does the government do what it takes to make sure that the social and environmental needs are taken care off? In this journal, the writers believe that the government have to work harder in order to shape the tourism industries in a way that every sector in the Caribbean benefits. The Stabroek staff  | February 5, 2010 in  Business the Caribbean tourism industry raise an important question Will the 2009 nightmare push regional tourist destinations towards diversification. It is true that the Caribbean got caught up in the economic crisis that took away jobs, homes, savings and much more. The Caribbean people were beginning to wonder if they have to shift towards diversification for their economic incomes. The number of tourists drastically changed and Caribbean development bank activities showed a significant decline. Sharply declining tourist arrivals according to the CDB with other investments, the main transmission channels of the crisis to regional economies. However it appears that the Caribbean has settled down from all the economic problems and found its comfort zone where its reassured that the tourists will keep coming in. the CDG even reports that the growth is expected to return and is likely to become the same by 2011. Although the whole economy of the country, peoples jobs and welfare cannot wait till the crises associated with the whole world is recovered, diversification for a better economy should be considered. In Caribbean tourism looking toward an improvement in 2010 by Linda Hutchinson-Jafar, Jan 28, 2010, after the economic crises that effected the countrys economy due to the decline in tourists rate, the Caribbean tourism industry began improving despite criminal and tax problems in some of the islands. And the earthquake that hit Haiti did not affect the islands economy much. Chastanet said, during and annual event in the Caribbean We will probably end the year 5.6 percent down but were looking for a strong rebound in 2010 And a hotel owner Rene Seepersadsingh The economic situation globally impacted negatively on Tobago. Hotels reported as much as a 40 percent decline in stayover, particularly from the British and the German markets As for Jamaica, it was seeing a 4% increase in arrivals while the other islands were reporting a decline in 2009. This is probably because it was running ads on television across North America, tempting them to join the warm summers. They were very successful with their ads as Barlett who works at the airlines said For this winter season now beginning, we have a record 1 million (airline) seats which is the largest number we ever had. The unusual part is that Jamaica continues to attract tourists even though it is categorized as one of the most violent countries in the world. The murder and crimes rates were 1,680 last year alone. Barlett believes that Its a contradiction. The most iconic attraction in Jamaica is the people. It belies the crime statistics Finally the most spoke about topic in the Caribbean tourism is HARPOONING CARIBBEAN TOURISM: SWALLOWING A DEAD RAT by Sir Ronald Sanders Sunday, March 14, 2010. The new attractions that require full support by the Caribbean governments are the whale watching activities. There was an international meeting held in Martinique from February 18 to 21 on what they call Sustainable Blue tourism in the Caribbean, specifically urging the Caribbean government to not only support this attraction but to protect the marine wildlife and mammal population by providing sustainable jobs to the fishermen. This new attraction is bound too boost the economy situation and the exotic fantasies keep getting better. Thus the Caribbean keeps finding ways to attract tourists and its economy although highly dependant on tourism yet, very rich.

Poor Time Management of Island Students Essay -- internet usage, video

Introduction & Problem The simplicity of life, and the more relaxed environment, does not permit students who grew up on islands, or Island students, to understand the importance of time. There are more than 30 Island students studying on campus. Coming from a carefree society where time is not a major concern is having a great impact on individual students. Poor time management by Island students is a major problem and concern that needs to be improved in order to enhance the effectiveness of study process and academic performance. The main purpose of this research is to find out and reduce the processes or factors involved in contributing to poor time management. The reduction in the time management factors will help Island students to utilize time in manner that is beneficial for academic performance. Processes that contributes to poor time management There are many processes that contribute to poor time management in students. In this context, a major contributor of poor time management for Island students is the use of Internet. Coming from the Islands, where excess to internet is very difficult, students tend to spend hours surfing through the net. Internet is a helpful tool for students but it also wastes time if not used in the way it should be used. Apart from academic reasons, Facebook, YouTube and watching movies online are the main sites visited by Island students. Research Methods Research methods that has been utilized for this process comprises of data collection, observation of students in the computer labs and student accommodation halls. Students were followed on Facebook to see latest updates and activities and face to face interview was carried out to collect the necessary data needed for this... ...he exact number of hours each student spends. The Pie Chart below clearly shows the percentage of average number of student’s time spent on each activities. 20% of students investing private time to Facebook is certainly a factor that needs to be reduced to help students. 14% of YouTube viewers is also much higher than the percentage of students investing time in reading studying and doing assignments. Recommendation As long there is free internet service on campus, Island students will still have access in visiting the above mention sites. The students must be given more workshops to manage time wisely, teaching students about how internet can be used in an effective way that is beneficial for academic purposes. Though the student service, extra tutorials needs to be provided to keep students busy, instead of wasting time on sites such as Facebook.

Compare and Contrast: Capital One 360 to Dezurik

Company OverviewFrom an operations management perspective, we compared and contrasted Capital One 360 to Dezurik. We looked at many different aspects of both businesses in relation to various operational and business elements. We conclude that both corporations have significant differences based on manufacturing versus service operations. Dezurik is a pure manufacturing company, which was founded in 1928, while Capital One 360 is a pure service company that was founded in 2013. Dezurik designs and manufactures valves for use in commercial and residential applications. Capital One 360 provides online banking options to consumers in the United States.Topics CoveredOur goal in this business report is to compare and contrast Capital One 360 and Dezurik based upon the following categories:Service vs Manufacturing contrastBusiness and Operations StrategyProcess Design and Supply Chain, Flow ChartTQM, Jit, Six SigmaKanban, KaizanSWOT AnalysisCapacity PlanningLayout and DesignRecommendations In summary, both companies are making short and long-term adjustments to prepare themselves for the years ahead. By implementing our original  recommendations within each company, they will both become more efficient and effective companies as a whole.Manufacturing often provides services, and services often provide tangible goods. Dezurik is a pure manufacturing company, whereas Capital One 360 is a pure service company. Dezurik designs, develops, and manufactures tangible products that are valves and inventories them inside their manufacturing facility. Dezuriks plant equipment is used solely for the production of their valves and related products. The dezurik manufacturing company has low customer contact and a longer customer response time. In contrast to Dezuriks pure manufacturing company, Capital One 360’s pure service corporation handles their business much differently.Capital One 360 has intangible products that cannot be inventoried. Capital one 360 has high custo mer contact and can be reached 24/7. They offer many different ways to service customers such as in their cafes, calling and talking to a real capital one associate, blogging, and also offer a mobile app. The cafà © allows customers to interact with Capital One 360 employees and the employees working behind the counter are educated in their business. Capital One 360 has a short response time; customers can go online to access their accounts which saves them time and money. They are also labor intensive and have around 450 associates working in their St. Cloud office.Although Dezurik and Capital One 360 differ in terms of service vs manufacturing, they share many similarities. Both corporations use technology. Dezurik uses modern up-to-date technology in the machines they use to manufacture valves, as well as in their 3-D solid modeling of valve parts and assemblies. Capital One 360 also uses technology by offering services over the web, phone, ATM or by mail. Both companies have qu ality, productivity, and response issues that must be dealt with on a daily basis to maintain customer satisfaction. Both companies must have forecast demand and each will have capacity, layout and location issues.Both Dezurik and Capital One 360 have business and operations strategies in place to ensure success in their respective businesses. Dezurik has a strategy of giving their customers high quality products that will withstand the test of time.   Capital One 360 wants to give the consumer an easy to use product that is incredibly efficient and environmentally friendly. Both companies have  strategies that are similar, while others are completely different from each other. Dezurik, being a pure manufacturing company, needs to focus more of their work on their manufacturing process.In order to produce the valves they need, they must regulate their supply to correlate with their demand. This can be shown in their manufacturing process. Dezurik has some valves that they are ma ss producing all of the time. They also are able to take on project builds for custom sizes and designs. These are two different segments of Dezurik which require two different business strategies. The first strategy that Dezurik has is to be continuously producing their standard size valves. This is a fairly straight forward operations strategy. Keep up with the demand for the valves, and at the same time maintain an efficient product assembly line. The second strategy has to do with their special product order segment. They do this in several different ways.The first is to complete the projects in house, which shares the same as the previous strategy. The second strategy is to have one of their teams build and complete their projects on site. This typically happens when they work on a project with components that are too big to build in house. The business strategy for Dezurik is much different. They want to become the largest producer of valves in the world. They do this by outso urcing some of their components to China, which brings down production costs. They also need to be certified to be sold in other countries around the world. They are trying to expand internationally and build up partnerships and relationships with governments and companies from around the world. In order to keep these relationships intact, Dezurik has a full time service team that travels around the world to ensure that their products are working correctly and that they have satisfied customers.Capital One 360 shares some similarities with Dezurik in their business strategies, but is completely different with their operations strategies. To begin, Capital One 360 is a pure service company. They have around the clock customer service to provide help and services to their customers. This is similar to Dezurik, but on a much larger scale. Since Capital One 360 has no physical locations, they need a much larger service department to help satisfy the demands of their customers. Their ser vice department does differ in that they do not need to travel around the world to help their customers, rather they can do it all from their computer with just a few clicks of the mouse.Capital One  360 has a unique business strategy for the banking industry. All of their banking business is done online. This means they have no physical banks. Also, all the money they have is virtual. This means they will need a large technical service department to help keep everything that is online, sorted out. Their operations strategies are different from Dezurik in several ways. First, Capital One 360 does everything online. They do have a sale department, but they never have to leave their cubicle to make a sale. This is different than Dezurik who may have to send their sales person out to a job site in order to ensure that the product they receive will be correct.While these two companies do share business strategies, their operational strategies do tend to be further apart from each othe r. Dezuriks process design supports product manufacturability and defines their product characteristics of appearance, materials, dimensions, and performance standards. Dezurik’s process design starts with the idea that customers need better valves. Dezurik uses a hands-on philosophy that begins with design. They then use modern computer aided design systems to construct 3-D models of valves and assemblies. From here, the models are transferred to an area where stress tests are performed on the models. The final step in Dezurik’s process design is continually analyzing and adding safety factors to the models to ensure long-term reliability.The flow chart inside Dezurik’s manufacturing facility starts at the loading docks. Here, ready to go shipments of valves are placed. As you enter further into the facility, the size of the valves placed in inventory decrease from 72 ’’all the way down to 3’’. This ensures that heavier and harder to move valves are placed closer to the loading dock to improve efficiency. Dezurik also uses intermittent operations, which means they produce a variety of products in lower volumes. Intermittent operations are used because different valves have different processing needs. This causes the workers to perform different tasks, and during the tour we learned that some workers switched stations on a daily basis. Dezurik has multiple buyers who want different specifications for every valve they receive.This creates a batch process within the manufacturing facility allowing Dezurik to separate one customers order from another customers order. Dezurik’s designing process and consideration consists of make-to-order strategy. Moving away from Dezurik and into Capital One 360, there is contrast in the design of services that  Capital One 360 has vs Dezurik’s design of goods. Capital One 360’s service design is unique in that the service and entire service concept are bein g designed. However, they are similar in which product and service design must match the need and preferences of the targeted customer group. Capital One 360’s flow chart differs from Dezuriks flow chart. Capital One 360 does not flow from one end of the building to the other in a line; instead they have different floors within their building where they communicate back and forth.This creates a batch process where each floor is a batch working on a different project then the other floors. This is also called intermittent operations where Capital One’s resources are grouped together by function. The overall efficiency at Capital One 360 is around 65%. Both Capital One 360 and Dezurik have Total Quality Management plans in place to help ensure that their customers get the products and services that they want. Capital One 360 has different banking plans that have been developed to help cover a wide range of customers. Basically, they have standardized their products to he lp ensure efficiency and to keep costs lower.Dezurik on the other hand, has many different products and services that can be produced based on what the customer wants. This may not be as efficient, but it gives them the advantage in securing business that cannot be obtained by companies that incorporate standardization. Dezurik also does a ton of product testing to ensure that the customer is getting a product that is guaranteed to last a long time. Capital One 360 and Dezurik also work with JIT. Just In time production can be shown more effectively in Dezurik since it is a pure manufacturing company. They use a pull system for production which causes them to have an inventory of their products. They can increase or decrease their production of certain models based upon forecasting.Capital One 360 does not focus as much on Just-in-Time manufacturing, rather they spend more of their time using TQM and respect for people. Since they are purely a service company, They are constantly wo rking with people to ensure that they have an enjoyable experience banking with Capital One 360. If Capital One 360 doesn’t respect their customers, it would be extremely easy for their customers to take their business to another bank. Like Capital One360, they also need to focus on TQM. They need to constantly be updating their products and services to give the customer want they want. They need to be surveying and working with their customers all the time to help them  develop effective strategies in the online banking world.Capital One 360 does focus a lot on Six Sigma. They have people in house that are constantly working to help make the company more efficient and effective. Basically, there are only four defects per million opportunities. This forces Capital One 360 to run incredibly lean. A few ways they do this is by going completely paperless. This saves a ton of money, as well as paper. Another way Six Sigma has been useful to Capital One 360 is in processing time . They have reduced the amount of time it takes to pull up and process a customer when they are on a service call. This is critical because the faster they can make their customer service process, the faster they can help more people. By doing some serious improvements to Capital One 360, they have become incredibly lean and efficient. This is different than Dezurik.They can’t run Six Sigma because they take on custom jobs. These can be made more efficient, but to run a whole company Six Sigma test just is not practical.Dezurik follows Kaizen, continuous improvement, which requires the company to continually strive to get better at manufacturing valves through learning and problem solving. One way they comply to Kaizen is in their testing room, where they test their valves to see where any improvement can be made. Dezurik uses a pull system where communication is made possible through the use of kanban cards. These kanban cards consist of the product name, the part number, an d the quantity that needs to be produced. The kanban cards are attached to a group of Dezurik’s products.When the employees need products from a preceding workstation, they pass the kanban to that station. This kanban authorizes the worker at the preceding station to produce the amount of goods specified on the kanban. These kanban cards are placed in visible areas for everyone to see. There are as many kanban cards in the system as there are batches of products or valves. This allows Dezurik to continually improve the efficiency of their system. In contrast, Capital One 360 does not have kanban cards, but they do follow the Kaizen approach of continuous improvement. Capital One 360 is constantly trying to help their customers save time and money. They are doing this in part by offering simple financial products such as giving fee-free checking and savings that they can access from their own computers. They are also continually trying  to find ways to outpace and outperform their competitors.This approach forces Capital One 360 to continually improve their business functions in order to get a step ahead of competitors. Layout and design for Both companies is incredibly different. Dezurik, being a pure manufacturing company, has their main office, and they also have a large warehouse where they manufacture their valves. The front office of Dezurik is rather old. This works for them because they don’t necessarily need to keep up with the newest, up-to-date technology to make their valves. Instead of investing money into their office, they have spent more of their money investing into newer, more efficient machines in their warehouse. They have also changed some of their design to allow for a more efficient production process. They run a pull process at Dezurik. At one end of the plant, they take in all of their supplies.The supplies then get put into an inventory rack until they are needed. The supplies are then distributed throughout the factory to where they are assembled. The first area you walk into from the supply area is where all of the standardized valves are made. They have multiple stations where one person is running about four machines constantly. These are very efficient. This is because they have outsourced the production of their standard valves to China for manufacturing. The next segment of the plant is made up of several assembly lines that produce other varieties of products. The other side of the warehouse is where all of the large valves are made. They are made here because they typically are too large to be moved across the entire plant. This end of the warehouse is also where their products get painted.The paint booths are strategically placed at the end of the assembly lines so that as soon as the products are manufactured, they can be painted. They then get sent off to testing. All the valves they make are tested to ensure that the product can withstand the pressures of daily use for years. After th e products are tested, they are either loaded onto trucks and sent off, or put into the warehouse until they are needed. Capital One 360 has a completely different layout than Dezurik. To start out, They are in a very modern building located right in the middle of downtown St. Cloud. When walking in the door of Capital One 360, the first thing you will notice is that you are in an ultra-modern cafà ©. Since Capital One 360 doesn’t have physical banking locations, the cafes are the closest thing that people can get.These cafes are not just for a cup of  coffee either, the people who work at these cafes are a highly knowledgeable sales associate who can make you a latte and sell you a checking account at the same time. This is for people who are either curious, or just not as comfortable with starting a new bank account online. Once past the cafà ©, Capital One 360 pretty much looks like almost every other office building except for a few key features. The first is that All the departments are located separate from each other. Sales is located on one floor, while fraud protection is located on another floor. Capital One 360 also has an interesting layout design. The cubicles are very different from your traditional office building.To start, they run diagonally across the entire floor. They also are much shorter than a normal cubicle. This is so people can locate each other without having to walk across the office to find out they are not there. They also are not enclosed. This promotes an open workspace that allows people to communicate information quickly and efficiently. Another interesting aspect is that they only have about 60 percent of their office filled with employees. This is so that they can grow and add on employees at any time. The new employees can start and have their own functional workspace instantly.Capital One 360 also has a central command area located right in the middle of the office. This is where security works. Also this comman d center has TV monitors that are linked up with their other offices around the country. This feature is so they all can be working together with their offices all around the country. If something happens at their Delaware office, they can get it verified by their office in St. Cloud.Capacity planning within Capital One 360 and Dezurik are decisions that depend tremendously upon forecasts of demand. These forecasts determine the size of current and future capacity needs. Capital One 360 recently put their capacity planning into effect when they purchased ING Direct and moved into a new building downtown St. Cloud. Capital One 360 made the choice to expand now enabling it to meet customer demand not only for now, but also in the future. If Capital One 360 planned its capacity incorrectly, they may find that they don’t have enough output capability to meet customer demands, or has too much capacity sitting idle. Capital One 360’s move into the new building required long- term commitments and expensive resources.This move  of purchasing a new building came in anticipation of greater demand from their customers. To measure Capital One 360’s capacity, you need the amount of available capacity and the effectiveness of capacity use. From our tour of Capital One 360, we determined that their capacity was operating at an efficient level. When examining Dezurik’s capacity planning, we looked at their recent expansion. In 2011, Dezurik acquired two water and wastewater brands and then in 2012 Dezurik acquired a valve company. This tells us that Dezurik is expanding to meet customer demands in the future. These recent acquires to Dezurik increases capacity and allows them to meet customer demands as well as sales.We can reasonably measure Dezurik’s capacity by measuring their input, which is labor hours, with their output, which are valves per shift. However this is not a very effective method to measure capacity because Dezurik produce s many types of valves. We believe that Dezurik is having success because of its focused factory that responds more efficiently to demand. In todays’ world, large factories need to be more flexible and focused, and from the tour, we believe Dezurik is doing a good job of staying agile within the industry.This will help Dezurik identify long-term capacity requirements in their forecasts of future demand. In Dezuriks planning for capacity, they have strategic and tactical decisions. Their strategic decisions consist of what investments in new machines and equipment it should make, and by the looks of it, they are investing in new machines that increase automation and decrease manual labor. Their tactical decisions consist of planning their workforce, inventories, and day-to-day use of machines. From the tour, we learned that some of the new machines run 24 hours a day. Dezurik and Capital One 360 have similarities in their capacity planning, that being that they are both prepar ing for long-term and high customer demands in the future.Let’s look at some of the strengths of Dezurik. The first strength is that they make a high quality product. Also, they have a very efficient production process for their standardized products. Another pro for Dezurik is they are working hard to become more efficient. They are implementing all sorts of new machines to help speed up and improve the manufacturing process. There are multiple weaknesses that plague Dezurik. To start, they are not an efficient company. This is mainly due to the poor layout of their production area.A second weakness is that they have begun to outsource some of their products to  China. This can be a negative because if they get a bad shipment, it can take over 6 weeks to be corrected. This could become a huge problem if they get the wrong product sent multiple times. There are a few opportunities that Dezurik can expand into. For starters, they are putting in a new paint booth. This will h elp cut down on time. Before, they outsourced their paint of some products to a place in Alexandria. This means that the product had to leave and come back before it can be shipped out.They are also making their assembly line more efficient which will really help them improve the speed at which they can produce valves. Dezurik does have some threats that they have to deal with looking into the future. The biggest threat will be imports from China and other places. These places have very low labor costs, and they also don’t have the same environmental regulations that we do. This means that they are able to produce similar products at a much cheaper price. The only flaw is that these products also tend to be of a much lower quality. This is why Dezurik has not been highly affected by this threat. Capital One 360 has multiple strengths as well. The first is they are incredible efficient.By not using any paper, they are able to cut down on the amount of waste that they have. No physical banks helps to cut down on their carbon footprint too. Second, by utilizing standardization, they are able to run a very lean company. These strengths can also be some of their weaknesses. Having no locations means that people have to do all of their banking online, or over the phone. They cannot go to the bank to talk to a person, rather they have to call into their customer service lines and do all of their problem solving over the phone. There are some opportunities that Capital One 360 has that they are taking advantage of. They are targeting the younger generation. This is because they are appealing to the tech savvy crowd.They younger generation tends to be more familiar with technology. They will be able to expand into this younger generation, and this is where their greatest opportunity will lie. In the world of banking, there are threats all over the place. For starters, all the banks are going to online banking. Most of these banks also have physical locations tha t people can go to when they have questions. Also, you will tend to be more of a number at Capital One 360. At the smaller banks, people will know you by name, and the service will be more  personal. If Capital One 360 can deal with these threats, they will be able to succeed in a threat filled environment.There are a few recommendations that could be made for both Dezurik and Capital One 360. To Start with Dezurik, we would recommend that they make some serious improvements to their factory layout. They should be able to take the supplies right off the truck and instantly put them into production. They could implement a better JIT strategy. They are doing a good job of spreading their business around the world. We would also recommend that Dezurik should go paperless. Its more sustainable, and it would help them to move towards and electronic inventory system. This would speed up their order processing time, and make them more efficient. For Capital One 360, we would recommend th at they begin to open more cafes around the United States.These are a tangible part of Capital One 360 that consumers can actually go. Also, they could provide their users with more banking options. Giving their customers banking options can be key in making them feel like they are more than just a number to Capital One 360.In Conclusion, Both Dezurik and Capital One 360 are both leaders in their respective industries. Dezurik, being a purely manufacturing company, is run completely different from Capital One 360. Being a bank, Capital One focuses their efforts on its services. This means they are more frequently talking to consumers while providing them with a service. Dezurik focuses its efforts on their manufacturing operations. Both companies compare and contrast greatly in relation to various operational elements. Overall, these are two strong companies that are innovative and leading the way in their respective fields.

Evidence Based Nursing Essay

INTRODUCTION Evidence Based Nursing or EBN is an approach to making quality decisions and providing nursing care based upon personal clinical expertise in combination with the most current,relevent research available. It is also known as evidence based practice. It is a thoughtful integration of the best available evidence coupled with the clinical expertise. TERMINOLOGIES Evidence Based Clinical Practice Guidelines:- Specific practice recommendations that are based on a methodologically rigorous review of the best evidence on a specific topic. Evidence Based Decision Making:- The integration of the best research evidence in making decisions about patient care, which should include the clinician’s expertise as well as patient preferences and values. Evidence Based Practice (EBP):- A problem solving approach to practice that involves the conscientious use of current best evidence in making decisions about patient care. Evidence Summaries:- Synthesis of studies, systematic literature review.Generalizability:- The extent to which the findings from a study can be generalized or applied to the larger population. DEFINITION Evidence Based Practice [EBP] is a problem solving approach to the delivery of health care that integrates the best evidence from studies and patient care data with clinician expertise and patient preferences and values. [Fineout-Overhott, E-2010] â€Å"Evidence Based Nursing is the incorporation of the best research evidence along with patient preferences the clinical settings and circumstances and health care resources into decisions about patient care† [Ciliska & Donna, 2006] â€Å"Evidence Based Nursing Practice is the conscientious , explicit and judicious use of theory derived, research base information in making decisions about care delivery to individuals or groups of patients and in consideration of individual needs and preferences† [Ingersoll, 2000] AIMS OF EPB To do the right thing,at the right time, for the right person, ensure quality care for client. PURPOSE Evidence based practice is to provide the highest quality and most cost effective nursing care possible. To advance quality of care provided by nurses To resolve problems in clinical settings To increases satisfaction of patient To focus on nursing practice away from habits& tradition to evidence and research IMPORTANCE OF EVIDENCE BASED NURSING PRACTICE It results in better patient outcomes. It contributes to the science of nursing. It keep practice current and relevant. It increases confidence in decision making. Policies and procedures are current and include the latest research, these supporting JCAHO readiness. Integration of EPB into nursing practice is essential for high quality patient care and achievement. COMPONENTS OF EVIDENCE BASED NURSING PRACTICE Key elements of a best practice culture are evidence based practice mentors, partnerships between academic and clinical settings, EPB champions, clearly written research, time and resources and administration support. When delivered in a context of caring and in a supportive organizational culture, evidence based practice can help to achieve the higher quality of care and best patient outcomes. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE BASED NURSING PRACTICE Primary sources of evidence:- These draw on original research findings. These sources include reports and articles about research. Secondary sources of evidences:- These draw on a range of source informing the topic of concern including. Systematic review Meta analysis Evidence based journals Clinical guidelines or protocols Cochrane collaboration Expertise opinion STEPS OF EBN Formulating a well built question Identifying articles and other evidence based resources Critical Appraisal Applying the evidence Re-evaluating the evidence Formulating the question:- A well built clinical question includes the following components The Patient’s disorder or disease Intervention or finding under review A Comparison intervention The Outcome [PICO] Applying PICO is a systematic way to identify important concepts in a case, and formulate a question for searching. Identifying Resources After successfully formulating the clinical question we need to find relevant evidence. There are generally three categories of resources. Background information Filtered resources Unfiltered resources Background information:- This category contains resources that provide background information about various disease conditions and clinical questions. Resources include upto date and other e-books such as diagnostic examination, current diagnosis, treatment. Filtered Resources:- In fitted resources, clinical experts and subject specialists pose a question and then synthesize evidence to state conclusions based on the available research. Unfiltered Resources:- It is up to you to access the resources quality, validity and applicability to your patient. Critical Appraisal:- When approaching a study, you want to know weather it was alone well, what the results were and weather it is relevant to your patients. After identifying an article you must appraise the information critically. Applying the evidence Once you have determined that the study and its results are valid, you used to decide if it is applied to your specific patient and situation. To reach your conclusion you may consult questions related to diagnosis, therapy, harm and prognosis. Apply the evidence in the clinical setting. Re-evaluating evidence:- Last step in evidence based practice. It is reevaluation. In tis process evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of your decision in direct relation to your patient.