Downsizing: Costs and Assigned Government Executive

Industry downsizing has been a major part of the corporate world, even government agencies are downsizing. GovernmentExecutive. com â€Å"covers the business of the federal government and its huge departments and agencies – dozens of which dwarf the largest institutions in the private sector† on its website. Read the assigned Government Executive article and answer the following questions: Which industries have substantially reduced fixed cost commitments? Do you believe this reduction in costs has substantially impaired the ability of these industries to meet the needs of their customers? It appears that both privite and public sectors are reducing fixed cost. According to Ciccotello and Green, the technology, auto, and government industries have substantially reduced fixed costs. The specific examples referenced in the article, Industry’s Downsizing Lessons, were IBM, Honda, and the DoD; in some cases the downsizing has been beneficial and in others it has been detrimental. DoD has taken the lead in the current round of federal downsizing, instituting several initiatives to reduce permanent staff positions, rely more on temporary help and outsource production. Honda made large cuts in its permanent engineering staff in response to the more volatile sales environment for automobiles since the mid-1980s. These cuts left Honda unable to keep pace with its competitors in the design of new automobiles. The results have been the loss of market share and profit for Honda, which now faces the difficult task of trying to catch up. The consequence of cutting fixed costs too far could be even more dangerous for a government enterprise like DoD. The computer industry is rapidly changing technology is causing companies to reassess large, fixed-cost commitments. As a result, evidence of decreasing operating leverage in this industry abounds. Many large computer firms have made dramatic cuts in permanent staff. Standard and Poor's reports that IBM had more than 370,000 full-time employees in 1990 and fewer than 270,000 in 1994. At the same time, computer firms have greatly increased outsourcing of products and leasing of equipment. Both of these trends reduce the requirement for large in-house expenditures on personnel, plant and equipment. Outsourcing and leasing make the enterprise more nimble, more able to quickly adapt to a rapidly changing sales environment.

Antibiotics resistant superbugs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Antibiotics resistant superbugs - Research Paper Example For example, there are approximately 2 million cases of antibiotic resistant infections and about 23, 000 deaths in the United Sates every year (Trossman, 2014, p.1). This implies that antibiotic resistance is an imminent problem that requires to be addressed. However, not all superbugs have ties to hospital medication and some actually have ties and are spread in the community. Nevertheless, the most common superbugs are related to hospital medications hence necessitating the need for further research in relation to medication related superbugs. Once bacteria develop resistance to antibiotics, there is imminent need to develop better antibiotics that are seemingly stronger in order to get rid of these bacteria. Antibiotics in use for the first time are referred to as first-line antibiotics while the newly developed antibiotics are second-line agents and depending on the severity of the bacteria, the agents can be developed further even to third-line and fourth-line antibiotics. For example, MRSA has proven resistant to a number of antibiotics thereby necessitating the need to develop antibiotics further third-line and in some environments fourth-line antibiotics. For example, studies by National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance in 2003 showed that 60% of Staphylococcus aureus related infections were resistant to methicillin (Capriotti, 2007, p.1). However, all antibiotics developed after the first line antibiotics are not keen to such factors as safety, availability and cost as compared to the first line antibiotics. This implies that predecessors of first-line antibiotics may not be readily available in all areas thereby further increasing the problem of superbugs. Superbugs are mainly formed through genetic mutations or procurement of new genes from the continued interactions between bacteria. Gene transfer between bacteria is facilitated by the fact that they mostly

The Customer-Service Agent Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Customer-Service Agent - Essay Example Bill Ryan who acts as a customer-service representative or agent in an online marketplace that is owned by the renowned eBay Inc., an internet auction company, it can be stated that the day diary does not include sufficient information. The day diary only depicted limited job responsibilities of a customer-service agent i.e. Mr. Ryan within the online marketplace settings. Moreover, the day diary did not provide a detailed understanding about the core functions as well as the essential qualifications of a customer-service agent. According to the article which deals with Mr. Ryan, the information of the work as well as the activities which he performed acting as a customer-service agent in an online marketplace is quite useful. This article would largely support the different customer-service agents working in dissimilar organizations to get an inclusive along with a systematic job description particularly of a customer-service agent. In relation to the usefulness of the information which is mentioned in the article, it can be stated that the article broadly emphasized upon valuing the demands of the customers by a considerable extent. Moreover, the article also revealed the information that it is quite necessary to settle the arising disputes of the customers for the motive of accomplishing significant returns. In addition, the article also affirmed the valuable information that a customer-service agent should remain calm and composed when the buyers or the customers are upset due to their any kind of dissa tisfaction relating with the products. There lies the requirement of certain extra information as the day diary does not encompass sufficient information about the detailed functions or responsibilities of a customer-service agent. Moreover, the day diary does not describe the qualifications of a customer-service agent in order to execute their various assigned job tasks. In this regard, the other core

Science of Organic Food Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Science of Organic Food - Essay Example Organic foods are meat, animal products, or crops, which their production does not include the use of pesticides and fertilizers. The idea of chemical pesticides and fertilizers negative effects pioneered the rise of the science of organic food. Organic farming has risen to a huge business because of its improved benefits of flavor and health. Organic farming has potential benefits for the environment of agricultural chemicals.  Organic foods are meat, animal products, or crops, which their production does not include the use of pesticides and fertilizers. In the 20th century, the idea of chemical pesticides and fertilizers negative effects pioneered the rise of the science of organic food. Organic farming has risen to a huge business because of its improved benefits of flavor and health. Organic farming has potential benefits for the environment of agricultural chemicals.  Nutritional quality and other factors are not the only reasons to buy organic foods. The rate of consumptio n of organic food has reduced the degree of exposure of antibiotic resistant and pesticide. Organic food is safe although it is hard estimating the cost of organic food. No level of pesticide is the best level in any human body in a family.   Organic foods are expensive than traditional foods. Organic products have different textures and flavors that are a little tasty. Organic products are expensive and only found in supermarkets and local markets. Another benefit for organic farming is because it slows environment and climate change.

WE can but should we Use of quick response codes in health care Research Paper

WE can but should we Use of quick response codes in health care - Research Paper Example In order for a first respondent to access an individual’s data on the bar code during an emergency, the smartphone or other enabled devices can be used to scan the bar code. Although this technology in health care might play a big role in emergency cases, there are various concerns such as privacy concerns, raised by its use, which might discourage most health care institutions and individuals from adopting it. The history of the quick response codes is traced in Japan. This is where the Japan-based company Denso Wave Corporation invented this technology, back in the year 1994. However, initially, this technology was not meant for or used in health care. Instead, the company invented this technology to help in tracking Toyota vehicles and vehicle parts, during the process of manufacturing. However, in the most years, packaging companies and consumer advertisers have been responsible for the infiltration of the quick response codes in the United States of America. Today, quick response codes are found on the internet, on mails from advertisers, on books, and on billboards. In this case, the bar codes have data about the advertised products and the company, as well as the URL’s of the company. Most recently, quick response codes have crossed the border from advertising and marketing industry to the health care sector. In health care, this technology is still new, therefore, has not been adopted by many health care institutions today. Knowledge of the technology and expertise still lacks, since this technology is still in its initial stage of implementation in the health care sector. For instance, in the United States of America today, only countable health care institutions have adopted this technology, and these

Song of hummingbrd Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Song of hummingbrd - Essay Example societies are usually divided into classes based on either economic and political affiliations or interests, with factors varying from one culture to the other. However, in the case of Aztec society, the hierarchal structures were strictly based on the social, political, and religious perspectives. With divisions into eight different social classes, the Aztec society was made of rulers, worriers, noble priests, poor, slaves, servants, and the middle class members of the society. Each of these individuals had a specific role that they played in the society. The worriers were a group of brave men trained and equipped with skills to combat war and battles. For the priests and the priestesses were bestowed with many responsibilities such as watching the planets and prophesizing, and divining incarnations for the gods among others. The servants and the slaves were owned by the nobility, with the only distinctive aspect between the two being that slaves were considered property while the servants were not considered property, with options of marrying. For middle, class whom also the largest of the society, comprised of lawmakers, accountants, and potters among other

Motivational types Essay Example for Free

Motivational types Essay The hypothesis for this study was â€Å"Do certain types of personality traits determine individual motivational types? † The importance of this type of study has been recognized by many researchers. For example Tett and Burnett (2003) determined that recognizing different personality types could determine how an individual might be influenced by various motivational factors which in turn reflect how productive and viable an individual might be under different work environments. The impact of finding a direct correlation between personality traits, and motivational types, could be significant in many industry fields. This paper considered the following motivational factors: money, energy from other people, the work environment, professional growth and power. In general the findings were unsurprising. For example many people mentioned that money was a motivational factor in their workplace, yet those on a higher pay were more reluctant to say so. What was interesting in this study was the apparent lack of significance of power on an individual’s motivation to work. This would suggest that there are some personality types that firstly distinguish between power in the workplace and decision making, and secondly that some individuals prefer a position where they are not called on to make decisions. In relation to whether or not an individual classified himself as a ‘private person’ and how this impacted motivation, only one scenario was considered; that of being a private person and project planning. Although the results were not definitive there was a strong suggestion that those respondents who considered themselves private people, also liked a structured work environment. This is supported by other results in the study such as the significant number of people that enjoyed working in a team environment, and those who found the energy of people around them a motivational factor. The limitations of this study included a necessary restriction on the variables studied and the small number of participants in the sample group. However many of the results found in the variables studied were quite conclusive and further study with larger respondent groups and more variables associated with different personality types could prove useful in this area. References Tett, R. P. ,Burnett, D. D. (2003). A personality trait–based interactionist model of job performance. Journal of Applied Psychology, 88, 500-517.