The Life of Harriet Tubman Essay Example for Free

The Life of Harriet Tubman Essay Originally named Araminta, or Minty, Harriet Tubman was born in early 1819 or 1820 on the plantation of Anthony Thompson, south of Madison in Dorchester County, Maryland. Tubman was the fifth of nine children of Harriet Rit Green and Benjamin Ross, both slaves. Edward Brodas, the stepson of Anthony Thompson, claimed ownership of Rit and her children through his mother Mary Pattison Brodas Thompson. Ben Ross, the slave of Anthony Thompson, was a timber inspector who supervised and managed a vast timbering operation on Thompsons land. The Rosss relatively stable family life on Thompsons plantation came to abrupt end sometime in late 1823 or early 1824 when Edward Brodas took Rit and her then five children, including Tubman, to his own farm in Bucktown, a small agricultural village ten miles to the east. Brodas often hired Tubman out to temporary masters, some who were cruel and negligent, while selling other members of her family illegally to out of state buyers, permanently fracturing her family (http://www.math.buffalo.edu/~sww/0history/hwny-tubman.html). At age six, Araminta was old enough to be considered able to work. She did not work in the fields though. Edward Brodas, her master, lent her to a couple who first put her to work weaving she was beaten frequently. When she slacked off at this job the couple gave her the duty of checking muskrat traps. Araminta caught the measles while doing this work. The couple thought she was incompetent and took her back to Brodas. When she got well, she was taken in by a woman as a housekeeper and baby-sitter. Araminta was whipped during the work here and was sent back to Brodas after eating one of the womans sugar cubes. As was the custom on all plantations, when she turned eleven, she started wearing a bright cotton bandana around her head indicating she was no longer a child. She was also no longer known by her basket name, Araminta. Now she would be called Harriet, after her mother. At the age of 12 Harriet Ross was seriously injured by a blow to the head, inflicted by a white overseer for refusing to assist in tying up a man who had attempted escape. Adulthood In 1844 at the age of 25, she married John Tubman, a free African American who did not share her dream of escaping. Since she was a slave, she knew there could be a chance that she could be sold and her marriage would be split apart. Harriet dreamed of traveling north. There, she would be free and would not have to worry about having her marriage split up by the slave trade. But, John did not want her to go north. He said he was fine where he was and that there was no reason for moving north. She said she would go by herself. He replied that if she ran off, he would tell her master. She did not believe him until she saw his face and then she knew he meant it. Her goal to achieve freedom was too large for her to give up though. So in 1849 she left her husband and escaped to Philadelphia in 1849. When she crossed the border she said,† I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person now that I was free, there was such glory over everything, the sun came up like gold through the threes, and over the fields, and I felt like I was in heaven† (The Secret History of Dreaming 185). Accomplishments After escaping from enslavement in 1849, Tubman dedicated herself to fighting for freedom, equality, and justice for the remainder of her long life, earning her the biblical name Moses and a place among the nations most famous historical figures. She became an Underground Railroad conductor after she had escaped to the north. She went back and helped free more than 300 slaves during 1850-1858 (The Story of Harriet Tubman: Conductor of the Underground Railroad). During the Civil War, Tubman worked for the Union army as a nurse, a cook, and a spy. Her experience leading slaves along the Underground Railroad was especially helpful because she knew the land well. She recruited a group of former slaves to hunt for rebel camps and report on the movement of the Confederate troops. In 1863, she went with Colonel James Montgomery and about 150 black soldiers on a gunboat raid in South Carolina. Because she had inside information from her scouts, the Union gunboats were able to surprise the Confederate rebels. At first, when the Union Army came through and burned plantations, slaves hid in the woods. But when they realized that the gunboats could take them behind Union lines to freedom, they came running from all directions, bringing as many of their belongings as they could carry. Tubman later said, I never saw such a sight. Tubman played other roles in the war effort, including working as a nurse. Folk remedies she learned during her years living in Maryland would come in very handy. Tubman worked as a nurse during the war, trying to heal the sick. Many people in the hospital died from dysentery, a disease associated with terrible diarrhea. Tubman was sure she could help cure the sickness if she could find some of the same roots and herbs that grew in Maryland. One night she searched the woods until she found water lilies and cranes bill (geranium). She boiled the water lily roots and the herbs and made a bitter-tasting brew that she gave to a man who was dying-and it worked! Slowly he recovered. Tubman saved many people in her lifetime. Harriet Tubman, after a life of helping people, died at age 93 on March 10, 1913, at Auburn, New York.

A Dissertation About Issues In logistics management

A Dissertation About Issues In logistics management 1. Introduction: This dissertation is about logistics management. It is a part of the supply chain management which involves with the inflow, outflow, procurement, maintenance and storage of goods and services. The supply chain exists between starting point to delivery point. As mentioned by Ackerman (2000), Logistic management basically means having a right thing, in the right place at the right time. This project is focus on the activities of manager of famous company to perform in order to make the organisation a success. In todays environment there is a need to stay updated in order to know the flaws in business, to think at the right time and act accordingly. There is always a complexity in dealing with the ever-changing customer requirements, their expectations relating to price, competitions in the economy and so on. All these have to be met efficiently in order to cope up with the situation. The success of a goods or service depends on how well strengthens of the distribution strategy is studied and how the suppliers, markets, storage and transportation are dealt with right strategy. The upcoming areas deal with the entire process involved in the transformation of a raw material into the ultimate finished product. Logistics management presents a v ariety of tools to understand the logistics in effective decision making and how it goes in relating the broader issues in the entire supply chain thereby finding out ways and means in achieving the strategic goals (Ackerman, 2000). The company that is selected here is Tolam Logistics which is located in Hong Kong. It was established in 1996 by Mr. Eric Lam who had about 20 years experience in freight and transportation. The TLs provide One Stop shop logistics services by all type of facility of logistics like storage, delivery, custom clearance etc. The TLs main customers included Toshiba, Sanyo, Kleon, Fujis air conditioner and Plasma Televisions. It had a warehouse of 100,000 sq. ft. and owns around 32 trucks. The staff strength resulted to around 100 including permanent staffs (Magee, 1985). Tolam Logistics is a logistics company engaged in the distribution of goods that are received at its warehouse. The main points that we focussed here is warehousing and distribution. The objective of this case study is to discuss its objectives, strategies and methods employed in: Transportation planning: TL uses its own trucks to transport the goods without depending on outsourcing of transport. Only when the demand exceeds its transport facilities it does not hesitate to make use of outsourcing and in situations where the demand is low it has no problem to put its trucks idle. They use their trucks in such situations to generate income by outsourcing their trucks to other uses. E.g. In monsoon season due to low business activity at that time not using outsourcing trucks and deploy only own trucks which runs on fixed route and fixed contract which surety of fixed expense and income. Inventory management: TL provides a sound inventory system. They receive orders in the night and make despatches in the daytime. They forecast the warehouse space and transportation on a quarterly basis in order to know its requirements. Companies usually reserve their space in the warehouse depending upon the volume to be held in the warehouse. They have latest technology for loading and unloading 14 vehicles at a time. Information technology: TL has an extended use of computer systems to record various transactions happening inside. It maintains a separate database for each customer. TL is now in the process of developing a new IT integrated system that will open up new exits to the company. TL does have difficulties in providing different legacy systems, so they are planning to install a common platform on the web so that all its customers can be satisfied at a time. They are implementing barcode system to tracking goods(Frederick Ross, 1996) 2. Aims and Objective: We are learning about the issues of logistics management and for this purpose I am planning to take up the company Tolam Logistics as the main subject. Tentative research questions can be considered for this purpose is What are the main factors that affect the logistics management at TL, Do theories of logistics apply at the ground level?, How important is logistics in managing customer satisfaction?, What are the performance measures, costing methods and metrics used for logistics management?, Can modern communication technologies impact logistics management. 3. Theoretical Background: 3.1 Logistic Strategy and Planning: The supply chain strategy is main link to growth of business strategy and it should taking care of balance maintained between the cost and service offered by firm. As mentioned by Tompkins (1998), following factors have to be considered here, The customers and suppliers should be aligned in regard to the internal company operations. Companys inflow (Raw Material) and outflow (sales) should be maintained as per market demands and trends with the help of internal company operations likes collect, pickup, packaging, deliver etc. The marketing and sales plan should be aligned to meet the supply chain strategy means like E.g. For launching a new product in the market sales plan like marketing should be start after enough production flow carry on to fulfill the demand of market, If market trends change the immediately we have other strategy for product modification. The capital expenditure has to be aligned to the supply chain operations. E.g. Firm have enough capital for monthly fixed expense like production cost, sales, salary, rent, marketing and promotion cost etc. The HR structure has to be aligned to the supply chain E.g. HR structure have enough manpower to operate the production, sales and marketing etc dept. The supply chain has to be aligned in order to meet the investment policies. The supply chain has to be aligned in order to meet the growth targets. The supply chain has to be aligned in order to make room for expansion of the business. Logistic planning involves the use and management of all logistic resources in order to maintain the desired cost and service performance. The considerations include the inventory positioning, inventory levels, number of warehouses, types of warehouses, mode of carrier selection and so same will be forwarded. The company can decide on whether to deploy a high service method or a low cost service method. A high cost method deploys more warehouses, use fast delivery transportation and maintain high stock levels. This method of course is mostly trying to avoid the high cost. Whereas, a low cost service method gives value for cost by reducing the number of warehouses to one, use cheap transportation and maintain longer lead time in ordering stocks. Through improved warehouse design the cost of handling materials can be reduced to a great extent prior delivery goods arrange as to easily loading and unloading from trucks, by arranging direct vehicle loading of materials from the warehouse and implementing automated installations are two methods that can reduce handling material costs. By conducting an assessment of the transport costs and implementing the right choice by comparing current transport costs with that of the occurring standard rates can bring down transport costs to the minimize with routes selection, speed of vehicle, Regular maintained vehicle, road maps, uses the GPRS system to reach at delivery point. This type of logistic planning goes a long way in attaining the right logistic system. Company has to consider four main points while planning a logistic system; they are as stated above, customer service levels, facility location, inventory decisions and transportation decisions. These four levels are related to ea ch other and therefore integrated planning has to be considered. Planning here means designing the logistics network as a configuration of warehouses, production plants, selling areas, stocking-areas, transportation and information systems that aim at balancing an equilibrium between the overall costs and the revenue. Briefly idea for the logistic planning means the total cost concept should be studied to consider the supply chain.   3.2 Customer Service Strategy:   Supply chain is basically considered as a strategic concept that involves understanding and managing the sequence of activities -from supplier to customer-that add value to the product supply pipeline (Tompkins, 1998). The role of customers in the supply chain market is not incidental. Every company in this chain, irrespective of market size mainly they thankful to its customers as the fact is that in all profit of firm there are customers are in center whom to buy the goods and services produced by each one of them. This century marks the end of monopolies and therefore customers can make an array of choices. When customers decide not to buy products in a particular supply chain, then no doubt the company would collapse without earning any revenue for the expenses incurred in launching the product on the stage of saturation and decline stage. So, the supply chain should be structured in such a manner that there is a common link between the products as such and the end customer. It is because that the tastes of customers keep changing and their expectations goes on rising, when product cycle at saturation and decline stage at they began decreasing brand loyalty and put in for anything that attracts them. Thus the importation must be put on conducting effective market analysis to know the needs of different groups of customers to whom the offer is to be made. Its main aim is to polish its contact with the customers. The rationale behind this strategy is to improve services provided directly or indirectly to its customers and to use the information in the system for targeted marketing and sales purposes. A kind of metrics should be used to assess the customer service, like the companys ability to fill the orders in limited time or the delivery of the products on the due date. Other researches can be conducted to find out the reason for not delivering the products on the due date. There is no compromise for an act of negligence in meeting customer satisfaction as it is the customers who ultimately judge the life span of the company.  In todays fast growing economy, it is not the matter of fact that the big beat the small but it is the fast beats the slow and the accurate beats the inaccurate. Below are mentioned seven steps to reduce the fulfilment costs by improving customer service at the same time (Tompkins, 1998). According to him, the following points are important with regard to supply chains, Integrate with order entry system: In todays hyper competitive economy it is very difficult to maintain order fulfilment through the internet. Most of them placed through internets are managed poorly and which end in resulting distorting customer satisfaction due to delay in product delivery. Integrating a systematic order fulfilment process tends to reduce manual labour that saves time, increases profitability and customer satisfaction E.g. Order received in night and make delivery in the day time. Build in adaptability: Providing exceptional customer service has proved to be challenging in todays competitive environment. Companies can meet this challenge by proving to be adaptable with the customer wants makes changes in their orders right from the purchase and even upto and after shipment. This can prove to be successful as the customers can get what they want even if their product changes from the market. E.g. Tailor made transportation system like packaging facility as per weather. Confirm with bar codes: By changing the bar coding into an automated one ,the company can save a large amount of its time and energy and even implement perfection in planning as it presents real time data instead of mere projections. E.g. In the ware house material arranged with barcode easy to locate particular product with the barcode system we can easily shift goods as per priority of delivery and delivery places. Conducting automated pickings: Automated technologies are easily fulfills the needs of customer thereby increasing customer satisfaction and bringing in repeated business in a shorter time span. E.g. Goods collection from customer destination is one of good example of automated pickings its save time and money of customers which bringing repeated business. Automated shipping plans: Using automated shipping plan the workers can pick to a predesigned way of stacking the containers without going for trial and error methods. This saves a lot of time and energy of the workers engaged in stacking the containers and speeding the delivery with less expense than without ASP. E.g. Barcode system on containers and on the area of ware house which easily track the goods and easily stacking and speeding the delivery. Automate shipment verification: By applying automated verification together with automated picking and using bar codes, more time can be saved on packing, verifying and shipping process. Sourcing orders based on facility workload: Logistic managers should use the method of best utilize of space when multiple warehousing and distribution facilities are available in order to improve responsiveness and maximize flexibility. The above factors tend to make the shipment reach the customers more quickly and which therefore has a direct impact on their satisfaction levels. The standards of service provided to end customers should be determined and mentioned on top of the list. The remaining strategic decisions should also be taken considering the customers interests. Frohne, (2008), Organization has to adjusting the supply chain as such to meet the market demand and product features, Determining the relation model among the supply chain participants, Selecting the suppliers, Determining on the distribution channels, Adopting a specific method of stock holding, Determining the location and nature of the warehouse, Formulating guidelines in selecting the transportation. Taking a decision on any of the above mentioned factors without giving due consideration to the customer needs may seriously affect the implementation of the general strategies of the supply chain, as the strategies of the supply chain are competitive in nature that aimed at end customer satisfaction.    The focus of supply chain on the customers can be studied more explicitly using the Quick Response concept, which means identifying the demands and reacting to its changes as quickly as possible. This concept was developed in relation to textile industry in order to avoid losses due to change in demand. The QR nature is such that it assume in close cooperation with the supply chains by providing maximum satisfaction to its customers by reducing the costs to its minimum. This becomes material if the customers provide timely information to the suppliers regarding their demands and they make timely supply of the demand. This method would no doubt increase sales by reducing the costs by bringing in profit to all the supply chains involved. 3.3 Procurement management: Procurement is appropriate goods at best cost which fulfill the requirement of purchase with good quality, quantity, time and location. It is regarding the profit orientation fastest growing business firm rather than simple cost cutting measures. There is an old saying Goods well bought are half sold, this means that the success of an organisation depends on the efficiency of its purchasing department. If organization purchase good quality raw material then its increase the productivity of internal operation, quality of final goods, reduce the wastage. Buying dept and selling departments are interlinked, in other words if buying dept purchased goods without proper consultation with the sales department which knows the nature and trend of the market, then the sales department cannot succeed to sell the goods at a profit. E.g. if purchase department without consult with sales dept purchase water resists packaging material in monsoon season to purchase waterproof material for packaging its indirectly effect on business cost, time etc wastage. In monsoon season low business activity need low quantity of packaging material need to know quantity of material as well. Scientific purchasing methods should be adopted in order to purchase the right product at the right price and place, in right quantity and quality and from the right supplier. All these factors are interconnected. There is always confusion for all the concerns regarding what to buy, where and how to buy. All these problems can be solved by performing the following purchasing functions. Jones, James V., p82(2006) Planning the purchase of goods: The producer should decide on the required amount of stock of raw materials and parts that is to be purchased on the basis of expected volume of sales and the estimated rate of production. It has some sub functions that has to be followed to make the purchase effectively. They are preparation of the budget, determination of quantities to be ordered, stock turnover, consideration of effects of changes in fashion and price changes. Assembling: It means gathering goods from various sources and bringing them to the business place. E.g. Head office ordered for packaging material and store in warehouse then need to supply at all branches on right time. If goods received from japan to deliver at north London then japan branch send goods to main office at uk branch then they supplies to London branch and London branch supply to north london branch whom deliver it to customer. Locating the sources of supply: The buyers have to search for various sources of supply and maintain contact with them. In the selection of the suppliers, the buyers should consider the efficiency, rate and location, capacity of supply goods, goodwill and financial stability of the suppliers. It is always desirable to maintain liaison with two or more suppliers to ensure uninterrupted supply in case of non availability of raw material from one supplier buyer sure for available from another supplier and supply of raw material not interrupted. Market news: The buyers should be always aware of the market, the prices, the change in fashion, tastes and attitude of the customers should be updated. The launching of the product and their impact on the customers should also be monitored by survey of customers like-dislikes, market share, market trends etc. Negotiation of terms: After the above activities have been completed the buyer has to finalise on buying. For this he has to negotiate with the suppliers terms and conditions. Usual negotiations will be on the quality, quantity, price, discounts and terms of delivery. Transfer of title: Finally, immediately after the payment the buyer should get the title transferred in his name. He should get the relevant documents like final agreement copy, terms and condition letter, quotation etc in his custody. To take a quick look at how CEVA logistics a leading supply chain management company has tied up its hands with Ford, a global leader in the automotive world, proved to be a success. The operation is located closely to the plants proximity and provides small lot market consuming areas, container management and efficient transportation system. CEVA was awarded three awards for its efficient supply chain in providing customer satisfaction through maintaining quality, fast delivery and excellence in management from Ford. 3.4 Financial aspects of logistics: Financial managers have a responsibility to raise capital for maintaining inventory and also for the firms overall profitability. There is a global solution for low risk work. Once a company enters to do business globally its financial risks also arises. It needs to ask questions as to how it will get its money in business or whether the goods will be accepted only after the shipment. Companies can use various financial instruments that banks offer nowadays in the form of letter of credit and the like. The payment condition regulates the flow of goods or services in the logistic system and the mode of payment. Some of the common means of payment are way bills, letter of credit, commercial invoice etc. on the basis of payment conditions; banks have adopted a new means of payment under the term called financial engineering. These have proved to be very much useful in enabling the free of capital that is blocked in ventures and also reducing the time of funds being locked up in business . They also have to verify the terms and contract of payment with customer and what is fixed expense are occurred against payment method with customers. The currencies of various countries can also affect international logistics in many ways. These are foreign exchange control and risks of exchange associated with warehousing. This can be reduced by selecting specific company locations, countries that have a stable market for their currencies. By reducing the order processing time can also minimise the risks involved in exchange rate.    3.5 Packaging and Inventory Management   Packaging is technology of preparing goods for transportation, sales, warehousing, logistics, evaluate the design of product. Packaging is concerned with the planning, distribution, sals and storage etc. Packaging makes attractive to the end consumers the old product. It is a group effort of the designer, the researcher, the engineer, the marketing expert, the sales department and the top management. It should be designed in a systematic manner in order to achieve its very purpose (Voortman, 2004).  The various factors to be considered while taking packaging decisions are the size, colour, material, text, brand name, caption etc. In packaging designs the AIDAS formula (see Figure 1) has to be successfully implied. AIDAS represents five basic points. They are attention, interest, desire, action and satisfaction. These are very much important in the supply chain strategy which goes ultimately in meeting the customer needs. The need of packaging is to ensures the supply of right quant ity and quality of the product, to protects the product from any damage caused due to dust, mishandling, pilferage etc, to makes the handling of products conveniently, to facilitates the storage of products, to makes it convenient to distinguish our products from that of the others, to makes the product more attractive, to helps the customers to reuse the product for some other purposes Packaging holds a very important place in the supply chain logistic management. Only when the products are presented well the customers has an urge to buy it more frequently.   Fig. 1 AIDAS Source:- self 4. Inventory Management:    Inventory management aims to handle all function correctly with tracking and management of material. Inventory management is very wide definition like to replenishment lead time , carrying costs of inventory, asset management, forecasting, valuation, visibility, future inventory cost, space, quality etc. The ultimate aim of supply chain management is how well you manage your inventory. Manufacturers face a number of challenges which require not just exceptional planning but also an effective communication setup that keeps you updated at the spur of a moment. From rapid changes of customer demands, globalisation or even natural calamities can cause your inventory to be stuck up paving way for no wages to the employees. Therefore there should be a quick information system to discuss the inbound and outbound issues affecting the demand and supply. For this there should be a well managed supply chain inventory management in order to keep the business running without any interruptions (Bo wersox, 2000) There are benefits and risks of holding inventory as mentioned below, Avoiding risks of sale: If a desired amount of inventory are stored that are ready to be sold, can bring in return to the company. It can avoid losing its customers for non supply of products. Shelf-stocks are those products which are sold to its customers with little or no modifications; an example of such a product is automobiles. Quantity discount: When goods are purchased in bulk quantity the suppliers offer a discount. This is in fact helps the buyer to make a more margin in profit. Even sometimes suppliers are ready to supply goods on credit for time period like one week /month thats all capital invest in other source for time being help to cash cycle. Reducing ordering costs: Each time an order has to be placed it incurs certain expenses like mailing costs, typing, approving and the like, so if inventory is stored in bulk it can reduce the ordering costs to a great extend. Reducing the set up costs: Start up costs is incurred each time a product is produced. Maintaining large stocks of inventory helps in reducing the set up costs. Reducing risks of production shortage: If any part of a product is unavailable it may result in the production to stay at a halt. Therefore it is good to hold inventories to maintain sufficient flow of supply to the customers. Avoiding risks of holding inventories: Reduction or decline in the market price: It faces the risks of price cutting by competitors or the arrival of a new product. In such situations holding inventories in large    amount would only prove to be a loss for the holding firm. Also inventories more money on new product like advertisement, launching, promotion offers, discount schemes etc. Deterioration of the product: Product may get worse when it is held for longer periods. Obsolescence of the product: The product may become obsolete and outdated when the customers tastes and preferences change. While dealing with inventory management in the supply chain it is also advised to go through the costs of holding inventory. The costs associated with inventory are of two types; direct costs and indirect costs. The direct costs of holding inventory are the materials cost, ordering costs and carrying costs. The indirect costs of holding inventory are costs of funds tied up in inventory (opportunity cost) and the costs of running out of stock (stock-out cost) (Waters, 2003).   When critically evaluating the inventory management we can sum up the objectives like to ensure that the materials are available for production without interruption, To maintain sufficient stock of raw material in times of shortage, To ensure that inventory of finished goods are readily made available to meet the customer demands., To maintain a balance between the inventories., To prevent the inventory from deterioration by providing proper warehousing and insurance.   From the above mentioned points it is evaluated that inventory if not controlled properly may either way prove to be wastage to the concern. This has induced the need to find out techniques to control the inventory.   4.1 Economic Order Quantity: EOQ (see Figure 2) is the level where total demands of product is constant over and each new order is delivered in regularly when in the inventory is reach at zero level. It is important to note that only the right amount of the inventory has to be stored. EOQ means the determination of the right quantity to be purchased. A balance has to be maintained between the carrying costs and the ordering cost. EOQ is the point where the total cost of ordering and the cost of carrying the inventory would be the minimum. For EOQ we assume that the ordering cost, rate of demand, purchase price and delivery quantity are constant with fixed lead time. The main point here to be noted is whether you increase or decrease the purchase the total of all the costs should be maintained at a minimum (Stock, 1993). Fig. -2 Formulas for Economic Order Quantity. Source:- Google Image. 4.2 ABC analysis:   ABC analysis (See Figure 3) is a technique of exercising selective control over inventory items. It is a method of controlling material according to its value. Its a mechanism for impact on inventory cost by identifying items. A concern need not exercise the same degree of control over all materials. Materials of high value should be closely controlled than materials of low value. Accordingly, the materials will be grouped as A, B and C. A category material constitutes only a small percentage of the total items but they have the highest value. By category items constitutes a higher percentage of the total items but have only a medium value and the C category items constitutes the highest percentage in the total inventory but it has the lowest value. ABC analysis is based on the principles of Selective Inventory Management.   Fig-3 ABC Analysis. Source Google Image 4.3 Determination of Re-order level: Re-order level (See Figure 4) is that level of inventory at which the firm should place orders in order to maintain stock of the inventory. It is with regard to the timing of purchase. When orders are placed new products will reach the before it runs out of stock. Last minute order placing is not found here as the orders are placed slightly above the minimum stock level. The above techniques can go on a long way to control the sufficient inventory. As inventory forms the life blood of a concern not a minute carelessness can be made in maintaining adequate stock of inventory. As there is a supply chain all over the globe it is high time to forgo with traditional inventory management process and continuously manage inventory through the global supply chains to optimise the inventory. The excellence in supply chain is required to strike a balance between the lead times, budgets, inventory costs and the risks. In order to maintain optimum utilization of inventory it is necessary to balance the supply chain management against the business policies, changing market demands, risks and other constraints. It makes it important to know what inventories to carry, how, when and in what form.   Fig. -4 Diagram of Reorder Level. Source:- Google Image. 5. Physical Distribution and Monitoring Performance: 5.1 Warehousing   Another important area which forms an important part of the supply chains strategy is the provision of proper storage and warehousing facilities until the goods are ready to be consumed by the end customers. Its primary aim is controlling the movement and storage of goods until they are demanded in the market. Warehouse management system aids in supporting the associated areas like transportation, put away and picking (Frazelle, 2002). Here the warehousing systems can be managed in both ways either manually or automatically. In order to explain this much better an illustration is explained below. A UK based company is a manufacturer of books, cards, antiques and other souvenirs. The company has to ship its products to more than 500 destinations around the world. Now to know the challenge it has faced, it managed to build up its own warehouse of a 10,000 foot and used paper based system. All the products have to be located based on the colour or relying completely on the staffs employ ed there. But this system proved to be inefficient as there always raised confusion between the products as different products sometimes were of the same colour. This took up a lot of time and energy of the concern and they were piling up with shipments that were yet to be dispatched. This started to affect the concern both on its revenue as well as its customer satisfaction. It also led to the duplication of work as the same lists were printed twice. They recognised that th

The Concept Of Internal Audit Accounting Essay

The Concept Of Internal Audit Accounting Essay Internal auditing, it is not a new term for the world of organization. The concept of internal audit is old like 5000 years, at that time people of civilized communities which were economically and politically stable used this approach to check effectiveness of their taxes and businesses so they can check errors and safe the state property from dishonest taxpayers. In modern world especially in the United States this approach rise after the Second World War and steadily growing. Internal audit has much similarity with financial auditing and a number of theories are derived from management consulting and public accounting. Definition: Internal auditing is an independent, objective assurance and consulting activity designed to add value and improve an organizations operations. It helps an organization accomplish its objectives by bringing a systematic, disciplined approach to evaluate and improve the effectiveness of risk management, control, and governance processes. Internal audit is a preventive action of a company and it is done by the professionals or experts of that company. These professionals called internal auditor and they evaluate internal control system of the company. This study or audit report is submitted to management and from this report they can take steps for improvements. In requirement part of ISO 9001:2000 it is found in the monitoring and measurement section which gives idea that it is an activity that measures implementation of quality management system. Scopes and objectives of internal auditing: Objectives: The main objective of an internal audit in the company is to improve quality and reduce risk by evaluating the effectiveness of process. Other than this internal audit is done for checking financial and operating informations reliability, to safe assets from loss, resource management, established process or program me is following its objective and compliance with policies, laws and regulations, identification which area needed improvement, verification of cGMP compliance. Scopes: Internal audits main scope is assuring quality in respected area which is under the audit procedure. Design, approval and evaluation of product should comply with GMP. Ensure quality in GMP implementation, performance of staff, feedbacks. Include documents, instruction and records and covering all parts of GMP. Principles and Requirements of internal audit: As per ISO 9000 standards require maintenance of document evidence for internal audit process. Document evidence must include: who is executing the internal audit, which department is under the audit, describing whole process, supervision after internal audit plan and where the results are documented. These are the some common principles that applied at the time of internal audit implementation. Internal audit is independent and evidence based approach. All activities of internal audit should be reviewed by independent party, have a sampling and tracking line and they are open and constructive. Insure all resources are available before starting audit. Auditor: Auditor is a employee of the company with sufficient experience and background who conduct the internal audit. Though he is an employee of the firm he has to audit his colleagues and their performance and for this he has some abilities that audit results are not affected by his personal relation. For this he has to be ethical, open minded, diplomatic, observer, versatile, persistence, decisive and independent. Patience is needed in auditing and so the auditor must be cool and need to see what the actual situation in the organization. Generally people dont like to be audited and for this he makes lot of effort psychologically to get the real answer and avoid the conflict. In the audit period he has main one objective put the real status of the organization to top management. Internal Audit process: For successful audit it is required effective communication between management and auditor. To obtain effectiveness and in time audit it is necessary that auditor do not go depth in every item and take a quick overview and focus on the parts which do not comply with the company policies. Every audit is unique; the audit process is containing these four stages which are commonly found in every audit: Planning of audit ( review and preliminary phase) Performing an audit ( field work phase) Audit report ( documentation phase) Change implementation ( follow-up phase) 1. Planning of an audit (review and preliminary phase) In the stating of an audit management do a meeting to plan about auditor that who will handle the audit, objectives and scopes of an audit, which area should be cover under the audit, which criteria should be considered, gather information about important processes, prepare paper work and distribution of audit plan. 2. Performing an audit (field work phase) After planning now it is time to implement audit procedure but there is no common way that auditor perform the audit. An auditor should looking what is requirement, which way the process can be improved, gathering and analyzing information and making best conclusion on his effort. Keep in mind that internal audit is not always done for the improvement or find out defects, it also recognize individuals who are putting their outstanding efforts. The following procedure is generally followed in each audit: In starting of audit process the auditor first make a meeting with the head of area which is going to be audited, explaining him scope and objective of this effort and making him relax for the audit. Auditor will study all processes carefully and their outcome, here auditor checking that processes is operating in conformance of companys quality management system. He gathers information by asking open-ended question about process and personal competence. Auditor make notes about data he got during the various point of audit process. Auditor analyzes all the data he found and ask himself that is process running in compliance with companys policy? Or process needs improvement. Before reaching the conclusion he take all the aspects of audit in consideration, is there any failure event appeared, any area needs to be considered improvement? Are there any individuals or departments displayed uncommon behavior? In the end of his fieldwork the auditor, hold the closing meeting with head of the area in presence of plant manager. Explain him positive and negative outcome of his study and corrective actions for that. He tries to resolve any disagreement on his conclusion in this meeting. 3. Audit report (documentation phase) It is most difficult part of the process. An auditor should write brief and clear summery of his finding, which includes both positive and negative outcomes of his study. These positive outcomes may help company for improvement. The data or findings must be truthful, scope and objective oriented, and written in manner that management can easily understand that and can take corrective action from that. Audit report is a official record that should contain: scope, criteria and objective of an audit, Auditors information, time and area where auditing done, outcomes of audit (positive and negative), a closing statement. 4. Change implementation (follow-up phase) During this phase the non compliance is submitted to quality committee. The quality committee studies the report submitted by an Auditor and checking all the non compliances are in fact differ from the companys quality management system. Upon agreement that process or item is none conforming, the quality committee takes action to correct it and gives responsibility for this correction to suitable person with time limit. During correction quality committee observe the process of correction and after change is implemented and process or item working in compliance with companys policy, committee ask the same person for follow up inspection. The Auditor check in same manner as he done before and check the difference in outcome, if it is compliance with quality management system of company than he give the satisfactory report to the management. The whole process is documented that it could be useful for future study. Audit activities Evaluation of an auditor Monitoring and reviewing Identifying correction Preventive action Opportunities for improvement Implementation Scheduling Evaluating Selecting auditor Monitoring audit Planning Scope Objectives Resources Guidelines Start the Audit programme PLAN Improvement actions Act DO CHECK Fig. 1. Process flow diagram of internal auditing Internal controls: Internal control is a major part of an internal auditing and evaluation of internal controls is one of the primaries objectives of internal auditing. In auditing internal controls can be defined as process affected by organizations structure, employee and management information system, authority and work flow, designed to fulfill organizations scope and objectives. These are common objectives for internal control: effective and efficient operations, reliable financial reports, compliance with laws and policies, protecting assets of organization. Internal controls are divided in main two categories preventive controls (designated to prevent errors and irregularities from occurring) and detective controls (designed to find out errors and irregularities after they have occurred). The examples of internal control activities are separation of duties, authorization, proper documentation, control over assets, variance analysis, monitoring operations. A question arise that who take the responsibility for internal controls, its not only a job of internal auditor. Every employee of the organization is responsible for maintenance of internal controls. Internal audit assist management to evaluate and promote internal control system. Risk management: Internal audit play an important role in risk assessment and evaluation of processes which have significant risks. Risk management is process that in which way organizations sets its objectives and then evaluates and analyzes the risks which can produce impact to realize its objective. In regular basis organization applied strategic, marketing or capital planning, budgeting, and hedging to evaluate the risk. Internal audit evaluate all this activities and processes applied by the management to report and monitor potential risk identified. These are some core roles of internal audit in risk management: assuring risk management process, assuring evaluation of risks and evaluation of risk management process, key risks evaluation and reviewing them to the management, assisting management in responding of risks, developing risk management framework and coordinating all activities. Internal audit vs. External audit: External audit: In External audit organization contact person (auditor) outside of the firm who audits organizations financial statement and submit a report to the management. External auditor differs from internal auditor mainly in two ways: (1) internal auditor mainly focuses on risk management and internal control framework, (2) internal auditor do not form an opinion on organizations financial statements. Some similarities also there between internal and external auditor: Both internal and external auditor examines and evaluates many transactions. Both report if the procedures are poor and ignorance in adhering them. They both deeply involved in information system and based on discipline and work with profession standards. Both are concerned for occurrence of errors and they are tied with internal control system of organization. Both give formal report of their activities. factor Internal audit External audit objective

Piaget Essay -- essays research papers

Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development During the 1920s, a biologist named Jean Piaget proposed a theory of cognitive development of children. He caused a new revolution in thinking about how thinking develops. In 1984, Piaget observed that children understand concepts and reason differently at different stages. Piaget stated children's cognitive strategies which are used to solve problems, reflect an interaction BETWEEN THE CHILD'S CURRENT DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE AND experience in the world. Research on cognitive development has provided science educators with constructive information regarding student capacities for meeting science curricular goals. Students which demonstrate concrete operational thinking on Piagetian tasks seem to function only at that level and not at the formal operational level in science. Students which give evidence of formal operational thinking on Piagetian tasks often function at the concrete operational level in science, thus leading researchers to conclude that the majority of adolescents function at the concrete operational level on their understanding of science subject matter. In a study by the National Foundation of subjects in Piaget's Balance Task were rated as being operational with respect to proportional thought development. In addition, seventy-one percent of subjects did not achieve complete understanding of the material studied in a laboratory unit related to chemical solubility. The unit delt with primary ratios and proportions, and when overall physical science achievement was considered, about forty-three percent of the formal operational studies were not able to give simple examples of the problem that were correctly solved on the paper and pencil exam (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958, p. 104). Piaget was primarily concerned with the developmental factors that characterize the changes in the child's explanations of the world around him or her. Piaget's early research showed three parallel lines of development. First, from an initial adualism or confusion of result of the subject's own activity with objective changes to reality to a differentiation between subject and object. Second, from a phenomenological interpretation of the world to one which is based on objective causality. Third, from a unconscious focusing on one's own point of view to a decentration which allocates the subject a place in the world alongside... ...ater extent than at the present. Science teachers who are chiefly concerned about themselves in relation to their teaching role or about their adequacy as a teacher, will be unable to focus on the intellectual capabilities of their students, in spite of the importance and impact which this has been proven to have on student's learning. Therefore, it can be stated that Piaget's theories of cognitive development have, and will continue to have a great effect on the manner in which teaching is done. References Athey, I., & Rubandeau, D. (1970). Educational implications of piaget's theory. Waltham, Mass.: Ginn-Blaisdell. Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. New York: Basic Books. Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1971). Mental imagery in the child. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Inhelder, B., & Sinclair, H. (1974). Learning and development of cognition. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Philips, D. (1976, February). Piagetian perspectives on science teaching. The science teacher. vol. 43, No. 2. Piaget, J. (1973). To understand is to invent: the future of education. New York: Grossman Publication. Piaget Essay -- essays research papers Piaget's Theory of Cognitive Development During the 1920s, a biologist named Jean Piaget proposed a theory of cognitive development of children. He caused a new revolution in thinking about how thinking develops. In 1984, Piaget observed that children understand concepts and reason differently at different stages. Piaget stated children's cognitive strategies which are used to solve problems, reflect an interaction BETWEEN THE CHILD'S CURRENT DEVELOPMENTAL STAGE AND experience in the world. Research on cognitive development has provided science educators with constructive information regarding student capacities for meeting science curricular goals. Students which demonstrate concrete operational thinking on Piagetian tasks seem to function only at that level and not at the formal operational level in science. Students which give evidence of formal operational thinking on Piagetian tasks often function at the concrete operational level in science, thus leading researchers to conclude that the majority of adolescents function at the concrete operational level on their understanding of science subject matter. In a study by the National Foundation of subjects in Piaget's Balance Task were rated as being operational with respect to proportional thought development. In addition, seventy-one percent of subjects did not achieve complete understanding of the material studied in a laboratory unit related to chemical solubility. The unit delt with primary ratios and proportions, and when overall physical science achievement was considered, about forty-three percent of the formal operational studies were not able to give simple examples of the problem that were correctly solved on the paper and pencil exam (Inhelder & Piaget, 1958, p. 104). Piaget was primarily concerned with the developmental factors that characterize the changes in the child's explanations of the world around him or her. Piaget's early research showed three parallel lines of development. First, from an initial adualism or confusion of result of the subject's own activity with objective changes to reality to a differentiation between subject and object. Second, from a phenomenological interpretation of the world to one which is based on objective causality. Third, from a unconscious focusing on one's own point of view to a decentration which allocates the subject a place in the world alongside... ...ater extent than at the present. Science teachers who are chiefly concerned about themselves in relation to their teaching role or about their adequacy as a teacher, will be unable to focus on the intellectual capabilities of their students, in spite of the importance and impact which this has been proven to have on student's learning. Therefore, it can be stated that Piaget's theories of cognitive development have, and will continue to have a great effect on the manner in which teaching is done. References Athey, I., & Rubandeau, D. (1970). Educational implications of piaget's theory. Waltham, Mass.: Ginn-Blaisdell. Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1958). The growth of logical thinking from childhood to adolescence. New York: Basic Books. Inhelder, B., & Piaget, J. (1971). Mental imagery in the child. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Inhelder, B., & Sinclair, H. (1974). Learning and development of cognition. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press. Philips, D. (1976, February). Piagetian perspectives on science teaching. The science teacher. vol. 43, No. 2. Piaget, J. (1973). To understand is to invent: the future of education. New York: Grossman Publication.

The Prisoners Dilemma and the Ability of Firms to Collude :: Business Economics Management Essays

The Prisoners Dilemma and the Ability of Firms to Collude An oligopoly is a market consisting of a few large interdependent firms who are usually always trying to second-guess each other's behaviour. There is a high degree of interdependence between each firm in the industry meaning individual firms must take into account the effects of their actions on their rivals, and the course of action that will follow as a result on behalf of the rival firm which will also have consequences. The market as we will see is also allocatively inefficient as price is above marginal cost. There are barriers to entry and exit in an oligopoly meaning that potential new firms will have huge costs if they try to enter the industry and sometimes firms collude in order to prevent new firms from becoming any threat. For example if a new firm tries to enter the industry the cartel can quite easily reduce its prices in the short run so as to remove the new firm. An example of a heavy barrier to entry for new firms is the cost of National or even International adver tising. As a result of the firms being interdependent, there are various varieties of collusion in oligopolies to try and create some stable space for the firms to operate in. There are three kinds of collusion:  · cartel (contractual)  · covert  · tacit Cartels usually exist where there are agreements between incumbent firms with prices so that they can share what would be monopoly supernormal profits between them, acting as a monopoly. Firms will get together to decide to restrict the output and raise the price, for example OPEC (Organisation for Petroleum Exporting Countries). In the UK legally binding agreements in cartels are against the restrictive practices legislation and are therefore illegal. Some cartels last longer than others do as some cartels may break contracts. Some examples of cartels include Rowntrees, Cadbury's, the concrete industry with three firms (Rugby, Blue Circle and United). An example of covert collusion would be the cement industry, which was found guilty of rigging contracts and was fined eight million pounds. Tacit collusion is forming implicit contracts as if they are colluding; for example the soap powders industry. In this type of market rather than competing using prices, non-price competition occurs. Examples of non-price competition are special offers, advertising and quality of service, all of which are to establish their own brand loyalty and maintain a high concentration ratio of the market.

Importance of Financial Institution Essay

Nature of financial institutions Financial institutions are the organizations which perform the essential functions of channeling funds from those with surplus funds (suppliers of funds) to those with shortages of funds (user of funds). Financial institutions are active in today’s global markets include commercial banks, insurance companies credit unions, finance companies, savings and loan associations, saving banks, pension funds, mutual funds, and similar organization. Their fundamental role in the financial system is to serve both ultimate lenders and borrowers but in a much more complete way than brokers and dealers do. Financial institutions issue securities of their own-often called secondary securities to ultimate lenders and at the same time primary securities from borrowers. The secondary securities issued by financial intermediaries include such familiar financial intermediaries include such familiar financial instruments as checking and savings accounts, life insurance policies, annuities and shares in mutual fund. For the most part, these securities share several common characteristics. They generally carry low risk of default. Financial institutions are accept primary securities from those who need credit and in doing so, take on financial assets that many savers, especially those with limited funds and limited knowledge of the market, would find unacceptable. Money lending in one form or the other has evolved along with the history of the mankind. Even in the ancient times there are references to the moneylenders. Shakespeare also referred to ‘Shylocks’ who made unreasonable demands in case the loans were not repaid in time along with interest. Indian history is also replete with the instances referring to indigenous money lenders, Sahukars and Zamindars involved in the business of money lending by mortgaging the landed property of the borrowers. Towards the beginning of the twentieth century, with the onset of modern industry in the country, the need for government regulated banking system was felt. The British government began to pay attention towards the need for an organised banking sector in the country and Reserve Bank of India was set up to regulate the formal banking sector in the country. But the growth of modern banking remained slow mainly due to lack of surplus capital in the Indian economic system at that point of time. Modern banking institutions came up only in big cities and industrial centres. The rural areas, representing vast majority of Indian society, remained dependent on the indigenous money lenders for their credit needs. Independence of the country heralded a new era in the growth of modern banking. Many new commercial banks came up in various parts of the country. As the modern banking network grew, the government began to realise that the banking sector was catering only to the needs of the well-to-do and the capitalists. The interests of the poorer sections as well as those of the common man were being ignored. The significance of the financial system to economic development is not quite clear-cut. Some researchers such as Hicks (1969) are of the opinion that the financial system plays a crucial role in the mobilization of capital for industrialization. On the other hand, there are those, who hold a contrary view. In the 1980s, several African governments embarked on structural adjustments programs in order to correct the disruptions in their economies. As Geo-Jaja and Mangum (2001) note, structural adjustment programs seldom delivered on their intended objectives. However, the relationship between financial development and economic growth during post-SAP period is examined using the Spearman rank correlation. The expected outcome of the structural adjustment program in Nigeria was marred by policy reversals of government. This is a possible reason for the poor performance of the financial sector of the economy. Therefore, financial development and economic growth have no consistent relationship in post-SAP Nigeria.

Regulatory and Accreditation

Quantitative Research Article Critique Sandra M. Smith NUR/518 February, 26, 2012 Veta Massey Quantitative Research Article Critique Kalisch, B. J. , & Lee, K. (2011). Nurse Staffing Levels and Teamwork: A Cross-Sectional Study of Patient Care Units in Acute Care Hospitals. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(1), 82-88. Introduction The purpose of this study is to explore the current research data and use of the Nurse Teamwork Survey to see if nurse staffing levels predicts teamwork. The importance of teamwork is to achieve a higher level of patient safety, quality of care, job satisfaction, and decrease turnover.A cross-sectional descriptive design was used with a 2,545 nursing staff on 52 units delivering patient care, in four different hospitals among the Mid- West. The relevance of the study is to show that there is an association between quality, safe care, and teamwork which also requires safe staffing (Kalisch & Lee, 2011) The title of the article suggests the main variables an d the population in the study. The abstract concisely and clearly summarize the main problem, method, and results of the study. The problem identified is a lack of understanding between the relationship of workload, teamwork, and level of staffing.Literature review The literature review is up- to -date and focused mostly on primary sources. Dates of the literature review range from 1994- 2009. Only one review studied was over 10 years and six were in the past five years. The review provides a range of comparisons between teamwork and job satisfaction, mortality rate, interpersonal skills, and quality of care. What is known is that a higher level of teamwork in the intensive care units was found to be related to a decrease in mortality rates (Kalisch & Lee, 2011). Also, a decrease in vacancy rates, and staff turnover was associated with higher level of teamwork.Brewer (2006) showed that† improved teamwork found a significant decrease in patient falls. † The literature rev iew provides a solid base for this study. What is unknown is the relationship between workload, staffing levels, and teamwork. Framework The study illustrates a â€Å"conceptual framework which postulates that staffing levels predict teamwork when there is control of the acuity( CMI) of the patients on the units, the size of the hospital and the nurse staffing levels( nurse staffing included RN’s, LPN’s, NA’s, and unit secretaries)† (Kalisch & Lee, 2009, p. 3). There is a conceptual map, which identifies the variables and relationship that is simple and understandable. The framework was based on the outcome of the literature review and the effects that staffing levels had on teamwork. The framework does identify the relationships between teamwork and staffing levels to patient outcomes. â€Å"The framework relates to the body of nursing knowledge in that patient safety and patient perception of care delivered in held in high esteem for nurses† (Kal isch & Lee, 2011, p. 83).The conceptual framework identified the meaning of teamwork by using the Salas, Sims, and Burke (2005) study that identified five important elements of teamwork (trust, team orientation, back up, shared mental model, and team leadership). Using this conceptual framework its basic foundation, the Nursing Teamwork Survey (NTS) was developed and tested to be used for the psychometric elements. This testing resulted in identifying five different elements of the nursing team that was descriptive. The research questions proposed where asfollows: â€Å"By controlling the CMI and size of the hospital, does the level of staffing predict nursing teamwork?By controlling hospital size and CMI, does the level of staffing predict subscales of teamwork (trust, team orientation, back up shared mental model, and team leadership)† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 83)? The aim of the research questions was appropriate to the study on that they identified the relationship betwee n teamwork and staffing levels. Method The study (Kalisch & Lee, 2011) used a descriptive, cross-sectional design and an appropriate sample was used. â€Å"The setting was four hospitals within the Midwest of the United. Sampling characteristics were 60% over the age of 35.The majority of the sample were female (89%) and RN’s (70%), and the majority (74%) had at least 2 years experience† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 83). The sample group was identified and described and sufficient in size and character. The size of the hospitals were between 300 -900 beds. All units were eligible for inclusion. A total of 52 beds was the study sample. The sampling staff made up 2,545 respondents. 1,741 were RN’s, 41 were LPN’s, 502 were NA’s, and 191 were unit secretaries. The sample groups were appropriately identified as pertinent to the study question.The NTS was used in this study and was intended to measure nursing teamwork in the inpatient care setting. The Bartl ett test was used to indicate the correlation matrix that showed it not to be an identity matrix. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin measured the sample adequacy. In this study it was determined to be excellent at (0. 961). Confirmatory factor analysis also showed that the team work model of five factors fit the data well. A comparative fit index model was 0. 884 with a root mean square error of approximation to be 0. 055. The test and retest reliability was good at 0. 92.The consistency of the survey showed to be 0. 94 with co-efficient ranging from 0. 74-0. 85. The results of these tests showed a similarity in responses of staff members on the same unit (Kalisch & Lee, 2011). The NTS used was a questionnaire. It contains 33 questions with a Likert-type scaling system. This survey was generated by the literature review and from focus groups with staff members. The staff members are dependent variables within the study, although the hospital size and CMI of the patients are independent variable s. The survey was given to the staff with a time limit for responding.The response was anonymous. Staffing data was also obtained by each hospitals database. The nurse staffing indicators included hours per patient day (HPPD), RN hours per patient day (RN HPPD), and skill mix (RN’s LPN’s, and NA’s providing direct patient care). The acuity of the patients was also a factor. The study did ensure comparable data among the four sites. This was done by using the raw data that was provided by the participating hospitals. The appropriate statistical methods were used in this study and the research questions were also addressed with the groups surveyed. Data collectionThe study was conducted over a four- week period where data was collected from each facility. The data collection phase included two separate study phases. The first phase was the administration of the survey to the units and the collection of raw staffing data from the hospitals. The NTS was put in an en velope with a letter of explanation about the study. Incentive was given to each participate by the addition of a candy bar. The participation was made known to be voluntary. The subjects were to place the completed survey in a locked box provided on each unit. A pizza incentive was given for units who achieved a 50% return.This incentive was appropriate because the staff had to take time out of their work day to do the study. The second phase, which collected the raw data of HPPD, RN HPPD, CMI, and skill mix were obtained from each unit prior to the NTS being administered (Kalisch & Lee, 2011). The collected data was appropriate to the study questions. Statistical data analysis Data analysis was obtained by the use of the Statistical Package for Social Science version 16. 0. The unit analysis is identified as the patient care unit. The mean score for teamwork level obtained from the NTS was collected and combined to a unit level team score.Statistical analysis was done to address e ach question in the study. Appropriate methods were used to analyze the data obtained. â€Å"Preliminary analysis involved using frequency, descriptive, and correlation methods that associated with the research question. Correlation analysis was effectively used to address the relationships between hospital bed size, staffing levels, and teamwork† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 85). Regression analysis was done to identify the correlation of staffing levels as it compares to the five subscales of teamwork.One analysis identified HPPD as the high level of predictability of teamwork on the unit. The analysis showed that the higher the skill mixes on a floor and higher HPPD, the greater the predictability of teamwork. The findings of the study are adequately summarized by the use of multiple tables. The findings are reported in a manner that would support evidence-base practice. Discussion The major findings of the relationship between staffing levels and teamwork were interpreted and discussed. This study does demonstrate that there is a relationship between HPPD and nursing teamwork.It was also reported that the higher the skill mix the greater level of teamwork. Researcher notes that â€Å"the use of actual nurse staffing data adds substantial credibility and confidence to the previous findings† (Kalisch & Lee, 2011, p. 86). The interpretations of the study appear to uniformly flow with the results. The study does discuss the limitations of the study on that the sample was in only four Mid-Western hospitals. According to Kalisch and Lee (2011, p. 87), â€Å"team work is more difficult to achieve in larger hospitals. † The sample does not provide for generalizability of the findings.The study recommends further direct observation studies to measure actual teamwork. Implications The study does discuss the implications of the findings. The results suggest that ensuring adequate staffing is important but also increasing the efficiency of the deliver y of care by using staff more effectively. Summary Despite some identified limitations such as generalizability, the study findings appear to have validity and show confidence in the truthfulness of the results. The study does contribute to meaningful results and evidence applicable in nursing practice and hospital policies regarding staffing.Further study suggested would be to observe larger inner city hospitals with greater levels of skill mix for longer duration of time. References Brewer, B. B. (2006). Relationships among teams, culture, safety, and cost outcomes. Western Journal of Nursing Research, 28(6), 641-653 Kalisch, B. J. , & Lee, K. (2011). Nurse Staffing Levels and Teamwork: A Cross-Sectional Study of Patient Care Units in Acute Care Hospitals. Journal of Nursing Scholarship, 43(1), 82-88. Salas, E. , Sims, D. E. , & Burke, C. S. (2005). Is there a ‘big five† in teamwork? Small Group Research, 36(5), 555-599.