The Short Run and the Long Run in Economics

The Short Run and the Long Run in Economics In economics, its extremely important to understand the distinction between the short run and the long run. As it turns out, the definition of these terms depends on whether they are being used in a microeconomic or macroeconomic context. There are even different ways of thinking about the microeconomic distinction between the short run and the long run. Production Decisions The long run is defined as the time horizon needed for a producer to have flexibility over all relevant production decisions. Most businesses make decisions not only about how many workers to employ at any given point in time (i.e. the amount of labor)  but also about what scale of an operation (i.e. size of factory, office, etc.) to put together and what production processes to use. Therefore, the long run is defined as the time horizon necessary not only to change the number of workers but also to scale the size of the factory up or down and alter production processes as desired. In contrast, economists often  define the short run as the time horizon over which the scale of an operation is fixed and the only available business decision is the number of workers to employ. (Technically, the short run could also represent a situation where the amount of labor is fixed and the amount of capital is variable, but this is fairly uncommon.)  The logic is that even taking various labor laws as a given, its usually easier to hire and fire workers than it is to significantly change a major production process or move to a new factory or office. (One reason for this likely has to do with long-term leases and such.) As such, the short run and the long run with respect to production decisions can be summarized as follows:   Short run: Quantity of labor is variable but the quantity of capital and production processes are fixed (i.e. taken as a given).Long run: Quantity of labor, the quantity of capital, and production processes are all variable (i.e. changeable). Measuring Costs The long run is sometimes defined as the time horizon over which there are no sunk fixed costs. In general, fixed costs are those that dont change as production quantity changes. In addition, sunk costs are those that cant be recovered after they are paid. A lease on a corporate headquarters, for example, would be a sunk cost if the business has to sign a lease for the office space. Furthermore, it would be a fixed cost because, after the scale of the operation is decided on, its not as though the company will need some incremental additional unit of headquarters for each additional unit of output it produces. Obviously the company would need a larger headquarters if it decided to make a significant expansion, but this scenario refers to the long-run decision of choosing a scale of production. There are no truly fixed costs in the long run since the firm is free to choose the scale of operation that determines the level at which the costs are fixed. In addition, there are no sunk costs in the long run, since the company has the option of not doing business at all and incurring a cost of zero. In summary, the short run and the long run in terms of cost can be summarized as follows:   Short run: Fixed costs are already paid and are unrecoverable (i.e. sunk).Long run: Fixed costs have yet to be decided on and paid, and thus are not truly fixed. The two definitions of the short run and the long run are really just two ways of saying the same thing since a firm doesnt incur any fixed costs until it chooses a quantity of capital (i.e. scale of production) and a production process. Market Entry and Exit Economists differentiate between the short run and the long run with regard to market dynamics as follows: Short run: The number of firms in an industry is fixed (even though firms can shut down and produce a quantity of zero).Long run: The number of firms in an industry is variable since firms can enter and exit the marketplace. Microeconomic Implications The distinction between the short run and the long run has a number of implications for differences in market behavior, which can be summarized as follows: The Short Run: Firms will produce if the market price at least covers variable costs, since fixed costs have already been paid and, as such, dont enter the decision-making process.Firms profits can be positive, negative, or zero. The Long Run: Firms will enter a market if the market price is high enough to result in positive profit.Firms will exit a market if the market price is low enough to result in negative profit.If all firms have the same costs, firm profits will be zero in the long run in a competitive market. (Those firms that have lower costs can maintain positive profit even in the long run.) Macroeconomic Implications In macroeconomics, the short run is generally defined as the time horizon over which the wages and prices of other inputs to production are sticky, or inflexible, and the long run is defined as the period of time over which these input prices have time to adjust. The reasoning is that output prices (i.e. prices of products sold to consumers) are more flexible than input prices (i.e. prices of materials used to make more products) because the latter is more constrained by long-term contracts and social factors and such. In particular, wages are thought to be especially sticky in a downward direction since workers tend to get upset when an employer tries to reduce compensation, even when the economy overall is experiencing a downturn. The distinction between the short run and the long run in macroeconomics is important because many macroeconomic models conclude that the tools of monetary and fiscal policy have real effects on the economy (i.e. affect production and employment) only in the short run and, in the long run, only affect nominal variables such as prices and nominal interest rates and have no effect on real economic quantities.

Sports Ethics and Our Society

Sports Ethics and Our Society Sports ethics is that branch of the philosophy of sport addressing the specific ethical questions that arise during and around sports competitions. With the affirmation of professional sports in the past century as well as the rise of a voluminous entertainment industry related to it, sport ethics has come to be not only a fertile terrain for testing and developing philosophical notions and theories, but also a foremost point of contact between philosophy, civil institutions, and the society at large. Lessons of Respect, Justice, and Integrity Sports are based on the fair enforcement of rules. At a first approximation, this means that every contestant (being an individual player or a team) has the right to see the rules of the game applied in equal measure to each and every contestant while having the duty to try and respect the rules as best as possible. The educational importance of this aspect, not just for children and young adults but for everyone, can be hardly overstated. Sport is a critical tool to teach justice, the respect of rules for the benefit of a group (the contestants as well as the spectators), and honesty.And yet, as it happens outside a competition, one may wonder if - at times - players are justified in seeking an unequal treatment. For instance, when breaking the rule will offset some mistaken call that the referee has made earlier the game, or will partially make up for some economic, social, or political inequities that stand in between the contesting teams, it seems that a player may have some ju stifiable motives for breaking the rule. Isn’t it simply fair that a team who has had a valid touch down not counted in will be given some minor advantages over the next attack or defense situation?This is, of course, a delicate matter, which challenges our ideas circa justice, respect and honesty in a way that mirrors the key issues humans face in other spheres of living. Enhancement Another major area of confrontation regards human enhancement and, most notably, cases of doping. Considering how invasive the application of drugs and medical techniques is to the contemporary professional sport, it has become increasingly difficult to set an intelligent boundary between those performance enhancers that shall be tolerated and those that shall not be tolerated. Every professional athlete competing for a well-off team receives medical aids to enhance his or her performances in amounts that range from thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands and, perhaps, millions. On one hand, this has contributed to spectacular results, which much add to the entertainment side of sport; on the other, however, wouldn’t it be simply more respectful for the athletes’ health and safety to set the bar for tolerance of enhancers as low as possible? In what ways enhancers have affected the relationship between body and soul among athletes? Money, Just Compensation  and the Good Life The increasingly high salaries of certain athletes and the disparity between the pay of the most visible ones as opposed to the pay of the least visible ones have also offered the opportunity to rethink the issue of just compensation that much attention had received in eighteen hundred philosophy, with authors such as Karl Marx. For instance, what is the just compensation for an NBA player? Should NBA salaries be capped? Should student athletes be granted a salary, in consideration of the business volume generated by NCAA competitions?The entertainment industry associated with sports also offers us, on a daily basis, the opportunity to ponder to what extent income can contribute to leading a good life, one of the central themes of ancient Greek philosophy. Some athletes are sex symbols too, generously rewarded for offering their body image (and sometimes their private lives) to the public attention. Is that really the life of a dream? Why or why not? Further Online Reading IAPS’s website, the International Association for the Philosophy of Sport, with links also to its official publication outlet, the Journal of the Philosophy of Sport.A resource guide to the Philosophy of Sport prepared by Dr. Leon Culbertson, Professor Mike McNamee, and Dr. Emily Ryall.A blog devoted to the philosophy of sport, with news and events.Recommended reading: Steven Connor, A Philosophy of Sport, Reaktion Books, 2011.Andrew Holowchack (ed.), Philosophy of Sport: Critical Readings, Crucial Issues, Prentice Hall, 2002.

Salvador Dalis Surrealist Concept of Paranoia Essay

Salvador Dalis Surrealist Concept of Paranoia - Essay Example The essay "Salvador Dali’s Surrealist Concept of Paranoia" concerns the concept of paranoia by Salvador Dali. J.H. Matthews argues that surrealism â€Å"is a higher sense of reality†. It is difficult to discern who are the surrealist and the precise definition of the movement surrealism. Commonly, in literature the description is occasionally appropriated by critics to ‘card-carrying’ affiliates of the movement and sometimes to authors who convey themselves in a manner usually recognized to be surrealistic, such as the application of automatic writing, in-depth immersion to the unconscious, to Freud, to scandalous concurrences; in works of art, a number of artists, regardless of their styles and techniques or intellectual memberships, cannot be attributed as whatever thing but surrealist. Only a scholar would rebuff that Dali was a surrealist since he was expelled from the movement. Indeed, Dali participated in the surrealists program in the early thirties and, in his personal frame of mind, was envoy of the movement’s majority, which he regarded to be detrimental of aged values, revolutionary and unprincipled; he has alleged Andre Breton as the one who truly betrayed the movement with his socialist bearing and metaphysical knowledge. in all respects Dali found it a procedure in sum too submissive for his objective. He then turned into on what he referred to as the technique of critical paranoia, and there is a clause of his bizarre declaration of guilt, entitled ‘The Secret Life of Salvador Dali’.

Historical Transitioning and Growth of the U.S. Health Care System Term Paper

Historical Transitioning and Growth of the U.S. Health Care System - Term Paper Example The programs included the Medicare and Medicaid (Rice et al. 2013). There are also different forms of financing in the sector. The public sources comprise the largest health care expenditure in the country. It constitutes 48% followed by the private third party payers (Rice et al. 2013). In the current state, most of the Americans receive the coverage from the private health insurance (Rice et al. 2013). Employers contribute significantly to the privately insured individuals. Additionally, the number of purchasers in the form of health maintenance organizations (HMOs) rose significantly in the last two decades of 20th century (Rice et al. 2013). However, this has decreased over time due to criticism of the tight control put on patients. Further, the preferred provider organizations (PPOs) have increased their dominance in the sector (Rice et al. 2013). There have also been changes in terms of physical, technological, and human resources over time. The changes have been more common since 1970’s. For example, there has been raise in ambulatory facilities and decrease in institutional setting (Rice et al. 2013). The number of beds in the hospitals has also fallen significantly. On the other hand, there has also been rapid advancement in the medical technologies. Such medical technologies include MRIs and CT scanners (Rice et al. 2013). Moreover, there have been changes in employment rates in the sector. The country has enjoyed increased number of physicians, nurses, and therapist since 1990 (Rice et al. 2013). The increase is an indication of more focus on the primary health care. However, there has been decline in the number of dentists, optometrists and pharmacist in the same period (Rice et al. 2013). The sector has also listed the vulnerable population in the country. The trend has been established for a long period in history. Some of vulnerable populations in the country appear to be the racial and ethnic minorities, low-income

Leadership And Service Improvement Management Essay

Leadership And Service Improvement Management Essay The study of leaders and leadership has led to many competing theories which attempt to distill the essence of great leadership into its component parts, to allow others to acquire some of these attributes, and become more effective leaders. The very earliest theories on leadership tended to assume that leaders were born, and that leadership was not a skill, or set of skills that could be acquired. The overall impression was that Great Men had inherited leadership qualities from their ancestors, which would make them effective leaders when placed in positions of authority (Kirkpatrick and Locke 1991). This is not a very helpful way to look at leadership, and does nothing to assist students of leadership in their efforts to become better leaders themselves. It is not, though a great leap from identifying natural leaders to identifying which parts of their character or personality mark them out from others. This underpins the Trait theories of leadership. Trait theory was studied extensively in the mid part of the 20th Century, and had a wide range of results. Kirkpatrick and Locke (1991) explain that trait theory made no assumptions as to the origins of the traits studied, but simply highlighted the differences between leaders and non-leaders. In 1974, Stodgill published the results of his studies of leadership theory, and identified 22 traits and skills which are present to varying degrees in the individuals studied. This did not show how individuals could become better leaders, but, the identification of leadership as a skill has been vital in the subsequent development of leadership training. He himself ultimately concluded that A person does not become a leader by virtue of the possession of some combination of traits. (Stodgill 1948 cited in Levine 2008) McGregor (2005) looked at leadership behaviours as relating to underlying traits or world views. They examined the ways in which managers and leaders approached a task, and tried to understand the motivating factors. McGregror (1960) felt there were two major theories of human motivation which lay behind the actions of the leaders he studied. His theories were labelled X and Y. Theory X assumes that the average human being inherently dislikes work, and therefore must be coerced to perform at the required level. The motivating factors here are extrinsic. Theory Y assumes that work is a natural part of life, as much as is play or rest, and intrinsic motivation is key. This intrinsic motivation can be viewed as an expression of the Hierarchy of Needs (Maslow 1943) The work of McGregor informed the production of methods to map leadership behaviours. Blake and Mouton (1964) plotted concern for production against concern for people. This produces a helpful framework for mapping behaviours, but it is rather passive in form, and seems mainly useful for reflection or critique, to inform future endeavours. It does not necessarily inform leaders of what behaviour is best suited to the group they are working with at a particular time. Action centred leadership was proposed as a leadership model by Adair (1973). His time in the Army and work as a trainer at the Royal Military Academy at Sandhurst led him to develop a model that considers three domains; Task, Team and Individual. He argues that each domain requires the attention of a leader, but the relative importance of each will vary. The relationship of these domains is represented by a venn diagram: Task needs Team maintenance needs Individual needs This model then details the areas a leader should address in each domain: Task: Practical managerial concerns, for example creating a plan, monitoring performance Team: Facilitating group working by agreeing standards of behaviour, resolving group conflicts etc. Individual: Ensuring individuals are performing as well as possible by supporting through challenges, allocating work according to strengths etc. There is considerable overlap and interaction between each of these domains, and it is argued that attention to each domain is required for a balanced team. The key feature of this model which made such an impact was providing a practical framework which allowed leaders to combine some of the softer skills of leadership with more managerial traits of time management and task focus. Situational / Contingency Theories of Leadership The studies of leadership discussed above have all looked at leaders and leadership behaviour and described them, allowing leaders to analyse their behaviour. The theories above, over time have been developed to include a degree of dynamism, but were initially descriptive exercises. It was the recognition that there was not necessarily on right way of leading that prompted thinking about the possibility of adaptive styles of leadership (Schermerhorn 1997). The study of leadership in different situations and settings, and the observation that the most effective style of leadership changed with respect to situational variables led to situational leadership models. The earliest described was the Contingency Model (Fiedler 1964). This model relies on a self-rated scale to determine a preferred leadership style. Fiedler then studied working conditions, and described them through three variables: Leader-member relations how willing team members trust and will follow a leader Task structure: how well defined a task is, or if it follows a standard procedure Position Power: the extent of the rewards and punishments a leader has available. Through his studies, Fiedler constructed a visual guide to represent his findings about which type of leader was most effective given the situational variables. The model states that leaders with high LPC scores should work with teams where the situation is moderately favourable. The more task focused leaders will be more effective in situations which are either very favourable or unfavourable to the the leader. This model has been studied extensively and has received both criticism (Ashour 1973) support (Strube and Garcia 1981). A major source of controversy in this model is the LPC. One important point to note is that Fiedler felt leaders would find their behaviour difficult to alter, and organisations should therefore pick the correct leader for a given team. This is in contrast to other models which suggest leaders should be adaptable. The Hersey-Blanchard (1969) model of situational leadership looks at a different variable in the team context; the maturity of followers. The underlying assumption is that a leader should adopt a style of leadership which reflects the needs of the team. This is in direct contrast to Fiedlers (1964) assertion that organisations should pick leaders given the favourability of the situation. In this model, a two by two grid which is very similar to the Blake Mouton (1964) Managerial Grid, is used to describe four leadership styles: S1: Telling (low relationship, high task) S2: Selling (high relationship, high task) S3: Participating (high relationship, low task) S4: Delegating (low relationship, low task) There is an accompanying scale which rates the team a leader is concerned with: M1: Low competence, and low commitment M2: Low competence, and high commitment M3: High competence with low/variable commitment M4: High competence and high commitment The M score for maturity of the team members was developed over time, and was later divided to reflect job and psychological maturity (Hersey and Blanchard 1982). Job maturity is the ability or capacity to perform the task in hand. Psychological maturity indicates motivation. The model has received criticism from a theoretical standpoint, and from empirical research. Graeff (1983) claims that the maturity scale is invalid, as it classifies workers who have skill and are unmotivated (M3) as more mature than those who lack skill but are dedicated to a task(M2). He also argues that the additive nature of job and psychological maturity in the model is invalid. He supports this view by suggesting that in tasks where skill requirements are low, motivation has a much greater importance. One study into the model concluded that, because high follower maturity did not obviate the need for supervision, their results lent very little support to the model (Cairns et al 1998). This study though had methodological flaws, a skewed population, and did describe some support for aspect of the SLT model. The practical application of this model relies on the ability of the leader to determine the maturity of their followers, and reflect this in their leadership style. Perhaps the most important aspect of the model is the recognition that leadership styles are not fixed, and leaders can change their approach to suit a given team or individual. In modern healthcare settings, there has been a change in the nature of teams. There is no longer a stable, small, hierarchical team. Instead, teams form and disperse on an almost shift-by-shift basis. To lead effectively in this environment, it is necessary to be adaptable, and be able to support team members to realise their potential. The models described above illustrate that there is no one best way to lead a team. Instead, by appreciating the different situations, individuals and tasks involved, leaders stand a better chance of forming teams which can cope with the varying demands of the modern NHS. Perhaps Goleman (2000, p.4) has argued this most eloquently through his work which revealed that the most effective leaders do not rely on only one leadership style; they use them seamlessly and in different measure depending on the business situation. Service Improvement Methods: The literature describes a large number of service improvement methods which have been applied in some form to healthcare settings. Most service improvement methodologies that have been implemented in healthcare have been adopted from industry, where the driving force is to maximise profits for shareholders. The adoption of industrial techniques for service and quality improvement has often met with a degree of resistance from the medical profession (Moss and Garside 1995) and from the health sector as a whole. This has been attributed to the professional nature of healthcare, which involves large numbers of autonomous, independent practitioners who often place independence of clinical decision making at the heart of their operating values. (Degeling et al 2003) Recently though, there has been a recognition within the medical profession of the need to drive up standards in healthcare, and to focus on overall quality of care, rather than just direct clinical activity. Included in most definitions of quality is efficiency of healthcare delivery. This focus on efficiency is built on the growing recognition that publicly funded healthcare systems need to be accountable for the expenditure they make. (Donabedian 1988) It is in the context of increased demands for efficiency, increasing burden of chronic disease, and ever increasing expectations from the users of the health services that service improvement tools have started to be implemented on a wider scale than ever before. Systematic approaches to service improvement have been in existence for a long time. Taylor published his Principles of Scientific Management in 1911 after many years of employing what are now known as time and motion studies to various industrial processes. His approach was much criticised for giving too much power to managers, and its use was even banned by the American Senate in defence establishments for relying too heavily on command and control leadership (Mullins 2005a). However, his methods produced great improvements in efficiency, and he made an argument about systems which is still valid today: The remedy for this inefficiency lies in systematic management rather than in searching for some unusual or extraordinary man.(Taylor 1911) Total Quality Management This approach to systematic improvement was developed by Deming during his work with Japanese manufacturers in the aftermath of World War II. He was initially concerned with teaching statistical control methods to Japanese manufacturers to improve efficiency. However, he adjusted his teaching to focus on the process, rather than individual performance, and emphasised the need for good management and a collective push for optimisation. He published his recommendations for industry, government and education, which set out his 14 points for management in the seminal work Out of the Crisis (Deming 1986). TQM is more than a technique or set of tools for improvement, and can be described as a way of life for an organisation as a whole, committed to total customer satisfaction through a continuous process of improvement and involvement of people. (Mullins 2005b) TQM has been utilised in healthcare since the early 1990s, and aspects of it are increasingly being employed today. It is often the tools associated with the approach which are used, rather than the wholesale systems change originally described, and this lack of clarity regarding the true nature of what is called TQM has contributed to a lack of clear evidence of benefit. (Øvretveit and Gustafson 2002) Where the whole package of TQM has been implemented, results have been mixed, but there are numerous examples of where certain elements have shown benefit. The most commonly employed techniques derived from TQM are statistical control methods, and the PDSA cycle. Plan Do Study Act (PDSA) Alongside his work on TQM, Deming is credited as being one of the key proponents of the PDSA (or PDCA) cycle. This cycle of learning, implemented as a quality improvement tool had been taught by Shehwart (1939) whilst Deming was working with him. Deming took this knowledge to Japan and it formed part of his work on TQM (Hossain 2008). The cycle reflects Kolbs learning cycle (1973), and is a tool for testing changes, and reacting to the results. It can be seen as either a standalone tool for change, as part of a larger system of change, or as a key part of a philosophy for wide-scale change across an organisation.(Cleghorn and Headrick 1996) The PDSA cycle consists of four parts: Plan: The objective of the test must be defined, and a method of data collection must be incorporated. Do: The planned change to a process is carried out, with concurrent data collection Study: The data is analysed, compared with predicted outcomes, and a summary of learning is produced. Act: The conclusions from the data are utilised, and used to inform the next plan. The underlying rationale for the PDSA cycle lies in systems theory. Systems theory implies that small scale changes within a system can create large results. The PDSA cycle is useful for testing small changes, and reflecting on the effects before either applying them across a whole system, or making further changes (Berwick 1998). When linked together, PDSA cycles can be used to drive up quality. This approach of multiple linked cycles and this approach of multiple linked PDSA cycles is used in the Model for Improvement, the rapid cycle model of change, and the collaborative approach (Langley et al 2009, 1992; Institute for Healthcare Improvement 2003). In contrast with small PDSA schemes within a team or organisation, the collaborative approach uses multiple PDSA cycles within separate organisations, whilst aiming for improvement in a shared area of care: The PDSA model, when used within the model for improvement, or as a chain of cycles within a single team is a clear, simply understood, but powerful tool for implementing change, and improving quality. Its strength lies in its ability to be applied to small scale changes, but achieve significant results. From an organisational point of view, the relatively small amount of resource which is required to test each hypothesis makes this model very attractive. Processes can be studied with little disruption of everyday activity, and if the results are not favourable, learning can continue without significant loss to the organisation. In clinical processes, the PDSA cycle is an excellent tool for testing hypotheses, especially where evidence may be lacking and inaction seems inappropriate, but action without reflection sees un-wise (Berwick 1998) The smaller, more local focus of PDSA cycles, and small resource requirements make this model particularly accessible to staff of all levels, and as the engagement of frontline staff, and in particular doctors has been shown to be a key factor in the success of change in the healthcare setting, this is a major strength. (Greenhalgh et al 2004 and Øvretveit 2005) The incorporation of the PDSA cycle into wider schemes of change management brings additional complexity, and also invites additional problems. There have been varied results in the implementation of the collaborative approach within healthcare as a service improvement tool. Some studies report great success (Monteleoni and Clark 2004; Schonlau et al 2005) while others (Newton et al 2007) found that there were difficulties using the same model. The major difficulties identified were lack of adequate resources, the conceptual difficulties associated with the model, and poor leadership. A recent review concluded that there is currently no evidence about the long term results or cost effectiveness of collaboratives compared with other models. (Øvretveit 2002). Toyota Production System (TPS) / Lean One approach to service improvement which is being applied with growing enthusiasm within the NHS is Lean. Lean thinking and theory emerged from studies of the manufacturing processes at Toyota. The term was first used in the late 1980s and the approach grew in stature after the publication of The Machine that Changed the World (Womack et al 1990). Lean was not originally a single tool or approach, but instead was a philosophy to which all members of an organisation aligned themselves. This whole systems approach is probably now better recognised at the Toyota Production System (Liker 2003). The success of Lean/TPS has led to a proliferation of schemes which fall under the umbrella of Lean thinking but do not necessarily hold to the original principles. The TPS was developed in the 1950s in Japan, and was first published in English in 1977 by Sugimori et al. The system has been studied extensively, but many organisations, despite implementing the principles behind the TPS, have not achieved the efficiencies and quality that Toyota exhibit. (Spear and Bowen 1999). There have been many attempts to reduce the TPS to a method which can be applied in many settings, but as Sutherland and Bennett (2007) state, such a complex process cannot be adequately documented. They suggest that instead, to understand the system, one must learn from mentors, much like a child learns and forms habits from their parents. Liker (2003) sets out 14 principles of the TPS, but for the purposes of this assignment, three will be examined: 1. The thorough elimination of waste (muda) 2. Jidoka or the primacy of quality 3. Kaizen continuous incremental improvement Ohno (1988) identifies 7 wastes (muda) which should be eliminated from any system. These are: Overproduction production of more than is required for immediate use Delay / Waiting any delay between the end of one process, and the start of another. Unnecessary transportation of materials Overprocessing using more energy than required for a given process, or exceeding the agreed specification Excess inventory any raw materials or work in progress in excess of customer requirements. Motion any unnecessary movement of workers, eg. reaching / stretching. Defects any process or work that results in unacceptable goods These wastes have immediate equivalents in most healthcare settings, and underpin a lot of the efforts in healthcare which are labelled as Lean. From these definitions many techniques for identifying waste have been developed. The NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (NHSIII) has developed a series of products known as the Productive Series which use the elimination of waste to improve healthcare. The tools used in the productive series are often taken directly from industry (NHSIII 2007), and include some elements which date back as far as the Scientific Methods described by Taylor (1911). Jidoka is defined by Toyota (2010) as automation with a human touch. When applied to a manufacturing context, this emerges as the principle that a process should continue unless a defect is noted. Once that defect has been detected, work should stop until the problem is solved. This principle ensures in manufacturing that if a machine or worker detects a problem, or a process issue, the line is stopped, a solution introduced and, vitally, incorporated into the standard workflow. In this way, the defect should not arise again. The early detection of defects on a production line, and the empowerment of workers to raise the alarm if defects occur also reduces waste. It is unfortunate that, although many principles of the TPS/Lean system are implemented in healthcare, it is often this concern for detecting problems and creating solutions which are incorporated into standard work which fails to be introduced. One reason cited for this area failing to be implemented is that clinical care c annot stop, in in this respect, clinicians feel methods for producing widgets cannot be applied to the art of healing (Wilson et al 2001). There are examples of where this concept has been introduced, into the healthcare environment, with clear evidence of improvements (Ballà © and Rà ©gnier 2007), but a recent paper argues that more could be done (Grout and Toussaint 2010) Kaizen is the culture of continuous, incremental improvements to a system (Imai 1986). This cultural philosophy of scientific experimentation, conducted at the lowest possible level in the organisation, is held up by Spear and Bowen (1999) as one of the key elements of the success of the TPS, and as a key stumbling block for others who seem unable to replicate Toyotas success. This philosophy, combined with other unwritten rules combine to create a community of scientists, who engage in experimentation to solve problems. These problems are often on a small scale, and the process closely follows the PDSA cycle. When this principle of widespread, incremental change is adopted across an organisation, with recognition of the value of tacit knowledge, it is possible for a learning organisation to emerge (Howells 1996). In conclusion, there are many approaches to leadership and service improvement which are being used in the healthcare setting today. Use of an adaptive model, which allows a leader to change management style depending on the team they are leading, and the task in hand, is most appropriate for leaders of modern medical teams, in a large part due to the very flexible nature of the teams involved. The application of industrial quality improvement techniques to healthcare has great potential, and successful trials have been conducted. However, a common feature discussed in analyses of obstacles to implementation is the engagement of medical professionals. Through the use of effective leadership, and engagement of these key stakeholders, it is possible to lay the foundations for a learning organisation. A learning culture which is open to the possibilities of change through quality improvement strategies will ultimately be the most fertile environment in which to implement change for a be tter quality of care.

Theme of “Young Goodman Brown”

Theme of â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† was written by Nathaniel Hawthorn, one of the most talented American novelists and storytellers of the Romantic Age. He was affected deeply by Puritanism and Mysticism so that he formed a suspicious attitude towards the world, just like in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown†. This story is really short but the content of the story is meaningful. Hawthorn has an allegory technique in fiction writing and shows a strong tendency toward symbolism. He uses the profound symbolism and delicate descriptions of the characters’ minds to convey the distinguished thematic meanings.The main idea throughout Hawthorn’s works is digging out the â€Å"evil† hidden in human soul. As a result, the most prominent theme of this short story is that evil is the nature of mankind: â€Å"We see a man who began to doubt, with some reason, the goodness of his own family, which led him to doubt the goodness of all m en, until he concluded that, â€Å"Evil is the nature of mankind,† words uttered by the devil, who represents the dark side of Brown’s nature† (Thomas 336). Hawthorn describes the characters and plots to represent other things and symbolically express a deeper moral meaning.His words are so exquisite that every character, setting and plot results in crisp and sharp theme. The plot of the forest journey is the most important part to confirm the theme. This is not a journey, but it is the experience of searching and exploring the evil of human nature. Brown is a young, pure, and good person. After he marries Faith, he is tempted to join a devil’s party, and promises to his wife he will be back home in the early morning. Faith tries to persuade him to stay, but he refuses. Brown looks at Faith’s pink ribbon hat before he leaves.After Brown enters the forest for a while, he is struggling and wanting back home. The reason is he does not want to hurt his wife—Faith. However, he hears Faith’s voice and sees the pink ribbon hat. He is soon at the destination, he was astonished to find that he normally respected person also come to the party. The worst is that Brown fines his wife there also. Hawthorn says that the experience might be a dream, but Brown feels agony and is suspicious of everyone around him, including his wife. Obviously, no matter if the journey is real, the psychological impact to Brown is affirmative.Xianzhun Zhu thinks his experience leads him to realize that evil is indeed very widespread and existent in his world. The forest journey seems to be not a real forest journey, but only an inward journey into the black, despairing depths of Brown’s soul. With the description of forest journey strengthens the theme of the story that â€Å"Evil is the nature of mankind† (Zhu 60). These settings, including the time, place and environment factors in â€Å"Young Goodman Brown,† play a signifi cant role in expressing the theme. First, the story happens at night and Brown backs to Salem village the next morning.Brown sees the sin of human at night and feels desperate. On the contrary, nothing is changed after he backing to village next morning. The time of night and morning form a contrast, embodying the sin and good respectively. Also, there are many description of scene in the story especially for the dark of the night. However, these descriptions highlight the darkness and mysterious, such as â€Å"dark night,† â€Å"big black snake,† â€Å"black pine,† â€Å"great wall of dense dark† and â€Å"dark human figure. † They also gave a dark atmosphere of Brown’s future life and tragic ending. In addition, the story happened in a forest. The forest may equate with temptation and sin. Clearly Brown is uneasy about venturing upon this temptation. But as any sinner might think, he seems to say, â€Å"just this once, and then† So the forest itself is a complex symbol in which nature, sin, and danger are ambiguously and richly combined† (Zhu 59). People always associate the mentioning of a dark forest with evil. Setting of forest should the best choice to represent the theme. What is more, â€Å"He had taken a dreary road, darkened by all the gloomiest trees of the forest, which barely stood aside to let the narrow path creep through, and closed immediately behind. Obviously, the dark and dreary road, narrow path and closed the way behind means Brown is surrounded by evils and he cannot return any more. One of the features in †Young Goodman Brown† is that every character has symbolic meaning. This is an important foundation to express the theme. Goodman Brown, Faith and fellow-traveller are three main heroes in the story. The symbolic meaning of Goodman Brown and Faith is kind of the satire of human nature. The name â€Å"Goodman† is a commonplace honorific for persons, it means Good man Brown is a person who is kindly and good.Hawthorne’s use of â€Å"Young† shows that Brown is vivid and optimistic. Also, his last name, Brown, is also a kind of color. It points just as the young man’s affinities with the gloomy and dark forest where most of the story takes place, the strange world outside the settled village (Zhu 58). Furthermore, Faith as Brown’s wife, represents religious faith and faith in mankind. It is symbolic of Brown’s faith that he gradually loses and he doubts more and more the existence of any goodness in man (Thomas 332).The character of Faith demonstrates the great painful inner struggling and confuses between the good and evil. As a result, Brown losses Faith and his faith at last. On the contract of the meaning of his name, Goodman Brown has a tragic ending. These two settings satire that good is not human nature, but is evil. Finally, Fellow- traveller has symbolic meaning of devil and he tries to persuade Brow n to turn to evil. Brown thinks he is the first person went into the woods on such an errand in his family. However, Hawthorne mentions that he looks like Brown’s father and they are friends.It exposes that Brown’s father and grandfather also has an evil side. Brown’s family is more powerful to make Brown in despair. Overall, the character of fellow-traveller has more powerful demonstration of evil is the nature of mankind. In conclusion, Hawthorne is a writer with an outstanding skill on symbolic technique. His unique style makes his works more special and enhances readability. â€Å"Young Goodman Brown† is a simple story but yet is allegorical and symbolic, too. Hawthorne bases on the theme of morals exploring the evil of human nature.The symbolic meaning in all the characters and symbolism in the time and place the story happens makes a deeper moral theme, that evil is nature of mankind. He also describes the tragedy of human that has negative attitude s to sinful nature. Brown’s negative attitude leads him is gloomy in his whole life. Works Cited Zhu, Xian-chun. â€Å"Allegory And Symbolism In Hawthorne's Young Goodman Brown. † US-China Foreign Language 6. 1 (2008): 58-60. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov. 2011. Walsh Jr. , Thomas F. â€Å"The Bedeviling Of Young Goodman Brown. † Modern Language Quarterly 19. 4 (1958): 331. Academic Search Complete. Web. 9 Nov. 2011

What Does Samples of Definition Essay Mean?

What Does Samples of Definition Essay Mean? The Fundamentals of Samples of Definition Essay Revealed In some instances, however, a person may not figure out how to realize the presence of a house in her or his life, but one will never doubt when admitting to owning a house in the event of having found one. There are many terms we use every single day. In the usa, studies reveal that 20% of students started cheating in the very first grade. Aside from the fact that it may be quite challenging to discover an illustration of definition essay which will be of any use, which in itself is an excellent reason not to use them, you stand the chance of being found out for plagiarism. Using Samples of Definition Essay To begin with, your key to winning essay is a very clear comprehension of what it is that you're likely to handle. Understanding how to begin an essay is even harder as you must find the proper inspiration to write. Writing a satisfactory and readable essay is something that everybody would like to achieve. A definition essay outline will change in length depending on the term one is describing. Define by just what the term doesn't mean. It is critical that you decide on a word that will supply you with plenty to write about, and there are a couple of standard tactics you may utilize to elaborate on the term. Should you do, paraphrase the offered definition to steer clear of difficulties with plagiarism. Where to Find Samples of Definition Essay The topics for definition essays differ and the selection procedure separates the folks who understand how to compose a definition essay from the ones which do not. Similar to any other essay, a definition one has its peculiarities in addition to content requirements that should be met to be successful in the writing. Other forms of essays are wholly discussed in the next section. Narrative essays aren't written in 2nd person point-of-view. Such essay will help to understand many aspects of a ce rtain term and consider them within examples that are easy and actual, like the ones via an everyday life perspective. Since it is such a multifaceted concept that it's not really feasible to provide a universal definition that will completely cover all its aspects. Since you may see, the progression of the term health is a little muddled, and not exactly linear in meaning. A complete case of the delicate character of trust can be located in marriage. In order to be successful and get decent result, writer should select an abstract word. The duration of such writing is about half a page as it is sufficient to provide an extensive explanation. In most instances, you're going to be defining terms your readers will already have a simple comprehension of. In a definition essay, the normal definition is always the very first thing that readers start looking for to find a notion of what the writer is referring to. What Does Samples of Definition Essay Mean? A descriptive essay p resents an individual, place, or thing, in a manner that readers feel like it's in front of their eyes, or they are tasting it, or they can hear this, or they can smell it. The others that are attracted to that specific individual since they feel connected, happy, and comfortable around that individual. 1 person might say a hipster is somebody who follows all the hottest trends, while another might think that it is someone who has his own distinct style. Each person may have a different idea about what the term means. Samples of Definition Essay at a Glance There's an array of essay types, and every one of them are able to assist you in developing your abilities and widening your knowledge. If you're clueless as to the best way to begin an essay or whether you need suggestions regarding topics, our sample essay education can be of some assistance to you. To get the maximum grade for your essay, you need not just to fill it with pertinent info and dependable facts or examples from your own personal life. The most important significance of a concept analytical essay is to offer a more vivid evaluation along with explanation of the ideas that may appear ambiguous. In writing a literature essay, you've got to be clear and concise, and you ought to indicate the facets of the book that you plan to take care of. You could possibly be requested to select MLA, APA, Oxford, Harvard or one of different styles based on the major and subject you're studying. In such a circumstance, your essay will resemble a manual or instruction. Frequently students not only must learn to compose a definition essay but also to pick this issue by themselves. Most Noticeable Samples of Definition Essay The standard of definition paper is dependent upon the topic you opt for. Researching the historical part of a given word will not just offer more inspiration but in addition make your paper more credible. Don't forget that a definition paper is very different from several ot her essays and you must balance objective strategy, professional terms and a personalized approach to prove that you're not just able to collect information but can also allow it to be interesting for the audience. The format of your extended definition essay is dependent on the formatting style you will have to use. The outline of the definition essay will be different based on the intricacy of the topic. A concept essay is a kind of a literary essay piece that's utilized to present an idea or a topic with the sole goal of providing a very clear definition and explanation. If you still doubt whether you're able to deal with this kind of assignment for a definition essay alone, we're content to inform you that there's an exceptional solution! Any introduction provides a quick summary of the analyzed topic. Why Almost Everything You've Learned About Samples of Definition Essay Is Wrong Its principal aim is to define the precise term, and you need to explain it not enjoy a dic tionary. Thus, there's not any reason to include things like a dictionary definition. A typical definition is essentially a dictionary definition of the word. The traditional definition given by the dictionary is important but you need to choose a word they have encountered and have some prior knowledge on. As you probably already know, simply because you've got a definition essay topic and a couple examples doesn't indicate you've got an essay. A definition essay can be hard to write. Usually, it is not complicated to write. Among the various types of essay, there's a definition essay that could appear to be among the most simple assignments. Hopefully, the discussions along with the essay examples presented above have enlightened you so that you are now able to start making your own essay. Possessing good essay examples provides the reader an in-depth and on-the-court idea about what a well structured and coherent essay appears like. Among the things to take into account in essay writing is to understand how to begin an essay. It's the basic, the biggest portion of definition essays. There's, clearly, a limit on the variety of pages even our finest writers can produce with a pressing deadline, but usually, we can satisfy all the clients seeking urgent assistance. You are going to be pleased to hear that we are able to deal with them all. Sure, finding new word definitions isn't all it takes, but it is typically a fine start. The Good, the Bad and Samples of Definition Essay To put it simply, an outline is a succinct review of your work, which highlights its major points. When you wish to explain a notion, you mus t have the most suitable quantity of vocabulary so you can explain your thoughts in great specifics. Rephrase the key sections of the definition and be certain you summed up everything you planned on saying. Another instance is the effect of television in changing the notion of beauty in little places.