Martin Luther King Essay

Martin Luther king Jr was born in January 15th, 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. His parents were martin Luther King Sr and Alberta Williams King. His father was initially called Michael King, but after they traveled to Germany, he changed his name to Martin Luther after a German protestant leader Martin Luther. He got married to Coretta Scott in June 1953 in his hometown Alabama. They got four children. Martin Luther king Jr. became a pastor at an age of 25 in Dexter Avenue Baptist church in Montgomery, Alabama. Since Martin Luther King Jr grew up in Atlanta, he schooled at Booker T. Washington High School. Since he was an outstanding student, he skipped 9th and 12th grade and then proceeded to Morehouse College at an age 15 years. In 1948, the King graduated from Morehouse College with a degree in sociology. He later enrolled in Crozer Theological Seminary in Chester, Pennsylvania where he got his second degree in bachelor of divinity in 1951. He did his doctoral studies at Boston University and graduated in the year 1955 with a doctor philosophy degree (Rosenberg, 1995). Martin Luther king was the driving force behind the civil rights movements of the 1960s. He organized peaceful marches to protest against segregation and racial injustices against the blacks in America. His speech of 1963 â€Å"I have a Dream† which was directed against peace and racial equality stands out to be one of the most powerful speeches in American history (White, 2010). His efforts to fight equality in America led to expression of his view that all black Americans and other disadvantaged groups should receive compensations for the wrongs done to them in the past. He stated further that giving black Americans equality could not bring them to the same level as the whites in terms of economic achievements (Brown, 1996). He clarified that he was not trying to recover the lost wages during slavery, but just proposed a government compensatory scheme of about $ 50 billion for a period of ten years to the disadvantaged groups. The King went further and presented this proposal as an application to the common law and clarified that all disadvantaged groups from all races should benefit (Saul, 2010). Martin Luther king used sermons and speeches to fight for the rights of the disadvantaged groups. Throughout his career as a pastor, he wrote articles and spoke fluently. His efforts to fight for justice are also found in his writings, for example his letter from Birmingham jail which he wrote in 1963. Martin received a Nobel peace prize in 14th October, 1964 for having led non-violent peace protests against racial inequality. He became the youngest recipient of such an award (Rosenberg, 1995). There were laws which were famously known as Jim Crows laws which prohibited black Americans from boarding buses which were meant for the whites. The blacks were also supposed to leave seats to whites whenever the bus was full. In March 1955, there was a case of a school girl who refused to leave her seat to a white man in accordance with Jim Crows Laws. Martin Luther king happened to be in the Birmingham African American committee which was supposed to preside over the case. Martin and his colleagues dropped the case. In December the same year, another black woman was arrested for refusing to give out her seat. These events led to the organization of Montgomery bus boycott of 1955. It was organized by Nixon and led by Martin. The boycott remained for about 385 days and a lot of tension built up which led to bombing of the kings house. The boycott led to the arrest of King when he was campaigning. The arrest resulted in a ruling by the United States district court that ended racial discrimination on all Montgomery public buses (Brown, 1996). In 1957, king and other civil rights activists formed southern Christian leadership conference. The main objective for the formation of the organization was to connect the moral authority and the organizing authority of black churches to carryout non violent protests in the service of civil rights reform. Martin Luther King was the leader of this organization till his death. King widely employed Gandhi’s non violent tactics in his campaigns to correct the civil rights laws which were used in Alabama (Brown, 1996). Martin Luther knew that properly organized non violent protests opposing the system of southern segregation popularly known as Jim Crows laws would result in wide media coverage of the struggle of the black Americans for equality and voting rights. Media coverage on each day deprivation and indignities directed to the southern blacks and violence and harassment from the segregationist to the civil rights activists and marchers resulted into a wind of sympathetic public opinion that made majority of Americans understand that civil rights movement was the contentious issue in American politics in early1960s. Still on his campaign trail, King went to Memphis, Tennessee on March 29th 1968 to support black sanitary public workers who were on strike demanding better wages and equal treatment. On his way to Memphis, his flight was delayed due to bomb threat. On 3rd April 1968, king delivered a speech at the world headquarters of the church of God in Christ. Martin was assassinated at 6:01 pm in April 4th, 1968 while at the balcony of Lorraine motel (Saul, 2010). Conclusion Martin Luther King is fondly remembered by the American people and the world as a whole for having dedicated his entire life to fight for the right of the oppressed. Most of his efforts delivered fruits and black Americans and other disadvantaged groups got rights and liberty. Each year on the third Monday in January, his birthday is celebrated. It is the first national holiday dedicated to a black American. References: Brown, M. (1996). Martin Luther King Jr. Retrieved on February 8, 2010 from: http://www. lib. lsu. edu/hum/mlk/srs216. html Rosenberg, P. (1995). Martin Luther King – A Different Drum Major. Retrieved on February 8, 2010 from: http://www. hartford-hwp. com/archives/45a/002. html Saul, M. (2010). President Obama, other leaders recall Rev. Martin Luther King and his Achievements. Retrieved on February 8, 2010 from: http://www. nydailynews. com/news/national/2010/01/19/2010-01- 19_recalling_king_and_his_deeds. html White, D. (2010). Wise & Prophetic Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. Retrieved on February 8, 2010 from: http://usliberals. about. com/od/patriotactcivilrights/a/MLKWords. htm.

Minorities and Women in Criminal Justice Essay

There are many key issues impacting minorities and women in the criminal justice system . Sexism still exists in the United States. Sexism against women is shown in the media and indicates that sexism still pervades in our society. Another key issue is the overrepresentation and disparities among minorities in the criminal justice system. After the act of September 11, racial profiling and other acts of racial hate crimes suggests that racism occurs. Another key issue that indicates that racial disparities occur in the criminal justice system is the overrepresentation of minorities in the Juvenile Justice system. Sexism against women- Sexism still pervades in our society. A clear example of this is the way Hillary Clinton was treated in the elections. Hillary faced many gender-based abuse by the media and many individuals. â€Å"Multiple studies on women in national security have shown concerns about the progression of women into senior leadership positions (Erbe, 2008).† Some feel women are inferior to men, this is clearly a form of sexism. Statistics from U.S. Bureau of Justice indicates that women are much more likely than men to experience â€Å"nonfatal intimate partner violence†. 30% of female homicide victims are estimated to have been killed by intimate partners in comparison to 5% male homicide victims. In the past, women were not included in higher education. When women were included in higher education , they were encouraged into majors that were less intellectual. Women have been excluded from participating in many professions. Based on a 2009 study conducted by Cornell University on the topic of CEOs, research suggests that while being obese limit’s the career opportunities of both women and men, being a bit overweight harms only female executives and may actually benefit male executives. There’s also a disparity of wages between men and women. Today, women earn 75% of the income of men. Research conducted suggest that mothers are 44% less likely to be hired than women with otherwise identical resumes, experience, and qualifications, and if hired are offered on an average $11,000 a year less than women without children. On the other hand, men without children earn on an average $7,500 less than men with children. Discrimination in juvenile justice system- The Juvenile Justice System was established in the late 1800s. Juvenile did not have much Constitutional rights until recently when the Juvenile Delinquency Prevention and Control Act was established in 1968. The act was created to help juveniles who are in danger of becoming delinquent by providing assistance. The juvenile justice system is separate from the adult criminal court system. African American juveniles are overrepresented in the Juvenile justice system. Statistics show that the criminal justice system discriminates against racial minorities. Racial disparities questions the treatment of juveniles by the police, courts/juvenile justice system . Cases are affected by race in the front end of the system. Black males are more likely to be detained compared to whites. USA Today article indicates that minorities fare worse in traffic stops. Police use more force against Blacks and Hispanics. Report concludes with disturbing disparities as to what happens to minorities after the stop. Recommendations for the criminal justice system include; building accountability in the exercise of discretion by police and prosecutors, and improve the diversity of low enforcement personnel. Other recommendations include; improving the collection of criminal justice data relevant to racial consequences of criminal convictions. Minorities-The USA Patriot Act was passed after September 11, 2006 when the United States was attacked by terrorist. The act was passed on October 26, 2001 by members of the congress. â€Å"The Patriot Act stretches terrorism laws to include domestic terrorism which can cause political organizations to surveillance, wiretapping, harassment, and criminal action (Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot Act) 2001)†. Law enforcement can conduct secret searches at their will. They can have access to medical, financial, mental health and student records with minimal oversight. Many feel that new legislation and enforcement of The Patriot Act takes away our freedom and some feel that this will protect us and possibly prevent another attack. There are many disadvantages of The Patriot Act. Many Arabs and Asian immigrants have been interrogated not for a wrong act but because of religion or ethnic background. New Federal Executive Branch actions have discriminated Arabs and Asians. Thousands of Asian and Arab men have been held in custody for weeks and months, without any charges filed against them. An action such as these by the government is supported by The Patriot Act yet it threatens the First Amendment which is supposed to protect our freedom of religion, speech assembly, and the press. It also threatens the fourth Amendment which is freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. There is a lack of information within the patriot act that shows evidence that this act was a major reason for September 11 terrorist attacks. This act is an invasion of privacy with inadequate security benefits. The government is given the opportunity and power to investigate and search people’s homes without good cause. Inaccurate information collected by the government can be kept on file permanently and viewed by law enforcement officers. This personal and flawed information can be used against the American citizen to create hardship. A file can be created not based on criminal actions or misconduct but based on suspicion. It is evident the Patriot act threatens some of the amendments in the bill of rights and invades our privacy. There are many pros and cons to The Patriot Act. Citizens have to give up some individual rights in results of saving lives. The Act is meant to protect the U.S. society, civil rights and liberty. Liberty has to be sacrificed to obtain security. Community policing can address the fear that an individual citizen experiences after any act â€Å"Instead of de-emphasizing community policing efforts, police departments should realize that community policing may be more important than ever in dealing with terrorism in their communities (Homeland Security)†. Despite the progress and transition that our country has experienced, unfortunately sexism and racial disparities still exist within the criminal justice system. References Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (USA Patriot Act) Act of 2001. Retrieved Aug 14, 2009 from: www.eff.org/censorship.terrorism.militias Despite Democrats Opposition, House Reauthorizes Patriot Act. Retrieved August 14, 2008 from: http://proquest.umi.com. www.Aclu.org http://www.homelandsecurity.org

All Quiet on the Western Front Essay

Paul Baumer’s experiences of the war transforms him into someone of whom some may describes as lacking in expression, immoral, and maybe even a systematic automaton. These traits are often emphasized throughout his duty in World War II and are even furthermore supported through harsh traumatic incidents. But like all young adults, his innocent mind was concealed from the true face of war, and before such time, he was like any other teenage boy. It is evident that he was particularly interested in school and would sometime recollects back to his regular life, such as things â€Å"that [is]at home in the draws of [his] writing table lies the beginning of a play called ‘Saul’ and a bundle of poems† (19). However, once he joined the army, he lose all sight of such pleasure and as the global conflict drags on deeper, his range of expression begins to narrowed into what was only necessary, and his daily routine soon becomes systematic. He changes so much that he ceased to see the light of all things, and his thoughts and actions soon turns into that of immoral kinds. However, even though the darkness of war soon engulfs most of his conscience, there still lies a small light of hope, the light of his genuine human soul. Many cannot realize the terror war brings, and often, the soldiers are the one who are the most affected. The journey endured in combat can draws one’s hopes out and input fear and reinstall the human instincts as one thinks purely of survival. But unlike most, Paul began such journey at a very young age, and was not yet ready to experience the world. He has yet to even see the real world, but quickly jumps into the middle of the world’s largest conflict. The training camp was the first step to the extraction of his personality. After weeks of preparations for the front, Paul and his friend soon realized that â€Å"what matters is not the mind but the boot brush, not intelligence but the system, not freedom but the drill† (22). The boys soon divert back to their ancestor’s state of mind, an era where survival of the whole is the first priority while anything else comes afterwards. Beneath the wall of apathy Paul has built up, there still exists a spark of humanity. Paul can still feel things like grief and over the death of friends like Kat, where Paul is stunned to learn that Kat is dead, â€Å"Do I walk? Have I feet still?† Paul’s emotions, although restricted, are still there. Paul tries to preserve himself and his soul throughout the war in the hopes of making the world a better place. Although he knows that he probably won’t succeed in his goals because he and the rest of his generation are so beat down by the loss and horror of war, â€Å"†¦we will grow older, a few will adapt themselves, some others will merely submit, and most will be bewildered; the years will pass by and we shall fall into ruin† the fact that he still hopes and cares, â€Å"But perhaps all this that I think is mere melancholy and dismay, which will fly away†¦ enough to want to fix the problems that started this war and maybe even prevent others from going through this ever again† shows that even at the worst of times, shows that Paul manages to preserve his humanity (294). In another occasion such as when one of his comrade, Kemmerich, dies, he channeled his thoughts toward the justification of Muller claiming his soon deceased friend’s boots. Although Paul did express some sympathy towards his dying friend, it seems almost artificial as he quickly turned his attention towards a more important matter, at least in his mind, the matter of Kemmerich’s belongings. He begins to speculates about who should claim what and should they really be claiming it. Of course, the rule of survival conjures up in his mind, and he remembered that â€Å"†¦the boots [were] quite inappropriate to Kemmerich’s circumstances, whereas Muller [could] make good use of them† (21). He even went further to justify the claim by stating that, â€Å"we have lost all sense of other considerations, because they are artificial. Only the facts area real and important for us. And good boots are scarce† (21). This presents a concept derived from the war, in which personal thoughts and individualism is limited and physical survival is accentuates. In a indirect way, his last thought depicts the barbarism of war, that way Man steps back in development and his conscience becomes simple; he only view upon on his needs and nothing else. For war is a two sided coin, with one side, the objective is seen as the motive, while on the other side, a sacrifice must be made to achieve the objective. But ignorantly, we ignore the mean and only focus upon the end. We hope that our actions, the vision of our â€Å"better world† will be achieved, and that the world will become more peaceful. But our efforts are in vain, and our hope is nothing more than a child’s dream. War is a cycle, of which will never end. It’s there to resolve problems momentary. It’s there to break us down, and remind us that we are nothing more than savages who seek power and land. What others may see as normal and moral may be view differently by those who is not in their position. Frequently throughout Paul’s journey as a soldier, his actions were often viewed upon as immoral; in that he gave little thoughts to his action, almost to the extent that he could not think of the situation any other way. In a specific incident, one of his younger comrade was badly wounded and would eventually die, so he and Kate agreed upon that â€Å"[they] ought to put him out of his miseryâ €  (72). Many of a third perspective may deem that as inhuman, to shoot some just to shorten their pain. Perhaps in his view, he was helping the poor lad by ending what would be a week or so of hell before he dies. But such thoughts may lead one to wonder if he may even think himself as a being greater than other, one who is has the authority to decide for the life of another. Humans are defined by our extension of complex thinking and our ability to empathize another. But in this case, Paul has yet to know how the pain of being severely injured, and only thought upon his assumptions. If he was in any other position, his first normal reaction may have been to carry that boy to the nearest help. As the war drags him into more the intensified front, he soon comes across â€Å"[young recruits] flock together like sheep instead of scattering, and even wounded are shot down like hares by airmen† (130). He sees some died right in front of him and some who runs out due to claustrophobia. However, in none of these occasions did he mourn for the dead, or even consider emotions such as sadness and sympathy. Perhaps it was due to the fact that he may have encountered numerous of such sight. When Paul sees the young recruits being kill due to lack of experience, he

Rhetorical Analysis of the Cinema I Shall Fight No More Forever Essay

Rhetorical Analysis of the Cinema I Shall Fight No More Forever - Essay Example Chief Joseph fudged and avoided his chasers for 90 days after travelling a very long errand until he eventually laid down his arm to General Nelson Miles following the total slaughter of his tribe from a five-day clash. After a long struggle, Chief Joseph decides to surrender and give a surrender speech. This surrender speech is extremely compelling, in spite of its shortness. With just a few number of words used, Chief Joseph was able to express the complete essence of a loss as likewise conveyed by the many Native peoples moved and dislocated from their abodes. He expresses ethos by the use of his modest reputation as one of the greatest leaders at the time; he epitomizes a man that is esteemed by the Native peoples. Chief Joseph's submission to General Miles signifies that incredible ability of words in demanding to ethos, pathos, and logos, his capability to enclose emotion in a group, and the correct identification of reason and audience. Chief Joseph causes the speech to become more compelling by recognizing all the varying age categories, making the in predicament influence every member of the tribe and making it a subject that menaces Native Americans all over the place. This ethos of the tribe as well as the arrangement and influence of a family likewise plays a significant part in the inclusion of pathos in his surrender speech. The movie appeals to the audience and encourages the youth to keep fighting and declaring the old people dead. Chief Joseph reminds his tribesmen that their interests and values must be protected especially for their native land. Chief Joseph uses these appeals in order to put more strength and power to his speech despite the brevity of time. He also employs descriptions of death of the other leaders to improve the essence of defeat in that these societies have lost the governance that managed every facet of their lives. Similarly, Chief Joseph utilizes the cold and deficiency of important ingredients to improve compassion to his tribe. The immobilizing cold and the dearth of blankets suggest the idea of seclusion and absence of energy and enthusiasm. The film employs various forms of language ranging from angry, sad, and confrontational. The language used is confrontational especially when Chief Joseph calls the youth to keep fighting for their interests. The language used is also sad. The unavoidable sense of defeat and misdirection is a very engulfing sensation that creates a sad language in the speech. The speech acknowledges the long struggle and the chase with people left homeless and with hunger. The sad language is still present in the film especially when Chief Joseph realizes that he has lost most of his tribesmen in the battle. The dialogue between the speaker and the audience is both logic and real. It appeals to the target audience and the feedback indicates that the message is reaching the intended audience. For example, Chief Joseph admits that he is tired and his heart is sick. Considerin g the shortness of the speech at 157 words in total, it definitely suggests the fact that he was already weary and exhausted. The phrase indicates the dialogue between the speaker and the audience. The narrator of the film is not biased in any form. The narrator presents both sides of the story and creating a balance that appeals to audience. The narrator appeals to the audience by creating suspense. The narrator has no hidden agenda that is likely to distract the audience and prevent them

Marshallian Demand and Supply Theory Assignment

Marshallian Demand and Supply Theory - Assignment Example Very much similar to the modern supply and demand functions, it shows the choices of the customer in terms of his demand over a range of prices. Moreover, in the case of supply, it would show the quantity supplied, for a range of prices. Quite understandably, over demand would increase as the prices keep on increasing since these share a negative relation with each other. However, supply, on the other hand, would have a positive relationship with the price; therefore, the supply curve would be an upward or positively sloped curve (Taylor & Weerapana, pp. 126-128, 2007). Moreover, there are two very important assumptions for the Marshallian model as well. Firstly, that the supply and demand, is in no way, interdependent but act freely. Secondly, that supply is limited and finite, and the basic principle of economics must hold true that there are scare resources (Henderson, pp. 124-128, 2009). In addition, this model perfectly solves the utility maximization problem as well. Since consumers get a range of choices, sets of prices and the quantity supplied and demanded on them, they can choose the set, which satisfies them the most (Pindyck & Rubinfeld, pp. 148-149, 2001). Unlike, the Hicksian model, Marshallian model of supply and demand also accommodates the income and substitution effects. In the study of microeconomics, the Hickson model is referred to as the compensated demand function since its idea rests on fixed utility. However, the Marshallian model of supply and demand has received the name of uncompensated demand function, since, as mentione d earlier, that it offers the option of utility maximization (Rittenberg, pp. 469-478, 2008). Quite clearly, the laws of demand and supply are helpful in predicting the direction of changes in price and quantity, whether it would increase or decrease, in response to various shifts in demand and supply.  

Crime in the Suites Effects of Power and Privilege Essay

Crime in the Suites Effects of Power and Privilege - Essay Example In spite of the larger cost to lives and property, there appears to be a tendency for many law enforcers and many parts of the society to disregard or lightly deal with crimes committed by individuals with power, influence and high standing on society. The definition of elite crime has changed and expanded over the years such that the focus has been transferred from social class to occupation. There are now two recognized classes of elite crime: "corporate crime" and "occupational crime". The former refers to the offenses committed by the management or any employees that aimed to benefit or protect the corporation. Occupational crime refers to acts committed by an individual who made use of his employment for extra gains. This includes embezzlement of funds, leaking trade secrets and procurement fraud. To be more precise, elite crimes are offenses requiring the offender to be (1) a corporate entity or a representative thereof and/or (2) performing a particular position at the time the offense was committed. With this classification and definition, offenses are categorized as white collar crime regardless of all social classes so long as it has the characteristics provided above. Elite criminals are considered to behave more rationally than street offenders as the later routinely operates in hedonistic contexts while the former work in settings that promote prudent decision making and exercising greater care and caution. Elite crimes also differ from street crimes in conduct as it uses deceit, guile and/or misrepresentation to exploit for illicit advantage or create the appearance of a legitimate transaction. Previous studies in criminology focused in explaining why people commit crime and why some are more likely to commit an offense. With Sutherland's exposition of 'elite crime', a paradigm shift has occurred where the focus now lies in a sociopolitical analysis of crime. One such paradigm is the conflict theory which contends that legal content is primarily determined by those possessing great power and influence derived from membership to powerful groups of race, gender, social class and resources. The theory sees the law not as an objective, agreed-upon list of deviant and socially damaging behaviors but a doctrine tailored to serve the interests of the powerful. Privileged individuals can also impact the way the criminal justice system operates such that it targets only those who lack power and ignores the crime of those who have. Conflict theorists consider the criminal justice system to be consciously and intentionally biased. Essentially, society is in conflict due to innate diff erences and those who have the power to prevail determine what is right and wrong or in this case, whether an act is a crime or not. Following the conflict theory, we can see the reasons why white collar crime has not been given proper attention in spite of the statistics showing that it has more deleterious effects on society as compared to those 'blue collar' crime. White collar crime, especially the corporate type, involves people with great resources and connections that provide them the power to influence politicians, legislators, police and even the judiciary in the definition of what is legal and what is criminal. Several corporations and even private entities have already been exposed to providing financial support, especially in the elections, in exchange of political and

Research Methods - past exam paper Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Research Methods - past exam paper - Assignment Example He explained that variance process explains the relationship between the dependant and independent variables leading to an outcome while the process theory explains the patterns of events that led to the outcome of an event. Selection bias is the process of selecting group of objects or individuals in a manner so that the selected sample does not represent a particular segment of population. In such a case, the estimated sample would be biased in nature due to random approach of selecting the sample size. Selection bias is likely to occur more commonly as a result of the random sampling method. The given summary statistics could be used to interpret and compare the average scores of the class in the two tests and also comment on the dispersion of the scores from their average scores, the comparison among the highest and lowest scores in those two tests. The mean values suggest that average score for Test2 is more than Test1. The standard deviation shows that more number of students has variation from average score in Test1 as compared to that in Test2. The median suggests that the mid-point score for all students arranged in ascending order for both the tests is same. The 1st quartile shows that the lowest score for the two tests are different while the 3rd quartile shows that highest score is same for both the tests. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) is a statistical method that could be used to test the relative dispersion among the variables captured by the researcher. As the measurement units are different, the data set may not follow normal distribution. For this reason, ANOVA method would be useful for testing the relative dispersion among variables. Sample distribution is the statistical distribution of a random variable selected from a sample size in a random manner out of the entire population. It is said to be normally distributed when the mean, median, mode are all equal and the

Critique Of The Last Health Assessment Paper Essay

Critique Of The Last Health Assessment Paper - Essay Example Miss Susan is a 40 years old woman. She is suffering from high blood pressure and is seeking a proper health and diet plan to recover from this medical problem. Last week, she went to see a doctor for health assessment. The doctor/health service provider welcomed her and asked her to tell him every thing about her lifestyle and diet. He wanted to know the type of diet that she takes, as well as the information about her lifestyle. Medical science links both mental state and lifestyle of a person with high/low blood pressure. This can be the reason why the health provider asked Susan about her lifestyle. As Reddin (2012) states, â€Å"stress reduction techniques can help lower high blood pressure† (p. 1). The provider told her some stress reduction techniques to help her control her blood pressure. Diet is also an important factor in determining the cause of high blood factor. Susan told the provider about the diet that she usually takes in breakfast, lunch, and dinner. However , the provider did not ask Susan to tell him whether she does physical exercises or not. After getting the details of Susan’s diet and lifestyle, the provider prescribed her some medicines to her which she had to use within the period of two months. The provider asked her to visit the clinic again after two months for her checkup. As far as the side effects of the medicines are concerned, the provider did not tell her about any of the side effects. He told her to take the medicines regularly. He also prescribed a particular diet to Susan which she had to take before and after the intake of medicines. As far as agreement on the plan of acre is concerned, there was an agreement to some extent as the provider asked Susan to take a particular diet during the period of medication. The provider made her clear that her treatment can be affected if she will not follow the prescribed plan of diet and medication. The provided also told her that if she wants to control her blood pressure, she will have to keep herself cool and calm. The overall environment of the clinic was welcoming and clean. Susan felt very comfortable all the time she spent in the clinic. There was a lady who was welcoming every patient at the entrance of the clinic. There was a very light music being played in the waiting area that was creating a healing environment in the clinic. All of that was done to provide a relaxed and peaceful environment to patients. Today, many hospitals and clinics are focusing on creating therapeutic environment to promote healing and reduce stress (Zborowsky & Kreitzer, 2008). The provider was very good at listening to the concerns of patients. Susan liked the way he communicated with her. For example, he listened to Susan properly before prescribing her the required plan of treatment. Susan asked various questions to him about the causes of high blood pressure, as well as about the ways to keep the blood pressure normal and the provider responded to every question in a friendly manner. The provider asked Susan to wear a patient gown. The physical as sessment was not very appropriate as the provider was a male doctor and he was asking Susan to open the buttons of her shirt to let him hear the sounds of her lungs properly. It was not an appropriate action as there should be some physical distance between a male healthcare provider and a female patient. The provider could have hired a female assistant to check female patients. However, as

Synopsis on the Broadway Musical Wicked Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Synopsis on the Broadway Musical Wicked - Essay Example She tells Elphaba that she may meet the Wizard of OZ, a great honor. Elphaba insists that Madame Morrible include Galinda in the Sorcery classes. This act touches Galinda and she declares Elphaba her best friend. Galinda falls in love with Fiyero, a handsome prince. Fiyero, however, encounters Elphaba and falls in love with her instead. Elphaba involves herself in fighting for the rights of animals in OZ. She eventually meets the Wizard of OZ and realizes he is behind the oppression of the animals. Madame Morrible, who works for the wizard, pronounces Elphaba wicked when she refuses to join forces with the Wizard. Elphaba flies to the West as a manhunt is launched for her. Years later, Elphaba returns to OZ. She laments that everyone she ever cared about is dead because of her. Galinda, now Glinda the Good, tries to save Elphaba from the mob, but Elphaba resists. She asks Glinda to tell the true story of her life, as she is doomed to be seen as evil by society. Dorothy bursts in and melts Elphaba with water. In the Emerald City, the wizard realizes he is Elphaba’s father when Glinda gives him Elphaba’s bottle, which is similar to his. It is revealed that the floor where Elphaba melted was a trapdoor beneath which she hid. Elphaba and Fiyero escape from OZ and live happily ever

A7 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

A7 - Assignment Example When talking about permanent employment, public employers have a responsibility to provide the employees with a secure and predictable retirement plan. This is because the employer will most likely work with the employee for all his or her working years until he or she retires. In this perspective, the employer has the chance to plan with the employee for his or her retirement based on the position that the employee holds in the organization (Walsh, 2006). Even where the employee may leave the place of work for another place or be fired because of misconduct, the employer still has a responsibility to provide a secure plan so that the employee knows this beforehand. The plan can be cancelled when the employee leaves ahead of time. Public employers do not have a responsibility to provide employees with a secure and predictable retirement plan where the employee works for a short-term contract or where the organization offers employment only on short-term contract plans. In this perspective, it will be difficult to provide such a plan because the employee will not stay with the company until they retire. As much as the public employer might have the responsibility to provide employees with a secure and predictable retirement plan, employees must also plan for themselves because the organization might close down any time within the employment period because of money problems or other issues. This would definitely put pressure on the employee in case he or she did not have a proper retirement plan. Comment on first thread: the writer comments on the issue in an excellent manner because he links current practice to past practice. He also links the issue with the current problems making it difficult for retirement plans to work. Comment on thread two: while the second thread is short, the writer offers reasons as to why he feels that public employers should provide their employees with a secure and predictable retirement plan. The

Business Math - advantages and disadvantages of higher interest rates Essay

Business Math - advantages and disadvantages of higher interest rates on investments - Essay Example Secondly, increase in interest rate has an effect to bond debt. When interest rate rises, after bonds are issued, bond prices fall. Government can use this strategy to buy back bonds, hence retire debt and free money in their budget to devote to other projects. Interest rate also affects risk aversion. When the interest rate is high, returns from normal savings cushions against riskier investments. The effect of this leads to more investors willing to work with these rates of return. Interest rates also affect equities, rising rate brings about higher borrowing costs, and this consequently impacts on the ability to spend. (Frankel, 2003) On the other hand, a disadvantage is that when interest rates are high, the following disadvantages are experienced. These occur in order to balance out the change. First, its expensive to borrow money, hence less money is available to buy goods. In effect, this will slow the growth rate of an economy. High interest rate can have effect on stock market, since less money is borrowed, the quantity of goods available from traders is less as they cannot afford to make more purchases. Loan borrowing by businesses is also reduced due to the cost incurred in borrowing. High interest rate also has a negative effect on credit cards, companies using credit cards will raise their rates respectively in order to balance with the interest rate changes (Frankel,

Infectious Disease and Health Protection Agency Essay Example for Free

Infectious Disease and Health Protection Agency Essay The guidance is divided into sections as follows: Section 1Introduces infection control and explains notification; Section 2deals with general infection control procedures; Section 3gives guidance on the management of outbreaks; Section 4describes specific infectious diseases; Section 5contact numbers and sources of information; Section 6contains additional detailed information and a table of diseases; Section 7contains risk assessments relevant to infection control; Section 8 research sources, references and useful web sites Further information is available from the Food Safety Adviser at Leicestershire County Council and from the Health Protection Agency – East Midlands South. Contact numbers are listed in Section 5. The aim of this document is to provide simple advice on the actions needed in the majority of situations likely to be encountered in social care settings. It is written in everyday language and presented so that individual subject areas can be easily copied for use as a single sheet. 1. 1 HOW ARE INFECTIONS TRANSMITTED? 1. 2 INFECTION CONTROL GUIDANCE Infection control forms part of our everyday lives, usually in the form of common sense and basic hygiene procedures. Where large numbers of people come in contact with each other, the risk of spreading infection increases. This is particularly so where people are in close contact and share eating and living accommodation. It is important to have guidelines to protect service users, staff and visitors. Adopting these guidelines and standard infection control practices will minimise the spread of infectious diseases to everyone. External Factors If you or someone in your immediate family has a â€Å"Notifiable Disease† such as Measles (see 1. 3) or infection such as Impetigo, diarrhoea, vomiting or Scabies, please inform your line manager before coming to work. If you regularly visit people in hospital please be aware of the potential risk of cross infection to yourself and the person you are visiting. Above all when dealing with service users and their families we must all remember we are dealing with people. There will be personal issues of privacy and sensitivity, which we must handle with tact and discretion at all times. What are Infection Control Practices? Infection control practices are ways that everyone (staff, service users volunteers) can prevent the transmission of infection from one person to another. They are practices which should be routinely adopted, at all times with every individual, on every occasion, regardless of whether or not that person is known to have an infection. 1. 2 INFECTION CONTROL GUIDANCE – cont. include: 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES A number of infectious diseases are statutorily notifiable under The Public Health (Control of Disease) Act 1984 and The Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1988. There are three main reasons for such notification. So that control measures can be taken To monitor preventative programmes For surveillance of infectious diseases in order to monitor levels of infectious diseases and to detect outbreaks so that effective control measures can be taken. All doctors diagnosing or suspecting a case of any of the infectious diseases listed overleaf have a legal duty to report it to the Proper Officer of the Local Authority, who is usually the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control based at the Health Protection Agency. Notification should be made at the time of clinical diagnosis and should not be delayed until laboratory confirmation is received. Infections marked (T) should be notified by telephone to the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control (see Section 5) and confirmed by completion of a written notification form. 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES – cont. Notifiable Diseases Acute encephalitis Paratyphoid(T) Acute poliomyelitisPlague(T) AnthraxRabies(T) Cholera(T)Relapsing Fever(T) Diphtheria(T)Rubella Dysentry(T)Scarlet Fever Food poisoning orSmall Pox suspected food poisoning LeprosyTetanus LeptospirosisTuberculosis MalariaTyphoid fever(T) MeaslesTyphus fever(T) Meningitis * (T)Viral haemorrhagic fever(T) Meningococcal septicaemia(T)Viral hepatitis ** (without meningitis) MumpsWhooping cough Opthalmia neonatorumYellow fever * meningococcal, pneumococcal, haemophilus influenzae, viral, other specified, unspecified ** Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B Hepatitis C, other (T)Please notify the Consultant in Communicable Disease Control or person on call for the Health Protection Agency by telephone. Other specific diseases are designated by the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations 1995 as â€Å"Reportable Occupational Diseases† e. g. Legionellosis. Please contact the Health Safety Team for further information (see section 5 for details). 1. 3 NOTIFICATION OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES – cont. Notification of suspected outbreaks An outbreak is defined as two or more cases of a condition related in time and location with suspicion of transmission. Prompt investigation of an outbreak and introduction of control measures depends upon early communication. Suspicion of any association between cases should prompt contact with the Health Protection Agency. 1. 4 IMMUNISATION COSHH requires that if a risk assessment shows there to be a risk of exposure to biological agents for which vaccines exist, then these should be offered if the employee is not already immune. In practice, with Social Care Services, this generally amounts to care staff within the Mental Health and Learning Disabilities Services being offered Hepatitis B vaccination. Care home managers, after assessing risks, may also offer ‘flu vaccination to staff and individual cases may indicate the need for immunisation in certain circumstances. The pros and cons of immunisation/non-immunisation should be explained when making the offer of immunisation. The Health Safety at Work Act 1974 requires that employees are not charged for protective measures such as immunisation. A few GPs will make vaccinations available free to Social Care workers but they are not obliged to do so and can charge at their discretion. Departmental funding for the provision of vaccine, through Occupational Health, is restricted and so it is vital that only those to whom it is essential to provide immunisation are offered this service. The majority of staff will have received immunisation from childhood and have received the appropriate booster doses e. g. Tetanus, Rubella, Measles and Polio. However, it is important for the immunisation state of staff to be checked e. g. women of childbearing age should be protected against Rubella. Good practice and common sense should indicate that the immunisation state of staff is checked and appropriate action taken. If there is a potential risk of infection, change of work rotas or areas of responsibility can sometimes avoid the risk of contamination. Vaccination is not always the only course of action and in some cases staff may not agree to be vaccinated. 1. 4. 1 IMMUNISATION SCHEDULE Vaccine Age Notes D/T/P and Hib Polio 1st dose at 2 months 2nd dose at 3 months 3rd dose at 4 months Primary Course Measles / Mumps / Rubella (MMR) 12 – 15 months Can be given at any age over 12 months Booster DT and Polio, MMR second dose 3 – 5 years Three years after completion of primary course BCG 10 – 14 years or infancy Only offered to certain high risk groups after an initial risk assessment Booster Tetanus, Diphtheria and Polio 13 – 18 years Children should therefore have received the following vaccines: By 6 months:3 doses of DTP, Hib and Polio By 15 months:Measles / Mumps / Rubella By school entry:4th DT and Polio; second dose of Measles / Mumps / Rubella Between 10 14 years:BCG (certain high risk groups only) Before leaving school:5th Polio and Tetanus Diphtheria (Td) Adults should receive the following vaccines: Women sero-negative Rubella For Rubella: Previously un-immunisedPolio, Tetanus, Diphtheria Individuals: Individuals in high Hepatitis B, Hepatitis A, Influenza risk groups:Pneumonococcal vaccine 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK The following table gives advice on the minimum period of exclusions from work for staff members suffering from infectious disease (cases) or in contact with a case of infection in their own homes (home contacts). Advice on work exclusions can be sought from CCDC (Consultant in Communicable Disease Control) / HPN (Health Protection Nurse) / CICN (Community Infection Control Nurse) / EHO (Environmental Health Officer) or GP (General Practitioner) Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of Infectivity Case Home contact Chickenpox Infectious for 1-2 days before the onset of symptoms and 6 days after rash appears or until lesions are crusted (if longer) 6 days from onset of rash None. Non-immune pregnant women should seek medical advice Conjunctivitis Until 48 hours after treatment Until discharge stops None Erythema infectiosum (slapped cheek syndrome) 4 days before and until 4 days after the onset of the rash Until clinically well None. Pregnant women should seek medical advice Gastroenteritis (including salmonellosis and shigellosis) As long as organism is present in stools, but mainly while diarrhoea lasts Until clinically well and 48 hours without diarrhoea or vomiting. CCDC or EHO may advise a longer period of exclusion CCDC or EHO will advise on local policy Glandular fever When symptomatic Until clinically well None Giardia lamblia While diarrhoea is present Until 48 hours after first normal stool None Hand, foot and mouth disease As long as active ulcers are present 1 week or until open lesions are healed None Hepatitis A The incubation period is 15-50 days, average 28-30 days. Maximum infectivity occurs during the latter half of the incubation period and continues until 7 days after jaundice appears 1 week after onset of jaundice None – immunisation may be advised (through GP) HIV/AIDS For life None None 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK – cont. Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of infectivity Case Home contact Measles Up to 4 days before and until 4 days after the rash appears 4 days from the onset of the rash None Meningitis Varies with organism Until clinical recovery None Mumps Greatest infectivity from 2 days before the onset of symptoms to 4 days after symptoms appear 4 days from the onset of the rash None Rubella (German measles) 1 week before and until 5 days after the onset of the rash 4 days from the onset of the rash None Streptococcal sore throat and Scarlet fever As long as the organism is present in the throat, usually up to 48 hours after antibiotic is started Until clinically improved (usually 48 hours after antibiotic is started) None Shingles Until after the last of the lesions are dry Until all lesions are dry – minimum 6 days from the onset of the rash None Tuberculosis Depends on part infected. Patients with open TB usually become non-infectious after 2 weeks of treatment In the case of open TB, until cleared by TB clinic. No exclusion necessary in other situations Will require medical follow-up Threadworm As long as eggs present on perianal skin None but requires treatment Treatment is necessary Typhoid fever As long as case harbours the organism Seek advice from CCDC Seek advice from CCDC Whooping cough 1 week before and until 3 weeks after onset of cough (or 5 days after the start of antibiotic treatment) Until clinically well, but check with CCDC None 1. 5 EXCLUSION FROM WORK – cont. SKIN CONDITIONS Minimum exclusion period Disease Period of infectivity Case Home contact Impetigo As long as purulent lesions are present Until skin has healed or 48 hours after treatment started None. Avoid sharing towels Head lice As long as lice or live eggs are present Exclude until treated Exclude until treated Ringworm 1. Tinea capitis (head) 2. Tinea corporis (body) 3. Tinea pedis (athlete’s foot) As long as active lesions are present As long as active lesions are present As long as active lesions are present Exclusion not always necessary until an epidemic is suspected None None None None None Scabies Until mites and eggs have been destroyed Until day after treatment is given None (GP should treat family) Verrucae (plantar warts) As long as wart is present None (warts should be covered with waterproof dressing for swimming and barefoot activities) None

Importance of Documentation Care in Nursing

Importance of Documentation Care in Nursing This scenario presents a number of problems to the staff nurse. In relation to the sphere of practice, as a D Grade Staff Nurse I have a senior nurse present on the ward, who will be in charge during the shift. This provides me with a source of support and experiential knowledge, and also someone with whom to liaise over any issues which arise. However, as a Registered Nurse I am responsible for my own practice, accountable for all aspects of nursing practice and therefore must act on everything pertaining to practice that should arise. In an ideal situation, the E Grade will act on any information or concerns I bring to her. If she does not, then it is my responsibility to act on these concerns myself. The NMC Code of Conduct (NMC, 2004) requires that all qualified nurses act in the best interests of their patients at all times. The NMC code of conduct also states that all nurses are accountable for their own practice, and must account for their own acts or omissions (NMC, 2004). The focus of this analysis of the scenario is on documentation and the nurse. The nursing literature suggests that the completion of nursing documentation has been one of the most important functions of nurses, even from the beginning of the profesion in the time in the time of Florence Nightingale (Cheevakasemsook et al, 2006). Documentation of nursing care is an important source of reference and communication between nurses and other health care providers (Martin et al, 1999). Documentation is a fundamental component of nursing activities such as assessment and care planning, according to the various models which have been designed for these functions (Nazarko, 2007). The importance of proper documentation may also be because it serves multiple and diverse purposes for nurses, for patients, and for the health profession, because current health-care systems require that documentation ensures continuity of care, furnishes legal evidence of the process of care and promotes and facilit ates the evaluation of the quality of patient care delivery (Cheevakasemsook et al, 2006). In this instance, following handover, the first source of information to be checked will be the nursing records and care plans of each patient, as part of an individualised approach to care. The nursing records for Mrs Smith, for example, should provide the medical history and social history which will allow me to provide holistic nursing care. However, one of the problems with nursing documentation, as found in some empirical nursing studies, is that the complexity of nursing documentation does not always allow it to serve its many functions (Cheevakasemsook et al, 2006). However, the medical record is a legal document that tells the story of the patient’s encounter with the nurse and other professional caregivers, and as such should provide a complete and accurate account of his condition and the care he received (Austin, 2006). Whatever the difficulties of the documentation processes concerned here, the documentation should have been complete and correct. Documentation issues here include the improper recording of the administration of intravenious antibiotics. Given the strong nature of this medication, their specific nature and mode of action which can be tailored to the individual disease following culture and sensitivity tests, and the need to ensure they are given at the correct intervals, particularly as some such drugs can become toxic in larger doses, the proper recording of their administration is a vital part of the administration process. Bjorvell et al (2003) in a study of 377 nurses in Sweden found that nurses believed documentation to be fundamental to nursing practice, in particular, in promoting and ensuring patient safety. Protocols for the administration of intravenous medications exist, which, if followed, should promote safety. For all medications that nurses give to patients, they must know indications, contraindications, dosage parameters and adverse reactions (Austin, 2006). Nurses must always ensure that the ordered medication is appropriate for the patient, and that the prescription is clear and legible (Austin, 2006). And once a nurse has administered a drug, they must monitor the patient for signs and symptoms of drug toxicity or other adverse reactions, and these monitoring activities must be fully documented, including any actions taken on notable findings and the patient’s response to these interventions (Austin, 2006). This creates a record which demonstrates that the nurse met the prescribed standards of patient care when administering medication (Austin, 2006). Two qualified staff should have checked the drug dosage, route and timing, and the prescription against the patient identfication band, and then recorded the adminstration of the antibiotics on the chart and in the patient records . Incomplete records in this instance could be suggestive of improper procedures in the adminstration of this medication, a serious issue which could lead to legal action and professional sanction, even dismissal and loss of registration (Austin, 2006). Similarly, the issue of the blood transfusion error should be highlighted, because again patient safety is the fundamental point of nursing care. If proper procedures had been followed, this error could not have occurred. Administration of blood and blood products is subject to strict surveillance, and each Trust will have clear guidelines and protocols which govern and support this kind of activity. Checks should have been carried out on collection of the blood – the documentation should have been checked against the blood bag – patient name, number, blood group and type. The blood form, with the number of the blood bag, should have been checked properly. This should have been carried out by two qualified staff. The same checks should have been carried out at the bedside, checked against the patient notes and his identification band. Had the documentation been checked in this way, by two qualified staff, the wrong rhesus factor blood could not have been administered. T his demonstrates how correct documentation supports safe nursing practice and facilitates patient safety as well as recording nursing actions. Not only should the mistake be rectified, the doctor in charge of the patient informed and sumoned to examine the patient, and ongoing observations be carried out to ascertain if there are any side effects from the administration of the blood, but all of this should be clearly documented. Further, it should also be documented how this mistake occurred, through an examination of the documentation pertaining to the error and the actions of those who administered the blood. All medically releveant facts realted toan incident should be recorded in the medical records, according to the Trust and ward policies and protocols (Austin, 2006). A critical incident reporting from should also be completed, according to Trust policy, in order to ensure that risk management are informed and actions can be taken to prevent such occurrences in the future. Thus, such a form should also be completed for the percieved drug error. The NMC code of conduct states that nurses should act to identify and mini mise risk to the patient or client (NMC, 2004), and this applies to the action taken in the current situation and the potential protection of all clients in the future, in the avoidance of future errors of a similar nature. Another error which relates to documentation is the issue of the patient who was discharged inappropriately. It is understandable that the relative should be distressed and should be dealt with sensitively and apologetically. Liaison with management, risk management and any hospital or Trust agencies which deal with patient complaints should commence immediately. The most important issue here is to address the error, and not to question whether or not the error took place. It obviously did, because the patient arrived home in that state, and the usual discharge protocols cannot have been adhered to. If they had been, the discharge documentation should have been complete, and would have been communicated with the receiving district nursing team. The nurse plays a unique and pivotal role in discharge planning, as a key member of a multidisciplinary team (Fielo, 1998) role. If, as Bull and Roberts (2001) suggest, a proper discharge occurs in stages, and can be characterised by involveme nt of all team members within interacting circles of communication, then this discharge error should not have taken place at all. Therefore, any work done to address this error must examine where communication processes failed, and the documentation here should provide the evidence of where this failure occurred. Communication is fundamental to discharge planning, both between nurse and patient and between professionals across the divide between hospital and community services (Fielo, 1998), and so the documentation here should have been both individualised and comprehensive, functioning both as a record and as a communication tool. Effective discharge planning is also a vital link for continuity of care (Bull and Roberts, 2001), and so the failure of this process will lead to negative impact for the patient and their carers. Similarly, patient and carer participation is important in discharge planning (McLeod, 2006; Bull and Roberts, 2001). Research by Cleary et al (2003) demonstrates that consumers want information on medication, treatment, awareness of their rights and opportunities to participate in decision making. The nurse engaging in discharge planning also needs to take into account the needs and capabilities of carers (Qualey, 1997). The failure of the discharge planning process in this case therefore has a number of complex effects and may be shown to have failed in a number of key areas. It is also imperative that nurses value the social aspects of patient care and that this is seen as an integral part of the discharge process (Atwal, 2001). There are some ways in which this could be improved, and a close examination of what went wrong might highlight ways in which this could be avoided in future cases. The discharge documentation may need to be adapted to better reflect the processes and knowledge involved (Reed, 2005). This might ameliorate relationships between the acute and community sectors (McKenna and Keeney, 2000), and may prevent these errors occurring in the future. It might also be necessary, from the evidence of the available documents relating to the case, and from the ward rota, to identify who failed to properly discharge the patient so they can be engaged in education and development activities to develop their competence in this area. The documentation used should have served to enhance the ability to deal with this difficult situation (Sollins, 2007) by providing the family with the answers to their questions about what went wrong. Cheevakasemsook et al, (2006) in their study found that complexities in nursing documentation include three aspects: disruption, incompleteness and inappropriate charting. Of these, this scenario shows occurrences of incomplete documentation, whereby the documentation related to discharge planning has not been completed. Related factors that influenced documentation comprised: limited nurses competence, motivation and confidence; ineffective nursing procedures; and inadequate nursing audit, supervision and staff development functions (Cheevakasemsook et al, 2006). These findings suggest that complexities in nursing documentation require extensive resolution and implicitly dictate strategies for nurse managers and nurses to take part in solving these complicated problems (Cheevakasemsook et al, 2006). These are learning points to take forward into future professional development and practice. However, the more immediate needs would be to address the problems associated with these fail ures. The nurse must act to redress the balance and to minimise, for example, the potential litigation which may arise from this unfortunuate situation. The family are likely to make a formal complaint, and, depending on how this has affected the discharged patient, may even take legal action for compensation. In this instance, the incomplete discharge documentation demonstrates that the required nursing care did not take place (as there is no evidence of it in the records). Therefore, legally, the nurse taking care of this patient will be liable for the errors that have occurred. There are other issues to be considered, taking the wider view, in perhaps understanding why such errors occurred and how they can be avoided in subsequent cases. Hyde et al (2005) highlight the limitations of the forms of documentation (and the forms of communciation which characterise that documentation) within nursing practice. They suggest that this nursing documentation depicts the domination of reductionist medical models, utilising scientific rationality in linguistic and communication forms, rather than reflecting the holistic nature of nursing practice (Hyde et al, 2005). Therefore the documentation may be at odds with the autonomy of the patient, bringing up issues of control and power, where the documentation may serve to exert and maintain the power of the nurse or the medical profession rather than support the wellbeing of the patient (Hyde et al, 2005). Professional autonomy on the part of nurses demands a degree of mature clinical and ethical judgement in emergent and complex situations, and it is the documentation, if correctly completed, which should also signpost this process of judgement and decision making. But if the documentation is difficult to complete, onerous or time consuming, it may be that it detracts from the quality of patient care and the easy recording of this, rather than supporting it. Documentation provides the legal protection nurses require in modern healthcare practice (Frank-Strombourg et al, 2001). Educating nurses about the principles of documentation and the importance of implementing risk-reduction practices may help guard against liability and ultimately improve patient care (Frank-Strombourg et al, 2001). Perhaps developing better charts and records, in liaison with all staff, might also ameliorate the situation. The literature demonstrates unequivocally that nurses are the professionals that patients have the most interactions with in the hospital environment (Williams, 1997). The work and competence of the nursing staff is therefore perhaps the most significant factor in determining quality of patient care (Williams, 1997), and so it is vital to ensure that nurses record their practice accurately so that their competence can be audited, and the effectiveness of their practice evaluated. If, as suggested, evidence-based practice is now at the heart of nursing care (DOH, 2001), then documentation will also allow the implementation of evidence based practice, through care protocols and pathways, and through auditing processes and reflective practice which reviews care against the available evidence. Martin et al (1999), in their research of nursing documentation activities, found that good nursing documentation supported the implementation of evidence-based practice. This takes us back to the quality of the documentation processes, and it may be that they are under development – towards evidence-based care pathways or the like, or this kind of thing may need implementing. Utilising alternative modes of documentation may also enhance practice and recording behaviours. Lee (2006) in a study of one computerised documentation system in practice, found that nurses generally viewed the content of the computerized nursing care planning system as a reference to aid memory, a learning tool for patient care, and a vehicle for applying judgement to modify care plan content. This suggests that such tools may do more than simply streamline nurses work (Lee, 2006). It may be that using a computerized care plan system can also enhance nurses’ knowledge, experience and judgement of descriptions of patient problems and care strategies (Lee, 2006). It is my opinion that it may also serve to minimise the kinds of errors that have occurred in the assignment scenario. The nature of the documentation (ie the content and structure) may therefore need to be changed. O’Connor et al (2007) show how new, streamlined nursing charts improved planning and evaluation of care and served promote patient involvement in the care and documentation processes. In reference to the discharge planning incident in particular, this might be an area to develop within the clinical area. One innovation which supports this is that described by the NHS (2007) in The Essence of Care, which was launched in February 2001, as providing a toolkit to help practitioners to implement a structured approach to sharing and comparing practice, through principles of clinical governance, enabling them to identify the best and to develop action plans to remedy poor practice. This would appear to be a key activity in the longer term to develop from the learning points contained within this problematic scenario. These kinds of benchmarks and guidelines can provide useful guidance, in association with other activities such as evidence-based care pathways and protocols, to develop more streamlined and effective practices. Another point of action is the need to carry out specific empirical research into this area. In a systematic review of research literature to test the hypothesis that care planning and record keeping in nursing practice has no measurable effect on patient outcomes, the authors were unable to identify any robust studies for review (Moloney and Maggs, 1999). This suggests that the potential effects of documentation failures cannot be fully evaluated, anticipated or described without future research. This also underlines the need to ensure the highest possible standards of care are both implemented and fully documented throughout every stage and componenet of nursing practice. This analysis shows that documentation serves a number of purposes within nursing practice. It records care, demonstrating and communicating what procedures were carried out, when, and why. It rationalises clinical decisions and evaluates clinical and nursing actions. It also allows the direction and planning of care. It provides legal proof that nurses have followed proper protocolsand procedures for the administration of medicines and blood products, for the implementation of medical and nursing orders, and in particular supports complex activities such as discharge planning. Lack of proper documentation can indicate that proper procedures were not carried out. Poor documentation can lead to confusion and to patient compromise, whereby a patient may not receive the medication required, or may erroneously receive an overdose. Similarly, the blood error could have had significant consequences, and should not have occurred, given the nature of the procedures involved, and the clear li nks between safety and existing documentation. These errors point to either a lack of competence in basic nursing procedures, or a lack of care on the part of the staff who made them. Documentation would also have supported the D grade nurse here when dealing with the problems. The discharge planning errors could have been dealt with more effectively if the documentation had been complete. This would be their primary source of information when dealing with a patient complaint and a complaint from a district nursing colleague. The expectation on all parts that such records will be complete and will answer the questions raised by all parties places the responsibility firmly on the nurse to ensure they properly fulfill this vital part of their role. Nurses can engage in proper documentation of the errors and incidents noted so that they are appropriately and comprehensively dealt with now that the errors have been identified, and so can meet all the professional requirements of their role within this siutation (NMC, 2004). And all staff can learn from these incidents, and be included in processes of research, improvement and development to implement better documentat ion and care practices in the future. References Atwal, A.. (2002) Nurses’ perceptions of discharge planning in acute health care: a case study in one British teaching hospital. Journal of Advanced Nursing 39 (5) 450-458. Austin, S. (2006) Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury, I present: the nursing documentation. Nursing 2006 36 (1) 56-65. Bjorvell, C., Wredling, R. and Thorell-Ekstrand, I. (2003) Prerequisites and consequences of nursing documentation in patient records as perceived by a group of Registered Nurses. Journal of Clinical Nursing 12 (2) 206–214. Bull, M.J. and Roberts, J. (2001) Components of a proper hospital discharge for elders. Journal of Advanced Nursing. 35 (4) 571-581. Cheevakasemsook, A., Chapman, Y., Francis, K., Davies, C. (2006) The study of nursing documentation complexities. International Journal of Nursing Practice 12 (6) 366–374. Cleary, M., Horsfall, J. and Hunt, G.E. (2003) Consumer feedback on nursing care and discharge planning. Journal of Advanced Nursing 42 (3) 269-277. Department of Health (2001) ‘National Service Framework for Older People’, England: HMSO. Fielo, S. B. (1998) Discharge Planning for the Elderly: A Guide for Nurses. Nursing and Health Care Perspectives Volume 19(2) 94-95. Frank-Stromborg, M., Christensen, A.and Elmhurst, D. (2001) Nurse documentation: not done or worse, done the wrong wayPart I. Oncology Nurses Forum 28 (4) 697-702. Hyde, A., Treacy, M., Scott, P.A. et al (2005) Modes of rationality in nursing documentation: biology, biography and the voice of nursing. Nursing Inquiry 12 (2) 66–77. Ting-Ting Lee, T-T. (2006) Nurses perceptions of their documentation experiences in a computerized nursing care planning system. Journal of Clinical Nursing 15 (11) 1376–1382. Macleod, A. (2006) The nursing role in preventing delay in patient discharge. Nursing Standard. 21 (1) 43-48. Martin, A. Hinds, C. and Felix, M. (1999) Documentation practices of nurses in long-term care. Journal of Clinical Nursing 8 (4) 345–352. Moloney, R. and Maggs, C. (1999) A systematic review of the relationships between written manual nursing care planning, record keeping and patient outcomes. Journal of Advanced Nursing 30 (1), 51–57. Nazarko, L. (2007) Care planning and documentation. Nursing Residential Care. 9(7). 333-6. NHS (2007) Essence of Care Available from: http://www.tin.nhs.uk/local-networks/essence-of-care/background. Accessed 10-5-07. Nursing and Midwifery Council (2004) Code of Professional Conduct Available from www. nmc-uk.org. Accessed 30-4-07. OConnor, K., Earl, T. and Hancock, P. (2007) Introducing improved nursing documentation across a trust. Nursing Times. 103(6) 32-33. Qualey TL. (1997) Assessing the patients caregiver. Nursing Management. 28(6): 43-4. Reed, J. (2005) Using action research in nursing practice with older people: democratizing knowledge. Journal of Clinical Nursing14 594-600. Sollins, H. (2007) Handling difficult family situations: practical approaches. Geriatric Nursing. 28(2) 80-2. Williams, S.A. (1997) The relationship of patients’ perceptions of holistic nurse caring to satisfaction with nursing care. Journal of Nursing Care Quality 11 (5) 15-29.

Classification of Outsourcing

Classification of Outsourcing Outsourcing can be classified as moving all or part of an organizations activity to a third party business. The activity could be in the form of producing a good or the performance of a service. In some type of industries, outsourcing may well be the only feasible business model, either for all businesses or for a subgroup of businesses. The general example is newspapers outsourcing their news gathering service (especially, collecting information in other countries) to Third party service providers such as Reuters and the Associated Press. (Varadarajan, R. 2009) Outsourcing is one of the measures a company takes to cut costs by moving their jobs to an outside vendor on an ongoing basis. The organisation was providing these services internally before outsourcing them to the third party vendor. A company that effectively engages in cost cutting would be in a better position in the market. Companies with low cost leadership are able to gain the potential market share. (Oza, A., and K. H ill. 2007) Outsourcing is a trend that will carry on over a period time. Cost reduction cannot be the only motivation for outsourcing since cost reductions is only possible in specific conditions, e.g. the third party provider is be able to achieve economies of scale that the outsourcer does not. Business do not simply indulge in the process of outsourcing to perform the same task at lower cost, as this could be achieved through reorganising internal activities.(Quà ©lin, B. Duhamel, F. 2003) Businesses have hired vendors for particular jobs or to level off peaks and troughs in their workloads for years. In the recent years outsourcing has been employed with great success by companies such as General Electric and Procter Gamble. Even though in general most companies would indulge in outsourcing to either cut costs or reduce the head count, today the drivers are more strategic and it focuses on keeping value-added activities in house where an organization can better utilize its own core competencies. Many companies are discovering that outsourcing is about corporate growth, making better use of skilled staff and even job creation, not just cheap wages abroad. (Brent, P. 2009) Based on the above arguments there are two types criteria that a company would bear in mind before making any decisions on outsourcing. The first is known as tactical outsourcing wherein the decision is often taken based on cost with no consideration to other benefits or risks associated with that decision. The second is strategic outsourcing where other aspects are taken into consideration. These include quality improvements and unavailability of resources. (Espino-Rodrà ­guez, T.F. Padrà ³n-Robaina, V. 2004). There are also some possible disadvantages of outsourcing if not done correctly. Outsourcing has to be done for the right reasons as mentioned above. The company has to carefully assess the possible benefits which could be in the form of cost reduction or increased customer satisfaction before making any decisions on outsourcing. Some of the other possible disadvantages could be losing staffs that have been trained in the process that may be outsourced or failure to meet th e desired criterion as agreed by the third party vendor. (Jones 1997) It is true that there some disadvantages associated with the process of outsourcing but a carefully crafted rational decision based on logical thoughts would help companies to get the extra bit of competitive advantage through lower cost disciplines, at the same time improving their quality of service and product delivery capability (Domberger, 1998). Globalization is the key word and today companies compete in the global market and not in regional or national market. The new developments in information and technology means that production processes could be separated in and place. Also customers have a wide range of products to choose from and this in turn would reduce customer loyalty. All this adds to complexity and one response to above changing needs is outsourcing. (Pedersen, H.S. Jenster, P.V. 2000). Outsourcing was first observed in the manufacturing industry, and China was the front runner in terms of attracting jobs and foreign investment. In this phase of outsourcing, it was noticed that organisation in order to take the advantage of cheap labour would set up its manufacturing plant in the Far East or Mexico. As outsourcing become more widespread, more and more functions were capable of being outsourced. The biggest upsurge in outsourcing was observed when service activities were outsourced. What began as a process for cutting costs has evolved into a means of growing a companys business value. Transferring non-core company processes off to experts not only helps in delivering increased efficiencies, it delivers the potential for enhanced performance. The important thing is to combine the right people, processes, and technologies to gain maximum efficiency and achieve competitive advantage. (Oza, A., and K. Hill. 2007) International Data Corporation (IDC) has done some analysis of the top outsourcing deals in the current years and the data reveals contract expenditures of almost U.S. $56 billion. The scale of outsourcing has reached astonishing proportions, as seen in the case of Fiats U.S. $7 billion deal and NTLs U.S. $2 billion deal with IBMs Global Services. (Kakabadse, A. Kakabadse, N. 2005) Outsourcing worldwide has now topped US $ 1 trillion per annum. (Oza, A., and K. Hill. 2007) In the service industry, outsourcing was initially restricted to basic support activities but recently outsourcing has entered all non-core service functions. In 1997, 34% of enterprises. Outsourced all or part of their information technology (IT) and this proportion is expected to increase to 58 % by the year 2010. Similar increases are expected for activities such as telecommunication, accounting and human resources. (Oza, A., and K. Hill. 2007) Outsourcing has evolved in the past few years and a new industry called Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) has come to age. It is expected to be â€Å"the next big wave† in information technology services. Business process outsourcing is a more specialised form of outsourcing in which an entire business process, such as accounting, procurement or human resources, is handed to a third party vendor(RAMMOHAN RAO. 2004). According to Gartner Group, which is one of the top IT consulting firms, a BPO can be defined as delegating one or more business processes to an third party provider which in turn owns, facilitates and manages the particular process based on a clear and measurable performance criteria. As per a study done by International data corporation the BPO market is expected to reach 1 .2 trillion in the coming years. In terms of market share the United States leads the BPO market followed by Europe and the Asia pacific region. (Yang et al 2007). Call centres constitute the biggest part of this BPO market. (RAMMOHAN RAO. 2004) â€Å"Call centres are defined by Richardson and Gillespie (2003, pp. 88-89) as having three distinct characteristics: 1. workers are employed in specialist activities which put together telecommunications and information systems technologies; 2. Their work is administered by automated technology which virtually simultaneously distributes work, manages the speed of that work and monitors their performance; and 3. Workers are directly interacting with the customer either through in-bound calls, making out-bound calls or a combination of the two.† The National Association of Call Centres, a non-profit organization serving the call centre industry, categories different sectors in the call centre industry. These are: 1. financial services/banking/insurance; 2. telecommunications; 3. medical services 4. government 5. directory services/job placement (Jobs et al. 2007) According to industry estimates, there were over 300,000 call centres worldwide at the end of 2002, employing around 18m people. (RAMMOHAN RAO. 2004) Call centres can in the form of contact centres which are part of the company (‘‘inhouse call centres) or Third party call centres (‘‘service bureaux) which interacts with customers on behalf of several companies. Basically, with the help of call centres companies try to provide an extended form of customer service, and try to ensure their clients satisfaction and commitment (Zapf et al 2003). Employees in call centres are not just taking out-bound and in-bound calls, but they would also interact with customers through e-mails and online chat as well. With the advent of technology customers are increasingly using email to correspond and there are incentives to do so since there is no charge for postage and emails can be easily stored. The advancement in IT systems enables a customer service agent to interact with customers through voice and email and service both at the same time. Online chat is a real time text conversation between agent the customer. E-mail and chat service may be used by clients who cannot use a traditional telephone due to disability. (Irish 2000) Outsourcing in financial service industry Financial Services Industry at the Forefront The financial industry is not new to idea of outsourcing, and its use, prompted by need to lower cost and the need to focus on core business area, is increasing sharply. As per a report, 15% of the financial services sector in the US, which is approximately about $356bn, would be outsourced in the next few years. The growth in this sector would help in reducing cost for certain services provided by the financial institution and at the same time would help in increasing efficiency. (Singh, D. 2005). A study conducted of 31 European banks reported that the majority intended to increase their level of outsourcing, particularly of BPO. Banks that already opted for BPO had a strong focus on efficiency while mostly ignoring the impact of BPO on the effectiveness of business processes (Gewald, H. Dibbern, J. 2009). There has been a growth of 15% to 20% in revenues from outsourcing activities in the financial institution. Even very large Financial Institution that have stayed away from outs ourcing activities are now moving towards it for greater efficiency. According to estimates nearly half of all financial institutions have outsourced at least a part of their services functions. (Lowell, M. 1992.) They are now concentrating on core competencies (activities or services which provide a strategic advantage or competitive edge) and outsourcing other activities to the best or most efficient provider of a product or service. To be sure, adopting an outsourcing approach impacts an organization dramatically. Prior to analyzing this impact, it is important to understand the trends within outsourcing. (Siemers, R. 19 95). The financial services industry was among the first industries to adopt large campus-style call centres. Customers needing information about their bank account or information on their credit card balance are likely to get an odd look if they call into a branch and ask for help instead of picking up a phone and getting in touch with their banks call centre. Just as banks and insurance firms were quick to see the potential for saving money by consolidating branch office functions in a central call centre, they have also been the first to look further afield in an effort to cut costs. (www.callcenteroutboundcalls.com) Most companies in the financial services industry started their own call centre known as captive call centres. Captive call centres require huge capital investment and at the same time cost involved in running the centre is very high. In captive call centres all the capital expenses such as infrastructure development are borne by the parent company, third-party call center services outsourcing firms do not require businesses to do so. Third-party call center services outsourcing firms, especially those that have been operational for more than five years, have their own infrastructure, systems, and equipment and they do not charge businesses for these. So, choosing a third-party call center service would help the parent company to save plenty in terms of capital investments. (Figgat, D. Dove, M. 2008) Third-party vendors are usually preferred over captive outfits because of substantially lower costs, flexibility and the ability to enforce price and quality competition. (www.infotech.indiatimes.com) Banks and financial institutions depend upon telephone call centers to meet the needs of a changing and ever more demanding consumer for 24/7 access. Call centers serve as a source of service recovery, added value, market intelligence, and strategic advantage. (Feinberg et al 2002) The call centre industry is a very big industry and there are a lot of companies that handle projects for majority of the banks and financial institution. These companies have to make distinct marketing strategies so that they could approach banks and financial institution for outsourcing. Through this project we are trying to identify what strategies a call centre needs to have in place if they are to receive projects from banks and financial institution. GEM is a call centre based in Belfast and this project would help in developing a marketing fit for GEM position it as a key customer contact service provider for the UK financial market. Information about Gem It is one of the leading providers of outsourced customer service via email, telephone, sms and live chat and in Europe and they operate in 29 different languages. It is considered to be one of the primary developers of best practices in contact centres in U.K. Gem was originally designed to provide services for outsourced email handling and was essentially an email ‘call centre. Since then, the company has extended its range of activities and now provides services which include customer care, technical support and sales to back office processing. In addition to providing different kinds of services in multiple languages, gem captures important customer and staff feedback and uses this unique information to consult on enhancing a clients brand. Exports account for 98% of gems business, which includes 38% to the US, 38% to the UK and 15% to mainland Europe. Gems has a wide range of client base from media, e-commerce, travel, hi-tech and government sectors. Current customers include Cisco Systems, King.com, Match.com, Microsoft, Play.com and Channel 4 television. In terms of certification Gem was accredited with ISO 9001:2000 in October 2006.Since the company has been operating its business with such high values and they are also one of the major players in the BPO industry in U.K. they have received some industry awards to name a few. 1) Belfast Business Top 50, Belfast Media Group 2) Gold Award Winner for Best Online Customer Service Team (Figleaves), People in Retail Awards 3) Gold Award Winner for best UK Call Centre Manager of the Year Awards, Call Centre Management Association (www.the-gem.com) To segment, identify and profile the key players in the financial market within United Kingdom. U.K has one of the most varied and competitive financial services sectors in the world with both specialist and non-bank providers offering services such as credit cards, insurance and loans. (Farquhar, J. Panther, T. 2008). The financial services industry is going through a massive change and is fast becoming highly competitive. Traditional players are offering new services to protect their client base and at the same time are competing with new players for a share in the financial services market. The industry in particular is going through a change and new tools, techniques and services have been developed which were traditionally offered via bricks and mortar channels (Boyes, G. Stone, M. 2003). The major banks have undergone a considerable degree of consolidation, and supermarkets such as Tesco and Sainsburys, as well as online banks have entered the market for financial services. Some building societies have become banks. Some banks have taken over building societies, insuran ce companies and indeed other banks. The type of services has expanded into credit cards, mortgage lending, insurance, and so on.The banking services industry could be divided into four distinct groups: traditional high street banks and former building societies, online banks, credit card companies, and retailers providing financial services. (www.capco.com) In the UK, High street banks traditionally enjoyed a dominant retail market presence because of their tight control over the payments system. The huge branch system coupled with less use of technology meant that major high street banks like Royal bank of Scotland, Barclays bank, Lloyds banking group, HSBC bank, standard chartered and building societies like Nationwide enjoyed a dominance in the UK financial services industry.(Consoli, D. 2005) But with the recent crisis in the U.K. banking industry, with the examples of northern rock and RBS there is a lot of distrust among the general public. (Butler, S. 2009). At the same time, high street banks have come under lot of pressure from new entrants to the financial services sector such as Prudential (Egg), Virgin, MBNA and CapitalOne and supermarket chains like Tesco and Sainsbury (Harden, G. 2002). New entrants who have entered the financial services industry have gained a competitive advantage through the use of technology. New entrants have information from the customers of their traditional activity, and with CRM they can integrate their information sources and exploit aggregated data on the clientele. It could be argued that access to such high level consumer information should enable banks and other financial institution to give a more personalised and more efficient service. For consumers, the high personal convenience that a bank offers higher would be the possibility of a closer bank customer relationship and enhanced customer satisfaction (Harden, G. 2002). In recent years new entrants into retail banking sector like supermarket banks and online banks have threatened the dominance of major players. (Essvale Corporation Limited). Supermarket banks The reasons why these companies wish to start up in banking are diversification of their business, looking for new sources in order to increase their profitability and a desire to offer a complete service to their customers with the expansion of their current financial services complementary to their main activity. In the UK, the main supermarkets, by means of alliances with banks, have created their own bank subsidiaries, which allow them to offer a whole range of financial products. Some of these are Tesco, Sainsbury and Marks and Spencer. (Gonzà ¡lez Guerrero 2004) Among the major supermarket brands eying this banking business, the most high-profile is undoubtedly the supermarket chain Tesco, which is already the countrys largest food retailer and has a longstanding personal finance arm that sells car, home and travel insurance, savings accounts and credit cards. It has also been running a pilot scheme providing banking sections inside five of its existing 2,200 supermarkets for the last few months, and plans to launch current accounts and mortgages over the next couple of years ((MarketWatch: Global Round-up).Tesco has been creating strategies to capitalise on customers disenchantment with traditional high street banks by aggressively launching new products to counter the ones offered by banks. U.K.s largest retail chain plans to open 30 branches which is likely to be branded Tesco Bank within existing supermarkets in the coming few months.(Bradshaw, T. 2009) Another leading supermarket chain, J Sainsbury, already has a Sainsburys Bank arm offering loans, credit cards, savings and insurance, while the pharmacy chain Boots has expressed interest in financial services. Like Tesco, Sainsbury sees a big opportunity in the financial services market. According to Darren Shapland, Finance director of Sainsbury, the supermarket chain is a challenger and not as big as some of the other financial service providers but the there is a huge potential since 1.8 million customers walk into their shops every week (Butler, S. 2009). The UKs leading bookseller, stationer and newsagent chain WHSmith, meanwhile, has Post Office branch facilities in 80 of its stores, with services that extend to savings accounts and foreign exchange. Another retailer Alliance Boots wants to get into the financial services industry and coincidently or not has hired former HBOS CEO as its new boss. But in the case of Boots they have no tradition of offering financial services products apart from travel insurance and it may them a few years before they could be regarded as force to reckon with. (Butler, S. 2009). At the other end of the spectrum are overseas interests that see an opportunity for a tightly focused banking operation in the UK, running a few branches and targeting a very specific market. The most high-profile among these is Vernon Hill, the US entrepreneur who founded Commerce Bancorp in 1973 and grew it into a business that he eventually sold to Toronto-Dominion for $8.5 billion in 2007. Hill has applied for a banking license with the countrys regulator, the FSA, and has gone public with plans to open the doors of an institution called Metro Bank (MarketWatch: Global Round-up) The highly competitive nature of the financial services market has resulted in new. Developments and banks are creating strategies to utilize alternative delivery channels. One of the delivery channels that have been in existence for some time now is electronic or online banking. Many of the financial institution in the UK have launched or developed transactional electronic banking services. Internet banking services were first introduced in the UK in the early 1980s with the Homelink service provided by the Nottingham Building Society and the Bank of Scotland. But this service was not very popular then and was discontinued after some time (Daniel, E. 1999). Since the rapid development in internet based services, Customers now are more prone to use this service it is possible for them to use banking services anytime and anywhere at their own convenience and with lower fees as compared to traditional banks. Internet banking has given rise to a relatively new concept called internet on ly banks where these organizations dont have a physical set up like traditional banks but provide all types of products and services through internet, Telephone and ATM machines. (Sayar Wolfe 2007). First Direct was not one of the first banks to launch internet only bank in the summer of 1997.Egg is still the most popular internet only bank with a market share of 5.9% in the online banking sector. Internet banks like Egg, Smile, Cahoot and First Direct have a simple banking principle keep costs low and undercut competition. Credit Cards Credit card helps the card holder to obtain credit from the card issuer and allows him to repay the debt over a flexible time period usually 90 days and user can even to add to the debt by paying a certain amount of interest; this is the so-called revolving credit facility. Majority of the banks in the UK provide credit card facilities. The other financial institutions which provide credit card facilities are monocline banks. Monocline banks are credit card issuers who focus on credit card as their main product lines. Companies such as MBNA, Capital One and Morgan Stanley and types of Monoline banks operating in UK (Worthington Edwards. 2000). The competition in the credit card market in UK has intensified in the last few years. The result of this has been the emergence of flexible credit cards. These types of credit cards allow users to select the features of their card which includes the colour of their card and the APR and they also have the option of changing the features based on their circumstances. Virgin and Cahoot are some of the card issuers who are offering such features. (M2 PRESSWIRE 2003.). U.K. is one of the largest users of credit card, with more than half in U.K. as compared to entire Europe and two thirds of total value transactions. (Irish News 2004). Other financial services Personal Loans are one of the other services provided by the financial industry. They help customers to borrow credit from banks and other financial institutions and they pay interest for using the credit over a period of time. Personal Loans are available either against collateral or in some cases with out collateral. Some of the major players in the Personal loan market in the U.K are Nationwide, Sainsbury, HSBC and Abbey (Santander). Insurance Insurance is a service where the insurer is covered for risks by paying a premium to the insuring company. The premium is either paid on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis. Some of the major insurance companies in U.K are Norwich Union, Standard life and Legal and General. To identify what processes or departments in financial companies can be outsourced. The advent of technology has meant that customers have multiple sources to contact their service providers. The first service that was launched by banks was telephone banking wherein customers could contact their banks 7 days a week and 24 hours a day. Most banks started with their in house call centres called captive call centres to provide service to their customers. As discussed above due high fixed and operation maintaining a captive call centre is an expensive proposition. That is where third party call centres come into picture. The services that are offered in call centres are customer service where customers query about his bank accounts, credit cards, personal loans or mortgages are serviced. Marketing of banks products is another service that call centers provide. Popularly known as telemarketing, this service helps banks to make customers aware of different products and services they offer and also any discounts that they could be eligible for. Banks also face a lot of situation where customers have either used their accounts over the agreed overdraft limit or they havent paid their regular installments for their credit cards, personal loans or Mortgage loans. Most banks have a separate department to handle these type of situations which would help them to contact the customer for debt. recovery. These departments are known as collections teams, and would call customers to remind them that they have failed to make their regular installments. Online banking is another service that banks offer and as discussed above offers anytime banking to customers at the click of a button. Call centres provide customers service for online banking services as well so that if the custom ers face any issue while they are online they could be guided in the right direction. Chat service is another part of online banking, and even though most banks have not introduced it for customer service in bank accounts and they are used for mortgage servicing. All the banks do their best to satisfy customers either through good customer service or through different types of products, but inspite of this there a small number of customers who remain unsatisfied and these types of customers would like to express their dissatisfaction. Complaint handling teams would normally service these types of customers and they would thoroughly look at customers complaints and would try to resolve them with the business policies of the bank. Back office process like processing of bank accounts, personal loans and mortgages are some of the other services that call centres provide to financial institution. In case of insurance companies claims handling would be would be one of the services offered by Call centres. Some of the financial institutions that have indulged in outsourcing are HSBC, Abbey and few others banks. Most of these banks have outsourced their operations to offshore locations like India. A complete list is mentioned in Appendix 1.