Workforce Diversity in a Foreign Subsidiary

Workforce Diversity in a Foreign Subsidiary 1. Abstract: In the todays dynamic competitive business environment, Diversity management is one of the key challenging area in Human Resource Management (HRM) in particularly to the Multinational Corporations (MNCs) those who have started their operations recently in a country like India where the culture is totally different from western culture. This paper mainly focuses on to what extent Target India, the subsidiary of retail giant Target Corporation, USA, has taken initiative to maintain the work force diversity and analyze the major challenges and issues faced while implementing with their strategic HR policies. It also discusses the role of Human Resource Management (HRM), International Human Resource Management (IHRM) and Strategic International Human Resource Management (SIHRM) in implementing and integrating the diversity initiatives. To examine the effectiveness of Target India HRM policies with respect to the diversity and culture, I used published sources like Target internal records , articles, books, internet and online data bases. 2. Introduction: Target Corporation is one of the United States biggest retail store. It was established in 1902 and known as Dayton Dry Goods Company before it was named as Target. The first Target store was opened in Minnesota, in 1962.It is widely spread in United States with 1,613 stores in 47 states. This includes 240 Super Target stores which gives a unbelievable grocery shopping experience. Target ranked 41 on their list of Americas Most Reputable Companies-2009 Target Corporation has its presence in India by establishing Target India Corporation in Bangalore in 2005. Target India has 2500 employees currently and it is expected to grow faster and have 5000 employees by end of fiscal year 2010. Target India is located in three different places in Bangalore namely Embassy Prime, RJU building which is named after Robert J. Ulrich, the former CEO of Target Corporation and GWS building which is named after Gregg W. Steinhafel. Another location is being established in Mysore in 2015. Due to demographic differences, it is very obvious that Target India with respect to Target Corporation varies in work culture, age, work-life balance and all social and personal aspects. Target India takes every effort to build Target culture in the work place which is very similar to Target head quarters with help of strong strategic HR policies. Target is in particular about the company culture which includes Collaboration, minimizing hierarchy, Work/Life balance, Accountability. Targets vision to become the best company ever follows the three core values: FFF (Fast, Fun and Friendly), Es of Excellence (Energy, Enthusiasm and Execution) and Speed is life. 3. Background: Target Corporation has its offshore extension called Target India. The fast and continued growth of Target India reflects the commitment to develop a global work force. Target drives business efficiently by motivating team members (employees), crediting innovations and thereby giving the best guest experience. Target India plays a key role in providing the brand promise of Target Expect More. Pay Less. by implementing the technology and business solutions. Target India works with ten pyramids: Target India is a key partner to achieve the vision of Target Best Company Ever and reach the goal of 100 billion in scale. The key accomplishment of Target India is opening Target Sourcing Services (TSS) in Bangalore during the first anniversary and also by opening the new facility which is now called Gregg W. Steinhafel (GWS) centre. 4. Literature Review: Over the years, it is very obvious that organisations are considering diversity as an essential competitive advantage factor to sustain in the market place where they can serve various array of customers and their needs, to make the customers and stake holders happy and satisfy. Diversity meaning is reached beyond the Equal Employment opportunity legislation and provides opportunity to the workforce with regardless to gender, colours, religions, races. One of the most important trends in the recent years has been the growing interest in the benefits to be achieved by planning for a diverse workforce known as diversity management. This was based on view that people should be treated equally regardless of race, ethnic orgin, gender and sexual orientation and other social categorization so that individual are enabled freely and equally to compete for social rewards (Jewson and Mason ,1986 P.307).Jewson and Mason set equal opportunities within a free market tradition, and the purpose of the legislation and polices was seen as removing obstacles and distortions to the working markets. According to liff(1997b), there are four approaches to managing diversity based on the degree of the commitment to social group equality as an organizational objective and on the perceived relevance of social group differentiation for policy making .Four diversity management approaches are :1)dissolving the differences2) valuing the differences3)accommodat ing differences4)utilizing differences Diversity, according to Schneider (2001, P.27) is about creating a working culture that seeks, respects, values, and harnesses difference. The basic contrast with the equal opportunities is an acceptance that there is difference between people, that such difference can be valued and that they are the source of productive potential within the organisation. Thomas(1995) argues that diversity does not automatically mean with respect to race and gender and describe diversity as not synonyms with difference but encompasses difference and similarities.(Cassel 2001) define diversity is a complex, multidimensional concept as a whole. It is a plural term with different perception in different organisations, societies and natural cultures without any unitary meaning. Hofstededes (1980) research suggest demonstrate that even within a large multinational, famous for its strong culture and socialization efforts , national culture continues to play major role in differentiating work values. The convergence /divergence argument (Webber 1969) states that economic development, technology, and education would make possible globalization whereas differential levels of available resources and national cultures would work against this. The need for human resource consultants, managers and specialist to adopt international orientation in their functional activities for those who are working in Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) are playing key role in implementing the cross cultural and comparative human resource management to make their organisation success. Boxall (1995) define the distinction between comparative HRM and International HRM. 5. Diversity Management Diversity Management denotes achieving wide range of benefits from diverse work force. The management of diversity concentrates on individuals rather than groups. This also includes opportunities for all individual and not just for people belonging to minority category. Ellis et, (1994) defines A multicultural management perspective fosters more innovative and creative decision making, satisfying work environments, and better products because all people who have a contribution to make or encourage to be involved in a meaningful way. Diversity management denotes the initiatives taken by the organisation to take advantage on the diversity in their workforce including characteristics such as (origin, gender, age, ethnicity and disability) as a strategic approach to achieve the organisational goals. The key differences between equal opportunities and managing diversity is given in the below table Aspect Equal Opportunities Managing Diversity Purpose Reduce discrimination Utilise employee potential to maximum advantage Case argued Moral and ethical Business case improve profitability Whose responsibility HR/personnel department All managers Focuses on Groups Individuals Perspective Dealing with different needs of different groups Integrated Benefits for employees Opportunities improved for disadvantaged groups, primarily through setting targets Opportunities improved for all employees Focus on management activity Recruitment Managing Remedies Changing systems and practices Changing the culture Source : adapted from Human Resource Management p -540) Derek Torrington ,laura Hall, Stephen Taylor Diversity Management is considered as the core approach to implement equality. It is believed that equal employment opportunity is driven by HR functions and diversity management is driven by the managers. As a reason to run the business, it is argued that managing diversity should be made as the integral part of any organizational policy. This concept is called mainstreaming. 5.1 Diversity at Target India Diversity became one of the key aspects and challenging area for the HRM area over the last few years. This is not only to tackle high cost but also to have workforce diversity to attract, retain and motivate diverse population of team members to help and server diverse guests and communities. At Target, diversity is much more than a goal or campaign, its a core value we integrate into every area of our business from our suppliers, to our teams, to the shopping experience in our stores, we foster an inclusive culture that allows our high-performing and diverse team to drive innovation. Target adopts a miltilocal approach in implementing the diversity, So Target India is responsible for designing and implementing the diversity management program. Target corporate headquarters is an advisory, informing the corporate wide diversity related messages and providing assistance if required. The definition of diversity at Target India is broad and focused on appreciating and recognizing the individuality of team members. Target India put this in simple terms as The Strengths of Many. The Power of One.. At Target India, diversity plays an integral part of the culture to communicate better with diverse team members and thereby serving the guests and communities in the best way possible. Target India builds the competitive advantage to drive the success by attracting the best talent and creating an atmosphere where diverse individuals are respected. 5.2 Challenges in Maintaining Diversity: Over the past few years, many Organizations have the goal of implementing multicultural work culture. However, promoting diversity across the Organizations has been challenging in practical way. There are three main reasons for failure of workforce diversity across Organizations. 1) Misunderstanding the problem, 2) Wrong solution, 3) failure to have clear learning cure. Major challenges faced by Target India during the initiatives of workforce diversity are, 1) Issues related by marginalization and discrimination, 2) Due to time constraint, getting team members together to collect data and feedback regarding diversity is a difficult task, 3) To make team members accountable for goals related to diversity, 4) As diversity is a new phenomenon in HRM, training all the team members requires huge cost, time and effort, 5) Slow progress rate, 6) Complexity in handling different perspectives from various groups or individuals. 5.3 Target India Vs Headquarters: Target India team member culture is different to headquarters. The main cultural differences arise as Target India team members are younger when compared to the headquarters and more specifically in Technology Services. Being young to job and also with a lot of job opportunities, Target India team members tend to leave the job for salary or career growth. This is in great contrast with the onsite team member. Team Members at Target India tend to work at different time structure than their onshore counter parts. The typical work time is nine to five at headquarter. Team members reach on time, complete their work and leave on time. Though the time is 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM at Target India, team member work on flexible timings to overlap with the onsite timings for better co-ordination and save time and effort. Coffee/Tea breaks are taken as per the convenient time whereas in headquarters normally they do not take much time. Also, Target India is providing free nutritious meal to all the team members which they prefer to have together at cafeteria. 5.4 Cultural Adjustments: Most of the Target team members have not worked in a foreign land. It is with the establishment of Target India, Target team members are encouraged to travel to India for working. The juxtaposition of developed and underdeveloped and more importantly rich and poor, the basic contrast of American culture which they need to cope up with. Indian people also have help in cleaning, cooking, driving etc. Though it sense to be of much help but there need to be significant adjustment on two core values of American culture: Privacy and Independence. The leadership style needed a great alteration moving to Target India. Target India team members are used to work with instructions from clients and managers. They need more of interactive approach where the leader can post their ideas, views and suggestions rather than giving general instructions. 6. Target India HR Approach: The main asset to IT industry is human resources. The challenging task for Multi National Companies (MNCs) in the IT sector is managing the human resources, especially for MNC subsidiary like Target India, where the culture is totally different from each other. Being very young to market, Target India faces the same challenge to retain employees. Though country like India is abundant in low cost and highly skilled labourers, it is very hard to retain employees because of salary and career growth. Target India is able to handle it better with its strong strategic HR policies and methods. Target India HR policies work as per the below metrics, HR Management Organizational Effectiveness Training and Development The main objective of HR management is to frame strong HR policies and thereby managing and retaining the human resources. This includes the best recruiting and selection methods, Pay and Benefits, Performance appraisals, Career development. Organizational Effectiveness literally means integrity. Their main purpose is to maintain the secure work atmosphere with information security, zero tolerance and violence free workplace. Training and Development team deals with training programs such as technical trainings for budding tech professionals, leadership training for those who admire to become leaders, personal development trainings, work oriented trainings. 6.1 HRM Practise: The following are the team members experience and saying about Target India. I was fascinated by the neat and cool shopping experience I had at Target during one of my visits to the U.S. and just fell in love with Target. I then wondered what it would be like working here and thus began my journey of exploring working at Target. Target is just the perfect world for high-energy, fun-loving and make-things-happen people. The welcoming ambience, smiling teams and committed managers are just the things I like here. I am pursuing the Masters program in Software Engineering and am part of the global cohort. Its truly an international experience. I get to do capstone projects within Target as academic work and at the same time its a real life experience -Praveen, Information Technology I have never seen any organization so far in my career where everyones so approachable and friendly. Targets the place where I felt my creative potential was explored. Supervisors and peers are open to ideas and change. This keeps me going every day. Dee, Brand Management, Buying + Planning 6.1.1 Recruitment and Selection: Target India follows equal opportunity as an employer. Employment practises are implemented without regard to religion, colour, race, creed, caste, sex, age, place of birth, disability. This list also includes sexual orientation and also pregnancy. Equal Employment Opportunity policy plays an important role for Target Indias commitment to hire and develop talented, strong and diverse workforce. With this policy, Target India accommodates qualified and talented applicants, employees with disability and also applicants with strong religious beliefs provided such team member doesnt create hardship to Target India. At Target India, recruitment and selection happens for both fresher and experience candidates. The highly talented fresh young graduates from the top universities are selected after the written aptitude test, group discussion and HR round. Experience candidates are hired after a series of process such as resume selection, initial technical round, high level technical round followed by managerial and HR round. Team members at Target India are able to get rewards through referral programs. 6.1.2 Training and Development: The Training and Development team co-ordinates and arranges various training programs. Technical trainings, Personality Development trainings, Induction training, Integrity trainings, Work place trainings, Leadership trainings are the major trainings provided by the training department. Internal training programs are the major trainings arranged where team members are encouraged to attend and learn new technologies and various leadership skills. Target India also partner with external training consultants for those trainings which are not available internally. Fresher recruited from universities are trained in technical and development trainings initially. Experienced candidates are also provided with trainings in the latest version of their technology to accomplish the work as per the time schedule. Target India follows the mentoring system. With help of the mentoring system, senior leaders are helping various team members by motivating, providing organizational updates, helping in career planning. Target India believes in job rotation for any interested team member. Any team member who is willing to transfer to a different pyramid, department or technology is motivated with various basic technical trainings and job handling trainings. Apart from class room trainings, Target India also offers online trainings for team members. The online trainings include integrity trainings to maintain confidentiality of information and have best ethics in work place. 6.1.3 Career Management: Target India is committed for team members personal and career development. This is carried out with mentoring, Individual Development Plan (IDP) creation where team member and the supervisor analyze the team members strengths and development opportunities to develop the career map. There is an opportunity for team members in Target India to move vertically and horizontally across Target Technology Services (TTS), Target Financial Services (TFS), Strategy, Target.com, Stores, Marketing, Human Resources, Property Development, Legal and Quality. This is generally known as talent pool scheme. 6.1.4 Flexible Work Timing: This is one of the strong HR policies which enable the team members to work on their convenient time shifts. This makes the Target India team members to have better co-ordination with their onsite counter parts. This saves a lot of time and effort which ultimately leads to better productivity. 6.1.5 Compensation and Benefits: Based upon the employees experience and technical/managerial skills, Target India offers compensation package as per or higher than the industrial standards. Compensation revision normally revised twice in a year. Target India provides the following benefits to all its team members, Health Benefits Target Indias health benefits supports wellness and healthy living for its team members with schemes such as Group Mediclaim, Parental Insurance, Personal Accident, Wellness Program, and Medical Insurance while Travelling. Retirement Target India team members are encouraged to save for retirement by making contribution to their Provident Fund (PF). Paid Time Off This consists of Privilege Leave, Casual Leave, Maternity Leave, Paternity Leave, National Holidays, and Bereavement Leave. This helps the team members to recharge and refresh themselves. Additional Benefits All eligible Target India team members are provided with additional benefits: Company Loans, Conveyance Program, Gratuity, Free Meals, Tuition Scholarship, Team Member Referral Bonus, Concierge Service, Training and Development. Other benefits such as professional counselling for team members and their family members, facility for new team members to settled down easily and quickly in new location and all relevant assistance for team members and their family members travelling on an assignment are also provided. 6.1.6 Performance Management: Performance Management is a crucial determinant of culture and what managers consider in their thinking about their team members. Measurement of performance is an indication of organizations business success. Target India defines the appraisal as a process which analysis a persons overall capabilities and potential. One of the important part of this process is assessment where team members past and current work behaviour and performance are collected and reviewed. With the help of performance appraisal, Target India is able to improve morale, motivate team members, reduce ambiguity about performance, clarify expectation, identifying training and development opportunities, manage careers, improve communication, setting goals and targets. Target India follows transparent process for evaluating team members performance and providing compensation packages. Being transparent, it is very clear to the team members as of what is required to reach next level. Target India offers high performers with performance certificates in the form of Great Team Card (GTC) and reward and vouchers. To motivate the team members, high performers are honoured in the Annual Leadership Meeting. 6.1.7 Work-Life Balance: Target India is conscious about Work-Life Balance. This has been supported in the form of work from home where team members are allowed to work from home due to emergency and any other personal commitment. Older team members who wish to remain in work are allowed to work fewer hours or different shift pattern. To maintain work-life balance various programs such as flexible work timings, Personal counselling for team members and their family members are initiated. This form of work-life balances gives satisfaction to the team members in the form of handling work and also caring children and elderly parents. 6.1.8 Community Work by Employees: Target India believes in serving the community. Target India and its team members play a vital role in taking part in community work to serve the society. Many team members play leadership role in community work. As a corporate citizens responsibility, team members are allowed to organize various camps to rural areas to help in educating and bringing awareness about different social causes to rural population. This brings self satisfaction to the team members and also makes work place more enjoyable. 6.1.9 Women Empowerment To increase the women workforce, Target India conducts recruitment programs especially for women. Target India women all hands meeting is conducted frequently to help and discuss the hurdles faced by the working women. These meetings not only give women spirit but also help them to develop career growth and leadership qualities. 6.1.10 Employee Retention: Attrition rate is a major concern for newly started MNC subsidiaries in developing country like India. When other similar organizations have the attrition rate in double digit, Target India managed the employee retention rate in single digits with help of their sound career growth plans, high rewards and appreciation apart from their fulfilling compensation and benefits. Target India provides the following benefits to retain the team members, Good work atmosphere Meals and transportation facilities Giving more career plans Employee oriented policies 6.1.11 Open Door Policy: No organization can improve without constant feedbacks, ideas, suggestions in a diverse work environment. Target India aligns with its headquarters belief of having Open Door Policy. To improve workforce diversity, team members suggestions, feedbacks and ideas become a crucial factor. This vision is attained through Open Door Policy where team members can reach to any leader irrespective of their caste, religion, sex, culture, age at any time with their thoughts. Although this is the easiest way to reach to any leader, for those who feel uncomfortable speaking to the leaders directly there is also a separate HR team named as Employee Relations team. Team members can post their issues, solutions and ideas to the Employee Relations team or call the Integrity Hotline numbers being anonymous. Every concern of the team members are reviewed by the Employee Relations team and sent to the appropriate leader. 6.1.12 Great Team Recognition: Target India follows a unique culture of appreciating great work. Although recognition is done annually through performance appraisals, best performer awards and certificates, many great works go unnoticed in the annual meetings. To avoid that, Target India encourages sending Great Team Card to any individual contribution or to the team at any moment. This makes the team members feel that they are noticed in diverse work culture. 7. Conclusion: Due to globalization, organizations are operating in multicultural context. A key debate is to what extent their diversity programmes should be standardised across subsidiaries. As there is no best approach to manage diversity workforce, since it varies from organization to organization, country to country. From last many quarters, Target India is growing steadily because of its strong strategic HR policies and in particular with workforce diversity. The process of acquiring, retaining and bringing success with diverse population in a growing organization like Target India is not an easy task. The determination from top management, HR and operations team across Target India and Target Corporation, helped Target India to achieve the success of implementing strategic HR policies in a multicultural and diverse workforce.

Various Shades of grey :: essays research papers

Various Shades of Grey Honesty. A small word. Barely seven letters. Its potency for explosion – infinite. Today we are at the crux of change as Europe had been during the Renaissance. Our world today is torn apart by the greed of others. It is submerged in the excesses of the rich and the powerful. As per surveys conducted by the United Nations the top ten percent of the world’s population control two thirds of the earths natural resources. Today we are racked by war, hatred, racism, genocide and terrorism. It is at this hour we need the basic tenets of morality to guide us at the epoch of civilization, an era which compromises the best of times and the worst of times. In troubled times we turn to others for help. In these days there exists no more kindred souls so we are left to turn to ourselves for help. When we turn to ourselves, let us at least be true to our conscience, so that we may escape from the sin of deceit. Today’s society demands that we compromise on our basic morality for survival. In this world deceit has taken over our lives. We lie to ourselves, our friends, to our enemies, to our employers and to our near and dear ones. We are forced to and rarely do we have a choice. Even if we had a choice, there rarely exists a person of sufficient moral fiber to exercise his or her choice. Even if we are compelled to deceit for the sake of others, let us not lie blatantly and remorsefully but take heed that what we are doing is wrong. Today many circumstances demand that we resort to deceit, so that we may eke out a decent living, live with dignity and protect those around us. The evils of globalization, terrorism, bigotry and unnecessary competition for basic necessities have ensured that. It is no more an option but a necessity for the common man to turn to deceit. Let us take a look at some fairly recent examples close to our home and in the international scenario. During the riots in Gujarat several people were killed, burnt, raped and tortured. All for the sake of religious bigotry. Now if a person wishes to escape unharmed with his or her dignity intact, and in the course of escape if should he have to lie about his religious interests to do so, cannot be condemned for every one has been given the right to live with dignity.

In Todays Society :: essays research papers

In today’s society the public branding of the Gap name can be found everywhere. Go to any big city in North America and there will be public branding of the Gap name. Almost any major company will participate in public branding of their name. Gap keeps on public branding their name more and more effectively. Sides of buses, large billboards downtown, benches and subway stations will have the Gap name branded all over them. These are examples of public branding. Public branding is good for marketing . This is clearly illustrated by Gap because one of the main reasons for their successful marketing is their use of public branding. The goal of publicly branding is to get your company’s name known and for it to become popular . If your company becomes known and popular then your advertising program will be successful. Public branding keeps on getting more visible in today’s society. Names of a new brand that convey easily understood product attributes in short snappy wa ys are the best. Gap sales this year were the best in company’s history , largely due to the public branding of their name. It is evident that public branding is a big and important part of Gap’s marketing.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The other aspect of branding is personal branding. Personal branding clothes are articles of clothing that you wear that brand the company’s name on the clothes. Personal branding has is a relatively new concept. Up until 30 years ago personal branding was unheard of . The concept of personal branding is very popular among teenagers . Some of the reasons for this are: 1)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In today’s society it is considered in style to wear personal branding clothes. 2)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You let people know that you bought this article of clothing from that company. If they consider that company to be prestigious then you will want people to know that they bought your article of clothing from that company. This is the case with Gap. Most people consider Gap to be a prestigious store so they will wear personal branding clothes from the Gap. This is evident because the top three selling articles of clothes from Gap are personal branding clothes. Some reasons for this are because personal branding clothes provide free advertising. These types of clothes are in style today. At the Gap this is especially true. It is important to keep on selling these type of clothes because most people (especially teenagers) feel that if a product is marketed well, there is a better chance they will buy it.

The Effects of Obesity in Adults

In today's society overeating can create a vast amount of changes, that may affect lifestyles of daily living. According to CDC, more than one-third of U.S. adults were obese in 2011-2012. The effects of obesity can lead a person down a road, which can be hard to manage in life. A BMI of 30 is about 30 lb overweight and equivalent to 221 lb in a 6'0†³ person and to 186 lb in one 5'6†³ (American Journal). The National Institutes of Health (NIH) now defines normal weight, overweight, and obesity according to BMI rather than the traditional height/weight charts (NIH). People with a body mass index of 30 or more are considered obese, and those with a B.M.I. of 40 or more are severely obese (NYTimes). Obese individuals have a high risk for chronic health conditions and complications. To name a few: hypertension, cardiovascular disease, knee / joint problems, psychological issues, diabetes, and death. Obesity is a measure by body mass index, which is determined by height and weight. If a person gains between 10-20 pounds they are at a high risks of hypertension (OAC). As you gain weight, so does stress throughout the body which causes hypertension. The more food and drink a person consumes in turn will increase their sodium level. Due to the increase of sodium and fat into the diet the endocrine system is forced to compensate and can result in an increase in blood pressure. Hypertension is a chronic condition caused by an increase in blood pressure and is a common complication for obese patients.Abdominal distention is a common complication due to layers of fat that have accumulated on top of muscle. The abdominal wall compressing against the diaphragm causes discomfort for an obese patient and also limits sleeping positions. Sleep apnea is another common complication of obese patients due to the softening of the tissue in the mouth and throat causing the airway to be obstructed. Many of these patients must be placed on a bipap machine while they sleep to help regulate their breathing. Obesity is also associated with knee and joint issues. Increase weigh strains the body, as a person tries to walk with additional weight. Ideal body weight is classified as 50 kilograms for 5 ft. Anything past 5ft is multiplied by 2.3 + 50 to get ideal body weight. For example; a 6'0 ft person ideal body weight would be 50 + 2.3 x 12 equals 77.6 kilograms. Any weight above the average weight is considered obese. Over time the tissues and connective tendons become damaged from the strain of the weight that is bearing down on the knee. Being only 10 pounds overweight increases the force on the knee by 30-60 pounds with each step (John Hopkins). Being overweight increases, the load placed on the joints such as the knee, which increases stress and could possibly hasten the breakdown of cartilage (John Hopkins). Clearly increase weight does have significant impact on walking, causing fatigue, and joint / knee issues.Psychological consequences of being overweight or obese can include lowered self-esteem and anxiety, and more serious disorders such as depression and eating disorders such as binge eating, bulimia and anorexia (MentalHelp). Obese people are made fun of and looked down upon. Obese people have less energy, due to taking more momentum to get their body going. More weight means more force needed to get moving. Hollywood paints an image that everyone around is thin. When it comes to obese people there's a tendency for depression, trying to compare with society. While being depressed obese people have a tendency to want to eat more and lay around doing nothing. Within that mind state leads to eating more and gaining additional weight. Over time, even ordinary tasks of daily life like going up a flight of stairs can lead to exhaustion and a sense of premature aging (Mentalhelp). Diabetes is another consequence associated with being obese. Obese people have a tendency, to eat more sweets, and carbohydrates that turn into glucose. People who are overweight or have obesity have added pressure on their body's ability to use insulin to properly control blood sugar levels, and are therefore more likely to develop diabetes (Obesity Society). Obese people are at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, which often occurs in children or adolescents, is caused by the body's inability to make insulin or type 2 diabetes, which occurs as a result of the body's inability to react properly to insulin (insulin resistance). Type 2 diabetes is more prevalent than type 1 diabetes and is therefore seen in roughly 90% of all diabetes cases (Obesity Society). Compared with normal-weight adults, obese adults had at least 20% significantly higher rate of dying with cardiovascular disease (NIH). Plaque builds up due to more fats in diet, which leads to coronary artery disease. As the buildup continues throughout duration of life, so does blockage in the coronary arteries. A block in the coronary arteries with cause decrease cardiac output. With the decrease in blood flow, cardiac tissue death starts to form. Blockage in the heart creates myocardial infarction. Prolong tissue necrosis will lead to cardia death, resulting in death itself. For CVD, death was advanced by 10.3 and 12.8 years in adults aged 45 to 64 years categorized as grades II and III obese (Luisa N. Borrell). Obesity can cause a lot of issues that can be detrimental to activities of daily living. Just as a little of increase weight, the body starts to break itself down. While, normal healthy adult weight is less than BMI of 26, and obesity is anything above BMI 30. A little increase in weight can be life altering. The activities daily living related with obesity decreases in an adult's life. Several different diseases are involved with obesity, most can be cured with just a minor decrease in weight.

Benefits of Electronic Medical Records

Benefits of Electronic Medical Records Stephanie Fine HCS/490 December 5, 2011 Cindy Perkins Benefits of Electronic Medical Records * â€Å"In 1972, the Regenstreif Institute developed the first medical records system† (Unknown, History of Electronic Medical Records, 2011, Para. 3). Since then, health care facilities across the nation are beginning to see the benefits that electronic medical records have on both health care providers and patients as well. This paper will discuss the benefits of electronic medical records for patients as well as one aspect relating to the values and importance of maintaining confidentiality when using this mode of communication. This paper will provide at least one reason this mode is an effective means of communication between consumers and providers and explain how this mode of communication differs from others. Finally, this paper will show how media and social networking change communication in health care as well as how electronic medical records can be used to market health care products or services. Although there are many benefits for patients and Electronic medical records this paper will focus on the top three. The first benefit would be that â€Å"Electronic medical records (EMR’s) help improve the care of patients and reduce medical errors in doctors’ offices† (Huckestein, 2011, Para. 1). This is because all of a patients medical records are kept in one place and access ed through a secured web portal by any provider that the patient must see. This leave less room for errors due to unspoken information that can be critical to the patient but forgotten to say to the provider such as allergies, medications, and previous diagnoses. The second benefit would be the ease of access. Most health care facilities that use electronic medical records also use e-prescriptions as well. â€Å"Prescriptions are electronically sent directly to pharmacies and are ready to be picked up after the office visit† (Huckestein, 2011, Para. 5). This helps to cut down on time and eroors made in patient medications. Along with quick prescription services the patient does not always have to wait for the doctor’s office to open to request information from their providers. â€Å"Patients may also be able to request referrals, prescriptions refills, and appointments through the Internet from their physicians’ offices† (Huckestein, 2011, Para. 5). The third benefit of electronic medical records for patients is the comfort of knowing that their medical records are kept safe , secure , and will never be lost. Keeping these records electronically, especially in the cases where patients can also gain access to them, means the patient won't be left without the records she may need† (Torrey, 2011, Para. 7). This is especially comforting to have if the health facility were happen to close or go out of buisness. The patient knows that he or she will still have all necessary records to continue with the health care that he or she needs. * While ease of access is very important, secu rity of electronic medical records is just as important. Health providers are required to abide by all HIPAA laws within the office as well as electronically. It is very important that not only health care staff but patients as well keep all passwords and user information to themselves and never reveal security information with others. This helps to ensure that all medical information is kept safe and free from identity theft and other crimes involving sharing or reveling medical information to anyone who is not authorized to view it. One reason this mode is an effective means of communication between consumers and providers the ease of access to all medical records in the event of an emergency situation. When a patient is well or seeing a provider for non emergency situations they are able to provide accurate information needed to help keep electronic medical records up to date. This data is kept in the same file and used to help the patient in the event of an emergency that perhaps the patient is unable to speak or inform the health prov iders of their medical history, medications, and or disease or illnesses they may have. At most, quick access to our records can be lifesaving if an emergency occurs and answers to those questions are needed during the emergency decision-making process† (Torrey, 2011). This can be very useful if the patient happened to be on vacation or out of town. It can â€Å"Provide a single, shareable, up to date, accurate, rapidly retrievable source of information, potentially available anywhere at any time† (Unknown, Electronic Medical Records, Electronic Health Records †¦ , 2011, Para. 12). * It is clear that electronic medical records are beneficial and different from any other mode f communication. This is because it is a direct link between both the provider and the patients. It is also set up to still be available regardless of a tragic event such as 911. Paper files, fax, and phone messages can be destroyed in a flood or fire but electronic medical records are here to stay. â€Å"Large scale EMR systems replicate their stored records in several places across the country so that one tragic event won't destroy them† (Torrey, 2011, Para. 4). * Another area that can be benefited by electronic medical records is health care product and service providers. Just like the ads one may find on social networks like face book and MySpace, ads for health care products and services can be place on the web portals that patients and providers use to obtain their electronic medical records. On the patient side, the patients can see new and upcoming health care products that they can discuss with their providers to help with medical issues. They can also see service ads for sites such as Web MD and the Mayo Clinic that help answer other questions they may have regarding healthier lifestyles and other information. On the provider side, there could be ads on new medications and drug reps that can help them decide what medications they would like to prescribe in their facility. * In conclusion, electronic medical records are a huge step forward in the health care world for both providers and patients. This paper has discussed the benefits of electronic medical records for patients as well as one aspect relating to the values and importance of maintaining confidentiality when using this mode of communication. This paper has provided three reasons this mode is an effective means of communication between consumers and providers and explained how this mode of communication differs from others. Finally, this paper has shown how media and social networking change communication in health care as well as how electronic medical records can be used to market health care products or services. * References Huckestein, D. (2011). Patients Benefit from Electronic Medical Records. Retrieved from IHA: http://www. ihacares. com/index. cfm/news-room/patients-benefit-from-electronic-medical-records/ Torrey, T. 2011, April 11). The Benefits of Electronic Medical Records (EMRs). Retrieved from About. com: http://patients. about. com/od/electronicpatientrecords/a/EMRbenefits. htm Unknown. (2011, September 14). Electronic Medical Records, Electronic Health Records †¦ . Retrieved from Open Clinical: http://www. openclinical. org/emr. html Unknown. (2011). History of Electronic Medical Records. Retrieved fr om http://www. nasbhc. org/atf/cf/%7BCD9949F2-2761-42FB-BC7A-CEE165C701D9%7D/TA_HIT_history%20of%20EMR. pdf * * * * *

Marijuana Legalization: an Annotated Bibiliography

Colin Morris Ms. Morgan English 102-053 1 March 2013 Is it time for the Federal Government to Bud out of States’ Rights? : An Annotated Bibliography Cohen, Micah. â€Å"Marijuana Legalization and States Rights. † FiveThirtyEight Marijuana Legalization and States Rights Comments. The New York Times, 8 Dec. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: This article starts off by asking a new question about the legalization of marijuana. It doesn’t ask whether or not it should be legal, but if the government should change it’s laws on drug enforcement.The polls show that in most of them polls, half of the pollsters believe that it should be left up to the states that have legalized marijuana to decide the laws. It concludes by stating that even though some believe it should be left up to the states, 49% of those people are still opposed to legalization. Analysis: This article makes some very interesting points that are not really brought up in a normal legalization debat e. The issue of states’ rights brings a whole new side to the debate. He also does a very good job of keeping his bias out of the article.There are some places in his writing where his bias could have shown but he kept it out. Cohen’s numerous polls do all come to one conclusion; not everyone believes marijuana is a bad thing. Those supporting the issue of states’ rights could help turn the tide in this ongoing debate. What he lacks in this article is a way that pro-legalization leaders could use this new strategy to help their cause. A way to do this would be to show that there are average Americans who could have a say in this debate and not just stoners. Peterson, Bo. â€Å"Legal Pot in South Carolina? DonAt Hold Your Breath. † The Post and Courier.The Post and Courier, 13 Nov. 2012. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: This article draws support from unions and civil rights advocates in the Charleston area. These groups all agree that South Carolina should fol low with Colorado and Washington. But these groups are countered by senators who believe this issue not only has no ground, but has no chance of happening with this current legislation, due to it’s conservative nature. Analysis: Looking at this article as a South Carolinian, it just shows how for as long as I can remember, our state legislature has had a hard time getting anything accomplished.This article points out the ever growing gap between the people and the government in this state will be the main reason why marijuana will have a hard time being legalized. Bias is not an issue in this article, the writer addresses both sides and draws support from both sides. Even though this article has the general idea that legalization will not happen in South Carolina for awhile, the fact that there are people who think that it should happen, helps the cause as much as it can. Robillard, Kevin. â€Å"Medical Marijuana Bill Unveiled in House. † POLITICO.POLITICO, 25 Feb. 201 3. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: In this article, a bill was brought before congress that would help lay out a plan for the government to eventually legalize marijuana. Oregon Democrat Earl Blumenauer did this in an effort to shed some some light on the federal pot policy. Surprisingly this bill has 13 co-sponsors. These sponsors happen to come from both parties, one is a Republican from California. Though his bill isn’t likely to pass, bills in New Hampshire, Illinois, New York and Maryland are expected to pass to make medicinal marijuana legal.Analysis: This article does nothing but give hope to the pro-legalization crowd. These bills that are circulating through various state Houses are nothing but good news. This writer does a nice job of bringing in people for sources who are actually close to the issue. One of these sources has the idea that medicinal marijuana could help troops with post-traumatic stress. That would be affective but would require a motion from not only p eople within legislature, but an idea could be to bring in some military execs to help back their claims.But the issue still remains that there are still people a lot of pro-legalization people who do not have a voice. But until there is one solid voice for this issue, it will not go anywhere in the House or the Senate. Pack, Lauren. â€Å"Marijuana Summit Counters Legalization Movement. † Dayton, Ohio Network News, Weather, Traffic, Sports. WHIOTV, 28 Feb. 2013. Web. 28 Feb. 2013. Summary: This article was on a regional marijuana summit in Ohio. This event brought in people from all sides of the issue, from the business, medical, education, law enforcement and government.Since there are 18 states that have legalized pot, Ohio is looking to push into that group. The usual arguments were brought up from the pro crowd, but the anti-legalization brought up a valid point, 10 percent of card holders in those states actually have a legit reason to have them, but 90 percent use them for headaches etc. But the summit came to the conclusion that if it is about business then they can support it. Analysis: This kind of summit is something that tends to be happening more and more across the country.These summits bring people together who can actually make a difference when the legalization issue comes up. What people don’t realize is that when there is an issue that needs attention all it takes is important people in numbers getting behind then. This kind of summit could actually help progress the pro-legalization cause. The smartest part of the way this summit is constructed was by bringing in people who held power in all parts of the local government. If this method was used across the country, the pro-legalization group would have a much better chance of succeeding.Ludwig, Mike. â€Å"Is America ready to Legalize Marijuana?. † Truthout. Truthout, 7 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. Summary: This article tracks another bill that is circulating from the House rather than the Senate. The democratic Rep. from Colorado is proposing a bill that would help lay out a plan that could start a motion to legalize marijuana within the next few years. Support is drawn from polls that are stating that slightly more than half of all Americans belief that adults should be able to purchase marijuana like they do alcohol or tobacco.The bill proposes to remove pot from the Controlled Substance Act. Analysis: This article like most others on the subject, gives marijuana users hope that one day they will not be discriminated. Seeing that there is more than one person in Congress trying to make this works makes users believe they can use freely soon. The more that I look into these articles, the more I find that there really are a good amount of people who actually want to make this happen. By bringing in the idea that we are spending too much money on the war on drugs, the argument for pro-legalization grows new legs.By laying out a plan for all of th e money America could be saving, more people could gather around this idea that the debt that keeps going up, could eventually come down to a more manageable amount. Hale, Gary. â€Å"What Is the Best Regulatory Framework for Legalized Marijuana? † Baker Institute Blog. N. p. , 31 Feb. 2013. Web. 01 Mar. 2013. Summary: In this article, the writer addresses the issue of what exactly would be legal when it comes to the future of marijuana.It addresses the issue of the new business side as well Dispensaries would have to gather numerous permits and would rapidly increases in numbers in just a few months. But first the government would have to remove marijuana from the Controlled Substance Act. Until that happens, all of this talk is just speculation. Analysis: This article brings some new ideas to the table as well as some more roadblocks that are not normally talked about. With marijuana being on the banned drugs list, that is the largest hurdle that is left for marijuana to be totally legalized.Right now it is in the same category as LSD and heroine, some people would find that a little excessive. In my opinion marijuana does not even come close to being as dangerous as LSD or heroine. The writer does a nice job at keeping his bias out of his writing. He does an even better job at making hard to detect what side of the argument he falls on. But outside of that the article lays down so pretty interesting ideas that the pro legalization crowd could use in later arguments.

Liberalization and Iraq Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Liberalization and Iraq - Essay Example This is a far cry from what previous eras had defined for the country. In present day the people of Iraq are alleviated from burdens of decades past. These burdens were emphasized to have been political rulings that had been placed on them in the form of cruel and cold dictatorships. The main focus now is in regard to what the political differences could be between this country and others, like Britain in particular. Also, what the exact characteristics of the country use to be in post WWII until now is another question that many are investigating and defining. So, it was the people as a whole society, and the past political differences into today that are the main focus of what is being defined in this literature. The history of Iraq speaks volumes in itself. Once known as the "Cradle of Civilizationi", it was given this title due to the diverseness of the land and the many ethnicities that were found there. Furthermore, there have been many conquerors of this land and thus many different political beliefs as well. From times dating back to 3360 it is found the Sumerians were in control of this region, then moving forward in time to 1534-1922 it is found that the Ottoman Empire (a Turkish power) ruled supreme over the territory thus influencing Iraq and its people to carry similar political beliefs of a Turkish belief systemii. This was of course until the Ottoman Empire collapsed during WWI and the British Political Party gained control over the region. However, times changed rather fiercely over a changing period, allowing for power of the land to continuously switch hands as wars took place (some religious and some between other countries), and various societal views changed. Nevertheless, the British Empire had a strong dominance in the Middle East for a good period of time. Furthermore, they had a good part to play in the Arab revolt that took place, due to the fact that they were trying to liberalize the politics and policies of the country and it simply wasn't something the Iraqi people wanted at that time. Therefore, the British forces realized that they were going to be up against a Muslim uprising due to their tactics. In many ways, this could be presumed to have been a form of independence instead of liberalization for the Middle Eastern part of the world, though not wholly so.iii It was during this period that there developed the identity of the Arabs and the Muslims. History shows that the Brits had the support of the Arabs on their side, which led to the religious war that was rather what took place in the Middle East during the period of WWI, WWII, and continuing on into post WWII. Obviously it was these very actions that led to the split in r eligious beliefs between Iran and Iraq. The Shiite, Kurd, and Sunni religions developed but what the Brits had hoped for did not take place as the Shiite people; nor any of the other groups were in favor of British political beliefs either and where found to be Anti-British just as much so as the Muslim Religious leaders wereiv. The reason for this was in a large part due to the huge religious differences between western thought (Britain) and the Iraqi's, as well as Iranian citizens. Some remarkable historical differences between Britain and the Iraqi people is the fact that the Iraqi's have lived their lives surrounded by