Cultural Advertising (how culture influences advertising) Research Paper

Scholarship, Practice and Leadership in Higher Education

From a logical perspective, what advanced education requests in the present setting of the Information Age and the globalized, computerized economy is a dream of progress and change; that is, a dream for pushing ahead, a dream which recognizes errors and all the more critically, addresses them. Note that instructing and learning are forms; major methods of human conduct and attempt. With the expanding interest for advanced education across nations, and as new innovation applications rise, the greater part of chairmen, workforce, and understudies grasp another instructive framework; one which is based upon data innovation. While this is valid, it is additionally evident that the advanced partition is enlarging. This is to state that youngsters from the most reduced layers of society have less access to PCs, the Worldwide Web, and new data assets in their schools than the well off. Such real factors make future issues for these kids on account of the way that most vocations these days require data innovation aptitudes. Inside this specific circumstance, this paper tries to elucidate how data proficiency impacts, shapes and forms grant, practice, and administration in advanced education. It is imperative to take note of that there are various meanings of data education yet the vast majority of these definitions are gotten from the definition gave by the American Library Association (ALA) Presidential Committee on Information Literacy (1989): To be data proficient, an individual must have the option to perceive when data is required and be able to find, assess, and use successfully the required data (p. ) As far as advanced education is concerned, data proficiency at that point ought not be seen as order explicit, however the opposite way around; a position contended by Diane Zabel in her article qualified Å"A Reaction for Information Literacy and Higher Education.  Å"It is basic that data education not remain in detachment however be coordinated over the curriculum  (Zabel, 2004). It very well ma y be seen that the requests of the current worldwide and computerized economy require more coordinated effort and deliberate endeavors. On the off chance that we are to conform to such requests, the course that our organizations of advanced education should take, as far as their guidance and research ought to be inclining towards multi-disciplinary, participatory and collective methodologies. Å"For data education to succeed, it must be incorporated, pertinent, continuous, communitarian, and applied  (Zabel, 2004). Such thoughts resound even in Sean Lauer and Carrie Yodanis article entitled, Å"The International Social Survey Program: A Tool for Teaching with an International Perspective.  Lauers and Yodanis center is, be that as it may, on the instructing of humanism in the undergrad educational plan. Throughout the years that we have utilized ISSP in the study hall, we have discovered that it contributes to a learning domain wherein understudies sociological inquiries and answers are not restricted to their own nation yet are cross-national  (Lauer et al, 2004). The flow worldwide and advanced economy has suggest ions as far as guidance and research, yet additionally on the idea of authority. In most definitely, corporate business exercises additionally will in general put premium on cooperation, coordinated efforts, and aggregate quality as far as authority. In the flow worldwide and computerized economy, the thought is for a person to be fit for performing multiple tasks and systems administration; employees who don't just educate yet in addition do look into, rehearsing attendants who don't just carry out clinical responsibility yet additionally examine, sociologists working next to each other with clinical experts, and so forth. In the last investigation, data proficiency is a significant fundamental ability that an individual ought to have so as to adapt up to the requests of the globalized and advanced economy.

The Costs of Alcohol and Drug Treatment

The Costs of Alcohol and Drug Treatment Addiction Coping and Recovery Methods and Support Print The Costs of Alcohol and Drug Rehab By Buddy T facebook twitter Buddy T is an anonymous writer and founding member of the Online Al-Anon Outreach Committee with decades of experience writing about alcoholism. Learn about our editorial policy Buddy T Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Steven Gans, MD on June 04, 2015 Steven Gans, MD is board-certified in psychiatry and is an active supervisor, teacher, and mentor at Massachusetts General Hospital. Learn about our Medical Review Board Steven Gans, MD Updated on January 19, 2020 Caiaimage / Rafal Rodzoch / Getty Images More in Addiction Coping and Recovery Methods and Support Overcoming Addiction Personal Stories Alcohol Use Addictive Behaviors Drug Use Nicotine Use If you are considering seeking professional treatment for a drug or alcohol problem, one of the first questions you will probably have is, How much will it cost? In fact, one of the main reasons that people delay getting drug and alcohol treatment is the costs involved. The problem with trying to find an answer to how much rehabilitation will cost is that there are so many variables involved, including the type of treatment you need and the length of time you will need to be in the treatment program. On top of that, the price that addiction treatment programs charge for the exact same services can differ greatly from one facility to the next, depending on the location of the facility and the extras that the program may provide basic services. Although the average monthly cost of treatment is estimated at around $3,800, that average includes programs offered by the Veterans Administration and other federal and state agencies that cost the consumer little or nothing. It also includes both residential and outpatient programs, which can vary widely in costs. Even private residential rehabilitation programs can vary widely in price. They can cost as little as $7,500 a month on the low end, to $10,000 to $20,000 for a higher quality program, all the way to $80,000 to $120,000 a month for luxury rehab programs designed for executives, celebrities, professional athletes and other high-profile patients. Factors Affecting Rehab Costs The main factors that come into play affecting the costs involved in professional drug and alcohol treatment include:The type of treatment neededThe length of the treatment programThe amenities offered by the facilityThe location of the facility Type of Treatment Program Treatment programs can be outpatient or residential. Naturally, inpatient or residential programs are going to cost more because you will eat, sleep and live at the rehab facility. You are there 24 hours a day, which requires the facility to have staff members on duty around the clock for as long as you are in treatment. Residential programs are also required to have medical care available, which means the facility has to have a physician and/or nurse on duty or on call at all times. Outpatient programs, on the other hand, are generally only open during business hours. Depending on the type of services the program provides, you may need to actually be at the facility a few hours a day, or perhaps even only a few hours a week, meaning the costs are much less expensive. Another financial advantage of outpatient programs is you can continue to work and earn wages while receiving treatment, compared to a residential program that would require you to take vacation/sick days or a leave of absence from work to attend. An Overview of Drug and Alcohol Rehab Length of Treatment Required When you first begin alcohol or drug treatment, you will go through an evaluation assessment, after which a counselor will make a recommendation as to how long you should stay in treatment to have the best chance of achieving your goals. Unless you are court-ordered into rehab, you are the person who makes the final decision about how long you stay in a treatment program. The evaluator may recommend that you commit to a 90-day residential program, but you are the one who will decide how long you need to remain in the program. It is possible that all you need is a short detoxification program followed by a short period during which your withdrawal symptoms are monitored and medicated as necessary. A detox program can take a little as three to five days or up to a week to 10 days, perhaps two weeks at the longest. However, depending on your evaluation, the counselor may recommend that you continue your treatment for 28 days, 90 days or even longer. In the case of heroin addiction, you could be placed in a methadone or suboxone treatment program that lasts for a year and sometimes longer. Naturally, the longer that you are in the program, the more your treatment is likely to cost. A short two-week detoxification program is going to cost a lot less than 28 days in a residential rehab facility. Amenities Offered by the Facility Professional alcohol and drug treatment is a consumer item. If you can afford it, you can get the treatment you need along with many other personal services you desire in luxury surroundings with all of the amenities you would expect at a first-class resort or spa. There are luxury treatment centers that offer their clients everything from meals prepared by gourmet chefs to personal trainers and private nurses. They can offer hair and nail technicians, massage therapists and personal assistants. Some facilities offer private workout rooms, hot tubs, and saunas and provide limousine service to and from the facility. Some luxury centers allow their upscale clients to bring their children with them and provide services and recreational activities for those children in luxury surroundings. There are facilities that allow clients to bring their pets to rehab with them and provide a complete line of pet services including grooming, massages and even pet therapy. In short, the more amenities the facility offers, the higher the price tag. Location of the Facility The location of the facility is another factor in the ultimate cost of seeking treatment. It stands to reason that services provided at a facility located with an ocean or waterfront view, or a center located on a secluded mountain top, are going to cost more than one located in the inner-city. Luxury-type facilities that were built specifically to be a treatment center are probably going to cost more than one located in a former residence or office building. Again, if you can afford it, you can choose the surroundings in which you go through alcohol and drug treatment, whether it is on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, or in a bleak government-maintained building in the city. Luxury Treatment Programs Going to drug or alcohol rehab does not mean you have to give up the luxurious surroundings and amenities that you are used to. If money is not an issue, you can find a facility that can provide you all of the services that you desire, but expect to pay an average between $20,000 to $80,000 a month for your treatment program, and depending on how many extra services you require, up to $120,000 a month. Typical Treatment Programs The vast majority of drug and alcohol residential treatment programs in the United States offer very few, if any, luxury amenities. They mostly provide the basics: a room with a bed, bathroom, television, and space to store your personal items. At some facilities, you can save money if you do not mind sharing a room. If you do not need luxury amenities and are looking for a facility that offers high-quality drug and alcohol treatment services, you can find many of them with an average cost between $10,000 and $20,000 a month. Low-Cost Treatment Programs If you have health insurance, you can find low-cost treatment options by finding facilities that accept private insurance. Your insurance plan may not cover all of the costs of your alcohol and drug treatment, but most of them today will pay for detoxification services, treatment of withdrawal symptoms, and psychological counseling for substance abuse problems. Most insurance plans will no longer pay for residential treatment, so most patients who rely on private insurance to pay for their treatment choose outpatient programs instead. The average cost of an outpatient program is around $1,400, but some outpatient programs can cost $10,000 a month. If you find that you need residential treatment, and your insurance will not pay for it, many facilities will work out a payment plan with you for their residential services, so that you can pay by the month while receiving services. Free Treatment Programs If you do not have insurance and you have limited financial resources, there are still alcohol and drug treatment options available to you. Many state and local health or social services departments offer low-cost or free alcohol and drug treatment programs based on your income and ability to pay. Because they are free, however, there may be a waiting list to get into the programs, but they are available in most areas. Some treatment services, such as detox and withdrawal treatment, can be obtained free for those who qualify for Medicaid or Medicare. There are also free drug and alcohol treatment programs offered by non-profit or charity organizations and faith-based groups. These organizations can offer everything from detoxification services to individual and group counseling, to sober-living homes, and support group participation. And of course, there is Alcoholics Anonymous, a completely free support group in which millions have learned to live a sober life since it was founded in 1935. If you are serious about quitting drugs or alcohol, there is help available no matter what your financial situation. How to Find and Addiction Recovery Program

The Book The Complete Persepolis - 1634 Words

In the graphic autobiography, The Complete Persepolis, the theme of identity is displayed throughout the novel, from the opening chapter, up until the last. The autobiography depicts the life of Marjane Satrapi from childhood to adult years, during and proceeding the Islamic Revolution. Throughout the novel, Satrapi overcomes many personal and physical obstacles, but none more prominent than her discovering her identity. As a child, Satrapi was forced to grow up faster than the average child because of the unfortunate circumstances that were happening in her country, which greatly impacted her self-esteem and self-identity. Even when entering adolescence and into adulthood, Satrapi still greatly struggled with finding her identity. Though Satrapi has grew up, moved across various settings, and attempted to adapt to different cultures, her struggle to find her self-identity has been a long, conflicting journey, making identity one of the main themes of Persepolis. In 1980, when the Ki ng made it obligatory for girls to wear a veil at school, Satrapi showed her first sign of identity struggle. Satrapi’s upbringing caused her to have an internal struggle with whether women should be forced to wear a veil or not. â€Å"I really didn’t know what to think about the veil. Deep down I was very religious but as a family we were modern and avant-garde† Satrapi explained (Satrapi 6). At just 10 years old, Satrapi was expected to discover her stance on whether women should be forced to wearShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of The Book The Complete Persepolis 2283 Words   |  10 PagesIntroduction Benjamin Cardozo, an American jurist, said â€Å"Freedom of expression is the matrix, the indispensable condition, of nearly every other form of freedom.† In The Complete Persepolis, it is clearly seen that when a standard is set for women’s attire, restrictions of other freedoms come along with it. Throughout the book, the author, Marjane Satrapi, recounts her life in Iran after the Islamic Revolution of 1979, and the difficulties she encountered. She struggled with restricted freedomsRead MoreThe Complete Persepolis By Marjane Satrapi1552 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout The Complete Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi the idea of inequality is introduced through several examples. Marjane Satrapi uses the title to comment on inequality in all aspects of Marjane’s life, including gender, religious, economic, and racial status. Although there are several forms of inequality that the title attempts to highlight within the story, it focuses primarily on the issues of gender inequality by comparing the issues that Marjane faces due to her gender and comparing itRead MorePersepolis Assignment1402 Words   |  6 Pages Satrapi states in the introduction of the 2004 Pantheon version of The Complete Persepolis that Iran, an â€Å"old and great civilization[,] has been discussed mostly in connection with fundamentalism, fanaticism, and terrorism.† She expresses that, â€Å"as an Iranian who has lived more than half of [her] life in Iran, [she] know[s] that this image is far from the truth. This is why writing Persepolis was so important to [her]. [She] believe[s] that an entire nation should not be judged by the wrongdoingsRead MoreMarjane Satrapis Persepolis: A Personal Version and Vision of the Iranian Revolution1341 Words   |  5 PagesPersepolis: Marjane Satrapis personal version and vision of the Iranian Revolution Marjane Satrapis Persepolis is a graphic novel that suggests that there is a sharp discrepancy between the world of the Iranian Revolution, as depicted in the Western media, versus how many Iranians experienced it in the context of their own lives. Satrapi was the product of a liberal home environment. Behind closed doors, the life the young Marjane led was often very different from the images of burka-wearingRead MoreMotherhood, the Needle and Thread1405 Words   |  6 Pagesperson you can turn to for advice, expect love and warmth from, or tell you who you should be dating. In most cases one’s mother or a mother figure would spring into their minds. Motherhood is and underlying theme that affects all characters in both Persepolis and A Thousand Splendid Suns. Essentially, it highlights the unfair treatment directed towards women in their countries. During the course of both novels all women, even those who were not mothers, are burdened with the strict morals imposed uponRe ad MorePersepolis Marxism Analysis1133 Words   |  5 PagesEffects of Consumerism in Persepolis The Complete Persepolis, an autobiographical novel by Marjane Satrapi, tells the tale of Marjane’s childhood in Iran. In this story, Marjane (Marji) is brought up by communistic parents. Evidence of this Marxist upbringing is displayed several times throughout the book, like early on in the story when young Marji exclaims that â€Å"it was funny to see how much Marx and God looked like each other† (13). The audience can analyze Persepolis through a Marxist lens toRead MorePersepolis : The Invisible Art Essay1369 Words   |  6 PagesPersepolis In graphic memoir Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi illustrates the eventful life of Marji, an Iranian girl’s living most of her life in Tehran, Iran during the Islamic Revolution. The author commences her story as child and creates a timeline of series of events as she enters adulthood. Marji, represents many disenfranchise women, as she faces discrimination, exile, and confusion in her own country. Uniquely, Starapi’s work can be a justification to prove Scott McCloud’s design theories inRead MoreRole of Women in the Book Persepolis Essay895 Words   |  4 PagesRole of Women in Persepolis In the book, â€Å"The Complete Persepolis† written by Marjane Satrapi every woman had a prescribed role. The role of Marji’s maid was to show that social class differences do exist and to show what happens within these social class differences. Marji’s mother’s role was to support Marji and make sure that she was well off, while her grandmother’s role was also to support her and give her words of wisdom. Her school teachers’ role was to make sure that the female childrenRead MoreNot Just a Story of a Childhood Essay1117 Words   |  5 PagesTurpen/ 1 Marjane Satrapi’s Persepolis is one of the most intriguing books for not only students of history, but for anyone who can enjoy the historical time that was taking place in Islam through the late 1970s’ and 1980s’. Through the eyes of a child, Marji shows the underlying issues dealing with war from a child’s perspective, moral uncertainty and the impacts on class differences. War from a child’s perspective in Persepolis is so unique compared to other literary works because it is givingRead MoreMarjane Satrapi s Persepolis 1728 Words   |  7 PagesMarjane Satrapi deliberately uses an interesting layout usually used in successful comic books that convey deep messages. The layout of the graphics in Persepolis include elements such as panels, gutters, and graphic weight. The panels, or distinct segments of a comic containing a combination of images and texts, provide transitions that are instantaneous and direct. For example, on page seven, Satrapi uses a panel to show an innocent conversation with her grandmother about the rules she will assign

Electronic Health Records And Tele - 1978 Words

Introduction The use of electronic health records and tele-nurse has become very popular across the United States recently. These techniques allow offices to go paperless. Converting to electronic health records and tele-nursing has been proven to improve the overall success of physicians who are willing to convert to these methods. To make the best decisions, doctors must have the most accurate and up-to-date information for each client. Proper implementation of these methods will take time to work to perfection. Electronic health record and tele-nursing will guarantee that each patient receives the best services with a minimum of mistakes According to Furguson, â€Å"Telemedicine is the use of medical information exchange from one site to†¦show more content†¦As a result, doctors will have to be especially careful to ensure that only authorized personnel has access to viewing client’s records. The government has set laws that govern how and when a client’ s medical records can be viewed. First, any healthcare provider is mandated to notify the client if there has been a breach of information. In the United States, more than 500 hundred patients a year are victims of unauthorized viewing or breach in confidentiality (Shaul, 2000). Nevertheless, it is nearly impossible for a patient to correct an error in his/her medical records. When a patient has been the victim of medical identity theft, the patient and the culprit’s information becomes a new unidentified patient. Determining which information belongs to the original patient and the thief can become a long task. The thief might use the victim’s information to have major or specialty procedures completed. Such claims can be very expensive and cause the victim to max out on allotted treatments by his/her insurance company. Often, the victim does not realize that he/she is a victim until they go in for an actual procedure and their insurance claim is denied Ethical Issues Some ethical issues have been raised due to electronic health records. The major question that patients have is who is actually viewing their information and how will unauthorized

Business Macroeconomics Australian Economy

Question: Discuss about the Business Macroeconomics for Australian Economy. Answer: Housing is one the most important sector in the Australian economy and house is an asset that is owned by majority of Australian households. It is considered as an effective component of households wealth and also as popular investment decision. Changes in housing prices are a result of change in behaviour of number of economic variables. Biggest increase in residential property prices around 19.9% has been observed in Sydney during the year 2015. Reasons behind surging housing prices in Australia Increasing Immigrants: Population growth is fundamental to increasing housing demand, as it directly affects the number of households requiring accommodation. Population growth includes both natural increase and net migration. There has been continuous increase in population of Australia as a result of migration or increasing immigrants. This creates a direct impact on increasing housing prices in Australia as demand for accommodation increases at a higher rate. Migration added 473500 people to the Australian population (Davey, 2015). Sydney records its highest interstate migration in more than 35 years. This will automatically results in surging housing prices. Inflation: Increase in housing prices creates a drastic impact on inflationary conditions in Australia. As increasing number of immigrants increase population and thereby increasing prices of house in Australia as demand for dwelling increases at a higher rate. Moreover, in Sydney and Melbourne, the property values have grown faster than the rate of inflation over the previous five years. The real housing value growth in all cities of Australia in past five years is less than 1.5% in all cities except Sydney and Melbourne where growth rate is 12.5% and 4.2% respectively (Kusher, 2016). Additionally, increasing inflation leads to increase in maintenance cost of housing in Australia. Livability index higher than other countries: Australia is one of the most liveable places in the world having effective health status, housing conditions, subjective well-being, job and earnings. Australia is also second best country for its quality of life. Effective liveability conditions of Australia create its long lasting impact on majority of general people and immigrants. This leads to creation of more and more demand for housing facility in Australia. Among the major cities in Australia, Melbourne is the most liveable city. Additionally, the structure and conditions of housing also affects the liveability of cities effectively leads to increase in its prices (Australian Government, 2011). Therefore, increasing demand for housing facility leads to drastic increase in housing prices effectively. Preference of people for home than Apartments: Preferences of people to live in their own separate house as compared to apartments contribute effectively in increasing housing prices in Australia. The reason behind preference for house is its effective structure and housing conditions. Along with this, increasing prices of house leads to decrease in housing affordability because it will increase the difference between income level of people and price of houses. As per year 2014, the current ratio of housing prices in Australia to average peoples income is 31.6% (Jericho, 2014). This shows least affordability of housing facility due its increased price. Inability to compete with foreign investors: The high housing prices were currently experiencing in Australia especially in Sydney and Melbourne. There are large number of foreign investors in these areas who are willing to pay top dollar and locking the chance of local people to purchase houses. This leads to increase in affordability issue for local people because of willingness of foreign investors to pay even high price for purchasing the property (Law, 2014). Ultimately, it will results in inability of local people to compete with foreign investors. Macroeconomic solutions the government can undertake to ensure affordable housing prices Secure and affordable housing is fundamental to the wellbeing of Australians. It provides a platform for a wide range of benefits including connection to the community stable employment and a sense of home. There are large number of Australians who are not able to access affordable and sustainable housing. So, there is wide range of action taken by government of Australia for providing secure affordable housing to eligible Australians. At Common wealth level, the government makes different macroeconomic policies that influence the housing outcomes such as taxation setting, financial sector guidelines, development of infrastructure, income support system, immigration policy and agreement related to national housing (Gurran, et al., 2015). Government building social housing for poor: The facility of social housing is introduced by state government of Australia to provide housing facility to low income families and for homeless and poor people. It includes houses owned and managed by state government, housing managed and owned by community housing providers, and housing owned by Aboriginal Housing Office. The aim of government behind this policy is to provide dwellings that effectively help to meet priority social housing needs of people. The housing policy leads to creation of 23500 new social and affordable housing dwellings in Sydney (Yeomans, 2016). In addition to this, providing affordable housing is the important part of national economic infrastructure that leads to effective fulfilment of accommodation need of low income and homeless people. First-time home owner grant (New Homes) scheme: First home owner grant scheme was introduced by Australian government to help eligible first home owners for purchasing a new home or to build their own home through offering grant to them. The amount of grant is decided according to the date of eligible transaction. The date of eligible transaction is the date when contract to purchase a new home or contract to build a new home is made. Moreover, the eligible date for an owner builder is the date when the work of building starts. In addition to this, the eligibility criteria for buyer for getting grant includes that the date of contract must be either 1 January, 2016 of after this date, the home that buyer is going to purchase should be new and the age of buyer should be above 18 (NSW Government,2016). Along with this, the value of property should not be more than First Home Owner Grant Cap of $750,000, it is also required that minimum one applicant is an Australian citizen or permanent resident and there is also requirement to live in a home for a minimum period of 6 months. The grant amount for eligible transaction made on or after 1 January 2016 is $10,000 and the grant amount for transaction that is made between 1 October 2012 and 31 December 2015 is $15,000. Moreover, if a person receive the grant and fail to meet the eligibility requirement of receiving grant that it is required by that person to replay the grant. If the person fails to do this, then it can result into payment of penalty by that person up to $11000 and prosecution. National Affordable Housing Agreement (NAHA): The National Affordable Housing Agreement is introduced by Australian government to ensure that all Australian have chance to get affordable, sustainable and safe housing that will effectively helps to promote social and economic participation. The NAHA is an agreement by Council of Australian Government including whole-of-government approach for solving housing affordability problem effectively. This agreement offers $6.2 billion worth of housing backing for low and middle-income Australians (Australian Government, 2016). Additionally, this agreement is also supported by National Partnership Agreements on different aspects like social housing, homelessness and native Australian living in remote areas. Actions taken against foreign investors: As per Australian government, no foreign investor allowed to make investment for purchasing property in Australia without the approval of Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB). The government has also announced that no foreign investor can purchase existing residential real estate without government permission. However, they are allowed to purchase new residential property according to the demand of housing stock. As per new laws of Australian government, the residential estate functions are transferred from FIRB to Australian taxation office. Moreover, the government has also taken strict actions against foreign investor who purchase property illegally, by either charging penalties or by forcing them to divest (The Guardian, 2015). The government is more concerned about housing affordability than high-end real estate transactions, so that lower and middle income families can get accommodation. Additionally, government of Australian has also decided to increase the price of stamp du ty and land taxes in order to prevent foreign investors to buy real estate properties in Australia. Other initiatives taken by government: Government of Australia also develop various initiatives through making changes to its planning legislation for increasing supply of affordable housing efficiently. Government has taken various measures to improve affordable housing facility initially through its State Environmental Planning Policy (Affordable Rental Housing) 2009 and afterwards through State Environmental Planning Policy No. 70 Affordable Housing. However, The NSW Government also established Greater Sydney Commission and it is effectively implemented by government to improve the supply of affordable accommodation facility in Sydney. The Greater Sydney Commission includes local and state government representatives and also independent experts for making effective planning and its implementation (NSW Government, 2015). Therefore, the solutions that are introduced by government are effectively helpful in improving the supply of affordable housing for lower and middle income group persons in Australia. References: Australian Government (2011) Livability. [Online]. Available at: https://www.environment.gov.au/science/soe/2011-report/10-built-environment/2-state-and-trends/2-1-livability . Australian Government (2016) National Affordable Housing Agreement. . [Online]. Available at: https://www.dss.gov.au/housing-support/programmes-services/national-affordable-housing-agreement . Davey, M. (2015) Australia's population increase from migration continues to slow. The Guardian. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/jun/26/fewer-australians-are-moving-overseas-but-more-are-moving-to-victoria. Gurran, N., Phibbs, P., Yates, J., Gilbert, C., Whitehead, C., Norris, M., Goodman, R. (2015) Housing markets, economic productivity, and risk: international evidence and policy implications for AustraliaVolume 1: Outcomes of an Investigative Panel.Australian Housing and Urban Research Institute (AHURI), pp.1-101. Jericho,G. (2014) Why Australia is the third most expensive place to buy a house. The Guardian. [Online]. Available at:https://www.theguardian.com/business/grogonomics/2014/jun/12/why-australia-third-most-expensive-houses. Kusher, C. (2016) Sydney Melbourne growth outpacing inflation. Realestate.com.[Online]. Available at: https://www.realestate.com.au/news/sydney-melbourne-growth-outpacing-inflation/ . Law, J. (2014) Housing affordability: Are foreign investors to blame for Australias high property prices. News.com. [Online]. Available at: https://www.news.com.au/finance/real-estate/buying/housing-affordability-are-foreign-investors-to-blame-for-australias-high-property-prices/news-story/710ba2cff1932f0fb3f81ce83a07946b . NSW Government (2015).Affordable rental housing: the problem and its causes. [Online]. Available at: https://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/researchpapers/Documents/affordable-rental-housing-the-problem-and-its-ca/Affordability%20in%20a%20nutshell%20-%20E-brief%20FINAL.pdf. NSW Government (2016) First Home Owner Grant (New Homes) scheme. [Online]. Available at: https://www.osr.nsw.gov.au/grants/fhog . The Guardian, (2015) Foreign investors face crackdown on Australian property purchases. [Online]. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2015/may/03/foreign-investors-face-crackdown-on-australian-property-purchases. Yeomans, C.(2016). Social housing: Mike Baird has set the standard for the rest of Australia. [Online]. Available at: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-01-27/yeomans-commonwealth-should-take-lead-on-social-housing-policy/7118172

Overview Essay Example

Overview Essay Organizations which adopt technological innovations in order to capitalize on their core competencies are called high-technology organizations (cited in Laudon Traver, 2007). Strategic management of high-technology organizations involves a constant process of managing change because the need is one of implementing a continuous improvement program by automating existing business processes. As a result high-technology organizations go through a constant process of business process reengineering. Existing business processes are reengineered to capitalize on technological innovations. Embedding technological innovations into existing business processes is not an easy task because the need is one of ensuring strategic alignment between business strategies and technology strategies. There is no doubt that technological innovations can save costs by streamlining the different business processes. However there are challenges to implementing these technological innovations and that is why, w hen it comes to managing high technology organizations, there is a critical need for the management to create an organizational culture which values strategic change.Case briefThe issue of the case is GE’s migration to the technological innovation of conducting business operations online. The case highlights Welch’s leadership as the critical factor in GE’s transformation as a high-technology organization. When Welch became CEO, he immediately set out to change the organizational culture of the company by streamlining and redefining its processes, by developing the people and by renewing its strategies. Nearing retirement, he was still a stranger to the business potential of the Internet until he saw the light while on vacation. Upon returning he immediately launched the e-business initiative. GE Plastics had already started an e-business initiative on its own. However Welch’s initiative speeded up the transition. GE Plastics served as an example for the other business units. Dissemination of information in the company was facilitated by a regular series of meetings and discussion forums round the year. Transferable best practices were researched and applied and through this process GE evolved from selling online to buying online to conducting its internal operations online. GE Plastics was the success story as it targeted conducting 90% of its transactions online. However, given the massive size of GE at the time it was implementing the e-business initiative, managing change was a complex task. The case illustrates the organizational culture that was GE’s number one enabling capability in managing the structural change of migrating to Internet-age competitiveness.GE’s capabilitiesCapabilities are the basis on which an organization builds its competitive advantage and in this respect one of the most important capabilities at GE was its environment which promoted a continuous process of strategic change. Capabilities lo se their value if they are reproducible by competitors. Therefore business organizations strive to develop core competencies which make its operations unique in terms of efficient and effective resource allocation. The challenge for the management in this respect is to develop the kind of core competencies which competitors cannot copy. This was the area in which GE had one of its most important capabilities: the area of organizational culture. One of the most important cultural characteristics at GE was the spirit of innovation. The management and the employees at GE were always collecting information on the existing business processes and disseminating it throughout the organization so that best practices could be identified and embedded in all business processes. The competitive advantage that resulted from this process of structural transformation was sustainable because competitors could not possibly replicate the cultural mindset that made the continuous improvement process wo rk at GE. If GE’s capabilities had included a collection of automated business functions, then the resultant competitive advantage would not be sustainable because competitors would soon automate their business functions as well. But since GE’s capabilities were based upon software, people and their intellectual capital which took years to develop, and not hardware, its competitive advantage was sustainable. The spirit of learning and growth that characterized the organizational culture at GE was the bedrock on which was built its other capabilities, such as customer-oriented business processes and the forward-looking performance measurement system. These capabilities built a sustainable competitive advantage by capitalizing on an organizational culture of boundaryless information transfer which in turn facilitated transfer of best practices from one business unit to another. As a result of this continuous process of benchmarking in terms of resource allocation, capabi lities such as customer focus or performance management constantly evolved to build a sustainable competitive advantage.Welch emphasized building a social architecture which could capitalize on the capabilities that GE possessed. In this he focused on developing the people, redefining the processes and revising the strategies. Even though Welch started out as CEO by eliminating nearly 100,000 positions, his focus was always on bringing the best of out his people. In this he invested a considerable level of resources in the Crotonville education center so that managers and their subordinates received training of strategic value. Welch also redefined processes by eliminating bureaucracy and in the process he created the sort of organizational culture which was intolerant of bureaucracy. He encouraged discussions between representations from different business units of the company. Implementation of the six sigma program and diversification into product services were some of the strate gies that GE implemented under Welch’s leadership. Welch used these revised strategies and processes to build and reinforce GE’s capabilities.Competitive advantage in internet-based businessOne of the strategies that Welch followed in revitalizing the culture was to transform GE into a boundaryless company. This enabled the Best Practices program which benchmarked GE both externally and internally. External benchmarking enabled the company to catch up and develop a competitive edge in the internet-based business. Because the organizational culture emphasized the need to incorporate best practices found in other industries, the GE staff was instantly able to find a parallel for its e-business initiative in the e-commerce sector by studying how Amazon took away market share from Barnes and Noble. So at the outset of executing the e-business initiative, the assumption was that competitors who were already using the internet to conduct their businesses would have the same kind of competitive advantage over GE that Amazon did over Barnes and Noble. Proceeding under that assumption, the GE team began to assess its own vulnerability against high-technology competitors by forming the dyb.com. In manning the dyb.com team, Gary Reiner emphasized that the people who worked in the team had to have three attributes. They needed to have strong marketing background, they needed to have project management skills and they were also required to have a passion for the internet. Skills and interests from all these three areas had to be coordinated in creating a technological solution that had to be mission critical. The dyb.com team began by analyzing how a hypothetical internet company could take market share away from GE and the analytical template they used was the case of Amazon.com vs. Barnes and Noble. Dyb.com was also given the task of developing preemptive measures and countermeasures for possible scenarios. In performing these tasks, the team was given cons iderable flexibility and was encouraged in out-of-the-box thinking as long as it did not break established company values.The formation of dyb.com was the critical first step which enabled GE to make a smooth migration to the new technological platform even though it was late in the game. However the efforts that the dyb.com people put in would not have the same level of energy if Welch had not constantly kept in touch with them and impressed upon them the importance of what they were doing. Top management support is critical when it comes to managing change because employees are not in a position to assess the strategic importance of managing change. Welch’s continuing support for dyb.com serves to illustrate the need for management support when it comes to business process reengineering with technological innovation as GE was doing at the time by migrating into the Internet based business. Given GE’s late arrival on the scene, it is doubtful whether the company would have made a successful transition, even with the help of first-mover GE Plastics, if Welch had not made it totally clear that successful implementation of the internet-based business was the only item on his agenda.Diffusing innovations through trustThe Chief Information Officer Gary Reiner emphasized the importance of company-wide communication as a means of diffusing innovations through all of GE’s business units. This was facilitated by the operating system calendar which scheduled a regular series of meetings between delegates from different business units where there were exchanges of ideas on best practices. The operating system calendar ensured that when Reiner started out in promoting the e-business cause, there was already a culture of trust pre-existing. This was a cumulative effect because the meetings under the operating system calendar were not standalone incidents. Each meeting in the calendar built upon the previous in terms of scope and each served to acceler ate the momentum with which initiatives were put into operation. According to this operating system, each initiative went through cycles of improvement. For example, the globalization initiative had been enriched through more than a dozen cycles. Other initiatives such as six sigma, services and e-business were in the fifth, the sixth and the third cycle respectively. These initiatives were put in operation in all business units and performance results were compared across business units during the meetings. The sharing of information that facilitated these comparisons built trust among employees from different sub-units.In diffusing the e-business innovation throughout GE, Reiner went beyond the operating system calendar to schedule additional meetings and to develop additional measurements that were more targeted towards the e-business initiative. In this respect he emphasized identification of transferable best practices which facilitated the development of peer-to-peer relations hips. Because CEOs from different business units discussed with each other the progress they were making in implementing the e-business initiatives in their own departments, all departments benefited from the shared information. It was the cross-functional interaction throughout the operating system calendar that Rainer built upon that enabled GE to diffuse all three technological innovations of e-sell, e-buy and e-make throughout the organization even though the strategic impact of all three innovations was still not clear.System Complexity and couplingGE managed system complexity and coupling well because it managed to diffuse technological innovations successfully through all twenty business units. Technological innovations are particularly difficult to integrate into existing business processes because they have to be customized towards serving the strategic focus of the company. Therefore it is well for the company incorporating technological innovations by stages as GE was doi ng to be able to tap into past experience. The management at GE made this possible by means of the operating system calendar according to which managers and employees from different business units exchanged ideas in meetings and discussion forums. The operating system calendar is an example of using coupling to manage system complexity. The coupling in this case was taking place between different business units in the form of transferable best practices. Therefore even though the information system that GE was developing was steadily growing in system complexity as it evolved from selling online to buying online to automating internal business processes online, the conversion process was efficient because lessons learned from applications in one department were periodically disseminated to the rest of the organization under the operating system calendar. In this way all the different business units were interconnected and diffusion of innovations occurred without losing their effect iveness in system complexity.As stated in the case, managers and employees at GE were not sure whether the internet was making a difference to the extent that Welch had promised them. However this was not an indication of how well the company was managing system complexity. It was simply an indication of industry trends according to which the market was not ready yet to conduct transaction online. For example, one of the conclusions from dyb.com’s studies was that an Amazon-style threat did not exist. Therefore GE clearly implemented technological innovations successfully. If they did not reach the desired targets, it was only because the company was moving ahead of the industry. That is evidence enough of the success with which GE managed system complexity in it’s ever evolving information systems. Overview Essay Example Overview Essay Organizations which adopt technological innovations in order to capitalize on their core competencies are called high-technology organizations (cited in Laudon Traver, 2007). Strategic management of high-technology organizations involves a constant process of managing change because the need is one of implementing a continuous improvement program by automating existing business processes. As a result high-technology organizations go through a constant process of business process reengineering. Existing business processes are reengineered to capitalize on technological innovations. Embedding technological innovations into existing business processes is not an easy task because the need is one of ensuring strategic alignment between business strategies and technology strategies. There is no doubt that technological innovations can save costs by streamlining the different business processes. However there are challenges to implementing these technological innovations and that is why, w hen it comes to managing high technology organizations, there is a critical need for the management to create an organizational culture which values strategic change.Case briefThe issue of the case is GE’s migration to the technological innovation of conducting business operations online. The case highlights Welch’s leadership as the critical factor in GE’s transformation as a high-technology organization. When Welch became CEO, he immediately set out to change the organizational culture of the company by streamlining and redefining its processes, by developing the people and by renewing its strategies. Nearing retirement, he was still a stranger to the business potential of the Internet until he saw the light while on vacation. Upon returning he immediately launched the e-business initiative. GE Plastics had already started an e-business initiative on its own. However Welch’s initiative speeded up the transition. GE Plastics served as an example for the other business units. Dissemination of information in the company was facilitated by a regular series of meetings and discussion forums round the year. Transferable best practices were researched and applied and through this process GE evolved from selling online to buying online to conducting its internal operations online. GE Plastics was the success story as it targeted conducting 90% of its transactions online. However, given the massive size of GE at the time it was implementing the e-business initiative, managing change was a complex task. The case illustrates the organizational culture that was GE’s number one enabling capability in managing the structural change of migrating to Internet-age competitiveness.GE’s capabilitiesCapabilities are the basis on which an organization builds its competitive advantage and in this respect one of the most important capabilities at GE was its environment which promoted a continuous process of strategic change. Capabilities lo se their value if they are reproducible by competitors. Therefore business organizations strive to develop core competencies which make its operations unique in terms of efficient and effective resource allocation. The challenge for the management in this respect is to develop the kind of core competencies which competitors cannot copy. This was the area in which GE had one of its most important capabilities: the area of organizational culture. One of the most important cultural characteristics at GE was the spirit of innovation. The management and the employees at GE were always collecting information on the existing business processes and disseminating it throughout the organization so that best practices could be identified and embedded in all business processes. The competitive advantage that resulted from this process of structural transformation was sustainable because competitors could not possibly replicate the cultural mindset that made the continuous improvement process wo rk at GE. If GE’s capabilities had included a collection of automated business functions, then the resultant competitive advantage would not be sustainable because competitors would soon automate their business functions as well. But since GE’s capabilities were based upon software, people and their intellectual capital which took years to develop, and not hardware, its competitive advantage was sustainable. The spirit of learning and growth that characterized the organizational culture at GE was the bedrock on which was built its other capabilities, such as customer-oriented business processes and the forward-looking performance measurement system. These capabilities built a sustainable competitive advantage by capitalizing on an organizational culture of boundaryless information transfer which in turn facilitated transfer of best practices from one business unit to another. As a result of this continuous process of benchmarking in terms of resource allocation, capabi lities such as customer focus or performance management constantly evolved to build a sustainable competitive advantage.Welch emphasized building a social architecture which could capitalize on the capabilities that GE possessed. In this he focused on developing the people, redefining the processes and revising the strategies. Even though Welch started out as CEO by eliminating nearly 100,000 positions, his focus was always on bringing the best of out his people. In this he invested a considerable level of resources in the Crotonville education center so that managers and their subordinates received training of strategic value. Welch also redefined processes by eliminating bureaucracy and in the process he created the sort of organizational culture which was intolerant of bureaucracy. He encouraged discussions between representations from different business units of the company. Implementation of the six sigma program and diversification into product services were some of the strate gies that GE implemented under Welch’s leadership. Welch used these revised strategies and processes to build and reinforce GE’s capabilities.Competitive advantage in internet-based businessOne of the strategies that Welch followed in revitalizing the culture was to transform GE into a boundaryless company. This enabled the Best Practices program which benchmarked GE both externally and internally. External benchmarking enabled the company to catch up and develop a competitive edge in the internet-based business. Because the organizational culture emphasized the need to incorporate best practices found in other industries, the GE staff was instantly able to find a parallel for its e-business initiative in the e-commerce sector by studying how Amazon took away market share from Barnes and Noble. So at the outset of executing the e-business initiative, the assumption was that competitors who were already using the internet to conduct their businesses would have the same kind of competitive advantage over GE that Amazon did over Barnes and Noble. Proceeding under that assumption, the GE team began to assess its own vulnerability against high-technology competitors by forming the dyb.com. In manning the dyb.com team, Gary Reiner emphasized that the people who worked in the team had to have three attributes. They needed to have strong marketing background, they needed to have project management skills and they were also required to have a passion for the internet. Skills and interests from all these three areas had to be coordinated in creating a technological solution that had to be mission critical. The dyb.com team began by analyzing how a hypothetical internet company could take market share away from GE and the analytical template they used was the case of Amazon.com vs. Barnes and Noble. Dyb.com was also given the task of developing preemptive measures and countermeasures for possible scenarios. In performing these tasks, the team was given cons iderable flexibility and was encouraged in out-of-the-box thinking as long as it did not break established company values.The formation of dyb.com was the critical first step which enabled GE to make a smooth migration to the new technological platform even though it was late in the game. However the efforts that the dyb.com people put in would not have the same level of energy if Welch had not constantly kept in touch with them and impressed upon them the importance of what they were doing. Top management support is critical when it comes to managing change because employees are not in a position to assess the strategic importance of managing change. Welch’s continuing support for dyb.com serves to illustrate the need for management support when it comes to business process reengineering with technological innovation as GE was doing at the time by migrating into the Internet based business. Given GE’s late arrival on the scene, it is doubtful whether the company would have made a successful transition, even with the help of first-mover GE Plastics, if Welch had not made it totally clear that successful implementation of the internet-based business was the only item on his agenda.Diffusing innovations through trustThe Chief Information Officer Gary Reiner emphasized the importance of company-wide communication as a means of diffusing innovations through all of GE’s business units. This was facilitated by the operating system calendar which scheduled a regular series of meetings between delegates from different business units where there were exchanges of ideas on best practices. The operating system calendar ensured that when Reiner started out in promoting the e-business cause, there was already a culture of trust pre-existing. This was a cumulative effect because the meetings under the operating system calendar were not standalone incidents. Each meeting in the calendar built upon the previous in terms of scope and each served to acceler ate the momentum with which initiatives were put into operation. According to this operating system, each initiative went through cycles of improvement. For example, the globalization initiative had been enriched through more than a dozen cycles. Other initiatives such as six sigma, services and e-business were in the fifth, the sixth and the third cycle respectively. These initiatives were put in operation in all business units and performance results were compared across business units during the meetings. The sharing of information that facilitated these comparisons built trust among employees from different sub-units.In diffusing the e-business innovation throughout GE, Reiner went beyond the operating system calendar to schedule additional meetings and to develop additional measurements that were more targeted towards the e-business initiative. In this respect he emphasized identification of transferable best practices which facilitated the development of peer-to-peer relations hips. Because CEOs from different business units discussed with each other the progress they were making in implementing the e-business initiatives in their own departments, all departments benefited from the shared information. It was the cross-functional interaction throughout the operating system calendar that Rainer built upon that enabled GE to diffuse all three technological innovations of e-sell, e-buy and e-make throughout the organization even though the strategic impact of all three innovations was still not clear.System Complexity and couplingGE managed system complexity and coupling well because it managed to diffuse technological innovations successfully through all twenty business units. Technological innovations are particularly difficult to integrate into existing business processes because they have to be customized towards serving the strategic focus of the company. Therefore it is well for the company incorporating technological innovations by stages as GE was doi ng to be able to tap into past experience. The management at GE made this possible by means of the operating system calendar according to which managers and employees from different business units exchanged ideas in meetings and discussion forums. The operating system calendar is an example of using coupling to manage system complexity. The coupling in this case was taking place between different business units in the form of transferable best practices. Therefore even though the information system that GE was developing was steadily growing in system complexity as it evolved from selling online to buying online to automating internal business processes online, the conversion process was efficient because lessons learned from applications in one department were periodically disseminated to the rest of the organization under the operating system calendar. In this way all the different business units were interconnected and diffusion of innovations occurred without losing their effect iveness in system complexity.As stated in the case, managers and employees at GE were not sure whether the internet was making a difference to the extent that Welch had promised them. However this was not an indication of how well the company was managing system complexity. It was simply an indication of industry trends according to which the market was not ready yet to conduct transaction online. For example, one of the conclusions from dyb.com’s studies was that an Amazon-style threat did not exist. Therefore GE clearly implemented technological innovations successfully. If they did not reach the desired targets, it was only because the company was moving ahead of the industry. That is evidence enough of the success with which GE managed system complexity in it’s ever evolving information systems.