Strategic Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Strategic Management - Essay Example Good leadership enhances the performance of the organization and vice versa. Thus in addition to developing their business plans effectively, the organizations are placing great emphasis on the leadership models that they adopt. Customer needs are currently very dynamic in nature. To address these in an effective manner, organizational leaders are equipping themselves with the relevant knowledge and skills. A host of critical information is sourced from market researches that are undertaken on a wide range. Based on these, the respective leaders are able to make informed decisions regarding the specific needs of the clients and how these can be met with ease. At this point, it cannot be disputed that customization of products is at the core of effective performance in the highly competitive market. Of great importance however is the role of strategic management. Seemingly, a significant percentage of the leaders are relying on organizational strategic plans to meet their goals. Usual ly, these are reflective of the short term as well as long term objectives of a given organization. Besides being based on market current market researches, organizational strategic plans are also greatly informed by the existing theoretical and conceptual models. Considering the fact that these are objective, they usually offer useful insights with respect to how an organization’s management strategy can help it in attaining and maintaining optimal performance. Ideally, organizational strategic plans need to be comprehensive and consistent with the mission and vision of the organization. They provide step wise processes that the organization employs in meeting its goals and objectives. It is against this background that this paper provides a critical evaluation of the Design school strategic management model. To enhance a harmonic consideration, it begins by underscoring the importance of strategic management models. It then proceeds to describing this particular model and t hen offers a detailed critique of its role in strategic management. General Discussion: The Role of Models in Strategic Management As indicated earlier, the corporate environment has changed dramatically the recent past. Not only has it increased in terms of complexity, but it has also increasingly become dynamic. This according to Chan and Renee (2005, p. 54) is attributable to a host of factors including globalization and the characteristic free movement of goods and information. This has in return compelled organizations to adopt approaches that can enable them to not only survive but to also thrive in the highly competitive environment. One of the approaches that most organizations have undertaken is to align their strategies to the objective provisions of the strategic management theories and models. Strategic management models have been tested over time and proven to be effective in guiding organizational performance. When applied accordingly, they can enable an organization t o face the modern challenges and address them with ease. Fundamentally, they contribute significantly to improved organizational performance. In his research, Alvesson (1996, p. 146) indicates that just like theories, models are abstract and do not contain content specific data or information. For this reason, they can be applied in different situations to resolve emergent organizational problems. Although they are not

Family and Abbey Essay Example for Free

Family and Abbey Essay Blonde hair, blue eyes and a sad look. This was the face of an innocent little girl named Abbey. Abbey was only 10 years old and she lived at home with her mother and father. She had no one to play with and her only friend was a little toy bear, it was old and falling apart and it had patches of hair. Abbey was an only child and was just about to start year 5 at Howard Pubic School. The poor little girl wasn’t so much bullied at school, but she was always left out. She was too young to understand why it was happening to her and why the children were always being mean to her. I guess you could say, most 10 year olds love going home at the end of the day to see their family but not Abbey. Abbey’s father had a beer in his hand as per usual and her mum had bloodshot eyes as always. The only time she was allowed out of her room was to go to school, other than that her parents always kept her locked in an attic because they had no time for the poor little girl and they never cared about her. Every afternoon she would come home from school and sit in her room talking to her toy bear when no one was around. She used to lie on the floor and not make a sound. She hides in a corner while she hears her parents come up and unlock the door. Some more and more pain Abbey has to go through for no reason at all. There are scars on her face and bruises on her legs. Out of everyone, why is she is such a horrible place? The poor little girl cries herself to sleep every night because all she wants to do is to fit in with everyone and have a family that loves her dearly but she thinks to herself why she is not belonging. She holds her toy bear close and sobs. Meanwhile in her room, she sits in the corner quiet but yet thinking â€Å"God why? Why did my life turn out like this?† Everyday is a struggle for the little five year old and she prays before she goes to bed â€Å"Dear Jesus, I know that my mummy or daddy do not care about me but please promise me you’ll take good care of them. I also pray that tomorrow I will make friends because it is hard for me to go to school and not play with anyone. No one wants to be friends with me and I don’t know why. Thank you and I love you†. One night before school, her mum came home high. The mother and father were having an argument and the police were called. The poor little girl was slapped, beaten and hit as hours went by. When the police showed up, they took Abbey to a foster home to be looked after. When she leaves, Abbey suddenly runs back inside and grabs her teddy, as that is the only thing she took with her. The mother and father said goodbye to the little girl as the police took her away. Abbey is now in a safer environment with carers that she loves. She has put everything past her and started a new life. She will always remember what happened when she was young but now all she can think of is how happy she is.

How technology effects children

How technology effects children Technology is one of the principal driving forces of the future; it is transforming our lives and shaping our future at rates surprising in history, with profound implication which we cant even begin to see or understand. In todays world we are plagued with technology. The technology which surrounds almost everyone in the modern society, is changing every day, and will forever be a staple in our lives. Kids in the current generation are enamored with technology. Although perhaps it is not that they adore technology so much but the simple fact they have never lived without. Technology has had a significant effect on children that has brought on some concerns. Our common concern has been that although digital technology has boosted childrens talent for multitasking, their ability to process information deeply may be deteriorating (Carpenter, 2000). There is vast amount of technology in todays world, but there are three main component of technology that is having the greatest impact on children: video games, television/media, and computers. The modern technologies we have today are tremendously powerful; they attract our genetic biases. The human brain is attracted to visually presented information. Video games, television, movies and computer programs are all very visually oriented and therefore they magnetize and keep the attention of children. The technology which is just now beginning to be manipulated and harnessed is affecting the minds of small children and adolescents in ways that could be harmful. By far the largest concern of technology today is video games. There have been so many experiments and studies to try and figure out if video games have a negative or positive effect on our children. A growing body of research is linking violent video game play to aggressive cognitive, attitudes and behaviors (D.A. Gentile, 2004). Video games can obviously be dangerous for our children causing aggression, bad performances in school and obesity. Although we cant blame all of these problems on the use of video games, there have been many studies to prove so. Boys do seem to be more attracted to video games than girls are, Adolescent girls played video games for an average of 5 hours a week whereas boys averaged 13 hours a week (D.A. Gentile, 2004). The effects of both violent and non-violent video game playing can be determined by the amount of time playing the video game and by the content of the games being played. The content of the games being played could definitely have a factor in how a child performs in school, and how aggressive they are towards peers and teachers. Obviously if a child is playing hours upon hours of violent video games, this can lead to them acting out violence and having no consequences for it. If a child took the time that they played video games a week and used that time to be engaged in reading, homework or even a creative activity wed have less issues with our childrens school performances. Parents should really be monitoring how long their child is playing video games, but this doesnt always happen. A child who plays video games for long periods of time could also build up a social wall, become a loner. It is important for children to interact with other children in order to help develop their so cial skills, which without will make it very difficult to make it in this world. At the age children start playing video games, it is hard for them to distinguish what is reality and what is not. So in some cases the violent acts in video games could make the child believe the world is a scary place. More than a thousand scientific studies and reviews conclude that significant exposure to media, and video games of violence increases the risk of aggressive behavior in certain children, desensitizes them to violence and makes them believe the world is a meaner and scarier place than it is (Tompkins, 2003). Children who are playing endless hours of video games are also said to have less hobbies and activities, which may lead to obesity. Obesity in young children has become an overwhelming problem these days. They are now making fit video games such a Wii Fit, which involves actual movement and exercise. Video games like these are excellent especially if your child just needs to play a video game. There are educational video games out now, more and more are surfacing. The amount of time children play these is completely different than the amount of time children are playing violent video games. Educational video games obviously can do a lot for your child, they can improve vocabulary , mathematics, and some fitness. So increasing the time they are interacting with educational video games is said to have a very positive effect on them. Even though they make video games with the intent to be entertaining, challenging and sometimes educational, most of them do include some form of violence. Recent content analysis of video games show that as many as 89% of games contain some violent content and that about half of the games include serious violent content towards other game characters (D.A. Gentile, 2004). It is now a known fact that playing violent video games increases aggressive behaviors, increases aggressive cognitive, increases aggressive emotions, decreases pro social behaviors and increases physiological arousal. So people do say that children who already have aggressive tendencies get therapy from playing violent video games. By releasing their aggression on playing a video game, they are less likely to be aggressive towards others. Then others believe that violent video games maybe even more harmful to the children who were characteristically aggressive already. Because violence is such an attractive part to a video game, companies will continue to keep selling violent video games, to make more money. Although now they do usually list the rating on the game, but whos to say that parents will take any interest in the rating. Most parents are to blame for their children playing violent video games, how else would they get the game? Parents need to be held responsible for the effects that violent video games have on our children, they need to be monitoring them more closely. Recent research has shown that connections between children playing violent video games can cause later aggressive behavioral problems. In retrospect studies have also shown a twelve percent increase in aggressive behavior after watching violent television as well (Tompkins, 2003). For many years it has been apart of the repercussions that television has on children. Now we have those special chips called V-chips to put in the TVs to block certain programs or channels. But who knows what your children are watching when they go to a friends house, or even at school. Exposing your children to some violence almost seems inevitable, everywhere we turn there is some kind of violence on some kind of new piece of technology. Endless hours of watching television may be thought of as somewhat entertaining to a child, but it has such negative effects on them. TV is consistently reinforcing gender-roles and stereotypes which isnt always a good thing to show our children. A child should be out r unning around, exploring their environment, participating in activities and sports. Children who view media violence are more likely to have increased feelings of hostility, decreased emotional response to the portrayal of violence and injury that lead to violent behavior through imitation (Tompkins, 2003). During the first 2 years of a childs life, the brain is at a critical developing period. Television can get in the way of a child exploring, learning and spending time interacting with their parents and other children. Having time to play with others helps kids develop the skills they need to grow cognitively, physically, socially and emotionally. If parents limit the television that their pre-school age child is watching it can be a good thing as long as what they are watching is educational or age appropriate. If you allow your children particularly ages 2-7 to watch shows or movies with scary monsters, they will remember those scary faces. Children this age have a hard time distinguishing between real and fantasy, so to tell them that monsters dont exist, wouldnt really console them. While kids 8-12 are usually scared by natural disasters, the threat of violence and victimization of kids. Many shows or movies now a days depict risky behaviors, such as sex and substance abuse. They portray these things as cool, fun and exciting, and there is often no discussion about the consequences of these actions. More and more now we are seeing alcohol ads on television, and more underage children are being exposed to them. Over sixty percent of television shows being shown in prime time contain some form of violence (Tompkins, 2003). They are now linking child obesity to over watching of television which includes four or more hours a day. While watching television kids are usually inactive and usually snacking. Kids are getting overwhelmed with the many ads on television encouraging them to eat unhealthy foods. The ads are meant to target children, by showing sugary cereal, or sugar filled soft drinks. Children are being manipulated by advertising companies, so then they beg and plead with their parents to buy them exactly what they have seen on television. In another study of preschoolers (ages 1-4), a childs risk of being overweight increased by 6% for every hour of t elevision watched per day. If that child had a TV in his or her bedroom, the odds of being overweight jumped an additional 31% for every hour watched. Preschool children with TVs in their bedroom watched an additional 4.8 hours of TV or videos every week(Dennison, 2002). Parents should treat watching television as a privilege, maybe not allowing television in their childs room will help reduce the percentage of overweight children. Its simple, reduce the amount of time your children are doing nothing with their minds or body, and increase the amount of time they are exploring things and participating in physical activities. So over all its apparent that watching too much television isnt healthy for any child of any age, or even any adult. While boys tend to be more attracted to violence on television, girls tend to be more attracted to the teeny bopper shows. Some of these shows include situations that are not likely to ever happen, or that are too mature for the child whose watching them. The image that most female television/movie stars, and models are giving to young girls is that the skinner you are the better. We are in a vein world, where somehow everyone got the impression that its not alright to look healthy, better to be overly skinny. Eating disorder experts say prepubescent girls are developing eating disorders as young as 5 and 6 years old. They may be getting their obsession from parents who are preoccupied with their own body images, and media images of skinny stars like the Olsen twins, or even Kiera Knightly, whom stars in a very popular movie series Pirates of the Caribbean. Which is a movie directed towards the younger crowd, considering it is a Disney movie. If we take a look at the figure of Barbie , whos body is considered to be perfect, yet no girl or woman could achieve a body like this, this figure is a definition of beautiful. Unfortunately the only way to help change the outlook of body images is to help our children know its ok to be a different shape than someone else, to teach them its not okay to poke or make fun of children who are bigger sizes. This is not something we need to change just for our children but also for ourselves and our world. Some programs that may seem age appropriate for our children, are still showing some sort of sexual activity. Young girls are getting the image that it is okay to engage in some sort of sexual activity, even if that is just kissing. Some of these shows are saying that having a relationship at a young age is okay, kids need to be kids and not worry about relationships until they have at least approached puberty. Blaming only television and technology for these acts is unfair, because parents have a lot of effect on their children as well. Children are just getting the wrong message from a lot of these shows, that premarital sex is the thing to do, that even something as simple as kissing is okay. This all depends on the age of the child, some parents need to make sure that the shows their child is watching is age appropriate. Maybe some parents need to watch a couple of minutes of the show their child wants to watch and get the feeling, and voice of the show to determine whether its a ppropriate for their child. Children are natural manipulators of the world-they learn through controlling the movement of and interaction between objects in their world: dolls, blocks, toy cars, and their own bodies. With television, they watch and do not control anything, computers allow interaction. Children can control the pace and activity and make things happen on computers (Perry, 1999). Computers are becoming apart of everyones daily lives. We have them at work, home and even at school in childrens class rooms. Computers like all technology have their pros and cons. Obviously the computer can open up a world of intelligence for children, you can look up and explore anything you want on the internet. Studies indicate that the media can promote pro-social behavior, that some computer games can hone visual intelligence and that classroom use of the internet links children with distant mentors and resources, enriching the way kids learn (Carpenter, 2000). Computers are now being used as a learning tool, we h ave access to them, we might as well try and use them for good. Technology offers children a sense of empowerment and provides kids with the tools needed to solve problems (Goessl, 2002-2008). Educational websites, and games are at the reach of our childrens hands, not to mention if they want to know everything to know about Alaska, or who holds the record for chewing gum the longest, they can. Computers can have a great influence on developing hand- eye coordination, since it does take this skill to type and use a mouse. But still the time they spend on the computer should be limited, because kids still need social interaction, and physical activity. We must encourage our children to develop the ability to think first and then give them a computer (Fanning, 2007). Even though we can see many positive outcomes from children using computers, there are also many negative views. Computers are being introduced to children younger and younger these days. Which is making our children lazy, they can now type papers that automatically spell check for them, they dont even have to go to the library to do a research paper, the computer puts all information at a click of the mouse. While it is a nice way for children to communicate with their friends, whatever happen to hand writing a note. Our kids are talking in chat rooms, to who knows, they could be talking to a sexual predator. We have seen this in many cases, the world is such a crazy place and we have to do the best to protect our children from it. Hours and hours of computer use can also be physically damaging to children causing bad posture, hand problems and can effect their eye sight. A child who is always on the computer can cause a lack of social skills. Children need interactive time with pee rs and adults to really develop correctly. On the computer our children can come across things that arent age appropriate for them such as violence, and sex. All they have to do is type in a word and somehow it can be referenced to sex, and link them to a pornography site. Computers are now being linked to as a factor to anti-social behaviors, primarily because computers are replacing normal social activities. Anti-social personality disorder is characterized as a gross disparity between behavior and the prevailing social norms. Children who constantly use the internet as a form of socializing can develop social anxiety disorder or a internet addiction. You may think that young children cant have an internet addiction, but today it is becoming more common. Some children would rather rush home and get onto the internet rather than go play outside with friends or do a creative activity with their parents. Children are isolating themselves from the real world with the excessive use of computers. They are only knowing the web world. Some may not realize it but cell phones do have an effect on our children. In fact they say that children under the age of 8 shouldnt even use one. Cell phones can not only cause brain tumors, but also impaired cognitive functions. Scientist have now discovered that even a two-minute cell phone call can alter the electrical activity of a childs brain for up to an hour after the phone call. This finding has lead many doctors to believe that the disruption in brain activity can lead to psychiatric and behavior problems and can impair learning ability. The alteration in brain waves can lead to aggressive behaviors, lack of ability to learn and memory loss. A study found that children who used cell phones, and whose mothers used cell phones during pregnancy were 80 percent more likely to have behavioral problems such as emotional symptoms, inattention, hyperactivity and problems with peers compared with children who had no cell phone exposure as fetuses or in early childhood. Children wh ose mothers used cell phones during pregnancy but who had no other cell phone exposure were 54 percent more likely to have behavioral problems (Roan, 2008). Excessive cell phone usage can also be linked to an earlier onset of Alzheimers disease. Many parents have no idea how a cell phone is impacting your childs brain. Some scientist have found that cell phone transmissions damage the ability of white blood cells to ward off infectious diseases by disrupting the immune systems electromagnetic communications. The biophysicist from Lincoln University in Christ Church, New Zealand has also found that cell phones can murderously modify moods. In brains and bodies seriously derailed by tiny imbalances in trace minerals and hormones, depression, suicide, anger, rage and violence can result when calcium and serotonin levels are disrupted by cell phone transmissions (Thomas, 2004). Its amazing that all of this time we have been exposing our children to something that is unrecognizably harmful to them. As we can all recognize, technology today is vastly growing, and is out of our hands. What we do have control over is how much of that technology we expose our children to. It is inevitably up to the parents to monitor and react to the technology being used by their children. This may not seem very serious to some parents, but more and more we are seeing children, young adults walking into their classrooms and shooting theirs peers and teachers. All because maybe they played one too many violent video games growing up, or have felt like an out-cast due to a social-anxiety disorder which can be caused by dissocializing yourself with video games, computers and even television. Even though not one research conducted could really prove either positive or negative long term outcomes of technology, it is apparent that technology does have a great effect on our childrens lives and developmental behaviors. Technology has many effects on our children today, but how couldnt it when our society is transforming into a technology world. Children these days will never know what life is like without technology so it is important to make sure we use the technology we have for what its worth. Although there are many negatives to the use of technology, we need to embrace the ever changing world, and just learn as parents to pay attention to what our child is doing. Works Cited Carpenter, Siri, 2000. In Digital Age, Experts Pause to Examine Effects On Kids. http://www.apa-org/monitor/dec00/digital.html Emele, Love, 2002-2008. Technology: Its Effects on Children. http://www.helium.com/items/392511 Fanning MD, Iris, 2007. Television Computer Effects on Learning and Emotional Intelligence. http://ezinearticles.com Gentile et al, D.A., 2004. The Effects of Violent Video Game Habits on Adolescent Hostility, Aggressive Behaviors, and School Performance. Journal of Adolescence 27. http://www.sciencedirect.com Goessl, Leigh, 2002-2008. Technology: Its Effects on Children. http://www.helium.com/items/613503 Lehmann, Max. 2002-2008. Technology: Its Effects on Children. http://www.helium.com/items/361089 McCormick, 2008. Side Effects of Cell Phone. http://www.southcoasttoday.com Perry, Bruce, 1999. ECT Interview: Bruce Perry Discusses the Effects of Technology on the Brain. http://content-scholastic.com Science Daily, 2007. Most Middle- School Boys and Girls Play Violent Video Games. http://www.sciencedaily.com Thomas, William, 2004. Cell Phone Health Effects/ Busy Signals. http://willthomas.net/investigations/articles/cellphones.html Thompkins, Aimee, 2003. The Psychological Effects of Violent Media on Children. http://allpsych.com/journal/violentmedia.html

Dark Side: An Essay On Satan :: essays research papers

Mankind lives in a physical, tangible, material world, which is influenced by the invisible, spiritual world around us. The present day spiritual world is just as existent as it was nearly two thousand years ago when Lord Jesus walked the earth. The Old and New Testaments reveal to us from time to time, glimpses of this spiritual world. These Testaments provide us with the most factual information regarding Satan. Unfortunately, many have been misinformed and do not thoroughly comprehend Satan’s origin and what his purpose concerning the spiritual and physical world. There is a great need to set the record straight regarding Satan especially in our hour with its present angel craze, channeling and a belief in spirit guides. I chose Satan as the subject of my paper because I am one who does not thoroughly comprehend who he is and what his purpose in both the spiritual and physical world is.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Satan is a fallen angel that is frequently referred to in the Bible. There are numerous ideas about his evil spirit. Some believe that Satan and his demons are not real, but are rather personifications of the wickedness that abides in the world. Others admit the existence of Satan but presume that he is confined in the fiery pits of an ever-burning Hell. Still others believe that Satan is free and actively promoting sinfulness in our world today. What is the truth? What does the Bible tell us about Satan?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In present day, Satan is more often referred to as the Devil. The word derived, via the ecclesiastical Latin diabolus, from the Greek diabolos, an adjective meaning “slanderous.'; This was also used in ancient Greek as a noun to identify a person as a slanderer. The term was utilized in the Greek translation of the Bible, the Septuagint, not to refer to human beings, but rather to translate the Hebrew ha-Satan (“the Satan';). It was an expression originally used as the title of a member of the divine court who functioned as God’s roving spy, gathering intelligence about human beings from his travels on earth (Pagels 10-11). God’s Word clearly teaches the reality of Satan. He is presented as an evil entity that affects humanity by his actions. Details about him are available in the Bible, but the facts are distributed throughout the text in such a way that one must diligently search and study to gain a rudimentary understanding of Satan̵ 7;s status and goals.

Performance Practice of Baroque Vocal Technique Essay -- Music Voice M

Performance Practice of Baroque Vocal Technique When approaching a performance, accomplished musicians often consider the historical context from which a piece originates. They most often think of such considerations in the application of that context as it pertains to early music that is, the Baroque era or earlier. For any era, such historical considerations are called performance practice, and may include the use of vibrato, ornamentation, dynamic levels, tempi, instrumental timbres, performance setting, and balance. Vibrato and ornamentation are two important areas of consideration that vocalists must explore when aiming to give an authentically Baroque performance. 'Ideal' Baroque Vocal Technique: The Assumed Ideas Over the past several years, some amateur musicians have developed specific ideas about 'correct' performance practice of Baroque music. In an essay concerning the issues of Baroque music performance, Michael Sartorius notes that: performance to a major degree reflects the spirit of the times, and some of today's 'authentic' performances have less to do with historical accuracy, attempting rather to produce a performance which, in John Eliot Gardiner's words, will 'excite modern listeners.' (Sartorius) As a result, audiences today want a sound that contrasts with the full, constant vibrato used in singing today, such as is found in straight-tone singing, and a sound that contrasts with twentieth century minimalism, such as is found in ornamented melodies. Amateur voice teachers, amateur singers, and amateur listeners often associate straight-tone singing with correct Baroque performance practice (Almirena). This idea is probably an outgrowth of the way scholars understand correct d... ..., Barbara [Valler, Barbara]." The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians. 2nd ed. 2001. Roseman, Ronald. "Baroque Ornamentation." The Journal of the International Double Reed Society Number 3. 1975. IDRS. [17 October 2003] . Sartorius, Michael. Baroque Music Perormance: "Authentic" or "Traditional": A discussion of the essential issues involved. Ed. Micahel Sartorius. n.dat. Baroque Music Pages. [17 October 2003] . Seaton, Douglass. Ideas and Styles in the Western Musical Tradition. Mountain View, California: Mayfield Publishing Company, 1991. 153. Strozzi, Barbara. Cantate, ariete a una, doce, e tre voci, Opus 3. Ed. Gail Archer. In Recent Researches in the Music of the Baroque Era. vol. 83. Ed. Christoph Wolff. Madisono: A-R Editions, Inc., 1997. Wulstan, David. Tudor Music. University of Iowa Press, 1986. 174-180. Classical Vocal Techniqe. .

Prison Health Care Essay

Health care is a major issue. The issue of health care, no matter who views, takes on many perspectives, however, the point of view of prison is a another world of its own. Federal and state laws in place states that correctional facilities and/or prisons must provide prisoners with medical facilities that would oversee their medical needs. This paper will identify a governmental agency that regulates prison health care, the impact on health care, the duties the agency carries out, this agency’s regulatory authority in relation to health care and the processes for accreditation, certification and authorization. The Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is an agency created on May 14, 1930. Its main headquarters is in Washington, D.C. The BOP is a subdivision of the United States Justice Department and is responsible for the administration of the federal prison system. Its sole purpose is to provide more open-minded and compassionate care to those who are federal inmates with the United States prison system. As time passed and laws were changed, The BOP’s responsibilities grew and by the end of 1930, the agency operated 14 facilities for well over 13,000 inmates (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). By 1940s, the BOP grew to having 24 facilities with over 24,000 inmates. As a result of Federal law enforcement efforts and new legislation that altered sentencing in the Federal criminal justice system, the 1980s brought an  increase in the number of Federal inmates. According to the Sentencing Reform Act of 1984, â€Å"established determinate sentencing, abolished parole, and reduced good time.† During the 1990s, the population doubled as efforts to combat illegal drugs and illegal immigration contributed to a significant increase in conviction rates. To present date, the population continues to increase with Federal prisons reach a current population of over 210,000. Impact on Health Care To control rising costs of health care, since the early 1990s the BOP implement initiatives aimed at providing more efficient and effective inmate health care (Efforts to Manage, 2008). These on-going initiatives included assigned most inmates to institutions based on the care level, installing an electronic medical records system that connects institutions, implementing tele-health to provide health care services through video conferencing, and implementing a bill adjudication process to avoid costly errors when validating health care related invoices (Efforts to Manage, 2008). Since the early 1990s, BOP has attempted to increase efficiency and economy of health care delivery to prisoners through various cost containment initiatives, such as restructuring medical staff, obtaining discounts through quantity or bulk purchases, leveraging resources through cooperative efforts and other governmental entities and even privatizing medical services at selected facilities (Containing Health Cost for Inmate Population, 2008). Duties of the Federal Bureau of Prisons The mission of the BOP is to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community based facilities that are safe, humane, cost efficient and appropriately secure and that provide work and other self-improvement opportunities to assist offenders in becoming law abiding citizens (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). This agency is responsible for providing medically needed health care to inmates in agreement with federal and state laws. One of the most negative aspects of the BOP is it is responsible for carrying out all judicially mandated federal executions, including lethal injection of inmates who have been sentenced to death for a crime they have committed (Federal, 2015). This agency maintains the lethal injection chamber of a prison before, during,  and after an execution, making sure that the lethal injection is set up appropriately. The structure of the BOP is made of several divisions with board of directors. Inmates are confined in facilities spread out across the United States. Each facility reports to a regional office, which provides close oversight and support to that site. At the headquarters, national programs are developed and functional support is provided to the entire agency by division (Federal Bureau of Prisons, 2015). Regulatory Authority: Accreditation, Certification and Authorization Accreditation is necessary for prisons as it contributes to making the prisons operations, policies and procedures clear as well as increase the accountability of those operating the prisons. Accreditation provides and verifies the standards that an organization is required to meet. The American Correctional Association (ACA) performs the function with regard to the general operational activities of the correctional facilities (Hamilton, 2015). The American Correctional Association developed national standards for safe, effective, and professional operation of the correctional facilities. These standards are essential guides to policies and processed that protect the health and safety of prisoners and facility staff. These standards are regularly revised by a 20 member committee. Revisions are based on court decisions, and governmental agency practices and experiences (Hamilton, 2015). Although participation in the accreditation process is voluntary, many correctional facilities ask to be accredited. As these agencies ask for accreditation the ACE sends the appropriate standards material, a manual policy and procedure, and compliance checklist. At this point, a regional manager is appointed to serve as an adviser. The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care accredits all of the BOP’s and health service units and medical referral centers. Many correctional facilities are also guided by the National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) standard without seeking accreditation. The accreditation process is a difficult and challenging one, especially those seeking new accreditations. It is the mission of the Federal Bureau of Prisons to protect society by confining offenders in the controlled environments of prisons and community  based facilities that are safe, cost efficient and secure. Each facility reports to a regional office and this agency is spear headed by a Board of Directors. Each region has functional support and provided the entire agency by each division.

Comparing the Elements of Fictional Stories and Essays Essay

In this comparison, I will discuss the comparison of fictional stories and nonfiction essays. I will also discuss how narrative is used very differently in both genres. Some of these fictional stories and nonfiction essays may be more superior to others when discussing workplace themes. I have chosen to write about A Delicate Balance by Jose Armas and The Boy and the Bank Officer by Phillip Ross. Why did I choose these stories, for one although one of them is fiction and the other non-fiction I can relate to them both on a personal level such as both writers did. In this paper I will discuss the difference between the way the characters were written about and portrayed and I will also compare some of the ways they acted alike. In my review of a Delicate Balance I found that in this story Jose Armas has two main characters, Romero Estrada the town sweeper and Seferino the eldest son of Barelas the town barber. Romero Estrada is the main character in this fiction story, whose part is featured throughout the story. The writer goes to great lengths to put great emphasis on how Romero takes care of the streets in the town of Golden Heights Centro where he lives, he pays great attention to detail and never ask for anything, but yet in return he has always been taken care of by the other shop owners of the town, making sure they have provided from him, by giving him things that he needs instead of money for his work. Although Romero volunteers his time and effort he loves and takes great pride in what he does. The next story I would like to discuss is The Boy and the Bank Teller in which no names are given and it seems that there is one main character. This character is a man who reflects on how a friend of his feels about banks as he himself enters a bank to open an account. There are two other characters which are the bank teller and the boy. At first, because of the title, I thought that  the boy was the main character. After reading it, it seems that the man who walked into the bank was the main character. He was the one who stepped up and was trying to represent the boy and his cause. In the end, though, he finds out that the bank teller was the one who was trying to protect the boy’s interests. The author draws attention to how a situation can be interpreted one way, but in reality, is something completely different. We all so often do this in real life. The main characters in these two stories are very loyal to their cause. One who takes pride in his work and the other who takes pride in defending someone’s cause. Although in the first story more detail is given so that the reader is getting all the facts and in the second story no names are given so that the reader can relate more to the cause and urgency of the boy and use ones imagination. The narrative in a fictional story can be superior in discussing workplace themes because of the attention to detail. Sometimes giving step-by-step instructions on how certain situations should be handled. The narrative in a nonfictional story can be superior because the reader is allowed to use their imagination and it also leaves room for more alternative and choices on dealing with real workplace situations. In conclusion, the literary writings of the past and the present pose a great point of view to the reader. These points of views from different times and the present serve as tools to our future.