Saturday, August 31, 2019

Why Did the Gallipoli Campaign Fail?

The campaign ended in failure for several reasons. It was not the fault of the soldiers, but the men who where commanding them. For once there was a break down in our system. In brief, the campaign was a failure. It was a failure as we did not successfully push through the Turkish lines to Istanbul, and then on to attack the Germans on another front to help the Russians who were suffering heavy causualties at the time. So, heres why we retreated: * Second thoughts in Parliament: worth the casualties Supply lines were not working. Men did not get enough stuff * No one knew how to do an amphibious assault: we just rowed to shore * Lack of Leadership: General in charge changed, forces were not allowed to do anything without orders. When an order was given it would have to be carried out to the letter as it was from the British officers. No matter what. The orders were sometimes days old. * The Generals also had barely any knowledge of Turk tactics and the like.Their knowledge was very l imited, consisting of things like a 1912 manual of Turk tactics, a tourist guidebook and an outdated map. * No additional troops allowed: parliamentay decision * Royal Navy withdraws: No pressure on Turk capital, army artillery support gone * Turks had the high ground (really high ground) * No one prepared for modern warfare: just ran against a machine gun, men shooting with bolt action rifles and pistols * Terrain very difficult Naval mine-sweeps were poor. * A month's delay between the attacks in March and those in April†¦ it gace the Turkish/Ottoman troops plenty of time to prepare and fortify. Kitchener depended on the element of surprise, but because of this he only gained â€Å"Tactical† surprise; when and where he would strike, not â€Å"if† he would strike. Also, throw in the low morale of the troops due to the above factors, and also due to diseases such as dysentery and malaria

Project Technical Paper †Reliable Pharmaceutical Supply Essay

To process a prescription order, RPS needs to know about the patients, the nursing home, and the nursing home unit where each patient resides. Each nursing home has at least one, but possibly many, units. A patient is assigned to a specific unit. An order consists of one or more prescriptions, each for one specific drug and one specific patient. An order, therefore, consists of prescriptions for more than one patient. Careful tracking and record keeping is crucial. In addition, each patient has multiple prescriptions, and one pharmacist fills each order. There are several points in the order-fulfillment process at which information must be recorded in the system. Case manifests must be printed at the start of each shift. Because a prescription may take a long time to be used completely, information must be entered into the system each time a medication is sent, noting the quantity sent and which pharmacist filled the prescription for that shift. Prescriptions contain basic information such as ID number, original date of order, drug, unit of dosage (pill, teaspoon, suppository), size of dosage, frequency of dosage, and special instructions (take with food, take before meals). There are several types of prescriptions, each with unique characteristics. Some orders are for a single, one-time-use prescription. Some orders are for a number of dosages. Some orders are for a certain time period. Information about the prescription order must be maintained. An order occurs when the nursing home phones in the needed prescriptions. Because presc riptions may last for an extended period of time, a prescription is a separate entity from the order itself. The system records which employee accepted and entered the original order. The system has basic data about all drugs. Each drug has generic information such as name 1. Entity-relationship diagram that shows the data strorage requirements for Relable Pharamceutical Supply 2. Domain meta class for RPS. 3. Activity diagram for each use case related to entering new orders Activity Diagram For Entering New Orders. Nurshing Home Prescription Drugs Accounts Section Activity Diagram For Creating Case Manifests. Nurshing Home Prescription Drugs Information Record Section Activity Diagram For Fulfilling Orders. Nurshing Home Prescription Drugs Accounts Section 4. System sequence diagram System sequence diagram for entering new order Enter Prescription Order Record Prescription Info Record Drugs Info Display drugs Ordered Find drugs Availability Pending Order Pending Order Update Order Confirm new Order Confirm Order Update Bill Receive Bills System sequence diagram for Creating Case Manifest Enter Precription Order Record Prescription Info Record Drugs Info Display drugs Ordered Find drugs Availability Pending Order Pending Order Update Order Confirm new Order Confirm Order Update Record Case Manifest System sequence diagram for fulfilling order Fulfill Order Check Prescription Info Record Drugs Ordered Display drugs availabilityRecord types of drugs Find drugs Availability Pending Order Pending Order Record Updated Drugs Confirm fulfilling Order Confirm Fulfilling Order Update Bill payble Receive Fees Calculated 5. State machine diagram for an order 6. Three-layer architecture for this new system Presentation Layer Businness Layer Data Layer †¢ Presentation. The presentation layer provides the application’s user interface (UI). Nursing home users can place orders using the UI tool and Reliable employees can Process the Orders. †¢ Business. The business layer implements the business functionality of the application. Business logic is implemented here, Business entities corresponds to the data . †¢ Data The data layer provides access to external systems such as databases. Each layer should be structured as described in the following paragraphs. 7. Design two (2) separate menu hierarchies, one (1) for Reliable employees and one (1) for nursing home employees. Reliable Employees – Check Drug Availability Order Id Order date Drug names Save Order Info Nurshing Home User- Order Prescription Id Pharmacist name Pharmacist id Order date Drug names Patient names 8. Write out the steps of the dialog between the user and the system for the use case Place new order for nursing home employees. User – input prescription details (prescription ID, Drug details, Pharmacist Name) System – Create order User – Place Order System – Check Order details, confirm new order System – Check Drug availability System – Fulfill order User – Validate fulfilled Order System – Update Order Information System – Prepare shipment User – Give medications to Patient Unit User – Place Pending Order 9.Review the input form you created for collecting orders from the nursing homes. Identify all of the input controls necessary to ensure the prescriptions are correct. Recommend other procedures or controls to ensure that there are no mistakes with prescriptions. Input Prescriptions must have the controls to provide basic information- 1.Provide Prescription ID 2.Original Date of the Order 3.Drug Name 4.Unit Of Dosage(Pill, teaspoon or suppository) 5.Size of Dosage 6.Special Instruction – take with food, take before meals 10.Create a work breakdown structure of your proposed plan. Write a memo to the senior executive team at RPS that includes a summary of the created system and three (3) recommendations for future changes/improvements to the system. Work Breakdown- 1.Create the presentation layer -Develop UI components for Reliable Employees to process the orders from nurshing home -Develop UI components for the Users to create Orders for passing prescription details and preparing the order. 2.Business Logic Layer- a.Create the Business logic for Accessing the Database and providing rules to access and update data. 3.Data Access Layer- a.Select a data base to store the Drugs and prescription information. b.Develop the data access layer for the above data base. Memo- Sir, Please find the architecture of the system. This uses 3-tier architecture. This has presentation layers for both Users and Reliable Employees to provide and update the prescription and Order details respectively. Users will be able to create the orders and pass it to RPS office and there the order will be processed and shipment of the order can be initiated or denied if order cannot be fulfilled. Recommendation for Improvement- 1) More attributes can be added to the prescription data for address, phone number etc. 2) User history can be stored in a persistence cache for fast access. 3) Web interface can be added for online access of the presentation layers.

Friday, August 30, 2019

My Idea of Leadership

My idea of leadership without dominating is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, and of course respect others. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in your followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born.If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and experience. My personal experience as a volunteer with the Kids against Hunger Program has allowed me to demonstrate being a leader without dominating the event. As a volunteer, I often would work with people with different capabilities and personalit ies. I learned if you respected the ideas of others they would respect you and often times my thoughts and suggestions would set the tone of the initiative and others would follow.As a student you take on many responsibilities to include attending school, the completion of assignments on time, and studying. Responsibility means that I will show up to school on time and ready to learn; I will pay attention in class and I will be responsible for making sure I am participating in class and not relying on others to get me through. I realize that being responsible does not always mean that I will always accomplish my goals, but being responsible and oriented helps me to better accomplish the tasks ahead of me.I take total responsibility for my life and would rather succeed than fail. A successful leader is one that is responsible; knows their strengths and weakness and is able to set realistic and attainable goals. Attendance is a frame of mind and a leadership characteristic in that you r desire to learn sets you a part from others. This is the frame of mind I strive for on a daily basis. Participating in classroom discussions, volunteering at my part time job to taking on added responsibilities, to being a team player in DECA and helping with fund raising for children that have muscular dystrophy.My experience has taught me that community involvement can lead to leadership roles. Often times when you step forward and out of your comfort zone you are being your self-worth for the type of individual you will be in the future. A recent group project in History class is a good example where each individual had specific responsibilities; however without an individual leader our group was unable to organize our ideas. I took this opportunity to step forward and volunteered to become the group leader, obtaining the cooperation of the other team members, which ultimately lead to our successful completion.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Naturalized Citizen Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Naturalized Citizen - Essay Example The USA is the land of opportunity. I will now tell about the process of naturalization in this country. In order to become a U.S. citizen one has to file a petition for naturalization - the various forms for this purpose are Form N-400 if your age is above 18 years; Form N-600 if less than 18 years and Form N -643 for an adopted child - with the appropriate USCIS Service Centre. Such persons should have a good moral character and should have been lawful residents of the U.S. for more than five years , of which, at least six months should have been in the state from which the petition is being filed. They must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least two and a half years of this five year period. Petitioners are required to read, write and speak English. They must have knowledge of the history and government of the U.S; they should be attached to the principles of the U.S. Constitution and should be favorably disposed towards the USA. Such petitions must be signed by the applicant and must be attested to by two credible witnesses who are citizens of the U.S and who are personally acquainted with the applicant.

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Water Privatization in Argentina Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Water Privatization in Argentina - Essay Example Owing to the presence of outstanding externalities, there is the need for the proper elimination of sanitation residuals that taint the sector. Water privatisation seeks to participation of the private sector with regard to provision of sanitary and water services to residents of the said region. The concept of water privatisation has remained controversial the world over, with the proponents presenting the efficiency and quality services delivered. Privatisation in the water industry often entails three aspects namely outsourcing, design, building and operation, and asset sale. This way, private companies can be contracted to provide various water and sanitary services in accordance to the stipulations agreed on. The companies are often required to design, build and operate a comprehensive system for the dispensation of water services to residents. The process also involves the release of government-owned assets or companies to the private sector for running and maintenance. This pa per seeks to highlight water privatisation in Argentina with regard to history and aspects relating to effects in the society. Privatisation was widespread throughout Latin America in the 1990s including Chile, Brazil, Bolivia, and Argentina to name but a few. During the early 1990’s privatization of services and liberalization of exchange and trade systems was regarded as an easy solution to the problems of deteriorating infrastructure and unbalanced public finances. These changes contributed to economic stability and increased growth as part of a program of direct foreign investment that began in 1995 until the late 1990’s when political instability and social tensions affected economic performance. Argentina forms a prime example of privatisation in the water sector that received backing from the International Monetary fund and the World Bank (Huey, 2010). The period between 1991 and 1999 saw the successful privatisation of water and sanitary services in Argentina t o covering 60% of the population in 28% of the countries municipals. Previously, water services had been under the management of public enterprises at the provincial level and as such, the government had no jurisdiction with regard to privatisation (Galiani et al, 2005).Under these circumstances, the country relied on a single company, ObrasSanitarias de la Nacion (OSN), to deliver water and sanitary services. The company held the largest operation in its mandate with regard to infrastructure and clientele. Seeing the need for change in the status quo, the World Bank exerted pressure on the Argentine government to decentralise the services (Olleta, 2007).The privatisation of OSN came about three years later after the initial appointment following restructuring changes that were required. A French company through its subsidiary, sought to purchase the government-run water company and establish a new company by the Aguas Argentinas. This move was aided by the World Bank who has stakes in the consortium as it funded the company in support of the comprehensive privatisation program. The company was charged with task of supplying clean water to the citizens as well as transporting and treating sewage. The company made returns on their investment and was regarded as a success owing to their enormous profits (Public Citizen, 2003). The concession contract was, however revoked in 2006 after 13 years of services to the citizens; with the main reason believed to contribute to the cancellation of the concession was the economic crisis in the years following 2000. The government argued that the company failed to achieve its targets as cited in the contract with regard

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Project management review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Project management review - Essay Example Once the system has been built to last, it is likely to contribute significantly to the operations of the central government in tracking large projects. However, a holistic approach needs to be taken in order for this project to be a resounding success. The phases outlined above need to be carefully taken into account. It can also be seen that project managers should possess various skills that can enable them to execute different project. These people should have effective communication skills as well as the ability to solve problems in order to succeed in carrying out this project. Table of contents 1.0 Introduction 3 1.1 Task A: Project definition 5 1.2 Project life cycle 5 1.3 Project scope, aims and objectives 6 2.0 Task B: approach to project management 8 2.1 Good approach versus bad approach to project management 8 2.1.1 Project definition 8 2.1.2 Agreement 9 2.1.3 Support 9 2.1.4 Communication 9 2.1.5 Measures to control risk 10 2.2 Project processes 10 2.3 Initiation 10 2.4 Planning 11 2.5 Execution and controlling 12 2.6 Monitoring and close out 13 3.0 Task C: Definition of control system 14 3.1 Effectiveness of the control system 15 3.2 How risk is handled 16 4.0 Task D: Qualities of an effective project manager 17 References 19 1.0 Introduction In order to understand the concept of project management, it is imperative to begin by defining the meaning of project. Basically, â€Å"a project is a special kind of activity and it involves something that is both unique and important and thereby requires unusual attention. It can also be noted that it has boundaries and has a beginning and an end,† (Flemming 2003, p.3). Thus, for any project to achieve its goals, it can be observed that project management is essential and it should be implemented in every stage of the project. It can be observed that there are various activities that are involved in the process of project management. According to Fox (2008), project management is a combination of st eps and techniques for keeping the goals and objectives, budget and schedule in order so as to achieve the desired outcome. A lot of project management tools are used in order to manage the project effectively so that the set goals and objectives can be achieved. The success of a given project mainly depends on the manager’s capability to control the different phases of the project such that all the efforts of the people involved are directed towards the achievement of the desired goals. All activities need to be properly managed so that they can be successfully implemented in the project. A project is characterised by the following factors: initiation, planning, execution as well as monitoring and closing out. These factors are very important in the execution of any given project and they determine its success or failure in most cases. Each phase in a project needs to be properly controlled such that the chances of achieving the desired goals are increased. The other advanta ge of controlling each stage is that necessary adjustments can be made along the way so that the objectives of the project are met. Effective project management entails that proper measures are put in place in order to deal with all the unprecedented changes that may be encountered during the course of the project. Project management also entails that all activities are controlled so that they remain within the set budget work the

Monday, August 26, 2019

Automotive Vs. Computers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Automotive Vs. Computers - Essay Example The paper is going to focus on Toyota and Dell as the products of these industries. Toyota has in the past been depending on its o its major supplier in Japan. However, Toyota being the current leading automotive supplier of cars in the world embarked on a competitive strategy that involved the production of quality cars hence utilized a reliable approach. In addition, Toyota’s supply chain called for responsiveness and efficiency. Moreover, its supply chain necessitates decentralization therefore many production units in various locations all over the world. However, these decentralized units must also the interlinked. This ensures that information flows consecutively throughout all available units. In fact there are four key feature of Toyota’s supply chain. These features include, inventory, transportation, facility and information. Therefore, it is prudent to conclude that Toyota involves numerous production plants; a number of storage facilities, a well-defined tra nsportation mechanism, and reliable information relaying procedures. ( Dudovskiy). This chain ensures that the end consumer gets a quality product and on time regardless of their location since decentralization takes care of it. On the other hand, Dell relies on an exceptional supply chain whose strategy depends on information gathering from its large customer capacity. As such, Dell uses a direct- sale strategy and the information attained are passed on to both the sales and the procurement sections in addition to its external suppliers. The advantage of an information approach strategy is that it allows for timely supply of the product. More so Dell has identified two channels, through which information is acquired such as amongst the customers and the sales personnel’s, and equally, amidst the sales, procurement and suppliers departments. Hence, this approach has helps the company to sell its products in large quantities and with required quality since there is information flow (Gilmore). The automotive industry can be said to stick to its unique supply chain because of the nature of its product. Automotive is bulky, this makes expensive to assemble in a single location. Moreover, car models are rigid to change because there are a variety of models that a customer can chose from. More so, car parts are expensive to make hence changing any part will most likely result to recalling all previously produced vehicles. Therefore, an automotive industry remains competitive only if it produces different car model that suits the needs of its many customers. In addition, the quality, engine performance and fuel consumption are the factors that customers are after in any car mode. Therefore it is only through decentralization that an automotive producer can understand well the needs and requirements of the market. On the contrary, computer producers are better place to use an interactive supply chain approach because their products can be produced from a central location and easily transported to the consumers. Hence, such compa nies will invest more in both the sales and procurement teams to get the market requirements and they will deliver easily on such demands. Consequently, this is an industry that deals more with technology hence they are aware that technology is dynamic. When it comes to the product, the producer mainly evaluates the production cost. In this regards, automotive produce

Sunday, August 25, 2019

1. Describe briefly the roles of the different parts of the eukaryotic Essay

1. Describe briefly the roles of the different parts of the eukaryotic cells endomembrane system in the production and excretion of proteins - Essay Example The endoplasmic reticulum ensures quality control of the proteins and at the same time provides a point of accumulation of storage proteins. The reticulum is then mandated with the duty of transiting already made proteins to the Golgi apparatus (Gupta, 2009). The nuclear envelope also has some ribosomes and is responsible for newly made Glyco- proteins. The Golgi apparatus undertakes the function of making, modifying as well as binding proteins (Eroschenko & Fiore, 2013). This is due to the nature of its enzymes’ modification, hence known for carrying out for sulfation, glycosylation, and phosphorylation of the proteins (Karp, 2010). Some modification activities act as signals directing proteins to their respective locations, which are plasma membrane, lysosome, or for secretion (Eroschenko & Fiore, 2013). Lysosomes contain a variety of digestive enzymes and are responsible for digestion of proteins. In plants, vacuoles correspond to the lysosomes of animals (Karp, 2010). Prot eins that move to the plasma membrane form the lipid bilayer. They act as membrane proteins besides having varied roles in their respective locations in the cell (Eroschenko & Fiore, 2013). They regulate chemical reactions in the cell as well as uptake of molecules. They also act as carriers of molecules across the membrane and provide anchorage too. From the Golgi apparatus, there is a constitutive secretory pathway used to export the secretory proteins continuously to the extracellular matrix (Karp, 2010). Some cells however have a guarded secretory pathway. Some cells secrete regulatory proteins like hormones whereas others secrete digestive enzymes, anti -bodies or mucus (Karp,

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Social services bureau and the youth commission to the White House- Essay

Social services bureau and the youth commission to the White House- Juvenile Justice - Essay Example This article will analyze the various strategies proposed by drug control experts at the opening of the hearing. The panel experts suggested that money be used in hiring new law enforcement agents who will patrol the country’s boarders targeting large drug dealers and making drug raids here and abroad. This policy will demand new tough measures like mandatory waiver of drug dealers to the adult court system, strict punishment for drug possession and sale as well as imposing death penalty on for drug related gang killings. The police executives need to know that they can make more arrests than prosecutors can prosecute. However, arresting remains the most effective way of keeping drug traffickers afraid of the police arrests (Taylor, 40). More money should be channeled to the police departments and particularly to the anti-narcotic unit. The money will be used in establishing special drug forces that will particularly deal with the threatening drug market. These operators will perform the role of patrolling within the country borders and in the country. The officers will patrol all the drug prone areas like the poor cities. Patrolling will also involve police check on those goods brought into the country and on the goods exported. This will limit the imports and exports thus reducing illegal drug trade. Increasing the money spent on drug trafficking is because few resources tend to limit the operations of the narcotic enforcement. Success in the patrolling operations depends on the amount of resources channeled by the government into the narcotic unit (Taylor, 310). Narcotics law enforcers need to be empowered to become expressive in law enforcement. The worse situation of drug trafficking that exist in the country needs more resources to be devoted in the sector. These resources include more employees’ operational tasks that will deal with the street dealers. The

Friday, August 23, 2019

Outsourcing HR, How advisable is this move during a recession Dissertation

Outsourcing HR, How advisable is this move during a recession - Dissertation Example However, the change to an outsourced resource for HR functions can be a risky proposition, creating a deficit in employee motivation and morale that can cost in productivity. During an economic recession cycle, the funds to fully integrate a new form of HR service to employees can be limited, thus creating an irreversibility of the decision if new strategies include outsourcing HR in order to cut costs. The sustainability of the company is in jeopardy if all of the circumstances have not been measured for potentials, both negatives and positives and if the risks are at an irreparable level, the company may not survive the transition. While a useful tool for creating a better structure within the organization, when faced as a form of cost cutting during a recession period, the long term risks may negate any savings that could have been realized. Outsourcing HR during a Recession Chapter One: Introduction 1. ... Various business research surveys have shown that as much as 70% of all human resources is now done through outside firms who function as specialists in the area in order to consolidate specialization over several firms, rather than each firm having in-house specialists in this area (Heneman 2002, p. 58). There are numerous benefits to hosting HR services through an outside source. The nature of the savings involved can be seen through improved economies of scales, more flexibility, higher levels of expertise, and higher levels of performance within core competencies (Heneman 2002). However, on the converse side of the discourse on the topic, it is possible that the de-personalization through standardization creates a lowered level of efficiency, thus decreasing overall firm performance. The reasons for outsourcing any part of a firm’s required resources is usually based on financial reasons. The unfortunate problem with firms that exist in a shareholder model of governance is that the abstract, sometimes intangible costs of doing business from the perspective of an owner responsibility based position end up costing the business more in the long run. Short term goals are considered a higher priority than long term in the shareholder model, thus using outsourced HR is a part of this framework. According to Armstrong (2009, p. 93), â€Å"Managements are facing Tom Peters’ (1988) challenge ‘prove it can’t be subcontracted’. The formal policy of a major global manufacturer reads: ‘Manufacture only those items – internal source only those supportive services – that directly contribute to, or help to maintain, our competitive advantage â€Å". This perspective suggests that all concerns that are not directly involved with making money should be outsourced. The

Artifical hydration in pallitiaive care Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Artifical hydration in pallitiaive care - Essay Example 2). The palliative care in the UK is grounded on three developmental stages that are significant in comprehending the modern palliative care setting. The initial phase of evolution is concerned with the creation of a haven for dying individuals and giving of terminal care. The second level of advancement is the growth of contemporary hospice lobby. The last stage concentrates on the change from hospice to palliative care (Have & Janssens 2001, p. 85-86). As argued by Have & Janssens (2001), in the UK, palliative care is mostly provided to patients suffering from cancer although other patients that have terminal illnesses like Alzheimer’s disease, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), Parkinson’s disease, and advanced heart disease among other conditions that cannot be cured also qualify for the care (p.94). The national umbrella organisation, that facilitates palliative care in the UK, are NCPC (National Council for Palliative Care) and SPPC (Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care). This paper will discuss the artificial hydration in palliative care, its advantages and disadvantages and significance for the patient and end of life care. The discussion revolves around a community setting in the UK. The community palliative care teams provide palliative care in the rural areas. Most of the patients attended to in the community are those that decided to die at home. The services given receive funding from individua l charitable bodies and others by the National Health Service (NHS) (Have & Janssens 2001, p. 94). The artificial hydration in palliative care refers to the administration of fluids into the patient’s body through parenteral routes, nasogastric tube, gastrostomy and nasojejunostomy as a key necessity for nourishment. The truth is that artificial feeding cannot match the natural way of eating through the mouth

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Research Literature Review Breast Cancer in USA Essay Example for Free

Research Literature Review Breast Cancer in USA Essay Introduction Breast cancer continues to be an important focus of attention for medical professionals, policy-makers and general public in the US. The high incidence of the disease and its devastating, in many cases, fatal, outcomes rivet the attention of the professional public. Studies identified for this literature review are for the most part practically oriented, in the sense that they deal with topics that are of primary importance in detecting, treating, and preventing breast cancer. Thus, two sources deal with the programs aimed at women education in the US concerning breast cancer, and two others cover the research into environmental causes of breast cancer. The problem of treatment options for breast cancer is also considered. Education Programs In the US where the population is extremely diverse, creation of special education programs targeting various population groups in accordance with their status is of special importance. Armando Valdez, Kakoli Banerjee, Lynn Ackerson, and Maria Fernandez in their article â€Å"Multimedia breast cancer education intervention for low-income Latinas† outline a special program aimed at the segment of women including Latino women. The problem with detection and early treatment of cancer among Latino women is connected to the fact that Latina women’s screening rate is considerably lower the required government standards and the rate for other ethnic groups. The researchers arrive at the conclusion that, given the availability of subsidized mammograms for poor Latina women, the main deterrent for improvement in the screening rate is lack of knowledge about cancer risks and treatment options. Complicated level of education materials prepared for the target group by the American Cancer Society was identified as an important factor blocking the access of Latina women to adequate information as materials presented often required a superior level of reading skills and the materials were not prepared in Spanish. The paper reports â€Å"the results of a multimedia breast cancer education intervention, tailored to the needs of low-education, low-income Latinas, and attempt to document specific changes in womens knowledge, attitudes and intentions toward mammography screening† (Valdez et al., 2002). Using the Breast Cancer Multimedia Kiosk including instructional videos exposing the target group to the dangers of breast cancer, the authors were able to conclude that interactive multimedia technologies are an effective tool in raising awareness of cancer risks among low-income women. Although the women had some prior knowledge of cancer (â€Å"the majority of baseline study participants (over 80%) knew age and family history as risk factors†), the post-exposure assessment revealed a significant increase in knowledge after the program. Krystal Ngoc-Thy Luong and Jenny K. Yi in â€Å"Apartment-Based Breast Cancer Education Program for Low Income Vietnamese American Women† evaluate a similar program targeting a different ethnic group. As in the case with Latina women, breast cancer is the leading cause of death in this subgroup. Although Asian/Pacific Islander American, or APIA, women have a lower incidence rate of breast cancer (102.0 per 100,000 versus 140.8 per 100,000 for White American women), exposure to Western lifestyle tends to push these rates up. In addition, APIA women tend to be younger when diagnosed with breast cancer than other categories. The study aimed â€Å"to develop, implement, and evaluate the effect of an apartment-based breast cancer educational program for the hard to reach low income Vietnamese women† (Luong, Yi, 2005). The program was designed to be based on apartment visits as it provided a convenient way to reach women, covering neighbourhoods with high concentration of Vietnamese families in Houston. The intervention was carried out by two educators who delivered 20 educational sessions over the period of 3 months that provided the Vietnamese women with information concerning screening, recommendations and referrals to screening. Women were supplied with promotional materials including printed educational information and videos. Measurement of the knowledge levels through telephone surveys concerning breast cancer issues demonstrated that they were â€Å"significantly higher in the intervention group after receiving education about breast cancer when compared to women in the control group† (Luong, Yi, 2005). The researchers drew the conclusion that an apartment-based program has many advantages as compared to other ones because it addresses women in comfortable home settings, giving them a chance to relax and open up more to the conversation with the educator. Environmental Hazards and Breast Cancer Another important direction of research concerns the impact of pollutants and other environmental factors on incidence of breast cancer in women. Thus, Peggy Reynolds, Susan E. Hurley, Robert B. Gunier, Sauda Yerabati, Thu Quach, and Andrew Hertz in â€Å"Residential Proximity to Agricultural Pesticide Use and Incidence of Breast Cancer in California, 1988-1997† evaluate the connection between the facts that California is the most important agricultural state and also demonstrates the highest breast cancer rates in the US. The purpose of the study was formulated as desire to find out â€Å"whether California breast cancer rates were elevated in areas with recent high agricultural pesticide use† (Reynolds et al., 2005). The research was based on the assessment of 176,302 invasive breast cancer cases including â€Å"70,968,598 person-years of observation† (Reynolds et al., 2005). Using Poisson regression analyses, the authors were not able to find a consistent link between living close to the areas of pesticide distribution and having breast cancer. The upshot of the study was that breast cancer was hardly driven by pesticide use, but was more closely related to various social factors such as socioeconomic status. Julia Green Brody and Ruthann A. Rudel in â€Å"Environmental pollutants and breast cancer† address a wider ranger of substances that can lead to breast tumors. The proliferation of breast cancer in North America has caused the need to look for more sources of this disease, examining a wider range of factors. The study covers â€Å"chemicals that may be breast carcinogens, promote growth of breast cells and hormonally sensitive tumors, or affect mammary gland development and susceptibility† (Brody, Rudel, 2003). The researchers identify already known breast cancer risk factors including reproductive factors, exposure to pharmaceutical hormones, diet, ionizing radiation, socioeconomic status and posited the need to identify more factors. Thus, the scholars point to the need to further investigate the risk associated with occupational hazards including exposure â€Å"to the mammary carcinogens benzene, PAHs, and certain organic solvents† (Brody, Rudel, 2003). For instance, speaking of organic solvents, one study identified a connection between breast cancer rates in Danish women and their exposure to these substances in the workplace. The research, after examining 7,802 women with cancer diagnosis, registered a 20-66% rise in breast cancer risk for women who have been employed in occupations that envisaged active exposure to organic solvents. Other studies demonstrated increased risk of breast cancer development for women employed in the chemical industry, textile manufacturing, or nuclear power plants. The authors conclude by saying that more research is needed in the area, but the literature available so far clearly indicates that the link exists between cancer rates and environmental factors. Treatment Options Finally, another issue which has been identified to inspire researchers is the availability of treatment options for cancer and choice between various alternatives. Kathleen B. Donaghy in â€Å"Fostering Sound Medical Treatment Decision Making: A Focusing on Treatment Choices for Breast Cancer† explores this problem. Invoking the decision-making theory, the author evaluates the potential for adequate decision-making in patients struck with this shocking diagnosis. Donaghy (2003) believes that hasty decisions concerning treatment options made on insufficient information are often regretted by the patient later on. As common deterrents that prevent responsible decision-making she identifies five key points: 1.) cognitive overload 2.) failure to fully comprehend treatment options 3.) inability or refusal to process information in the presence of a denial defense 4.) hurried presentation of information by the physician 5.) self-imposed time constraints to get decisions made. (Donaghy, 2003) The article identifies the key strategies that can be employed by the physician to help the patient in the choice, such as providing maximal possible information to guide the patient’s decisions, improving communication, framing information in an appropriate format, obtaining informed consent etc. Using the decision theory to define decision-making as a choice between status quo and other alternatives shed light on patient values that can be involved in decisions regarding breast surgery. Conclusion The pervasiveness of breast cancer in the US makes research related to the issue highly topical. Examination of causes including environmental factors can help craft governmental policies that will prevent the spread of the deadly disease. On the other hand, developing policies aimed at early detection and effective treatment can be instrumental in curbing the death rate from breast cancer. In this light, creation of programs specifically tailored to the needs of individual groups can be an effective solution. Finally, research oriented toward helping the patient make the best decision concerning treatment options will be an important prerequisite of effective treatment programs. References Ackerson, L., Banerjee, K., Fernandez, M., Valdez, A. (2002). A Multimedia Breast Cancer Education Intervention for Low-Income Latinas. Journal of Community Health 27(1), 33+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5000714747 Brody, J.G., Rudel, R.A. (2003). Environmental Pollutants and Breast Cancer. Environmental Health Perspectives 111(8), 1007+. http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5002005585 Donaghy, K.B. (2003). Fostering Sound Medical Treatment Decision Making: A Focusing on Treatment Choices for Breast Cancer. Annals of the American Psychotherapy Association 6(4), 6+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5002578878 Gunier, G.M., Hertz, A., Hurley, S.E., Quach, T., Reynolds, P., et al. (2005). Residential Proximity to Agricultural Pesticide Use and Incidence of Breast Cancer in California, 1988-1997. Environmental Health Perspectives 113(8), 993+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5010885312 Ngoc-Thy Luong, K., Yi, J.K. (2005). Apartment-Based Breast Cancer Education Program for Low Income Vietnamese American Women. Journal of Community Health 30(5), 2005, 345+. Retrieved April 14, 2006, from http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=od=5011756419

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

Medical Devices in Nursing: Blood Glucose Monitoring Device

Medical Devices in Nursing: Blood Glucose Monitoring Device Melissa Cassar Write a short account of the devices used in your area of practice (200 words) As a reliever nurse at Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, I mainly work at the Dermatology Department which consists of; a Dermatology Ward, Minor Surgery Theatres, Follow-up/ New-cases Clinics with consultants, the Leg Ulcer Clinic, the Phototherapy Unit, Patch testing, Wart Clinics and Skin Tag Clinics. From this sub-department a number of medical devices are used, the most commonly used devices are: Blood pressure machines and stethoscope Used to measure a patient’s blood pressure Blood glucose monitoring machines Determines the approximate concentration of the patient’s glucose in their blood Hand held Doppler Used in the leg ulcer clinic for assessing ankle brachial pressure index of the lower limbs Thermometer A tool that measures and monitors body temperature Scale Used in assessing patient’s weight Measuring tapes Used to measure the surface of a wound Dermatoscope An easy-to-use tool used for examining the skin surface and making measurements of different skin lesions Choose a particular device for detailed study and describe the device and its clinical use (if applicable including interaction of device and ICT) From the above mentioned medical devices, the Blood Glucose Monitor or more commonly known as ‘glucometer’ was chosen. Glucose monitoring has become a major adjunct to the care of individuals with diabetes mellitus in the past decade (Colwell, et al., 1987). Individuals who suffer from diabetes and healthcare professionals are able to check and read blood glucose levels regularly by using these portable lightweight devices. These devices are often used in hospitals to avoid having to wait for laboratory glucose tests as the device returns a blood glucose reading in a matter of seconds. Predominantly, most of my working hours are spent in the Leg Ulcer clinic, where we treat and manage patients who suffer from leg ulcers. Diagnosis is an important factor in leg ulcers as it determines the correct treatment pathway. As stated by the Clinical Practice Guidelines (2006), a full clinical history and physical examination should be conducted on a patient presenting with either their first or recurrent leg ulcer and assessment should be ongoing thereafter. Required laboratory tests, physical examination and clinical history including previous and current blood glucose measuring to check for Diabetes mellitus, assess and determine the patient’s diagnosis revealing the cause of leg ulcer and identify the required treatment needed. Hackett (March 1994), states that most blood glucose monitoring devices consist of glucose test strips and a reflectometer to determine glucose concentrations in whole blood. Some systems depend on a glucose oxidase-colorimetric reaction that occurs when a drop of blood is placed on a reagent-impregnated pad. Hackett also continues that the test pad contains the enzymes glucose oxidase and peroxidase, and color indicators. When whole blood is placed on the test pad, glucose is oxidized to gluconic acid and hydrogen peroxide with glucose oxidase acting as a catalyst. The hydrogen peroxide that results from this reaction oxidizes an oxygen acceptor in the presence of peroxidase to form a color change, the intensity of which is directly proportional to the amount of glucose in the blood sample (Hackett, March 1994). Blood glucose tests are used to measure blood glucose and if blood glucose is high this results in hyperglycemia whereas if blood glucose result is low, hypoglycemia is detected. Screening patients who are at risk of having diabetes is essential as some patients show no early indication or apparent symptoms. This test is essential as a mean to prevent arising complications or deterioration due to an advance level of diabetes. In the Maltese Health-Care system, glucose levels found in blood by the glucose monitoring device are measured in millimoles per liter (mmols). All blood glucose measuring devices are small in size (fit in the palm of your hand) thus making them highly efficient in portability, are battery powered and are assembled together with solid-state electronics making the device robust in case of any accidents by dropping the device. The device’s accuracy is important as not only the patient’s well-being could be in jeopardy but may also result in a patient’s death due to severe undetected hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia. Associated Documentation Title page of the user manual On Call Platinum Blood Glucose Monitoring System Sample output from the device List of persons in charge of device management – If device failure occurs, it is important for nurses to remove the device from service immediately, tag it with a label describing the problem and report the incident to the nurse in charge which will then be escalated by reporting the faulty device to the maintenance within the facility so it can be evaluated and repaired or returned to the manufacturer if required. Existing training procedures for new users – At Sir Paul Boffa Hospital, there are currently no training procedures provided to any new users. The blood glucose monitoring technique is supervised and taught by a mentor to any student nurses during their placements done during their three year course at University of Malta. If one of the new users has never learned how to use the device, an experienced senior nurse shows and explains the procedure to the unskilled nurse and helps the new user master the skill. Analyse critically the specifications of the device (list of specifications can be found in the user manual). There are many different types of blood glucose monitor devices on the market. Each device comes with a unique set of specifications according to the user’s specific need. The blood glucose device used in the Dermatology Out-Patient Department is manufactured by ACON Laboratories, Inc. and is found by the name of ‘On Call Platinum’. One of the features the ‘On Call Platinum’ offers is the measurement range which lies between 0.6 33.3 mmol/L (10 600 mg/dL. If the patient has a mmol/L reading of less than 0.6 or more than 33.3, the device will not be able to return a result. The result calibration feature involves measuring glucose concentrations in plasma and not the whole blood. Glucose levels in plasma are generally 10%–15% higher than glucose measurements in whole blood. The glucose meter uses an equation that has been hardcoded into the device to calculate the plasma equivalent from the whole blood glucose reading. The minimum volume of blood sample needs to be 0.8 ÃŽ ¼L. Devices requiring smaller volume reduces the frequency of unproductive pricks to the patient‘s body. The ‘On Call Platinum’ test time is five seconds. This results in faster, more accurate results and reduces chances for errors. Battery life can serve up to a minimum of 3,000 measurements (without con sidering data transfer and test reminder alarms) and therefore can be used for long term. The device is pre-set to either millimoles per liter (mmol/L) or milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) depending on the standard of the country it is being used in. Here in Malta, the millimoles per litre (mmol/L) is used. This specific type of blood glucose monitor has a memory storage up to 300 records with time and date and thus is ideal for keeping tracks and records of patients. Another important feature is that the device automatically shuts off in two minutes of no interaction. This type of specification helps in preserving battery life when the device is accidentally left switched on after its last use. The blood glucose meter size is 90mm x 58mm x21mm weighing 66g (with battery included), approximately the size of the palm of the hand therefore making the device light, easier to use and portable. Its display size is 41mm x 37mm with brilliant backlit display making reading the numbers easy anytime, anywhere. The ‘On Call Platinum’ operating temperature ranges between 5 45 à ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã†â€™ and its operating humidity ranges between 10-90%. This means that the device operates in most environments. Another specification is that the hematocrit range needs to be between 20%-70% and if the ratio of the volume of red cells to the volume of whole blood (in anemic patients) falls below or is above the required value, it can give false glucose measurements. With the data port feature it allows information from the machine to be loaded easily on most computers using a USB cable. The device also has a strip ejector which allows easy strip disposal for the safety of the user. Last by not least, the ‘On Call Platinum’ also has an advanced testing feature of ketone, hypo and hyper warnings alert for each necessary action. Identify any physical and chemical agents associated with the device, and list precautions for patient and user safety, scrutinize the user manual to identify any physical and chemical agents impacting the effectiveness of the device. As stated by WorkSafe Services (March 7, 2014), a chemical agent is a term used to describe all chemical elements and compounds in a natural state or in a processed state and their by-products, the exposure to which insufficient quantities and duration may result in illness or injury to human health. In addition, WorkSafe Services (March 7, 2014), also states that physical agent is a term used to describe energies, the exposures to which insufficient quantities and duration may result in illness or injury to human health. Physical agents include noise, ionizing or non-ionizing radiation, extremes in temperature and pressure, vibration, electric and magnetic fields. In regards to the blood glucose monitor, factors that affect accuracy include test strip problems. To prevent this, strips need to be stored in their sealed container, kept away from moisture, humidity and heat. Extreme temperatures and altitude may diminish the effectiveness on the glucose meter and test strips so it is important to keep the device and its accessories at room temperature. Alcohol, dirt or any other substances on the patient’s skin will give a false reading. The patient’s hands (or the area which is going to be pricked) needs to be washed and air dried thoroughly before lanced. Improper coding is also a factor that affects accuracy. The user must make sure that the code number in the blood glucose devices matches the code number on the test strip bottle. The monitor can also give problems. The user needs to make sure that the test strips are fully inserted into the monitor and the monitor batteries need replacement if required. Not applying enough blood to the test strip is another factor that impacts the device from giving the correct result. To elude this, the user needs to be sure to apply a substantial drop of blood to the test strip. Sources of strong electromagnetic radiation are to be avoided as they may interfere with the devices’ operation giving an inaccurate reading. To acquire a very accurate reading the blood glucose sampling should be obtained from a fingertip as samples from alternate body parts have a probability to return an inaccurate result. Finally, if the patient is anaemic or dehydrated, there is a high probability of a less precise result. Scrutinize the user manual and list what checks must be carried out to ensure that the device is working properly before being used with patients. Glucometer controls are performance tests that are to be completed on the glucose meter, to ensure that the device is functioning properly. As instructed by Vickery Beinhaker (2012), the quality control process allows users to monitor the â€Å"variables† of blood glucose testing in order to consistently obtain reliable test results. It is highly recommended that this test should be done when a test strip container has been opened for a period of time, whenever a new container of test strips has been opened or when there is a possibility that test strips have been damaged. If the device is dropped, suspected that it is not working properly or the machine is repeatedly giving unexpected blood sugar results, it is important to ensure that such procedure is carried out. Moreover, once a week, there should be a routinely check-up to make sure that the device is working properly and to its full potential. With the blood glucose machine kit comes a control solution bottle. A control test consists of first shaking the control solution bottle for the glucose solution to be distributed evenly. Then, a test strip should be inserted into the meter for the machine to be switched on. A drop of control solution is to be applied to the test strip and the reading is then shown on the display. The given result needs to then be compared with the acceptable test range identified on the control solution package. If the value obtained is within the given range, the blood glucose machine is fully functional. Write a step-by-step protocol for the effective and safe use of the device (i.e., ensuring the purpose in using the device is achieved, that the device is used with patient and user safety in mind and checked before use). Include images of each step. Explain the procedure to patient and gain verbal consent. Collect the needed items to perform the procedure, that include alcohol wipes, a pair of gloves, single-use lancet (preferably auto disabling), blood glucose meter and test strip, band aids, sharps container and gauze swabs or cotton wool. Take the items to the patients’ area or to a suitable procedure area. This procedure should not be carried out in any common areas and the needed items should be preferably transported on a trolley and not inside any pockets. Assess the patient’s allergies (i.e.: latex sensitivity) and verify the patient’s identity using the two of the following unique identifiers: Patients first and last name and their ID card number. This procedure should be performed on a solid surface that can be cleaned and properly disinfected in the event of any blood contamination. Perform correct hand hygiene by washing your hands with soap and water or else by using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. It is also important to tell the patient to wash the site from which you are going to draw blood with soap and water. Alcohol wipes must not be used on the patient as this may give a false blood glucose reading (Burden, 2001) Put on a pair of gloves and insert the prepared test strip into the blood glucose meter. Wait for the signal on the blood glucose meter to tell you to put the drop of blood on the strip. Normally the blood areaglucose meter gives you a symbol, such as a sign that resembles a drop of liquid. Prick the patient using the single-use lancet. After, immediately discard the used sharps in an approved sharps container. Wipe off the first drop of blood as it could be contaminated. Draw and place the second drop of blood on the test strip. Wait until a result is shown on the blood glucose monitor. The meter will initiate a countdown sequence once the blood is applied to the strip and the meter detects it. The meter will beep or sound an alarm, when a reading is generated. While still wearing gloves, complete the procedure by detaching the test strip from the blood glucose meter and disposing of it in a sharps container. Apply a cotton wool to the pricked area and advice the patient to keep in place in order to stop the bleeding. Remove gloves and place them in the appropriate trash container. Perform correct hand hygiene by using an alcohol-based hand sanitizer or washing your hands with soap and water. Ensure the blood glucose meter is properly cleaned and disinfected after use according to the manufacturer’s recommendations and store the machine appropriately (i.e., in a storage case). Supply proof of own competence signed testimony of local person responsible for training confirming that s/he has observed you using the device and that you are competent in using the device effectively and safely and can check the device before use. Write a short account of (a) the patient perspective (b) the user perspective regarding the device. Discuss ways of enhancing these perspectives. One perspective in regards to the blood glucose device is that many patients find blood glucose testing to be very painful. Ways in reducing the chance of this happening is by pricking and drawing blood from the side of the patient’s finger rather than from the tip or pad of the finger. This will help with easing the pain as there is less concentrations of nerve endings on the finger side compared to the pad or tip of the finger. Additionally a patient can become distressed when a nurse has to prick their finger again, due to the lack of blood flow present to the tip of the patients’ finger because there might not be enough blood in the droplet in order for the blood glucose device to initiate a reading. To enhance this, before pricking the tip of the patients’ finger the user must hold the patients’ hand downwards to enhance blood flow into the finger tip. Many patients also feel anxiety during the whole procedure due to being afraid of what the result might be. Nurses should try to comfort the patient to help them feel at ease. Another patient’s point of view is being afraid of getting an infection from using a common shared glucometer device. Ways of enhancing this perspective include performing hand hygiene in front of the patient before performing blood glucose monitoring, making sure that the blood glucose meter testing strips are sealed before using them, by wearing gloves and opening the test strip in front of the patient to show them that a sealed unused test strip will be used. Moreover, from a nurses’ perspective, to avoid any potential hazardous risks, any used sharps should be disposed of immediately in a sharps container after pricking the patient and not leaving them lying around near any of the patients’ surroundings. Disposal of any sharps is essential and should be done by the user not by one of yo ur colleagues. Wiping the machine with 70 percent isopropyl alcoholwipes after use, properly disposing of the pair of gloves used and proper hand hygiene after every blood glucose test performed should always be done in order to sustain effective infection control. Due to the immediate result from the blood glucose machine, users such as nurses are able to see the test as life-saver in situations where the patient falls hypoglycemic, is unconscious or is hyperglycemic as it provides crucial information that can be used to make rapid decisions as opposed to having to wait for laboratory tests results. References Amoore, J., Paula, I. (3rd August 2002). Learning from adverse incidents involving medical devices. BMJ, 272-275. Barach, P., Small, S. (2000). Reporting and preventing medical mishaps: lessons from non-medical near-miss reporting system. BMJ, 320:759–63. Burden, M. (2001). Diabetes: blood glucose monitoring. Nursing Times, 36-39. Clinical Practice Guidelines. (2006). The management of patients with venous leg ulcers. London: Royal College of Nursing. Colwell, J. A., Dudley, J. D., McDonald, J. M., Metz, R., Raskin, P., Rizza, R. A., . . . Young, D. S. (1987). Self-Monitoring of Blood Glucose. Diabetes Care, 95-99. Hackett, J. (March 1994). Portable Blood Glucose Monitors. Health Devices, Volume 23, No. 3, 64-97. Vickery, S., Beinhaker, K. (2012). Blood Glucose Monitoring (BGM). Performing Quality Control (QC). Interprofessional Clinical Practice Standard- Procedure, 1-4. WorkSafe Services. (March 7 2014). Biological, Physical and Chemical Agents- Definition and Reporting Requirenments. Occupational Health and Safety Act, 9(2)(b), 13, 42, 43(4). What Is an Organizational Structure? What Is an Organizational Structure? Introduction What is an organizational structure? An organizational structure is a formal system to arrange the jobs and coordinates the workers in an organization to achieve a companys goal. In addition, the organizational structure of layers is organized into a hierarchical structure. Moreover, the organizational structure is a good pipeline for channel of communication, arrange tasks, and set the roles, and the relationship of the one department between other departments in an organization. 1.1 A proper organizational structure contributes to effective management. Next, a proper organizational structure needs to have some positive effect. And these positive effects are creating by the advantages of an organizational structure. Advantages of an organizational structure are easy to control and appropriate arrangements the resources to each of the different department, making it easy for employees to know to whom to report by clearly defined reporting lines, minimizing redundancy by excluding extra and unproductive processes, help to reduce the cost because control center is from the micro level to control variety cost and the organizational structure offers main issue and direction to an organization. All types of organizational structure. There are four common structure we can found within organization such as entrepreneurial structures, functional structure, divisional structure and matrix structure. Each structure area there will be having its own management structure. First, entrepreneurial structure is to maintain and manage the large enterprise and an important joint venture. In this structure every play an important roles in relationship to the chief. In addition, this structure has an important pipeline to convey the authority for all levels of management, has a very centralized bureaucratic procedure and everything will be decide by top management. Second, functional structure is a general structure in any organization. This functional structure has divided the activities of the organization into different units or special departmental groups. While each functional structure is controlled by the top level of management. Therefore, this structure is hierarchical structure and centralized structure. Third, divisional structure is basically divided into three different market sectors in an organization. These three different market structures have different tasks. The three different markets are product divisional structure, market divisional structure and geographic division structure. The product divisional structure is a group of the employees involve the production of produce specific commodities then grouped into one division. Besides that, the market divisional structure is based on the market classification of the various operations. For example: business and corporate sale division, and consumer sale division. After that, geographical division structure is a part of an organization. Geographical division structure is a group of the employees located in one geographical location then grouped into one division. For example: European division and south Asian division. The division manager in each country needs to operate the decision making in everyday. Fifth, matrix structure is a system of management and also is a complex structure which includes multiple lines of authority. In the working environment of matrix structure has different professionals together and worker report is more than one person. In addition, in this structure has combined with the basic of functional structure and a basic of project structure. 2.1 What type of business should employ what type of organizational structure? There are many types of business operate in the market so that means the company will employ different types of organizational. There are four common organizational structures such as entrepreneurial structure, functional structure, and matrix structure and divisional structure. Entrepreneurial structure is suitable for small business and in the structure just have entrepreneur and employees. In addition, in this structure only have 1 or 2 people at the top making decision. Moreover, the entrepreneur has authority to control all over aspect of the business and employees by using this structure. Examples of business using this structure are cafà © and tutorial. Functional structure is very general in the organization. In addition, this structure can divides in many different departments. Besides that, this structure is suitable for produce single product and service. Examples of business using this structure are construction and manufacturing. Matrix structure is most complex structure in this four common structure. This structure to have good coordination and information when there is a wide variety of community organizations. Examples of business using this structure are Sunway Group, IOI Group and Berjaya Group. Divisional structure is separate into many departments so easy to work, allocate tasks and controls of their departments. Examples of business using this structure are hospital, shopping center and ice-cream company. 3.1 What is event management? Event management is a process through planned and organized by event managers. It is a broad term and encompasses the allocation, control, direction and analysis of many resources like time, money and products for achieving objective. Managing and planning event is an arduous task. Therefore, business organizations will outsource the task to professional service providers. 3.1.1 The kind of events that the writer manages. The events that the writer manages are make-up show, wedding fashion show and fashion show. These events my MonaLisa Events Management (M) SDN. BHD will help to find the appropriate places for each show, the tools, and the models and so on for satisfy the customers needs and wants and the services. 3.1.2 The background of MonaLisa Events Management (M) SDN.BHD. MonaLisa Events Management (M) SDN. BHD was founded in 2000; MonaLisa offers the most complete facilities and perfect service, we satisfy customers needs and taste and requirement by according to customers. Mona Lisa has come from different professional background of professionals. We use years of experience and mature technology to tailored the customers dream exhibition. Mona Lisa offers the show of make-up, wedding fashion and fashion. We offer the best service to every customer. In addition, hope they that can achieve dreams and successful exhibition. 3.1.3 The organizational structure that the writer want to use for my company. My company is doing about the management of events and manages many types of events. In addition, my company is take the fashion line so our company will needs more different departments to complete the tasks. So, I will use the functional structure for my company structure. Generally the advantages of functional organizational structure are many. But we can see the major advantages there is always occur in functional organizational structure. Firstly, infrastructure can encourage employees to career development. Secondly, because have qualification, talent and knowledge for specialized functions and particular roles are incorporated into sub-categories within company so these benefits had created a clear career paths. Thirdly, employees are arranged on the basis of their common interests so they have opportunity to learn a lot of professional knowledge from each other. Fourthly, skilled employees of the same group can also have the opportunity working with more skilled colleagues who share their professional interests and abilities. Fifthly, the control of functional structure is increased because employees try to supervise each other work. Therefore, the working environment had become productive and enjoyable because of the employees with the spirit of learning. Next, the functional organizational structure also has major disadvantages. Firstly, the organizational of its growing product line is strained because skills and abilities of employees are narrowed and only focus on own area of specialty. Secondly, the problems of communication between departments are always occur different views and opinions because the interaction between various departments are decreased. Thirdly, the flexibility of solving problems, make changes or slow responding to customer demands or needs are create by difficult to analyze which employee is more efficient and which is not. Fourthly, this structure final decision making have to be given from the top level of management because the strategic problems are not given focuses on significant. 3.1.4 The MonaLisa Events Management (M) SDN.BHD organizational structure. For my event management the writer have choose functional structure which need event director, programme coordinator, venue coordinator, equipment coordinator and hospitality coordinator under these department. There are several department as the writer mention above. Conclusion In conclusion, the functional structure is the most general structure in every business. The businesses can use this structure to allocate the tasks be in charge of different departments. In addition, the businesses can learn and understand the ways of how to use functional structure from the major advantages and disadvantages of this type of infrastructure. Moreover, the ways of communication and coordination of each department are very good. Furthermore, the larger organizations will have more challenges so that individuals have the opportunity to realize their potential. The most successful in organizations are small to medium size and merely deal a few product types and services. For countering the weaknesses my recommendations are the company can offers the training programmed periodical. After that, the company also can mobilization the employees to different each departments. Therefore, the employees can enhance their skills and ability. For reduction of conflicting opinions, employees on each department can always held a small discussion. The small discussion is an enable employees proposed and exchange their personal opinions and ideas. Next, employees on the organization can learn how to pay particular attention to services and quality. Then, looking for niches where they can serve customers. Sometimes, employees need to listen to customers about their needs in order to satisfy customers needs. Therefore, using appropriate organization will create good talent of employees and achieve the goal in every time.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Shangri La Hotels Business Analysis

Shangri La Hotels Business Analysis Introduction Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad is an investment holding company and also a public limited company. This company was incorporated on June 29, 1971 and currently having a total of 2364 employees. Its headquarters is located at the Batu Ferringhi Beach, Penang. This company is engaged with the operations of services such as hotels and beach resorts, golf course and clubhouse, property management and investment and commercial laundry. The Companys segments has two segments, which include hotels, resorts and golf course, which is engaged in hotel, beach resort and gulf course business; investment properties, which includes rental from offices, shoplots and apartment and rental of car parks, and others, which include commercial laundry services and investment holding. Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad has many hotel branches located at many different states and locations in Malaysia. Also, customers may have an infinite choice of luxury possibilities with Shangri-La Hotels as there are over 66 hotels located across the globe. Most importantly, customers may find themselves living in a hidden paradise once they chose to stay in Shangri-La Hotel. They can feel relaxed in the luxurious guestrooms, pampering themselves in a 5 star rated hotels with all the supreme services and facilities. As of December 31, 2010, Shangri-La Hotel (M) Berhad hotel had its properties included Rasa Sayang Resort Spa, Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Traders Hotel Penang, Golden Sands Resort, Palm Beach Resort and Rasa Ria Resort. However, its subsidiaries include Shangri-La Hotel (KL) Sdn Bhd, Komtar Hotel Sdn Bhd, Golden Sands Beach Resort Sdn Bhd, UBN Holdings Sdn Bhd, UBN Tower Sdn Bhd, Pantai Emas Sdn Bhd, Madarac Corporation and Wisegain Sdn Bhd. The principal activities of the Company are investment holding and the operation of a beach resort, namely Rasa Sayang Resort. In Malaysia, Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad owns the 29-storey, 720rooms Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur. On the other hand, it also owns the Golden Sands Hotel, Komtar Hotel and Palm Beach Hotel in the island state of Penang. Shangri-La hotels always differentiate their service to match with customers taste and demand. Company Background The company was incorporated in Malaysia on 29 June 1971 under the Companies Act, 1965. The company was limited by shares with the registered name Taman Developments Sdn Bhd. On 7 September 1974, the name was then changed to Rasa Sayang Beach Hotels (Penang) Sdn Bhd. The company was converted to public company on 23 February 1977 under the name of Rasa Sayang Beach Hotels (Pg) Berhad. On 1 September 1982, the company was listed on the Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE). Yet, the company was delisted from KLSE on 21 December 1987 due to a general offer made by Perlis for the entire issued share capital of the Company and acquired more than 90% of the issued share capital of the company. On 2 January 1992, the company assumed its present name. The company had successfully merged with UBN Holdings Sdn Bhd which comprised the acquisition by the company from Kuok Brothers Sdn Bhd and Landmarks Berhad, the entire issued share capital of UBN Holdings Sdn Bhd on 21 September 1992. However, the company was re-listed on the KLSE on 1 December 1992 with the company undertook a bonus issue and subsequently a public issue. Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad has its own vision for achieving the goals to be the best hotel. Its vision is to be the first choice for our guest, colleagues, shareholders and business partners. Whereas Shangri-La hotels also has its mission at all the time which is to delight our guests every time by creating engaging experiences straight from our hearts. The company is operating based on the following principles: Ensuring leadership drives for results. Making guest loyalty a key driver of the business. Enabling decision-making at the guest contact point. Creating an environment where colleagues may achieve their personal career goals. Demonstrating honesty, care and integrity in all relationships. Ensuring policies and processes are guest and colleague friendly. On top of that, Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad is operating under all professional persons in order to make Shangri-La hotels to be the top hotel in the world. Board of directors include : Tan sri A. Razak bin Ramli (Chairman) Kuok Oon Kwong (Managing Director) Datin Rozina Mohd Amin (Executive Director) Dato Haris Onn bin Hussein (Independent Non-Executive Director) Dato Seri Ismail Farouk Abdullah (Independent Non-Executive Director) Datuk Supperamaniam a/l Manickam (Independent Non-Executive Director) Dato Dr Tan Tat Wai (Independent Non-Executive Director) Tan Yew Jin Dato Khoo Eng Min Ravinder Singh Grewal Sarbjit S Joseph Patrick Stevens (Alternate Director to Ravinder Singh Grewal Sarbjit S) Business What is the basic requirement of a hotel in order to satisfy customers? Hotel is basically belongs to service industry which mostly provide accommodation services to people for a comfortable stay. Service is very important to a hotel as it will bring to customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Shangri-la Hotels (M) Berhad are definitely the best hotel which provides high standards of services to customers as it had awarded Best Business Hotel Brand in Asia Pacific by the Business Traveller 2012. Under Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad, it has currently 9 brands of hotels in the service industry. It includes, Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Traders Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Shangri-Las Rasa Ria Resort Kota Kinabalu, Shangri-Las Tanjung Aru Resort and Spa Kota Kinabalu, Putrajaya Shangri-La, Traders Hotel Puteri Harbour Johor, Golden Sands Resort Penang, Shangri-Las Rasa Sayang Resort and Spa Penang and Traders Hotel Penang. Every hotel under Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad are doing very well as mostly hotels are ranked five stars hotel and have a very good reputation among customers. Every hotel has its own special attractions such as Traders Hotel always located in the city which easier attach to the entertainment. Whereas Shangri-La hotel offers stylish and luxurious environment for customers. In order for a hotel to maintain and improve its business, Shangri-la hotels always push their services to a higher level as services are the main key to bring in more businesses. Its five-star reputation always maintaining a world-class service at all the time. Stylishly decorated, the luxurious guestrooms at Shangri-La hotel present large clear windows with beautiful city views. Memorable and satisfaction of every customer became the crucial mission of Shangri-La hotel. Shangri-La hotel differentiate its rooms according to customers preference. Rooms can be chosen in Deluxe room, Executive room, Horizon Executive room, Premier room and Executive Suite. Customers are able to choose their rooms to prefer a better environment and comfortable stay in the hotel. There are varieties of services provided by Shangri-la Hotel in order to satisfy customers and bring customers loyalty to the business. Facilities provided by Shangri-la Hotel are partially free of charge for customers to fully utilize such as the facilities of fitness centre, outdoor swimming pool, tennis courts, steam room, sauna, massage, aerobics or dance studios and many more. The beautifully landscaped outdoor swimming pool is the facility always satisfied the customers as they are able to relax and enjoy the fascinating environment. The fitness centre is also an important facility for hotel as many people nowadays are going to fitness centre every week. This had become a habit to them and the fitness centre is an important place for them to workout. In Shangri-La hotel, there have the facilities of clinic to provide medical service for customers who in ill. This will make customers convenient as they do not need to go clinic outside and able to rest in the hotel after getting medical treatment. Shangri-La hotel also provide disabled facilities for handicapped such as handicapped toilet as to satisfy them although they are people with disabilities. Customers are able to choose non-smoking rooms or smoking rooms according to their preference. Safe deposit box also provided to let customers safe keeping their important documents or expensive goods. Parking facilities and valet service are provided for customers who looking for a stay in the hotel. Services such as the complimentary shoeshine service is provided for customers who staying in the hotel for a period of time and looking for shoeshine service. Postal and courier service also provided in order for customers to deliver documents or packages. Laundry service provided for customers who want to wash their clothes. Those services are provided to easier customers as they are not necessary to looking those service outside. Child care or babysitting service also provided in the hotel as some parents have some urgent things to do, they can looking for babysitting of their babies. A hotel can be occupied without few facilities, but cannot be occupied without restaurants and bars. Shangri-La hotel features the impressive selection of international, award winning restaurants, including the award-winning Restaurant Lafite, which serves the finest western cuisine. There are five awesome restaurants and two bars located inside the hotel. The wide selection of dining options makes Shangri-La hotel a best location for travellers who enjoy fine cuisine, and also makes the hotel an excellent location for businessman to convene meetings and conferences. Not only that, Shangri-La hotel provides free breakfast or drinks for customers at the cafà © while they preparing rooms for customers. This implication done by Shangri-La hotel is to concern the desired expectation of customers and try to satisfy customers by exceeding customers perceived expectation. Shangri-La hotel also provides 24-hour room service which customers are able to request dishes or drinks with a simply phone call. 24-hour room service is best required by businessman who went out for business meeting and came back late night. It will satisfy them with a delicious meal and the fast delivery. Few shops are located inside the hotels such as the foreign exchange counter and gift shop. Foreigners are able to exchange their currency in the hotel and tourists can purchase gifts in the shop. As now technology became more important, Wi-Fi is the best tool for tourists and businessman. Free Wi-Fi access is provided for every room guests in order for them to access to the internet. Shangri-La also provides travel and transportation service for customers. Airport connection is one of the service included, guests can choose to reach hotel by hotel limousine pick-up, express train or taxi. This usually is made for foreigners and tourists. Hotel limousine pick-up can be chosen with different types of cars. Car rental service and travel agency also provide for customers in order for them to visit any places nearby the hotel. This services provided for customers so they do not need to look at outside of the hotel and can be avoid scamming. Many business amenities are offered to businessman such as the meeting rooms, binding service, laser printing, scanning and photocopying services in order for them to prepare important documents in their trip. Prompt and fast check-in and check-out service also attract customers as they dont have to wait for so long with the service process. Helpful and cheerful receptionists are also type of service that the hotel provided for customers. Receptionists and customer service can help the customers to solve problems such as the changes of rooms or handle complaint. Outstanding staff will satisfy customers as they provide great and wonderful service for them. Hotel employees with smile and cheerful look will make the customers feel happy and satisfied in terms of hospitality service. By according to the feedback received online, Shangri-La hotel can said to be the highest positive feedback received by the customers. Most customers are satisfied and happy with the services provided by the hotel. Satisfied customers will promote and recommend to others with the great services they received at the hotel. Positive word of mouth can improve the reputation of the hotel and this enable the hotel to attract more customers. Customers satisfactions always brings Shangri-La hotel the effort to do better and it leads to customers loyalty where customers will come back to visit the hotel next time. Shangri-La hotel always maintain a high standard of services as they believe service is the crucial rules of a successful hotel. This is how Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad do business in a fully competitive environment and yet did so well in the service industry. SWOT Analysis A companys successfulness always depends on the strategy that the company used to improve its business. SWOT analysis is one of tools that most companies like to use to determine the companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threat. Hotel industry such as Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad also need SWOT analysis to use as a guide for the business and distinguish between today situation and future situation. SWOT analysis will be very effective and useful for Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad to improve its strengths and opportunities and yet minimize the weaknesses and threats. Strengths, which are the beneficial aspects of the organization or the capabilities of an organization, which includes human competencies, process capabilities, financial resources, products and services, customer goodwill and brand loyalty. One of the strengths of Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad is the brand name. Brand is very important for every business as it helps to internationally recognized for its luxurious hotels and resorts. Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad is said to be an aspirational brand to the public. Besides, the leadership and management skills of Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad is well known for its fine and tuned management that is capable enough to run the whole corporation. It helps Shangri-La hotels provide great and excellent service for every customer. Next, the high quality service of Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad also attract a large number of repeat customers which form a loyalty between them. In addition, another strength of Shangri-La hotels is its five-star venture that won numerous awards including the leading spot as the Top Asia Hotel in Malaysia, Best Luxury Hotel in Malaysia by the 2012 Trip Advisor Travellers Choice Awards and World Luxury Hotel Awards Global Winner in the Best Luxury Business Hotel and Best City Hotel category 2011. These awards build up a branded image for Shangri-La hotels and reputation in the hotel field. Not only that, Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad also is the leading corporation on its line of food expertise in various cuisine from eastern to western. Many customers visit Shangri-La hotels are mostly due to the delicious and relaxing restaurants. Clean and tidy of the hotel rooms are the main reason of customers likes to visit Shangri-La hotels as they always satisfied with the environment. Weaknesses, which deteriorate influences on the organizational success and growth. There are little of weaknesses of Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad as they always minimize their weaknesses and transform to their strengths. One of the weaknesses is the inadequate of staff with qualifications as Shangri-La only hires personnel with skilled expertise and the draught for manpower. This may affect the shortage of workers and influence the performance of the hotel. Furthermore, the concept of Shangri-La is outdated and does not appeal to younger generation. They rather go for hotels such as Hard Rock Hotel or G Hotel. Next, the maintenance cost is too high to handle as Shangri-Las hotel and resort must be excellent to its quality for accommodation. This will increase the expenses of Shangri-La hotels and thus the price of the hotel room will also increase. Opportunities, that are presented by the environment within which our organization operates. These arise when an organization can take benefit of conditions in its environment to plan and execute strategies that enable it to become more profitable. As economy of Malaysia had improve steadily nowadays and tourism sector is growing and booing in the recent years making the demand for hotels to increase significantly. Economy of the country will directly enhance the tourism sectors, thus service industry such as hotel will be attractive. Besides, online market is one of the opportunities that helps the growth of Shangri-La hotels as it ranks No.1 in the Tripadvidor website. Technology helps Shangri-La hotels to attract customers as it is kind of marketing and promotion strategy. On the other hand, partnership with international airways, KLIA, is one of the opportunities that more foreigners will be able to visit Asia. This in return increases the occupancy in hotels. Besides, as the steadily growth of economy had increase the job opportunities in Malaysia and this will occurs the lack of human resource. Thus, the lack of human resource will encourage expatriates to come and work in Malaysia. These are the upper class people and usually require hotels for their choice of stay. Threats, one of the threats facing by Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad is the competition of the business. Rival hotels are setting up their base in Asia and lower their prices making it more competitive. Those competitors will influence the sales of Shangri-La hotels. Guesthouses will also compete as they provide much lower rate and affordable to all people. Low budget hotels are the competitors which offering lower costs of accommodation for customers to compete with Shangri-La hotels. In addition, spreading virus such as SARS and H1N1 and robbery cases will discourage people not travel overseas and thus affected the business of Shangri-La hotels. SWOT analysis is one of the tools that are very important and effective for every business to determine the situation of the business and thus making improvement for it. Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad will keep providing great service for customers after doing SWOT analysis as understand the internal and external determinants of the business. Marketing Strategies (7 Ps) A companys success is not only depends on the effectiveness and efficiency of the companys management. It also need to focus in marketing which is the important process of communicating the product or service with customers. Customers are important as without customers, a company will not grow and success. In order to grow a company, customers satisfaction need to get into details. Shangri-La hotel is a company which marketing its services to the customers. Therefore, Shangri-La hotel must has its marketing strategies to achieve the companys goals. Marketing strategies defined as the marketing logic by which the business unit hopes to achieve its marketing objectives. Marketing strategy consists of specific strategies for target markets, marketing mix and marketing expenditure level. Marketing mix is the most common strategy used by many company. Shangri-La hotel is one of the companies which implement marketing mix strategy. Marketing mix consists of 7Ps for developing an effective marketing strategy. It consists of product, price, people, process, promotion, place and physical evidence. The first P Product, usually defined in the capacity of goods or services. Product can be differentiated with quality, design, variety and features. The product of Shangri-La hotel is providing services to customers instead of goods. Shangri-La hotel provides online customer service for customers and customers can get to know the hotel with their website provided. Accommodation service is the main service a hotel provides for customer. So, in order to satisfy customer, types of rooms are playing an important role. There are five types of rooms provided for customers according to their preferences. A hotel must always satisfy customer and build a good relationship with customer through service provided in order to get loyal customer for the hotel and yet maintaining a long term business. Shangri-La hotel provides variety of facilities for convenience their customer to enjoy the stay from the time check-in until check-out. Facilities can be included exclusive room facilities, hotel facilities, dining and entertainment, sport and leisure for customers. Services with intangible are the helpful services provided by receptionists and the smiling face welcoming customers by the staff. The second P Price, is the amount of money for customers to pay for accommodation service in the hotel. Shangri-La hotel always fixed the price according to the types of rooms chosen by customer. Customers are able to make booking online as to convenient them for make comparison and know the price. Online booking usually will requested customers to choose few options according to their choices and they can pay the total amount of the room by using credit card. Besides, online booking will convenient foreigners as it provide currency converter for them to convert into their currency. Pricing strategy using by Shangri-La hotel is based on the service ordered by customers, so customers will be more satisfy with the service because the hotel provide service according to customers order. Discounts and allowances will be given by Shangri-La hotel in the off-peak seasons as to attract more customers to increase sales. By giving discounts in a special room rate, customers can have the chance to stay in the hotel with a relatively lower price and the hotel can build the customer loyalty at the moment. Customers also can made their payment with cash or card as to convenient customers and prevent hassle of customers. The third P People, relate to persons who involve in the process of interaction. People can be classified into target customers and service personnel by Shangri-La hotel. Target customers of Shangri-La hotel are mostly from upper-class or those who posses higher financial ability. Shangri-La hotel is mostly targeted customers of tourists and businessman. Tourists who come from overseas are willing to stay in a luxurious and expensive hotel as they are of higher financial group and likes with relaxing lifestyle. Besides tourists, businessman is another target customer who mostly required to stay in a five star hotel as their expense will be paid by company. By choosing a five star hotel by business travelers, it will create a good image of the company he/she represented. Whereas the people of service personnel involve in the interaction, Shangri-La hotel must recruits and hires employees with skills and attitudes. Skills can be relate to the qualification, ability and competency. Attitudes are those behavior that every staff in the hotel must be acquired such as helpful, responsive and smiling. Shangri-La hotel has provided training programmes for all the hotel employees to make improvement. With skills and attitudes, employees are able to satisfy customers in any issues and lead them back to loyalty. The fourth P Process, refers to the systems used to assist the organization in delivering the service. For example, when enter a hotel, you welcomed by staff with smiles, check-in service is fast, baggage is taken to room, have a great service from the restaurant and facilities, and finally ended trip and baggage delivered to you. This is the process in Shangri-La hotel. Shangri-La hotel demonstrate process involve in delivering services. Fast check-in process is the key of first impression of customer as reservation will be served directly by the receptionist. Besides, when customers are in hunger and order dishes through room service, a fast delivering process is enough to satisfy customers. If customers want to make a complaint regarding the non-working of air-conditional, the fast process of making complaint and solve the problem is very important. Shangri-La hotel always help customers to solve problem as they care of customers. The fifth P Promotion, usually made to attract more customers to increase sales. Shangri-La hotel usually have promotion and special offer to build long term relationship with loyal customer. Shangri-La hotel is using advertising and online marketing to make promotion. Advertising can be regarded as the banner and brochures of the hotel. Technology had become very important nowadays as most people know how to surf internet. Online marketing is the trend to promote Shangri-La hotel. Customers can book hotel rooms at other website such as booking.com and agoda.com. Those websites are able for customers to leave feedback regarding their stays. Positive feedback will successfully attracted more customers to visit the hotel. Furthermore, customers are able to pay less for more with special offer and promotion made by Shangri-La hotel. Customers can enjoy delicious meals at the restaurant with the special offer made in particular day such as Valentines day. Positive word of mouth is one of the ways for promotion as satisfied customers will recommend other customers to visit the hotel. The sixth P Place, where customer can receive the service. Shangri-La hotel is a world-class hotel as hotels are distributed all over the world such as Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, Australia and etc. New hotels are built by according to the demand chain management as the company knows what places are demanded by people for a hotel. There are three Shangri-La hotels in Penang, two at Batu Feringgi and one located in Georgetown. Batu Feringgi Beach is one of the tourist attractions in Penang. Foreign travelers love to visit the beach and this had made the popularity of Rasa Sayang Resort and Golden Sands Resort. Traders hotel is located in Georgetown where most of the businessman likes to visit. Hotels located in the city will be more preferable by travelers as they can go visit any place nearby. Places of the locations of Shangri-La hotel are wonderful and it has its own specific environment. The seventh P Physical evidence refers to services in tangible. The most common physical evidence of Shangri-La hotel is the brochures which mostly customers can requested at the counter. Business cards of receptionists or managers can be regarded as physical evidence as it can be used for next visits or recommendations. Customers can enjoy the beautiful and extraordinary designs of the outdoor swimming pool as it is regarded as the physical evidence. When customers made payment of the hotel room, an invoice of payment will be received by customer. It belongs to physical evidence as shows that customers are able to enjoy the optimum level of satisfaction of services. Service Issue Shangri La Hotel Berhad is a limited company that operates throughout Malaysia. Although Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad is doing good in the service industry, there have some issues that need to be improved and overcome. One of the issue faced by Shangri La Hotel Berhad is the insufficient manpower to conduct the daily operations. This is because Malaysia is facing lack of workers and is importing workers from other foreign countries. The link between manpower and Shangri La Hotel Berhad is fairly simple as manpower is proportional to productivity. The more people are available to work, the faster projects can be completed or the more projects a company can take on. Conversely, a lack of adequate manpower prevents businesses from completing tasks. The lack of productivity translates into a reduction in revenue and profit, which in some cases means the business cant stay operational. Hence if Shangri La do not handle this issue adequately, the efficient and effectiveness of the company will be affected. The second issue faced by Shangri La is the standards of the hotel staff not on par. With the increasing challenges the hotel sector is facing globally and the escalating demand for tourism products and services, especially in the emerging markets, there is urgent need for players in the region to offer high quality performance standards to survive. As stated, because of insufficient workers, Shangri La has to hire foreign workers in order to balance up the workforce. Foreigners on the other hand are usually hired from third world countries because of their low cost. This in return has taken toll on the overall performance of the company. Therefore, Shangri La should also look into this matter. The third issue is about the maintenance handled by Shangri La. As noted Shangri La Hotel Berhad is engaged in the operation of hotels and beach resorts, a golf course and clubhouse, property management and investment and commercial laundry. In the field of golf courses and clubhouse, maintenance is the upmost important. Shangri La on the other hand is doing just average based on the reviews. Because Shangri La Hotel Berhad is a five star company, they should be able to improve their maintenance and achieve excellence. As stated, maintenance is important in the hospitality trade as it reflects the service provided by Shangri La to their customers. Besides that, Shangri La also engages in beach resorts, having one in Batu Ferringhi and one at Sabah which is the more popular ones. Based on the reviews of the hotels, Shangri La Hotel Berhad has received complaints on the lack of entertainment provided on the beachfront which is also one of the issue faced by Shangri La. The beach itself is already amazing to enjoy. However, being viewed for their excellence, Shangri La Hotel Berhad should enhance a solution to that matter. Several reviews stated that there is nothing for the people to do at the beach but loafing around making the stay boring and unworthy. All these issues should be addressed by Shangri La Hotels Berhad as to maintain their international standards. If these service issues are solved, there is no doubt that Shangri La Hotels Berhad will achieve excellence in their line of trade. Latest Venture / Business Plan Although Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad already owns 66 hotels all over the world and has long term customers, Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad want to keep expand and differentiate its business in order to provide more service to the public. This is also a way to get more income and try to satisfy customers in a long run. Recently, Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad have some new business plan and latest venture for its business. For example, they planned to have some major renovation programme for certain resorts. For example, some renovation would be held in Rasa Ria Resorts Garden Wing guestrooms. When the renovation is fully completed, those improved room products will give the resort a stronger business platform for the companys future growth and well to compete strongly in this competitive marketplace. They try to satisfy customers of their specific services provided which cant be found among competitors. This will lead to a competitive advantage for them and customers will looking forward for new venture and service provided by Shangri-La hotels (M) Berhad. Besides, Shangri-La Hotels (M) Berhad has planned to