Surface Area and Cell SIze - 1504 Words

Lab 1- Surface Area and Cell Size: Introduction Background Information- Iodine is an indicator for starch. When iodine is merged with starch, it turns a dark purple/black color. Cells require nutrients in order to survive. Cells must eliminate waste in order to survive. Description of the Experiment- This experiment was done to provide evidence for why cells are so small. Basically, we pretended that each potato cube used was a single cell and the iodine is the nutrients (food) for the cell. Expectations/Hypothesis of the Experimental Outcome- I think that the smallest potato cube will have the nutrients (iodine) diffuse the farthest. The diffusion of the iodine in the potato will move quicker to the middle of the cell in†¦show more content†¦Lab 3- Observing Osmosis in Living Cells: Introduction Background Information- Living cells may be thought of as microscopically small bags of solutions contained within semipermeable membranes. For the cell to survive, the concentration of solutes within the cell must stay within a safe range. A cell placed in a solution more concentrated than itself (a hypertonic solution) will shrink due to loss of water, and may die of dehydration. A cell placed in a solution more dilute than itself (a hypotonic solution) will expand as water enters it. Under such conditions the cell may burst. A cell placed in a solution that is in equilibrium (an isotonic solution) will remain the same and no water will enter nor leave the cell. Description of the Experiment- This experiment was conducted to observe the effect of a certain amount of sucrose in a solution on white potato cylinders. About five or six pieces of potato went into six different solutions that were in increments of 2 m and were labeled by color. The point of this experiment was to see which solutions were hypertonic, hypotonic, or isotonic to a piece of potato. Expectations/Hypothesis of the Experimental Outcome- I think that the potatoes with no change will be in an isotonic solution, the potatoes in a hypertonic solution will shrink, and theShow MoreRelatedSurface Area Volume Ratio Experiment1104 Words   |  5 PagesSurface area / Volume ratio Experiment Introduction: The surface area to volume ratio in living organisms is very important. Nutrients and oxygen need to diffuse through the cell membrane and into the cells. Most cells are no longer than 1mm in diameter because small cells enable nutrients and oxygen to diffuse into the cell quickly and allow waste to diffuse out of the cell quickly. If the cells were any bigger than this then it would take too long for the nutrients and oxygen to diffuse intoRead MoreSurface Area to Volume Ratio and the Relation to the Rate of Diffusion.1322 Words   |  6 PagesSurface Area to Volume Ratio and the Relation to the Rate of Diffusion Aim and Background This is an experiment to examine how the Surface Area / Volume Ratio affects the rate of diffusion and how this relates to the size and shape of living organisms. The surface area to volume ratio in living organisms is very important. Nutrients and oxygen need to diffuse through the cell membrane and into the cells. Most cells are no longer than 1mm in diameter because small cells enable nutrients and oxygenRead MoreAgar Cube Lab Report969 Words   |  4 PagesInvestigating the Relationship between Cell Size and Rate of Diffusion Ban Madi 11 Dp Biology SL Research Question: How does the size of the cell affect its efficiency in exchanging substances through several ways, like diffusion? Aim: To plan and carry out an investigation to show the relationship between volume/Cm3, surface area, and diffusion using agar cubes measured in time/s; and to demonstrate, using diffusion, why the size of cells is limited, keeping the room temperatureRead MoreThe Size Of An Organism1410 Words   |  6 PagesAC 2.1 1) When the size of an organism increases its surface area also increases. 2) When the size of an organism increases its volume also increases. 3) As the size of an organism increases both its surface area and volume increase however the surface area to volume ratio decreases. This is because the volume increases at a greater rate than the surface area. Organisms with a smaller surface area to volume ratio can exchange substance more easily compared with bigger organisms, which require moreRead MoreThe Causes And Uses Of Antimicrobial Nannomaterials1038 Words   |  5 Pagesresearch on nanomaterials have increased rapidly, due to their potential application in different areas to meet new advantageous technological solutions. In general, when particles are minimized to nanometre scale (1nm-100 nm); because their surface area is significantly large relative to their dimension, they start to present peculiar and interesting properties that can increase their effect as the size reduce, like antimicrobial activity (Beyth, et al., 2015). Antimicrobial nanomaterials can bringRead MoreCorrelation Between Surface Area / Volume With Sensitivity1083 Words   |  5 PagesPurpose The purpose of performing part I of this lab was to study the relationship between surface area/volume with regard to rate of diffusion. We used treated agar blocks to model artificial cells because their surface area and volume could be easily measured, and they visually show the amount of diffusion. By using blocks of different sizes (and with different SA: V ratios, we can compare the rate that diffusion occurred for each block. Background Information All molecules are constantly in motionRead MoreObserving Diffusion And Osmosis On The Rate Of Diffusion Across A Cell Membrane1384 Words   |  6 PagesProcedure 1(Surface Area and Cell Size)- *Purpose-How do surface area and cell size affect the rate of diffusion across a cell membrane? *Hypothesis-The cell with the greatest surface area to volume ratio will have the most affective rate of diffusion. Procedure 2(Modeling Diffusion and Osmosis)- *Purpose-How does the molarity of the solution affect the diffusion and osmosis across a semi-permeable membrane? *Hypothesis-The solution will move from an area of low water potential to an area of high waterRead MoreImportance Of Intracellular Bound Nucleus And Organelles Within Eukaryotes1615 Words   |  7 Pagesannotated diagrams where appropriate, membrane-bound nucleus and organelles within eukaryotes cells; explain evolutionary advantages of intracellular compartmentalization. Living cells are the functional biological building blocks of animals. They come together to form complex organic tissues, organs, and whole bodies, as well as some of these organisms themselves existing in a unicellular form. Cells vary in size and dimension, with Eukaryotes ranging from 1x10-3m to 1x10-4m in length, whilst the smallerRead MoreBiology Higher Level Paper 11101 Words   |  5 Pagesmeasured is continuous III. Sample size must be 30 I only II and III only I and II only I, II and III 2209-6007 – 3 – 3. M09/4/BIOLO/HPM/ENG/TZ1/XX+ How does the surface area to volume ratio change with an increase in cell size? A. Surface area / volume B. Surface area / volume C. Surface area / volume Cell size D. Cell size Surface area / volume Cell size Cell size 4. How do prokaryotic cells divide? A. B. C. D. By mitosisRead MoreEffect of Surface Area to Volume Ratio on Rate of Osmosis1471 Words   |  6 Pages[Type text] [Type text] [Type text] _An experiment on the effect of surface area to volume ratio on the rate of osmosis of Solanum tuberosum L._ BACKGROUND A cell needs to perform diffusion in order to survive. Substances, including water, ions, and molecules that are required for cellular activities, can enter and leave cells by a passive process such as diffusion. Diffusion is random movement of molecules in a net direction from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration

Our Right to Drugs Essay example - 898 Words

Our Right to Drugs You might be tempted to label Thomas Szasz, author of Our Right to Drugs, The Case for a Free Market, a counter-culture hippie. However, this analysis couldn’t be further from the truth. Szasz, a Professor Emeritus of Psychiatry at the State University of New York Health Science Center in Syracuse, is a major supporter of civil liberties. He sees the so-called War on Drugs as one of the worst atrocities that the American Government has perpetrated on its people. Szasz contends that the prohibition of certain drugs, including common prescription drugs, is nothing more than the government telling the people that father knows best. It is this paternalistic attitude that Szasz finds so oppressive. Mr.†¦show more content†¦In this system of laissez-faire, the government has a very small role. According to Szasz, the government should have a passive role in any market, including the market for drugs. Once the government gives up its active role, which is represented by the war on drugs, a free market for drugs which Szasz proposes can be attained. As we delve into Mr. Szasz’s first argument, we begin to see major problems with the government’s War on Drugs. According to Szasz, the prohibition of drugs is a blatant violation of human rights guaranteed to American citizens by the Constitution. In order to prove his point, he equates drugs to personal property. According to the Constitution, every American citizen shall have the inalienable right to life, liberty, and property, the first two elements resting squarely on the last. (Szasz, 1). Thus, Szasz contends that because both our bodies and drugs are types of property—producing, trading in, and using drugs are property rights, and drug prohibitions constitute a deprivation of basic constitutional rights. (Szasz, 2). In other words, just like the prohibition of alcohol required a constitutional amendment, so does the prohibition of drugs. Without that amendment, the prohibition of drugs is in direct violation of theShow MoreRelatedFreedom of Drugs â€Å"We have found grassy solitude right here on the riverfront – our own meadow,700 Words   |  3 PagesFreedom of Drugs â€Å"We have found grassy solitude right here on the riverfront – our own meadow, boxed in by concrete. It’s small, but on psychedelics your interpretation is everything. Everything looks pixelated, glowing red and blue with whispers of green. If this were a television, the reception would be clear. The level of detail is overwhelming. From the smallest patch of grass I can take in the whole of human civilization, the planet, the whole damn universe (Grapples par. 3,2)† ThroughoutRead MoreThe Article A World Split Apart 856 Words   |  4 Pagesyoung people’s right not to look or not to accept. Life organized legalistically has thus shown its inability to defend itself against the corrosion of evil. (4) Solzhenitsyn is illustrating that our society is given â€Å"too much† freedom. As a result people cannot handle it, resulting in abuse and misuse of the rights bestowed onto us. This is exceptionally true in the world of medicine; meant for treatment of illness, has led abuse of prescription drugs. How are our prescription drugs being abused?Read MoreThe Rise Of Drug Prohibition975 Words   |  4 PagesDrug prohibition is rarely viewed negatively by many Americans. The failure of drug prohibition has sparked some debate in the last fifty years, however, the ignorance about illegal substances has led to little discussion on alternatives to prohibition. Legalizing all drugs would be a better alternative than perpetuating the failed war on drugs. The drug war has negatively impacted many lives by demonizing users and corrupting public officials. Criminalizing alcohol did not work in the 1920s andRead More Weapons and Drugs in Our Schools Essay1123 Words   |  5 PagesWeapons and Drugs in Our Schools Problem: The problem of weapons and drugs in schools has become a serious problem in schools throughout the United States. Almost 20% of all students in high school report that they have carried a weapon at least once, and in the past two years there have been over 80 homicides committed on school grounds. Also, teenage drug use in America is the highest of any industrialized nation and it is only getting worse. After a decade of declining drug use, the useRead More12 Monkeys and Societys Perception of Drugs Essay652 Words   |  3 PagesIllegal Drugs vs. Psych Ward Drugs The definition of drugs ranges from supposedly positive to automatically classified as negative. But who is to say which drug is bad and which drug is considered good. In the movie entitled 12 Angry Men the director Terry Gilliam used this film to bring about an idea that I had to rethink. This movie was released on the 27 of December in 1995, this movies genre is often questionable but for the most part it is an Action, Thriller, Sci-Fi. The two charactersRead More Caribbean is a Strategic Transit Zone1343 Words   |  5 Pagesrestricted budgetary allocations for drug rehabilitation (Evaluation of Progress in Drug Control Report, 2010). A United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime commissioned study in St. Lucia reasons that problems of gang violence and youth â€Å"do not originate with cannabis â€Å"inebriation† but with the legal prohibitions on cannabis and the enforcement of those prohibitions in a zero tolerance environment† (Day, 2013,p.6 ). In our so-called ‘moral’ pursuit of a ‘drug-free’ society, we have onlyRead MoreIs Decriminalizing Drugs A Right Move?1216 Words   |  5 PagesIs Decriminalizing Drugs A Right Move? There always seems to be debate on whether the decriminalization of drugs would be of great public interest. It is a very important and controversial issue that has many people wondering if legalizing drugs would be a right move or not. In the article, â€Å"Decriminalization Would Increase The Use and The Economic and Social Costs of Drugs† by David Mineta, Mineta argues about why drugs should not be decriminalized and how keeping illicit drugs illegal outweigh theRead MoreWelfare Recipients Drug Tested1311 Words   |  6 Pagesongoing controversy as to whether welfare recipients should have to have drug testing done. Drug testing will ensure that recipients will not abuse the money they’re given by the government. Having people on welfare take drug test is advantageous because it could save the system money, it would help social workers identify children who are around drug abuse, and it would deter people from purchasing and using illegal drugs; however, it does ha ve a downside such as people who are on prescription medicationRead MoreAll My Life I Have Heard Just Say No To Drugs. You Hear1520 Words   |  7 Pagesjust say no to drugs. You hear it from you parents, teachers, McGruff the Dog, and even people you do not know. Of course, they are talking about illegal drugs, and in most cases, they are right. Drugs are dangerous and should be used just for pleasure. That goes the same for prescribed drugs that are not yours. As for the case of marijuana, I don’t agree. I think marijuana is no more dangerous f than drinking or smoking regular cigarettes. I see marijuana as a recreational drug. A drug that is legal

Singapore Stock Exchange

Question: Discuss about theSingapore Stock Exchange. Answer: History of Singapore Stock Exchange: The Singapore stock exchange was formed in the year, 1973 when the currency exchange between Singapore and Malaysia face a halt and thus terminated. After such termination, the stock exchange if Singapore was inaugurated independently. Later on, on 1 December, 1999, it merged or amalgamated with the Singapore International Monetary Exchange to form the Singapore Exchange. Such an amalgamation has led to the integration of Singapore domestic equity market with external markets (An empirical analysis of stock market integration). As the word Stock Exchange suggests, the Singapore stock exchange facilitates the trading in securities, derivatives and options, thereby providing a global access to the foreign investors and traders. The Singapore exchange was the first to witness a complete electronic exchange, being floorless. In the year 2000, Singapore exchange became the second exchange in the Asia Pacific to listed through public offer and private placement. Working of Singapore Stock Exchange: Singapore stock exchange offers a variety of products or indices which include bonds, warrants, equity index futures, other futures, depository receipts, etc. These products are traded via a computer screen as the medium by The Singapore stock exchange. All the operations carried out by the Singapore stock exchange are fully entertained by electronic means, and it soon became the first stock exchange in history to have incorporated a 100 percent electronic platform for the trading of securities. The Singapore stock exchange requires all its securities to be listed in either of the two groups, namely the Singapore stock exchange Main board or the Singapore stock exchange SESDAQ. The former requires the companies to fulfill all the quantitative requirements and other criteria prescribed by the Singapore stock exchange. The later has lesser legal formalities and requirements and it is the most favorable listing for new and fresh companies. The companies already listed prior can change t he group in which they are listed by drafting and application and fulfilling all such criteria as required by the Singapore Exchange. The stock exchange provides the investors and the potential investors useful information about the recent changes in exchange rates (Singh Foo Rahman). The Singapore Stock exchange has the following trading hours as per their local time: Start Time End Time Pre- open time 08:30 a.m. 08:59 a.m. Market time 09:00 a.m. 05:00 p.m. Pre- close time 05:00 p.m. 05:05 p.m. Close time 05:06 p.m. The Singapore stock exchange analyses the foreign exchange rates, interest rates and international stock exchanges rates both during the crisis period or pre/post crisis period (Determinants of Singapore stock exchange). The Singapore stock exchange anticipates the market and the demand and supply moves f the bonds, equities and derivatives and fairly estimates the probable stock price. The Singapore stock exchange also provides various other services which include securities clearing services, technological services and other data and information services. The development of the Singapore stock exchange rests on its ability and competence to attract new securities and foreign trades. The more the security base of the Singapore stock exchange, higher is the level at which the stock exchange operates (Review of Pacific basin financial markets and policies). From a recent study, it is witnessed that the domestic funds of Singapore continue to be the main source of funds invested in Sin gapores stock market. It has to continuously attract more foreign funds and listing companies, to become a regional financial centre (Rationale and strategy for expansion of Singapore Stock market). Products Offered by Singapore Stock Exchange: Some of the most featured and primary products offered by Singapore Stock Exchange include the following: Exchange traded funds (ETFs): An exchange traded fund consists of a set of stocks, commodities, futures and bonds and it acts like an investment fund, which is traded on the Singapore Stock exchange. An ETF can be transacted and traded only by authorized users. This form of investment facilitates the investor to purchase or sell such equity traded funds at its Net Asset Value at the end of each trading day. An exchange traded fund combines the valuation feature of a mutual fund with the tradability feature of a close ended fund. ETFs ensure lower transaction costs as compared to the other investment alternatives and greater tax benefits. Units of Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs): The working of a Real estate investment trust is much similar to that of a mutual fund, the similarity being the professionalism maintained in managing the funds and investing in the desired set of securities. REIT provides investors an opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio of real estates, and ensures a regular supply of income, in the form to dividends to the investors. The dividends distributed to the investors mainly arise out of the rental incomes if such real estate has been rented and capital gains, in case these have been sold. The Singapore REIT models are combined with the Business trust models, with the objective of facilitating investment in real estate projects (The rise of Singapores Real estate investment trust market). Securities: The Singapore stock exchange is a platform wherein different Singapore companies get itself listed and then the securities, in the form of shares, bonds, debentures are then traded electronically on the exchange. Everyone who holds a share in a company can be referred to as a person who owns a part of the company. In other words, A stock represents ownership of a company, as well as a claim on the companys assets and earnings. (Singapore Stock exchange) Derivatives: The Singapore exchange also largely transacts in various derivative instruments, which include options, futures, forward contracts, swaps and many more. Some of the most dealt with derivative instruments by Singapore stock exchange are elaborated as follows: Stock index Futures: Futures can be referred to as a standardized forward contract which is traded on a stock exchange with immense liquidity, stringent margin requirements and mark to market feature. In case of futures, the Singapore stock exchange acts as a clearing house amongst the two parties and become a buyer for every seller and a seller for every buyer. Stock index futures enable a speculation of the overall market rather than a particular stock. Options: One of the major products traded at the Singapore Stock exchange is options, put options or call options. The buyer of a call option has the right but not the obligation to buy an agreed quantity of a particular commodity from its seller at a certain time in future for a certain price, which is often termed as the strike price. The owner of the put option has the right to sell an asset at a specified price on any pre determined future date. Options can either be American options or European options. Forward contracts: The Singapore stock exchange also deals in forward contracts or agreements, wherein the investor enters into a contract to borrow/ invest a specified amount of money at a specified interest rate, at a specified point of time in future for a specified period of time. Manner in Which Investment Managers Manage their Respective Portfolios: Portfolio means a combination of different securities, in which the investor invests. Investing in a portfolio of securities rather than an individual security is less risky comparatively and also fetches greater returns than an individual security. The investment managers need to carefully analyze the returns generated from the portfolio of different securities and the risk associated with such investment. Only those portfolios should be taken up, in which the expected returns are greater than the risks associated with such investment (Risk aversion, capital asset allocation, and Markowitz portfolio- selection model). The most optimum portfolio is the one which has the highest expected utility. Utility is the positive function of return and a negative function of risk. Statistically, return would be measured in terms of mean and risk will be measured in terms of variance or standard deviation. Hence, the investment managers should carefully study the risk return relationship of vari ous securities in the portfolio and eliminate those securities which have higher risks as compared to its returns. Why Singapore Stock Exchange? The Singapore stock exchange was the first to witness a complete electronic platform for trading of securities, bonds, derivatives. In the year 2000, Singapore stock exchange became the second stock exchange in the Asia Pacific to get listed through public offer and private placement. Singapores monetary system is aimed to promote price stability and provide a proper base for sustainable growth and development. Singapore companies are well renowned for their dedication to quality and such high commitment and reliability makes the Singapore stock exchange more favorable than the other stock exchanges. Also, the Singapore stock exchange operates a managed float regime for the Singapore dollar. The Singapore stock exchange accommodates all the short- term foreign exchange fluctuations and is very flexible and not rigid. Also, the interest rates in Singapore are based on the prevailing foreign exchange rates and the investors estimate of the fluctuations in Singapore dollar in the probab le future. Singapore stock exchanges are more favorable because they offer trading in securities besides trading in futures and derivatives. A complete electronic platform for trading in securities, rather than roaming around in the supermarkets is very convenient for investors as well as potential investors. References: Foo, Tee Sing and Rahman, S. Portfolio balance approach to exchange rate determination in Singapore, Singaporean Macroeconomic Issues,2, pp. 155-169. Koh, L.Y. and Wu, Y. (1998) Determinants of the Singapore Stock exchange A VAR Anlaysis, East Asian Economic Issues, pp. 107-123. Carpentier, Cecile, LHer, J.-F and Suret, J.-M (2008) Review of Pacific basin financial markets and policies, Posted online, 11(2), pp. 255-286. Sing, T.F. (2009) The rise of Singapores Real Estate Investment Trust (SREIT) market The Singapore Economic Review, 54(02), pp. 217-232. Yi, Z. (2009) An empirical analysis of stock market integration: Comparison study of Singapore and Malaysia, The Singapore Economic Review, 54(02), pp. 217-232. Wang, K. (2000) Rationale and strategy for expansion of Singapore stock market, Review of Pacific Basin financial markets and policies, 03(01), pp. 45-58. Risk aversion, capital asset allocation, and Markowitz portfolio- selection model (2012), Security analysis, portfolio management, and financial derivatives, pp. 265-311.

Describe a place where you feel completely content free essay sample

Virgos are meant to be earth signs. Ive read it on every quasi astrological website, every monthly horoscope: Im supposed to feel some connection to the dirt beneath my feet. Maybe because Im named after the moon or, maybe because I was raised in a massive city where the celestial bond between me and the earth was interrupted by slabs of concrete, Ive never felt it. Even when surrounded by forests as I am here, I feel at times awkward on my feet, as though gravity doesnt quite pull me towards the same molten center. As a child I tripped over cracks in the side walk and ran into imaginary friends and sometimes into very not imaginary bus stops which left bruises on my forehead and scars on my knees. I was awkward on the ground, stumbling and dragging my feet until my mother would shout at me to pick them up. We will write a custom essay sample on Describe a place where you feel completely content or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page But suspended, hanging from the too thin branches of under watered trees in Prospect park, I felt at peace. As though the disconnect between myself and the earthy crust could be solved by only a little distance. The freedom that I felt as my legs dangled over branches or monkey bars or occasionally the lights of a crosswalk was unparalleled. Wind flittered between the curls on my head and passed over my swinging ankles, materializing itself like a blanket on my tiny limbs. As a young girl I fell in love with heights, and from this vantage point I fell in love with the world. Heights, the spaces between gravity and flight have offered me peace, understanding and a point for observation from the time I first climbed a tree. This place of peace has developed and changed shapes throughout my life. As a young child it was the skinny trunks and low branches of the trees lining Henry street, in elementary school it was the monkey bar my mother suspended from from the rafters in our living room, on which I would perch myself and watch the day progress, memorizing the smell of arroz con pollo from the kitchen and watching my mothers face in her moments of rest. In high school I found peace in the form of the catwalk, an intricate maze of iron hanging above the school theater. From the catwalk, hidden in the dust and the darkness, I feel the eternal weight of the world melt from my shoulders, as though my troubles were afraid of heights and simply could not follow me up the narrow winding staircase or dangle their legs thirty feet above the ground. From up there I can observe, unweighted by arbitrary worries or thoughts, listen to the gossip just outside and dissect the vocal patterns and intonation of the speaker. I watch people passing beneath me, squirming in their seats or braiding each others hair, I watch for the subtle furrow of the brow or gnawing of the nail: I sit high up and search for detail that is ignored down below, perhaps swallowed up by the earth and i ts worldly tastes. Here, in the catwalk, in the trees, on a plane, I find comfort. I find myself to be most true in this space in between the earth and the heavens, in between observing and participating, being just enough to be and to see all at once. From heights I find the world in unbiased, unperturbed beauty.

Organizational Diagnosis Business Self

Long-term business performance is significant for business survival as well as sustainability. Organizations always strive to adopt the best strategies to improve their management standards to enable them to achieve their core objectives better. Best practices and organizational diagnosis have often been used to maintain quality in organizations, and as an alternative to rigid legislated standards.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Diagnosis: Business Self-Assessment Model specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Bogan and English (1994) describe the best practice as an approach which has consistently shown better results as compared to other means and is therefore used to perform self-assessment or as a benchmark. Organizational diagnosis is used for documenting and charting practices and procedures for organizations. Bogan and English (1994) state that a key strategic talent needed for adopting best practi ce/organizational diagnosis is the ability to balance the organization’s unique practices which it shares with others. There are numerous organizational diagnosis models as well as best practices such as United Way Management Indicators List, Drucker Five-Question Self-Assessment Tool, and Fieldstone’s Nonprofit Life-Stage Assessment, among others. However, Business-Self-Assessment (BSA) would be the most appropriate for companies operating in the financial services industry. BSA was developed to help businesses, including global businesses to determine what they need so as to advance their management systems. Thus, its main aim is to help organization leaders achieve the capability to perform Business Self-Assessments, which would enable them to improve their long-term business performance. Companies operating in the financial sector have numerous common qualities which are unique to the industry and shared standard practices which make BSA the most suitable organizat ional diagnosis for the industry. Ichikawa (2003) of Dow Chemical Company says that BSA processes can always be examined against business excellence criteria such as the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM) and the US Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More BSA can be applied in both domestic and international companies, which means that it would be suitable for regional financial service companies such as Umpqua Bank and international financial companies like Barclays Bank. Ichikawa (2003) states that consistent use of BSA could enable a global business on a downward trend to become vibrant. Adoption of BSA has several benefits. BSA provides a clear diagnosis of financial organizations’ numerous business activities and is valuable for planning as it allows financial companies to connect their practices to the results of t heir practices, thus, highlighting areas which need to be improved. It can help guide organizational change by enabling a deeper understanding of all aspects of an organization’s performance, motivation level, capability, as well as the environment (Cawsey Deszca, 2007). As such, the organization is able to fully understand its areas of weaknesses allowing its leadership to focus on the priority items which can generate the highest impact. This means that it gives an organization’s leadership a clear picture of the capability deficiencies impeding the organization’s performance. The whole process helps generate important data on the organization’s strengths and weaknesses, which can be used in strategic planning exercise so as to improve its performance. Dow Chemical Company President and Chief Executive, Ichikawa, believes that BSA ensures disciplined examination of how the organization operates as well as the results of those efforts (Ichikawa, 2003). Thus, it helps test an organization’s largely held beliefs against those of business excellence criteria.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Organizational Diagnosis: Business Self-Assessment Model specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More BSA model also allows an organization’s leadership team and the organization as a whole to have a common understanding of the business as well as the priorities which help drive the business towards greater levels of performance. Besides, it is flexible; thus, it can be used at corporate, business or branch level. BSA model can be designed to suit the needs of every business in the financial sector operated by any financial organization. It provides a comprehensive review for all of the company’s business activities and practices over several months or even a year. As a result, this will enable financial organizations to develop a culture of continuous improvement (Ca wsey Deszca, 2007). The model also emphasizes the importance of consensus during the assessment of an organization’s strengths as well as areas that need to be improved. This makes the implementation of the identified practices to be easier and inclusive. Finally, the BSA model stresses on external validation of the organization’s practices against standard excellence models like EFQM, Baldrige, and many others (Ichikawa, 2003). This will allow financial organizations to score their practices against best practices adopted by other financial organizations. Financial organizations’ adopting BSA for the first time as their organizational diagnosis model have to be guided to start, and taken through a BSA workshop. The workshop encourages the organization’s leadership and teams to progress to a written document as well as an assessment. During the initial stages of adoption of BSA, 6-12 person leadership team members of each of the financial company’ s business sector or functional department is given a few hours of training (Ichikawa, 2003). Thereafter, they are given 2-3 days of pre-work. Next, a one-day workshop is conducted to help the leadership teams review the strengths as well as areas of improvement which each sub-team records during their organization’s assessment â€Å"against the nine criteria of the EFQM model† (Ichikawa, 2003).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The results of the workshop should include a list of the organization’s strengths, potential practices, and procedures that it needs to put an end to, as well as, prioritized list of practices and procedures that it has to implement to improve its business performance as well as a management system. Following successful completion of the workshop, every business or functional department of the financial company initiates actions aimed at improving their performance. This can take about six months to one year as each business or the organization monitors the progress of the best practices adopted (Ichikawa, 2003). After the end of the set period, probably a year, each of the leadership teams are encouraged to write a document, which can be as long as more than fifty pages, describing their business approaches as well as results in relation to the criteria for business excellence (Ichikawa, 2003). Ichikawa (2003) asserts that the written document is very useful as it helps the organization’s leaders conduct self-assessment of the organization’s strengths as well as areas of improvement. The findings regarding the organization’s procedures and practices are then compared to the findings of an assessment team, which consists of consultants and members of the organization from other branches of the financial company. The employees involved in the assessment of any of the organization’s branch or ‘store’ as applied by Umpqua Bank, are those who do not work for the business being assessed. Senior members of EFQM or Baldrige examiners have to be retained as consultants during the first assessment processes (Ichikawa, 2003). Thereafter, the organization can always conduct its assessments in-house. The financial organization with many branches and businesses both locally and internationally can, therefore, extend BSA to all its businesses and functional departments by initiating BSA workshop in those branches and businesse s. Leaders of these branches and business functions in these branches have to be trained to assess their practices and procedures, implement the best alternatives and write documents as regards their performance in accordance to the organization’s business excellence criteria (Ichikawa, 2003). They are then allowed time to implement their proposed best practices so as to write documents after the end of the stipulated time of the program Cawsey Deszca, 2007). Although it is only the organization’s leadership teams who participate in the BSA workshops, they have to consult with other members of staff when considering the organization’s strengths as well as areas of improvement (Ichikawa, 2003). The writing of the document should take every business or branch two-ten months, depending on the size and business process of each business or branch. The organization or its branch has to involve its key executives and middle management leaders or members of staff with lots of experience as well as seniority. There are two alternatives available for writing the document. One, the organization can use proformas (templates) as an alternative to prose. This option will help save time while noting down all the required data. The other alternative is the shortened version of BSA, normally referred to as the Results Targeted BSA Workshop, which focuses on the single result that holds more importance to the business (Ichikawa, 2003). It evaluates this result against the EFQM criteria for results as well as the corresponding approaches. This approach takes the organization’s key leaders just two days and one day for the leadership teams. The Results Targeted BSA Workshop can be appropriate to business leaders in financial service companies due to their busy schedules, which involve face-to-face meetings with clients, monitoring and guiding the performance of the subordinate staff. The organization has to set adequate time (of about two months) for the assessment of the documents so as to be able to understand fully the organization’s strengths as well as areas of improvement in relation to the best practices adopted after the workshop (Ichikawa, 2003). The assessment of the written documents should involve a team of assessors who comprise middle-level management leaders or directors who have to take one week to conduct individual assessments of the written document. They then take another two days to seek consensus on their feedback report. After that, they take one week to conduct site interviews of the organization’s branch or business or functional department; and finally, they document the report. Throughout the site visit interviews, the document’s assessors contact as many staff as possible, and the staff interviewed must come from different levels within the department or organization. Ichikawa (2003) states that depending on the size of the branch/department or organization, about 5-40% of the sta ff should be interviewed. The assessment process must be communicated to the organization’s staff to achieve a corporation during the process. Finally, the results of the assessment have to be communicated to all employees of the organization. To make the implementation of BSA practice effective in any financial service organization, financial companies have to set up a BSA expertise center to help them â€Å"strategize at the corporate level and coach at the business level† (Ichikawa, 2003). Again, the company has to hire consultants who could be senior Baldrige examiners, EQFM senior examiners or senior British Quality Foundation examiners who have previously led their organizations through BSA processes as well as through in-house and external award processes (Ichikawa, 2003). The organization’s management has to involve internal business excellence leaders, training specialists, as well as external consultants to work together in developing training courses tailored to meet the organization’s goals and needs. Consultants play a vital role in helping the organization develop its practices and in providing individualized coaching to the organization’s businesses (Ichikawa, 2003). They also lead and provide back-up to lead assessors (Ichikawa, 2003). This will help the financial service organization build internal assessment capability at a relatively lower cost. By adopting the BSA organizational diagnosis model, financial service organizations learn the best ways of collecting information regarding their strengths as well as their weaknesses that need to be improved to enhance their performance. BSA process involves getting the views of staff at various levels/positions within every department of the business. This means that financial organizations will be able to adopt a more consultative process in reviewing their procedures and practices as well as in implementing new practices and procedures. Financial organizations w ill also learn to develop their own training courses which best meet their needs as well as the goals of every business process. Companies in the financial service sector, especially banks, usually have wide-ranging businesses such as banking services, insurance policies, mortgage services, investment services, retail brokerage services, among others. Thus, by adopting BSA model, financial companies will learn to tailor their training as well as how to go about shared learning to provide their managers and other staff with skills which help them best meet the needs and the business processes of their departments. They will also learn to continually monitor and review the perceived values of their practices and approaches to their businesses. Perhaps the most important part of the BSA model that financial organizations will learn is how to align their internal business excellence to the EFQM Excellence Model. EFQM criteria majorly focus on how the organization conducts itself, how it reviews and monitors its core processes as well as how it manages its resources and employees. Financial companies will be able to conduct better need identification, design their values which will allow them to incorporate their goals and employees targeted since they will be able to adopt practices applied by EQFM, Baldrige and many others (Ichikawa, 2003). They will also learn how to align their practices with the performance identified. This means that they will be able to continually take corrective actions as they constantly evaluate their strategies so as to allow them to be consistent with the best practices observed in other organizations in the financial services sector. They will also learn how to evaluate their results best as they continually seek to improve their practices to meet both short-term and long-term results. Business Self-Assessment model would evidently be the best organizational diagnosis as it provides a framework for assessing the strengths as well as a reas for improvement for financial organizations. It provides a framework which can allow financial organizations to comprehensively appraise their strengths and weaknesses which need to be improved to enable the organizations better meet the goals of all their stakeholders. BSA also provides an assessment framework which can be used by financial organizations to inculcate the culture of continuous improvement. Reference List Bogan, C.E. English, M.J. (1994). Benchmarking for best practices: Winning through innovative adaptation. New York: McGraw-Hill. Cawsey, T. Deszca, G. (2007). Toolkit for organizational change. London: Sage Publishers. Ichikawa, A. (2003). 2003 excellence in practice citation: Organizational learning. Midland, Michigan: Dow Chemical Company. Web. This essay on Organizational Diagnosis: Business Self-Assessment Model was written and submitted by user Cayden Nolan to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

The Function and symbolism of the Inspector Essays

The Function and symbolism of the Inspector Essays The Function and symbolism of the Inspector Essay The Function and symbolism of the Inspector Essay Sheila is perhaps the most sympathetic of the Birlings, though her own part in Evas death is arguably less defensible than Mr Birlings. She is a highly perceptive character who is the first to realise that the Inspector is no ordinary policeman, and that he has an almost supernatural knowledge: Why you fool he knows. Of course he knows. And I hate to think how much he knows that we dont know yet. Similarly, she is the first to realise that the father of Evas baby is none other than Eric, and tries to get her mother to stop insisting that he should be held responsible: (With sudden alarm) Mother stop stop! Sheila feels genuine remorse for what she did, and passionately believes that they should learn from the Inspectors visit so as never to repeat such a crime. And dont lets start dodging and pretending now. Between us we drove that girl to commit suicide. Her reaction to the revelation that Goole was not a real Inspector is totally different to Geralds and her parents: whoever that Inspector was, it was anything but a joke. You knew it then. You began to learn something. And now youve stopped. Youre ready to go on in the same old way. Gerald Croft is, like the Birlings, a member of the upper class. He is described as very much the easy well-bred young man-about-town. He is slightly older than Eric, and seems far more assured, confident and capable of dealing with awkward situations, though at the end he does not show the strength of character which Eric displays by accepting his part in Evas death. Mrs Birling typifies the older generation in that she prefers to remain ignorant of anything which may be upsetting or which might not fit into her artificially well-ordered world; for example, she is staggered and shocked, both by the revelation that Eric drinks heavily. This ignorance makes her seem nai ve, more innocent than her children, but in fact it is all based on her desire to avoid hearing anything which is offensive to her superior sensibility. When she hears of Geralds involvement with Eva she says with the deepest contempt Its disgusting to me. Goole (and Priestley) takes a grim satisfaction in the way she attacks the husband of Evas child; the message here is that by avoiding all knowledge of anything unpleasant, Mrs Birling is abandoning her responsibility to others as a member of society, but also her responsibility as a mother for the welfare of her son. This, Priestley implies, is the logical and just result of such immoral, wilful blindness. When Eric makes his confession, Mrs Birling has to leave the room, unable to bear hearing such dreadful news but soon returns, admitting I had to know whats happening. The Inspector symbolises many things in his role in the play. The Inspectors final speech before he leaves the play is significant. In this speech the inspector says to the Bilrlings that their lives are not separate and that others are all intertwined with our lives, and what we say and do. He makes a point about community we dont live alone and we are members of one body. Priestley is warning us about the effect that we have on others and we do not live alone, (no man is an island). So we have to treat others with dignity and respect. The Inspector also seems to have a spiritual role. The Birlings are confessing their sins to The Inspector; this shows a priest-like quality. The Inspector is acting as a moral guide, he neither forgives nor punishes just make characters face up to the fact that they must judge themselves as only then they will have learned enough to change. The Inspector also teaches and preaches that the more privileges people have, the more responsible they need to be. The end of the play is a hoax but it is not important that he is not a real inspector. The Inspector symbolises an all knowing spiritual figure. There is even a pun on his name Goole as in ghoul. Priestley uses The Inspector as a voice of social conscience and claims that well have to share our guilt. The inspector makes the characters realise what they had done. He enters just after Mr. Birling talks about every man for himself to show to him that what he does in his life has an indirect relationship between on other peoples lives. It does not matter if one is an inspector to be able to teach someone this lesson of life. There is a big dramatic impact at the end of the play. The inspectors exit is sudden and unforeseen. The Inspector leaves just after saying Good Night. This is a short, sudden and dramatically effective sentence. Priestley is saying, of all the Eva Smiths in the world, that their lives are all intertwined with our lives and that they have fallen victim of societys inequality. J. B. Priestley was a left wing author. At the time that the play was being written, Winston Churchill was the Prime Minister of Great Britain. Winston Churchill was a right wing leader, the opposite of what Priestley was, and Priestley has different views to Churchill. However, at the time the play was released in England, in 1946, Clement Atlee was the Prime Minister. Clement Atlee was a labour Prime Minister who was in favour of a welfare state, which are the views articulated by Priestley in An Inspector Calls. An Inspector Calls is not just about Britain in 1912, it is about contemporary Britain in 1946, and it is still relevant today. J. B. Priestley could be using The Inspector as a device to express his own political views and immortalise his moral standings. Priestley uses The Inspector as a messenger. In conclusion, the Inspectors role is straightforward. The Inspector has interrupted the lives of the Birlings to teach them about life, morality and the importance of community. The Inspector symbolises a priest-like figure, a narrator and a moral conscience. The Inspector takes control of the Birlings house hold, which is a very shocking thing to do at the time the play was set. The Inspector preaches a lot of J. B. Priestleys political views of community, unity and socialism

Innovation and Change Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Innovation and Change - Assignment Example 7) and he argued that entrepreneurs are those who perform and carry out new combinations by finding and taking opportunities to be seized to create new products or service and to establish a new marketable contribution to the economy (McDaniel, 2002, p. 57). Innovation is one of the most vital constituents in advancing living standard and wealth creation. Innovation may occur from different guises, but the roles played by both large scale and small to medium sized enterprises in creating innovation and translating the same to useful needs and wants to be met by customers in the market are undeniably critical. Since Schumpeter argued that entrepreneur is an innovator in 1950s, many researchers investigated the relationship between innovation and performance and examined whether small to medium or large scale enterprises are better at innovating than the other (Gronum, Verreynne and Kastelle, 2012, p. 257). The importance of Small and Medium sized enterprises (SMEs) as drivers for econ omic development and for improved social wellbeing has been increasingly acknowledged. Moreover, innovation capacity is a critical requirement for the survival of SMEs (Wolf, Kaudela-Baum, Meissner, 2011, p. 242) mainly because better entrepreneurs are those who are good at innovating and therefore they are found to be successful. This piece of research paper investigates the argument that small to medium sized enterprises are better at innovating than large scale businesses and examines how successful are SMEs in innovating their goods or services. In order to analyze and critically evaluate the argument, this paper explains the meaning and conceptual framework of SMEs, addresses their role in the economy and explains why they are considered as important in terms of its contribution to innovation. Small and medium sized Enterprises (SMEs) Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) constitute the vast majority of all businesses in almost all the countries and they play a very central role in the economy. SMEs are the major sources of entrepreneurial skills, innovation and employment that in turn help the economy grow further. Analoui and Karami (2003, p. 25) defined SMEs as one that has only a small share of its concerned market and is managed in a personalized way by its owner or part-owner, but not through a medium of an elaborate management system. SMEs are not sufficiently large to get access to the capital market for publically issuing of securities. Researchers used different constructs such as annual sales, number of employees, value added, value of assets, annual profits etc to define and explain SMEs. Out of these constructs, number of employees and annual sales are most often used to delimit the category of SMEs. For most researchers, a small to medium sized firm is one that employs no more than 250 persons and is having annual sales of not more than ?50 million (Analoui and Karami, 2003, p. 26). According to OECD, SMEs are non-subsidiary and independ ent firms that employ less than a given number of people. The most frequent upper