SWOT Analysis of Patient Services in a Hospital

SWOT Analysis of Patient Services in a Hospital SWOT ANALYSIS PATIENT AFFAIRS OFFICE/ CUSTOMER SERVICES: Patient affairs office provides service to patients. Its job is to assist customers regarding anything they need to make sure that they are satisfied with the service they are provided. The staff of customer services in a hospital should be polite and friendly to the patients and must be provided adequate training as customer service depicts the culture of any organization/hospital. Strengths: In my time working at the hospital, I found that the patient’s affair office had a few employees who had very good communication skills. Due to which they were able to talk to patients and solve their problems and concerns effectively. They dealt with patients of different moods and were able to help them in one way or another. All the employees in customer services had the capability and temperament of working in a team to solve various problems of patients. They were able to communicate well with other employees of the same department as well as of other departments which enabled in building an environment that was healthy. Weaknesses: Although some employees in customer services had good communication skills, but I also saw those employees who were not able to deal with customers and whenever a patient made complaint, they had to look at their colleagues for answers. Due to this, patients had to wait which increased their bad experience of any type with the hospital. There was also a lack of decision making in the patient affairs office. Whenever a situation was raised where patients asked for favors or discounts, customer services representatives had to keep them on hold to ask other senior employees which again kept patients waiting. A lack of following up on the problem was another weakness that I found. When a representative solved a patient’s problem, he/she never attempts to get feedback from the patient. Opportunities: Hospital must provide adequate training to the employees of patient affairs office to enhance their communication skills and for polishing all the other required skills for this job. They can even hire new employees who fulfill their requirement. Threats: Many new hospitals are built now which are giving tough competition to attract more patients by asking patients for feedback from time to time and are actually using that feedback for improving themselves. The best patient affair representative is getting job offers from various other hospitals which is a major threat as he is very skilled and is able to tackle with customers easily without disappointing them. Conclusion: Hospital has various strengths in the patients affair office, all it needs is to hire good trainers for the representatives over there and polish their skills to deal with customers in a better way which will reduce the weakness of the hospital. At the same time, they need to capitalize on the opportunity available and remove the threats they are facing. Hospital must take feedback from patients from time to time and bring required improvements and also they need to provide their employees in the customer services good incentives and reward to retain them with the hospital. EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: It is a department in the hospital who provides treatments and facilities to patients who are in critical condition or who require immediate assistance. The nature of emergency department is so unplanned that it must be prepared at all times along with specialized doctors in all fields to deal with injuries ranging from basic ones to severe ones. Emergency departments operate 24 hours in a day. Strengths: The hospital had all type of machines and equipments available for dealing with patients in the emergency department. Weaknesses: There was often a shortage of staff in the emergency after 12 a.m. which caused problems for patients. There is also a problem of slow service. Another weakness is that sometimes the emergency room is not clean and smells bad. Apart from this, although the hospital has all the required equipments available but most of them are outdated and are not kept in an order. Due to which it often happened that at the time of emergency, it was difficult to find the required machine. Opportunities: Hospital can do partnership with the best medical school as after that students will assist the hospital and will be available for patients 24 hours specially at times when other staff is not available, which will be beneficial for both patient and student. There are grants of government available for the hospital, it can take them and utilize them for the benefit of the emergency room by improving the condition of it. grants will help in solving financial problems and will enable the hospital to buy and keep latest machines to better assist patients in case of emergency. Threats: Hospital is losing doctors because of retirement due to which there is a shortage of doctors in the emergency department. This has caused various problems and thus hospital is losing patients especially in the emergency department to other hospitals with excellent emergency departments. Conclusion: Hospital must reduce its weaknesses as other hospitals are taking advantage of that by providing patients with better service in the emergency department. It must hire more staff in the emergency department for keeping it clean or if it cannot hire then it must raise the salary of existing staff so they perform their duties efficiently. It must also capitalize on the opportunity available to it by doing partnership with medical school and also by accepting the grants by government, which will help the hospital in investing more in the emergency department. It must also place advertisements for doctors to reduce the problem of less doctors in the hospital as this way there will doctors available in the emergency department as well. Complaints Office Is an office which deals with complains of patients and is responsible for getting their feedback. They are responsible for keeping patients in the hospital satisfied by solving their problems and thus not giving them a chance to complain. The duties of this office are critical as form time to time they have to deal with customers with bad moods; they have to tolerate them at their worst which requires a lot of patience. Its necessary for the complaints office to have solution for all the patients or else they will just lose patients. They also need to report complains of patients to senior managers to keep them updated on the condition of the hospital. This way senior manager will be able to take actions that are beyond the complaints office to keep their patients satisfied with the service they are getting. Strengths: The employees in the complaints office are available to patients at all times and solve their queries as much as they can. The complaints office of the hospital has an excellent system of recording all complains of patients on a computer which is available for all the staff of hospital to view. This keeps everyone informed about the issues that should be solved. Weaknesses: The employees at the complaints office lack patience and they often are unable to solve their issues. Sometimes when a patient makes a complaint they listen to them but never takes any action which increases the level of dissatisfaction of patients with the hospital. Opportunities: Hospital can hire a specialist for giving training to its employees as to how to deal with patients with bad moods. They can even hire employees who are specialists in human behavior so they know the required solution depending on the mood of patients. Threats: Other hospitals have more specialized complaints offices due to which they dint give a chance to their patients of complains. So patients prefer other hospitals compared to this which is significantly affecting the growth. Competition is a major threat that the hospital is facing in almost all its departments. Conclusion: Hospital needs to hire good employees and experts of human resources in the complaints office to deal with patients more effectively. They also need to polish the skills of existing employees in the complaints office. Hospital needs to overcome its weaknesses in the complaints office as it is in direct contact with patients at all times and is responsible for solving their problems. Although employees here have got free right to make any necessary decision depending on the situation but since most of them lack patience, they are unable to talk to customers politely. Referrals Office Referrals basically help keeping doctors track of the care that their patients are getting ti make sure that provided care is right for that particular patient. Request for a referral is usually made by the primary clinician when he/she comes to the conclusion that services that a patient requires are not available at the hospital. So referrals office processes these appointments with specialists for the clinicians. The responsibilities of a referral office are to service the appointment with specialists and to keep the clinician updated about the dates and time of appointment. Strengths: The referrals office at the hospital is highly trained and has contacts with many specialists in various fields which enable them to be of service to patients of ant type of problems ranging from small to big ones. Weaknesses: The number of people in the referrals office is less compared to require as there are sometimes delay in making appointments to the specialists which annoys patients as no one likes to wait. Secondly, the appointments that patients get are late and they often have to wait for a month or two to visit the specialist which is not acceptable in situations or cases that require immediate attention. Opportunities: There are various referrals programs available to improve the existing referrals in the hospital so it can take one of them to reduce the inefficiencies. The steps for making a referral program include: First, make a timeline for the program of referral and record the changes it bring to the referrals office to be better aware of the benefits of the program and also to make sure that it’s actually working. Second, keep getting feedback of referrals from the patient to make a list of specialists who actually helped the patients to recommend such specialists further. Also. This will help referrals office in knowing that with which specialist they need to build a better relation. Offer your gratitude to specialists that you are referring to your patients so that they are satisfied with the hospital and are willing to accept future patients. Threats: The threats faced by the referrals office include the referrals office of other hospitals who try giving better service to the specialists that they refer to their patients on behalf of clinicians. Some of these hospitals are old and some are new which are giving intense competition to this hospital. Conclusion: the referrals office should use its strength to get the best specialists appointment for their patients to make sure that they get the best service. They must try to reduce their weakness by hiring more employees in the referrals office and also by trying to get the appointment as quickly as possible especially in cases where the illness is severe. they must capitalize on the opportunity available to them by introducing a referrals program to better train themselves for this job which will help in retaining patients as they will be satisfied by the service provided to them by the referrals office. They must try to come up with strategies and ways of dealing with the competition that they are facing from other hospitals. Ward Administrative Ward: it is the ward that is responsible for administrating the wards in the hospital. Every hospital has various wards and thus the responsibilities of a ward administrative are huge. Employees in the ward administrative units need to coordinate and mange the wards and they also need to supervise it from time to time to make sure that they are up to the mark. Other responsibilities of a ward administrative ward includes establishing policies and plans to be followed, making sure that the best service is being provided, maintaining the infrastructure to make sure that all the facilities are provided to the public and getting feedback from patients to bring improvement if there is a lacking. Strengths: Employees at the ward administrative office of the hospital are providing a good service to the hospital. The wards of the hospital are neat and clean at all times and almost everyone is trained and knows his/her duties. Weaknesses: The employees at the ward administrative ward never come up with plans or ideas for providing even better service than they are providing now. Although they are providing a good service but they lack a need of making policies which everyone could follow. And also the infrastructure available at the hospital is old and need to be replaced. The wards of the hospital are old fashioned and they need to have some work done. Opportunities: Hospital can hire a good architect for solving the issue with the wards and giving it a design that is attractive for patients. The infrastructure of a hospital matters a lot and an attractive hospital attracts more patients. Threats: The threat is same as for other departments, competition. Many new hospitals have been formed with attractive designs and extraordinary architect that attracts the patients. Although the purpose of a hospital is to solve the problems of patients but building and other infrastructure also matters. Conclusion: the ward administrative ward is fulfilling its duties effectively but there are a few lackings here that need to be focused. Firstly, they need to make sure that all wards have latest infrastructure and are presentable to the patients because as discussed earlier, it matter a lot for patients to go in hospitals that provide good services in all ways.

Financial Analysis of banking sector of India

Financial Analysis of banking sector of India Financial Analysis of banking sector of India: Special Reference to Private Sector Banks Financial statements are those statements which provide information about profitability and financial position of a business. It includes two statements, i.e., profit loss a/c or income statement and balance sheet or position statement. The income statement presents the summary of the income earned and the expenses incurred during a financial year. Position statement presents the financial position of the business at the end of the year. This paper is try to present all the components of balance sheet and profit and loss account in common size and analyze the individual item in Balance Sheet Profit Loss A/c as compare to total liabilities/Assets/Income/Expenditure. Objectives To compare the financial position with the help of Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account To compare the financial performance through a common-size financial statement. Introduction After preparation of the financial statements, one may be interested in knowing the position of an enterprise from different points of view. This can be done by analyzing the financial statement with the help of different tools of analysis such as Common size statement analysis, funds flow analysis, cash flow analysis, Common size/ comparative statement analysis, etc. Here I have done financial analysis by Common size financial statement analysis. Common size financial statement analysis, also called vertical analysis, is just one technique that financial managers use to analyze their financial statements. It is not another type of income statement. It is just a tool that is used to analyze the income statement and position statement. With the use of this method of common-size financial statements, the comparisons between the financial statements of different companies become easy. In this method, each of figures in the financial statements are reported in the form of percentage. Thi s percentage is the figure of one frequent base figure. This base figure determines the percentile of all the figures in the common-size financial statements. By using this method, it is easy to compare the financial statements of the same company from different periods or comparing the companies of different size. Due to this method, the bias between the company sizes is removed, and investor can effectively compare the financial statements. The selection of base figure depends on the financial statements head. In income statements, the revenue can be selected as the base figure and all the incomes and expenses can be measured against it. Moreover, in the balance sheet of the company, all the related items are divided by the total of their items. For example, if the investor wants to find out the percentage of the inventory in balance sheet, he or she will have to divide the figure of inventory with the total assets. Methodology For the purpose of this study individual item of balance sheet converted into common size i.e.in 100 for this purpose an individual item in balance sheet divided by total assets/total liabilities and converted into 100.This is also to profit and loss account i.e. individual item in profit and loss account divided by total income/total expenditure and converted into100.For this analysis three years Balance Sheet and Profit and loss account of top three private banks viz.ICICI bank,HDFC bank and Axis bank was analyzed. Balance Sheets as on 31st March 2011 Capital and Liabilities Axis(Rs.000) HDFC(Rs.000) ICICI(Rs.000) Capital 4,105,458 0.169 4,652,257 0.167 11521129 0.283 Reserves and Surplus 185,882,797 7.658 249140426 8.982 539,388,244 13.277 Deposits 1,892,378,010 77.967 2,085,864,054 75.206 2,256,021,077 55.535 Borrowings 262,678,824 10.822 143,940,610 5.189 1,095,542,771 26.968 Other Liabilities and Provisions 82,088,627 3.382 289,928,565 10.453 159,863,467 3.935 Total 2,427,133,716 100 2,773,525,912 100 4,062,336,688 100 Assets Cash and Balance with RBI 138,861,630 5.721 251,008,158 9.050 209,069,703 5.146 Balance with Banks and Money at call and Short Notice 75,224,929 3.099 45,680,191 1.647 131,831,128 3.245 Investments 719,916,208 29.661 709,293,656 25.573 1,346,859,630 33.154 Advances 1,424,078,286 58.673 1,599,826,654 57.682 2,163,659,014 53.26 Fixed Assets 22,731,456 0.936 21,706,480 0.782 47,442,551 1.167 Other Assets 46,321,207 1.908 146,010,773 5.264 163,474,662 4.024 Total 2,427,133,716 100 2,773,525,912 100 4,062,336,688 100 Axis(Rs.000) HDFC(Rs.000) ICICI(Rs.000) Income Interest Earned 151,548,058 76.589 199,282,122 82.13 259,740,528 79.62 Other Income 46,321,338 23.410 43,351,527 17.87 66,478,925 20.38 Total 197,869,396 100 242,633,649 100 326,219,453 100 Expenditure Interest Expended 85,918,230 52.394 93,850,839 46.15 169,571,515 61.728 Operating Expenses 47,794,281 29.145 71,529,141 35.171 66,172,492 24.088 Provision and Contingencies 30,271,979 18.460 37,989,660 18.680 38,961,684 14.183 Total 163,984,490 100 203,369,640 100 274,705,691 100 Profit Loss Account for the year ended 31st March 2011 Balance Sheets as on 31st March 2012 Capital and Liabilities Axis(Rs.000) HDFC(Rs.000) ICICI(Rs.000) Capital 4,132,039 0.144 4,693,377 0.138 11551537 0.243 Reserves and Surplus 223,953,384 7.840 294,553378 8.716 592,500,885 12.509 Deposits 2,201,043,033 77.059 2,467,064,459 73.00 2,554,999,561 53.94 Borrowings 340,716,721 11.928 238,465,086 7.057 1,401,649,073 29.592 Other Liabilities and Provisions 86,432,757 3.026 374,318,690 11.077 175,769,846 3.710 Total 2,856,277,934 100 3,379,094,990 100 4,736,470,902 100 Assets Cash and Balance with RBI 107,029,214 3.747 149,910,945 4.436 204,612,935 4.319 Balance with Banks and Money at call and Short Notice 32,309,943 1.131 59,466,318 1.759 157,680,199 3.329 Investments 931,920,859 32.627 974,829,094 28.848 1,595,600,430 33.687 Advances 1,697,595,386 59.433 1,954,200,292 57.83 2,537,276,579 53.568 Fixed Assets 22,593,250 0.791 23,471,940 0.694 46,146,870 0.974 Other Assets 64,829,282 2.269 217,216,401 6.428 195,153,889 4.120 Total 2,856,277,934 100 3,379,094,990 100 4,736,470,902 100 Profit Loss Account for the year ended 31st March 2012 Axis(Rs.000) HDFC(Rs.000) ICICI(Rs.000) Income Interest Earned 219,946,474 80.228 272,863,517 83.880 335,426,522 81.720 Other Income 54,202,163 19.771 52,436,949 16.12 75,027,598 18.279 Total 274,148,637 100 325,300,466 100 410,454,120 100 Expenditure Interest Expended 139,769,024 60.316 149,895,780 54.78 228,084,964 65.958 Operating Expenses 60,070,995 25.923 85,900,571 31.393 78,504,433 22.702 Provision and Contingencies 31,886,564 13.760 37,833,208 13.826 39,212,151 11.339 Total 231,726,583 100 273,629,559 100 345,801,548 100 Balance Sheets as on 31st March 2013 Capital and Liabilities Axis(Rs.000) HDFC(Rs.000) ICICI(Rs.000) Capital 4,679,545 0.137 4,758,838 0.117 11581197 0.216 Reserves and Surplus 326,399,054 9.584 363881809 8.925 655,478,392 12.211 Deposits 2,526,135,881 74.176 2,960,917,699 72.621 2,926,136,257 54.511 Borrowings 439,510,984 12.906 394,966,127 9.687 1,453,414,944 27.076 Other Liabilities and Provisions 108,881,120 3.197 352,705,377 8.651 321,336,021 5.986 Total 3,405,606,584 100 4,077,229,850 100 5,367,946,811 100 Assets Cash and Balance with RBI 147,920,883 4.343 146,308,790 3.588 190,527,309 3.549 Balance with Banks and Money at call and Short Notice 56,428,716 1.656 129,002,845 3.164 223,647,879 4.166 Investments 1,137,375,370 33.397 1,109,604,124 27.214 1,713,935,993 31.929 Advances 1,969,659,574 57.835 2,472,451,151 60.640 2,902,494,351 54.07 Fixed Assets 23,556,420 0.691 27,733,162 0.680 46,470,587 0.865 Other Assets 70,665,621 2.074 192,129,778 4.712 290,870,692 5.418 Total 3,405,606,584 100 4,077,229,850 100 5,367,946,811 100 Profit Loss Account for the year ended 31st March 2013 Axis(Rs.000) HDFC(Rs.000) ICICI(Rs.000) Income Interest Earned 271,825,744 80.579 358,610,213 83.409 400,755,969 82.764 Other Income 65,511,063 19.420 71,329,645 16.590 83,457,012 17.235 Total 337,336,807 100 429,939,858 100 484,212,981 100 Expenditure Interest Expended 175,163,111 61.343 196,954,474 54.567 262,091,848 65.366 Operating Expenses 69,142,375 24.214 115,518,963 32.005 90,128,837 22.478 Provision and Contingencies 41,236,992 14.441 48,463,621 13.427 48,737,569 12.155 Total 285,542,478 100 360,937,058 100 400,958,254 100 Capital to Total Liabilities Year Name of Bank Axis HDFC ICICI 2010-11 0.16 0.16 0.28 2011-12 0.14 0.13 0.24 2012-13 0.13 0.11 0.21 Interpretation Capital Common size statement of ICICI Bank was more than Axis Bank HDFC Bank in these three years. It is also seen that in all these three years Capital Common size statement of these banks were decreased consistently. Reserve and surplus to Total Liabilities Year Name of Bank Axis HDFC ICICI 2010-11 7.68 8.98 13.27 2011-12 7.84 8.71 12.50 2012-13 9.58 8.92 12.21 Interpretation Common size statement of Accumulated Reserve and Surplus of ICICI Bank was more than Axis Bank HDFC Bank, but this Common size statement consistently decreases. This Common size statement of Axis bank consistently increases. Deposits to Total Liabilities Year Name of Bank Axis HDFC ICICI 2010-11 77.96 75.20 55.53 2011-12 77.05 73.00 53.94 2012-13 74.17 72.62 54.51 Interpretation Deposit Common size statement Axis bank was more than HDFC ICICI bank; however this Common size statement of Axis bank and HDFC bank consistently decreases. Borrowings to Total Liabilities Year Name of Bank Axis HDFC ICICI 2010-11 10.82 5.18 26.96 2011-12 11.92 7.05 29.59 2012-13 12.90 9.68 27.07 Interpretation As regards to borrowings, ICICI bank has more borrowings than Axis bank and HDFC bank, it is also depicts that borrowings of Axis bank and HDFC bank consistently increases. Other liabilities Provisions to Total Liabilities Year Name of Bank Axis HDFC ICICI 2010-11 3.38 10.45 3.93 2011-12 3.02 11.07 3.71 2012-13 3.19 8.65 5.98 Interpretation Other liabilities and provisions of HDFC bank was more than Axis bank and ICICI bank and it is upto10% on an average, however the axis bank ICICI bank maintains this Common size statement upto 3% on an average. Cash Balances with RBI to Total Assets Year Name of Bank Axis HDFC ICICI 2010-11 5.72 9.05 5.14 2011-12 3.74 4.43 4.31 2012-13 4.34 3.58 3.54 Interpretation Cash balance of HDFC bank in year 2010-11 was in highest Common size statement. Cash balance of HDFC bank and ICICI bank continuously decreases. Balance with Banks and Money at call and Short Notice to Total Assets Year Name of Bank Axis HDFC ICICI 2010-11 3.09 1.64 3.24 2011-12 1.13 1.79 3.32 2012-13 1.65 <

Where The Red Fern Grows :: essays research papers

In the story Where The Red Fern Grows by Wilson Rawls. Billy is willing to try his best when he wants to get the dogs. He also tries his best when he wants to get Old Dan down from a tree. Billy thinks that God helped him knock the tree down and catch the coon who was up the tree.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Billy tries his best to get the dogs he saw in an ad, he found in a magazine by the lake were fishermen fish. He picked berries util his feet were covered with scratches because of the bushes. He also hunted for coons with the traps his father got him. He would sell the fur and the berries in his grandfather's store. After two years Billy finally had enough money to get the dogs he wanted. He was so excited that instead of waiting for the dogs to come to him he went to the dogs. After getting the puppies Billy got into a fight with some school kids because they were picking on the puppies and Billy was getting angry. He wanted to protect the puppies   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  When Billy and his dogs went coon hunting Old Dan went up a dead hollow tree to try and catch the coon who went up there. So Billy had to go up and get him down. Billy tried as hard as he could to get his big dog down, then he finally did. When Old Dan got down he was so eager to get the coon he went back up the tree. So Billy went up the tree again and tried to get him down. With all his strength he finally got Old Dan Down for the second time. Billy thinks that God helped him in getting the tree to fall and catching the coon. This all happened when Billy promised his dogs that if they get the coon up the tree he would get the coon. So Billy thought of climbing the tree but it was to high. So he tried to cut the tree down. It took along time; Billy's Grandpa made a dummy so Billy can go home and rest. The purpose of the dummy was to make the coon think that a person was standing there. So the coon would stay up on the tree for several days before he finds out that the dummy is fake. When Billy went back to the tree he started cutting and cutting, but the tree was too big and thick to cut down.

Amish Business Relations Essay -- GCSE Business Marketing Coursework

Amish Business Relations The Amish are a group of people that teach separation from the outside world. A group that originated from Switzerland is centered in the United States and Canada. Their rules as a society require farming and personal simplicity as their way of life. the luxury of having electricity and telephones are not accepted in this odd way of life. Their transportation is reduced to horse and carriages as a way for them to remain simple. These old order Amish traditions are very strictly enforced. Those who break from the Amish usually join the Mennonites, a society with similar rules and values, just less strict. As a way for their society to survive as a culture they have turned to the business of selling the products that these people grow and make. The Amish are fine craftsmen, skilled in everything from building the barns to sewing some of the finest quilts around. In recent years, many Amish have opened small shops to help supplement their modest earnings from farming. Skills handed down from generation to generation have resulted in the best quality products, a proud Amish tradition. Of course, the Amish did not choose this newly found way of life, they were forced in by greater urbanization and the diminished availability and affordability of farmland. They would rather stay and go into small business than move to a more rural state. One of the most known societies is in the town of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. There is an estimated 1,000...

Hotel Security Essay

Hotel Security Matthew Acevedo July 10, 2011 HTT/200 Hotel Security Security came forcefully to the attention of hotel operators in 1976 when a well-known singer, Connie Francis, was raped at knifepoint in a Long Island motel.(online reading, pg.309) Good security is what makes are breaks a good hotel. To insure that you have great security you have to address where it’s needed the most, where it might be an issue and what are the biggest threats to your guest. According to many different websites identity theft is becoming a major with hackers breaching computers in major hotel chains and gaining access to thousands upon thousands of guests personal information including; home addresses, credit card numbers and personal phone numbers. (Bates, 2008) To help reduce the risk of hackers it would be smart to make sure your database is secured through a well-known and respected company that deals with internet hackers. Though it’s impossible to fully stop hacking you can make sure you minimize the risk significantly with the right resources. A big issue with security would be fraud and theft. According to the U.S. Department of Justice Statistics, identity theft is now passing up drug trafficking as the number one crime in the nation. (Itrc, 2006) To solve some of these solution the easy steps would be to makes sure to check every guests ID and credit card against each other and have a fake ID decoder behind every desk to insure that no one gets away with using someone else’s credit card. Theft is also a big concern with guests that stay in hotels. Many hotels have an open-door policy that lets maids prop open doors for hours on end while they clean that floor. That leaves room wide open for anyone to just walk into a room and take whatever they want or rack up huge bills on movie rental or minibar items. According to a study done in 2003 many hotels have not changes there policies after the attacks of 9/11. Many hotels that were rated higher with security had already established good security and didn’t need to make changes. (Myers, 2003) There is no base-line for hotel security so it’s hard to say if the standard went up after the September 11 attacks of 2001. Conclusion Most of the security issue seems to be that of theft, either of personal items or identity. To help solve the ongoing issue there are dozens of companies working to shut down the cyber-attacks of hotel databases around the world. Until then it is the job of the hotel to take every precaution necessary to insure that guest feel as safe and comfortable as possible while staying in their establishment. References

Starbucks Review

Review of Starbucks: A Step Above DeVry University Review of Starbucks: A Step Above The product I chose to review is the Starbucks Corporation; the Starbucks Corporation is an American global coffee company and Italian-style coffeehouse chain based in Seattle, Washington (â€Å"Starbucks,† 2012). Starbucks is the largest coffeehouse company in the world, with 19,972 stores in 60 countries, including 12,937 in the United States, 1,273 in Canada, 971 in Japan, 790 in the United Kingdom, 657 in China, 453 in South Korea, 356 in Mexico, 276 in Taiwan, 200 in the Philippines, 158 in Thailand and 1 in India (â€Å"How many Starbucks,† 2012) .The first Starbucks opened in Seattle, Washington, on March 30, 1971 by three partners: English teacher Jerry Baldwin, history teacher Zev Siegl, and writer Gordon Bowker. The three were inspired by coffee roasting entrepreneur Alfred Peet, whom they knew personally, to sell high-quality coffee beans and equipment (â€Å"Starbucks,† 2012). Let’s take a look at how and why Starbucks is a step above the competition and on a straight path of success.Starbucks not only sells amazing coffee blends and delectable pastries but as a corporation always looking for ways to stay ahead. I want this review to be more than just a review of coffee, this is a review of Starbucks as a corporation and how they use their position to make the communities they serve better places. Starbuck defines corporate responsibility and fairness. The most amazing observation about Starbucks is all the charities and forms of help they offer.For starters Starbucks and the Opportunity Finance Network have bracelets available for a $5 donation to support and create local jobs, these are available at all Starbucks. Starbucks also takes place in fair trade and ethical sourcing, which brings stability to other regions in which supply their corporation. Other forms of support are the millions of dollars in grant money Starbucks supplies to youth leadership programs within the communities they serve and Review of Starbucks: A Step Above thousands of hours of community service to improve those communities.Other strengths that propel Starbucks ahead of the competition are their community stores, leadership and education programs, housing initiatives and their Starbucks foundation which above all else is about helping their communities and the countries in which supply them (â€Å"Being a responsible,† 2012). Another form of strengths that really set Starbucks ahead of their competition is their beverage selection. Starbucks offers many different coffee verities from flavors to different strengths which allow them to appeal to many different consumers.You can also purchase most coffee drinks hot, cold or frozen which sets them ahead of other coffee houses. Besides coffee Starbucks also offers tea and other non-coffee beverages as well pastries and on the go sandwiches for the breakfast and lunch crowd. Most recent expansion of the Starbucks line was their addition to the K-Cup line and the release of their very own single cup brewer, this giving the consumer the ability to enjoy a hot fresh cup of Starbucks in the comfort of their own home.Also Starbucks offers a unique and comforting experience at each one of their stores, no two are the same and each store is modeled after the community it is located. Overall Starbucks is a true competitor and leader in the coffee market as well exemplifying corporate responsibility. This company not only serves refreshing beverages and delicious treats but uses their influence and power to improve the communities they serve and benefit the countries that supply them.Starbucks started as a small company in Seattle in 1971 and became a worldwide leader in the coffee industry as well a global corporation for good. This is what truly sets Starbucks a step above the competition. References Being a responsible company. (2012, November 13). Retrieved from http:// www. starbucks. com/ How many starbucks are there?. (2012, Sep 8). Retrieved from http://loxcel. com/sbux-faq. html Starbucks. (2012, Nov 13). Retrieved from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Starbucks

Emma Goldman

You can never imagine a world without Emma Goldman. Emma Goldman died on May 14, 1940. Emma dedicated her life to the creation of a radically social order. Also, she embraced anarchism for its vision; and it offered liberty, harmony, and social Justice. She had a deep commitment to absolute freedom and that led her to espouse a range of controversial causes. Goldman was a radical thinker. Forty years on she is more than emblematic, she is iconic. Emma Goldman was born in the imperial city of Russia of Kovno on June 27, 1869. Emma's mother Taube was married to a man when he was 15 years old He later died and she was left with two children.Emma's mother had a second marriage arranged to Abraham Goldman. First of all, when Emma was a child she constantly was abused by her stepfather when she displeased him. Emma was uncontrollable and rebellious to her stepfather â€Å"I'll kill that brat†, he often said. (Gornick 7). Also, the family constantly moved from Konovo to Konigsberg to Petersburg. Emma's education was very limited. Although she passed the exam to secondary school, she was denied the character reference necessary for admission. The religion teacher declared her â€Å"a terrible child who would grow into a worse woman† (Gornick 7. When Emma became 12 years old education came to an end for her. When Emma was 16 years old her father told her it was time for her to get married and he would arrange this. She begged once more to return to school instead of getting married. Emma begged her father to immigrate to the United States with her sister Helena; they both wanted to Join their older sister Lena already living in upstate New York. She had threated suicide to her stepfather because her stepfather did not let her immigrate and later he let her go. In 1885, Emma immigrated to the United States and settled in Rochester, New York.She began working in clothing factories in 1886 and by the age of fifteen she worked in a corset factory. Also, Emma w orked 10 hours a day and Emma only made two and a half dollars a week. Emma met Joseph Kershner at one of her Jobs and he also shared a love for books and hatred for work. She was only 18 years old when he had convinced her that they should marry. Moreover, she learned that he was depressed and he was attracted to Emma because he thought his vitality would rescue from himself. She sued him for divorce and left him within a few months of their wedding.By 1889, she developed anarchist ideas. Her speeches attracted attention in the United States. Emma formed a close association with Alexander Beckman who was imprisoned during 1892 for attempting to assassinate Henry Clay Flink during the Homestead Steel Strike. Beckman was Goldman's first real love. Hecklers suppressed her lectures. Also, police officers would suppress her speeches and writing. Eventually, she was arrested so often that she began to carry a book wherever she went because she feared sitting in Jail with nothing to read. Emma was arrested in New York City in 1893 for inciting a riot when a group of unemployed workers reacted to a speech she had given. Goldman embarked on tours in Europe and the United States after her release from prison. In 1906, she had founded Mother Earth, a Moreover, in 1908 Goldman's naturalization as a citizen was revoked by a legal stratagem. She had published â€Å"Anarchism† and other essays two years later. Emma Goldman went to Jail because she spoke freely on birth control. When World War I broke out in Europe she opposed United States involvement and she later agitated against military conscription.In June 1917 she was sentenced for two years for these activities. In 1901, Leon Czologosz claiming he was acting under Goldman's influence, assassinated Although she had not been involved and only met him briefly, she was arrested immediately as an accomplice. Lack of evidence eventually forced the authorities to release her from prison. In September 1919 she was caug ht in hysteria over a largely imaginary network of communist operatives. Emma was called Red Emma because she was declared a subversive alien and she was deported to the Soviet Union. She did not stay there for very long.Two years after leaving she ecounted her experiences in her book My Disillusionment in Russia (1923). Goldman was an advocate for birth control, workers' rights, equality, sexual freedom, and independence for women. Also, she was either harassed or arrested anytime she gave a lecture and she was also banned outright for speaking sometimes. Goldman had become a prominent fgure as a woman in the fght for freedom in America, for economic freedom for women, racial education, and anti-militarism Even though Emma was hostile against religion she had core beliefs emerging from a Jewish tradition that had championed a universal Justice.Emma applied her ideas about free love to women, men, homosexuals, and heterosexuals consistently. Emma believed that individuals should ent er into and leave personal relationships with no constraints, a view determined by her commitment to the principle of absolute freedom and her experience of a failed marriage. She stated, â€Å"If I ever love a man again I will give myself to him without being bound by the rabbi or the law, and when that love dies, I will leave without permission. † (Goldman 1889). Goldman helped launch the No Conscription League in May 1917, soon after the entry into World War .She and Berkman were arrested for conspiring against the draft in 1917. Emma had argued her actions far from being anti American, were intended to prompt her adopted country to live up to its own ideas. Emma believed that the United States they had no right to make a war and she was a pacifist. Also, rather than organizing a conspiracy to obstruct the draft, she said, she had been claiming to exercise her rights to free rights and she had been educating her audiences about conscientious objection. After Goldman's rele ase she was re arrested on the order of the young J.Edgar Hoover, who had persuaded the courts to deny Goldman's citizenship. In 1920 she and Beckman had questioned the Soviet leader on the lack of freedom of speech and the press and the persecution of anarchists in Soviet Russia. Goldman spent the rest of her days in exile from the United States wandering through Sweden, Germany, France, England, and Canada. In 1925, she married an English Coal Miner but it was only a formality to obtain her British citizenship. In the 1920s and 1930s she struggled economically and was frustrated by the restrictions on her status as an xile on political activities.Also, she engaged herself in literary projects and in 1931 she wrote an autobiography Living My Life. Emma became increasingly concerned about the rising tide of Fascism and Nazism. The next several years she lectured Canada where she worked to gain asylum for Spanish refugees and helped foreign born radicals threatened with deportation t o fascist countries. For example in July 1936, when the Spanish American War erupted Goldman supported the Loyalist cause with an enthusiasm reminiscent of her early years in America. â€Å"In addition, narchists had succeeded in receiving popular support in parts of Spain.