Leading Strategies Change at Davita

Project: Leading Strategies change at DaVita: The Integration of the Gambro Acquisition Course: MGT 215 Submitted: 7thDecember, 2011 Acknowledgement †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 8 Synopsis†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦9-20 Conclusion†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 23 Bibliography†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 24 Acknowledgement I would like to thank God fo r the strength he gave me to do this course. It was a challenge but through it all he brought me to the end of twelve weeks of studies.I would like to thank Mr. Veron Johnson for the patience and time he took to impart his knowledge to me. Thanks to everyone who assisted in any way. Introduction DaVita Inc. , a FORTUNE 500 company, is  a leading provider of kidney care in the United States, delivering dialysis services to patients with chronic kidney failure and end stage renal disease. DaVita strives to improve patients’ quality of life innovating clinical care, and by offering integrated treatment plans, personalized care teams and convenient health-management services.As of  September 30, 2011, DaVita operated or provided administrative services at 1,777 dialysis facilities, serving approximately 138,000 patients. DaVita supports numerous programs dedicated to creating positive, sustainable change in communities around the world. DaVita Medical Mission Statement: †Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through our commitment DaVita Medical Mission Statement: â€Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through ur commitment to upholding our Mission and Values every day, in everything we our Mission and Values every day, in DaVita Medical Mission Statement: â€Å"To be the Provider, Partner and Employer of Choice We are becoming the greatest dialysis company the world has ever seen through our commitment to upholding our Mission and Values every day, in everything we wed† Synopsis Total Renal Care (TRC) a company founded by Victor Chatiel in 1994, offered renal services. One of his strategies was to apply strict business principles and reap rewards upon entering the traditionally non-profit domain of Kidney Dialysis centers.He focused on growth through acquisition through the 1990’s. Unfortunately, chatiel and his team failed to integrate their acquisition leading to some operational incoherence. Firstly, there was no uniformity to a critical patient data form used to record and monitor patient care during dialysis. Secondly, there was little standardization in reporting work methods across centers, this absence made routine management activities, such as transferring personnel and patient across, much more difficult if not impossible.Thirdly, cash flow issues created serious problems like operational weakness in insurance reimbursements – a critical problem for a company whose revenue was entirely dependent on it. Insurers and government would frequently question charges and demand additional documentation. They would occasionally unilaterally reduce the reimbursement amount and delay payment until they received answers to queries and requested documentation.Finally, senior’s executives paid very little attention to the dialysis centers themselves, which were seen more as an avenue of corporate growth where patient and caregivers were economic units in a bigger financial structure. This headquarters- centric, financially oriented operating culture did not win friends among the health care practioners who worked hard in the field to deliver quality care. In 1999 Total Renal Care (TRC) ran into severe financial difficulties. The board of directors turned to Kent Thiry, who worked at another dialysis center in 1997.Kent Thiry is a Harvard MBA graduate and an ex-brain consultant. Before accepting the job offer he reached out to a set of people who had been with him in his previous dialysis venture, people whom he trusted, liked and respected. He recruited Harlan clever, to be the chief technology officer, David Barry to be COO (chief operating officer) and Doug Vlchek to lead the organizational change and culture building efforts. When he came to lead the company October of 1999, the organization was in a mess . It had financial operational regulatory and moral difficulties. They were technically bankrupt, and being investigated by SEC, they were sued by shareholders, had turnovers at twice our current level, was almost out of cash and in general, wasn’t the happiest of place. †(Thiry) Thiry and his colleagues begin assessing the talent in the company, moving people who could not perform and hiring people who could â€Å"get stuff done† (GSD remained a popular acronym in the company; being considered â€Å"good at GSD† was the highest compliment a teammate could receive) persons were sent to the billing office, to work on collections and to fix the cash flow problem.In May 2000 more than 400 clinic managers, plus people from corporate headquarters assembled in Phoenix Arizona, for the first of what has become an annual ,corporate-wide meeting. At this first meeting suggestions for a new name for the company were presented. The company’s teammates, the boa rd of directors and senior management collectively voted to chose the new name â€Å"DaVita† which in Italian phrase which means â€Å"to give life or he/she gives life. † At this meeting groups discussed, debated and voted on proposal for the core values and a mission statement was presented.A few persons were sent to Tacoma’s billing office to work on billing and collections and to fix cash flow problems. The situation became severe when the government stopped paying DaVita for laboratory tests because of records and document issues. The company had to decide what to do with the patients whose lab tests were not being reimbursed, however the company decided to continue performing tests that it felt were essential in delivery of care and to appeal the decision to an administrative law judge to attempt to obtain the denied funds. Four (4) years later after winning successive judgments, the government paid them over $90 million.The issue of outstanding debt was d ealt with under much constraint. The banks wanted the company to sell parts of the business to honor debts. The management group did not buckle, and after long and difficult discussions, the loans were restructured and financial penalties for default were discontinued. Eventually the company sold the dialysis centers that were outside the United States to direct it focused in a geographically area. In the area of technology, the chief information officer introduced an automated patient registration and to incorporate all the clinical records and activities, an electric file cabinet was also created.It was the first step to standardize the paper-based system used to keep track of patient care in the various centers. Continuous improvement and teammate education was critical at this point, so a change process was initiated using continuous quality improvement (CQI). Each center manager attended these training sessions and was expected to train their own staff at the various centers in quality improvement techniques. They were on the road to a new philosophy where patients care was delivered and where most DaVita teammates work were important to the company’s success.To emphasize the importance of the centers, Thiry and his senior manager â€Å"adopt† a center and drop by occasionally. They later replaced the adopt-a-center program with the practice of having everyone hired in or promoted to the vice president level or above go through â€Å"Reality 101†, which entailed spending a week in a center helping to do the day-to- day-work. DaVita’s strategy was characterized by their attention to detail; they took painstaking attention to operational details and compliance with government regulations.Also managing financial outcomes rested largely on small but important behaviors and decisions. One such activity was carefully using supplies to avoid waste and maintaining appropriate stock levels so that inventory costs were unnecessarily high , yet avoiding emergency ordering. Another was achieving good clinical outcomes, it was important to take care while putting the patient on the machine, monitoring the treatment as it was occurring and taking the patient off the machine at the end of the session.The final strategy which was used was employees attraction and retention, this was important because turnovers was costly, entailing finding replacement people and possibly paying overtime labor rate if a center was temporarily short- staff. There strategy can be characterized in organization development and change as leading and managing change where after they diagnosed the causes of the problem, management took a leading role in implementing the change. They created a vision, develop a political support, manage the transition and sustained the momentum. With the increased focus and attention to perational detail, the commitment of the company’s teammates and the bank negotiation behind it, DaVita embarked on a rema rkable transformation in its performance. Achieving great financial result and was consistent over the years in improvements in clinical outcomes and reduction in turnover. The organizational culture at DaVita was a result of what Thiry call â€Å"purposeful action† that â€Å"articulated and demonstrated† what a company could be. His approach took the form of a clear concise mission- that was quickly turned into a song. He then got his colleagues to come to consensus on core values, he also use benchmark questions.Employees became teammates and if they â€Å"cross the bridge† of believing the company could be special, they become â€Å"citizen of the village† (not the company) with Thiry as â€Å"mayor. †A general synergy of teammates and executives brought the organizational change concept to life. A closer look at DaVita’s culture and leadership showed that the management team’s focus had been on creating a strong and positive valu e-based organization where levels of the organization had an emotional commitment to its success. The foundation was Mission and Values, created at the first meeting in 2000 and now widely practiced throughout the company.To the management team, the company’s rebirth strategy was based on the belief that they had to create something larger than themselves in order to be successful. DaVita offered a comprehensive benefit and pay package that was somewhat unusual for a company that had a reasonably large number of relatively low-paid, hourly employees. Pay was pegged against competitive benchmarks. There was a broad- based profit-sharing program that covered virtually all team members, based on the idea of sharing the village’s good times and success with all citizens.There were also benefits that provided people an opportunity to invest in professional and personal growth. Health and welfare benefits included a comprehensive package of medical, dental and vision benefit s, extended illness leave, both short-term and long-term disability insurance, life insurance and flexible spending account to set aside pre-tax dollars for health or childcare expenses, and an employee assistance program Another incentive offered by DaVita to encourage the teammates to be fully involved in their work and to be present in the company, not just physically but also emotionally was â€Å"we are here awards. This was a $1000 in vacation expenses given to a randomly selected non-exempt teammate who had perfect attendance during a 90 – day period. There was also the â€Å"shining star award,† for people who not only perform their job with exceptional proficiency but who also exemplified the DaVita’s values and who contributed to the well-being of the team. DaVita have many training program within the organization to assist teammates in their development.DaVita University started within a year of Thiry arrival in the company and offers program in cont inuous quality improvement (a two day program required for newly hired facility administrators, managers and vice presidents that had not taken the class previously) presentation skills, leadership development, team skills and programs for vice presidents. There are also numerous courses on clinical subjects. Two of the most important programs that reach the people directly or indirectly were the DaVita Academy (more recently called Academy 11) and a program called F.A. S. T (Facility Training Administrator Survival Training) Academy11 was a newer program attended by all teammates from a specific region, designed to â€Å"take facility performance to the next level by fostering mutual accountability amongst the team. † By emphasizing how to hold difficult and honest conversations among the teams to resolve interpersonal issues, the course fostered better and more productive interaction. It also contained numerous team building activities and joint planning for operational imp rovement at the facilities. F. A. S.T (Facility Training Administrator Survival Training) is a five day program taken by all new clinic managers. The program consist of training in managerial skills such as time management, communication, providing coaching and feedback to team members, and interviewing, as well as material on DaVita culture ( DaVita Way and One for All). The company integrated programs to give back to the community; they introduced a program â€Å"one for all, all for one. † This program the DaVita village Network is where teammates make contributions and the company matched this with its profit.These funds were used to assist persons in the communities where centers are located who use their services and have difficulties in meeting their financial obligations. In 2005, Thiry and his senior executive team met to discuss the next step the company should take to continue its organizational development and strategies evolution. Their special focused was how to manage several looming challenges because they were just in the process of completing a $3. 1 billion purchase of Gambro, a large competitor. The acquisition would nearly double its size from 700 to more than 1200 dialysis centers and from 13, 000 to 25,000 people.As such it would cement its position as the second largest Kidney Dialysis centers in the United States. Their task immediately entailed integrating Gambro into the DaVita’s way of managing and its culture. Gambro was significantly more hierarchical and formal than DaVita, and did not have a strong people- oriented culture. Gambro had purchased Vivara in 1997 , a small publicly traded dialysis company led and transformed by Thiry during the 1990’s, now as leader of the combined organization, his goal is to be respectful of Gambro, its people and its capabilities, while maintaining DaVita’s unique culture and way of management.Gambro is a global medical technology company and a leader in developing, ma nufacturing and supplying products and therapies for Kidney and Liver dialysis, Myeloma Kidney Therapy, and other extracorporeal therapies for Chronic and Acute patients. Kidney (renal) dialysis was the world’s first extracorporeal therapy (i. e. a therapy that treats organ failure outside the body). Dialysis saves the lives of a growing number of patients every year, and innovation in the field is essential.The only current alternative to renal dialysis – kidney transplantation – is not an available option for most patients, due to a shortage of donor organs. Dialysis technology is now being developed for new applications such as liver dialysis and an emerging field of other extracorporeal therapies, to remove different fluids and toxins from chronically and acutely ill patients. For decades, Gambro has been first to market many groundbreaking innovations. By designing and delivering solutions to dialysis clinics and intensive care units, they offer not just im proved treatment quality, but also improved efficiency.Gambro was founded in 1964, and had 8 000 employees, production facilities in 9 countries, and sales in more than 100 countries. Their purpose and culture unified as a company and remind us as individuals of how we can make a difference for patients and their families. Customer focus  was always strived to exceed customer expectations and they keep patient safety and quality as a key priority. They hold themselves accountable to their customers, team members and partners by delivering on their commitments. People are the biggest asset of the company and teamwork is important for success.They conducted business in an ethical manner with courage to do the right thing and continuously seek ways to improve their business. The Gambro Healthcare acquisition is the largest acquisition we have made to date. There is a risk that, due to the size of the acquisition, we will be unable to integrate Gambro Healthcare into our operations as effectively as we have with prior acquisitions, which would result in fewer benefits to us from the acquisition than currently anticipated as well as increased costs.The integration of the Gambro Healthcare operations will require implementation of appropriate operations, management and financial reporting systems and controls as well as integration of the clinical policies and procedures of both companies, all of which could have a material adverse impact on our revenues and operating results. In addition, it requires the focused attention of our management team, including a significant commitment of their time and resources. The need for management to focus on integration matters could have a material and adverse impact on our revenues and operating results.I would advice Thiry to design a team to lead in managing the integration. This team should include the (COO) the chief operational officer, the chief technology officer and the structure design manager. I would share the effe ctive change management program with him, which include four phases. The first is to motivating change this includes creating the readiness for change among organization members and helping to address the resistance to change. The second would be creating a vision in providing a purpose and reason for change and describe the desired state.The third would be developing a political support for change where there can be powerful individuals and groups that can either block or promote change, they you need to gain their support. The fourth would be managing the transition from the current state to the desired future state and finally you should sustain the momentum for change so that it will be carried to completion. The team should relate to individuals, interpersonal relations and group dynamics. The individual approach should be aimed at coaching and training.Coaching attempts to improve one’s ability to set and meet goals and improve interpersonal relations. Training and deve lopment aimed at transferring knowledge and skills to individuals. Interpersonal and group process approach includes process consultation, third party intervention and team building. Process consultation help group members understand, diagnose and improve behavior, the third party intervention focus directly on dysfunctional interpersonal conflict and team building is aimed at doth helping teams perform its tasks better and at satisfying ndividual needs. The first 100 days action plan should include recommendation for the organizational structure the organization should implement. The new structure and action plan need to be communicated to the organization. The design team will conduct its initial activities in a relatively easy manner and follow it by implementing a monitoring, correcting and evaluation process. As the plan is implemented new information, changes in the environment and other issues will arise that required adaptation and adjustment.The team is charged with the mon itoring implementation by collecting implementation feedback to find out if the plan is working. The data collected would be analyzed and if they are feasible would be implemented. To preserve the DaVita’s culture I would suggest training in the various program areas such of team building, communication skills and clinical areas. DaVita has Academy11 for all teammates to improve team building amongst workers. It hast F. A. S.T a program for 5 days in the various management skills and also DaVita University for quality improvement for newly hired managers DaVita’s culture and leadership showed that the management team’s focus had been on creating a strong and positive value-based organization where levels of the organization had an emotional commitment to its success. Their mission â€Å"to be the provider, partner and employer of choice† had made an impact on the organization and the core value had kept them in second place in the dialysis industry.Their financial position has been exceptional over the years Mission Statement Kent Thiry Conclusion I have learned a lot about Kidney Dialysis and the time and patience that caregivers give to save a life on a daily basis. DaVita’s team led by Kent Thiry made the organization a village community rather than a company and in doing so working became a part of their life style. I realized that an organization with a strong culture can be a leading company. Bibliography Organizational Development and change 8th Edition by Cummings & Worley The internet

Employee Relations Essay

In various business organizations, we find that, many employees are neglected and are most often demoralized, not motivated in performing their duties in the particular organisation, thus encouraging a poor employee relations, but in the United Kingdom, many businesses are flourishing, since they have set up an enabled system that tends to come up with factors that makes the firm to get a frequent and significant recognition of its employees, thus enhancing a good employee relations. The factors that are known to be most influential in the shaping of these employee relations in the United Kingdom are as follows: Communication In this case, we find that, most managers come up with a system to re-examine the performance of their employees. This system normally, include a precise communication system that brings an understanding between the employees and the management team, under which, the employees seem to appreciate the principles on which they are assessed thus, encouraging justice and equal opportunities in the organisation. The firms have an established internal coordination system and structure; this is usually a practical cooperation that helps to build stronger relationships among the employees. Thus there is the recognition of each employee’s contributions. In a firm every department has employees with different skills that are required at different roles. Therefore, the managers bring all these skills together, so that the firms objectives are achieved, and therefore, each employee is meant to understand what these objectives are, and how the different skills and functions within the firm are to contribute in achieving the goals of having a better employee relations, therefore they should know why they need to support each others efforts. Motivation The success of an organisation basically, depends on the employees using their full skills and knowledge in their production, therefore, these employees require motivation, and this motivation can be done in different ways and by different things. The employee Motivation in the United Kingdom normally involves, the compensation system which is the activity of giving the employees what they really want most from work, it therefore makes the manager, get his expectations from the employees, this expectations may include; production of quality goods and services. Motivation will enable the employees to have their goals in the organisation achieved; they will have a positive perspective on their position in the organisation. Motivation also creates the influence to change and build employees self-esteem and capacity to work. The managers have the responsibility of motivating workers, when the organizational structure is experiencing changes, and in this case, we find that the manager comes up with a plan that is used to define the environmental factors that brings an atmosphere of integrity, honesty, and confidence to the employees. Under this, the managers’ plan considers the factors that motivate the employees; this involves the determination of the important factors to the employee in his working life, and how they relate to his productivity. He also finds out what motivates the employees in their work, this is a situation where, we find most employees wanting a privileged compensation, an enhanced working environment, and flexible benefits from the amount of work that they do. This is always done by, asking them during the performance assessment, attitude inspection, and is also retrieved from informal discussion on what the employees want most from their jobs. On the other hand, the managers also spot the de-motivating factors of the organisation to the employees; these factors may be physical factors which include buildings or equipment or psychological factors such as monotony, injustice, barriers to promotion and lack of appreciation which normally affects the employee relations in an organisation. Since most workers in the United Kingdom claim to be working for money, and that their extreme benefit is encouragement; under this, money is always regarded to be a low motivator, and that it is only a short time motivator, after a rise is given to the employees salary, so the managers are always aware that benefits given after a particular performance rarely motivate their employees to use their potential effectively, most of the employees say that, the benefits are only used to motivate the new employees in the organisation but not the existing ones. Change Management Poor employee relations is normally said to be a leading factor to a change in an organizations’ performance; therefore most managers have been seen adopting a policy for managing changes within their organizations. In this case, we find that the introduction of this change is always meant to be motivating to the employees, since it is always used as an entry to the firms’ better achievement of its goals. To achieve a positive change in an organisation in the UK, the managers do not tell or instruct the employees, this does not help, but it only creates ignorance to the doubts and expectations of the employees, therefore the management team in an organization carry out discussions, through which the sharing of a particular problem helps in the creation of a better actions in dealing with the issues that are predicted to affect the productivity of the firm, due to the shared ideas and decision making processes derived from the open discussions, the employees are able to realize a change in the organizational performance. Changes in any organisation in the United Kingdom, normally involve learning, where the managers are able to know the learning capabilities of every employee in the organisation. Under this, one finds that his employees are categorized as follows; activists the manager may find that some of his employees like involving themselves in new ideas, problems, or opportunities meaning that, they do not like being impartial, Theorists, this is the category of learners, who are always comfortable with ideas they do not prefer involving themselves deeply without a reason. The other category is that of reflectors; they like taking time to think through things, thus they do not like being forced to move from one thing to another rashly and lastly the pragmatists they normally prefer to be linked between issues and their job description. Therefore, the manager is always in a position to deal with his employees who have different learning preferences and approaches, who may also respond differently to diverse situations affecting the organisation. In this learning process the manager is expected to give feedback, that plays a major role in motivating the employees, thus he should not leave the employees guessing the progress of their accomplishments, therefore, the managers always give adequate and accurate information on the development. Employee Recognition This is another factor that the employers put into consideration for the organisation to improve its employee relations, this is basically a communication instrument, which strengthens and compensates the most significant production that the employees have created for the organisation. The recognition structure is always made simple, instant, and effectively supportive to the employees’ relations and the organisation at large. Under this, the management team ensures that a principle for performance is established, involving the rewardable behaviour of the employees thus all of them are entitled to the recognition by the employer. This recognition supplies the employees with specific information about the behaviour they are being rewarded for. The management therefore, states that any employee who performs at a specified level receives a reward. Basically recognition occurs hand in hand with performance of the employees, thus it reinforces the employees’ encouragement and thus improving the workforce relations. Culture This is another factor that is most influential in the employee relations in an organisation, culture basically means, the environment surrounding an employee at work. In the United Kingdom we find that, culture is meant to shape the relationship of an employee and his work in an organisation. Culture represents an employee’s personality that carries principles, attitude, fundamental interests, knowledge, background, and behaviour that creates a person’s behaviour. Culture is particularly inclined by the organization’s management team due to the roles in decision making and strategic direction they impose in the organisation. We find the managers put in mind that culture is learned, thus employees are capable of learning how to perform, employees value rewards that are not associated with behaviours, since they have different needs, shared rewards from co-workers or have their most important needs met in their departments or project teams.

Auditing And Assurance Services of Insurance Company

Analysis of business risk of HIH indicated that such risks are linked with global, environmental and local factors. Such risks are deemed to be relied on the understanding of insurance sector and the ways in which HIH is capable to adjust itself within the parameters of risk evaluation (Abbas and Iqbal 2012). Insolvency Risk Determination: Several measures are available for insolvency determination in which the roles of evaluating risk are dependent on the auditing risk evaluation. Here exists certain general agreement that is necessary to have the capacity for addressing the debts of the organization under which it is encompassed. Along with support of insolvency risk and profitability structure there is a requirement concentrate more on business that will include limited consumers to launch the sector (Bagshaw 2013). The conceptual framework is based on the organizations capacity to address its existing debt. For this reason, it is vital to determine company’s solvency that further analyses non-financial along with financial considerations. Profitability Evaluation and Related Structure: Among the suitable approaches for evaluating HIH’s business risk in order to further analyze the competitive environment of the sector concerning the increase in competition along with price range enhancement. For risk evaluation, insurance handling within the Australian industry turns out to be relatively simpler those are fresh to the regulations of the industry (Bebbington et al. 2014). â€Å"The Insurance and the Superannuation Commission† serves as an Australian regulatory body holding the â€Å"Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority†. Certain risks that HIH is capable to deal with include auditing risk factors as this facilitates the company to issue an unqualified audit relied on some financial statements. Such aspects are generally relied on holding the procedure along with planning in alignment with some risks namely control, detection and inherent risk (Glover et al. 2016). Control risks encompass certain material inaccuracy that the company failed to detect in its internal control systems. It was observed from the case of HIH the accuracy and completeness of the general ledger for the ledger recognition and the bank account, which is not yet performed by the company. Organizational performance is relied on the process of substantive differential that offers a huge dependence on the process of external documentation (Griffiths 2012). Ledger accounts inclusion and the distinct bank accounts assist in organizations tangible assets valuation. Risk detection includes several techniques of auditing that is performance based and does not tend to detect the material inaccuracies or any assertions. This indicates that it is necessary for HIH to focus on timely planning and decreasing the situations of not detecting material misstatement very effectively. From the internal documents of HIH, it is gathered that the company was not capable of conducting suitable substantive procedures that is intended to address issues related with superior performance concerning the inadequate planning and goodwill for upcoming tax benefits (Kogan et al. 2014). Inherent risk can be understood as uncertainties related to a company’s financial statement in which HIH Insurance Company accepts the solvency margin maintenance, charging adequate premiums along with the organizations liquidity factors. This includes reinsuring several different policies along with offering the record of marine insurance practices that hugely belongs to insurance professions. The issue is associated to unqualified audit procedure that includes audit risk those are inefficiently managed by the organization. Auditors are seemed to have less awareness regarding inherent risk that is unrecognized by modifications made by HIH in the previous year. Huge focus is observed to be on auditing report that signifies auditing practices implemented by HIH. The auditor remained inefficient in investigating the company’s auditing practices that it can notify to various practices. Such issues are generally associated to inadequate auditor’s independence in alignment with the non-auditing work performance and realizing the HIH operations for enhanced business risk. Such cases are linked to certain auditing procedures with estimated auditing risk (Messier Jr 2016). For creditors it is essential that they require put huge focus on the minimum solvency needs that is deemed that organization can stay solvent at the declaration time of the director. The reports are linked with the determination of management lied on increasing concern. It is essential to indicate that HIH requires directing its focus on an organization’s liquidity position where the liquidity position is generally concerned with financial as well as operational conducts of HIH. Such risks were related with pricing capability and outstanding claims of companies in alliance with HIH’s reservation policy for dealing and working on investment decisions (Pitt 2014). Such representations are relied on provision handing where there is a requirement for prudential margins. For clients the focus is greatly on organizational performance illustrating inefficient goodwill planning and for deferred acquisition expenses and increase tax advantages. For this reason, if the consumers hire former auditors than it might have adverse impact on the independence of eternal auditing. It can be gathered that these auditors continues holding effective partnership with the auditing team. This includes holding increased influenced on the recent auditors based on the authority (Rikhardsson and Dull 2016). Considerably it can be stated that there is a strong association among former along with the existing auditors as they are capable to recognize and deal with issues related with parties that they hold and influence. Certain conditions that have surfaced the process of negligence actions of HIH insurance is generally related with the alterations accelerations made in the legislations. It is gathered from the case of the company that combinations of high risk pricing capability, uncontrolled investments and under-reserving the policies resulting in depletion of the company’s financial resources (Schmidt et al. 2016). Faulty corporate governance conducts of HIH- From the case study it is gathered that the reasons for a company’s bankruptcy generally includes certain agency cost issues resulting from agency conflict between the proprietors, debtors and managers in the company. A huge fraction of the issues is based on the changes that are generally reinforced with the direct liability structure of the government. The beginning of the legislative changes is linked with the public liabilities and insufficient risk management plays the role for ineffective management (Shin et al. 2013). Facts gathered from the case study indicate that inadequate risk management is because of the reason of failure in developing efficient management practices and policies. The directors seem to avoid conducting analysis of strategy for investment along with risk appreciation that is linked with several information sources. Inadequate independence data resources- The case study indicates that an accounting system has a considerable role in the functions of commercial systems of supremacy. For a company like HIH, it does not seem practicable for the non-executive directors to collect and have data vital for them to fulfill their director’s responsibilities. For this reason, responsibilities of the company’s noon-executive directors requires being compromised for there are no alternatives other than relying on the accounting systems generated and directed by the management. Moreover, this indicates inherent risks of business systems (Gaber and Lusk 2015). Inadequate independence for non-executive director- From the information gathered from the case study it is gathered that the non-executive directors it is justified to be questions and most certainly it does not seem that ideal as it seems to appear. Among the five executive directors, two directors are observed to be partners of Arthur Anderson secretarial company. It was gathered that HIH had experienced an expense of $1.7 million to Anderson for â€Å"Auditing Services† along with an amount of $1.631 million for the â€Å"provision of non-auditing services†. It is gathered that auditing services serve as a major source of extractions from the independent auditor and several related directors (Christensen et al. 2012). Either indirectly or directly corporate governance practices of HIH are held accountable for negligence conducts that effectively defines that the guiding principal or action course because of lack in independent evaluation of the management. Major focus is observed to be on the inadequate evidence before the audit report release along with changes that has been possible to be made in several accounts. The development of close relationship with the non-auditing services resulted in refusal on the enhancement of paid auditing services (William Jr et al. 2016). HIH Company desired to hire prior to the members of its external audit group are because of following reasons: Auditors are required to conserve the professional skepticism that implements the managerial conducts of organizations for the auditors and management are not capable to manage the financial statement (Christensen et al. 2013). Auditing organizations are required to offer certain non-auditing services with management consultancy along with offering advices on tax. This will make companies capable to offer non-auditing and auditing services to consumers. Objectivity is relied on dependency handling where consumers’ information is dependent on income source. Whereas, interest conflict is set to offer auditing and consulting services a set of discrepancies between the executives and management. Auditors have the reports concerning the financial situations with the profit maximization objective of companies (Ricchiute 2012). Benefit of having the identical organization offers both consulting and auditing services, as they are dependent on dealing with the audit activities of business. These facilities facilitate having the change in certain impaired statements. The reports are relied on recognizing company errors as it facilitates auditors and consultant to maintain client information management. These m easures facilitate in dealing with mistakes and offer compilation of management reports. The regulatory measures serve as best solution for determining financial reports accuracy where providing these services are advantageous for various accounting companies (Pitt 2014). The case study indicates that organizational members did not accomplish their duties honestly, because they continuously offered misleading or false information. Most of the company’s staff indulged themselves in unethical conducts where they failed to complete their organizational duties effectively. Arthur Anderson deteriorated situations with considerable collapse of Enron. The organization observed the person guilty of obstructing justice for some work papers deductions (Messier Jr 2016). These situations indicate a violation of thee organizations ethical standard that is further than the ethical limit of any corporate organization. Organizational staff requires indulging themselves in attaining ethical duties off the organization other than dealing with their clients. Such statement is relied on maintaining regulations with suitable codes and business standards. This encompasses information disclosure for suitable accounting practices (Pitt 2014). Evaluation of the case study recommends certain policies concerned with governance and financial reporting within amendments of CLERP 9, mentioned under: These recommendations intend to identify and deal with issues concerned with corporate groups. Their objective is to enhance financial reporting along with audit functions for disclosing the matters that impacts audit independence and further financial information disclosures (Messier Jr 2016). These suggestions intend to identify responsibility through spreading long chain of managerial functions essential to be performed by employees. Abbas, Q. and Iqbal, J., 2012. Internal Control System: Analyzing Theoretical Perspective and Practices.  Middle-East Journal of Scientific Research, 12(4), pp. 530-538. Bagshaw, K., 2013.  Audit and Assurance Essentials: For Professional Accountancy Exams. London: John Wiley & Sons. Bebbington, J., Unerman, J. and O'Dwyer, B., 2014.  Sustainability accounting and accountability. London: Routledge. Christensen, B. E., Glover, S. M. and Wood, D. A., 2012. Extreme estimation uncertainty in fair value estimates: Implications for audit assurance. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory,  31(1), pp. 127-146. Christensen, B. E., Glover, S. M. and Wood, D. A., 2013. Extreme estimation uncertainty and audit assurance.  Current Issues in Auditing,  7(1), pp. 36-42. Gaber, M. and Lusk, E. J., 2015. Account Screening: Rationalizing The Extended procedures Decision in The Audit Context.  EXCEL International Journal of Multidisciplinary Management Studies,  5(9), pp. 1-20. Glover, S. M., Taylor, M. H. and Wu, Y. J., 2016. Current Practices and Challenges in Auditing Fair Value Measurements and Complex Estimates: Implications for Auditing Standards and the Academy.  Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, 8(6), p. 89. Griffiths, M. P., 2012.  Risk-based auditing. Berlin: Gower Publishing, Ltd. Kogan, A., Alles, M. G., Vasarhelyi, M. A. and Wu, J., 2014. Design and evaluation of a continuous data level auditing system.  Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory,  33(4), pp. 221-245. Messier Jr, W., 2016.  Auditing & assurance services: A systematic approach. London: McGraw-Hill Higher Education. Pitt, S. A., 2014. Internal audit quality. A Journal of Practice & Theory,  3(4), pp. 21-24. Ricchiute, D. N., 2012.  Auditing and assurance services. Berlin: South Western Educational Publishing. Rikhardsson, P. and Dull, R., 2016. An exploratory study of the adoption, application and impacts of continuous auditing technologies in small businesses.  International Journal of Accounting Information Systems,  20(7), pp. 26-37. Schmidt, P. J., Wood, J. T. and Grabski, S. V., 2016. Business in the Cloud: Research Questions on Governance, Audit and Assurance.  Journal of Information Systems, 2(7), pp. 6-37. Shin, I. H., Lee, M. G. and Park, W., 2013. Implementation of the continuous auditing system in the ERP-based environment.  Managerial Auditing Journal, 28(7), pp. 592-627. William Jr, M., Glover, S. and Prawitt, D., 2016. Auditing and Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach.  Auditing and Assurance Services: A Systematic Approach, 8(7), pp. 92-127

What is the Future of the Humanities Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 11

What is the Future of the Humanities - Essay Example The films and literature are considered so easy to master, and most of the people believe that humanities belong to the weaker students. There is also pressure from the parents and relatives to pursue science related courses. Thus, most of the students are discouraged to major in the humanities. I agree with the research that shows that, the study in humanities has reduced as students are being encouraged to enroll in science related courses. Humanities provide a platform for one to work and communicate with others. Most of the scientists are unable to communicate their ideas clearly. Scientists only work on coming up with new ideas and forget to communicate and working with others which is a crucial aspect of their lives. Through studying humanities, students develop communication skills and they can clearly articulate their ideas through both spoken and written languages (Frankly 3). They are opened up to the real world because they directly deal with individuals. Additionally, with globalization, in order to succeed in the commerce industry, people have to develop a communication strategy for them to attract a wide audience. Thus, students must learn how to communicate which only happens through enrolling in the humanities and taking them as courses. Additionally, the study of humanities enables the students to identify the future scientific needs of the society. Through the study of history, students understand the i mpact of the study of science and technology and the impact the technology has on the lives of the people. It shows the negative effects science and technology has on the lives of the people and looks for ways of eliminating the negative impacts. Subsequently, humanities form a very crucial role in our today’s life. We are living in a society where most of the young people dont know how to relate with one another. Most of the children have abandoned their culture, and they do not know their origin.

Clinical Issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Clinical Issue - Essay Example ted to determine the level of â€Å"knowledge, attitude, and practice† on Coronary heart disease among females who were receiving outpatient specialist care. The research found that about three percent of the subjects smoked while 40 percent reported illness. A majority of the women identified smoking as a risk factor though only 20 percent thought of post menopause age as a risk factor. The women however reported an average rating of â€Å"knowledge, attitude and practice† at â€Å"55.6 %, 55.1 % and 51.1 % respectively† (Muhamad, Yahya and Yusoff, 2012). Emergence of the disease as a major killer and the level of ignorance on its rate and risk factors among women form the significance of the disease to call for research. The research article therefore relates to the national guidelines through evaluating effectiveness of national guidelines provisions. While the guidelines provides for control measures, the article measures achievements of the provisions (Muhamad, Yahya and Yusoff, 2012; Guidelines, 2011). Muhamad, R., Yahya, R. and Yusoff, H. (2012). Knowledge, attitude and practices on cardiovascular disease among women in North Eastcoast Malaysia. International Journal of Collaborative Research on International Medicine & Public Health. (4.1) 85- 98. Retrieved from:

Ethnography and Analysis of a Musical Performance Essay

Ethnography and Analysis of a Musical Performance - Essay Example Like the typical vocal system of metal bands, the vocal harmony was existent and the final sound resembled to a feminine voice even though all the performers were male. The loudness of the voice was extreme to add excitement to the atmosphere of the concert. The performances were certainly high pitched. This paper puts the spotlight on the indispensible role of music as a way of promoting intercultural relationships between the citizens and nations of the world. Analyzing an event gathering musicians from two continents clarifies the function of music as a way of supporting Internationalism and solidarity between all the people of the world. This paper aims to defend music's role as a melting pot of different cultures rather than an enemy of the authenticity of different cultures. An ideology is known to be a group of ideas, values or conceptions to which agree a large amount of people. Different ideologies often come into conflict with each other. Globalization aims to help differen t cultures coexist by promoting cultural exchange between different civilizations. Music, being a cultural activity that is tightly connected to identity, plays a very important role in helping the world overcome civilization related conflicts by proving that the 'global' is more important than the 'national'. The event took place in order to celebrate Halloween. That occasion motivating the creation is a universal celebrating. Music, being attached to festive atmospheres, spread the feeling of unity between the elements of a given culture. However, in this multinational event music's role extends to cover assuring cooperation between various cultures. Like any event gathering artists from different areas of the world, one of the main purposes of this concert is to give the performing artists the chance to discover eachother's music techniques and to possibly experiment mixing with these genres. The Venue of the concert was in MAO Club. The general atmosphere that reigned in Beijing throughout of the performance was the typical atmosphere expected from a metal festival in any place in the world. The overall atmosphere was unconventional, wild and quite extreme, "The strong stimulating beats, the coarse, rough loud vocal delivery, the wild singing of nonsense syllables, and the music's direct, unrestrained and liberating quality" (Taylor,2007: 33). The concert being held in China means logically that the biggest part of its attendance was of Chinese natives. The Chinese audience however grasped that western form of music and fully interacted to it proving that music has no nationality. In the twentieth century, the revolution in means of communication introduced to the Chinese people the various musical techniques of Western music and the new ideas of the entertainment business. This led consequently to the creation of some sort of "star system" in China at least in big citie s. The public was then introduced to means such as "mass-circulation newspaper and glossy magazines, movies, radio and the phonograph" (Gunde, 2002: 96) helping to create a mass popular commercial culture. Nowadays, Chinese youth finds in that genre of music their individuality as they let down their hair and dance along to the music with their friends and enjoy this feeling of freedom. In addition to that, the three opening acts were Asian bands that felt that western

SAMSUNG GROUP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

SAMSUNG GROUP - Essay Example Samsung’s most notable venture in the Market industry is the mobile phone production. The company has increased the demand of mobile phones in the market by introducing new brands. In consequence, this has increased the revenue of the company and ranked it among the leading mobile phone companies in the world. Corporate Communication Samsung has improved the communication industry in the world, mainly because of the numerous mobile phones that the company has invented. In 1961, Samsung entered the electronic market as a producer of household electronics. After the death of the founder, Lee Byung Chull, Samsung was divided into different groups. This was part of brand extension to increase the company’s revenue (CBJ, 2013, p. 1). Since the formation of Samsung Group, communication across the world has significantly improved because of the innovations. Improved mobile phones from Samsung Group have eased communication methods. The introduction of smartphones has given use rs an opportunity to use mobile phones for other functions. Samsung Group is one of the leading mobile phone companies that introduced internet surfing through mobile phones. The strategic expansion yielded the Samsung Group, which primarily deals with the communication industry. Since the formation of Samsung Group, the company has launched several mobile phones. Some of the mobile phones launched into the market by the company possess new technologies that enable easier communication (CBJ, 2013, p. 1). ... Branding Samsung’s central philosophy in the commerce market entirely depends on the marketing brand. The color blue is the company’s recognized official color. This is to differentiate the company’s products from other companies to avoid confusion. The company has intensified its branding on mobile phones and semiconductors because of their worth (MBJ, 2013, p. 1). Mobile phones and semiconductors are Samsung’s central source of income. Since its formation in 1938, the company has not changed its official color of blue. This has helped in promoting the original appeal of the company. Branding has helped the company market its products through its original color of blue. Consumers have embraced the company’s official color, which cost the company billions of dollars in rebranding. Consumers have easily identified the company’s products in the stores because of the originality. This approach has prevented the company from potential financial l osses. Samsung’s brand originality has increased the company’s sales all over the world. The company has branded all its products with its name for easy identification. The name "Samsung" has a meaning that the founder, Lee Byung Chull found comprehensive enough to adopt (MBJ, 2013, p. 1). According to the Korean language, the name stands for "three stars.† The number "three" stands for "big, numerous and powerful", the "stars" symbolize eternity. Media Landscape Samsung has managed to change the media landscape through the production of new technological devices. The computer-programming laboratory in Warsaw, Poland has enabled the media to change their coverage to digital media (CBJ, 2013, p. 1). The laboratory has enabled Samsung to produce televisions and

CMG490 MOD SLP Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

CMG490 MOD SLP - Essay Example al criteria as the system alerted when a contract was close to expire, had mistake proof that informed managers on contract dates, and observed regal standards in meeting all regulatory criteria before a contract is executed. Saxena (74) regulatory compliance has to be addressed in details to avoid costly penalties, and even cancellation of contracts by a government. The company has detailed system that ensures all regulatory mechanism in contracts are met; contracts have to go through the required regulatory approval before commencement. In contractual criteria, Apics (6) argues that a company has to develop and put in place measures and strategies that offer an integrated action plan in achieving the desired level of performance, as well as process maturity, which addresses all components of contract management, capability, and cover the contract period. For example, the company in question can adequately compare and analyze data from several contracts, they can report and analyze a contract by a particular vendor, and conform to the required contractual terms. On the other hand, the company meets some procedural criteria in that standards are used in gauging and analyzing each contract, there is strict adherence to legal and regulatory requirements, and each contract is considered and analyzed before it is commences to ensure it meets all the laid down criteria. Despite the above strengths, the company has glaring faults in its contractual system that makes it prone to major risks and even may edge closer to closure. For example, the company does not coordinate contracts across departments and cannot locate any contract in a short time with ease or any reliability. This indicates that in procedural approach, the company cannot manage its contracts effectively; they cannot link different departments to analyze all the details and have a holistic contract management system. The system cannot facilitate maintenance of a contract portfolio, implying the company

A Need to Extend the Social Responsibility to Modern Business Dissertation

A Need to Extend the Social Responsibility to Modern Business - Dissertation Example Royal Dutch Shell plc (shell) is Royal Dutch Shell plc is engaged in all principal aspects of the oil and natural gas industry, and also has interests in chemicals and additional interests in power generation and renewable energy. The Company operates in five segments: Exploration & Production, which searches for and recovers oil and natural gas around the world; Gas & Power, which liquefies and transports natural gas, and develops natural gas markets and related infrastructure; Oil Products, which include all of the activities necessary to transform crude oil into petroleum products; Chemicals, which produces and sells petrochemicals to industrial customers globally, and Other Industry Segments and Corporate, which include Renewables and Hydrogen. Shell is a global group of energy and petrochemical companies, operating in more than 140 countries and territories, employing more than 109,000 people. (www.Shell.com) In order to alleviate the fears and doubts from the minds of the people of various strata, the Researcher has undertaken the assignment on behalf of the Company to make a comprehensive report on the compliance or otherwise by the Company, of its Social and Environmental Commitments globally by adopting a suitable research method and analysis. Before commencing the research analysis into the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility we need to have a basic understanding of the concept, the purpose of our study of this concept, the hypothesis which this paper aims to analyse followed by a literary review.