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Environment Scanning

Signature Assignment Environment Scanning

MGT 498
March 13, 2017
University of Phoenix

Signature Assignment Environment Scanning
The firm that I will be using will be Memorial Hermann hospital here in Houston, Texas. First, I will discuss their external and internal environments. A good company must always be on the lookout for their environments to see potential threats or opportunities. The external are factors that you don’t really control. The object is to control your internal to have a smooth flow of operation.
The Hines (2015)One of the largest health systems in Texas, Memorial Hermann has 16 hospitals and home health facilities. There is hardly anywhere you can go and not see one throughout the Greater Houston area. They offer high tech diagnostic treatment care and treatment techniques. They offer share vital patient information with other care providers.
Hospital competition in the area called Woodlands here, as other big names in healthcare keep pace to expand their hospitals and hire more staff. Right now, St. Luke’s health and Memorial Hermann, dominate that area. They also are under construction with a budget of 17.4 million dollars for renovations of the emergency department. This area called, the Woodlands, accounts for 18 percent of job growth in that area, which will increase population because of job growth.
Employee Benefits. (2017) One thing I can speak on is the competitive benefits Memorial Hermann offers its employees. They offer two medical plans, MH preferred and base, including a catastrophic plan. They have two dental plans, a dental PPD and dental HMO, including a vision plan. They offer an employee assistance program, that helps with financial needs and substance abuse but even marriage counseling. They also offer a 401-retirement plan and will match your contribution dollar for dollar up to 6% of pay.
There are career and development programs that reimburse certifications, tuition as well as student loan repayment, short term disability plans which pays up to 60% of basic salary while you are on extended illness. You can receive life insurance, adoption assistance, employee discounts, and the list goes on and on. Not many jobs will offer you all that, plus competitive wages also.
The “Implementation Plan” (2013) Memorial Hermann uses an assessment for its implementation. The purpose of the assessment is to gauge the health needs of an area. They take this data from numerous community representatives about public health. There were eight main areas they served. They were found to be eight needs that aligned with the hospital’s overall plan. The identified priorities were the (education and prevention of diseases, address service integration, what are the barriers to primary care, address unhealthy lifestyles, mental healthcare, decrease health disparities, address affordable dental care and providing transportation. The result was providing a plan and implementing a way to carry out the strategic plan address various issues with health care.
They established baseline metrics in 2013, leveling to a 5% increase participation of programs by 2014. Most of implementation activities began with baseline metrics and then after two years the results are reported. They developed metrics for quantifying reductions of patients in 2013/ 2014 and the metrics were reported in 2014, 2015). They used the Stanford Patient Model for addressing diabetes in patients. In the program, they conduct an assessment to determine community willingness to get involved, and try to identify individuals who are licensed to provide workshops.
The first thing in the formulation process is addressing the most important issues which is chronic diseases and conditions. Per the data, there were high rates of various diseases in the area that was accessed. Heart disease and cancer accounts for 96.8 of discharges. Also, behavioral Alzheimer’s morality rates state that diabetes is prevalent is Houston-Baytown-Sugar Land area.
The response was Memorial Hermann used education of these diseases and chronic conditions, using community programs, support groups and health education publication. Using the programs will provide the area population with information. Its purpose is also to influence a healthier lifestyle for individuals to prevent disability or premature death.
We recently in my department have started this program called BYOD, which allows our home health nurses to call our diabetic patients and offer service over the phone with issues they may be having. If the patient or caregiver has a smart phone, we can enroll them right over the phone and send them a link to monitor them. This help prevention of some many trips to the emergency room. There are so many patients who are charged some much for medical help because they don’t know the proper way to see the signs of physical distress before something happens.
Memorial Hermann is also currently tackling issues about information sharing with other medical facilities and the needs of home health patients. Lack of record sharing is a concern for the Memorial Herman Information Exchange (MHIE) program, which takes patient records so they can be accessed to authorized caregivers.
I researched the many ways Memorial Hermann evaluates the effectiveness of their guidelines and they are recognized as a national leader in quality and safety. They are exceeding the standards and even measure safety and have indicators in place that above standards. The benchmark of their performance is put up against the performance of other hospitals across the United States. By using process and outcome data, they can track data that shows how reliable they are. Ongoing quality service drives patient satisfactory service. They are committed to deliver the best care here in Houston.
It is a constant mission to improve upon the already great service by finding critical new inventive ways to protect patients. To be an employee, you must forgo extensive training in ways to that help improve enhancing safety.
The “Awards & Recognition” (2017) In 2009, they received the National Quality Healthcare Award proving the top-quality healthcare on a national level.
National Health System Patient Safety Leadership Award recognizing their efforts in quantitative safety results and relentless improvement.
Eisenberg Patient Safety Award in 2012 recognizing the leadership proving once again that the measurements they are using as a benchmark for excellence is indeed working.
U.S News reported that Memorial Hermann was No.1 in rehab in Texas and No. 2 in the U. S. The achievements go on and on. The business metrics, data gathering, and benchmarks have paid off, with results such as these. It’s this type of dedication that sets Memorial Hermann way above the rest.
Awards & Recognition. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.memorialhermann.org
Employee Benefits. (2017). Retrieved from http://www.memorialhermann.org Implementation Plan. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.memorialhermann.org Hines, L. (2015). Expansions increase Hospital Competition. Retrieved from http://www.houstonchronicle.com
Jeffery H. Dyer, Paul Godfrey,Robert Jensen,David Bryce. Strategic Management Concept and case. New jersey: John Wiley & Sons, Inc, 2016. Book/Document.

Discuss the process of information transfer within the brain

The brain is made up of an estimated 100 billion neurons, and each neuron can have thousands of connections to other neurons. Additionally, there are an estimated 10 times the number of glial cells (support cells) as there are neurons, lending to an extremely complex system of communication in the brain. How is this complex network of neurons in the brain key to the brain-behavior relationship? Discuss the process of information transfer within the brain and between the brain and the body. What types of developmental problems (emotional, cognitive, or physical) do you think could result from disruption of neural systems during childhood?

Strategies for Individual, Couple, and Family Crisis Intervention

Strategies for Individual, Couple, and Family Crisis Intervention

Human services professionals often find themselves enmeshed in the most personal and intimate details of their clients’ lives, perhaps even only a few minutes after meeting them. Such is the nature of individual, couple, and family crisis intervention. As a result, human services professionals must be especially attuned to the nuances of different types of individual, couple, and family crises in order to handle these situations with sensitivity, compassion, and composure. Moreover, human services professionals must enter these situations prepared to use whichever strategies seem most appropriate and necessary in order to secure the safety and well-being of their clients. The selection of these strategies is dictated by the type and nature of the crisis at hand. An individual who seeks help from a human services professional as a result of suicide ideation for example, has far different needs than a woman who has recently left an abusive relationship. Similarly, the intervention strategies used to help a sexual assault survivor will vary considerably from those used to assist a grieving child.

As suggested by this week’s Learning Resources, a comprehensive body of empirical research exists about which intervention strategies are best suited for particular types of individual, couple, and family crisis interventions. Human services professionals carry knowledge of this collective body of strategies into every situation they encounter. Determining the most appropriate strategy to use during an individual, couple, or family crisis intervention is an ongoing process for human services professionals. If one strategy does not work, they must be prepared to try a different approach. Thus, it is essential that human services professionals possess an expansive knowledge of crisis intervention strategies for all types of individual, couple, and family crises in order to optimize their abilities to provide effective care for their clients.
To prepare for this Discussion:
Review Chapters 8, 9, and 10 in your course text, Crisis Intervention Strategies. As you read, focus on specific crisis intervention strategies that might be used with individuals, couples, and/or families dealing with crises of lethality, sexual assault, and/or partner violence.
Review the articles, “Optimistic Explanatory Style as a Moderator of the Association Between Negative Life Events and Suicide Ideation” and “Best Practices for Working With Rape Crisis Centers to Address Elder Sexual Abuse.” Focus on how the implications of the findings discussed in each article, especially specific crisis intervention strategies, may be applied when handling cases involving individual, couple, and/or family crisis situations.
Select two of the three types of individual, couple, and family crisis situations you have examined in-depth this week: crisis of lethality, sexual assault, and/or partner violence. Reflect on which intervention strategies might be best suited for situations stemming from these two types of crises, and why.

Standards and Recommendation of Data Recovery
Karun Kumar Sunkara
Wilmington University
In the present generation many industries are dependent on data. Database plays a key role in the growth of the company, industries related to telecom, finance and banking should maintain and update the database on regular basis. Data was stored in a hard drive initially to some extent but due to the advanced technology storage technology helps to deploy lot of scenarios. As data has been the most important part of the industry what would be the case if the company lost the data by any kind of incident such as data corruption, hacking, hard drive failure. Many cases the data cannot be recovered in the olden days, in some special cases experts retrieve the data which was almost destroyed. If the data was stored on hard drive, USB, RAID you can retrieve the data by asking some professional to perform data recovery and so they can retrieve the data which is completely lost. But in some cases the system also gets corrupted and it’s hard to retrieve the data even after the data recovery plan (Albright, 2014).
Standard Methods of Data Recovery
Data can be recovered by having a backup. The type of backup is selected depending upon the frequency and the size of storage. There are different types of backups Let us discuss the most standard backups that are used by small-medium based companies.
Redundancy Array Interactive Devices (RAID)
It is used as back up in the recent time it can be used as mask for disk drives and controller failures. It will also help in increasing the performance of the data, without shutting the system it can swap the disk drive but it cannot replace the disk drive as it is not suggestible in the offshore, since there is no way that it works as protection during the floods or fire (NIST, 2002).

Differential Method:
This method takes less time to complete and it will also stores the data created or modified up to the last full backup. This has been the most used methods in the medium size industries. But the main lagging thing is that it takes longer because the amount of data modified from the last full backup to next full backup is more. The best part is it takes less storage units when compared to other methods (NIST, 2002).
Incremental Method:
This particular method will take the data that was modifies or created from the last back up to now. This method is considered as the most advantageous but the problem if it takes too long for restoration. The efficiency of this method is high when compared to any other method (NIST, 2002).
Disk Replication:
Disk replication is nothing but the data is created and updated on two disks. This way data is available on both the disks and both disks are protected. This is a simple method used by many small0medium based companies but the cost might be high as you need more infrastructures (NIST, 2002).
By having many back up plans still experts are failing to retrieve the data sometimes and they couldn’t protect the data which is very useful for the future reference of the company. Still they are many issued faced by big organizations due to lack of the protection for the data and lack of better infrastructure to the company. Small organization like schools and colleges are facing the issues with backing the data and protecting it. Let explain about it by considering an example (Mah, 2013).
Recommendations:
City University of New York is a big organization serves many students which runs all the year by educating many students on various courses. Since every student’s information need to be created and updated during or later the admission they need to back up the data. They are following the standard methods to back up the data but some of the main recommendations are discussed below.
Periodic Data Backups:
All the units must be backed up periodically by filly this. The data created and modified should be backed up from period to period this way if they lose the original data they can back up the data. And they should also make sure each unit is stored in that particular department it belongs to. All the data should be updated for example student admission, registration, fee records, billing. There are many software’s which would update and back up the data so use of the right software is must which is suitable to the university (Varun, 2010).
Proactive Loss Prevention:
The right infrastructure is needed to back up the data and protect it so CUNY units should ensure that they should have at least the basic infrastructure such as RAID storage, UPS backup and redundant power, which are considered as the most commonly used backup methods in the market in the present days. If the data is lost it is a huge loss to the organization so before it lost it is suggested to be proactive by having the right infrastructure which is recommended. They should also make sure that future admins of the data storage would also follow the equipped infrastructure that is recommended. The university should be proactive as it is running many online facilities in order to maintain the facilities it should follow the recommendations (varun, 2010).
Risk Analysis and Disaster Recovery Planning:
Risk analysis is to be done before the threat occurs for example if a threat occurs the CUNY units should come up with an immediate plan to solve the issue within span of time this analysis are called risk analysis. They should work with IT and network team and should have plan to go against the issues and try to accomplish the task. It is recommended that outside consulting companies and the IT team of CUNY should discuss and should have effective plans for coming years (Varun, 2010).
Conclusion
After understanding the important of the data recovery it is suggested to follow the recommendations suggested by CUNY team. RAID and UPS backup are the common software used for the data backups. There are many backups software’s but each of them has their own advantages and disadvantages companies choose which a better match for them is. Proactive loss prevention is nothing but taking steps before not to lose the data and take necessary steps to maintain and backup the data.

References
Albright, D. (2014, August 17). What is data recovery and how does it work. Retrieved on March 08, 2017, from http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/data-recovery-work/
Mah, P. (2013, September 18). How to overcome small business data recovery challenges. Retrieved on March 08, 2017, from http://www.cio.com/article/2382418/small-business/how-to-overcome-small-business-data-recovery-challenges.html
Martin, B. (2002). SANS Institute InfoSec Reading Room. Disaster recovery plan strategies and processes, 1-3. Retrieved on March 08, 2017, from https://www.sans.org/reading-room/whitepapers/recovery/disaster-recovery-plan-strategies-processes-564
NIST. (2002). Techniques for system and data recovery. ITL Bulletin, 2-4. Retrieved on March 08, 2017, from http://csrc.nist.gov/publications/nistbul/04-02.pdf
Varun, S. (2010). Business continuity and disaster recovery, 1-13. Retrieved on March 08, 2017, from https://www.cuny.edu/about/administration/offices/CIS/security/pnp/CUNY-IT-DR-AdoptedRecommendations-9-16-10.pdf.

strategic management plan for the company

The Week 4 individual assignment is the second part of a three part strategic management plan for the company selected by the student in Week 3. The purpose of the assignment is for students to establish long-term goals and objectives; indicate, specify and discuss strategies; and investigate, consider and describe specific business strategies including vertical integration and strategic alliances, to achieve competitive advantage in the industry. The student also generates an appropriate organizational chart in alignment with the stated strategies.
Weeks 3, 4, and 5 Individual Assignments are integrated to generate a Strategic Management Plan. This is Part 2 of the three part Strategic Management Plan.
Assignment Steps
Write a 1,050-word report on the company you selected in Week 3, following up on the Individual Assignment of Week 3 (Environmental Scanning), and address the following:
Establish Long-term Goals and Objectives
Strategy Formulation.
Indicate the markets that the company will pursue.
Specify the unique value the company will offer in the selected markets.
Discuss the resources and capabilities that are required.
Analyze how the company will capture value and sustain competitive advantage over time.
Business Management Strategy
Consider Cost and Differentiation Advantages.
Describe the Corporate Strategy.
Investigate Vertical Integration.
Describe Strategic Alliances.
Detail the Company Competitive Advantage.
Generate an Organizational Chart of the company you selected.

Social Psychology

Social Psychology
For this assignment you will need to read the Challenger Case Study that is posted below this assignment. You will also need to read chapter 8 Group Processes in your text.

Consider the events leading up to the Challenger Disaster and briefly outline what you believe were the fundamental problems in the decision making process. Next, reflect on your readings from the textbook. Make some connections between some of the key concepts presented in the chapter (e.g., Groupthink, deindividuation, communication flaws) and the way that decisions were made to go ahead with the Challenger launch. Finally, synthesize your learning and make some suggestions to improve future decision making processes. Please, be original and do not search suggestions made by other groups and organziations. Only original work will receive a grade. (Approximate length: 500 words)

Discuss some of the factors that affect investigative tools

Serial Killers and the Media

The many questions associated with serial murder investigation bring about criticism and public and media pressure. There is a globalization perspective to serial murder investigation. Identify and discuss some of the factors that affect investigative tools and approaches used by law enforcement here and abroad. Is this affected by media pressure and actions or by public criticism?

Your response should include current and credible research to support your claims and should be 1000 words or more in length (3-4 pages).

The paper should:

Include a title page with full name, class name, section number, and date.

Include an introductory and concluding paragraph and demonstrate college-level communication through the composition of original materials in Standard American English.

Be double-spaced in Arial or Times New Roman in 12 point font size.

Use examples to support your discussion.

Cite all sources on a separate reference page at the end of your paper and cited within the body of your paper using APA format.

Evaluate elements of a total rewards communication program

 

This research-based assignment focuses on the latest available information about creating, organizing, and managing a total rewards program. Envision a service-based (insurance, telemarketing, or other) profit organization that employs 20,000 employees in 17 different countries. There are 2,000 management-level individuals who speak a variety of languages. The company employs diverse individuals who are governed by multiple regulatory environments.

Write an eight to ten (8-10) page paper in which you:

Create a brief overview of the company requirements for a total rewards system.

Formulate a total rewards strategy to encompass the fundamentals of compensation and the regulatory environments.

Explain the advantages of the total rewards strategy you are proposing and how it might satisfy the employees’ needs.

Determine the key communication components of the total rewards system.

Indicate your strategy for devising a competitive pay structure.

Use at least five (5) quality academic resources in this assignment. Note: Wikipedia and other Websites do not quality as academic resources.

Your assignment must follow these formatting requirements:

Be typed, double spaced, using Times New Roman font (size 12), with one-inch margins on all sides; citations and references must follow APA or school-specific format. Check with your professor for any additional instructions.

Include a cover page containing the title of the assignment, the student’s name, the professor’s name, the course title, and the date. The cover page and the reference page are not included in the required assignment page length.

The specific course learning outcomes associated with this assignment are:

Define total rewards and describe the advantages of a total rewards approach.

Analyze an organization’s strategy, workforce, operating environment, and key stakeholders to identify critical factors in designing a total rewards strategy.

Evaluate the elements of a total rewards communication program.

Use technology and information resources to research issues in total rewards.

Write clearly and concisely about total rewards using proper writing mechanics.

Improve the legal-moral and socially responsible behavior

Today, critics of the corporation argue for various corporate governance reform proposals to improve the legal, moral, and socially responsible behavior of the corporation. Which of the following is the most convincing argument AGAINST these proposals?

These proposals are inadvisable because corporate managers should never have any duty other than to maximize profits for the shareholders

These proposals are unnecessary because market forces invariably operate to deter any corporate misbehavior

These proposals are unnecessary because existing law already establishes clear standards for what is and is not moral corporate behavior globally

These proposals are inadvisable because they will reduce corporate ability to respond quickly to changing business conditions and therefore will create allocational inefficiency.

Analysis of a visual work of cincinnati art museum

The Museum Paper: A written formal analysis of a visual work of cincinnati art museum

To truly appreciate art you must see it and experience it in person in an unfettered way. Based on the readings and lectures in our intro to Art class you are to write a 3 page (double spaced, 12pt. Font) formal analysis of a work of art at Cincinnati Art Museum. You make take as many notes as you would like while visiting the museum and then organize and type your paper.

The aim of this written analysis is to demonstrate your ability to heighten your sensitivity to the visual elements you perceive. Additionally, to speak to the purpose of the art work and use of design principles used to create the piece.

You must identify all the formal elements in the piece and if it applies the context in which it is placed. Please be very specific in describing each part of the art piece you are analyzing and how all the formal elements are placed in relationship to one another and you (the viewer) to create the specific composition you are observing. How does the viewer move across the piece what is causing that movement?, etc.

In addition to the formal analysis which should be the focus. You must also address your interpretation of what the content of the work is and how the formal (visual) elements support that interpretation. It will be important to also write about what the purpose of the work is (to communicate information, for day to day living, personal expression, etc.)

Your written analysis should include but is not limited to the following:

Title, artist, type of work material and size, date, context (if applicable

Visual elements (shape (curvilinear, geometric, organic) Mass, color, line, value, unity and variety, composition, balance, movement, unity, variety, rhythm, stillness, motion (what visual elements cause balance, movement, unity, variety, etc.), scale, point of view (perspective), focal point, emphasis, subordination, etc..

A brief statement stating your opinion of the content of the work. Since this is a formal analysis of a work of art it this statement should be limited to one or two sentences.

Comparative Analysis of Individual, Couple, and Family Crises

Application: Comparative Analysis of Individual, Couple, and Family Crises
As you have learned in previous weeks, the scope of crisis is broad, encompassing everything from natural disasters affecting millions of people to a personal loss affecting a single family, couple, or individual. As a result of this extreme variability, it is helpful to organize different types of crisis situations into categories based on fundamental similarities. For example, some crises can be classified as “individual, couple, and family,” such as the following: PTSD, lethality, sexual assault, partner violence, addiction, and bereavement.

Although these crises share a classification, they are far from identical. In fact, there is as much variability within the category of “individual, couple, and family crises” as there is within the general designation of “crisis.” One of the major areas of potential contrast is breadth of impact. A situation involving partner violence, for example, may be limited in impact to the two parties involved, particularly if the parties conceal it from others. An individual’s suicide, however, may have the most intense impact on the individual’s direct family members, but is likely to affect others outside of this realm as well, such as friends, neighbors, classmates, and/or coworkers.
In some cases, human services professionals may use similar strategies for different types of crises. A counseling session with a sufferer of PTSD, for example, may in some ways mirror a session with a sexual assault victim. Crisis intervention strategies vary in their effectiveness and in their potential to bring about positive outcomes, depending on both the nature of the crisis itself and the psychological resilience of those experiencing it.
To prepare for this assignment:
Review Chapters 8, 9, and 10 in your course text, Crisis Intervention Strategies. As you read, focus on the similarities and differences between the three types of individual, couple, and family crisis situations: crisis of lethality, sexual assault, and/or partner violence.
Review the articles, “Optimistic Explanatory Style as a Moderator of the Association Between Negative Life Events and Suicide Ideation” and “Best Practices for Working With Rape Crisis Centers to Address Elder Sexual Abuse.” Focus on how the issues examined in these articles are either unique to the particular crisis discussed or are shared with the other crises you have examined this week.
Select two of the three types of crisis situations you have studied this week. (Be sure that one of your selections is different from the two you chose to analyze in this week’s Discussion.) Reflect on how the two types of crisis situations you have selected are similar as well as how they are different, particularly in terms of their breadth of impact, the intervention strategies most often used in response to these situations, their intended outcomes, and the effectiveness of these intervention strategies in achieving these outcomes.
The assignment (2–3 pages):
Identify and briefly describe the two specific types of individual, couple, and/or family crisis situations you have selected.
Explain how the two types of crises are similar and how they are different, including, but not limited to the following:
Their breadth of impact
Crisis intervention strategies that might be used for each
The intended outcomes of intervention strategies used for each
The effectiveness of the outcomes of intervention strategies used for each
Explain what insights you have or conclusions you can draw based on this comparison.