Software-Effect of Cultural Differences

Effect of Cultural Differences on Software Development A culture could be defined as the predominating attitudes and behaviour that characterizes the functioning of a group or organization. Through this paper we would like to address the effect of culture in the field of software development and one of the most commonly used model for development of a software Rapid Action Development (RAD). No matter what culture you are a part of; to develop software, a development model has to be followed. There are two different types of culture which affect the software development. 1.Culture difference between countries – People from different geographies think, act and react differently. There is no scientific relation between how two different individuals think or act on a given situation or scenario. It requires careful planning and judgement when working with an individual from a different culture. Some things might be normal for us but may be offending to someone else. With the adve nt of IT, the world is fast turning into a global village, the distances are diminishing. In such a scenario it’s expected that our colleagues can be from any part of the world.Hence it becomes all the more important to behave in a culturally sensitive manner. Negotiations with potential clients are more likely to succeed when concerned parties understand the reason for difference in view points. Fifty years ago, majority of the population lived in the same region they were born and employed in a single profession throughout their lives. The reality of working in a global company is almost the exact opposite. Employees of TCS interact and coordinate with colleagues in different time zones, in a foreign language and in global workgroups with members in distant countries.In order to make cross-cultural global cooperation work, cross-cultural competencies must be strengthened. Cultural differences, which can be seen, tasted, felt, smelled or heard, are not the ones that cause di fficulties. It is the invisible cultural differences that create misunderstandings – different value systems, attitudes, beliefs and expectations. To adopt a more customer centric approach, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is training all its employees to speak and understand at least one foreign language in a bid to become a global player in the knowledge sector.The move is not only limited to learn a language but also to make them conversant with other soft skills like culture and etiquette of at least one foreign country. Considering the diversity in cultures, our own experience with a North American based bank can be taken as an example here. This North American bank and Tata Consultancy Services have matured processes. Though a model driven approach is followed in both the companies, certain cultural factors are observed during the Software Development Life Cycle.Working in a multi-cultural environment for this North American bank has forced us to think about the cultural differences in software development. This bank is globalised in a true sense. We, Indians are currently working with colleagues from Greece, Sri Lanka, Russia, Romania and China. Where else would you get people of such diversity working towards one common goal of driving the business of the bank? 2. Culture of the organisation – Organisational culture lays out the values, beliefs, attitude and experience of a company. It may have been created unconsciously to align with the beliefs of the founder or top management personnel.The organisational culture we would like to describe here is of Closed Source and Open Source software development companies. Both these streams have their own beliefs and end goals. Main objective of a Closed Source organisation is profit and that precisely is the motive that drives these organisations. There strategy revolves around expanding their customer base and increasing the value of there stocks on the contrary Open Source organisations are non c ommercial in nature and the developers who participate do more for creative satisfaction than anything else.It’s just that the path they have chosen to conduct there business. Both the approaches have their own pros and cons. ? Model for Software Development The Rapid Application Development methodology was developed to respond to the need of delivering systems very quickly. Rapid Application Development, or RAD, began as a software development process developed in the 1980s. It is a methodology that involves iterative design, prototypes, and the use of CASE tools. RAD was designed as a response to previously limiting models, such as the waterfall method.The culture of an organization is a critical success factor in its process improvement efforts. â€Å"Culture† includes a set of shared values and principles that guide the behaviors, activities, priorities, and decisions. Due to RAD’s focus on quick delivery, certain project characteristics need to exist to fac ilitate the RAD processes: 1. Scope – focused scope with well-defined business objectives 2. Data – data already exists and focus is on analyzing and reporting that data 3. Team Size – very small, 6 or less 4. Technical Architecture – in place and tested 5.Technical Requirements – reasonable and within capabilities of technology being used Further, RAD requires management approval acceptance of certain tools, such as prototyping, iteration, and time boxing. Key Features of RAD RAD is composed of elements that are not new but are proven strategies. RAD differentiates itself from other systems analysis tools through its use of synergistic approaches based on the theory that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. A. JAD – RAD utilizes facilitated workgroup sessions known as Joint Application Development sessions.JAD sessions are crucial in that they allow impartial facilitators to become part of the design process without becoming invo lved in the design decisions. Further, the use of JAD sessions, within RAD atmosphere, has been shown to dramatically reduce development costs and development time JAD facilitates the ultimate communication sessions and results in increased development success. We expect that professional software developers know how to do the â€Å"thing† right. Doing the right thing, though, requires an unambiguous understanding of what your customer expects. Proficiency of the English language becomes a key for all part of the project.Traditionally Business has been driven by market leaders like US and UK, by investing large sums of money in new ideas and emerging markets. Among India’s huge population of 1. 1 billion people, Hindi is the dominant and official language. Yet it’s important to note that, as a result of Britain’s long colonial involvement in India, an estimated 4% of the populace speaks English. This might not sound like much, but when you do the math, it turns out that you’re actually talking about 40+ million people, which makes India one of the largest English speaking countries in the world.This is one of the major reasons for the growth of IT and the ability of software companies from India to deliver consistently on time and with acceptable quality. B. Incremental Development – Like JAD, incremental development is nothing new and was developed in the mid 1980's. It’s believed that anything that passed 90 days of development missed the business opportunity window. The idea was to take the overall project and break it down into smaller pieces that can be analyzed, designed, and delivered incredibly faster than the original approach.RAD uses the 80/20 rule, which says that 80% of the value can be delivered with 20% of the application. By focusing on the required 20% of the application they are able to deliver the product with lighting speed. Systems analysts take advantage of constant feedback with the use of incremental development. The incremental delivery of prototypes allows the user to easily communicate what they actually want to the analyst. Through the use of incremental development, the user and the analyst approach a level playing field in terms of system requirements.With the growth of economies of the world, customers are aware about the complexities and with markets being opened up to globalization, the customer is able to convey his requirements to the analyst and this is translated to a solution C. Case Technology – Case technology is the third RAD element. Case has added new impetus to the JAD movement. With its emphasis on planning, analysis and design documentation capabilities, and a graphics language understood by both user and developer, Case both demands clearer communications and provides the idiom for it D. Small Teams-The last key element of RAD is the use of small teams of highly skilled and motivated people. Common sense tells us that bright, motivated people are likely to be highly productive. The only problem is finding those people! RAD seems to be applicable to most IS environments. It is especially appropriate when requirements are not well understood or easily pre-specified, as with many so-called â€Å"front office† departmental computing applications. In contrast, applications that depend on algorithmic complexity or require significant pre-specification, such as aerospace and defence systems, probably lend themselves less well to RAD methods.Management of RAD teams is by motivation towards achieving the optimum business solution. Those who see RAD as â€Å"seat-of-the-pants† development have missed its most critical aspects and will find themselves creating bad applications rapidly (or creating good applications without infrastructure, leading to bad systems and high maintenance overhead). RAD only makes sense after Case methods, JAD techniques and disciplined software processes have been established. 1. Eff ect of National Culture on Software development A. High Context Vs Low Context culture –Tasks are broken down to a detailed level, within each project, with dependencies identified and risk associated with each of the task, Stakeholders and reviewers would come to a common platform to evaluate the tasks, the time assigned to each task, the perceived risk and the mitigation strategy to be adopted. Though this being one of the crucial aspects of the project lifecycle, the team has noticed that the discussion tends to be prolonged with some meeting attendees trying to digress the topic in hand to more trivial issues.This is dependent on the project manager assigned to the project in guiding the team to delve into the more the tasks in hand and arriving at a logical decision point. A detailed discussion is carried out to implement any change in a truly low-context fashion. For we as Indians have a habit of assuming some things in a high context manner. This approach of targeting any issue in a detailed manner was the biggest difference in the initial days. All the stakeholders in a meeting narrate out their requirements and clearing out confusing details and finding out the real facts about something.The first and foremost difference observed during our day to day life is the detail and model driven approach implemented in this bank. This detail driven approach tends to increase the timelines of software delivery but improves the quality a little. Quality is of utmost importance when it comes to building software’s for banking solutions, aviation, nuclear plant etc. At the start of a project itself the cost of quality should be determined as to much effort would be sufficient. An optimum level of quality if sufficient would reduce the timelines as well as save the cost of resources which could be utilised later for another initiative.B. Personal Vs Professional life North American way of life tends to support a lifestyle to accommodate personal inter ests of an individual. Expanding ones hobbies, participating in cultural and outdoor activities apart from professional work. Life in the BRIC countries is more tuned to professional growth of an individual with respect to the socio-economic fabric in the society. Boom in the software and its ancillary divisions is contributing to the growth in the per capita income and has lessened the gap from the haves and the have-nots.Job security in the BRIC countries is growing and is helping the individuals to build a life beyond their workstations. BRIC countries are now opening their market to the world, has brought in influx of capital, work culture from Multi national software companies. All said and done the economic structure of BRIC countries are still not mature enough to allow individual to look far beyond their professional boundaries. It is happening but will take some time before it becomes a part of life.Being more inclined towards their professional life rather than personal th e work force of BRIC countries delivers the same product as offered by Western country at a much reduced timeline as well as at a throw away price. This dedication though is having its toll on the work force which tend to be more unsatisfied with there job than there western counterparts. C. Income and Demographics Demography is observed to be playing an important role in the way the world is shifting work. The large impact of this change is observed on Information Systems. The average age of a professional is much more in western countries than in the BRIC countries.Young work force in BRIC countries tend to pick up things faster, readily adapt to different situations and work environment and importantly are available at a relatively lower cost than those in developed countries The decline in working-age population and unavailability of resources on emerging technologies in developed countries is leading to a large shift of the work to the BRIC countries. A young resource in India can learn under the guided training programs and implement the emerging technologies with ease whereas the learning curve of an individual in a western country is much longer span of time.Apart from this due to difference in the economic value of the currency of the western and BRIC countries, the companies in BRIC countries are able to provide same software solutions at a much lower cost as compared to the companies in developed countries. This is a win-win situation for both the client and the vendor, client is able to get solution at a cheaper cost and the vendor generates more revenues. D. Innovative approach The people in developed countries tend to be more innovative than the one’s in the BRIC countries. Being Innovative is encouraged and is a part of life.With their stable economic background and sufficient fund to promote any aspiring talent they encourage a lot of research and development activities. Most of the new path breaking companies and softwares are developed by western countries. The work force of BRIC countries do not lack the talent but the problem lies in the economy of the country which still require international funds to cater to the needs of its growing population. The software companies in these countries tend to pick up service oriented assignments, as they can be easily executed and it brings in much required funds to develop the economy of the country.Any innovation is these countries are mainly due to an inspired individual alone with little or no support from the government. We can take the example of a country like Israel which being so small in size still has a high innovation quotient. The North American bank for which we work has only two employees working in the performance test lab but still they have sanctioned a few million dollars to buy a quality centre tool. There were no long meetings or debate to discuss the viability of the adventure. Top management thought that the tool may be handy and hence they approved.T hey could have done that only because they were backed by a department worth billions of dollars. 2. Organisational culture differences Since inception, Organisations have a culture where a hierarchical line of authority is maintained. These hierarchies have in fact ensured that work is done where the collective abilities the companies’ employees are harnessed and a finished product is thus deployed. Compare this against a massive online community in a virtual organization where the employees are spread across the globe, exploiting the power of communication and collaboration in a gigantic manner.Millions of employees of a virtual organisations use blogs, wikis, chat rooms and personal broadcasting mediums to add their voice to a constructive medium of dialogue. Thanks to Internet, masses of people outside the boundaries of traditional hierarchies can innovate to produce content, goods and services. This paradigm shift in the culture of an organisation, vanishing of the hiera rchies is having enormous impact on Software development as well. They contribute to this organisation thereby prepare a finished product – including cars, airplanes – which are perceived to be some of the most complex products.Software majors in India including Tata Consultancy Services are handling the outsourced work of major aircraft manufactures. TCS has a blogosphere for its employees where more than a hundred thousand of its employees share their thoughts on various topics to guide the company to the next generation of software Development. This is a cultural shift started by the Open Source movement to challenge the monopoly of some players in the development and deployment of software. Thousands of employees of TCS collaborate in real time, exchange ideas with the CTO of the company reading and commenting on some of them.One of the writers of this paper has more than 100 videos on the internet with three hundred thousand views so far and the number is growing day by day. Thanks to Internet, masses of people outside the boundaries of traditional hierarchies can innovate to produce content, goods and services. This paradigm shift in the culture of an organisation, vanishing of the hierarchies is having enormous impact on Software development as well. They contribute to this organisation thereby prepare a finished product – including cars, airplanes – which are perceived to be some of the most complex products.Below we compare some of the features of an Open Source vs. Closed Source culture. A. Open Source projects TCS using Open Source Culture to its full potential The firm of the future needs to be a people-intensive firm. In the new Open Source culture, managers need to give due consideration to future threats and depend more than ever on human imagination, creativity and initiative. Twenty First Century Software majors in India including Tata Consultancy Services are handling the outsourced work of major aircraft manufactu res.This aircraft manufacturing major has taken the collaboration to a new level by engaging its peer in a real time manner. Firm of the Future The organisation that will excel in the next generation will be the one that recognises information as a major resource and knowledge as an important structure in and of itself. This organisation will use information and knowledge as efficiently as it does its other resources and assets. The difference between success and failure in an Open Culture will be about sharing enough of the right information about designs and methods.The intellectual and knowledge management will be the toughest challenges for the firms in the coming years. Information is a resource like money and material. It has a cost and value. It is less understood because it is less tangible. The unique character of information is that its supply is useless. The future firms need to fathom this fact that information becomes more valuable with use and when properly applied can greatly enhance the use of other resources. A big chunk of the workforce for these companies will come from Generation Y (Born between 1980 and 1995).The Gen Y associate on an average would have better exposure to emerging trends and would have a global outlook. As the Global Delivery Model for the software firms matures, the employees of such companies would increasingly find themselves working in culturally diverse distributed teams. While this is an exception today, soon this can become the norm. Collaborative Software Development platforms can become a norm and accelerate this trend. Thus the firm of the future and in particular the software firm needs to inculcate the open source culture as it is here to stay.The changing demographics, advent of internet, the collaborative features of Web2. 0 will give way to new ways of working and collaborating. The cultural inertia has to fade off to stay in the competition. We won’t be surprised if TCS employees start introducing th emselves as â€Å"I am a TCSer working in project XYZ and member of the TCS Java and oracle blogging community†. These informal affiliations can gain enterprise wide legitimacy. Advantages of the mass collaboration culture ?Reduction of Cost: One of the foremost advantages of adopting the Open culture is its monetary benefits.The sole and whole purpose of driving this cultural change, fading off the cultural inertia and adopting new ways of developing the same thing is that it reduces cost for companies who are adopting and driving this change. For IBM alone who along with Red Hat was one of the few companies to join the Open source bandwagon, the cost reduction is $900 million annually. Self-organised Operating System like Linux marshals the efforts of thousands of scattered individuals, sometimes in miraculous ways. ?More user involvement: Let us take an example of user involvement from the Mozilla Firefox Internet browser.After the elimination of Netscape, Microsoft has no t experienced any real competition in the web browser market. But now, the introduction of Mozilla Firefox, an open source Web browser that allows users to alter the code and create plug-ins and customized extensions that the users can download. We put on our thinking hats on for the TCS web mail which we use extensively. Some of the major disadvantages observed in the web mail are that †¢The user interface is clunky in that it is poorly designed from a user perspective. †¢The UI has several unused features.So the TCS innovation lab came up with a script which quickly put together a script that runs this into this as illustrated in the screen prints below. ? ? Not to mention this is only applicable to an Open source browser like Mozilla firefox which hinges on the user creativity and imagination. This might act as a starting point where many of the internal One might be tempted to question the whole deal behind this small example given above. The big deal is that the futur e of software development lies in delivering Service Oriented, semantically correct systems that allow end users to tweak their user experience.So what else is possible for TCS like Software Development companies in the future? †¢Project Leader specific customizations and generation of reports. †¢Bringing the timesheet page on the front page of the internal website on Fridays only. †¢Right click Employee Number and be presented with a palette of information such as â€Å"Lowest/Highest rating received by the employee†, â€Å"Employee basic information†. This shows that if one does not stay current with the users, they invent around you, creating opportunities for competitors. ?More power to the end userIn the software industry, publishing code on the internet has enabled companies to focus the shift to applications, integration and services. By using peer production to involve way more people who are external to the organisations, a futuristic firm can d evelop customer solutions in a smart way. Without the Open source culture, we would just have a set of monopolies, creating what can be termed as â€Å"Feudalism in Softwareâ€Å". Understanding and applying this new culture to competitiveness means dispelling the cultural inertia. Collectively, these examples suggest a range of ways in which peer production creates value and competitive advantage.Challenges to the Open Source culture: Critics of Open Source culture have always argued that it will no longer be clear who owns what or how individuals and companies will profit from their creations. The challenge lies how does a company manage its information sensitive resources in a way it does give enough freedom to the user to expand his horizons. But also keeps the essential features with the company itself so as to benefit from it. The pioneer of the Apache web server – which currently powers 70 percent of all Web sites – Brian Behlendorf did not make a dime off it! But truly speaking, the inventors never intended to make money out of it. Thus embracing this new culture of Open Source means new ways of wealth creation, new ways to innovate and developing software at an accelerated rate. B. Proprietary or Closed Source System: Another approach for providing software solution is Closed source or proprietary system. It could be defined as â€Å"a system in which the specifications are kept proprietary or closed to prevent third party hardware of software to be used. It has a restriction on copying and modification. Restriction could be either legal or technical.Legal restriction is like software licensing, copyrights etc. Technical restrictions are usually implemented by releasing only machine readable format instead of complete source code. â€Å" The following below listed points lists down its various features which in turn affects software development. †¢Innovation driven by motivation – As opposed to an open source project a clo sed source initiative generates more revenues due to licensing, patents of software etc. Over a long term higher revenue implies having a dedicated team of developers motivated which otherwise becomes difficult in open source as it’s not a money spinner. Mission critical projects – Traditionally open source software are considered to be more secure as the source code is reviewed by thousands of tech savvy developers. Though this holds true in many cases but still mission and time critical projects prefer a closed source. Any tweak in that code can cost severe damage to the society and country. For example software of a jet liner or a nuclear reactor has to be a closed source. It simply cannot be risked to use an open source for them. †¢Stable development environment – Closed source projects are usually developed in a stable environment. It has enough potential in it o take all the variables into consideration and tie it all together so that it just acts as a piece of hardware. A closed source initiative iphone has had only one release till now whereas linux has had hundreds of upgrades. The environment is turbulent for open source initiatives to focus on its criteria †¢Contractual agreement – Before opting for a closed source solution a potential client has to make a decision about the money to be spent and the amount of transparency they require. A closed source will tie them with an agreement; they won’t have any access to the source code as well. Vendor support – Proprietary software provides proper vendor support, they generally have a dedicated helpdesk assigned to address public queries and issues. Proprietary solution also comes along with proper documentation as well which helps the customers to do some debugging themselves and also makes them aware of the different features and configuration of the system. The vendor is bound by contractual agreement to provide adequate documentation and support â₠¬ ¢Better life cycle – Closed source projects usually have a better development life cycle. It has a dedicated team of developers working towards a common goal.They also have a separate test labs to ensure performance and functionality of the application. This difference becomes more glaring when the code grows to millions of lines; it becomes difficult for naked eye to identify and fix a problem and adjudicate the effect of that fix on other portions of code. It requires proper automated debugging tool. This kind of a setup is difficult for an open source company to acquire. †¢Security – Being transparent causes open source system to be more secured as it is reviewed by thousands of developers but being obscure provides a different kind of a security to closed source system.It protects the codes from potential hackers. They are not able to read the code and figure out the loop holes. Take the example of an anti virus software. If the source code of that is releas ed for everyone to review the hackers and virus programs will just paralyse the entire computer industry. †¢User interface requirement – A project which requires a good and intuitive interface should go for a proprietary product. Especially if the users are not that well versed with the computer culture. We can take the example of Windows or MAC OS which automatically creates a wow from the user just because of their user friendliness.Even for a novice user they are not that hard to figure out. Now compare this to a KDE or Gnome shell which might make a new user scratch their head off. Precisely because of this UNIX is more used at the back end. †¢Driven by an end target – A project developed in closed source is usually with a end goal in mind. They align all there activities towards achieving the end result. For open source products there is a tendency of the developers to code keeping themselves in mind. They don’t consider that whatever is intuitive to them may not be to others. Budget constraint – A closed source initiative have a finite amount of budget, depending upon the intermediate milestones achieved, political acumen of the project lead that can vary whereas an open source initiative depends on how much time its developers can dedicate. For long running projects with no real monetary benefit it becomes difficult to keep the developers interested. †¢Scheduling – Closed source projects have predefined schedules which may be altered according to market conditions or to coincide with any event. Strategic marketing – A proprietary software has a separate marketing team looking in to build the hype and increasing the curiosity of the potential customers. It gives sort of a head start to such projects. †¢Organisational limitations – A proprietary product can suffer from organisational limitations. In a corporate environment there are a lot of senior management level people making decision s on the behalf of the developers. The framework to use, the language to code in, data base to use, architecture to be followed. The developers are stuck with the choice that has been made on their behalf. Quality of resource – A developer working on a closed source project might have been chosen for reasons other than technical skills. The reason maybe the seniority of the resource, their relationship with a top management official etc. This problem is usually not observed in a resource working on an open source project as most of the resources themselves have self volunteered for work. It mostly consists of motivated workforce who works for fame rather than money. †¢User limitations – Commercial or closed source products tends to balance the demand of its user base with the goal of increasing shareholders value.They tend to view things from the profit perspective. Their end motive is to generate revenue for the company whereas open source developers are free fro m this restriction and can concentrate on satisfying the needs of its user base. Their approach is non-commercial in nature. †¢Market limitations – Being profit minded; closed source organisations tend to include a lot of features on their product just to attract potential client. With time, the point of interest can shift towards those additional features which may not necessarily be part of original requirement. This may incur additional time and money. External factors affecting the end goal – There maybe other external factors apart from the user requirement which may change the features or the way a product is supposed to work. There might be constraint to be backward compatible or to be compatible from other applications from the same stable or a top management thinks otherwise of the way the software is supposed to work. ? 3. References 1. Wikinomics – Dan Tapscott and Anthony Williams 2. The IT Revolution in India – F. C. Kohli 3. The World i s Flat – Thomas L. Friedman 4. Dreaming with BRICs: The path to 2050. A Global Economics paper by Roopa Purushottam and Dominic Wilson

Parent: Beloved or Forgotten

â€Å"It's a Special bond that spans years through laughter, worry, smiles and tears, A sense of trust that scant be broken, A depth of love sometimes unspoken, A lifelong friendship built on sharing, Hugs and kisses, warmth and caring, Parent and child, their hearts as one – A link that can never be undone. † Who are we now? Are we someone whose name are known to be excellent,known to be talented,known to be Influencing, or known to be an Individual who can do something great In any Industry we were Involved.I'll bet you have something In your mind that describe of yourself out of every attainments you've got as of today,And even that someone you want of who you will be in the future. But, I can say that no matter who we are, We are nothing without them.. They are the most two influential people who are the real heroes behind every successful man on earth, for they are the one who sowed the seed in our hearts at the time we are born causes us to be successful today or even tomorrow.Today, we adult or young people, has been exposed to any possible technology around us, of course we know that it consume much of our time, and then again after ere become busy with our studies, careers, hang-outs, gigs with friends and to other self Interest we are engage to. Commonly, Here ends our whole day, until become weeks, months or years. We can only count by fingers that we have spent a quality time with them, deliberately bring ourselves to bothers about their concerns and to know their minds.Somehow we maybe missing of time to give a second to think how are THEY? How they feel when they were alone at home, or to know that they were not feeling well or simply to give time talking with them without reasons. With these, we don't really express a love that is worthy for them. They were forgotten†¦ There Is no perfect parents that exist, some of them maybe the reason why you are In pain right now.Some maybe busy as well with businesses so don't have time fo r you as well, some maybe you as their child Is not that proud of them because they were not the parents you dream of, some were willfully taken for granted by us because they were a â€Å"kind† type parents to get angry by our mistakes. In my heart, Whatever lived in the world, why we are now able to stand in our place right now and able to claim our future. Being who and what they are, it is not enough to forget all their toils for us.Even conflicts is also not enough for us to turn our back to them. To love them is simply to give them a time. To honor them is simply to acknowledge them with our achievements. To cherish them is simply to serve them in any possible way we can do. To remember them is simply to say â€Å"thank you† and â€Å"I love You† my dear parents. So let's reflect, which one we are as a child to a parents. It is always important to remember that everything has an end and every instance is transient. Let us not bring ourselves to things that we may regret. Act now! Start now!

Employee Selection and Performance Measurement Essay

Employee Selection and Performance Measurement - Essay Example Therfore, Microsoft uses the content and construct validity approaches to select the most suitable applicants for a particular job. Microsoft conducts a thorough background check of each employee that it recruits. It does not employ discrimination in selection process as it uses the person-organization fit approach. Thus, it ensures that it is free from any legal or ethical issues that may arise from its human resource management activities. Furthermore, it fully ensures that all its online and offline interview questions are designed in a legal manner that encourage diversity in its workplace. Microsoft’s policies are designed in a way that they ensure that human resource activities including employee appraisal programs are employee friendly.In the knowledge economy the competitive advantage of a business is its human resources. This increases the challenges posed to the organizations to be selective and open minded in making their decisions regarding recruitment of employees and forming their strategies for their selection processes, choosing the most effective and relevant performance appraisal method and compensating and rewarding the employees accordingly. Both employee selection and their performance appraisal plays a critical role in the organizational productivity and profitability. The selection phase determines the right employees for the right job and performance appraisals determine their loyalty and therefore, retention in the organization for a long period of time. This report aims to examine the selection and performance appraisal program employed in Microsoft Corporation. I am familiar with the processes through which the employees are selected and their performance is measured in Microsoft Corp. Headquartered in Washington, USA, Microsoft is an American based Multinational Company having offices worldwide. It operates in a diverse range of industries including computer software, consumer electronics, digital distribution, computer hardwa re IT consulting, video games, online advertising, retail stores and automotive software. As of 2011, Microsoft employees 90,000 individuals around the globe. The report will conduct a literature review of the existing literature available on employee selection, performance appraisal methods used in practice and their legal or ethical implications. The report will next examine these practices in Microsoft Corporation and investigate strengths and any weaknesses existing in the current practice of the organization. In the end, the report will provide preliminary recommendations based on the analysis and provide a reflection of the study. 2 Processes Used for Employee Selection and Performance Measurement in Microsoft Corporation Bohlander, Carson and Kinicki (1992) argued that there is a misunderstanding in the world among the personnel

Operations Design Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Operations Design - Assignment Example The assignment "Operations Design" talks about the operational efficiency, one of the most important factors in order to gain competitive advantage. It is involved in various strategic issues like the deciding the location and size of manufacturing plants, determining the structure of telecommunication and service networks and developing the supply chains. Various tactical issues where operation management is involved are layout and structure of the plant, methods of project management and selection as well as replacement of equipment. Apart from strategic and tactical issues there are various operational issues like scheduling and controlling of production, inventory management, controlling quality, materials and traffic controlling and maintenance of equipmentÃ'Ž There is the extensive practice of operations management in the airline and the automobile industry. In both the industry long term success depend on proper size, layout, structure of manufacturing plants, efficient and c ost-effective supply chains, proper quality and inventory control, assembly system and equipment maintenance. Most of the recent problems in this two industry are associated with these above-mentioned issues. To address these issues various programs like ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning), TQM (Total Quality Management), BPR (Business Process Re-engineering) etc. are developed and implemented. Success in the automobile industry hugely depends on how the organization manages the entire operation.

Why People Consider Malala Yusafzai To Be A Heroine Essay

Why People Consider Malala Yusafzai To Be A Heroine - Essay Example Malala's courage and her strong opinion towards girls' education have won her awards, medals, and fame. So far, Malala is the youngest person to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Malala was nominated for the International Children's Peace Prize by The KidsRights Foundation and she was awarded National Peace Award by the Pakistani government. Magazines and Medias also followed closely Malala’s campaigns, and her profile was published in Vanity Fair Magazine. The Times Magazine also published her profile stating she was one among the most influential people at the time. Her inclusion in the media, being recognized by the government as well as magazines publishing about her passion for the girl's education contributed to Malala's heroisms. And as Merriam states, success comes because of hard work, skillful and creative political analysis. Being noted by the media gave Malala the enthusiasm to follow her instincts, which led to increased vocals on the subject of girls’ education. Encouragement from her father motivated her, especially after her recovery. Malala confronted anyone who could do something to ensure this dream comes true. For example, the US convoy at the valley was not left out. Even though her campaigns increased the threat to herself and family, Malala never gave up, she even went further to take her campaigns around the world. Malala has been to Nigeria where she personally met President Goodluck Jonathan and requested him to press for action to free the 200 girls held by Boko Haram, Islamist militants.

HelloHealth Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

HelloHealth - Essay Example Today, the organization has more than twice the rate of patients of a regular doctor’s office. Since there are four doctors, and each one is able to see more patients throughout the day than an average doctor without waiting times, the rate is twice as high, and still growing (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). Hello Health is a community of doctors that have made going to the doctor easy again. Instead of waiting in some emergency area in an impersonal hospital, Hello Health serves as the old-fashioned neighborhood doctor, adapted to todays lifestyle. Not only is this type of Health care accessible and affordable to all parts of society, but is also very individual and focused on each patient. The services of the four doctors who are involved in seeing twice as high number of patients throughout the day as an average doctor positively impact the city population and create new awareness for better health. The principles of Hello Health are to form a close and healthy relationship between patient and doctor and staying in constant communication, whether one is feeling absolutely all right or has some kind of health issue. The devices through which this is all made possible are the developed technologies of todays society. The internet and the cell phone serve as a means of making appointments and accessing ones records. The entire strategy behind Hello Health is meant to make life more convenient and affordable for both the patient and the doctor (Reporter’s Book Case Studies in Social Innovation and Creative Communities). Hello Health is known for its commitment to excellence, challenging work environment and to the community. This online clinic has a commitment to safeguard health concerns, provide best services to its customers, provide the best working environment for teamwork, creative thinking, respect, and open communication amongst

Sir Richard Bramson and the Virgin Group of Companies Essay

Sir Richard Bramson and the Virgin Group of Companies - Essay Example The success of his prestigious group of companies is a confirmation of his ability to apply the necessary management skills and strategies required for successful businesses. Sir Richard Branson had no initial intentions of becoming an entrepreneur although this did not prevent him from building his status as one of the most successful entrepreneurs globally. Having launched a student magazine at the age of sixteen and managed a student advisory centre, Branson had a background in business establishment and management i.e. habitual entrepreneur (Branson, 2011; Shavinina, 2008: 9-15). However, the success and expansion of the Virgin Group led to incorporation of other business ventures making him a portfolio entrepreneur. Some of the personal entrepreneurial characteristics that have enabled Branson to emerge as an exemplary entrepreneur include his high level of motivation, high levels of self confidence, abundant energy levels and the ability to sustain the entrepreneurial approache s in long term (Branson, 2011). Additionally, he has exhibited his worth as a risk-taker, the ability to set achievable goals, innovation and a problem solver (Bolton and Thompson, 2000). He variably contributed to the entrepreneurial sector through the establishment of a brand image and identity of the Virgin Company in the global markets. The company’s marketing strategies prioritises on the customers; improving loyalty. His management skills have led to the growth of the company to international standards. The employee commitment that the company exhibits indicates that Sir Richard Branson possesses effective employee management skills that keep employees always motivated. The dedicated and united employee team has utilised the business and marketing strategies associated with the business to constantly enable the business improve performance. Application of these strategies in all marketing segments has enhanced the application of innovation in all marketing segments. Ana lysis of the Virgin Group of companies exemplifies the entrepreneurial characteristics of Branson. Entrepreneurship can be defined as a process whereby individuals or group of individuals apply organised efforts in the pursuance of opportunities (Kuratko and Hodgetts, 2004). An entrepreneur should target to create value and growth through innovation and maintenance of uniqueness. This has been the main factors that have enabled Virgin Group of companies to be successful since its establishment. According to Shavinina (2008), the formation and management of the affiliate companies of the Virgin Group exhibits adherence to the entrepreneurial process. The initial stage of the process involves the exploration of the entrepreneurial context. For instance, the establishment of Virgin Airlines was Branson’s attempt to offer reasonable freight charges for transatlantic flights. The second stage involves identification of the possible opportunities that guarantees competitive advanta ge. The venture is then established once the opportunities are identified paving way to management once all its structures are in place. According to Carmichael (2006), Branson’s skills portrays him as a transformational entrepreneur due to his insistence on maintaining Virgin Group of companies as an organisation characterised by informality and

Managing ethnic diversity in British workplace Essay

Managing ethnic diversity in British workplace - Essay Example In their standards of recruitment, training, and promotion, government agencies and human services organizations have been more effective as equal opportunity employers than the private business sector. But even in government and human services agencies there is room for improvement. Many equal opportunity employers are merely paper compilers; their behavior is anything but exemplary of equality in action. If the policy of equal employment opportunity (EEO) is to apply without regard to sex, race, creed, color, or national origin, an important first step is to ascertain whether influential members of an organization harbor prejudices. Following Allison (1999) "Unlike the instrumental focus on corporate culture and productivity that characterize the functionalist perspective, critical analyses provide reflection on different types of management issues including, "epistemological issues, notions of rationality and progress, technocracy and social engineering, autonomy and control, comm unicative action, power and ideology" (78). Numerous studies conclude that a large number of minority workers receive insufficient information about their present job conditions and future opportunities. Specifically, many minority workers quit or retire from organizations without ever having understood what their supervisors diagnosed as their needs, why certain procedures were followed and, if failure resulted, what their failures consisted of and the reasons for them. The minority workers' rights include the right to courteous, prompt, and the best supervision. They have the right to know what is wrong, why, and what can be done about skill deficiencies (Konrad et al 2006). The managers could build a case of minority workers' ignorance as... Traditionally, British workplace represents a homogeneous unity consisting of British employees. Thus, globalization and immigration processes create new problems for managers. Managing ethnic diversity is one of the main problems required effective solutions and strategies to be introduced. Ethnicity and race are often confused in the United States. Equality of treatment and opportunity has been the official policy of some organizations for many years. In their standards of recruitment, training, and promotion, government agencies and human services organizations have been more effective as equal opportunity employers than the private business sector. There are two main approaches to diversity-related attitude change. Both approaches center on communication. The formal attitude-change approach is based on learning theories and assumes that people are rational, information-processing beings who can be motivated to listen to a message, hear its content, and incorporate the learnings w hen it is advantageous to do so. The means of change is formal, structured communication, and the reason for change is either actual or expected reward for embracing diversity (Konrad et al 2006). The amount of attitude change depends on employees' initial position regarding diversity, their attention to the message and to the communicator, their understanding of the message, and their acceptance of the message.

Implications of Cultural Tourism for Host Communities Essay

Implications of Cultural Tourism for Host Communities - Essay Example were and there are societies where the idea of tour is practically unknown. Generally speaking holidaymaking and travel has become an important social phenomenon in most societies today. Often modern tourism is based on the pseudo-event. Most tourists find pleasure in the stage-managed events. Often The English race has been inveterate travelers. However the motive for travel till the dawn of renaissance was usually pilgrimage, ecclesiastical business, diplomacy, or commerce. With the delightful discovery of antiquity, increasing numbers of young men were lured to the monuments of ancient Rome. The flowering of renaissance first came about in Italy and the humanist education at an Italian university, especially in Padua was the dream of many English gentlemen of resources. In spite of the cleavage of Christendom to Catholicism and Protestantism the inter course between nations continued and it produced profound results for England. Before the invention of package tours the most popular form of travel to Italy was by The Grand Tours. Watching the extant antiquity and the prevailing culture of the peninsula provided a finish of culture and style to the young man. The Grand Tour Travel as the finishing school of a cultured English gentleman is an idea that was in the British psyche for many years. Chaucer's Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, a bold attempt, to string a number of tales in the backdrop of a pilgrimage is a monumental document of the English predilection towards travel. The travel in which monk and friar, captain and doctor, cook and scholar rubbed shoulder in hilarious camaraderie presents colourful vignettes of medieval social life. Francis Bacon in his aphoristic essay, On Travel reflects on the salutary aspect of travel as one that enriches the mind and completes the education of a gentleman. The Grand Tour as it developed later seems to have accepted the guidelines set by Bacon. He has recommended in the 16th century itself that young men should go abroad under the guidance of a tutor. He has enumerated the items that the young man should look for in his travel and what they must avoid. The first sentence of the essay itself declares travel as the inseparable component of a gentleman's education. TRAVEL, in the younger sort, is a part of education, in the elder, a

Individual and society Essay Example for Free

Individual and society Essay Many of Millers plays are based on real life experiences. In A View form the Bridge many stories and experiences were put together to create this piece. The main story is of an Italian-American called Eddie Carbone who works on the waterfront as a longshoreman to support his wife, Beatrice, and their niece, Catherine. When Beatrices cousins from Italy, Rodolpho and Marco, illegally migrate from Italy to America Eddie welcomes them with open arms. Catherine soon falls in love with Rodolpho but Eddie has feelings for his niece that he finds hard to admit to. Eddie subsequently creates the idea that Rodolpho is homosexual and, in his eyes, not right for Catherine. Red Hook, a slum area of Brooklyn, New York, at this time was a very close-knit community and often the Sicilian family ethics would still permeate through the generations of the new Americans. Eddie tells the story of the boy who was thrown out of his home and never seen again, regarding it as a moral story with a suitable ending because he had told the immigration officers about his immigrant Uncle. Eddies decline and fall is due to his own actions, and so the consequences are his responsibility. Even worse Eddie knows the dangers when he says you can quicker get back a million dollars that was stole than a word that you gave away. Laws enforced by the people also uphold this Sicilian society; it is not the law of the establishment but the law of Sicilian values upheld by its citizens. Alfieri is aware and is part of both types of law, he is aware of the limitations to both laws and the consequences of someone going outside either law. We settle for half is a key quotation from Alfieri in this play. It shows a way to avoid a conflict between society and the individual. Eddie has relied his whole life on his moral code which he breaks when he realises he can no longer have Catherine and the code. Eddie is, however, to proud to compromise although he has an abundance of chances to do so. Eddie has relied his whole life on his moral code which he breaks when he realises he can no longer have Catherine and the code.  Eddie is punished for his individuality by society, the fight at the end is much like a pagan ritual devised to discern truth by divine intervention, the crowd circles the two opponents as the accuser and defender fight, the winner will either reclaim his honour or destroy his opponents. Such rituals are have said to take place in ancient Briton and Greece. Eddie lives in a society where there is a strange type of feudal system; there are mafia dons on top mafia underlings in the middle and longshoremen at the very bottom. It immediately suggests to me that the kiss bestowed upon Rodolpho may have connections with the Mafia as a kiss of death. By reporting Rodolpho to the immigration authorities Eddie has effectively signed his own and Rodolphos death warrants. We can relate Eddie to the conventions of the Mafia because of his background as he himself is an Italian-American and by reporting Rodolpho he is effectively denying another what was given to his parents. This play is set in the nineteen-fifties when Gang warfare was rife in which the Mafia played a large part, shown in the very beginning of the play where Eddie explains that Rodolpho and Marco will be given jobs everyday until they pay them off. Eddie is a longshoreman, he is worthless to his society because there are hundreds like him, and he works in a place where you work when you are lucky enough to be picked for work. Miller experienced this corruption of the American dream first hand. It is the Sicilian society that allows the lowest man to survive because of the camaraderie between neighbours. Millers use of an unusual stage direction is important [They are like animals that have torn at one another and broken up without decision, each waiting for the others mood.]. The animalistic language is important in that it keeps referring to beasts and to primitive and animal behaviour shown near the end of the play: Rodolphos metaphor of the bird; the simile in the stage directions of the two beasts; and Eddie By rights they oughta to throw you back into the water. It shows the animalistic nature of the society both characters are a part of. When Marco kills Eddie it as if he has won the battle and much like in a pack of lions the dominant male now owns the females. This simile helps us to imagine this scene, highlighting it as the characters turn from men to beasts. This story was built upon a tale Miller heard while working as a longshoreman in Red Hook (where the play is actually set), some say that Elia Kazan is represented in the play by Eddie, the character that we can understand but still reject. Miller criticised Elia Kazan for naming names during the McCarthy trials (or as they were nicknamed the McCarthy Witch hunts) but at the same time understood his dilemma. Elia Kazan was given an option and if he didnt name names then he would never direct films again. Kazan was not only criticised by Miller but by many people who branded him a coward and scoundrel although he claimed he was doing it out of his own true self. Like Kazan, Eddie does what he believes is right creating a conflict between society and himself.

Live Motion Capture

Live Motion Capture The method that records a live motion event, which then is being translated into usable mathematical conditions by tracking a number of key points that are being combined in space over time to get a single three-dimensional representation performance is called Motion Capture. To simplify the meaning of this technology, it enables the use of real performance to a digital one. Everything that exist in our world and has actual motion could be then captured; each moving part of that subject has its key points that provide the motion. When that technology is being used on a human as an instance, key points are the actual joints and they work as pivot points and connections for the bones. Usually when that is being done, all of the sensors, potentiometers or markers identify the points and that transmits the data to the main device. The performance that is being used to get a character to life is called performance animation, and motion capture is related to the actual technology that coll ects the motion. To conduct that, motion capture needs to be done and then that is being transmitted to the 3D character. That being said, mocap obtains all of the information that represents motion, while the performance animation on the other hand, is the final deliverable of a character created by the performer. Menache, A. (2011). Understanding motion capture for computer animation. Burlington, MA, Morgan Kaufmann. Motion Capture is known as Motion tracking and in most cases as `Mocap`, in any case it is actually 3D Animation. The process in which recordings of human movement are translated into digital form by recording every pivot point on the actor/actresses body. After this footage is filmed it is then translated onto a 3D model. Since the 1970`s that technology has improved drastically and Performance Capture is a term referred to when Motion Capture animates small human features such as fingers, expressions and facial features. That process is actually very time consuming. For instance, the performance capture in 2009 20th Century Fox award winning film â€Å"Avatar†, took over 15 years to create and the reason for that is that the amount of sensors that were used to portray these expressions was immense. The concept of animation dates back to more than a thousand years ago when Chinese zoetrope-type device was built to produce the illusion of motion from a burst succession of stat ic images. To present, everyone is familiarized with the different types of animation, from traditional hand-drawn image frames, to the Claymation or technology of Stop Motion. Until the arrival of the Computer Graphics that has not shifted for all that time. The most known categories of character animation to date are three. The first category consists of algorithmic and model-driven approaches. An example is the dynamic physics-based model, like reverse pendulum. The second category is the digital key-framing and hand driven, a workflow alike the original animation creation but with the assist of 3D creation tools. Motion Capture is the last category, it was first developed in the late 1970`s but it hasn`t been recognized as a revolutionary animation technique until the mid 1980`s when it was used for entertainment purposes. Inspired by â€Å"Rotoscoping†, an old time consuming animation technique that was being used in the early 1900`s, in which the animation would track m ovement frame to frame. In the field of entertainment Motion Capture is considered as the descendant of that same technique, which is still being used by some traditional animation studios to duplicate realistic motion from movie footage over to a cartoon characters. For centuries some of the motion capture technologies have been used in different ways, most known for its medical and military purposes. Originally it was examined by the Military to track head rotations of pilots by electromagnetic motion capture. Capturing motion could be done in few different ways. A lot of them use camera systems that produce digitized views of the performance, which afterwards is used to combine the location of the key points represented by one or more markers. Other way of capturing motion is being made by using electromagnetic fields or ultrasound to track a group of sensors. Also available is the mechanical system, which is based on the linked structures or the armatures that use potentiometers to identify the rotation of every link. Menache, A. (2011). Understanding motion capture for computer animation. Burlington, MA, Morgan Kaufmann Motion Capture input systems Prosthetic That is probably one of the first methods that have been used for capturing motion from various parts of the human anatomy. These methods include simple switching type of motion detection systems as well as complex tracking systems. If it wasn`t for the complex mechanical needs and the performance inhibiting qualities which are generally associated with such designs the latter type of prosthetic motion capture could be an ideal approach. Nonetheless, this method uses armatures which have to be attached all over the performers body. Afterwards they are being connected to each other by using a series of rotational and linear encoders. Once that process is complete all the encoders are connected to an interface that simultaneously reads all the encoders and prevents data loss. In the end through a set o f trigonometry functions the actual performer`s motion is being analyzed. (http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/motion_capture/motion_optical.htm) Acoustic This is a complex method that involves the use of audio receivers. Large amount of audio transmitters are strapped to performers body. Each receiver calculates the time that it takes for the sound to travel from each transmitter. In the 3D space the distance of the receivers is being measured to provide a point in the dimension. Normally the optical systems are occupied by occlusion problems which in that case is none existent and is considered as and advantage. (http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/motion_capture/motion_optical.htm) Magnetic This is one of the most used methods for performance capture. In that case it is used a centrally located transmitter, as well as large amount of receiver that are strapped on to various parts of the performers body. Once that is complete the receivers measure their spatial relationship to the transmitter. Every receiver is linked to an interface that can sync to prevent data skew. Each receiver then obtains the data stream which consists of 3D positions and orientations for each other. That data is usually applied to an inverse kinematics systems to an animated skeleton. The magnetic method shares the same advantage as the audio method, it lacks occlusion problems. (http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/motion_capture/motion_optical.htm) Electromagnetic Motion Capture is one of the more technical type of Motion Capture relying on transmitters and receivers to track movement. Optical Optical Motion Capture is another type of motion capture, it requires the actor or actresses to wear reflective sensors over a tight â€Å"Mocap Suit†. They would then proceed with their act an at that time several cameras will be tracking th e reflective pads. Recently, that type of motion capture has become quite popular. The advantage of that method is that it doesn`t require any sort of cables and the actor can perform freely. That system requires over three cameras, each of which is equipped with its own light so that it can illuminate the field of view for the specific camera. A frame buffer is being used that is connected and synchronized with each camera. The computer receives view from each camera in order to measure a 3D position of each marker. (http://www.siggraph.org/education/materials/HyperGraph/animation/character_animation/motion_capture/motion_optical.htm)

The World Bank Essay -- essays research papers fc

The World Bank Bureaucracy is one of the pillars of modern western society. Although this statement is debatable from many aspects, most would agree that, at the very least, our lives are greatly affected by bureaucracy. Bureaucracy is the 'pure form of rational organization' (Newson, Jan 11). Not only is it a method for achieving goals efficiently and effectively, but it is acclaimed as the most able strategy to meet objectives. The World Bank is a classic example of a bureaucratic organization. It embodies all the characteristics necessary to qualify; from its complicated hierarchy and impersonal relations, to the specialization and career orientation of its employees. However, not everyone agrees on the competency of the bureaucratic organizational system. George and Sabelli in their book Faith and Credit claim that is the very structure of the World Bank which causes its failures, as well as explaining its continued existence despite these mistakes. Using Faith and Credit, with a focus on chapter six, it will be shown that it is the bureaucratic methods themselves which twist the World Bank's goals, and that these methods undermine the tasks which the Bank has set for itself. The World Bank is one of the world's most powerful agencies. Although it characterizes itself as a purely economic institution -- which controls the lending of billions of dollars -- in practice its influence, wealth, and policies all result in having immense political power (Faith 1). Although originally created to serve as an institution to help rebuild the world (i.e. Europe) after World War II, its task has since shifted to development work and poverty reduction. Through its immense control of wealth, and its international reputation, the Bank has managed to lend billions to 'under-developed' nations. The loans take many forms, including financing of mega-projects and structural adjustment. Beginning in the 1980's vast amounts of criticism on the Bank's policies began to appear, finding faults in much of its work. Many of its projects have been declared more harmful than helpful, often worse names have been used. The Bank has managed to make enemies in many activist circles; including environmentalists, feminists and even the people whose aim is to please: poverty workers (Faith 6). Nevertheless the Bank still remains an eminent institution. It is well respected by many intel... ...iticized as an institution which repeatedly fails to attain its goals, and in fact has forgotten them. Although the Bank has the world's cream of the crop development workers, its own structure has stifled, and silenced these individuals to the point of falling behind in development strategies and not adapting to real world situations of the poor. Its own structure has encouraged a quantity not quality philosophy, any attempts to change this philosophy have only exasperate the problem. Finally the poor reputation of the World Bank, due to its own follies, has led to the Bank to shift its focus from development to self preservation, not through correction of errors, but through falsely presenting itself. It is the very bureaucratic nature of the World Bank which hasled to its failure. Although clearly this paper does not discredit bureaucracy as a world system, it does present the idea that perhaps bureaucracy is not the most efficient and effective method of achieving goals, in all situations. Bibliography George, Susan and Sabelli, Fabrizio. Faith and Credit: The World Banks Secular Empire. Penguin, Toronto: 1994. Newson, Janice. In class lectures. January 18th and 25th, 1996.

legal case Essay -- essays research papers

MEMORANDUM INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You have asked me to determine whether our client Diana Lewis committed unauthorized practice of law by providing her services. I have done research on statutes and cases. This memorandum will address the issue of this case, California Bar’s claim, and Ms. Lewis’s possible defense. STATEMENT OF FACTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In May 2001, Diana Lewis earned her Associate of Art degree and Paralegal Certificate from City College of San Francisco. In June 2001, Ms. Lewis opened her business to prepare legal paperwork for clients involved in uncontested divorces. She advertises her business in the Daily Journal and the Recorder. She charges no more than $75 for the complete package of paperwork and has assisted 25 clients to date.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because Ms. Lewis’s clients are not familiar with the legal terminology and some of them are illiterate, Ms. Lewis is compelled to ask questions and hold conferences with them. The day before the client’s court hearing, Ms. Lewis meets with her client to discuss what he or she can expect during the hearing. Ms. Lewis does not accompany the client to the hearing. Diana Lewis has been charged by the California Bar with unauthorized practice of law. ISSUE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Did Ms. Lewis practice law when she provided such legal document service? BRIEF ANSWER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No. California Bar could make a case that Ms. Lewis gave legal advice. But when she helped her clients with â€Å"uncontested† divorce document, she did not give specific advice by which the client’s particular legal rights were secured. She simply helped interpret instructions on preparing the general legal forms at her clients’ request. Such sales and services are legitimate. DISCUSSION In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6125, â€Å"[n]o person shall practice law in California unless the person is an active member of the State Bar.† Diana Lewis dose not have law school education and did not pass California Bar Exams. She is not an active member of the State Bar. So she cannot practice law in California. The issue is whether she practiced law. In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6400, â€Å"[a] legal document assistant may not provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a consumer about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses... ... of law. In addition it violates Unfair Competition Law at the same time. Walter Moore is similar to Ms. Lewis in that they are both non-lawyers and provided legal document service. Also, they both advertised locally. Walter Moore listed in the phone book under â€Å"Legal Aid† directory. Here we need more details about Ms. Lewis’s advertisement such as the wordings and under what section it was printed. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  California code prohibits Diana Lewis to practice law. The issue is whether Ms. Lewis actually practiced law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the statute and court opinion, the key point is whether a non-lawyer provides advice or prepares legal instruments that would secure the party’s legal rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the fats at hand, I do not see Diana Lewis have provided individual client with specific advice that would affect his or her legal rights. In fact, in the case of â€Å"uncontested† divorce, such practice of legal advice is not usually needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some detail information on Ms. Lewis’s advertisement and her discussion with clients will be needed to help with her defense. legal case Essay -- essays research papers MEMORANDUM INTRODUCTION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  You have asked me to determine whether our client Diana Lewis committed unauthorized practice of law by providing her services. I have done research on statutes and cases. This memorandum will address the issue of this case, California Bar’s claim, and Ms. Lewis’s possible defense. STATEMENT OF FACTS   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In May 2001, Diana Lewis earned her Associate of Art degree and Paralegal Certificate from City College of San Francisco. In June 2001, Ms. Lewis opened her business to prepare legal paperwork for clients involved in uncontested divorces. She advertises her business in the Daily Journal and the Recorder. She charges no more than $75 for the complete package of paperwork and has assisted 25 clients to date.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Because Ms. Lewis’s clients are not familiar with the legal terminology and some of them are illiterate, Ms. Lewis is compelled to ask questions and hold conferences with them. The day before the client’s court hearing, Ms. Lewis meets with her client to discuss what he or she can expect during the hearing. Ms. Lewis does not accompany the client to the hearing. Diana Lewis has been charged by the California Bar with unauthorized practice of law. ISSUE   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Did Ms. Lewis practice law when she provided such legal document service? BRIEF ANSWER   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  No. California Bar could make a case that Ms. Lewis gave legal advice. But when she helped her clients with â€Å"uncontested† divorce document, she did not give specific advice by which the client’s particular legal rights were secured. She simply helped interpret instructions on preparing the general legal forms at her clients’ request. Such sales and services are legitimate. DISCUSSION In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6125, â€Å"[n]o person shall practice law in California unless the person is an active member of the State Bar.† Diana Lewis dose not have law school education and did not pass California Bar Exams. She is not an active member of the State Bar. So she cannot practice law in California. The issue is whether she practiced law. In Cal Bus & Prof Code  § 6400, â€Å"[a] legal document assistant may not provide any kind of advice, explanation, opinion, or recommendation to a consumer about possible legal rights, remedies, defenses... ... of law. In addition it violates Unfair Competition Law at the same time. Walter Moore is similar to Ms. Lewis in that they are both non-lawyers and provided legal document service. Also, they both advertised locally. Walter Moore listed in the phone book under â€Å"Legal Aid† directory. Here we need more details about Ms. Lewis’s advertisement such as the wordings and under what section it was printed. CONCLUSION   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  California code prohibits Diana Lewis to practice law. The issue is whether Ms. Lewis actually practiced law.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  According to the statute and court opinion, the key point is whether a non-lawyer provides advice or prepares legal instruments that would secure the party’s legal rights.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  From the fats at hand, I do not see Diana Lewis have provided individual client with specific advice that would affect his or her legal rights. In fact, in the case of â€Å"uncontested† divorce, such practice of legal advice is not usually needed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Some detail information on Ms. Lewis’s advertisement and her discussion with clients will be needed to help with her defense.

Problems with Affirmative Action Essay -- Reverse Discrimination

Affirmative Action   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For many years, people have presumed that Affirmative Action has played and continues to play a vital and important role in the lives of most minorities . However, some people have raised questions about the effectiveness of Affirmative Action. Since it's conception, it has been believed that in some instances, Affirmative Action has been more harmful then helpful. One may ask the question, is Affirmative Action really worth fighting for? Some may argue, that if it had not been for Affirmative Action, the minority unemployment rate would be much higher.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Like any program, Affirmative Action has its flaws. One major downside occurs when employers over look one's credentials and hires people solely on the color of their skin. It can not be denied however, that Affirmative Action has aided in the struggle to bring about the social inclusion of minorities in the work place and schools. When society begins to misuse the Affirmative Action programs and begins using it as a form of reverse discrimination, then it becomes hard for sates to continue implementing it . These programs where not intended to take job opportunities away from qualified white applicants. If anything, Affirmative Action was meant to be administered by way of the least intrusive means. This program was created to allow minorities to have the same chance to excel in the workforce that the average Caucasian has. I have to admit, I am a strong supporter of Affirmative Action and equ...

Audi Swot

Audi began Germany in 1932 , it was formed the merger of four different cartaker, In 1969 Volkswagen acquired the business in 2008 Audi delivered more than one million cars to customer. Today the business goes from strength to strength and manufacturers in many parts of the world including India. This is a manufacturer of very high quality cars tend to be highly engineered robust and priced at a premium level. STRENGTH Audi's reputation is undoubtedly based upon a very strong brand. In fact the four rings of Audi is one of the most identifiable logos and images globally.The brand is very innovative and the range is continually developed and extended. Being a German technology product, obviously Audi has a reputation for operations management and its production approaches. The company manufactures in excess of 1 million autos a year. Interestingly, more than 1000 of these cars are Lamborghinis, Audi's premium supercar brand. The company manufactures cars in the German cities of Ingols tadt and Neckarsulm. Audi is also renowned for technology, creativity and innovation.The business invests almost $3 billion every year in research and development for its new products. Historically, the company's innovations are quite impressive – for example, Audi Quattro’s four-wheel-drive technology. New innovations include light emitting diode headlights (you may have seen them on the highway) and also MultiMedia Interface (MMI), which is a mash up of entertainment technology, navigation technology, and communication technology – including telephones as well as other innovations, which also improve passenger safety. WeaknessesOne interesting problem for the business is that whilst it is a very large vehicle manufacturer, it doesn't operate on the same huge scale as some of its close competitors, including Ford and Toyota. A simple revenue analysis based upon units produced shows that its competitors can make equivalent vehicles more cheaply, simply because o f economies of scale. That is to say relative unit are relatively higher. Audi's are German and its brand is associated with its national identity. Whilst in some ways this is a strength, others might view this as a particular issue.The brand is very dependent upon its European markets. It is relatively small in North America. Some of the sustained sales in Europe have to be due to environmental initiatives and incentives offered by European governments, and this won’t go on forever. The European market might also go into decline, simply because of the debt being experienced by large markets such as the Greece, Ireland and Spain. In common with some of its competitors including Toyota , Audi has also had to endure the embarrassment of product recalls.Especially for a brand which encompasses security and safety, this could potentially be damaging. In North America, there have been problems with gearboxes (transmissions) . Similar problems occurred in the South Korean market. O pportunities Without a doubt the new emerging markets of China and India are huge opportunities for Audi. New car sales are growing in both countries as consumers are getting wealthier and more discerning, they need status brands such as Audi. By 2015, the Indian car market is going to be huge, with estimated sales reaching more than $40 billion.In China figures indicate that sales will be in excess of 250,000 million vehicles in a similar period of time. Audi with its innovative history is obviously investing heavily in vehicles which are low emission and will be targeted at the greener car market. Hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs) will become very popular in the large countries of the United States and China, whereby petrol stations will become slowly replaced by plug-in stations. So obviously the growth of environmentalism and the nature of global warming mean that consumers are calling for low emissions alternatives.Hopefully in the coming years, the global car market will begin t o recover and car sales and production will increase. There are a number of drivers. Government programs which offer incentives to consumers to ditch their old gas guzzler to replace it with a modern hybrid car for example, mean an increase in sales. The problems associated with raising credit in Western nations will hopefully disappear and consumers will begin to take loans to finance their vehicle again. Audi has become a leaner business by increasing its profit per vehicle and reducing its inventory.Threats Like any business which operates in a global economic environment, Audi has to deal with local business environments. For example, regulations by local governments in relation to emissions or safety, or even strategic alliances with local companies in order to enter a market, such as China. All please add to the bottom line and reduce margins potentially. Trading in a global market means that the business is essentially exposed to commodity price fluctuations. Steel prices hav e been on a helter-skelter.Commodity prices vary, and it makes it difficult for Audi to keep costs steady. In the car industry, generally, the largest threat relates to the nature and level of competition in what is a mature industry. There are a number of similar brands including BMW and Mercedes. Car production globally tends to move where the high dependence on labour cannot impact its cost base, so over years to come more manufacturing will move to India and China, where costs of labour are lower. The German worker is comparatively expensive.

Nursing Board Examinations Scam: Impact to Practice

The â€Å"American Dream† is in the hands of all nurses around the globe as the U.S. is now facing a chronic nursing shortage with a projected RN shortage of more or less 800,000 in year 2020 (Buerhaus et al., 2000). The shortage of nurses that the U.S. healthcare industry needs to fill up hits hundreds of thousands as the shortage continues despite rising wages of nurses. The health care industry has bemoaned the nursing shortage for more than a decade, and that more will be needed for additional patients as the Baby Boom generation ages. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projected in 2005 that more than 3.1 million registered nurse jobs would be available by 2014, which would add an additional 700,000 new jobs for nurses (Moore, 2007). The United States has ramped up its importation of foreign-trained nurses mainly sourced from Africa (mainly Nigeria and South Africa), India, Canada and the Philippines (Vujicic, 2004). U.S. hospitals and health care agencies choose the Philippines because the country is a former American colony with school curriculum based on the American education system, classes are taught in English and nurses earn a four-year bachelor's degree, sometimes more than what American nurses obtain. Thus, the learning curve for Philippine-trained nurses in the United States is minimal (Jenkins, 2003). The Filipino nurses’ work ethics is the primary reason why they comprise 83 percent of foreign nurses in America and are the most preferred by hospitals, doctors’ clinics and care homes according to U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) (Bondoc, 2007). The Philippine Nurses Association of America (PNAA) reported that there are around 90,000 Filipino nurses in the United States. Every year 12,000 to 14,000 Filipino nurses migrate to the U.S. (OPS, 2007). Nurses’ licensing examinations is offered abroad to bring more foreign-born nurses to the U.S. and help alleviate the acute nursing shortage that is crippling American health care. Most of the foreigners taking the mandatory U.S. licensing nursing exam came from the Philippines, India, Canada, Nigeria, Korea, United Kingdom and Commonwealth of States (formerly USSR) according to National Council of State Boards of Nursing. Of those, more than half were from the Philippines, which educate thousand more nurses than what the country needs (Friess, 2002). The U.S. is a net importer of medical and nursing professionals from the Philippines. The issue on the June 2006 nursing board exam leak in the Philippines has snowballed, settling on a query to Filipino nurses’ credibility and ability in the provision of health care and safety to American Community, not only to solve nursing shortage crisis in America. This paper discusses the important issue of irregularities in nursing board exams. After introducing the topic, a discussion on the essence of nursing ethics is made. The next section briefly presents the recent Philippine Nursing Board exam to the U.S. nursing practice, followed by a critical analysis on this issue. The summary, conclusions and recommendations are presented in the last section. In Respect to the Nursing Insignia The nursing insignia, although it disappears, the meaning still embarks the true identity of the nurse in the nursing practice as a health care provider with caring attitude possess knowledge symbolizes by the nursing cap, the crowning glory of intelligence and the uniform is a picture perfect of purity and cleanliness living with ethics and morale which are molded inside the nursing school. Although the profession of nursing is as ancient as medicine, and may have the greatest right to the Cup of Hygieia as its symbol, most of the nursing tradition use a lamp or candle, which is not only in memory of Florence Nightingale, but which represents the light of knowledge, the central emblem of quality health care. The level of knowledge of nursing graduates is measured by nursing board exams—a licensure examination to eligibly practice the nursing profession. The exam regulates the legal nursing practice as a profession by assessing the basic nursing level competency which considers the objectives of the nursing curriculum, the broad areas of nursing and other related disciplines and competencies. The integrity of foreign licensing systems ultimately affects the health and safety of patients in the United States, a primary consideration of CGFNS in its role in evaluating candidates under U.S. immigration law (The Manila Times, 2007). Impact of Philippine Nursing Board Exam Leakage to U.S. Nursing Practice The Philippines is the leading source of nurses to the United States, with several thousand Filipino nurses migrating there each year. However, the U.S. National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) and the National Council Licensure Examination (NCLEX) delayed their approval for the Philippines’ accreditation as a testing center of the U.S. National Commission on Licensure Examination (NCLEX) for nurses. The shelved application is caused by the direct repercussion of the nursing board exam leak scandal. It capped two hours of grilling earlier on Philippine assurances of exam security and housecleaning after fraud marred its own nursing board tests last June 2006 (Bondoc, 2007). The United States Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools (CGFNS) obliged all Filipino nurses with 2006 licenses, who wished to work in the US, to retake the two sets of tests that investigators said were leaked to several nursing review centers in Manila, the Philippine capital (Cabreza, 2007). The retake of the tests is to allow nurses who passed the leak-tainted 2006 nursing board and are wishing to work in the United States to secure UV Visa-Screen certificates as required by the CGFNS (Rodis, 2007). The Philippines’ status as one of the world’s top producers of nurses could be threatened as it significantly tainted the credibility of Filipino nurses abroad due to the recent examinations irregularities. The scandal allegedly involved leakage materials of the June 2006 Philippine nursing board examinations of at least 200 questions. Some members of the nursing board were accused of receiving bribes from the owners of nursing review centers in exchange for leaking some test questions (Asian Pacific Post, 2007). Sometime after the board exam was held, the whistleblowers who exposed the said irregularity wrote to the PRC in June 2006 to report that handwritten copies of two sets of examination were circulated among examinees who took their review at a particular review center during the actual examination period (Cabreza, 2007). The initial charges were made by students who said that the president of the Philippine Nurses Association, who apparently is the owner and director of a nursing review center and a nursing school, had given the exam questions to students who had taken his coaching classes with the final coaching   at SM Cinema in Manila (The Filipino Express Newspaper, 2007). Many of the whistleblowers who exposed cheating have decided to take a new licensure test to remove the stigma of the scandal (Cabreza, 2007). Only 68.96% (9,198) have passed the nursing board retake out of 13,338 nurses who voluntarily retook, concluded that the quality of education is becoming a real issue, especially in light of the recent cheating/leak in the said board exams (Philippine Daily Inquirer, 2007; Rodis, 2007). After the said disclosures were made, officials and industry experts cautioned that the country's status as one of the top sources in the world for nurses would inevitably be adversely affected (Conde, 2006). In fact, this scandal has already demonstrated far-reaching impact on Filipino nurses—aside from some untoward incidents regarding racial discrimination in primetime American shows—indicating that such scandal inevitably involved the entire Philippines. For one, one episode of the hit ABC series â€Å"Desperate Housewives† involved Teri Hatcher insulting the Filipino community when she malignly depicted that Philippine medical schools are producing substandard, inferior and—worse—inept medical practitioners. Another is Jay Leno’s similar remark on his late night show â€Å"The Tonight Show†. Unfortunately, the above incidents gave rise to some political humors across America. A Critical Analysis The nursing board exam leak scandal in the Philippines brought legal, ethical and political issues confronting professional nursing today, including in the U.S., as the Philippines is its prime source of manpower to address the ever-escalating shortage of nurses. Better compensation packages—or simply a better life for the nurse and her/his family—have been achieved notwithstanding ethical and moral of standards of nurses everywhere. The Philippines has had a long history of corruption and low standards of ethics especially in politics and business. The Philippine nursing schools’ â€Å"diploma mills† and review centers, for years, have been earning significantly, capitalizing on the nursing shorted in the developed world. In a country where cheating with impunity has become the norm rather than the exception and where remittances from â€Å"exported† skilled professionals literally keep the economy afloat, the leaks that marred the last nursing board exam and the desperate effort to preserve the examination's credibility in the aftermath were bound to happen. The issue of the scandal is the issue of pathetic dreamers who damage the long-untainted credibility of the nursing institutions in the new era in spare for some cheap dollars. That there was a leak in the Board of Nursing exams is nothing more than a symptom of the nation's deep cancers. However, the response of the academe, the Board of Nursing, the NCLEX, the CGFNS, the hospitals, the physicians and the other professionals abroad could form part of the cure. In fact, indications are that there is a collective effort of many quarters to do directly address the issue. For one, the resignation of the president and the vice president of the Philippine Nursing Association and the Board of Nursing would properly set the tone for reforms within the nursing practice as well as in the academe. The report that some prestigious hospitals, clinics and recruitment agencies around the globe would not accept Nursing graduates from 2006 unless steps were taken to ensure that they indeed are worthy of the title of ‘Registered Nurse’, and the battle being waged by deans of prestigious nursing schools to stop the Philippines’ Professional Regulation Commission from administering the professional oath to â€Å"successful examinees† until the issue is resolved, all provides some sense of hope that there are still many among who refuse to allow precious nursing institution from prostituting itself. This is not an accident that this resolve has come from those involved in caring for people's health. It reflects a sentiment now sweeping across the country and other concerned countries among health professionals. It has little to do with dollar remittances and the promise of a good life. Hence, this battle to preserve the integrity and credibility of the nursing board exam is much more than that. It goes beyond making sure that the nurses who assist in the operating room or administer medicines to patients don't end up doing harm, although this is a big part of the issue. The battle is but a part of a bigger struggle to restore decency, integrity, and honor in country long-plagued by political instability and economic woes. The nursing insignia is being deprived of its cleanliness and purity of morale and intelligence. The white uniform is being stained with the filth of dishonesty and devious acts of betrayal to the nursing profession as the profession of cleanliness and purity. The light of knowledge taught by nursing schools has been diminished with darkness and blindness in the search for greener pastures. The real oppression is to the successful examinees who did not cheat, the hardships should not been paved with shame just because they are being called to participate in something beyond themselves. The only way cheating can be avoided in the future would be if those investigating the leak could pinpoint those who benefited from them and have only these persons retake the subjects. Needless to say, the perpetrators must be punished. It was Gandhi who said that â€Å"our values become our destiny.† What will happen to the destiny of those nurses with prejudiced values and what will happen if those nurses will hold the health of the American community? What will be the destiny of the American health care system if the healthcare provider’s credibility remains a big question? The nursing exam scandal is an opportunity to rediscover and reclaim the values that have been forced to be denied and even discarded—just for the sake of surviving. This unfortunate scandal can, however, prove to be one of the greatest blessings for this nation, because it might finally drive home the point that there can be no true progress and success unless they have their hearts in the right place. Call it a counterculture of sorts, or simply a natural reaction to anything in excess. But the fact is that all over the Philippines, doctors, nurses and other health professionals are starting to heed the call to be more than just healers. There is a growing realization that Filipino nurses must use their professions to help begin a revolution of the heart from the bottom up. It might be the only way to eventually force genuine change at the top. Summary, Conclusions & Recommendations The American Dream, the reverie of greener pasture in the land of milk and honey, has driven the perpetuators to commit the crime against nursing profession and the morality. The opportunities brought about by nursing shortage and nursing exodus has forced the nursing system failures. The quality of nursing education is becoming the real issue as there are 460 nursing schools in the Philippines and 50 of which have already been ordered by the Professional Regulation Commission of the Philippines to be closed down as nothing more than diploma mills (Rodis, 2007). The exam fraud was but a part of the bigger problem of nursing. And there is also the issue of poor education. Schools, cashing in on a surge of enrolments from news of a nurse shortage in America, were churning out around 80,000 graduates per year. But only 32,000 or so are able to pass the board test, and only 2,000 easily get jobs in top hospitals (Bondoc, 2007). The nursing shortage is not the number one problem in America, but if one takes a closer look, this may arise to a greater problem of hiring half-baked nurses. The illicit release of exam questions in the Philippines is an indication of deeper problems plaguing the Philippine health care system. Desperate to pass the nursing exam and work abroad, many students easily fall victim to such scams.   Diploma mill nursing schools and review centers have exploited this desperation and will do anything to compete for more students and more profits. In the end, the quality of nursing education, profession and the whole health care system suffers. Nurses in the United States involved directly or indirectly in the recruitment of nurses from the Philippines should consider only candidates with a minimum two- to three-year work experience and completely desist from hiring fresh graduates. By doing so, the Filipino nursing community in the United States would help ensure the continued flow of only qualified and well-trained professionals into the American healthcare system. References Asian Pacific Post. (2007). Filipino Nurses' Exam Scandal. Bondoc, J. (2007). NCLEX in Manila Open by Mid-Year. ABS-CBN Interactive. Buerhaus, P.I., Staiger, D.O. & Auerbach, D.I. (2000). Implications of an Aging Registered Nurse Workforce. Journal of the American Medical Association, 283, 2948–2954. Cabreza, V. (2007). Whistleblowers in 2006 Nursing Test Leak Take New Exams. Philippine Daily Inquirer. Conde, C.H. (2006). Cheating on Exam Taints Standing of Philippine nurses. International Herald Tribune – Asia Pacific. Philippine Daily Inquirer. (2007). Results of June 06 Nursing Board Retake Out. Friess, S. (2002). U.S. Looks Abroad for Nurses. USA Today. Jenkins, C. (2003). Filipino Nurses Make a New Life in a New Place. St. Petersburg Times. Moore, J.L. (2007). Nursing Wages Rise, Shortage Continues. The Morning News. Office of the Press Secretary, Philippines. (2007). Declaration of RP as NCLEX Testing Site Hailed as a Triumph for Filipino Nurses. Rodis, R. (2007). The Nursing Scandal. Philippinenews.com. The Filipino Express Newspaper. (2007). Court Asked: Stop Nurses’ Oath-taking. The Manila Times. (2007). U.S. Nixes VisaScreen Papers for June ’06 Nursing Board Passers. Manila: The Manila Times. Vujicic , M., Zurn, P., Diallo, K., Adams, O. &   and Dal Poz, M.R. (2004). The Role of Wages in the Migration of Health Care Professionals from Developing Countries. Human Resources for Health, 2, 3.