Antitrust Legislation in the USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Antitrust Legislation in the USA - Essay Example The company had employed predatory strategies to ensure that other market players cannot operate freely without considerably favoring Microsoft.   In identifying instances of antitrust violations, the Free Trade Commission (FTC) is responsible for determining whether a given market player has, either intentionally or unintentionally, manipulated the market to either mitigate or limit entry of competitors into the market (Hylton, 2003). The FTC has the duty of quantifying to what extent the given market player has violated the freedom of entry into the market. FTC controls this by regulating the issuance of patents and enforcing the legality of these patients.   The Stark Act prevents antitrust within healthcare by ensuring that physician referrals of certain DHS (Designated Health Services) for Medicaid and Medicare patients cannot be executed if, and only if the physician in question or an immediate or close relative of the physician has a vested financial affiliation with the patient in question. (Leslie, 2011) This ensures that physicians cannot refer one patient from one medical institution to another if they stand to gain financially. Similarly, the Anti-Kickback law has made it illegal to refer a patient to another Medicaid or Medicare-covered services and receiving financial compensation   In conclusion, the main aim of the antitrust legislation is to identify instances where one market player has immense market power to the point where they control and manipulate the market to gain abnormal profits and limit access into the given market or industry.

Starbucks Case Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Starbucks Case Analysis - Essay Example The object of analysis for the purpose of this assignment is Starbucks, a vibrant international organization that offers a variety of products in the market, with its core business being the production and sale of coffee-based products. The company’s products are quite varied and include Frappuccino, double shot products, chilled cup coffees, canned and bottled coffees, coffee ice creams, fresh brewed coffee, customer CDs, and books. The company has an international market and features in countries including China, USA, UK, Europe and Canada. The company’s initial mission was to be the World’s premier purveyor of finest coffee without compromising its core principles. Currently, the company’s mission is to inspire and nurture the human spirit - one person, one cup, and one neighborhood at a time. The company’s vision is to open 300 net new stores locally and internationally. The company strategically intends to position itself as the undisputed coff ee authority with a global presence. Like every other organization, Starbucks has its strengths and weaknesses. The strengths of any organization propel it toward greater success while its weaknesses pose a challenge to its continued success and existence. Yet again, every business organization exists in an environment what impacts its activities either positively or negatively. A strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) analysis will be applied in analyzing the position of Starbucks relative to its competitors and success. Strengths Starbucks as a company has a long history having been founded in 1971(Shah and Thompson, nd). The company has undergone significant growth over the years establishing itself as a preferred band across geographical and territorial borders. Having been in operation with a history of success and a good reputation, the company is bound to achieve more success as it can easily capture a greater market share. The company’s success histor y has been overseen by a dedicated management team. Under the leadership of Howard Schultz, the management team has seen the company achieve significant growth in various lines of business. Orin Smith, Jim Donald and other directors of the company had a wealth of experience in their various specialties their weaknesses not withstanding. Currently, Howard Schultz remains the CEO of the company, his dedication and brilliant management and leadership skills bound to make the company retain its success path. Starbucks endevours to be a great place to work(Shah and Thompson, nd). In this respect, it has taken several measures to ensure employee motivation, satisfaction, and dedication. The company’s employees are knowledgeable about the company’s products and services and are free to communicate their ideas and feelings to management without the fear of facing reprisals. Some of the benefits that the company’s employees enjoy include healthcare coverage, opportunity to own stock, and good work environments. Furthermore, the employees are trained on various aspects in respect of the company’s products and services. Their contributions to the company are well recognized as the company has a recognition program. The situation that the company is in as a result of these measures is healthy considering that motivated and satisfied employees are never easy to lose. The company’s turnover rate is significantly low which means that it benefits a lot in terms of high reputation as a good employer, provides high quality service due to its highly experienced workforce and suffers low hiring and training costs. The company has a strong and loyal customer base across different countries. The company is bound to glide in success with such a level of trust from its huge customer base. The company has instituted a number of measures to ensure that its customers are served wherever they are by opening several stores in various locations and throug h its franchises. Starbucks has a strong mission and is guided by principles that are

Pakistan & India Essay Example for Free

Pakistan India Essay India and Pakistan have been in a dispute, which is well known around the globe. Many factors contributing to this dispute have caused much turbulence throughout their entire region. There are both similarities and differences between the two states, and just like most disputes, the differences are the ones that stand out most. In an article found, the author states â€Å"India seems to me to be a robust democracy, with a vibrant economy. It feeds its own people. Pakistan is on the verge of being a failed state, the economy is in shambles, and the country requires foreign aid to survive† (Chawla). How is it that two states are so different now, when they have only been apart for such a short period of time? When it comes to comparing the differences between India and Pakistan, the main features that stick out to me are religion, geographical size, and their military forces. While both are close in size when comparing Muslim populations, India is known as a secular nation, and Pakistan as a Muslim state. Geographically speaking, Pakistan is much smaller than India when it comes to territory of land and their population count. Pakistan used to control the area on the eastern side of India, which is now known as Bangladesh. Pakistan now entails 340,403 square miles, compared to India whose territory consists of 1,269,221 square miles. The military comparison is also one that can be used to justify the significant differences between the two states of India and Pakistan. As stated before, India is larger geographically speaking, and also when speaking of military strength. As our text states, Pakistan is a â€Å"major military force† as well as â€Å"a nuclear power† (South Asia, p. 14). But, much of Pakistan’s military equipment comes from the United States used, and is not anywhere near the strength of India’s. Although they are extremely different when it comes to their religion views and cultural life, both states share some similarities that could potentially assist them in vanishing their disagreements in the near future. Politically, they share the same views on system of government views that the war on terrorism needs to end. Both states have a President, a Prime Minister, and each sub-state within the two all have their â€Å"local† government framework systems. I believe that sharing this commonality is extremely influential in getting the two states to eventually communicate in a more beneficial and civil matter. Both states also have strong agricultural dominance when being compared with other countries. India is reliable when it comes to production of food grains, cotton, tea, and tobacco. And, Pakistan shares the agricultural dominance in that over half of its working population is involved in the agricultural industry. With India and Pakistan not being able to get along and effectively communicate with each other, it prohibits the entire country from succeeding in all areas. The development of this region needs to grow, improve, and amount to a steadier environment, and unfortunately, most of the blame for its failures is placed on the discrepancies between the states of Pakistan and India. Additional Outside Sources: Chawla, Lakhmir. India and Pakistan: what’s the difference?. Open Democracy-Free Thinking of the World India and Pakistan: what’s the difference?. The Print House, 02 Nov 2010. Web. 6 Oct 2012. .

Reflective Essay on Referral Systems in Nursing

Reflective Essay on Referral Systems in Nursing Learning Objective:- To acquire knowledge about the various referrals systems used in my placement area. This reflective essay describes my experience in achieving my learning objective, referral system which I had taken as a part of the ONP programme. According to Dewey (1916) Reflection is a process which perceives connections and links between the parts of an experience (cited by Boud et al, 1985). When nurses reflect on what they do, they can make sense of their practice, and imagine and/or bring about changes ( street 1991; Cox et al.1991 cited by Taylor, B. J., 2000). Reflection helps us to transform ourselves to provide better care for the patients by enhancing our skills and knowledge. Schon, D. (1983) emphasised that reflection is a way in which professionals can bridge the theory- practice gap, based on the potential of reflection to uncover knowledge in and on action (cited by Taylor, B. J., 2000) I have chosen Gibbs model of reflection (1988) to reflect on my experience. I chose this framework because it enables me to recapture the event step by step and thus to learn from my experience as experience is the best teacher of all (Harry Callahan, H. cited online). Referral is defined as aÂÂ  personÂÂ  recommendedÂÂ  toÂÂ  someoneÂÂ  orÂÂ  forÂÂ  something (Dictionary. com, 2009).Since all health care required cannot be obtained at any given level of the system, anÂÂ  effective referral mechanism is a key element in the delivery of care (The Ministry of Health, Belize, 2006). So I took this objective to get familiar to the referral system used in my new placement area. As I am working in a stroke unit, most of the patients require a multidisciplinary approach. The core multidisciplinary team includes appropriate levels of nursing, medical, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, speech and language therapy, and social services staff. Other disciplines are also regularly involved in the management of stroke patients including clinical psychologists, psychiatrists, dietitians. (SIGN, 2010). This was different from my past working experience even though there was involvement of multidisciplinary teams and referrals to various specialities, but referrals to social services and also the policies pertaining to referrals is a new experience. I observed how my senior colleagues refer patients to various teams, asked doubts on the various teams available in the trust and how to avail them and the basis of referring a patient. Then, I was able to refer patients under guidance. My mentor has also assigned me to do referrals and has assessed me for the same. I got feedback and was able to make necessary corrections. I was able to refer patients to various teams such as Speech and Language therapist (SALT), diabetic nurse, dietitician, and OT. Initially I had some difficulty in understanding the various teams and their roles, the different forms used to refer patients, methods to refer (by fax/calls). But as I was able to do several referrals I got familiar with the system used in my placement area. In the beginning I observed my senior colleagues referring the patient and then I began to refer patients. I was able to clarify doubts with my mentor and colleagues thus helping me to understand the healthcare system more effectively. Now, I feel confident in referring patients to other healthcare team as needed because the holistic, comprehensive, interactive approach of an interdisciplinary team is the hallmark of stroke rehabilitation (Miller et al, 2010)). I feel by taking this learning outcome I was able to improve my communication skills and teamwork thus enabled me to develop professionally. My mentor has assessed me competent in referring patients. According to Dent, S. M., 2007The ability to hear what others are saying and determine the accuracy and relevancy of their feedback is a significant source of professional and partnership development and a critical leadership competency. I believe I was able to achieve an important outcome essential for me to provide holistic care for the patients. As I did several referrals, I was able to build my confidence and take part in appropriate learning and practice activities that maintain and develop my competence and performance (NMC, 2008).Guidance from my mentor and colleagues helped me to understand the system and thus enabled me to deal with it at ease. My mentor assessed me competent in referring patient effectively. It is necessary for a patient to receive appropriate medical attention where required for a speedy progress. It is the responsibility of the staff to ensure that timely referrals are made so that patient care is not jeopardised. As a whole, I was able to gain knowledge about the referral system used in my placement which helped me to keep myself up to date with the resources available to ensure effective care. I ensured that for patients under my care referrals are made on time and if I am not sure of something I make it a point to take the valuable opinion of my seniors (NMC, 2008). As a future action plan, I feel that I should keep my knowledge and skills up to date (NMC, 2008) and should be aware of all the trust policies in order to make effective use of the resources available. I will also actively do more referrals and be well versed with the system.

Creatine :: essays research papers fc

Creatine and Ephedrine Bill Romanowski, Shannon Sharpe, and Mark McGwire, are just a few of the professional athletes that use and endorse fitness supplements such as Androstendione, Creatine, and other products. Every on camera interview that you see Shannon Sharpe he is wearing an EAS mock turtleneck. EAS is one of the leading manufacturers of Creatine and other supplements. The hottest supplement in Hollywood is Ephedrine; an herbal based drug designed to increase fat loss. Why do so many athletes use supplements? Who is using the supplements? How can I get supplements? Those are a few of the questions I have tried to answer in this report. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study is to educate. To educate not only the athletes using the supplements such as Creatine and Ephedrine but to also educate the governing bodies of collegiate sports. Answers were sought to the following questions: 1. Who is using Creatine and/or Ephedrine based products? 2. Why are they using supplements? 3. Are these prod ucts easily available? 4. Should the NCAA increase regulations on supplemental usage? Methods and procedures used to formulate this report I used primary and secondary research methods. I used the Internet as a focal point for my research. There were many sites devoted strictly to supplement usage and education on subjects related to the supplements, Creatine and Ephedrine. I also used muscle magazines and books for research. For primary research I gave forty questionnaires (see appendix 2) to twenty women and twenty men from Husson College. Background on Creatine What is Creatine When I think of Creatine I don’t think of a body building supplement I think of an aid to recuperation. Like an aspirin you take if you have a headache, an athlete takes Creatine if they have chronic sore muscles from continuously working out. Creatine is a compound that can be made in our body. It is taken as a strength supplement. The chemical name for Creatine is methyl guanidine-acetic acid. The organ that produces the bodies Creatine is the liver. The amount of natural Creatine in the body can be increased or decreased depending on our diet(Absolute). How much Creatine do we have in our body? A 160-pound person would have approximately 120 grams of Creatine stored in their body (The Beg†¦). The reason Creatine is such a hot commodity is because 95-98% of the Creatine in our body is stored in our muscles.

Robert Brownings My Last Duchess Character Analysis :: Robert Browning, Poems, Poetry, Prose

MurderÂ…mysteryÂ…intrigueÂ…All describe Robert Browning's poem, "My Last Duchess." From the speakers indirect allusions to the death of his wife the reader might easily think that the speaker is a bit crazy and committed a vengeful crime out of jealousy. His flowery speech confuses and disguises any possible motives; however, the mystery is left unsolved. Based on the poem's style and structure, it becomes evident that even if the speaker did not directly kill his wife, he certainly had something to hide. This poem is about a powerful Duke, and his beautiful, flirtatious wife who has two different personalities, one that was reality and the other was the lady in the painting. The duke comes off as being very possessive. "Never to stoop. Oh sir, she smiled, no doubt,/ Whene'er I passed her; but who passed without/ much the same smile?" (43-45). I believe this being said, the duke is over examining things, the smile can simply come off as simply being a nice person, but to duke sees it in a different light. He views it as being flirtatious. The poem begins and ends with him mourning the loss of his deceased Duchess, but from the way that the mighty Duke speaks, he knows more about her death than he leads us to believe. The Duke chooses his word very carefully, when he talks to his friend about the painting of his wife. He only drops small hints, to his friend about the death of his Duchess. "I gave commands/ then all smiles stopped together" (45-46). These lines mean that the Duke, playing a very dominant part, tells his wife to stop smiling and flirting. Being told this, she still continues on, which I believe she does not notice or see herself as being flirtatious. As a result I believe that the Duke killed his wife, or had someone to put her to her death. As the Duke speaks of his Duchess, in the beginning, he sounds extremely compassionate and caring towards her. The Duke had an absolute love for his Duchess as most husbands and wives do. He sounded so proud of her and the beauty that she posed: almost like she was a trophy. Despite all of the pride and excitement that he showed towards her, there was an element of distrust that lingered inside of his mind.

Marriage Is Private Affair Essay

Nnaemeka sees the marriage as an affair as her wife does not belong to his husband’s race and some of her actions contradicts with their race religion and his father will surely disapprove the marriage. Nene believed the marriage was not an affair as she believe marriage is a happy thing and parents will be happy about their child’s marriage. 2. Religion is everything during the time the story happens. It’s not only a belief, it represents good and evil of a person’s character : if a person follow the religion, he’s a good man. People become superstitious in religion and their free wills were robbed from them. 3. The tribesmen allowed only marriage within their tribesmen because they thought their tribes were strong and allowing other tribes to marry their tribesmen will make their bloodline impure and thus imperfect. One trumps the other means believing one better than all the others. In here, the tribes believed their bloodline was the strongest and therefore forbid other tribes to mix into their bloodline. Marriage is private affair 1. Nnaemeka sees the marriage as an affair as her wife does not belong to his husband’s race and some of her actions contradicts with their race religion and his father will surely disapprove the marriage. Nene believed the marriage was not an affair as she believe marriage is a happy thing and parents will be happy about their child’s marriage. 2. Religion is everything during the time the story happens. It’s not only a belief, it represents good and evil of a person’s character : if a person follow the religion, he’s a good man. People become superstitious in religion and their free wills were robbed from them. 3. The tribesmen allowed only marriage within their tribesmen because they thought their tribes were strong and allowing other tribes to marry their tribesmen will make their bloodline impure and thus imperfect. One trumps the other means believing one better than all the others. In here, the tribes believed their bloodline was the strongest and therefore forbid other tribes to mix into their bloodline.