My First Real Experience With Biometrics

My first real experience with biometrics occurred when my son purchased a new cell phone nearly two years ago. During the initial setup, he selected an iris scan as his passcode. I was a little surprised by the technology and skeptical of the convenience and security. My first question to him was, â€Å"What if someone needs to get in your phone?†. He quickly replied, â€Å"That is what the security feature is for, so they can't get in. If I want them in it, I'll open it and hand it to them.† He is an active duty Navy sailor. He explained to me that he felt more secure knowing that no one could break into his phone because of this passcode. I observed him over the next two weeks while he was home on leave. Each time he accessed his phone, he simply looked into the screen and instantly he had access. He has shared that when others see that his passcode is an iris scan, they realize they cannot hack into the phone. Most never attempt anything at this point. Those that do are not successful. To this day, he has not had any security issues with his phone. Watching the success and ease at which biometrics worked with a cell phone, I moved to a biometrics passcode when I purchased a new computer earlier this year. My new computer came with FastAccess Facial Recognition. After initial setup which included some training to recognize my face, I no longer had to enter a password or PIN. .There are advanced features that turn off the webcam, enable parental controls, and enable an automatic login feature that make FastAccess safe and user-friendly. When someone else tries to access my computer, access is denied because FastAccess does not recognize them. I've been told for many years that my daughter could pass as my twin, but the computer knows better, it would not unlock for her. Lighting can affect the process, the system does not work in poor lighting conditions. In these cases, I am prompted for a second form of authentication, a PIN or password. Other than this, I have been very pleased with not having to use a password to access my system and knowing my data is secure. Now that I was familiar with biometrics in â€Å"my† environment, I wanted to learn more about biometrics in the area of health information, an area I have worked in for nearly thirty years. According to Whitman and Mattord (2018), biometric access control refers to physiological characteristics used to authenticate identification that has been provided. This control relies on recognition, comparing an actual image to a stored image. Fingerprints, palm prints, hand geometry, facial recognition, retinal prints, and iris patterns are types of biometric authentication technologies. The three characteristics in humans that are generally considered unique are the fingerprints, the retina, and the iris (pp 334-335). Iris recognition provides the highest level of accuracy of all biometric markers. According to Katz, the algorithms used in iris recognition are so accurate â€Å"that the entire planet could be enrolled in an iris database with only a small chance of false acceptance or false rejection† (2002). Concerns in the area of biometrics are â€Å"false negative† and â€Å"false positive†. When an individual has a false negative their identity is registered within the system but for some reason, the system does not recognize them. A false positive is the larger concern. This rating means the individual is not registered within the system, yet the system is recognizing them as another registered user and providing access to them based on that recognition. Facial recognition technology opens the door to many possibilities in healthcare, particularly in the area of health information management. This technology has been widely discussed as part of the national patient identifier initiative. Facial recognition is a preferred technology over other biometric techniques because it does not require direct contact with the patient and it is easily deployed. Some of the uses for facial recognition in the health information management area allows for authentication of proper security clearance for employees to grant or deny access within the EHR to staff without a password or PIN. By authenticating your employee, you are maintaining the confidentiality of the protected information. The same technology can be used to verify or authenticate the identity of a provider when they access controlled substances. Facial recognition is the preferred technology because â€Å"some areas within a hospital zones require clinicians to wear surgical gloves and masks, thereby prohibiting the use of fingerprint authentication† (Callahan, 2017). Another option is a feature where â€Å"a patient's image can bring up their file in the EHR using facial recognition software† (McCleary, 2016). This security feature allows the healthcare provider to compare their patient to the stored patient image. Authenticating the patient allows you to maintain the integrity of your data, minimize medical mistakes and improve patient safety. Additional bonuses will be cost savings by reducing fraud, and improved protection or security of confidential patient heath information. There are yet additional benefits of facial recognition to the medical arena. One benefit is the prevention or reduction of medical identity theft. Medical identity theft occurs when someone uses another individual's information to obtain medical services for personal or financial reasons. If the individual presenting for treatment had to be identified by facial recognition, their identity would be authenticated or denied. This could prevent someone from trying to use your insurance benefits or obtain access to your demographic or financial information. Again, this protects the security of confidential patient data. Facial recognition is also an important authentication feature in the healthcare field to establish the identity of patients, particularly those that are unresponsive. Early identification of these patients in emergency situations within an integrated EHR can give healthcare providers instant health information about medical conditions, medications, and allergies. Facial recognition provides a better alternative for identification than fingerprinting for burn victims those patients who have experienced amputations. Some genetic conditions allow diagnosis via facial recognition according to a study at the National Human Genome Research Institute. One provider of facial recognition software, Nextgate, â€Å"claims to simplify registration, flag fraudulent activity, and eliminate the creation of duplicate records† (McCleary, 2016). We may be able to eliminate duplicate records if this software meets its expectation. Duplicate records are a data quality issue that result in compromised â€Å"patient safety, medical care, data accuracy, and reimbursement† (Harris and Houser, 2018). Duplicate records occur for a variety of reasons, primarily human error due to transposing of letters and/or numbers during data entry, the use or non-use of middle names, and abbreviations. As we see more and more organizations merge or become part of a larger healthcare organization, the opportunity for duplicate medical records increase. â€Å"Duplicate records have caused negative outcomes in the discovery phase of the litigation process because there will be discrepancies with diagnoses, medications, and allergies† (Harris and Houser, 2018). Maintaining a single, confidential patient record ensures the availability and integrity of the patient data. Organizations are beginning to turn to biometrics to eliminate their duplicate records. The three possible methods include iris, palm vein, and fingerprint scanning. Iris scanning is the preferred method because it â€Å"supports hospital infection control initiatives and is very effective in preventing duplicates as there is a low occurrence of false positives and extremely low (almost zero percent) false negative rate† (Harris and Houser, 2018). With iris scanning, the technology never has to touch the patient whereas, palm vein and fingerprint scanning technology requires a physical contact between the patient and the technology. This increases the opportunity for infections to be spread. Organizations with an advanced enterprise master patient index (EMPI) are those that often contain patient information for multiple locations within one health system. The EMPI integrates data from the various systems forming an â€Å"overarching technology umbrella, resolving and synchronizing data issues and providing a single patient view that can be accessed across the enterprise. The EMPI resolves data quality issues and synchronizes back to enable accurate patient identification and matching that minimizes duplicates records† (Harris and Houser, 2018). The EMPI provides a level of confidentiality and security throughout the organization. When biometrics are implemented at the registration process and integrated into the EHR, health information professionals and providers can view and authenticate the patient information while working with the patient and within the EHR. Members of a data integrity team can verify patient records are properly integrating into the EHR as the patient moves through the health system. In areas where a facial recognition or fingerprint cannot be captured but a barcode can be scanned, the integration provides the patient's image for a comparison prior to medication administration or other service. This form of authentication provides an added security and safety feature. While all of this technology sounds like a win for the patient and the healthcare system in general, we must also consider the law. According to Hedges, three states (Illinois, Texas, and Washington) now have legislation that regulate how biometric information is collected and used. More states are expected to follow suit. The Illinois Biometric Privacy Act (BIPA), â€Å"defines biometric information to mean â€Å"any information, regardless of how it is captured, converted, stored, or shared, based on an individual's biometric identifier used to identify an individual.† (Hughes, 2018). BIPA does not include information captured in a healthcare setting or collected for treatment, payment, or healthcare options under HIPAA. It is uncertain how the Department of Health and Human Services will address biometric information at this time. One area that healthcare organizations should start to consider is how their business associates may interact with any biometric information they collect. The changing pace of technology is trying to keep up with the pace of today's security challenges. It seems as if each day we hear of another security breach or security issue almost daily. There are tools for the health information professional to address or combat areas information security issues. Two of the most powerful tools are iris scanning and facial recognition. These tools can authenticate employee and patient identification. By authenticating the employee, you maintain confidentiality of information. By authenticating the patient, you maintain patient safety and the integrity of your data.

Business of Sorzal Distributors is not a common one

In spite these facts, Sorzal Distributors is a reputable dealer. Its main products include â€Å"authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery, and pre-Columbian artifacts from Peru and Venezuel† (Case Study, n.d.). Gross Sales of the company is about $12 millions and increased at a rate of 20% per year. â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† It is known fact that effective marketing depends upon effective marketing system employed by a company and its strategy. Such factors as globalization of markets, economic integration and increased competition forced Sorzal Distributors to find new ways to compete. It is one of the most important infrastructure requirements, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities and plays an important role in making the competitive positioning. Sorzal Distributors has a chance to â€Å"add $1 million in additional sales† (Case Study, n.d.) contracting with a mass-merchandise department store chain. In spite of great benefits proposed by this contract, the company will be faced with a threat to become a â€Å"replicas retailer† and, probably, will have a negative impact on company’s brand image as a dealer of unique authentic artifacts. It is not an easy decision to make, but before signing the contract the company should answer the question â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† (Case Study, n.d.) Changing Environment Sorzal Distributors operates in a simple and static environment. Firms operating in a relatively simple and static environment can generally rely on management strategies that are based on historical data. The strength of Sorzal Distributors is that it’s goods obtained a very competitive position on the market. The brand has a hard core of loyal supporters. It sells lines of products to satisfy the needs of wide audience through â€Å"specialty shops, firm-sponsored showings, and a few exclusive department stores† (Case Study, n.d.). Another strength is that Sorzal Distributors is an exclusive suppler of South American and African artifacts. Obtaining strong market position, Sorzal Distributors has maintained high-speed growth through product mix and new product lines. The opportunity of the company is the nature of business and loyalty of customers. As it is mentioned: â€Å"consumer tastes are changing from the modern and abstract to the more concrete† like Sorzal’s producrs (Case Study, n.d.). The opportunities of Sorzal include: high potential to growth and profitability of the company; promotion to other divisions; increased revenue from success in national market. In spite opportunities, recent changes threaten the business. Political-legal forces allocate power and provide constraining and protect ­ing laws and regulations. Primarily, political changes in Africa resulted in stricter legislation which prohibits â€Å"exportation of certain artifacts† (Case Study, n.d.). Another threat is increased competition which include the threat of entry by new competitors, the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, and pressure from substitute products, primarily replicates. Recent years, the number of competitors increased from 5 to 11, and, according to David Olsen, â€Å"bargaining position of Sorzal has eroded† (Case Study, n.d.). The company â€Å"has watched our gross margin slip in recent years due to aggressive competitive bidding by others† (Case Study, n.d.). The weakness of the company is changing economic situation which requires new forms of strategy in order to compete on the limited and narrow market of artifacts. Limited destitution is also a weakness of the company. New Strategy In order to solve these problems and sustain competitive position, Sorzal should accept a competition strategy, instead of a competitive advantage. It is possible to admit that market of artifact is really needed low quality replicates such as produced and sold by Sorzal competitors. Nevertheless, this marketing strategy is not acceptable for Sorzal, which obtains a strong market position as a reputable dealer of   authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery Competition strategy will take place on a price and a non-price basis, and will help Sorzal to compete on the national market. Price competition involves businesses trying to undercut each other’s prices; this will, in turn, be dependent upon their ability to reduce their costs of production. Brand image and loyalty of customers should be the main criteria for Sorzal. This strategy will help to stay on top nationally and sustain competitive position as an exclusive distributor of South American and African artifacts. Marketing strategy based on the non-price competition should take form of branding, advertising, promotion, and additional services to customers (Johnson, Scholes, 1998). An alternative policy for Sorzal is to accept replicates distribution strategy. On the one hand, this strategy will help to add additional sales, but on the other hand, it will have a very negative impact on the company’s reputation. This strategy does not help to compete on the market for a long time, and increase the threat of substitution. The best solution for Sorzal is mass advertising campaign and opening new exclusive stores in order to attracted potential customers.   In relation to minor competitors, Sorzal should provide comparable buyer value but perform the activities more efficiently so as to attain a cost advantage, or perform the activities in a unique way which raises the value to the con ­sumer and thus allows them to command a premium price. If Sorzal follows its present say strategy (as an exclusive distributor of authntic artifacts), it will sustain its dominant position as a top brand, while expanding its operations and becomes a main player in the market. Nevertheless, flexibility is the most important infrastructure requirement, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities, and plays an important role in making and breaking the competitive positioning. References Case Study: Sorzal Distributors. N.d. Available Johnson, G., Scholes, K. Exploring Corporate Strategy. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. 1998. Business of Sorzal Distributors is not a common one In spite these facts, Sorzal Distributors is a reputable dealer. Its main products include â€Å"authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery, and pre-Columbian artifacts from Peru and Venezuel† (Case Study, n.d.). Gross Sales of the company is about $12 millions and increased at a rate of 20% per year. â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† It is known fact that effective marketing depends upon effective marketing system employed by a company and its strategy. Such factors as globalization of markets, economic integration and increased competition forced Sorzal Distributors to find new ways to compete. It is one of the most important infrastructure requirements, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities and plays an important role in making the competitive positioning. Sorzal Distributors has a chance to â€Å"add $1 million in additional sales† (Case Study, n.d.) contracting with a mass-merchandise department store chain. In spite of great benefits proposed by this contract, the company will be faced with a threat to become a â€Å"replicas retailer† and, probably, will have a negative impact on company’s brand image as a dealer of unique authentic artifacts. It is not an easy decision to make, but before signing the contract the company should answer the question â€Å"Is that the direction that the market is going?† (Case Study, n.d.) Changing Environment Sorzal Distributors operates in a simple and static environment. Firms operating in a relatively simple and static environment can generally rely on management strategies that are based on historical data. The strength of Sorzal Distributors is that it’s goods obtained a very competitive position on the market. The brand has a hard core of loyal supporters. It sells lines of products to satisfy the needs of wide audience through â€Å"specialty shops, firm-sponsored showings, and a few exclusive department stores† (Case Study, n.d.). Another strength is that Sorzal Distributors is an exclusive suppler of South American and African artifacts. Obtaining strong market position, Sorzal Distributors has maintained high-speed growth through product mix and new product lines. The opportunity of the company is the nature of business and loyalty of customers. As it is mentioned: â€Å"consumer tastes are changing from the modern and abstract to the more concrete† like Sorzal’s producrs (Case Study, n.d.). The opportunities of Sorzal include: high potential to growth and profitability of the company; promotion to other divisions; increased revenue from success in national market. In spite opportunities, recent changes threaten the business. Political-legal forces allocate power and provide constraining and protect ­ing laws and regulations. Primarily, political changes in Africa resulted in stricter legislation which prohibits â€Å"exportation of certain artifacts† (Case Study, n.d.). Another threat is increased competition which include the threat of entry by new competitors, the intensity of rivalry among existing competitors, and pressure from substitute products, primarily replicates. Recent years, the number of competitors increased from 5 to 11, and, according to David Olsen, â€Å"bargaining position of Sorzal has eroded† (Case Study, n.d.). The company â€Å"has watched our gross margin slip in recent years due to aggressive competitive bidding by others† (Case Study, n.d.). The weakness of the company is changing economic situation which requires new forms of strategy in order to compete on the limited and narrow market of artifacts. Limited destitution is also a weakness of the company. New Strategy In order to solve these problems and sustain competitive position, Sorzal should accept a competition strategy, instead of a competitive advantage. It is possible to admit that market of artifact is really needed low quality replicates such as produced and sold by Sorzal competitors. Nevertheless, this marketing strategy is not acceptable for Sorzal, which obtains a strong market position as a reputable dealer of   authentic southwestern jewelry and pottery Competition strategy will take place on a price and a non-price basis, and will help Sorzal to compete on the national market. Price competition involves businesses trying to undercut each other’s prices; this will, in turn, be dependent upon their ability to reduce their costs of production. Brand image and loyalty of customers should be the main criteria for Sorzal. This strategy will help to stay on top nationally and sustain competitive position as an exclusive distributor of South American and African artifacts. Marketing strategy based on the non-price competition should take form of branding, advertising, promotion, and additional services to customers (Johnson, Scholes, 1998). An alternative policy for Sorzal is to accept replicates distribution strategy. On the one hand, this strategy will help to add additional sales, but on the other hand, it will have a very negative impact on the company’s reputation. This strategy does not help to compete on the market for a long time, and increase the threat of substitution. The best solution for Sorzal is mass advertising campaign and opening new exclusive stores in order to attracted potential customers.   In relation to minor competitors, Sorzal should provide comparable buyer value but perform the activities more efficiently so as to attain a cost advantage, or perform the activities in a unique way which raises the value to the con ­sumer and thus allows them to command a premium price. If Sorzal follows its present say strategy (as an exclusive distributor of authntic artifacts), it will sustain its dominant position as a top brand, while expanding its operations and becomes a main player in the market. Nevertheless, flexibility is the most important infrastructure requirement, which is essential for the expansion of opportunities, and plays an important role in making and breaking the competitive positioning. References Case Study: Sorzal Distributors. N.d. Available Johnson, G., Scholes, K. Exploring Corporate Strategy. Hemel Hempstead: Prentice Hall. 1998.

Acitivating creativity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Acitivating creativity - Essay Example Sadly though, not all people will go about this process in the same manner and with the same level of success and experience. In Rossman’s creativity model (1931), evidence of the different levels of activities and tasks involved in the activation of creativity is showed in a manner that depicts that there are as many as seven different processes that needs to be considered in a typical creative thinking process. The rate of success associated with each process determines that overall success with the activation of creativity. From his model, the processes are given as observation of a need or difficulty, analysis of the need, a survey of all available information, a formulation of all objective solutions, a critical analysis of solutions, the birth of the new idea (invention), and experimentation to test out the most promising solution (Rossman, 1931). Similarly, Wallas (1926) touches on a creativity process in a manner that gives an indication that creativity is not an event that takes place in a one off moment but undergoes the achievement of a series of tasks, which comes together to be collectively known as the creativity process. He though gives the process as indicated below. Through the outline above, seven major tasks will have to be completed including orientation, preparation, analysis, ideation, incubation, synthesis and evaluation. It is based on the foundations of these two major models that four series of assessments were carried out and presented in the following journal. With a different task to fulfil in each of the assessments, the various creativity processes that went into the fulfilment of each of the tasks have been completed below. Assessment 1 Assignment 1 was on conceptual photography and involved the taking of a photograph that was used in depicting more than what was seen in the image of the picture. That is to say that, conceptual photographs are used to express generalised concepts of events and process that take place and h appen all around us (Keller-Mathers, 2004). To accomplish this task, a picture of two people running a change of baton race was taken. The concept that was being examined in the photograph was the symbolism of the power of two. It is said in a Chinese proverb that if two people carry a single load, it does not hurt. What this means is that it always pays off to have a helping hand in any project or activity that a person is undertaking. It is not surprising that it is said in an England parable that two heads are better than one. When two people team up to accomplish a common task, there is much effectiveness and efficiency (Grivas, 1996). This is because there is the sharing of ideas and thoughts in a manner that makes exchanges of knowledge rapid and forthcoming. Studying the picture critically, it would be noted that a total of 400 meters was supposed to be completed in the race. Meanwhile, due to the limitation of the human ability in running such a distance, it would be difficu lt for any person to end the 400 meter race with the same level of speed that was started. But in completing a 100 meter race by the same person, the tendency to maintain the start up speed or even improve on it is higher. To this end, instead of allowing one person to do the entire 400 meters, four people team up to run 100 meters each. As a proof of the fact that team spirit brings results, the finishing time in the change of baton is better than when one person alone run the entire 400 meters. Assessment 2 Assignment 2 was carried out by the use of divergent thinking. That is, there was the use of exploration of many different possible solutions (Gonzalez, 2003). In essence, the resolve for a

Ancient history compare and contrast two empires Essay

Ancient history compare and contrast two empires - Essay Example But the contributions of the Mongol empire cannot be underestimated. The empire under Khans flourished well and the popularity and fame of the empire spread far and wide across the empires of the world. The famous traveller, Marco Polo had commented the Mongol empire as prosperous and peaceful. The kingdom was united under the rulers and the military power of the kingdom was immense. The essay tries to compare the contributions of the Roman and Mongol Empire in terms of politics, trade, religion, and social history. Features of Roman Empire: The Roman Empire was considered to be the biggest ancient empire of the world that ruled probably the major parts of the world. The Great Roman Empire had both western and eastern kingdoms. The Western empire came to an end in and around 450 A.D., whereas the Eastern Empire lasted up to the year 1453, when Constantinople, the capital of Eastern Empire, fell in the hands of the Turks. The Roman Empire spread to all sides of the world. The war like nature of the Roman people made Rome a powerful Empire over other nations. They conquered almost all countries to four sides of the nation. The Roman rule in those areas made a permanent landmark of the rule in terms of Roman building and sculptures. In considering the religion of the Roman Empire one can see the slow pace of the Empire from paganism to Christianity. The Romans, just like the Greek had their own gods and there had many temples for the gods in the Empire. Valerie M. Warrior clearly observes; â€Å"The Romans worshiped a wide range of gods† (Warrior 9). The entire Empire had beliefs in the mythic Roman religion. The wars like gods represent the war like nature of the people. At first the Roman rulers were against Christianity and many of them had persecuted the Christians. It was Constantine in A.D. 312 declared Christianity as the official religion of Rome. There after the spread of Christianity was amazing in the kingdom. So the Romans had different religiou s faiths. The politics of the Roman Empire was strong in the beginning and it is the cause for its fall too. Peter V. Jones and Keith C. Sidwel mention that; â€Å"Roman generals in the field regularly resorted to acts of looting, reprisal, massacres, mass deportations, and enslavements† (Jones & Sidwell 25). Rome was ruled by great statesmen like Julius and Octavius Caesars. Democracy was flourished in Rome. The Senate had a predominant role over the rule of the different statesmen. In respect to the trade of the Empire one can find that Rome was a dominant nation of the time. It had trade with many of the Eastern countries. The Romans had a flourishing trade with African countries. When it conquered Egypt there opened a way for trade and commerce with the countries near Egypt. The same is with the nations in Turkey and the Eastern countries. Features of Mongol empire: Apart from the history of the great Roman Empire the Mongol empire was short lived. It lasted for only 200 years. The founder of the Mongol empire, Genghis Khan made it much popular. His grandson named as Kubilai Khan made this popularity far and wide. â€Å"Mongols could build a vast world empire faster than any people before or after them. It is Mongols who united Eurasia in a truly international trading system and encouraged new forms of communication. The Mongols showed the value of

Aseptic Techniques & Cell Counting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Aseptic Techniques & Cell Counting - Essay Example flame loops, put slides in jars of Lysol or Chloros, put pipettes in their proper receptacles, and discard cultures into their appropriate autoclave buckets. Several different methods are used for sterilization and some of which we will use today. The maintenance of sterility requires the use of Aseptic Technique. The object of this is to prevent any form of contact between the sterile growth medium (e.g. petri dish containing nutrient agar) or the pure culture and any source of contaminating organisms. The new student should be aware that it is very easy to sterilize a pipette or bacteriological loop and then to place it on the non-sterile bench whilst picking up something else. Sources of contamination include: Any non-sterile surface, liquids, or air. Air is a very important contamination source because of; free-floating fungal or bacterial spores, liquid droplets, dust particles, dried skin scales, all of which may contain bacteria and/or fungi. Good aseptic technique is crucial for work in microbiology, microbial genetics, or biotechnology. Flaming using a Bunsen Burner is the classic method for rapid sterilization of bacteriological loops, glass pipette and bottle or flask necks. Flaming needs to be done for several seconds, long enough to raise the temperature well above 100 oC. Bottle necks should be rotated in the flame for 5 sec. or so to achieve this. For all basic techniques in microbiology and for today’s exercise in liquid transfer and inoculation, manual dexterity in removing screw-on lids is important. The most reliable technique is to use the little finger to unscrew and hold lids and plugs, leaving the other fingers free to hold loops or pipettes etc. The operator (i.e. you!) is the most likely source of small particles floating in the air and landing on your work. Breathing, coughing, sneezing and talking may all lead to some production of air-borne particles (aerosols) but more importantly respiratory secretions and saliva

Explosions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Explosions - Essay Example The Imperial Sugar dust explosion occurred four years after the U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB)  had conducted a study into the risks presented by dust explosions after three prior severe accidents in 2004. Unfortunately, all the recommendations the CSB made to the  Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) had only been partially acted on e.g. the outdated methods and construction materials that added to the severity of the Port Wentworth fire could have been detected. On the other hand the BP Texas City Refinery disaster was the result of gross negligence on the part of its management and workers. Rigot (2007) clearly outlines the Baker Panel’s findings on the incident. BP’s US refineries did not comply with its own internal process safety standards, process safety leadership was lacking and the work environment encouraged procedural noncompliance (7-15). Southwest Industrial Gases and CAI Inc. may have not directly been culpable for their explosions b ecause of the difficulty to judge whether the causes were accidental or intentional. However, the Bastian Plating Company’s poisonous gas incident was unacceptable. The night-shift leader avoided all precautions. Secondly, it is unacceptable for a team leader in a chemical plant to unknowingly create hydrogen cyanide. With the level of expertise, technology and knowledge in the US, most industrial explosions are preventable. Rigot (2007) cites the major causes of explosion to be latent organizational weaknesses, lack of effective reporting and learning culture within organizations and focus on injury and illness statistics rather than on process safety by both organizations and OHSA. In conclusion, Davis and Hansen (2009) propose that companies need to perform consequence analyses for their facilities to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future

Issues of International Marketing Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Issues of International Marketing - Assignment Example As of January 2014, IKEA owns 349 retailing outlets across 43 countries. The gross revenue was â‚ ¬28.506 billion in 2013 and its operating profit share was worth â‚ ¬4.011 billion (IKEA Group, 2013). IKEA is a privately owned business organization and its founder was Ingvar Kamprad. The current CEO and chairman of the company are Peter Agnefjà ¤ll. The company manufactures more than 12000 variations of products and conducts business in all major economies of Europe, North America, Asia and Oceania (Chu, Girdhar & Sood, 2013). Due to extensive business internationalization, the scope and scale of IKEA’s business are wide. The company utilizes 1% of the global supply of wood. IKEA has expanded its internationalization process by following different types of market entry approaches (Dickson & Giglierano, 2000). In China, IKEA expanded business through joint venture entry approach. A joint venture is a special business agreement whereby two or more business entities merge as a completely new organization or to generate new assets to the equity holding of both the companies (Campbell & Netzer, 2009). IKEA entered the Chinese market through a joint venture agreement. The company opened its retailing outlets in prominent locations in China under this venture agreement. IKEA had entered the Chinese market in 1998 (Harapiak, 2013). The company had selected the joint venture method for lowering the political risks associated and gaining core competencies within the dynamic furniture industry. Moreover, according to the Chinese regulations during IKEA’s entry, a foreign organization could enter only through a venture business with any native Chinese company. By forming a joint venture with a local furniture company of China, IKEA made strategic alliances with the Chinese suppliers and appropriately evaluated the market features therein (IKEA Group, 2013).