Essay Samples

Along with the Thatcherite era and an emphasis away from collective bargaining, reduction in bureaucracy and a move from the collective to the individual, a new void in the personnel function required to be filled.

Thus, human resource management, or HRM, emerged as a practiced personnel function, promising flexibility, responsiveness and a marked increase in the value of the employee. Furthermore, with the reduction in heavy industries and increase in services and high technology, HRM promised to put emphasis on the individual and the longer-term strategic issues.

The push towards this seemingly ideological approach to personnel increased in the late eighties, arguably, due to increasing competitive pressures, increased globalisation and a generally harsher business environment. It is these factors that caused managers to want to enhance internal corporate effectiveness and thus improve external competitiveness. This entailed the maximisation of all resources, including the human resource.

However, the failure of personnel management to adequately promote to others the benefits of effectively managing people at work is also cited as a reason for the need for a new approach, a fact stated by Skinner (1981). Legge (1978) however suggested that the failure occurred at an even more fundamental level; personnel management as an activity has failed to develop an appropriate theoretical base, resulting in “piecemeal textbook interventions, usually out of context with the needs of the organisation”.

Defining Human Resource Management
There appears to be no single definition of the term human resource management that is accepted by both people management practitioners and the academic community. Furthermore, trade unionists argue that HRM is a slippery concept which means different things to different people (Monks, 1994). With this fact underlined, to attempt to draw a qualitative judgement as to the impact of HRM practices in Britain can only be done with the knowledge that evidence cited may actually be referring to differing concepts and approaches.

Guest (1987) refers to a model of HRM that is characterised by;
“…being people-orientated throughout with an ethic of respect for the individual, maximisation of individual talent, well developed well-integrated policies and practices, genuine consultation and involvement, and clear challenging goals with feedback”.

However, it is argued that Guest’s model does not identify the key difference between HRM and personnel management, namely a shift from a hands-on, fire fighting approach to a planning function of a company as part of an overall corporate strategy.

Legge (1989) further supports this view, defining HRM as being a central strategic management task; it is the ability of a company to utilise its personnel at all levels to create and sustain a competitive advantage.

The above definition can be compared to a more procedural approach seen in Megginson’s (1972) definition of personnel management;

“it is believed that the most significant aspect of personnel management is to be found through the direction and control of human resources of an organisation in its daily operationsЕ the successful performance of the personnel function necessitates that each manager orient himself within his total business environment in order to help achieve the various organisational programs and objectives”.

Thus, by comparing HRM with personnel management, we see that HRM is the achievement of a fit between management of the work force and the strategic thrust of the organisation, a notion reinforced by Harris (1984);

“Successful companies guide and shape their company’s culture to fit their strategy. One of the tools used to accomplish this shaping is the reinforcing of certain ideas, values and behaviours and discouraging others by means of human resource management activities”.

However, this concept of fit has been identified by Legge (1995) as one of several ambiguities and contradictions proliferating in HRM definitions. Does fit refer to the external integration of HRM with business strategy, as identified above, or the internal integration of employment policies?

Regardless of these ambiguities in the HRM definitions, it is clear that whilst personnel management is seen as a short-term solution, reacting to stimuli, HRM is founded on the idea that an organisation includes human resource factors within top-level corporate strategies and hence seeks to adopt a long-term view.

However, empirical evidence as to the extent of HRM implementation tends not to support the idea of top-level corporate human resources strategy integration. This is backed by findings from Storey (1992) from a study of fifteen companies in Britain, where, in the majority of instances, there was a lack of a strong link between people management activities and an overall corporate plan. This fact is given further credence by Legge (1995), who found that there was patchy implementation of practices designed to achieve flexibility and quality, and more emphasis on dealing with short-term issues and opportunities such as high unemployment rates, rather than “any long term strategic considerations”.

Given this lack of empirical support on a key distinguishing feature of HRM, doubts must be raised as to the claimed strategic shift from personnel management to HRM.

A Case of “Old wine in new bottles?”
It is highly common to find texts citing HRM as simply being variation on a single theme; that HRM is merely personnel management, under a new label – eloquently stated by Armstrong (1987) as being “Old wine in a new bottle”. Miller (1989) concludes that any difference between HRM and personnel management remains confusing and confused. Possibly more insightful is Fowler (1987), who states, “what’s new in HRM is not what it is, but who is saying it, HRM represents the discovery of personnel management by chief executives”.

The fact, pointed out by Guest (1987), that a number of personnel departments have become “human resource departments” without any observable changes in roles does not help. This is a practice mirrored in some long standing personnel management textbooks, where the title was changed to “human resource management”, with little or no change in the actual content.

It is clear that there is no universally accepted description of the concept of HRM, although there are those who clearly have identified variations of HRM. Most notably, is Story (1989), in his identification and classification of two types of HRM, namely “hard” and “soft”.

Summed up by Kessler et al (1998), “Hard” HRM puts the stress on the idea of a “resource” that is something to be used dispassionately and in a formally rational manner, as with any other economic factor. “Soft” HRM lays the stress on the term “human”, thus conjuring up echoes of the human relations school, and emphasises communication, motivation and leadership.

Further types of HRM have been identified by Keenoy (1990), who makes reference to four variations; traditional – as practiced by the companies mentioned previously, which stresses the importance of people; neo-pluralist – which includes joint consultation, and the use of quality circles and increased employee involvement; strategic human resource management, this being concerned with the integration of human resource issues into corporate plans, and having little or nothing to do with actually managing people, and adversarial pluralism.

Whilst it can be seen that there is a certain amount of overlap between the definitions, there are also clear differences. What is striking, therefore, is that the same term is thus capable of signalling dramatically opposite sets of assumptions. Thus it is up to the individual or an organisation on how they interpret HRM – an echoing of MonkТs statement that HRM is practiced on individual interpretations. Legge (1989) points out that, not only are there differences in the definitions of HRM, they exhibit central characteristics that may ultimately be irreconcilable.

A knock on effect is the difficulty in defining the level to which organisations practice HRM. Noon (1992) states that it is not merely a case of semantics; it does matter which label is attached, as each carries different expectations and important practical implications.

What is clear however is that whichever variation of HRM is implemented by the organisation, its adoption will impact directly on the management of people at work. For some, this means a move away from institutionalisation and collectivism, and also a move away from the traditional view of employee relations management as being concerned with the making and administering of rules which regulate the employment relationship. This can be seen as an ideological shift away from the collective, and towards a unitarist and individualistic standpoint, within which employees’ commitment to the company replaces the traditional Western allegiance to the occupation (Wickens, 1987).

Now that the differences between HRM and personnel management have been discussed, and more significantly, variations in HRM identified – despite higher-level ambiguities and confusion, it is appropriate to consider actual empirical evidence as to the extent and nature to which HRM has been implemented in actual organisations.

Qualitative Evidence
Popular management theorists draw a clear link between company success or excellence and the practice of human resource management. Excellent organisations such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and, at one point, Marks and Spencer are often cited as practicing HRM. However, it must be questioned as to whether it is appropriate for the tag “HRM” to be appointed to an organisation given the lack of a precise definition.

Despite this issue, not withstanding the considerable variations and implementations or HRM practices, there are undoubtedly indications that current management attitudes are consistent with many of the core elements of HRM, such as employee involvement, strategic human resources considerations and a move to devolve the personnel function to the line. Over the years, research has been carried out, looking at organisations that display these characteristics, and much can be learnt from these studies.

Research carried out by Hope-Hailey et al (1997) looking at self-proclaimed HRM practicing organisations, namely Glaxo (pharmaceuticals), Citibank (investment banking), Hewlett-Packard (hi-tech), WH Smith (retail and distribution), Lloyds Bank (retail banking), BT (telecommunications), KJS (fast moving consumer goods) and an NHS Trust (healthcare) revealed several interesting facts.

It was found that in most companies, there was an HR function at the board level of the company, although HRM was seen as a secondary decision making process. Furthermore, it was seen to be more of a process rather than a strategy and emergent rather than intended. A further surprising indicator of this, is the fact that there were very few examples of written HR strategies, reinforcing the idea that;

“HR strategy formulation is much more of an interactive process, based on what is feasible in terms of organisational politics at board level and practical in terms of implementation”.

A further emergent fact is that as the HR function has been devolved, in terms of decision making to line managers, the presence of the HR department has diminished. As a personnel manager of Citibank typifies;

“We operate fairly independently within broad parameters and guidelines. We don’t behave as a department on a weekly basis “I don’t think you could look at us and say we are a department” this puts us very close inside, next to the business”.

However, it was found that the move did not reduce in any way the necessary bureaucracy associated with the personnel policies and procedures. Furthermore, the recruitment, selection and the operations of the pay systems were still tasks of a now diminished HR staff. This has led to an observable lack of co-ordination, with a lack of communication between an organisation’s business units. The research cites examples of secretaries being released on one floor of a bank due to overstaffing, and secretaries being recruited on another, due to an increase in workload.

Paradoxically, however, this downsizing and devolution of HR departments has been accompanied by an increased regard for the functionТs contribution at a strategic level, despite itТs diminished capability to deal with direct requests for help from staff; HRM is clearly regarded by management to be working, rather than non-management staff.

The researchers state three effects due to this paradox;
- Lower levels of staff often had little understanding of the role and purpose of the function;
- There was a clear identification for the worker’s need in a neutral body or department within the organisation that could be consulted for neutral opinion;
- There seemed to be a demand for a counselling service within the organisation.

It is clear from the last two points that having spent decades shedding the image of personnel as the loyal opposition to management (Sisson, 1989), once this has been actualised, there is exactly a demand for these very services. This is contrast to beliefs that with the advent of service based industries and individualisation of the workforce, the welfare mechanisms necessary in factories and heavy industries would become redundant.

This paradox links directly to management practices in relation to trade unions, and the impact HRM has and potentially will have on unionised organisations.

Human Resource Management and Trade Unions
The impact of HRM on trade unions is relative to the environment in which it is being implemented. Traditional British industrial relations, post-Donovan and pre-Thatcherism, has be characterised by pluralism and the institution of collective bargaining, both of which argued as conflicting in nature to HRM practice, which unitarism as itТs core concept, which Guest (1987) sees as marginalising unions.

This process of marginalisation is seen as likely due to the importance placed upon employee commitment and employee involvement within an HRM framework. If an organisation, through the adoption of HRM, stresses the importance of commitment to that organisation, the employee may be put in a position where they will find it necessary to offer allegiance to both the company and the union.

However, it is important to note that HRM is not by definition anti-union, although practices associated with it may well prove to be detrimental to unions in practice. Reinforcing this, Millward (1994) found that HRM practices were actually more likely to be found in unionised companies.

Guest (1989) has suggested that the perspective adopted by management will dictate the impact of HRM on unions. Where the management leans towards a more pluralistic approach then there will be no threat to unions. But where the approach shows accord with the values of hard HRM, namely, individualism and unitarism, then the outcome could be the failure of management to recognise trade unions.

The precise impact on employees generally will depend on the type of HRM that is actually practised, as opposed to simply the adoption of an HRM policy. The TUC (1994) refer to; bad HRM, which they define as the piecemeal, ad hoc, unsystematic attempt to select items from the HRM menu to improve company performance which conceals a vigorous anti-union strategy; and good HRM which is in keeping with companies’ attempts to build a workplace by developing employee commitment.

Keenoy (1990) describes HRM as a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Furthermore, Fowler (1987) argues that employee involvement under HRM is actually involvement on the company’s terms, and is actually a subtle form of employee manipulation disguised as mutuality.

Therefore, it’s possible that, whilst it may appear that employees have a greater involvement in the organisation, it is only selective involvement on the company’s terms, a situation that may change with the advent of works councils. At the same time, it is feasible that management, in adopting HRM, will no longer see trade unions as being appropriate, as they raise the potential problem for the employee of dual allegiance – union or company? If the union were indeed no longer recognised, then if a situation arose where an individual is placed in a position of conflict with the company, due to this process of individualisation that employee would be in a relatively weak position to oppose the company.

Conclusion
It is clear that there are identifiable components that recur in HRM topics, such as employee involvement, commitment, appraisal and reward. However, these are also tenants of personnel management. The only clear factor that goes some way to differentiate HRM from personnel management is strategic planning. But, does the presence of an element of strategic thinking in people management justify the application of the term human resource management?

Focusing on this view of a long-term strategic view, Skinner (1981) argues that benefits as a result of the implementation of HRM practices may not become apparent for five or more years, and secondly, current corporate polices tend not to reward managers for results that might not become apparent for several years. Hence, whilst it may be argued that HRM has the means of providing increased organisational effectiveness in the long term, will organisations, and managers, be prepared, or even allowed, to wait?

There also appears to be very little qualitative evidence to support any great degree of consistency between people management strategies and corporate strategies within companies. Hope-Hailey et al (1997) indeed suggest that HRM is not being practiced in the forms suggested in the 1980s, and that current practices are actually highly diverse. This diversity in practice suggests that HRM is highly sensitive to environmental and contextual factors as well as higher-level issues such as culture and managerial mentality.

These points lead to the question as to whether human resource management is actually sustainable in the long-term, despite the fact that HRM practices in organisations is on the increase. In order for HRM to be sustainable, several high-level definitions and concepts must be clarified.

Firstly, there is an implication that HRM can be seen as an “all or nothing” concept. This leads to a fundamental question; does an organisation have to actively implement all the practices that fall within HRM in order to claim that they are truly practising HRM? Conversely, can it be said that an organisation practices HRM if the personnel function centres on the practice of any combination of defined constituents of HRM?

Secondly, as Legge (1989) suggests, HRM suffers from three inherent contradictions; individualism versus co-operation, commitment versus flexibility, and strong culture versus adaptability. Clearly unless such internal tensions can be rationalised, they too may threaten the long-term sustainability of HRM.

Finally, the effect on the employee must be considered. In effect, this is directly related to the effects on, and response of, trade unions to HRM. With the move in management to draw direct links to the employee, the potential for trade unions to intervene on behalf of the employee, through the traditional means of collective bargaining, will become increasingly marginalised.

Potentially, with increasing allegiance from the employee being sought by the company, there may come a time when an employee will have to choose between company and union. Furthermore, as company-employee links strengthen, the company may question the very need for trade union recognition, leaving the employees in a potentially undermined position.

Ultimately, though, the question that has to be asked is whether or not HRM is simply context specific; it seems that the observed shifts in management style to HRM is simply a response to the new employment conditions in the 1990s, and the question that begs answering is, if this is the case, how well will HRM fare with the next inevitable change in personnel management methodology?
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The letters CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. Over the last three or four years, customer relationship management has become a popular catchphrase. Although CRM in one form or another has been around for some time, the current interest in CRM has developed with a combination of new technologies that enable companies to ensure better customer relationships. A good CRM strategy is vital in the Supermarket retail sector. This is because there is increasing competition for customers, as well as the widespread realisation that customer retention and loyalty is just as important as customer acquisition. Another reason driving this renewed interest in CRM within the retail sector is the shift in the balance of power to customers. Better-informed customers are more aware of alternatives, and as customers become more informed consumers of services and products, customer expectations rise and change, and their sophistication increases, too. This essay will therefore explore elements of the CRM framework and see how this is utilised in the UK retail sector.

The principle of CRM is that the more information a company has about its customers, the better. It involves managing the customer relationship across all its interfaces with the company as one entire process According to Cook, S, 2002:

“The Strategic process of identifying desirable customers segements, micro-segments or individual customers on a one-to one basis and developing integrated programmes that maximum both value to the customer and the lifetime value of customers to the organisation through targeted customer acquisition, profit enhancing activities and retention”

From an application perspective, CRM is often talked about in terms of sales force automation (SFA), marketing automation, customer services and support. However, CRM really encompasses all business processes that impact the customer experience. Essentially the goal of CRM is to:

” Increase the lifetime value of a company’s relationship with target customers. Optimize the effectiveness of marketing, selling and servicing of target customers and maximise the value of customer expenditures for mutual company/customer gain” (Marcouse & Gillespie, 1999, p121)

The above three goals seem to be very apparent in the retail supermarket sector as CRM is required as a operating model and to understand how it affects the customer experience. Eventually, it will permeate and impact all company initiatives. It must translate into effective business change in terms of insight, processes, systems and behavior that result in measurable return. Hill and O’Sullivan(2001) have identified The 10 Key principles of CRM:

1. Value Segmentation. Segmentation is based in customer needs, preferences, behaviors and economic potential, which provides the basis for resource allocation decisions in marketing, sales and service.
2. Institutional Memory: When the customer interacts with us, everyone in the enterprise is aware of prior inter actions, outstanding issues and pending opporotunities.
3. Collaboration. Customers are involved in the specification, design and/or delivery ala desired result.
4. Touch-point Alignment Customers are able to do business With you through multiple channels, which are aligned with your customer r needs and, their value to your business
5. One & Done. Customer needs are solved during the first contact.
6. Real-time information manager. Your employees have real-time access to the right information in order to make customer-based decisions and resolve issue immediately.
7. Customer Scorecard: Employee performance requirements arid measures are designed to drive specific customer behaviors (e.g. share of spend, loyalty, average value of customer) that are measured explicitly.
8. Closed-Loop Processes. Integrated front and hack office systems ensure that information and workflow carry through the entire enterprise to their logical conclusion, closing the customer loop and enabling continuous knowledge capture.
9. Listening & Learning Posts: Forums facilitate information sharing and learning among your customers that help them do business with you, learn from each other and provide valuable input to your business processes and operations.
10. Customer Experience Management: You have mapped all “touch points” between you and your customers and are able to deliver a consistent, high quality experience that provides added value to the customer.”

Supermarkets have embraced the change of new technology, and have employed new technology as an integral part of their CRM Plan. Advanced technology can used to give the customer an competitive advantage which encourages a brand loyalty infrastructure and supports the future of online commerce. An example of such technology can be seen with “Tesco”, the “biggest e-grocer in the world” they have purchased “Autonomy’s” technology to power the next generation of its online shopping service. Tesco has used the technology to automatically manage products across its catalogue, as well as provide advanced personalisation, through both personal computers and mobile phones, for customers using the tesco.com site. Tesco has also created “personal shopping assistants” on the Web, as a way of suggesting products and services that are appropriate to customers’ needs and interests. The technology is designed to understand customers’ interests automatically as they interact with the content on the site, providing them with interesting and appropriate product suggestions and promotions, whenever they are online. Dr. Mike Lynch, CEO of Autonomy, explained:

” For example, beer connoisseurs will receive news of the latest continental lagers or real ales, chocolate addicts will be shown the latest confectionery, and vegetarians will avoid the latest meat promotions – without the need to fill in online forms specifying user interests.”

The above demonstrates that Tesco has employed technology to carry out part of its CRM plan, as it has utilised technology to automate the entire online shopping experience, enhance personalisation, and turn one-time visitors into regular users.

Terry Leahy, CEO of Tesco, said:
“Customers love Internet shopping. This year we have doubled to half a million the numbers signed up to shop with us on the net.Customers know and trust Tesco and that gives us a real competitive advantage. 30% of our customers shop nowhere else on-line which means Tesco is driving the use of the Internet.

Tesco.com, the UK’s leading online retailer, will this week officially launch its Pocket Shopper application, which will allow registered users with Microsoft Pocket PC-based mobile devices to submit their orders on the move.Analysts said the move, revealed by Computer Weekly in January, will provide a boost to the burgeoning UK m-commerce market, which will be worth [pound]2.63bn by 2005, according to research firm GartnerG2. The Pocket Shopper application, available for download from the Tesco.com Web site, allows consumers to choose their shopping, from a total of 20,000 items, and pay by credit card without having to a connect to a network. The next time the user goes online, their order will be sent to Tesco.com, which delivers the goods to their home from their local Tesco store. The Pocket Shopper application is aimed, according to Carolyn Bradley, chief operating officer at Tesco.com, at what she described as “long suffering commuters”.
“Being able to shop anywhere is an advantage many commuters would love to have,” she said.
“As prices tumble, the technology will become available to everyone.”
Duncan Brown, consulting director at analyst firm Ovum, said m-commerce is ideally suited to supermarkets.”Mobile grocery shopping has a good chance of working as it is just another step on the evolutionary path from loyalty cards and online shopping,” he said. However, Brown warned, companies should not be over-ambitious with their mobile projects.
“M-commerce should be very specific – the consumer’s usual order or a delivery at a certain time,” he said.
“If you can get it right it has the potential to be very popular,” Brown added.

In recent years competitive markets have been flooded with customer loyalty programmes which is considerd a cost-effective customer relationship management strategy. To obtain customer loyalty, the biggest single step, and the one with the widest implications, is the progressive introduction of loyalty cards., According to Customer Loyalty today, 51% of all British shoppers possess a loyalty card and of those who shop in a supermarkets which offer them 70% have a card. Through loyalty card schemes, retailers have been able to build up databases of customer profiles and preferences. Supermarkets are building relationships with customers by sending them individually adressed letters and customised promotions. In return for a very small discount, typically 1 per cent, the store gets what it really wants, information about its customers. It is hardly getting what it says it wants, loyalty; when all stores have cards, and all customers have cards for all stores, we will be back where we began. With this difference: the stores’ computers will know more about us than we know about ourselves. There are, of course, safeguards: there is statute law on data protection. Research carried out by Mori for the Black Sun Consultancy, has shown that supermarket loyalty cards do not encourage shoppers to stay loyal to any particular chain. The study found that although over 50% of the UK’s supermarket shoppers carried a loyalty card, 69% said that it did not persuade them to shop at any particular chain.Nine out often people said that they were more concerned with getting a better price for their shopping than collecting points on loyalty cards. Many shoppers said that they were forgetful about the points, and 25% said they “rarely” or “never” redeemed the points, according to the article in the Sunday Times. Some supermarket chains seem to have taken notice of the research, with Safeway having dropped its loyalty card back in 2000, while Waitrose never introduced a card scheme, saying they were a waste of time.

Having seen rival supermarket chain Sainsbury’s join the Nectar loyalty card scheme, Asda claims that such cards do not work.The UK-based food retailer, owned by US giant Wal-Mart, has unveiled new research by NOP that shows that plastic cards fail to keep customers loyal. Asda said the survey, conducted at the beginning of September, shows that shoppers across the UK, regardless of their favourite store overwhelmingly prefer lower prices to plastic points. Over nine out of ten people (93%) said they would prefer lower prices to loyalty cards. The survey also found that people have not warmed to loyalty cards in the last few years with almost three-quarters (73%) saying their attitude to them had not changed. Asda, the UK’s number three supermarket chain according to their market share 2002. (www.mintel.co.uk, 10/08/03) is hot on the heels of number two Sainsbury’s, and Asda said it will continue to do what it has done since it abandoned its own loyalty card pilot in 1999–chip away at prices. However, with the Nectar scheme Sainsburys has recoginised the need to give shoppers instant gratifiaction in conjuction with have having a m points scheme that builds up. They therefore can offer instant rewards such as savings in real cash, like Ј5.00 of your shpooing bill when you spend over Ј50.00. However, whether this increases loyalty is also questionable as on the writers recent visit to their local Tesco store the check- assistant advised that I could reed all Sainburys vouchers at that store.

Loyalty schemes such as Loyalty cards act as an incentive for repeat purchasing, which will help maintain or increase a supermarket market share. Supermarkets such as Tescos which uses the loyalty card scheme, will save time analysing customer requirements, which will allow them to reduce stock levels and improve cash flow.

“Tesco, uses the data obtained from its Clubcard to target future offers, minimising customer annoyance and maximising their own sales.” (Cran,S,2001,p18)

Loyalty depends on personal relationships, and it is not possible to have a ‘meaningful relationship’ with an electronic check-out or even generally, with the young person at it. The chains have attacked this problem – which they recognise – by various routes. Some, such as Sainsbury’s, have produced glossy magazines full of recipes and suggestions of how to enjoy an enviable lifestyle – all from Sainsbury’s own shelves. Some chains develop a house style of architecture: ‘Tesco tithe-barns’ have gables, mansard windows and occasionally clock-towers, while Safeway’s larger newer stores have spacious glass atriums; they remain, of course, basic steel-framed sheds underneath. The range of products and services they offer constantly extends. Some are approaching 20,000 ‘lines’ of merchandise. All the larger stores now have cafeterias .Financial services are appearing, where pension schemes, savings plans and loans on mortgage are among the ‘products’ on offer. In theory, town planning law enables local councils to limit and control what is sold in a supermarket, but in practice this is a broken reed, and herein lies the next and greatest threat to the traditional town centres. When one can obtain banking, professional advice and even medical services along with groceries, clothing and household goods in one visit, under one roof, the reasons for going to the High Street will be few indeed.

Increasing numbers of UK retailers are adopting a new customer profiling technique which is designed to allow them to exploit their large CRM investments in a more effective way. The purchase behaviour profiling (PBP) technique, which is already being used by Sainsburys and Co-op, segments data by transaction rather than simply by customer demographics.This means retailers can analyse customer behaviour without the need for a loyalty card scheme, giving them meaningful insights into buying patterns, said datawarehousing specialist Teradata, which developed PBP.Retailers have made massive investments in loyalty card schemes but they do not use the data properly,” said Mikael Bisgaard-Bohr, retail industry director at Teradata. “Segmenting data by demographics is fine for financial services firms, but it does not work for retailers. With PBP you can break down types of customer behaviour into more meaningful segments

This CRM essay has identified and defined the key concepts of CRM and how this is being utilised in the Uk supermarket sector through inplementing new techonlogy and indentifying cutomers needs. Businesses also need to keep their valuable customers. A keen focus on customers is an axiom of good business. Businesses that do not maintain that focus are doomed. The customer can easily be forgotten in the rush to develop and launch new products and services, mitigate competitive threats, appease financial markets, manage the organization, increase profitability, expand market share and globalize. While CRM applications and their associated technology are critical, they are only tools to enable an idea. CRM is a vision, an In this sense, CRM is like Total Quality Management (TQM) you cannot buy it in a box; instead, you must make it happen through a variety of efforts. Therefore, care must be taken to ensure that CRM does not become a pure product push or an efficiency play wherein customers bear the brunt of a company’s cost-containment measures, CRM must be developed from the outside in– beginning with target customer’s wants and needs. Understanding customer behavior can lead to very simple changes in business processes that can improve customer value. As with many things that are simple in concept, the real challenge of CRM lies in its execution.
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The successful story of the cloning of Dolly the sheep was a big step forward for the scientific world. However, it also triggered much controversy on different issues about cloning such as whether or not we should permit cloning on other animals, specifically humans. Human Cloning should be permitted since it will do great things for us such as allowing couples who are unable to reproduce have a biological child, keep recessive genes alive and provide the ability to produce organs to save lives and cure diseases.

Allowing couples unable to reproduce through procreation to have a biological child will most certainly prove to be a better alternative for those couples instead of adopting a child. Sterile women will now have the chance of having a biological baby to experience the full extent of having a child. Before with adoption they may not have cared for the child as much as they could whereas, now with the option of cloning a biological child can be produced which may give the parents more pride in the child’s achievements. (Gibbs, Nancy. 2001). As well as sterile women, homosexuals who wish to have a child with their life partner will be able to have a biological child. (President’s Council on Bioethics, Cloning-to-Produce-Children; Cloning-for-Biomedical-Research, Nov 28, 2001). Widows are unable to have children with their partner since they have passed away, however with the help of cloning they could create a baby with the genes of their partner giving them something to remember their deceased loved one by. The loss of a loved one is always tragic and some people may be clouded by thoughts and strong emotions that their judgement may be impaired which may in the end take their life, with a biological baby it will give them something to live for as well as someone to care for again. (Gibbs, Nancy. 2001). Cloning children is definitely a good idea since it allows everyone to be able to have the opportunity to experience having their own biological child, however whether they take this opportunity is up to them.

In addition to reproduction, through cloning, recessive genes will not be shadowed by the dominant gene traits and disappear eventually. As Canadians we have had encounters with many different cultures and friends of many different backgrounds. We take pride in our society’s multiculturalism and diversity. Without cloning the diversity that we cherish so much will disappear before our eyes. All the red hair, blonde hair, blue eyes will one day be extinct if we do not keep them alive by cloning. The day that the recessive traits die out may occur millennia’s from now, however if another genocide was to take place; a whole race would most likely be wiped out with the weapons that nations possess now. With the aid of cloning it would be impossible to wipe out an entire race since more genetic copies of the race could be reproduced countless times. Moreover, the stereotypical view of cloning is that everyone becomes the same, no one is unique or considered an individual, however in reality, with cloning it will only keep the diversity and individuality of everyone since natural breeding would eliminate recessive gene traits making everyone identical with the same dominant genes. As Canadians along with many other nations which encourage diversity, cloning should be acceptable to maintain these recessive traits.

Although cloning may not be an issue or affects everyone directly, every person most certainly would encounter it indirectly. In November of 1998, the discovery of stem cells was publicized. Although so far stem cells have only been found in stem cells are cells in the body that have not been assigned to transform into a certain type of tissue yet. (”Stem-Cell Research” Issues and Controversies, August 13, 1999. http://www.2facts.com). Using stem cell technology we could clone specific organs from the person’s own cells so their body will definitely accept the new organ. These organs would be very beneficial since there would be no need for donors to donate an organ for the transplant. This way, more lives can be saved and it will guarantee success as long as doctors perform the procedure correctly since the organ is made from the patient’s own stem cells and DNA. Stem cell technology is still in its early stages. However, if we allow the research of cloning to continue we would be able to produce a donor that is a perfect match for the patient or possibly be able to produce organs which will in turn eliminate the need for donors. For instance, if a child was ill and needed a kidney, they could clone the child and use the clone as a donor. This would result in two healthy and living children living with two very satisfied parents. (Genetic Encores: The Ethics of Human Cloning, Unknown. http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Fall97Report/cloning.htm). If we were to talk about the near future, the most likely medical advancement along the lines of cloning would be DNA research to create vaccines against viruses. Vaccines could be created using DNA structures to counteract deadly diseases such as AIDS, cancer etc. (Lemonick, Michael D., 2001). With the usefulness of cloning and DNA research, we would greatly increase the life expectancy around the world and save many lives.

On the other hand, some people still think that cloning should not be permitted on humans and they argue that it is a sin to play God. In a telephone poll 69% of adult Americans felt that human cloning is playing the role of God and would mean that we are defying his will. (CNN Poll Report. Feb 2001). People will use cloning to breed elite armies for war and treat them as soldiers rather than humans, which is inhumane and letting them live without a purpose, literally living to die. (Bova, Ben. 1995). Some even argue that cloning a child will only make the parent want the child to follow in his footsteps and possibly give the child a chance to experience all the things that the parent didn’t have the chance to do. The parent may take the child’s success as his own achievements since through cloning the child would basically be a younger version of himself. (Genetic Encores: The Ethics of Human Cloning, Unknown. http://www.puaf.umd.edu/IPPP/Fall97Report/cloning.htm).

These are all legitimate points; however, they have over looked the fact that sins are a natural part of life. Everyday we commit sins, so it does not differ from our regular routines. A sin of claiming to be God is no different from a sin like jealousy, what it all comes down to is that we have committed a sin. Humans have played God on countless occasions that this argument doesn’t carry much meaning anymore. “It’s in the Bible-be fruitful and multiply. People say ‘you’re playing God.’ But we’re not. We’re using the raw materials the good Lord gave us. What does the doctor do when the heart has stopped? They have to do a direct massage of the heart. You could say the doctor is playing God. But we save a life.” (Rebecca, 2001). Also if clones were bred the fight, and given no choices, then if they did not feel it was fair according to their rights then they could rebel. Only if they accepted the terms of their designated task would they attempt to cooperate with us. Otherwise they would rebel and make a bold statement since they are bred to fight. (Bova, Ben. 1995). The parent of a clone may push their child(ren) harder to strive for success and follow in their footsteps to possibly become the parent’s dream that never came true. This may sound unfair to the child(ren) and harsh since there is so much pressure of the child(ren) being like their parent. However if one were to examine at families right now, one would realize that many parents are doing the same to their child(ren) right now. They hope that their child(ren) will follow them into their field of profession. This is merely pride working on behalf of the parents and regardless of whether the child(ren) is a clone or not, certain parents will still pressure their child(ren) into becoming what they want their child(ren) to be. Moreover, even with the added emphasis from the parent on become what they want their child to be, the clone will most likely never live up to the expectations and dreams of the parent since they are brought up in a whole different manner and period of time. (Reed, Susan. 2001).

Cloning will prove to be a huge asset in the future because it will allow couples to have a biological baby when nature does not, it will keep the recessive genes alive and it will save many lives through organ transplants and DNA structures to create vaccines. Cloning must first be recognised as a great advancement for the scientific and medical fields rather than just another act that goes against the wills of God who shall punish us for our misdeeds. “We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.” (Kennedy, John F.)
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Through and through the annals of time, from one generation to another, there has always been overwhelming wonderment and mystery on the topic of cloning. Whether they thought it was ethically right or wrong, nearly every person that has lived a significant life has, one way or another, dreamed about what it would be like to have a double another human being that seemingly looks, acts, or possibly even thinks exactly the way they do. And as time passes by throughout each generation, evolution occurs. As a result of this, life as we know it advances to an entire new level. Everything from plants and animals, to our own physiques and minds, increases in its overall development. In our modern day, there is one thing in particular that has evolved at an alarming rate technology. With this on-going advancement of technology, the possibility of human cloning appears to be just around the corner. Major controversy has risen in spite of this, and rightfully so, as the possibilities, both good and bad, of human cloning are presumably endless. Everyone seems to have their own opinion on the subject of human cloning, including religious leaders, political figures, and modern society dwellers. Is human cloning right, or is it wrong? Although there is not a correct answer to that question, as it is solely based on opinion, I will, however, cover as much information as I possibly can in the following essay to attempt to enlighten your very own beliefs and opinions on the topic of human cloning.

Before I proceed any further, you must understand exactly what cloning is. According to Human Genome Project researchers, cloning is “the copying of genes and other pieces of chromosome to generate enough identical material for further study.” (www.ornl.gov) What this basically means, in others words, is the copying of oneбжs genes to produce an exact duplicate of those genes. There have been numerous methods of going about this, some of which have been successful (ex. Dolly the sheep) and others have been a complete failure. Nonetheless, if a human were ever cloned, which may or may not ever happen, it is believed by many that the procedure would be as follows:

1. “Doctors harvest up to 15 eggs, each from up to 40 donors who have been injected with fertility drugs. About 400 eggs are produced.
2. Cells are taken from the cloning candidate.
3. The nucleus of each egg is sucked out with a fine needle. Then the DNA-free eggs and the donor cells are placed next to one another and zapped with electricity, which cause them to fuse. Some of the rebuilt eggs divide to form embryos.
4. Because embryos often fail to implant, each surrogate moth gets several at once. Even so, up to 50 surrogates could be needed to ensure nine of ten pregnancies. Of these, most will terminate early by miscarriage or by abortion when abnormalities are found. The single viable baby may be normal.” (Gibbs, 02/19/01)

Although it is unknown at this time that whether or not the above procedure to cloning could ever work, it is quite possibly that the route to human cloning would be very similar to the process that was just stated.

As there often is with most controversial issues, human cloning has two sides to the story a good side and a bad side. These sides are both known, respectively, as the pros and cons of human cloning. Since the possibilities of human cloning are seemingly endless, the amount of pros and cons that occur with cloning are quite lengthy. However, some of the main points that deal with the pros and cons of human cloning include the following:

Pros

• There is no better way of understanding the human genome
• Ability to produce “superhumans”
• Will all but cease the production of lab animals
• Medicinal methods will be thrusted into a new era
• Further understanding of our past (i.e. Evolution, creating, big band, etc.)
• Organ transplant waiting lists will be no more

Cons

• Humans are sentient beings, they are no made to be specimens. The are of free will
• Ability to produce “superhumans”
• Countries could clone armies
• If humans can be cloned, it makes them property, which can be sold. Inhuman
• If cloning is relied upon for reproduction and we lose the ability to clone, everyone will have the same genotype and to reproduce would be a sick twist of inbreed
• If everyone has the same genotype, a disease that is fatal for the genotype wipes out the human race” (library.thinkquest.org)

As you can probably tell, by reading above, that cloning can really be beneficial as much as it can be harmful, or vice versa. While it can appear to destroy lives through the possibility of a deadly disease, it can also appear to save lives through the cloning of human donors. That is why the issue of human cloning has become such a dispute in society everywhere. However, no matter where you go, whenever the topic of cloning is brought up, it is always mentioned that we don’t know enough about human cloning to actually go through with it. Which, more or less, is a correct statement. We need to know everything there is about the human cloning to ensure there will be no major negative results. But how will we ever know unless we try it? That debate seems to be how society, in general, feels about human cloning, which has a variety of opinions.

As is the case with most topics of controversy, the opinions that society has on human cloning are of great variety. Be that as it may, the overall feeling of cloning in society appears to be bad. In a poll that appeared all across North America, Time/CNN asked, “Is cloning a good idea or bad idea?” (Gibbs, 02/19/01) The results were a landslide – 90% said cloning is a bad idea, while only 10% said it was good. Despite the leanness towards cloning being a bad idea, there have also been many cases in society that have been voiced in it’s approval. For example, “While human cloning might not offer great benefits to humanity, no one has yet made a persuasive case that it would do any real harm, either.” (Macklin, 03/10/97) And, as well as that, “Cloning is the key to humanity’s future.” (Boyce, 07/09/01) Nevertheless, the fact of this still remains, the majority of society feel that it is a bad idea. But why you ask? In another poll that appeared across North America, Time/CNN asked, “What is the main reason you are against cloning humans?” (Gibbs, 02/19/01) The results were close, but are as follows: 34% said they are against human cloning because of religious belief, 22% said that it interferes with human individuality, 22% also that it could be used for questionable purposes like breeding a superior race, and finally, 14% said the technology is dangerous. Although there was a large gap between each result, there appears to be one significant reason to why society feels human cloning is a bad idea – religious and ethical belief.

It’s no secret that religion is against human cloning, as they are the most passionate about what is right and wrong in this world. Obviously, to them, cloning is very wrong and is an act of God’s work. Some religious views on cloning include: “Cloning is entirely Gods work; he makes about 4 000 a day through identical twins.” (Gibbs, 02/19/01) “For a scientist to do mechanically what God does naturally is to interfere with his work, and no possible benefit can justify that presumption.” (Gibbs, 02/19/01) “If God had meant for man to fly, he would have given us wings. And if God had meant for man to clone, he would have given us spores.” (Bailey, 05/01/97) While it is apparent that this opinion will not soon change, there are some religions, very few, that agree with human cloning. Of these, is the Raelians, who “are a religious group committed to welcoming the first extra-terrestrials when they appear and are convinced to create the first cloned human.” (Gibbs, 02/19/01) With that being said, even religion has it’s agreement with human cloning, which is just a fragment of the belief that that there are two sides to every story.

In conclusion, I would just like to say that the controversy that revolves around human cloning will never be resolved, at least not in the near future. While the fact is that “98% of human embryos never implant or die off gestration or soon after birth,” (Gibbs, 02/19/01) it is also a fact that human cloning can save possibly save lives. (Ex, “a grieving couple whose child is dying” Macklin, 03/10/97) Ethically and morally human cloning appears to be wrong, but will this stop scientists from doing it? As I stated above, there is no real answer to the question if cloning is right or wrong, and there is no telling what the results of a human clone may be. That being said, is cloning the greatest breakthrough in scientific history, or is it a timebomb waiting to detonate? The answer to that questions relies upon time and the future of civilization.

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From the beginning of human existence, man has identified ways to improve the standard of living. Electricity was one of these identified ways. The development of electricity led to the creation of electrical engineering, a challenging vocation that changed and improved our way of life. In this paper I will discuss the history of electrical engineering, the preparation for becoming an electrical engineer, and the actual career.

The history of electrical engineering is rather recent, but it is based on ancient ideas. Electricity and magnetism are the two bases for electrical engineering. The Greeks were the first to discover the nature of attraction of amber and lodestone. The Chinese, on the other hand, were the first to control the power of magnetism. Therefore, they understood how to magnetize steel from lodestone. The Chinese used their knowledge of magnetism to create the first compass in the third century A.D. Then came the first dedicated observers of magnetism, Roger Bacon and Peter Peregrinus, during the Renaissance period. Dr. William Gilber also wrote the first meaningful book, De Magnete, about electrical science in the 1600Тs. Gilbert discovered the first electrical instrument, a versorium, which is an electroscope for detecting the presence of an electrical charge. There were many others who contributed to the advancement of electrical engineering such as: Robert Boyle, Otto von Guericke, Benjamin Franklin, Aslessandro Volta, Luigi Galvani, Georg Simon Ohm, Michael Faraday and many more. Robert Boyle, in 1675, wrote about the mechanical origins or production of electricity. Otto Von Guericke, of Magdeburg, Germany, observed, for the first time, sparks and heard crackling sounds when attaching objects using magnetism. Benjamin Franklin was a giant in electrical science. He coined the terms “conductor” and “nonconductor”. He also theorized that lightning was an electrical display (History of Electricity 1). Aslessandro Volta created the volt, the unit of electromotive force, in 1900. Luigi Galvani was a professor of anatomy at the ancient University of Bologna (Kingsford 17). He discovered, when experimenting with dead frogs and electricity, that frogsТ legs twitched when two different metals, copper and zinc, were made to contact them. This was significant because it led Volta to finding the Voltaic pile, the first electric battery. Georg Ohm discovered Ohm’s Law when at Cologne caring out experiments (20). Michael Friday was one of the greatest scientists of all time. He has been compared in greatness to Galileo and Isaac Newton (21). Friday brought electricity and magnetism together and discovered a new source of current, electromagnetic induction. His discovery was the basis for the electric motor and laid down the laws of electrolysis. Without all these contributions by the founders of electricity, our technology would not be as advanced as it is today.

College preparation is key to becoming a successful engineer. Consequently, it is beneficial to find others that are interested in electrical engineering. Being involved with students who have similar interests, most likely, will improve one’s chances of success. Likewise, one should meet with one’s high school career counselor and ask what kind of classes one must take to prepare for an engineering major in college. A person interested in engineering should get suggestions as to what must be done to prepare for such a career. Thirdly, one should ask parents for support and advice to advance one’s exploration in engineering. In addition, one should let teachers know of his interest in electrical engineering in case they can provide more information (Jets). Chris Abrahamsen of Pace Engineering said, “I prepared for electrical engineering by taking all the math and science classes I could in high school. I also worked one summer while in college to help determine what area of electrical engineering I would like to pursue.”

If one wants to be an engineer, keep up with one’s communication skills. I often write reports that are technical in nature that need to be simple enough for a non-engineer to read and understand. I used to hate English, but now I spend just as much time attempting to clearly communicate with others in writing as I do in performing actual engineering work. I wish I paid more attention in my English classes in school. (Abrahamsen)

In preparation for the decision of which field of engineering one is interested in, one could job shadow an engineer. Also, one could get involved with some engineering related projects in society (Jets). These projects can let one know about certain disciplines and if these disciplines are of interest. The steps to preparing for engineering seem quite basic, but completing all will be time consuming and extremely difficult.

Electrical engineers regularly apply what was learned in college in their daily work. For example, at Cal Poly University, the Electrical Engineering Department’s goal is to educate students to achieve excellence in the discipline of electrical engineering. This is why Cal Poly S.L.O is considered to be one of the best electrical engineering colleges. The engineering program at Cal Poly is difficult to get into. One must have worked extremely hard and one must have received outstanding grades in high school to be admitted. Cal Poly tries to educate their students to the point where they can apply their knowledge to practical problems (Cal Poly).

Electrical engineering graduates should be looking at many job opportunities since electrical engineering is supposed to grow with the average of all other occupations. Job openings will be due to the increased demand for electronic goods, including advanced communications equipment and defense related electronic equipment. For example, in 2000, electrical engineers held 288,000 jobs. For example, electrical engineers were employed by: business consulting firms, government agencies and manufacturers of electrical, electronic, computer and office equipment (Occupational Outlook Handbook). Electrical engineering, despite being an impacted major, has a promising outlook as a career after college.

Electrical engineers are characterized by specific categories and for whom they work. The main purpose of an electrical engineer is to: design, develop and supervise the manufacture, installation, operation and maintenance of electrical systems (Job Guide). In todayТs technological society there are building/construction, public work, educational institution, military, and design house engineers (Electrical Engineers). None of the subcategories is better than another. Personal preference determines which one an engineer will choose to pursue.

Much of the research done, concerning electrical engineering, is done in cooperation with industrial and government institutions. The main topics of research are: electronics, control, communications, computing and power systems (Kreuzer). Since electrical engineers are expected to be able to calculate every element within their field, they are highly trained through “higher education” (Electrical Engineers). The different engineering departments often team up and work together. For example, electrical engineers may team up with mechanical engineers to design equipment with electrical control (Electrical Engineering). The work opportunities within the electrical engineering field are numerous and varied. Thus, it appears to be an exciting career in which to be involved.

Electrical engineers make a beginning salary that is often determined by the number of years of college one completed. The median salary for an electrical engineer was $64,910 in 2000. Graduates with master degrees have an average starting salary of $63,812 per year. Graduates with doctorate degrees make an average of $79,241 per year. The highest ten percent of engineers earned more than $94,490 a year. According to a 2001 salary survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, electrical engineers received a starting salary of $51,910 per year (Occupational Outlook Handbook). Although electrical engineering is not one of the highest paid careers available, it will provide for the economic needs of most.

The life of an electrical engineer is interesting, complex and varies from engineer to engineer. For Chris Abrahamsen, “A typical workday is from 8:00-5:00. Usually there are projects that I am working on which require electrical engineering design. Some of the projects might involve water/wastewater facilities, office buildings, schools etc.” Electrical engineering hours are similar to most other jobs. One might sometimes put in over time with or without pay. A person’s conscientiousness and dedication most often determines how successful one will be. Electrical engineers must keep up with new technologies.

Keeping up with technology is an on going process. I attend regular conferences and seminars to keep up with the most recent technology. I also subscribe to numerous technical journals and magazines, which I never seem to have enough time to read. Also, manufacturing representatives often drop by my office and let me know of their latest products. In order to keep my professional registration in the state of Arizona I am required to attain a certain number of continuing education units (CEU) every other year. (Abrahamsen)

One must also love the job in order to be successful at it. One should not go into a career because it makes a lot of money if one cannot stand doing the work. One could suffer from “burn out”, which may cause the quality of work to suffer. Chris Abrahamsen said this about his job as an electrical engineer, “I very much enjoy my job. I enjoy the variety of things I do and the fact that none of our projects are exactly the same. I enjoy the challenge of solving difficult problems and seeing the results afterward.” Electrical engineering is not a career for the average person. One must be interested in math and science and enjoy problem solving.

The founders of electricity did our society a great service. They made a difference by developing a science that has greatly improved our way of life. Not many Americans go through a day when they do not turn on one electrical appliance, use something electronic, or deal with something that uses magnetism. If scientists did not discover electricity, our society, today, would not be as advanced.

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Sociology has had many effects on medicine over recent years. Medicine historically was seen as being down to scientific knowledge and that illness was caused by certain bodily problems. In regards to mental health, for many years it was treated as illness that was due to personality of the individual. Sociology helped to show that mental illness is not down to the individual’s mental state entirely but can be affected by the social surroundings. On this basis it ruled out, many of the traditional views that up until than had been based around the biomedical model. Sociology has also enabled us to look into the reasons why mental illness occurs and means available for the treatment of the illness. This essay will look at theses three areas and try and show in what way sociology has given a better understanding of them today.

Doctors have drawn up the Bio-medical model and it is the model that all western medicine is based on. The five assumptions that it centres around have in recent time been subject to much scepticism and criticism. It is clear to most sociologists that the model is not representative of all modern illness and therefore it lacks and that it is a very narrow approach to all kinds of illness be it physical or mental. The model fails to take into account much of what surrounds mental health problems. By using the model to categorise all health issues it means that mental health has to be put under one of the five assumptions and is therefore treated accordingly. It fails to take into account what it is that might cause mental deterioration. Also much of the model is based on old stereotypical ideal, which have come under scrutiny from feminist who argue that the model takes away much of the traditional roles particularly in childbirth which was taken in as a medical condition thus changing the way in which undertaken. By using the basis of the bio-model many mental illness have been placed under the umbrella of a clinical illness and so therefore enabling them to be treated under a medial condition. As Tyrer and Steinberg say ‘ in a model making era there can be a risk to identify clinical entities prematurely and this may lead a person into difficulties’. This is the case with the bio-medical when it comes to mental illness. The bio-medical model scientific basis can claim superiority over alternative forms of healing. Because of the scientific basis of the model it can push out other traditional or modern form of treatment. The can relate directly to they way in which the patient is treated in regard to their illness. If the person is treated for a mental illness that a doctor has diagnosed according to the symptoms and treats using drugs and as a mental illness then they are using the medical model. If the doctor looks a t the surroundings of the individual and tries to see what has caused this mental imbalance then that is a total different approach. This is what sociology has done to show what the inadequacies are caused by the bio-medical model. It has looked beyond the lines with which diagnosis reached and looked for other symptoms in a persons life that could have caused the problem ‘as the bulk of ‘mental illness’ has no proven bodily cause.’ So by saying that there is no biological explanation for many mental illnesses then it does not seem that should be treated as if they fitted into the model.

Over history mental illness has been stereotyped to mean certain things. Going along way back it was said to have been a singe of the devil and other supernatural possessions and was stigmatised against due to this. Only until fairly recently has some of this stigma been taken away. Women have always statistically been more prone to mental related illness. This gendered view was seen due to people believing that women were weaker than men. In Freud’s study in 1885 on psychoanalysis in Paris this is clear. He believed that this only affected women so all his research was done using female patients and so the results were entirely one sided. Sociology has opened up a new side into the study of the causes of mental illness. It has looked into the social reasons behind it. There are many social reasons why someone might suffer from mental illnesses. People now recognise that it can be caused through the direct result of other actions such as child abuse, divorce, motherhood and financial stress. All these circumstances and more can result in the mental illness of some kind. Economic pressures are a common cause of several illnesses namely schizophrenia that had much higher occurrences in poorer areas, this study was done in Chicago in the 1930’s. There are several reasons for illness being more common in poorer areas, one being the ‘drift’ affect which is loss of earning through poor health which results in the health deterioration more as there is no financial support. And those in higher have a better standard of living so are less likely to be faced with the same kind of social stress. Pilgrim and Rogers say that there is definite correlation between the two ‘it can be demonstrated unequivocally that social stress is correlated with social class.’ This is related to Marist critique of the bio-medical model as it a direct consequence of capitalism that a class in more susceptible to contract illness through a direct result of their economic status. Also they think that the medical profession is run by the educated upper class whose interest it is to keep the lower classes happy as they make up the workforce needed for the growth of the economy.

Sociology has helped change many of the ideas surrounding the treatment and the cure of the problem of mental illness. Prevention is better then cure so it more worthwhile for health agencies to try and prevent the increase in the number of people who suffer. This is very hard in the case of mental illness as is it often near impossible to predict in a person. Social welfare in areas of poverty to give people support when going through problems can try and catch the problem before it develops into a full-grown mental illness. There have been some efforts made by the medical profession to try and prevent illnesses in general including mental health by setting up health promotion clinics around areas that are prone to certain types of illness. Recently we have seen the decrease in the believe that hospitals and technological medicine and the rise in the primary health care due to the medical profession basing much of their finding on technology and the bio-model and also in biographical and holistic medicine. In recent times there has been an increase in the number of patients that have been diagnosed with a mental illness and not the other way round as you might expect with the advances made in medical knowledge. This may not be due to the more cases but the fact that more people are willing to accept that they suffer from a mental illness and will approach their doctor more openly especially in men. So statistically there might not be singe that strategies for cure and prevention don’t show a decrees.

Sociology has played a key role in the development into the study of mental health it clearly shows that there is a problem with the bio-model in regarded to the treatment of mental health and due to it has been phased out over the years no longer be at the forefront of modern medicine when it comes to these problems. It s inadequacy to be flexible to patients that do not fit within its five ‘assumptions’ are the reason for this. Likewise is the causation of the mental illness. Only as recently as two hundred years ago people believed that women had smaller brains than men and it was due to this that were susceptible to contract mental conditions. Women have been particularly affected through history by mental illness due to gendered approach that was made towards medicine in particular this area. This gendered view and the fact that more men are suffering from mental illnesses now than ever shows the shift in these believes. Sociology has helped bring this understanding about that it is caused as much by social surrounding and situation as anything. And finally the strategies that have been used to cure, care and prevent these illnesses are based around these findings so cure is shifting towards the social environment rather than the drugs being given. This makes treatment for ill patients far more relaxing and easer to get through than being put in a institution and left there until they are deemed better by doctors. And without this study into the illnesses by sociologist and other social sciences the medical profession might not have made the step forward in the treatment for mentally ill patients.
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Alzheimer’s disease is a progressive, degenerative disorder that affects the brain cells. It is not a normal part of aging and it is also not something that happens inevitably in later life. The disease was named after Dr. Alois Alzheimer, a German physician in 1906, after he had performed an autopsy on the brain of a dead woman who had experienced severe memory loss, confusion and difficulty understanding questions; and found dense deposits around her nerve cells. It is the most common type of dementia, which is a progressive dysfunction of the brain which results in a restriction of daily activities.

Alzheimer’s disease can be diagnosed by means of an autopsy, which is a special surgical operation performed by specially trained physicians on a dead body to learn the truth about the person’s health during life and how they died. Scientists can make an accurate diagnosis by performing a history and physical examination and measuring memory capabilities and psychological status checks. Early diagnosis can help the treatments that are available which work best in the earliest stages of the disease. If one feels they are at risk of getting the disease or you have symptoms of the disease, contact your physician and schedule an appointment to have neuro-checks done you. Does it mean that if you forget or misplace something you have Alzheimer’s disease? The answer is, no, you need a doctor to confirm that you have it, because we all forget something sometimes but that does not really mean you have the disease.

The first symptom of the disease is forgetfulness. A person may have trouble remembering events, activities or the names of familiar people. Simple math problems may become hard to solve. In the later stages, a person may forget how to do simple tasks like brushing teeth or combing their hair, because they can no longer think clearly. They also begin having problems speaking, understanding, reading or writing. Later on a person with Alzheimer’s disease may become anxious and aggressive or wander away and eventually needs total care.

Major warning signs of Alzheimer’s disease include but are not limited to; asking the same question over and over again, repeating the same story, forgetting how to cook, losing one’s ability to pay bills, getting lost in familiar surroundings, neglecting to bathe, or wearing the same clothes repeatedly whilst insisting they had a bath or have changed clothes and relying on someone else to make decisions they used to make.

The causes of Alzheimer’s disease are not yet known but some risk factors include, person’s age; Alzheimer’s disease mostly affects people around the age of 65 but some cases have been reported in people as young as 35 years old, another risk factor is family history; scientists believe that genetics play a role in many Alzheimer’s disease cases. If someone in a family had the disease, it is most likely that other people in the same family will have it too. Education, diet, viruses and environment are some of the other causes highlighted.

According to the Alzheimer’s Association, the largest national voluntary health organization dedicated to research and helping those affected by the disease, it is estimated that about 4.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease. By 2050 the estimated range of people with it will be 11.3 million to 16 million Americans. In a 1993 survey 19 million people said they had a family member with the disease and 37 million knew someone who had it. The United States society spends $100 billion a year on Alzheimer’s disease. The federal government estimates spending $598.9 million on research by the year 2002. A person with the disease lives an average of eight to twenty years from the onset of symptoms. These estimates are according to surveys conducted by the Alzheimer’s Association, who can be contacted by telephone or by visiting their website.

There is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but there are several drugs like aricept, exelon, cognex and reminyl, that may help symptoms from getting worse for a limited time. Researchers are in the process of finding a cure. Some ways of preventing the disease are; eliminating aluminum exposure via cookware, foil, underarm deodorants, drinking water and drinks packaged in aluminum-lined cartons, undergoing body and brain detoxification programs and by drinking lots of water daily.

Because there is currently no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, everyone should be involved in the fight to find a cure for it. Individuals can help by supporting the families of those affected and by also volunteering some time with the victims. I spend at least ten hours a week in a nursing home helping these people. If you contact any nursing home or assisted living and inquire about volunteer opportunities, they will gladly give you all the information you need. I will also be participating in this year’s Alzheimer’s memory walk in November at the Dallas Zoo. This is an event held annually to raise funds to help find a cure for the disease. More information about the disease and how to help can be found on the Alzheimer’s Association website, www.alz.org. They have events throughout the year to help raise funds for research. There you can make donations too. Your contribution can make a difference.
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The problem is a familiar one to international brand marketers. The company may be strong and well positioned around the world, with some great brands. And to achieve growth there is an aggressive agenda to develop through acquisitions, expansion into new markets and constant innovation. But globalization brings unique problems. Should you develop regional or global centers of innovation and development, or remain essentially decentralized? Clearly business is transacted at a country level and local management know their market better than anyone, but expansion brings the need to manage regional or global brands and develop common practices across the organization.

Some companies have made a choice to remain decentralized in order to remain responsive to local market needs, but globalization is affecting everyone–and the emergence of regional and global retailers is placing a new emphasis on manufacturers to understand and manage their regional and global businesses.

For most companies, the problem is not lack of information–in fact, quite the opposite is generally true. In addition to internal sources providing financial and production data, there is a host of external sources providing information on markets, consumers and retailers.

Unfortunately, they all tell different stories. The question is, which one gives the true picture? The frustrating response is usually that they all do, because they are intended to measure category and brand performance within a specific market, with specific brand positioning, its own set of competitors and its own language. So it’s not surprising that when companies do set up regional or global centers, the information they receive is difficult to handle. It’s been developed to meet a different need.

Finding the Right Level
For a regional or global business center to be effective, it must be both innovative and creative–a focal point where company knowledge and ideas can be shared across the organization. In order to play this role it needs to gather local information and make the right connections between important local developments. At ACNielsen, we recognize that the regional or global information strategy should reflect the shape of the organization and the strategic priorities which drive company growth. These information strategies fall broadly into three groups: the local model, the multi-local model and the global model.

The Local Model
In this version, the primary business focus is local markets. Management and budget control is essentially country-based with some limited coordination at the center. The information in this model is strongly country focused and reflects local market definitions and local competitors– tactical information to deal with each local retail and consumer environment. Although extremely responsive to local market changes, this model makes it more difficult to optimize the brand portfolio and exchange knowledge across the organization.

The Multi-local Model
In many ways the multi-local is the most difficult model to develop because it demands a high level of information sharing and yet a local sense of autonomy. Here the regional centers seek to network informally with the countries in order to share knowledge and information. Because there are regional or global brands, some activities such as specific multi-country brand roll-outs are managed at a regional or global level. However, the management approach remains essentially decentralized. Information is structured in a similar way across countries, with the ability to view category segments, competitors and brands in a consistent way across borders. At the detailed level, however, information remains local-formulated for local retailer negotiations.

The Global Model
This model is characterized by one global center or a small number of regional centers responsible for all strategic marketing and product development–increasingly organized around categories. Market information is fully harmonized to ensure that category definitions, segmentation and products are aligned as far as possible across countries. In these organizations, the regional or global center innovates and takes the lead in the sharing of knowledge and best demonstrated practices for their business sector–made easier by the level of harmonization existing between local operations.

These models are not necessarily set at different points on an evolutionary scale, and in the past, companies frequently tested one model or the other as corporate philosophy changed. Now however, the trend is generally in one direction–and as globalization develops, certain factors are emerging which will challenge the traditional local information model. Perhaps the most significant of these is the emergence of the global retailer.

Retailers Beyond Traditional Borders
As a shopper it may be easy to overlook retailer expansion across borders. We might not associate a local supermarket chain in Bangkok or Mexico City with global retailing, but it’s increasingly likely that it will be owned by a multinational retailer. Groups such as Carrefour, Ahold and Wal-Mart already have thousands of stores operating across four continents, and they are continually seeking to maximize global scale by acquiring companies who match their geographical and operational blueprints.

In this environment of rapid global growth, retailers face a similar information challenge to manufacturers in understanding masses of different local data sets. However, as global retailer technology and harmonization techniques improve, a transparency will emerge, enabling retailers to compare supplier performance across countries. A good example can be found in Europe, where it is already acknowledged that the introduction of the euro will accelerate pricing transparency for both retailers and manufacturers.

No surprise perhaps, that some multi-national manufacturers have already established regional or global teams whose sole purpose is to manage a retailer customer across every aspect of the relationship. The traditional, country-centric relationship model is making way for the regional model and subsequently the global model, in which discussions will focus on regional or global sourcing–and where understanding cross-border business performance will be critical to successful negotiations.

Measuring Global Performance
How do the different information models measure up in this race toward Globalization? It may be easy to dismiss the Local Model as outdated, but its great strength is its agility to respond to local consumer needs. The threats to this model however, are an unwieldy brand portfolio and less chance to reduce spiralling costs by transferring knowledge and best practice. The local model is well placed to drive the local business, but is unlikely to provide the information harmony needed to face a global retailer.

There is no doubt that the Multi-Local and Global information models will have the advantage of decision-making based on a common core of information across countries. Perhaps the optimum model is one where the regional or global center can analyze a strong core of common information across all operating units. This equips them for cross-border retailer negotiations and deliver economies of scale, but has to be balanced by a recognition of local information needs to encourage enterprise and flexibility in country business units.

So what happens next? The advance of technology will ensure that there is no lack of information on either side of the negotiating table. But as the volume and detail of information expands, we can expect international manufacturers and retailers alike to seek common standards of information to be the basis of regional and global decision-making. Without this, there can be no shared understanding of the facts. As a brand owner, how do you review the regional performance of your brand if there is no agreement about how your category is defined or measured?

At ACNielsen we are committed to helping our retailer and manufacturer clients make sense of globalization by recommending a level of harmonization appropriate for their organization. There is no “one size fits all strategy” that can deliver the information needed to make global business decisions.

One thing is certain: as globalization gathers pace and companies make new acquisitions and enter new markets and categories, the complexity of harmonizing information across borders can only increase. Although growth can sometimes be painful, there may never be a better time to think about a global information strategy.
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Programming procedures allow programming practices to become standardized. This enables a programmer to quickly come up to speed when troubleshooting and making modifications to an existing application. Programming guidelines should contain scheduling requirements, a quality checklist, and some general design guidelines. The components included in a programming procedure not only enable a programming team to build a more robust application but also save costly maintenance time when the application crashes or has enhancements that need to be incorporated.

Code Standards
Code standards are a critical part of programming, especially when a program is being developed by a team. A variable naming conventions allows variables to be named in a format that is consistent and definitive. The Hungarian variable naming convention consists of small lower-case prefixes added on to a variable name with the first letter of words capitalized.

A naming convention must also be adhered to for controls. By using Hungarian Notation to name controls, a programmer has the ability to standardize the structure, coding style and logic of an application. Below is a sample of the Hungarian Notion used for naming controls.

Indentation guidelines are another important part of code standards. A programmer should use blank lines and Tabs for formatting to enhance readability. Correct indentation for all control structures should be adhered to.

Internal Documentation Requirements are yet another component of code standards. Pseudo code and a testing checklist should be submitted with any application. This will help other programmer quickly come up to speed and will ensure that the testing phase of application development is thorough and successful.

Scheduling Requirements
In order to make our group deadline, each individual must be able to post their parts to the newsgroup two days before the actual deadline. Reason being is so each team members can review the product and revise anything that needs revising. A chosen person can merge all the documents together to make it one seamless product. Each individual who turns in their part must be well documented and must have their resources documented as well. If a team member needs help, then s/he should not be afraid to ask for help. The one thing that each member needs to remember is to turn in their work on time. You can’t expect your team member to pick up your own part. If you can’t do it, let your team member know and ask for help.

QC Checklist
Having others QC the application can provide a number of quality checks. While it may not seem too important to the programmer to do this in a classroom environment, making a program that a total stranger has to read and understand is critical in the real world. First, when choosing a name for a subroutine or function: be descriptive. A person ought to be able to tell by the name what type of processing will take place. A second area of concern is variable naming. Do the variable names reflect the data types they are? For example, is “int” prefixing all integer variables. We will also evaluate the names of variables using the Microsoft naming standards and ease of use of the application. Finally, the program will be checked for inline documentation of each routine or function. What is being called? Who calls it? Who does it call? Is there anything passed to it that should have a certain range of values? By adhering to some simple rules, it will make the project easier to understand and comment on it.

Design Guidelines/Requirements
One of the many documentation that will be required are ANY sources that was used for the design. Other design documentation that will be required is the original design for the final project. Documentation is essential so that when a person wants to rebuild this product, a person can just take a look at the original design and build it from scratch. Another thing you want to document is any revision that was made after the original product was designed. A design is essential because it organizes the thoughts of the group and from there a flow chart could be made. It is easier to create a product from something that is already organized. Meaning that everything that you want a product to do is laid out for a team to work on and create this product. It makes coding so much easier.

Conclusion
The quality control process is an important one in programming. It provides a guideline to create a standardized set of code for applications and programs. This enables others to view and understand what the program is trying to accomplish in the end. Having the Learning Team go through the quality control process will take it to a new appreciation for programming and group projects. It will get the whole group involved in lending a hand to make each weekly project and enjoyable learning experience. All of this will keep the team moving towards its goal of gaining a better understanding of what it takes to create a quality program.
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Of all the forces shaping human experience today, technology is the least understood. Since the Enlightenment, intellectuals have either ignored technological systems or mythologized them. Few have confronted both the manifold dimensions of the marriage between corporate finance and commercial engineering or the way in which discrete innovations are subordinated to technical architectures, or systems, that alter consciousness and social relations. Given the poverty of technological analysis, it is hard to judge who is more dangerous. The humanist who recoils at the commercial core of technology, or the literate enthusiast who declares a revolution at every turn.

This is not to suggest that nuanced thinkers offer any more compelling explanations than Witold Rybczynski’s (1983) bald insistence that “technology is not everything.” It is correct to say (though of little solace) that a myriad gushing streams flow into the raging river of technology. Consumers invariably learn how to navigate this river whether they ultimately sanctify, modify or simply abandon their various tools. Yet they often are helpless to make sense out of the proliferating technological systems in their midst. The creators of these systems, meanwhile, present their work as a “black box” that eludes the ken of ordinary people. Even they, at times, fail to grasp that their power does not arise from elemental building blocks but durable architectures. The architectures (say, “film” or “the automobile”) are themselves subordinate to larger and less transparent webs of architectures (say, “Hollywood,” or the “car culture”). Historian Thomas Hughes has aptly described these super-networks as “technological systems” (Hughes, 1989; Rybczynski, 1983).

Computer programs are among the most important technological systems. Over the past 25 years, software systems have grown larger and more complex, and they have outgrown their initial niche as handmaiden to computer hardware. Not only do software systems increasingly define the function and quality of computers and computer networks, they also shape the core of many systems, from aviation to military weapons to electronic commerce to health-care delivery. Programming, moreover, is in its infancy. Software systems are likely to become central to bio-engineering and molecular biology. Large-scale research into human genes already has been greatly influenced by software techniques and metaphors.

Despite their importance to modern civilization, software systems have drawn relatively scant attention. This partly stems from the rapid ascent of software. Historians and sociologists of technology have not digested the software explosion. Business analysts and professors, while aware of the costs and consequences of weak management of programming projects, have yet to build strong models for the genesis of software architectures and, more importantly, how and why one architecture gives way to another. These academic models will certainly improve over time, but they have yet to gain a following in the wider world. Programmers certainly have created their own literature, but this rarely ventures beyond specific techniques for producing and integrating code. The one landmark book, written by a programmer for programmers, is The Mythical Man-Month. Based on IBM’s attempts to build software systems in the 1960s, the book is chiefly of historical value (Brooks, 1975).

Studying teams at Microsoft
Because of the lack of basic data (no less theories) on contemporary management of large-scale software projects, in 1992 I set about to chronicle the making of Windows NT, the largest project ever undertaken by Microsoft Corp. and the most ambitious program ever written for a personal computer. My research – largely in the form of interviews with roughly 100 Microsoft employees and a review of hundreds of confidential corporate documents – resulted in a book, Showstopper! (Zachary, 1994).

Though its commercial acceptance grows with every passing month, Windows NT may not rank as a great achievement in software history. A soup-to-nuts operating system designed to manage large databases to computer networks to desktop machines, NT was the culmination of 40 years of software engineering. Its chief lesson is that software systems are wholly human creations. Far from being determined by technical imperatives, software engineering is a curious mix of pop psychology, Rube Goldberg maneuvers and rational design. Code writing is messy, contingent and only partly satisfying. In the drive to build NT, the project’s plans and rationales gave way to the drive for power, the human impulse to gain control – of systems, markets and the shape of things to come.

As much as it says about the making of a software system, the making of Windows NT also can be mined for clues regarding new forms of management and work in innovation industries. Many agree that globalization and technological changes are destroying the hierarchical and bounded jobs that once dominated mass-production and service industries. There is far more debate on emergent managerial structures. To be sure, top-down or autocratic decision-making seems ill-suited for an era where intellectual capital is rapidly overtaking financial capital in importance. Yet the fashionable neo-biological model of self-organization, however elegant and politically correct, is inadequate. It does not describe the experiential core of multinational corporations, or the team-dominated organization.

Team dynamics
For evidence of the new primacy of teams, consider the relation of the NT team to its corporate patron, Microsoft. Members of this team swore allegiance, not to Bill Gates but to their team leaders. There were even teams within the larger NT team. For some members of these sub-teams, the only relationships that mattered were those with colleagues who shared their immediate goals and occupied the same space.

The importance of teams is structural. In every field of engineering, the body of practical knowledge is changing too rapidly to be codified, but this is especially so in the design and coding of software. In software, the costs of codification are so great that there is little incentive to do codify because the resulting text will be outmoded soon. The hoary methods of Fred Taylor and the time-and-motion engineers have no place in workshops where bits and pieces of cyberspace are knit together. Members of teams – the carriers of this knowledge – are thus highly valued, at least for the life of the project, which is all that matters to the team in any case.

If the success of a software project depends on the vitality of its teams, what is the principle that holds many teams together across distances and corporate objectives? It is not unrestrained selfishness and individuality, which is often viewed as the American ideal of teamwork. Nor is it the consensus approach for which the Japanese were lionized in the 1980s.

As the icon for a new corporate structure, Microsoft has fittingly stumbled on a new way of uniting teams under a common banner. This way is best described as “armed truce.” The term makes sense because long, bitter argument and opposition stands behind virtually every significant decision made by any Microsoft team.

As I found in my study of Microsoft, the 250 members of NT’s team were constantly at war, if not with other teams at Microsoft then with each other. Consensus was not sought because it was not desired. Conceptual stalemates did not stymie activists. Dissent was stimulated by allowing team members who disagree with a decision to keep on carping and complaining long after the team has carried out the decision. This incessant whining could be painful, wasteful and embarrassing. But it allowed dissenters to protect their pride and intellectual integrity, which was more important to them than civility. The ethos of “armed truce” also forces advocates of a controversial decision to continually defend themselves. This takes time but has more benefits than might first appear. For months or years a decision may withstand the pressure of “armed truce.” But every tactic, every strategy, eventually loses its relevance. And when it does, it can be discarded more swiftly when team members lay in the weeds, so to speak, with a ready substitute.

In the making of Windows NT, the evidence for my “armed truce” thesis was plentiful. The basic design of the program, which called for a graphics superstructure to trade information ceaselessly with a bedrock kernel, came under repeated attack. The attacks continued even after the first NT release in mid-1993. At crucial junctures, Bill Gates himself sowed seeds of doubt, asking for fresh justifications of this split architecture. Gates and his allies on the team were rebuffed. A second NT release arrived in mid-1994 based on the original design. Only then, when the performance improvements to the program had reached their limit, did the revisionists triumph. The third NT release, shipped in 1996, relied on a unitary graphics-kernel design. Yet still the debate continues.

Conclusions
The experience of Microsoft’s NT team is suggestive of shifts across the corporate landscape. So rapid are technical developments that the core of the corporation is now the team, the only unit small enough to retain its intellectual edge. No matter the size of an enterprise, or whether its goals are market leadership or the pursuit of pure knowledge, the enterprise will come to be defined by the quality and character of its many teams. Corporations thus become vehicles for different teams to realize their aims. The larger the team, the harder it is to chart its nuances, its inner strengths and contradictions. No organization chart can convey the complexities of such enterprises. Few senior managers can capture the value within their own enterprises, much to their embarrassment.

This has huge implications for the management of software projects as well as the economy as a whole. The rise of the team to center of the large corporation will lead to the greatest shift in corporate power since the dawn of the twentieth century when, in the words of eminent business historian Alfred Chandler, “professional managers replaced families, financiers or their representatives as decision makers … [and] modern American capitalism became managerial capitalism” (Chandler, 1977). Managers will thrive in the new regime, but only when they act more like political bosses than technocrats. They must win the endorsement of many team leaders whose local authority springs from their own tribes. The corporation becomes a confederation of teams, constantly on the verge of war with one another yet wedded together by cross-fertilization. The multitude of teams that comprise the cutting-edge corporation are capable of forging a collective identity, but find it rather destructive to do so. Today the essential ingredient in any successful project or enterprise is the capacity for dissent and transformation among its teams.
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