Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy Essay Example for Free

Linking the Balanced Scorecard to Strategy Essay â€Å"Balanced Scorecard† is the tool for motivating and measuring business unit performance with four perspectives financial, customer, internal business processes, and learning and growth. These days, it becomes so complicated and complex to navigate competitive environment, thus some people figured out that balanced scorecard could be used as the tool for linking multiple strategies. It contains both financial and non-financial measures. It was revealed that the measure should include both outcome measures and the performance drivers of those outcomes. It turns out that there are strategic measures for the four perspectives each. First of all, Financial performance measures define the long-run objectives of the business unit. Business units can be categorized into three different stages simply rapid growth, sustain, and harvest. During rapid growth stage, businesses make rational amount of investments to develop and enhance new products and services. During sustain stage, they still attract investment and reinvestment, furthermore they are demanded to earn magnificent returns on their invested capital. During harvest stage, they only focus on maximizing cash flow back to the corporation rather than investment. Moreover, there are financial themes that can be linked to the strategies – revenue growth and mix, cost reduction/productivity improvement, and asset utilization/investment strategy. Secondly, in the Customer perspective, managers identify the customer and market segments. It includes customer satisfaction, customer retention, new customer acquisition, customer profitability, and market and account share in targeted segments. Customer retention defines that retaining existing customers in the segment is the way for maintaining or increasing market share in targeted segments. Customer acquisition identifies acquiring new customers as the way. Customer satisfaction is the matter of meeting customers’ needs and it is the measurement of the feedback. Customer profitability means that businesses want to measure not only the satisfaction of the customer, but also the profitability that customers can evoke. Thirdly, in Internal Business Process perspective, executives identify the critical internal processes in which the organization must excel. It enables business unit to deliver on the value propositions of customers in targeted market segments, and to satisfy shareholder expectations of excellent financial returns. On the other hand, it means there are the process that customer need turned into customer need satisfaction through innovation cycle, operations cycle, and post-sale service cycle. Fourthly, in Learning Growth perspective, it identifies the infra-structure that the organization has to build to create long-term growth and improvement. It comes from three sources that people, systems, and organizational procedures. As I mentioned above, it has been the trend to link and mix multiple scorecard measures into a single strategy. The multiple measures on a properly constructed balanced scorecard should consist of a linked series of objectives and measures that are both consistent and mutually reinforcing. The scorecard should incorporate the complex set of cause-and-effect relationships, outcomes performance drivers and linked to financial. Cause and effect relationships can be expressed by a sequence of if-then statements and pervade all four perspectives of balanced scoreboard. It can be described as the process â€Å"employee skills(learning growth)→process quality/process cycle time(internal) →on-time delivery→customer loyalty(customer) →ROCE(financial)†. Outcomes and performance drivers reflect the common goals of many strategies, as well as similar structures across industries and companies. Therefore, a good balanced scoreboard should have a mix of core outcome measures and performance drivers, that’s why businesses care both outcomes and performance drivers. Even though the strategy should have to emphasize both financial and non-financial measures, in the sense of improving business unit performance, we have to consider financial measures little bit more. Ultimately, causal paths from all the measures on a scorecard should be linked to financial objectives. In conclusion, the balanced scorecard is more than a collection of financial and non-financial measurements. It is the translation of the business unit’s strategy into a linked set of measures that identify both the long-term strategic objectives, as well as the mechanisms for achieving and obtaining feedback on those objectives. This thesis could be applied on the Metro Bank case and National Insurance Company case.

Research on Art Therapy Treatment for Schizophrenia

Research on Art Therapy Treatment for Schizophrenia CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Schizophrenia is a common psychiatric disorder. One to one point five percent of the total population suffers from schizophrenia. The severity of the symptoms and chronic patterns of schizophrenia often causes a high degree of disability. Most of those affected by schizophrenia respond to drug therapy and many are able to lead productive and fulfilling lives. Studies have shown that genetics, neurobiology, environmental, psychological and social factors are important contributory factors of schizophrenia. Some of the recreational activities and medications might cause or worsen symptoms. Researchers in the psychiatric field are now focused on the role of neurobiology, but no single organic cause has been found. Genetic causes could put a person at higher risk for developing schizophrenia and stressful life events could trigger onset of the symptoms. (Sahebarao mahadik, 2008) Schizophrenia is characterized a constellation of distinctive and predictable symptoms. The symptoms that are not commonly associated with the disease are called positive symptoms and negative symptoms. These symptoms will lead to isolation in the patients. Most of them have no insight in to their illness. So they need effective treatment. Complete cure is difficult in case of schizophrenia. So preventive measures and early detection can be focused. The treatment success rate with antipsychotic medications and psychosocial therapies can be high. Early diagnosis intervention in psychosis including promotion of early help-seeking behavior will promote better out come in schizophrenia. The main preventive measures for schizophrenia are decreasing the maternal stress during pregnancy, avoiding x-ray exposure during pregnancy and lowering the level of stress for child while growing up. (Yung AR, 2009). A combination treatment of anti psychotic medication and therapies such as creative art therapy can be used in schizophrenia. One in four people with the illness completely cure within five years. Psychological therapies are the important pathway to treatment. For most patients, symptoms can be decreased and well being can be increased. Creative Art Therapy is especially effective in schizophrenic patients. Art therapies combine the use of art materials with psychotherapeutic techniques that aim to encourage self- expression and promote self-awareness. They appear to be popular with patients and may result in improved mental health; especially reductions in negative and general symptoms of schizophrenia. Which are those least responsive to pharmacological interventions. (Mike j Crawford, 2008). NEED FOR THE STUDY The schizophrenia patients have disturbances in thought and cognitive impairment and one of the most disabling and emotionally devastating illness known to man. Schizophrenia affects up to one in a hundred people at some point and can cause hallucinations, delusions, loss of energy and motivation.Creative psychological interventions such as Creative Art Therapy are widely used in combination with drugs. In world wide 1 to 1.5% population were suffering with schizophrenia. It is often a chronically disabling condition therefore this condition is highly responsible for the population’s morbidity. The incidence rate of schizophrenia is 12-60 in 10000 per year as of 2011, its peak age of onset for men and women are 20-25 and 25-30 respectively. Schizophrenia occurs in all societies regardless of class, colour, religion and culture. (Dr.Robin Murray, 2009). Schizophrenia ranks among the top 3 causes of disability in developed countries worldwide. The main leading cause of mental disability is schizophrenia. The prevalence rate for schizophrenia is 1.1% of the population. It means at any one time 51 million people worldwide suffer from schizophrenia, including 6-12 million people in China, 4.3-8.7 million people in India, 2.2 million people in USA, 285,000 people in Australia, 280,000 people in Canada, 250,000 diagnosed cases in Britan. Rates of schizophrenia are generally similar from country to country about 0.5 to 1% of the population. Another way to express the prevalence of schizophrenia at any given time is the number of individuals affected per 1000 total population. In india,prevalence rate of schizophrenia is 7 per 1000 population. The number of people who will be diagnosed as schizophrenia in a year is about one in 4000. So about 1.5 million people will be diagnosed with schizophrenia in one year, worldwide.(WHO,2012). STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM A study to assess the effectiveness of Creative Art Therapy on positive and negative symptoms among schizophrenic patients in selected psychiatric hospital, Coimbatore. OBJECTIVES To assess the positive and negative symptoms in experimental and control group. To assess the effectiveness of Creative Art Therapy in experimental group. To compare the effectiveness of Creative Art Therapy between experimental group and control group. To associate the findings with selected demographic and clinical variables. OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS Effectiveness: It refers to the outcome of creative art therapy in terms of reducing the positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Creative art therapy: Creative art therapy is a form of expressive Psychotherapy that uses art materials which encourages self-expression of patients in the presence of therapist. Schizophrenic patients: Patient who are in the age group between 20-50 years, suffering from schizophrenia with interference of thinking, emotion and perception in their day today life. Positive and negative symptoms: Positive symptoms of schizophrenia are hallucination, delusion, excitement, aggressive behavior and suicidal tendencies. Negative symptoms of schizophrenia are anhedonia, avolition, blunting affect and alogia. ASSUMPTIONS Schizophrenic patients may face difficulties with positive and negative symptoms. Schizophrenic patients may not be aware of Creative Art Therapy. Creative Art Therapy will be helpful in reducing positive and negative symptoms of schizophrenic patients. HYPOTHESIS H1: schizophrenia patients who receive Creative Art herapy will show a significant reduction in positive symptoms than the patients who do not receive it. H2: schizophrenia patients who receive Creative Art Therapy will show a significant reduction in negative symptoms than the patients who do not receive it. LIMITATIONS The study is limited to, Schizophrenic patients admitted in kongunadu Mananala Arakattalai. Methodological limitations such as small sample size and purposive sampling technique. Schizophrenic patients in the age of 20-50 years. PROJECTED OUTCOMES The study will help the patients to gain a positive attitude towards creative art therapy. The study would enhance the patients to actively involve in the activities. The study will help the patients to reduce the positive and negative symptoms and enhance the healthy life patterns. CONCEPTUAL FRAME WORK The concept is a thought, idea or mental image framed in mind on response to learning something new. A frame work is a basic structure supporting anything. Conceptual frame work deals with abstraction which is assembled by nature of their relevance to a common theme. (Christenson j Paula, 2002). A conceptual frame work is global ideas about the concept in relation to a specific discipline. Conceptual modes are made up of concepts which describe the mental image of phenomena and integrate them in to a meaningful configuration. It is a visual diagram by which the research explains the specific area of interest. One of the important purposes of conceptual frame work is to communicate clearly the relationship of various concepts. (Kerlinger K N, 2002). In this study the researcher adopted modified j w Kenny’s open system model (1991) as a basis for conceptual frame work. according to j w Kenny ,all living systems are open and their in continuous exchange of matter,energy and information,which result in various degree of interaction with the environment from which the system receives input and gives back output in the form of matter,energy and information. System model consists of three phases ie,input throughput and output. Input Based on j w Kenny input can be matter energy and information from the environment. In the present study, environment refers to hospital and input refers to positive and negative symptoms in experimental and control group of patients by using PANSS and collection of demographic data and clinical data from both the group. Throughput According to the theorist, the matter, energy and information is continuously processed through the system, which is also called complex, transformations known as throughput. Process is the use of input i.e. energy and information for the maintenance of homeostasis of the system in the present study. Process includes the providing creative art therapy to experimental group and no intervention to the control group. [[ Output J.W.Kenny noted after processing the input, the system returns to the output (matter, energy and information) to the environment in an altered state. Change is a feature of the process that is observable and measurable as output, which should be different from that which is entered in to the system. In the present study, output is difference in the positive and negative symptoms. Feedback According to the theorist, information of environmental responses to the system, output is utilized by the system in adjustment, correction and accommodation to the interaction with the environment. The effectiveness of Creative Art Therapy on reduction of positive and negative symptoms is considered as the difference observed and expected. 1

A brief history of Fidel Castro

A brief history of Fidel Castro This paper will discuss a brief history of Fidel Castro, his leadership styles, characteristics, and the determinants that occurred during his rise to prominence. It provides his sources of power, and further examines his effectiveness or non effectiveness as a leader. Research on Fidel Castro and his leadership was conducted through online sources which include three academic. Importance: What relationship could be found between the Fidel Castro, the followers, and the situation? What were his perceived positive and negative qualities? What outstanding traits could be detected within Fidel Castro? About Fidel Castro Fidel Alejandro (Ruz) Castro was born in Biran Cuba on August 13th 1926 to Angel Castro and Lina Ruz in the Eastern Province of Cuba. Fidel was the third child of his siblings by father, Angel Castro. Although he was born out of wedlock, he was privileged to upper-middle class living environments. He was educated in a private boarding school, attended college and later went on to Harvard Law School. At Harvard, he became engrossed in the political climate in Cuba especially as it relates to the nationalism, anti-imperialism and socialism. (Castros Biography, 2010) Castro was married to Mirta Diaz Balart. They had one son whose name was Fidelito which meant little Fidel. Her family was wealthy and Fidel Castro capitalized on this opportunity and as a result was exposed to a much wealthier lifestyle and at the same time, was able to network with key political associations. The marriage ended after six years because of a lack of financial support for his family. Mirta was his second wife. (Castros Biography, 2010) Castros enthusiasm for reform and social justice led him to the Dominican Republic in an attempt to help overthrow Mr. Rafael Trujillo. Although this attempt was not successful, this did not deter him from the fight for social justice. He was part of an anti communist party that was formed with the aim of exposing government corruption, developing strategies to gain economic independence and implement social reform in Cuba. Although his attempts to overthrow the leader at the time, General Fulgencio Bartista failed, he never gave up. He was sentenced to jail for those attempted coups but continued the fight to become Cubas leader, in an effort to make the changes he was hoping to fulfill. This long struggle was finally realized on January 1st, 1959 when he assumed the leadership of the government. He appointed his brother, Raul Castro the duties of commander of the armed forces on February 15th 1959. Leader type and history Charismatic leaders are exceptionally self-confident, are strongly motivated to attain and assert influence, and have strong conviction in the moral correctness of their beliefs (House Aditya, p. 416). Fidel Castro is a charismatic and transformational leader. Nahavandi states that transformational leadership includes three factors, of the three we identified these to define Castro; charisma and intellectually simulated that in itself helped Castro achieve the drastic change he sort for Cuba. That is the social and political reform he aimed to achieve as a leader. Were there any cultural characteristics that helped him in leadership? Would he be an effective leader elsewhere? The countrys culture played an important role in the behavior of Fidel Castro. His personality and character evolved as he joined groups and eventually they developed their own culture. Cultural characteristics affect who we consider an effective leader. In Trompenaars study of cross cultural organizational culture, Castro fits in the family category which states that they are power oriented, caring leader; he cared deeply for the poor so much that he took forceful from the rich to give to the poor of his beloved Cuba. He also was focused on building relationships but these relationships should not be overweighed by the outside source. We saw he formed partnership with a number of counterparts such Che Guevara of Mexico, the Soviet Union, Grenada and Africa. (Castros Biography, 2010 and Navandi 2009) Does he reflect any of the concepts of early theories of leadership? Castro demonstrated leadership traits very early in his childhood. Trait theory suggests that leaders are born not made. His qualities as a leader further reiterated this point. Castro had a natural ability to influence his followers. He understood the people of Cuba especially the poor. This had a positive impact on the people of Cuba especially knowing that he was not born into a poor family and was therefore for the poor. As stated in the text Contingency Era theory leadership view is that personality style, behavior of effective leaders depends on the situation in which there are placed (Nahavandi 2009). This was evident when Castro took the opportunity to be a liberator to the people in the time when they were very dissatisfied with the leadership style of the Bartista government. He saw an opportunity to gain trust and followers, and as the person he was took full advantage of the situation. His approach was successful. hence the reason for the massive followers. (Castros Biography, 2010) Castro, because of his characteristics was deemed to become a leader, regardless of the context. Research shows that Castro demonstrated an A2 decision style in the normative decision making model. Nahavandi states that A2 leaders seek specific information however they make the decisions alone. What are the traits and characteristics that make him a leader? As with all leaders he had both positive and negative qualities. In researching, it was noted that the positive qualities at his early stage as Cuban leader outweighed the negatives. His motivation helped the lower class Cubans raise their level of self esteem. He was able to manage the country well, despite the restrictions placed from outside sources namely the United States. As a result, he remained true to his beliefs and values. Most of all he was a challenger; he inspired his followers, took on great responsibilities and showed courage in the face of danger. In an effort to accomplish his goals and objectives, he took the lead in all the coups that were attempted. He never left his followers to enter the battles of war alone. On the other hand, he was a stubborn leader who led with an iron fist. At times, he was believed to be over confident and it was mainly because of his educational background and experience. (Nahavandi 2009) He was an authoritarian leader and as such he was not willing to accept change. This was evident during the early part of his leadership. He was indeed coercive; he displayed this behavior when his subordinates were punished for not following his orders. In our research, we identified Castro as a type A leader and the Nahavandi states that the characteristics and behavior that accompany these types of leaders are their need to be in control. Throughout the entire research there were reports that stated Fidel Castros need to gain control of Cuba and to be its leader. His demonstration of poor delegation, like to work alone and hard working are all characteristics which he possess and are characteristics of Type A leaders. (Nahavandi 2009) Mr. Castro is relatively medium Machiavellian because of his effectiveness as a leader and has had a history of easily manipulating his followers in an effort to achieving his goals and objectives; that was to change Cubas political climate, taking care of the needs of the poor and win support through his message and passion for his people. Careful analysis shows that based on the Myer Briggs Type indicator where he was a little of all the categories. For example, as the sensation thinker he would establish rules and regulations, jump to action too quickly at times and push others to get to the point. The others are not suited to his character. As a sensational feeler, the most applicable is the reluctance to accept change. In the intuitive thinker and feeler categories, these are the two that would apply to Fidel Castro, architect of progress and ideas and good communicator. (Nahavandi 2009) Leadership Style of Fidel Castro Based on our research, Fidel Castro has displayed leadership styles of being both a charismatic and transformational leader. He was more a dictator-charismatic leader. He was able to gather his followers through his charisma as opposed to gathering them through his external power of authority. Fidel was always concerned about the well-being of his people, especially the less fortunate ones. Thus he took away wealth and property from the more fortunate Cubans and distributed to the less fortunate. He had a vision for the people of Cuba and thus was able to use his vision through the people to expand his power. One of his visions was to ensure that the less fortunate had their essential needs. In addition, he promised the people of Cuba free education in which he delivered. By doing this he believed that he was being very sensitive to the needs of his people. Although Fidel was a charismatic leader, he frequently displayed a dictatorship leadership style. The people of Cuba were not allowed freedom of speech. Under his ruling the people of Cuba were not allowed to leave Cuba for a vacation elsewhere. People who did not support his party were reprimanded and not given equal opportunities. Some people of Cuba were even afraid to utter the name, Fidel Castro. Instead they would make a beard pulling sign in order to make someone know they were referring to him. Cubans were also denied access to certain beaches and hotels. This had caused insults to the people of Cuba. (Halliday, 2008). Another element of leadership style displayed by Fidel Castro, was his ability to be a transformational leader in that he had the ability to influence his followers ethics, values and standards. He also showed deep emotions towards his followers. He would also articulate the problems within the system and would endeavor to solve those problems. He also empowered his followers by use of his own strengths and belief. (Marques, 2010) Leadership perspectives of non-profits Leaders of non-profit organizations are associated with having a social mission which include saving the environment, feeding the home and housing the homeless. These leaders also reflect and support ideological goals. Leaders of non-profit organizations also enjoy his/her work and hence they are motivated to perform in the best interest of the organization. Fidel Castro displayed leadership traits very early in his childhood days by showing his determination and self- confidence. This came about during his early childhood days when his friends belonging to the upper class in society did not include him in their many social activities. (Marques, 2010). His leadership reflected the viewpoint from non-profits. Cuba has been a communist country from since 1950, when Fidel Castro took over the government in a rebellion. The concept of communism deals with equality for all and the distribution of wealth. Fidel believed in the equality and he saw the need to meet the needs of those who were less fortunate and those who needed to have the basic needs for survival. Hence the reason why Fidel implemented free health care systems for all Cubans and foreigners. Today, Cuba is known for performing many major surgeries. Children are given free education in primary and secondary level. There is one teacher to every ten Cuban students. Free tertiary education is also given. In terms of infrastructure, the roads in Cuba are adequate, although there are inadequate public transport systems in place. (The First Post, 2010). Communism and Socialism go hand in hand. Cuba is also termed as a socialist country. Under the socialist movement, the Cuban government owns the state and all its industries. The socialist movement allows Cubans to have free access to goods and services. The special needs of the oppressed are addressed under this system. In 1959, Fidel saw the need to socialize the economy because of the economic and political stronghold the United States of America had on Cuba. Fidel believed that the Cuba needed to trade in order to live and under the socialist system this was possible. By doing so, the standard of living was raised by the people of Cuba. The sectors in pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, technically and highly educated workforce, had set apart Cuba from the rest of the third world countries. These positives all occurred under the leadership of Fidel Castro. (Durand, 2003). The absence of participative management style Fidel Castro was known for his authoritative leadership style and therefore did not allow for participative management styles. He was very authoritative and he dictated all the policies and procedures. He directed and controlled all activities without the inclusion of his members of the government or the people of Cuba on a whole. The people of Cuba were not free to leave the country as they pleased. For example, going on a vacation to another country was not allowed. Cubans can travel only if the government authorizes them to do so. He did not include his ministers in his decision making process. He would make the decisions and then advise them. They were not allowed to dispute his decisions. Fidel did not share information with his colleagues. Therefore it was difficult for his Ministers to exhibit their skills and talents. His ministers were not allowed to determine work schedules for the development of Cuba, neither were they given enough opportunities to make decisions regarding the budget for the country. Fidel and his brother Raul made many of those decisions. This resulted in his ministers and followers were not motivated and they felt that they were not given the opportunity to be part of many of the decisions he made. Because of his leadership style, creativity and innovation were two crucial elements his ministers were lacking. The only time Fidel delegated his powers, was when he got sick and was unable to rule Cuba any longer. He delegated his power to his younger brother, Raul Castro. Raul was given the leadership by Fidel Castro. The people of Cuba were not given the opportunity to vote for a leader. In this instance we can conclude that nepotism was a factor in his decision making. (The First post, 2010). Participative management is very important in organizations because leaders and managers should seek to make the most of its followers. Their followers should be given the opportunity be part of the decision making process. By doing so, new ideas can be developed and implemented for the betterment of the organization. (Author unknown, 2010). Leader of change? Fidel Castro could not be considered a leader of change because he believed that his way is the right way and he believed in the communism concept. He wanted power over the entire Cuban nation and did not want any intrusion from the outside forces, especially the United States of America. He believed in what he stood for and was very rigid in his decision making process. His autocratic and dictatorship styles were strong indicators that Fidel did not want change in his way of thinking and his decision making process. Yes he wanted change in terms on wealth and property being evenly distributed throughout the country. When Fidel came into power, rent was cut by fifty percent (50%) for people who received low wages. He nationalized the telephone companies and the rates were cut in order that civilians were able to pay their utility bill. Casinos and nightclubs were closed down by Fidel because he saw those two institutions as corruption for the country. A high percentage of the Cuban population was illiterate. Many persons in rural areas could not read or write. Since Fidel took office, free education was given to all the people of Cuba. In terms of the health systems, new training schools were built for doctors. Infant mortality rate fell when he came into power. However, he did not want change in terms of another political party ruling Cuba. Fidel was of the opinion that his leadership style was best suited for the people of Cuba. He wanted change in terms of corruption. (Simkin, 2010). Fidel was adamant about remaining in power without any interference from outside sources and he strongly believed that his country should be ruled the way in which he ruled. Because of his strong will and influence on many of his followers, he did not want to be removed from power, because he believed that he was the best ruler for Cuba. Therefore, he did not want any changes to come about regarding his ruling or leadership style. He refused to hold free elections for the people of Cuba because he did not want change. (Simkin, 2010) How did Fidel Castro develop Raul to be a leader Fidel Castro relinquished his power in February 2008, to his brother Raul Castro and as stated earlier in this paper, the people of Cuba were not given an opportunity to vote. His brother Raul was placed in his position. Many of the people of Cuba believe that Raul has many character traits as his brother Fidel, hence the reason why Fidel handed over power to him. It is believed that Fidel and Raul have a very close relationship and that Raul will follow in his footsteps. During Fidels rule, Raul was the other person he would consult with whenever he would need to make a decision. Raul, like his brother Fidel is concerned about the distribution of food to individuals who face constant problems with shortages. This was also one of the factors that Fidel fought for his people. Raul under Fidels leadership believed in the same. Raul believed in the same ideologies as his brother Fidel. He also believed that Cuba should remain a communist state, because communism would allow for the people of Cuba to have equal rights. While Raul may aim to make minor changes in Cuba, one of the factors that would remain is the animosity between Cuba and the Unites States of America. It can be concluded that Raul being trained as leader under Fidel, this issue may take a very long time to resolve, it if will be resolved at all. While Fidel was in power, his brother Raul was laying the ground work for the rebuilding of Cubas economy. Fidel was able to suggest ideas to his brother Raul to be successful in this venture. (Roig-Franzia, 2008). Conclusion Fidel Castro used his strategic insight to work his way into ruling Cuba, when people were dissatisfied with the ruling of Batista. Today Fidel is still not liked by many Cubans because the people do not live in a democratic society. They are not free to live the lives like many other civilians in other parts of the world. Because of his resilience he did not allow the viewpoints of others which is one of the main reasons many Cubans fled the country. His overconfidence revealed superiority in knowledge and his stubborn practices caused him to rule with an iron fist. The paper also outlined how effective he was as a leader in terms of getting his followers to comply with his decisions and the cultural characteristics were also looked at, and how it helped him in his leadership style. The concepts of early theories were also outlined and in addition the sources of power and how he used his power to influence his followers. Fidel showed the transformational leader he was in terms of influencing his followers and paying attention to their ethics, long term goals and standard. Despite his autocratic ruling, he was a hard worker and he demonstrated it. He also demonstrated courage in that he took risks and knowing that his way may fail. Whenever he failed, he got right back up and tried again. In terms of communication, Fidel did little communication with his subordinates. He made his decisions and executed them whether or not his followers were pleased with them. He was determined, and had the willpower to rule Cuba and thus he fought the outsiders who tried to take over from his ruling. He was never discouraged by setbacks. He saw setbacks as part of the learning process. Fidel had both positive and negative traits as a leader. This was exemplified by his way of ruling Cuba. He is a well known politician, and will be remembered by the people of Cuba and the world on a whole. He will be remembered for his autocratic and dictatorship leadership styles. He will also be remembered for helping the less fortunate people of Cuba. He was an active member of the guerilla movement. This was a stepping stone to becoming political leader of his party and ruler of Cuba. Today, many believe that his brother Raul will rule Cuba the same way his brother did. Since Raul took over in 2008, there have not been many changes in the leadership style. Raul has inherited his brothers leadership qualities. (Marques, 2010)

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace :: Workplace Harassment Essays

According to the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) the definition of sexual harassment is â€Å"Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when this conduct explicitly or implicitly affects an individual’s employment, unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance, or creates an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work environment.† Regardless of position in company or type of candidate it is against the law to make passes or harass one because of their sex or gender. In order to harass a person it does not have to necessarily be physical contact but this regulation also includes any offensive verbal context that anyone may say towards a person’s sex and/or gender. Also, a lot of times sexual harassment is based on personal opinion, meaning what may come off as offensive to one person another may be fine with working. A good example is if a woman is wearing a blue dress and makes a random comment of saying â€Å"I really do love the color blue on women.† All depending how the woman wearing a blue dress perceives the comment will depend on whether or not she feel the person was looking at her and how the comment was said in her eyes. Sex and/ or Gender play absolutely no role in whether or not you can be sexually harassed any side of sexual harassment can be played by any sex and/or gender. A third party of someone that heard or saw the sexual harassment also has the right to file sexual harassment charges, so technically that person does not have to be involved in the situation directly. With sexual harassment there is a very gray area because unfortunately it does not allow teasing, general comments and minuet one on one problem. Harassment is so serious it is a criminal offense, but it also creates a terrible environment for productivity and plays a vital role many times in position movement in the company or organization. Sexual harassment is a form of sexual bigotry and is written into law with Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. To be specific this title only extends to that employer of 15 or more workers and is included for everyone from federal governments to employment agencies. Sexual harassment cases are inspected by the EEOC on a case-by-case basis usually after the victim has told or made it obvious that the harasser should stop.

Electric Vehicles: :: Essays Papers

Electric Vehicles: Policy Concerns: Electric vehicles need the help of policy and regulations if they are to be successful. Currently, both state and the federal governments have implemented some policies to help drive electric car technology. An example of this is the tax breaks some receive for owning an alternate fuel vehicle. However, the United States government is also very involved in the petroleum industry. As a result the price of oil remains artificially low and the prospect for clean air-alternate fuel vehicles even further down the road. Due to the fact that the oil industry can provide the politicians with more monetary influence, the government is still being slow on making the necessary policy adjustments that will allow this new technology to start. One of the most major regulations is in California and is a mandate that ten percent of all new car sales in 2003 must be alternate fueled-zero emissions vehicles. However, as good as this seems it has been tried before to no result. The big car manufacturers got together and used their power to overcome this law and not create alternate fueled vehicles in the numbers that were asked by the board. Because of this the year the mandate would take effect has been pushed back over and over again. 2003 was the latest procrastination, and we will see how much happens now. There are in fact other policies that might have an effect. The Clear Air Acts Amendment (CAAA) has setup a list of requirements for certain types of vehicles. These are guidelines initially setup in the 1970s by the Environmental Protection Agency. They have since been updated in 1990. They have said that a certain number of municipal fleets must be low-emission vehicles. However, these can still be run usually gas, they just must not pollute too much. The EPA has been working very hard to push vehicles that do not pollute. However, they are mostly interested in vehicles with low emissions instead of zero. Because of this the internal combustion engine has been able to keep up and reduce their emissions enough to remain legal. If the EPA wanted to really make ground they would need to pass policy that will create radical change due to a zero emission policy. Another set of policy that was passed by the federal government is known as the Alternative Motor Fuels Act of 1988 (AMFA). This is a mandate that the Department of Energy create certain guidelines that consumers can use to accurately compare alternate fueled vehicles to gas powered vehicles.

The Subject Of Education In Cambodia Education Essay

Education is really of import agencies to develop and construct up human resources for development of each state and it is besides of import for development of kid as individual. However, educational system in Cambodia has suffered excessively much during Khmer Rouge Regime from 1975 to 1979. After that period, the authorities has tried to better it by cooperated and collaborated with external assistance and non-governmental organisation ( NGOs ) . Harmonizing to the Kampuchean fundamental law, it states that â€Å" the province shall supply free primary and secondary instruction to all citizens in public school. Citizens shall have instruction for at least nine old ages † . Nowadays, though the students have no wage the fee, they still have to pass money on other things such as letter paper, text editions, part fee etc. Furthermore, some states pupils are asked to pass money to teacher for fee ; this is the job that prevent student from hapless households from go toing school . About a half a million Kampuchean kids from 6 to 11 old ages old have no entree to school, so 50percent of those who entered rate one dropped out of school and had to reiterate the category. Those jobs are caused by picture games, karaoke and the presence of whorehouse for the pupils in metropolis, and for female students, they could non go to school because of many jobs. First, parents are hapless, so they can non supply kids to larn and sometime they need their kids, particularly the misss, to gain money to back up the household. Second, the schools are located excessively far off from their house. Merely male child can travel to school at some distance from place because they have given adjustment in pagodas near the school. The last 1 is some parents do non understand about the of import of instruction, so they do non let their kids to go to school. Furthermore, the ministry of instruction has non provided equal instruction for minority kids. Many kids can non entree to school, and there is no proviso for schooling in minority linguistic communications except for categories provided by private ethic associations. Not merely that, there is deficient particular instruction proviso for disablements kids. Even though some organisations co-operated with authorities to supply school for those, this attempt is non yet plenty. Then, the quality of instruction in Cambodia is really hapless. Some schools in urban countries have about 60 to 80 pupils in each category, because there are non adequate category for students, most schools operated two displacements or three displacements per a twenty-four hours that affect the students ‘ feeling to analyze. Other thing is that the limited skilled of instructors cut down the quality of educational system. Technical and pedagogical preparation for instructor is non up to standard yet. There are many learning methods such as child-centered acquisition method has been taught to some instructors ; nevertheless, instructors still follow the old instruction methods. The last point is the deficiency of committedness of instructor because they receive a little sum of wage ( about $ 15 to $ 20 per month ) that lead to the low motive for learning. Then, they need to happen others occupation to supplement their incomes for endurance. In fact, the national authorities budget allotment to Ministry of Education, Youth and Sport was merely 10.3 % in 1997 and increase to 12 % in 1998, which is still really, in peculiar when compared to 52 % for the defence sector. The authorities should pay more attending because this sector is the major sector for development the state. Government should supply the high wage to instructors, and construct more school all around the state, and national budget allotment for instruction should be increased promote and ease the instruction to minority kids and supply particular school for handicapped kids and promote instruction for misss, raise consciousness of parents about the advantage of instruction. Finally, the educational system in Cambodia has faced many jobs that have to work out instantly. Those jobs can be affected on development for state every bit good. Because of that, the authorities needs to join forces or collaborate with international organisations. United Nations Organization is an international organisation that purpose are easing coaction in international jurisprudence, international peace and security, human right, economic sciences development, societal advancement and accomplishing universe peace. United Nations has many specialized bureaus to runing the jobs of member provinces. Those including UNDP, UNICEF, WHO, FAO and UNESCOaˆÂ ¦.and so on. However, we merely concentrate on three specialised bureaus because these bureaus are really of import for development in developing states. First, UNDP is the UN planetary development web. It promotes for alteration and connects states to knowledge, experience and resources to assist people to construct a better life. The specialised bureau has states offices in 166 states, where it works with local authorities to run into development challenges and develop local capacity. UNDP decision maker is the 3rd highest ranking functionary of United Nations after the United Nations Secretary-general and Deputy Secretary-general, and its headquartered is in New York. UNDP is funded by voluntary part from member provinces. UNDP helps the states to accomplish the Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) . MDG is adopted by United Nations General Assembly to develop the hapless states in 2002. These precedence MDGs states are concentrated is Sub- African, Central America and Andes, Central Asia, and the portion of Southeast Asia. Millennium Development Goals is related to poorness, primary instruction, gender equity, maternal wellness, kid mortality, HIV/AIDs, malaria and other diseases, environmental sustainability and planetary partnerships for development. Second, UNICEF was created by United Nations General assembly on December 11, 1946 to supply exigency nutrient and health care to kids in states that had been destroyed by World War II. UNICEF provides long-run human-centered and development aid to kids and female parents in developing states. UNICEF support kid wellness and nutrition, quality basic instruction for all male childs and misss, entree to clean H2O and sanitation and the protection of kids from force, development and AIDs. In 1953, UNICEF became United Nations System and its name had shortened from United Nations International Children ‘s Emergency Fund and its headquartered is in New York City. UNICEF fund is provided by voluntary part of authorities, concerns, foundations and persons. Third, UNESCO is a specialised bureau of the United Nations which established on 16 November 1945. Headquarter of organisation is in Paris, with over 50 field offices and many specialized institutes and based in throughout the universe. Its aims is to lend to peace and security by advancing international cooperation through instruction, civilization, and scientific discipline in order to foster cosmopolitan regard for justness, the regulation of jurisprudence, and the human rights along with cardinal freedoms declared in the Charter of UN. UNESCO pursues its aims through five major plans: instruction, natural HYPERLINK â€Å" hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_science † scientific disciplines, societal scientific disciplines, civilization, and communicating and information. Undertakings sponsored by UNESCO include literacy, proficient aid, and teacher-training plans, scientific discipline plans, the publicity of independent media and imperativeness free dom, regional and cultural history undertakings, the publicity of cultural diverseness ; international cooperation understandings to salvage the universe cultural and natural heritage ( World Heritage Sites ) and to protect human rights, and efforts to bridge the world-wide digital divide. UNESCO in Cambodia has worked through with the local authorization and NGOs. UNESCO focused on its activities through five major dockets such as instruction, civilization, natural scientific disciplines, societal and human scientific disciplines, and information and communicating. First, in instruction, UNESCO has developed the policy and schemes for ECCE ( Early Childhood Care and Education ) , presenting planetary degree policy tendency and advanced patterns, and lending to outline the policy on ECCE by supplying consultative services. Furthermore, UNESCO has improved on instructor instruction by supplying policy model and policy picks for developing teacher professional criterions and appropriate measuring, planing inducements to actuate the instructors for better instruction and pupil acquisition, deploying qualified instructors to rural and distant countries. Then, UNSECO has focused on proficient vocational instruction and preparation, HIV/AIDs bar instruction, and instruction and planning direction. As the chairs of educational sector working group, UNESCO has played an of import function in easing good coordinated and professional response from the giver community to the demands of the instruction development and the petition from authorities. The chief spouse in instruction of UNESCO is Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport ( MoEYS ) . UNESCO assists MoEYS for the preparation and constitution of national instruction model and policy to outreach broader populations. A figure of instruction policy are formulated with proficient support from UNESCO and other development spouses including: National Non- Formal Education Policy, the National Plan of Action for Non- Formal Education, the policy on School Health and policy on Education for Children with Disabilities, and National ICT ( Information and Communication for Technology ) policy and scheme. Millennium Development Goals ( MDGs ) are the international development end which focal point on eight jobs such as eradicate utmost poorness and hungriness, achieve cosmopolitan instruction, advance gender equality and empower adult females, cut down kid mortality, better maternal wellness, combat HIV/AIDs and other diseases, guarantee environmental sustainability, and develop a planetary partnership for development. However, in Cambodia, because of acknowledging the major restraint to development is the continued taint of mines and explosive leftovers of war, the Royal Government of Cambodia added the de-mining and victims aid as the 9th major development end. Then, on the subject of the 2nd end of CMDGs, it is reference about Achieve Universal Nine-year basic Education that took root of the Education for all by guarantee that all kids will finish primary schooling by 2010 and Nine-year basic schooling by 2015. UNICEF in Cambodia has provided de-worming tablet to 95 per centum of kids in primary school. Furthermore, UNICEF has supported the fiscal aid for the wage of community preschool instructor in order to better the preschool to all kids. Harmonizing authorities ‘s statistics, the pre-primary school registration rate of Cambodian ‘s five twelvemonth old in school twelvemonth 2006-2007 was 27.7 % including province, community, home-based, and preschool categories. Then, Kampuchean authorities and UNICEF functionary maintain that early childhood development plan have proved over and over that preschool encourages on clip registration in primary school and better academic public presentation. In amount up, those organisations are of import for bettering or advancing the all sector in Cambodia, particularly in educational sector which is of import sector for development. However, the authorities should lend to advancing every bit good, so our state will accomplish all ends early. Since you focused on the functions and models of MDGs, UNICEF, UNESCO, you have known that those models are suited for bettering the instruction in Cambodia. However, do these bureaus and authorities can assure that they will better or advance instruction good as they expect? Harmonizing to the statistic from studies, the primary school undertakings have been complete successfully. In 2000, there are about 85 % to 86 % of kids from urban country can go to school, and for the kids in rural country, there are about 82 % to 83 % go to school, but the kids populating in the distant country can go to school merely 60 % to 63 % . From one twelvemonth to twelvemonth, the Numberss of go toing school from those three countries are increasing bit by bit. In fact, in 2009, in distant country the kids attend school about 90.3 % . Surprisingly, the urban kids which had the figure higher than others do non increasing dramatically as the rural country in 2000. Rural country ‘s kids go to school much more than the urban country ‘s kids, is 95 % and 92.2 % . Nevertheless, undertakings to advancing the secondary school is seem failed because the mark of undertaking predicted that about 65.3 % in 2009 for the kids go toing secondary school, but in world, there a re merely 31.9 for pupils go toing school. By the manner, gender disparities in primary school have been eliminated and regional disparities have besides been eradicated. Then, the proportion of 6-14 old ages old out of school is stagnating. Based on the information from CMDGs, the flow of the line of graph is smooth from 1997 until 2003, but in 2004 the figures of the information is increasing from 18.7 % to 19.81 % . However, the expected mark is merely 14.4 % in 2008 for the out of school pupils, so it seems non travel beyond as outlook. Literacy rates of 15 to 24 old ages old ; hence, in 1998 there is about 82 % of literacy. CMDGs expected that in 2009, there would be about 92.1 % for literacy, but in existent, there is about 87.47 % for literacy because the line of the graph was increasing easy. In amount up, instruction in Cambodia become better than earlier. Even so, those bureaus need to better or advance more because as you known, the instruction is the of import sector for develop state. Then, in instance instruction in Cambodia does non good, how could Cambodia better or develop state good? After you have understood about the functions and models, consequence of the bureaus, you can state that though they could non accomplish all ends as scene, but they could better or advance the instruction in Cambodia. As you can see, educational system in Cambodia has suffered excessively much during Khmer Rouge Regime from 1975 to 1979. After that period, the authorities has tried to better it by cooperated and collaborated with external assistance and non-governmental organisation ( NGOs ) . About a half a million Kampuchean kids from 6 to 11 old ages old have no entree to school, so 50 % of those who entered rate one dropped out of school and had to reiterate the category. Those jobs are caused by picture games, karaoke and the presence of whorehouse for the pupils in metropolis, and for female students, they could non go to school because of many jobs. Due to these jobs, the Kampuchean authorities attempts to pay attending on instruction systems because every bit mentioned before, instruction is really of import agencies to develop and construct up human resources for development of each state and it is besides of import for development of kid as individual. If Kampuchean people hapless at the cognition, how could Cambodia has been developed to go the strong state as the adjacent states. Furthermore, the IOs ( International organisations ) besides pay attending on instruction sector as good. They try to promote and join forces with Kampuchean authorities to bettering the instruction systems. As mentioned, Harmonizing to the Kampuchean fundamental law, it states that â€Å" the province shall supply free primary and secondary instruction to all citizens in public school. Citizens shall have instruction for at least nine old ages † . Then, IOs have besides contributed to betterment every bit good. First, UNESCO has improved on instructor instruction by supplying policy model and policy picks for developing teacher professional criterions and appropriate measuring, planing inducements to actuate the instructors for better instruction and pupil acquisition, deploying qualified instructors to rural and distant countries. Furthermore, UNESCO has played an of import function in easing good coordinated and professional response from the giver community to the demands of the instruction development and the petition from authorities. Second, CDMGs is reference about Achieve Universal Nine-year basic Education that took root of the Education for all by ensures that all kids will finish primary schooling by 2010 and Nine-year basic schooling by 2015. Third, UNICEF has supported the fiscal aid for the wage of community preschool instructor in order to better the preschool to all kids. Harmonizing authorities ‘s statistics, the pre-primary school registration rate of Cambodian †˜s five twelvemonth old in school twelvemonth 2006-2007 was 27.7 % including province, community, home-based, and preschool categories. Then, Kampuchean authorities and UNICEF functionary preserve that early childhood development plan have proved over and over that preschool encourages on clip registration in primary school and better academic public presentation. In decision, some jobs the province could non cover with by herself, so she needs the aid from NGOs, IGOs, and so on. However, in instance the provinces do non pay attending with those jobs, the solution still can non run into. As Cambodia, because the authorities and specialised bureaus try to collaborate each other, the instruction system seem better a small by a small. In my sentiment, in future, Cambodia will diminish the rate of illiteracy from clip to clip.

Research Critique

Moses Williams NURS 450 Professor Peggy Melloh Introduction Catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is a fairly common complication in hospitalized patients. Nosocomial infection prevention and patient safety promotion has been issued and many researches have been conducted to improve patient’s quality of life. In this article, Saint et al. (2005) hypothesize that using a paper-based urinary catheter reminder can reduce the incidence of urinary catheterization, and consequently this will enhance the patients’ safety. Critique Part 1 Research Questions or HypothesesThe background and significance of this study are properly presented in the introduction. The research question is presented at the end of the introduction of this article. Saint et al. (2005) develop the research question based on the scientific backgrounds they selected and reviewed: â€Å"Is a urinary catheter reminder effective in reducing the incidence of indwelling urethral catheterization i n the hospitalized patients? † (p. 456). The Independent variable is â€Å"a urinary catheter reminder† and the dependent variable is â€Å"the incidence of indwelling urethral catheterization. The research question appropriately states the relationship between â€Å"a urinary catheter reminder† and â€Å"the incidence of indwelling urethral catheterization,† thus the research question is specific to one relationship. The research question is generated from PICO information which means population, intervention, comparison, and outcome (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2010, p. 63). In this study, population is the hospitalized patients in the University of Michigan Medical Center and a total of 5,678 patients participate in the study. Intervention is ‘using’ a catheter reminder and comparison is ‘not using’ a catheter reminder.Outcome is the effectiveness of a use of the reminder. Although hypothesis is not directly written in the article, Saint et al. (2005) imply that a paper-based reminder of indwelling urinary catheter might help reduce improper catheterization. The research question is not placed in a theoretical framework; however, the conceptual framework is enclosed in the literature review of the article. Two conceptual frameworks are applied to develop the research question: one is patient safety promotion and the other one is infection prevention.The rate of catheter-associated urinary tract infection (CAUTI) is relatively high among the nosocomial infections. Although indwelling urinary catheters are common and essential for some hospitalized patients, sometime these are unnecessarily applied. In this paper, a simple written reminder might cut down the use of indwelling urinary catheters and consequently this can reduce the rate of CAUTI and improve patient safety. The purpose of this study is not directly stated, but it can be inferred from the research question.The purpose of this study is to test the e ffectiveness of a indwelling catheter reminder in decreasing the use of indwelling urinary catheter. The level of evidence of the research does not explain the significance of the study completely, but this is one of the skills that can assist the readers to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of a research (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2010). This research is Level III because of its quasi-experimental design which tests cause-and-effect relationships. Saint et al. (2005) investigate the relationship between the use of a urinary catheter reminder and the incidence of indwelling urethral catheterization.In order to apply evidence in practice, the nurses should assess the potential for applicability first. Saint et al. (2005) bring up the problem that indwelling urinary catheter-associated infection â€Å"accounts for up to 40% of nosocomial infections. † Another problem they find is that many physicians are often unaware of urinary catheterization in their patients. Unfortunately , these overlooked catheters are unnecessarily applied in some patients, and then the rate of CAUTI can be increased. Based on these findings, Saint et al. 2005) hypothesize that a written reminder can help the physicians remember that their patients have indwelling urinary catheter, so this awareness of urinary catheterization can reduce the incidence of indwelling urinary catheter. Review of the Literature This article does not provide the search strategy including a number of databases and other resources which identify key published and unpublished research. In this article, both the primary sources and the theoretical literatures are collected and appraised in order to generate the research question and to conduct knowledge-based research.In the section of the literature review, nineteen professional articles are appraised in order to provide the significance and background of the study. Saint develops the research question based on these analyses. â€Å"Catheter-associated ur inary tract infections in surgical patients: A controlled study on the excess morbidity and costs† is one of the primary sources written by Givens and Wenzel who conduct and analyze this study. In addition, â€Å"Clinical and economic consequences of nosocomial catheter-related bacteriuria† is a review of a literature article which is the secondary source.Although many studies state that patient safety is a top priority and CAUTI can be controlled by the caution of health care providers, the infection rate is relatively high among other nosocomial infections. One of the reasons Saint and colleagues uncovered is unawareness and negligence by health care providers. In appraising the literatures, Saint finds â€Å"over one-third of attending physicians were unaware that their own hospitalized patients had indwelling urinary catheter† (2005, p. 456). This article was published in 2005.Among thirty two resources, eighteen articles were published before 2000 and twelve articles were published within past five years. In this paper, the oldest article Saint et al. (2005) reviewed is â€Å"Factors predisposing to bacteriuria during indwelling urethral catheterization† which was published in 1974. This implies that indwelling urinary catheter-associated infection has been issued for more than forty years, and many researchers still work on this topic. The literature review is coherently organized so that the readers can understand straightforwardly why this study is planned. Saint et al. 2005) state prevalent and essential use of indwelling urinary catheter in hospitalized patients, and then they question its safety. They point out some problems caused by indwelling urinary catheter, including indwelling urinary catheter-associated infection, the patient discomfort, and increased health care cost.In some patients, the indwelling urinary catheters are not necessarily applied due to a lack of awareness of physicians. Therefore, Saint et al. (200 5) come up with the idea that a simple and written reminder assists physicians to be aware of the indwelling catheterization in their atients, so the chances of catheterization will be reduced and the rate of the indwelling urinary catheter-associated infection will be decreased simultaneously. Saint et al. summarize the literature review by stating, â€Å"an innovative system-wide administrative intervention designed to remind physicians that their patient has an indwelling catheter in place might help reduce inappropriate catheterization† (2005, p. 456). In addition, this logical summary makes them develop the research question appropriately. Internal and External ValidityThis study barely has a potential threat to external validity. On the contrary, the external validity of the findings might be increased because Saint et al. (2005) apply the intervention in a real hospital setting, then the findings can be generalized and applied to other hospital setting. In order to red uce the threats to internal validity, the independent variable is only manipulated in the intervention group. In other words, the intervention group only gets a urinary catheter reminder to test effectiveness of it.The baseline of differences in age, sex, length of hospital stay, and catheterization is adjusted. The intervention fidelity is maintained throughout the study. Everyday, one nurse gathers information on â€Å"catheter status, reason for catheterization, and recatheterization† (Saint et al. , 2005, p. 457). Also, the time and method of collecting data is constantly maintained. The enhancement strategy such as â€Å"email, use of tap flag, and paging† is used in order to minimize physician’s ignorance with a reminder and to increase physician’s response. Research DesignThe study uses a pretest-posttest design with a nonequivalent control group, which is one of the quasi-experimental designs. Four hospital wards are selected and divided in two gr oups. Two wards are assigned to the intervention group to which the reminders are offered, and the other two wards are assigned to the control group. Data is collected for sixteen months, and sixteen months is divided into two eight-month periods which is pre- and post-intervention (Saint et al. 2005, p. 456). A nonequivalent control group design is adequate for this study because the esearcher can observe the effectiveness or ineffectiveness of a reminder by comparing the outcomes between intervention group and control group. Also, during pre-intervention periods, baseline data can be collected in both intervention and control group which will decrease bias. However, the researcher can simply assume that the condition of both groups is similar at the beginning of the research (LoBiondo-Wood & Haber, 2010). Therefore, the quasi-experimental design is proper to conduct this study in order to answer the research question.References American Psychological Association. (2002). Publicati on Manual of the American Psychological Association. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association. LoBiondo-Wood, G. , & Haber, J. (2010). Nursing Research: Methods and Critical Appraisal for Evidence-Based Practice (7th ed. ). St. Louis, MO: Mosby Elsevier. Saint, S. , Kaufman, S. , Thompson, M. , Rogers, M. , & Chenoweth, C. (2005). A Reminder Reduces Urinary Catheterization in Hospitalized Patients. Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. 31(8), 455-462.