Bringing a Change in Organizational Culture Essay

Critically explain why changing organisational culture is so difficult and how managers can do it. Culture can be defined as â€Å"a set of basic tacit assumptions about how the world is and ought to be that a group of people share and that determines their perceptions, thoughts, feelings, and, to some degree, their overt behaviour† (Schein, 1996). Organizational culture is depend on differences in norms and shared values which are learned in workplace and to direct behaviour of members in the particular organisation. Cabrera, Cabrera& Barajas 2001) Organisational culture was built on its shared beliefs and values which was the guidance to solve problems. This essay will introduce the definition of organisational culture and explain why changing organisational culture is so difficult. The main reasons are the fear of uncertain future and difficult to establish the organisational culture. In addition, the essay is to interpret how managers can change organisational culture and how does it work. Managers can change organisational culture through communication and management strategies. This essay may introduce the detail about changing organisational culture. Most scholars think that changing organisational culture is difficult; however a few people think it is easy to change organisational culture. As Chu (2003) stated that organizational culture is contributed to change. In his opinion, organisational culture can collect different values and actions to form a frame to guide the behaviour of members within an organisation. In other words, organisational culture can shape what employees do in the company and control tendency of company. For example, a company may have employees who are unwilling to change and who are conductive to change, if managers recruit staff that are innovated and willing to change, they may be the new power to change organisational culture. Therefore, to form a â€Å"change† culture can make changing organisational culture easier. However, it is also difficult to establish an organisational culture. It is need to experience a long time and face lots of difficult and challenges. According to levels of cultural analysis (Wood 2004), it shows how difficult to form the organisational culture, especially the deepest level of cultural analysis: common assumption. Common assumptions are to collect truths that organisational employees shares as a result of their common experiences and that direct beliefs and behaviours. It is extremely hard to isolate these modes, but it is interpret why culture is full of organisational life. It is hard to shape common assumptions if members of the organisation do not experience same ups and downs or cooperate long time. As Ferrara-Love (1997) stated that organizational culture does not appear in a night. On the contrary, organisational culture evolves during the time, and is the collective beliefs of individuals who worked together. Therefore, it is hard to establish organisational culture, to say nothing of changing organisational culture. At the same time, it is debatable to recruit plenty employees when the company want to change organisational culture. The new power is unstable to the company. It is hard for managers to control the new employees and it still need to cost much time. To conclude, it is difficult to change organisational culture. Organisational culture plays an ineradicable role to different kinds of organisational behaviours and members within organisations. Thus, it is always failure if certain problems of organisational culture were not being considered. Moreover, if managers want to change organisational culture which focuses on shared values or beliefs, it will be more difficult; because on the deepest of organisational culture, it formed invisible and omnipresent old guard or power which makes organisational change failure. As Locus and Kline (2008) stated that organizations always appear â€Å"learning disability† and â€Å"defensive routines† which obstruct the learning and organizational change. It shows the strong of conservative power. When managers try to change the organizational culture, they always face opposition. What was worse, the conservative power always important to the organisation. They make huge contribution to the company, which used to promote the development of company. Therefore, they play an important role to organisation. It is difficult for managers to challenge their authority. Moreover, the reason people do not want to change is the nature of people. People are easy to be used to do one thing and do not want to accept new thing. They are afraid of the unknown thing after change. As Ferrara-Love (1997) stated that people are comfortable with exist ways to finish the work. In their opinion, change is just the threat to their peaceful. Thus, they do not want to change organisational culture and dispute to change. It is obvious that changing organisational culture is so difficult. Leadership is the key to change organisational culture. The achievements of an organisation mostly depend on the leadership of managers. As Fishman and Kavanaugh (1989) stated that the culture of an organization and how employees want to change was formed substantially by leader. For example, if managers uphold to change organisational culture steady and have enough ability to direct staff, it will achieve maximum results with little effort to change organisational culture. Thus, managers are the guidance of the company; they are main factor to change organisational culture. Clement (1994) also expounded that management leadership is basic factor in a major organisational change effort. From this, it can be seen that the importance of leadership in change organisational culture. However, it is hard to change managers. If managers are not satisfied with their employees, employees can be changed, but managers will not changed unless the company go bankrupt. Thus, the most difficult to change organisational culture is to change the mind of managers. For instance, if managers make no attempt to make progress and milk-toast, it will be the most resistance to change organisational change. For this reason, the best way to change is from up to bottom. At the same time, change the mind and ability of leader is the difficult demand for changing organisational culture. To change organisational culture, managers have lot of things to do it. The role of managers is very important through up down system. As Ott (1989) suggested that the leader can do lots of things included staff selection, socialization, removal of deviating members, cultural communication and role model to guide behaviour. For example, managers can choose employees who will support to change organisational culture. Although it will not change the situation directly, they can be the power push the step of changing organisational culture. In the same way, managers can fire part of staff who opposes to change. It is not only reducing resistance to change organisational culture, but also overawe the opponent to change their minds. Furthermore, managers need to be the role model to change organisational culture. The behaviour of managers can be the maximum power to guide behaviour of managers. For example, when managers try to change organisational culture but not to do anything to change it, employees will not follow managers with any anxiety. To sum up, it is important to be the role model of changing organisational culture for managers. Furthermore, communication is an important tool for managers to change organisational culture. According to Fry (2003), he examined that leadership as motivation to change; managers need to communicate with employees about their feelings. In other words, managers should get in touch with employees and let them know core values of changing organisational culture and the need of changing organisational culture. The employees may understand the determination of managers and why to change organisational culture. Then, they can have their decision about changing organisational culture. In this way, it can reduce the distance between managers and employees, and let employees think they are also the participants to change organisational culture, they are not insignificant. When employees think they are the part of changing organisational culture, they will follow managers and try their best to help managers. At the same time, managers communicate with employees also can understand what employees think about and then do well about interactive. In addition, it can reduce the fear of employees about unknown future. As Kanter, Stein and Jick (1992) stated that communication is basic tool within any change process and failure to change always because of the feeling uncertain and anxious about their future. Thus, communication is very significant for managers to change organizational culture. In addition, to help employees to change organisational culture, managers need to teach them related skills and knowledge to work differently. As Ke and Wei (2007) suggested that employees thought to learn skills and knowledge as their main responsibility. Thus, employees may accept skills and knowledge easier than accept directly new culture. When they understand how to do, it may easy for them to accept to change organisational culture. At the same time, it is also the good way to remove their fear to uncertain future. When they master relevant skills and knowledge, they will be confident to deal with change of organisational culture. In this way, they will not fight against to change organisational culture as before. Then they can be the power help to change organisational culture. The most important things to change organisational culture are to change origin perception and beliefs. According to the definition of organisational culture, if managers want to change organisational culture, they must change shared values. The same as Whitely (1995) said that, managers need to be able to help employees to remove the past values which are not consistent with current shared vision of future organizational arrangements. The shared values and beliefs are keys of the organisational culture. Thus, managers need to change origin values of employees to change organisational culture. For example, managers can change new uniform to show the new the new appearance of company. According to Wood (2006), managers can create processes, systems and ways of working that enable to put the new values into practice. The new values can take place of the past one. In addition, managers can recruit and select new employees to help change origin values. As Harris and Metallinos (2002) stated that new employees were outside the company who did not affect by origin organizational culture, thus they were easy to accept new culture. That is why managers to select new employees to enlarge the power to change organizational culture. The new values and beliefs can be brought into the company in this way. In the same way, managers can retrain employees and engraft new rules to them, although it will not have better effect than new employees, it also can help to change organizational culture. In a word, managers need to create new values and beliefs to substitute origin one. Technology change also can promote to change organisational change. Although Weick (1990) thought technology change may make people anxiety about the values of new technology to their work, the new technology is the progress to organisational culture. There is no doubt technology change may improve work efficiency which may improve organisational culture. As Harris and Metallinos (2002) suggested that the application of new technology and subsequent development of system would promote standardization. The implementation of new technology can make employees understand new things which break routine. It also can be the sally port to open the mind of employees, let them know advantages of changing. When they can accept technology change, it is easy for them to support to change organisational change. Thus, managers can first bring in advanced technology to improve organisational change. Then teaching them to learn about it and establish new values in this process. This essay introduces what are the organisational culture and two main parts of organisational culture, the reason why changing organisational culture is difficult and how managers do to change it. This essay support to change organisational culture is so difficult because of the fear of unknown and difficult process to form organisational culture.

Thomas Hardy essays

Thomas Hardy essays Thomas Hardy was an English Writer who was born on June 2, 1840 in Higher Brockhampton Doretshire, England (Something About the Author 129). Hardy wrote form personal knowledge and experiences, his characters were real people of the time and settings consisted of places he had been. Many Things influenced Hardys writings throughout his life including his early life, work experiences and his first wife Emma Gifford Thomas Hardy did not begin his education until late in his childhood. He started to go to school at the age of eight years old and continued on through public school for eight more years. Following these eight years of general schooling Thomas went off to London to study at Kings College for five years after which his father, a stonemason, apprenticed him early to a local architect engaged in restoring old churches. The Royal Institute of British Architects awarded him with a medal because of the excellent work he had done as an architect (Dorset May 12, 1999). Thomas inherited his fathers business, but decided to give it to his brother Henry to take care of, which gave him more free time towards his passion of writing. Hardy worked for this architect for five years while at the same time took up poetry writing with little success. Thomas started writing many poems after he had completed his apprenticeship, but all were rejected except for one entitled How I Built Myself A House. This particular piece of literature was initially written for the entertainment of his friends, yet somehow appeared in Chambers Journal in 1865 (Dorset May 12, 1999). After minimal success with poetry Thomas turned to novels as a more reasonable approach to financially supporting himself through writing. By 1874 he had achieved his goal and was now able to maintain a stable life. The novels he wrote were not directly written as books, but in fact they were mostly published in monthly sections through magazines (a...

Health Issues of a Developed Country (The US) The WritePass Journal

Health Issues of a Developed Country (The US)   Abstract Health Issues of a Developed Country (The US) prescription charges are at 7.65  (Politics .co.uk, 2012).   Widespread protests against the prescription charges have contributed to several exceptions in the prescription drug charges including for children under 16, pregnant women, elderly people above 60, etc. More recently people with chronic conditions such as cancer have been included into those under the exempted category. While in Wales and Northern Ireland prescription charges have been completely abolished, the English government has, however, indicated that no further free prescription programs would be introduced but that the new policies would focus on brining more fairness into the prescription charging system (Politics.co.uk, 2012). Transition to a Market System Chronic underfunding and gaps in services and the pressures to improve the overall operating efficiency have gradually led to the NHS from being a total public ownership entity towards a market based system. In fact this shift towards a market based system could be traced way back to the Thatcher administration that introduced the policies of ‘general management’ and ‘outsourcing’ which bought about a fundamental shift.   General managers were people who were specialized in hospital management and provided a neat layer of interfacing between the health policy makers and the doctors and nurses who implement the policies. Outsourcing of non medical services such as hospital cleaning, catering saw for the first time the entry of the private sector into the NHS system (DH, 2005). Since then private sector participation in the NHS has improved significantly. By the late 1990’s, for instance, long term care by NHS was already taken over to a large extent and managed by private for profit service providers. Long term elderly care is no longer free of cost. Increasing private participation could be inferred from the statistics that from over 137,200 residential care homes in 1985 the numbers had dropped to 64,100 by 1998 (BBC, 1999).   Elderly care in these settings is not free and is totally means based with those earning more than  £16,000 per annum having to bear the entire expenses while the state provides maximum assistance for those under  £10,000 categories. NHS Spendings review points out that between 1998 and 2010 there was an average 5.75%   increase in health expenditure while the NHS is slated to receive .4% real terms growth between 2010 and 2014. This indicates the degree of financial pressure under which the NHS is operating. As (Appleby et al, 2009) points out, the pressure on NHS will continue to increase with growing challenges due to a mixture of factors including an aging demography, high cost pressure of new medical technologies, and the expectation for higher quality standards.   It is estimated that the NHS has to make considerable cost cuttings by way of improved operational efficiency to the tune of    £15 to  £20 billion in order for it to be able to continue providing equitable access to healthcare services to all the citizens(Nicholson, 2009). It is under these dire circumstances that the UK government proposed some fundamental structural and functional reforms to the NHS that are listed in the white paper ‘Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’. One of the fundamental changes to the organization of the NHS as listed out in the White paper is the devolution of the ‘Primary care Trusts’ (PCTs) (Nuffield Trust, 2010). The PCTs which were instituted in 2002 to supervise primary care provision is no longer a valid entity. Its function has been taken over by Clinical commissioning groups (CCG) comprising mainly of local GPs. The idea behind such a reform is to increase local empowerment. Furthermore the PCTs were in the past struggling with frequent restructuring. One of the underlying motives behind such a transformation is to place greater responsibility with the local GPs as they are directly involved in service referrals. Also since GPs are directly involved in both commissioning and care provision they are better positioned to make effective assessments and to prevent unnecessary hospitalization and other services. In other words, the establishment of the GP consortia which is one of the highlights of the ‘ Equity and Excellence: Liberating the NHS’ white paper, is expected to increase the integration between the GP’s , specialists and other service providers paving way for an integrated care delivery mechanism that is both cost effective and efficient. Furthermore, the white paper also refers to the formation of a NHS commissioning board that supervises the overall equitable access to NHS services, commissioning, and the proper allotment of resources. This would ensure that micromanagement is not an issue at the NHS. The new policy framework also dissolves several quangos thereby resulting in greater operational savings. By these means the new reforms are slated to save up to 20 billion in terms of efficiency of operations by 2014.   Projections indicate that up to 45% savings could be realized in the form of management related cost savings (DH, 2010, pg 5). One of the distinctive factors of the current NHS reforms compared to the original NHS policies is the shift from a purely public system towards a more market centric healthcare system. The focus on increasing the participation of the patient and providing them the choice as to their service providers and the treatment that they want are particularly prominent aspects of the new healthcare bill. . The inclusion of the ‘choice of any willing provider’ in the ‘Health and Social Care Bill’ lays stress on the increased freedom for the health consumer (DH, 2010, pg 17). It also emphasizes the increasing competition among contracted health service providers which is ultimately good for improving the overall quality of health care delivery. Reduction in bureaucratic control and empowerment of the care providers imply that the primary care providers’ could function independently and effectively to meet the needs of the patients. Effective monitoring is the key to any functional system. For a huge organization such as the NHS monitoring the functioning of the various agencies and systems is very vital for achieving streamlining of operations, process efficiency and achieving high quality of care. One of the key aspects of the new reforms is entrusting local health watch organizations with the responsibility of managing and addressing the feedbacks from the health consumers. These organizations also support the patients in making their decisions about service providers. These organizations will directly report the performance measures of service providers and patient feedbacks to local as well as national authorities helping to address any consumer grievances and quality concerns at the earliest(DH, 2010, pg 19). While there are proponents for this new system there are also concerns expressed by politicians, professionals and general public who are worried that the competition between medical service providers would engender compromise on quality of services contrary to improving the same. This is particularly so when these decisions are made on the bidding approach and when lower cost of service provision is the main criteria. One particular instance is the drug and alcohol support services that are vastly privatized in the UK. These private organizations are paid  £3000 if the addicts are rehabilitated and remain free of drugs for 3 months and a further  £5000 if they remained drug free for a whole year. There are complaints that under these circumstances, in these private organizations, the focus is not entirely on rehabilitation and saving the patient is not the primary concern. As a case in point, an extreme heroin addict was just discharged from the clinic without any alternative in tervention. Methadone prescription for detoxification was not even tried as the private company would not be remunerated for such an intervention (Pemberton, 2013). . Furthermore since the entire drug and alcohol services is taken up by the private organizations there was no further referral or intervention possible for such cases. These are instances that point out the risks in adapting a privatized and highly fragmented setup.   Furthermore there are concerns that under the concept of ‘payment by results’ that is advocated under the new NHS policies, there is even more risk that the private agencies would just focus on achieving end points of care. While this approach would be okay for acute clinical conditions it leaves a lot to be desired in the management of chronic conditions where there is no visible endpoint. Conclusion From the time of its institution in 1948 to the current period, the NHS has undergone significant changes in its mode of operation. Presently, there is a distinct shift in healthcare focus as witnessed by a change from the fully public model of care delivery towards increasing private participation in the NHS system.   Growing elderly population and increasing strain on its health services have forced the NHS to adopt these new and novel approaches. These include a fundamental change in its mode of care delivery with the increasing private sector participation in care delivery. Though maintaining free point of access care delivery is one of the main mottos of the original 1948 NHS manifesto, the increasing health care consumption and cost pressures have, to an extent, compromised on this objective. Today many services such as prescription drugs, long-term care are no longer free and there is increasing private sector participation as contracted service providers. The purely fragmen ted approach of private sector service providers who are driven by a contractual obligation and cost centered focus, would definitely compromise the quality of services and the original advantages that the NHS offered.   While the growing needs and the changing demands have necessitated such drastic transformation of the NHS system, care should be taken in the form of having enough performance monitoring and quality checkpoints in place that ensure that private participation does not erode some of the fundamental strengths and qualities of the NHS, the most basic of which is to enable equity of access to quality healthcare. Bibliography Appleby J, Crawford R and Emmerson C (2009) How Cold Will it Be? Prospects for NHS Funding 2011–2017. The King’s Fund. Audrey Leathard, (2000), Health Care provision: Past, present and into the 21st century, Second Edition, Published by Nelson Thornes Ltd. UK. BBC (1999), What is Long-Term care? Viewed June 25th 2013, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/395760.stm CDC (2012), Overweight and Obesity : Adult Obesity Facts, viewed June 25th 2013, cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.html CDC (2012), Alcohol and Public Health : Fact Sheets Binge Drinking, viewed June 25th 2013, cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/binge-drinking.htm Dinesh C Sharma (2010), India’s No 1 Killer: Heart Disease, viewed June 25th 2013, http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/Indias+no.1+killer:+Heart+disease/1/92422.html DH (2005), The NHS Plan: a plan for investment and reform, CM 4818-I, The Stationery Office, Annual Report 2005, p. 55 DH (2010), Equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS, viewed June 25th 2013, https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/135875/dh_117794.pdf.pdf ISRO (2005), Telemedicine: Enabling specialty healthcare to the rural and remote population of India, viewed June 25th 2013, isro.org/publications/pdf/Telemedicine.pdf Katherine A Webb (2002), From County Hospital to NHS Trust: Volume 1: History, University of York. Max Pemberton (2013), NHS reforms: From today the coalition has put the NHS up for grabs, viewed June 25th 2013, telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9962195/NHS-reforms-From-today-the-Coalition-has-put-the-NHS-up-for-grabs.html Politics.co.uk (2012), NHS Prescription charges, viewed June 25th 2013, politics.co.uk/reference/nhs-prescription-charges NHS (2011), NHS History, viewed June 25th 2013, nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/nhshistory/Pages/NHShistory1948.aspx NHS (2013), The NHS in England, viewed June 27th 2013, nhs.uk/NHSEngland/thenhs/about/Pages/overview.aspx Nicholson D (2009) The Year 2008/09. Department of Health, viewed June 25th 2013, www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_099689 Nuffield Trust (2010), NHS resources and reform: Response to the White paper equity and excellence: Liberating the NHS, and the 2010 Spending Review, viewed June 25th 2013, nuffieldtrust.org.uk/sites/files/nuffield/publication/NHS_resources_and_reform_Oct2010.pdf Tony White (2010), A Guide to the NHS, Radcliffe Publishing Ltd. The Economic Times (2013), India probably world’s third largest economy: OECD,   viewed june 25th 2013, http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2013-05-30/news/39603030_1_gdp-growth-third-largest-economy-economic-growth-projection Victoria Barbary (2007), Primary Care Trusts: Tailoring Commissioning,   NLGN White Paper, Viewed June 25th 2013, nlgn.org.uk/public/wp-content/uploads/pcts_white-paper.pdf

Applications of Information Technology

Driving force in educational reform Students have many opportunities to learn the basic computer skills to facilitate their learning. Multimedia learning centre (MMLC) in secondary school Classroom with a projector 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT at Home ? Smart home technology ?Allows people to control household and other domestic appliances over the Internet ? Personal computer ?Has become a necessity for many households 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT at Home ? Personal computer Uses of personal computer 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT at Home ? Home office ?Refers to a small computerized office setup at home ?Self-employed persons can work at home and communicate with others through the Internet. Clients Self-employed person Colleagues 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Public Places ? Information kiosk ?Provides information on nearby facilities in public places ? Electronic Money ?Can be used for petty cash payments ?Example: Octopus Octopus Kiosks 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Public Places Internet access service ?It is provided in various public places. ?The public can obtain information from the Internet more conveniently. Internet access service in public area 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Business ? Office automation ?Office automation helps office workers improve working efficiency productivity, data security and communications with others An automated office 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Business ? Intranet ?A private and small-scale Internet of an organization ?Helps improve workflow and enables efficient collaboration and  communication. Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Business ? E-commerce ?Refers to commercial activities carried out in an electronic network ?The Internet is now the most popular way to conduct e-commerce. e-bay, a popular online auction site 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Business ? E-commerce We can also purchase groceries online (http://www. wellcome. com. hk) We can book tickets online (http://www. cityline. com. hk) Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Government ? Information technology has become an  important means of providing government services. ? Under the ‘2004 Digital 21 Strategy’, the Hong Kong SAR government has committed to developing e-government. 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Government ? Electronic Service Delivery ?A web site that provides a wide range of government information and services ?The services include, application for government job vacancies payment of government bills purchasing books making appointments for The use of public services 1. 1 Applications of Information Technology in Our Daily Life ? IT in Government ? Employers concerned about exposing of company confidentials More difficult for employers to monitor work progress 1. 2 Information Technology and the Information Age ? Digital Divide ? Describes the growing gap between those people who can access and make effective use of IT and those who cannot ? Separate people into two groups ?Internet users ?Non-Internet users.

Social media marketing Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Social media marketing - Research Paper Example The paper focuses on the social media promotional strategies necessary for an organization to create effective relationships with its customers. Survival in the business today calls for a strong social media presence with a clear promotional strategy. It is also important to note that without a clear strategy, individuals from different departments within an organization share and tweet at will using the organization official page and handle. This is likely to promote different perception among the consumers due to unorganized marketing communication system thus organization stand to miss a chance to engage not only the current customers but also the prospective customers. An effective social media promotional strategy therefore ensures that an organization is focused on what it’s trying to achieve, what it should be doing, how well it should be done and measuring its effectiveness on return on investment (ROI) (Smedescu, 23). Branding is effective component of social media promotional activities since it ensures an organization message is consistent throughout all social media channels. Branding includes name, imagery and color scheme and should be applied at the same level throughout all the social media platforms such as facebook, twitter, Google among others. According to Shadkam and James (8), social media marketing personnel must ensure that their comments, statuses and updates speak with a unified voice. In this regard, the organization promoting its products and services through a social network must identify who represent its voice. However, some brand guidelines may be challenged especially when the company representative needs to make a conversation that leads to sharing of content. It is okay to be less formal when you want to achieve these objectives since the target consumers prevails upon the language of communication. It is also important to note that effective brand communication is achie ved when it is communicated in a language best

Critical evaluation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Critical evaluation - Essay Example These two research methodologies, quantitative and qualitative, generally polarize along the objective (quantitative) and subjective (qualitative) continuum, yet Park and Ernst's study has aspects of both. They summarize their study as "a systematic review of all randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on the effectiveness of Ayurvedic medicine for RA." Thus, it is qualitative in nature. However, their research design and meticulous literature search are consistent with quantitative studies - structured, repeatable, well documented and theory based. The integrity of a literature study depends on the integrity of trial selection. Biased trial selection can bias the study. The authors took noteworthy precautions to ensure the study's integrity. They found only seven RCTs meeting their inclusion criteria: After their comprehensive search, the authors indicate they identified 33 trials. This is a satisfactory sample size, but their review revealed trials with methodological concerns, particularly non-randomization, observational structures, or lacking controls. Once these trials were excluded, they had a sample size of seven. The seven selected, meeting the strict inclusion criteria, were methodologically sound. They incorporated important tenets of scientific research, being systematic, controlled, and empirical. The authors detailed their team's search strategy including: Electronically searching major databases (Medline, Embase, AMED, Cochrane Controlled Trial Register, and the abstract service of Central Council for Research in Ayurveda and Siddha [CCRAS]) Hand searching 4 relevant Sri Lankan and Indian journals not in the electronic databases Electronically and hand searching the authors' personal files Further, they detailed their keyword selection for the searches and indicated imposing no language restrictions. Documenting that trial selection was predicated upon documented keywords reduced the potential for both overt and covert bias, enhancing objectivity while minimizing subjectivity. Documenting that trial selection was performed scientifically and not according to the authors' personal choices allows the reader to better interpret the information as they see fit, rather than reading a study that reflects the authors' opinions. To further educate readers, Park and Ernst provide a comprehensive paragraph on how they scored and reviewed the articles. In addition to ensuring that each article was reviewed by a person speaking the language of the trial article, they noted that they followed the QUOROM guideline for systematic reviews and used a standardized score (Jadad) for assessing methodological quality. The authors document scientifically why they believed the study of value

Sustainable energy systems Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Sustainable energy systems - Essay Example In larger scales, solar thermal technology harnesses enough energy for us in generating energy equivalent to geothermal plants. Solar is a clean and renewable energy implying that unlike fossil fuels it neither pollutes the environment nor gets depleted. Its use is therefore more economical owing to the minimal environmental effects. The United Kingdom uses different forms of fossil energy in the form of petroleum products. Such fuels have been in use for years all through the history of the country in running companies, automobiles and in small-scale domestic uses. Fossil fuels are convenient owing to the fact that they are portable and considerately cheaper. Developed countries including the United Kingdom constitute the greatest users of the fossil fuels therefore the greatest polluters of the environment. The phrase sustainable energy refers to the production of sufficient energy at affordable costs. The affordability of energy in this context does not only apply to the cost of p roduction but also to the environmental consequences in the course of the use of the energy resource in a particular country. The United Kingdom currently consumes an average of 300TWh annually. ... From the above brief discussion, the two forms of energy become evident: renewable energy and nonrenewable energy. Renewable energy refers to the different energy that comes from replenished sources. This refers to natural sources of energy, most of which are never depleted; they come from natural sources which continually get recycled. Among the most common sources of this energy include rain, sunlight, wind, tidal waves and geothermal heat among many others. Non-renewable energy, on the other hand, comes from depleted source key among which are fossils thereby resulting in the term fossil fuels. Fossil fuels form because of a process referred to as anaerobic decomposition of living organisms. This process takes millions of years and the resultant fuels contain a lot of carbon. The most common forms of such energy include natural gas, petroleum and coal (BOYLE, 2012: pg 31). This therefore implies that despite their convenience and cheaper cost of production, fossil fuels are not co nvenient and the country should determine a way of reducing their usage and encourage the consumption of more cost effective energies. Renewable energy is not depleted, they are commonly referred to as clean energy owing to the fact that they do not involve the combustion of any substance and therefore do not result in by products such as carbon as is the case with fossil fuels. This explains that while fossil fuels pollute the environment through the production of carbon, clean energy does not owing to the fact that they do not produce any carbon compounds as the by products. Additionally, machines that run on fossil fuels produce a lot of noise owing to the combustion