Research Articles Base: Diet And Nutrition Sample Essays

Career Aspirations

Career Aspiration With regards to my aspiration, I will be moving within 1 year time to the post of  and will be in-charge of the following department: HR, Administration and IT.  The chosen occupation entails the management functions including planning, organizing, directing/leading, coordinating and controlling. These functions are goal-directed, interrelated, and interdependent with each other. These are also needed in dealing with all elements of business – people, jobs or positions, technology, facilities and equipment, materials and supplies, information, and financial resources.             Planning is very important. It is the most primary and basic process of formulating courses of action or organised behaviour ahead of particular time ( 2003; 2002). It appears to be foundational aspect to effective career management (1997; 1998; 1997; 1995;1994;  1994). While it is true that many people do not always plan their actions, it is important for aspiring managers – like me, to plan. Organisations pay particular importance to the planning ability of every employee. However, whether dealing with the context by which planning is occurring or whether on the individual or organisational level, the process takes place according to the prevailing attitudes, beliefs, and goals that are involved. On this case, the presence of definite course of actions and organised behaviour is important in management. HR Managers have deliberate goals that needed immediate response in the most time- and cost-effective ways possible. In making such, the firm’s objectives should reflect standards of success in financial and competitive performance, as well as acceptable levels of risk and rates of long-term growth ( 2004). The HR Manager then is expected to present plans and interventions on the tasks and the resources to be utilised in achieving the predetermined goals. The lack of formal planning or poor planning process and ability can decrease individual as well as organisational performance (1993). According to most authors ( 2004; 2003;  2002; 1995), managerial strategic planning minimises the potential negative consequences of lack of formal planning or poor planning (i.e. uncertainty). The success of several organisations and people rely on the outstanding ability to plan, evaluate and materialise arrangement in connection to the achievement of goals.             Organising is the ability of putting similar elements following one or more rules ( 1998). Generally, it includes the specification and distribution of tasks to appropriate components (e.g. people, departments, etc). It is also the assignment of authority and allocation of resources. The practice of organising is crucial in developing inputs to planning, making planning decisions, and implementing strategy. To be effective, however, comprehensive management function in the business must be done in a continuous pattern ( 2005;  2004). Yet, it is argued that the organising process that is to be conducted within the firm or among the individual is dependent on the plans that must be implemented. On the case of a HR Manager, organising includes the development of coordinated efforts and interventions especially in the performance of prescribed duties and eventual achievement of deliberate goals set ahead of time. This is highly needed to cope up with the soaring demand of clients and the industry itself.             Directing or leading involves the execution of planned and organised activities and interventions for the achievement of predetermined goals (2003; 2002). The task of directing or leading is also connected to other organisational factors such as the clients, the firm’s budget and assets, and all other firm’s resources ( 2004). Furthermore, it is encouraged to adapt participative approaches to directing/leading in order to elicit useful characteristics and elements that are useful for the individual’s and firm’s success level. Also, the development and execution of appropriate leadership style is a vital determinant of effective directing or leading process. In the labour industry, it is still fundamental to study the practicable directing or leading applications to be implemented in accordance to the achievement of individual’s and organisation’s most important motives.             Coordinating is the regulation of all the various elements needed in the achievement of set goals. It is the integrating and establishing of linkages to diverse elements in order to accomplish harmonious operations and execution of plans ( 2003;2002). Coordinating includes the effective flow of communication. Communication is the link to successful execution of plans and achievement of objectives because it serves a number of fundamental functions (Brown 2001). Among these functions include the management of data and information, its flow, and so on. Surveys focusing on areas of improvement among corporations state that communication usually ranked as key element within the organization ( 1993). (1994) suggested that communication serves four major functions within a group or organization including control, motivation, emotional expression, and information. Communication is needed in a HR Manager career because of the presence of constant meetings and appointments with different groups and types of people.             Controlling is the task of management in the course of providing positive controls on the efforts of various elements of the organisation such as people and financial resources ( 2003). It has been demonstrated that the emphasis in successful management lies on the man, not on the work (1914 cited in 2003). According to the man’s mind is a controlling factor in efficiency, and has, by teaching, enabled the man to make the most of his powers. A HR Manager must be able to control the future of every transaction so as to uphold the premeditated individual as well as organisational goals. Every action is planned, organised, directed, and coordinated towards a general consensus. The future of every business deal is reliant on the ability of a HR Manager to minimise potential hazards and increase productivity among the labour force. Thus, controlling and all the other management functions mentioned above are relatively important.             All in all, the management functions discussed above are perceived to be the most important skills/competences required/demanded for the chosen occupation/role. Aside from outstanding scholastic record and personal virtues, these skills/competencies must be cultivated and maintained throughout the period and position as HR Manager. Strength             I have very good sense of judgment and decision making skills, which help me a lot to reach to this level at my career.  I am also a good listener and would judge on think once I have the full picture in mind. I am very hard working person and schedule every step at work. I want things at my department scheduled and planned in advance. I do not leave room for things to be done at last moment, or even do not like people or even management member to ask to demand things at very tight schedule. I would appreciate proper timing being given, so things done in right manner and with good quality kick-of. I recognised myself as someone who possesses the strength of the task of coordinating particularly on the case of communication.  (1997) noted communication’s function is essential for cases like allowing employees to conduct meetings, make memos, provide feedback and share corporate-wide information. I believed that the previous exposures and experiences that I gained help me acquired this core competency. Good communication skill was gained from giving presentations at seminars, supplier and customer service transactions (e.g. issuing clear and concise instructions, advising and assisting customers, etc). I am also used at working on team projects particularly during my course. This involved different roles, which have developed my impeccable negotiation and persuasion skills. Considering the significant role of communication in managing human resources, coordinating is among the basic ingredients of my professional success. I also believed to the spill over effects of effective coordinating function like the development of teamwork and successful working relationship. Teamwork is also attributed to the positive effects upon the psychological health and well-being of organisations member ( 1999). Through effective communication, people are motivated to work in unity and towards the achievement of individual and organisational goals alike.   Weakness             One of my weaknesses is that sometimes I take things at work in personal level which might be harmful to me. I tend to be autocratic. This kind of attitude reflects as my weakness in terms of directing or leading. I consider this as my leadership style. Leadership is an important aspect of management. As stated by a few authors (e.g.  1993; 1992), management requires leader’s full participation and involvement instead of designating individual groups who will shoulder all the responsibilities. Furthermore, this also helps in creating a sense of commitment and loyalty (Hill 1991). In the business point of view, good leadership proves to be quite beneficial as aids in effectively meeting job-related demands, creating higher-performing teams, fostering renewed loyalty and commitment, increasing motivational level, and reducing absenteeism and turnover of employees ( 1995).  I presumed that I am the opposite of a favoured leader. I am autocratic which means I tend to be overly manipulative and domineering. I was engaged in an argument in my previous job placement out of my domineering attitude. This attitude hinders the development of harmonious relationship or esprit de corps among colleagues and most importantly on the part of potential clients. I recognised the need to learn a leadership style that will be instrumental on the achievement of my intended career role as well as the development of other important values useful in my future as HR Manager and person as whole.   REFLECTION ON MY SKILLS DEVELOPMENT             While I recognise my limitation of being an autocratic leader, I learned to lessen my domineering attitude and improved my leadership style. I had a petty fight with a colleague in my previous employment. I was asked to lead a team of three (3) in assisting customers on the shop floor. It was during the Holidays where there are a lot of people in the mall. I delegated their specific functions. I asked the one to guide the customers in the places they need to go and the other one on showing some sample of our products being offered. I do the talking all throughout the period. The one whom I instructed to serve as the guide do not know what are the areas to be visited. I scolded him without asking why. We had an exchange of words. After that, I was informed that he was just a new employee and do not actually have sufficient idea to serve as guide provided that it is not a part of his job description. On this incident, I realised that I am wrong. Due to my domineering attitude, I did not ask the side or explanation of the new employee. I immediately scolded him and when he answered back, trying to explain his side, I butted in and prevented him from speaking. From that incident, I considered having a reality check on my leadership skills – from autocratic to democratic or being friendlier. I gradually changed from domineering to accommodating leader. By doing so, I am able to listen on other people’s voices and study the situation before giving my personal judgments. I should have been more lenient to the new employee. With this experience, I learned that autocratic attitude is not actually relevant particularly in working with teams because it hinders the development of teamwork among team mates. Thus, I needed to reconsider other leadership style as option. Now, I am on the process of becoming an advocate of democratic or participative leadership. This is an important event particularly on my future profession because it allows me to think before acting every situation that I am into. Also, the shift from autocratic to democratic or participative leadership will eventually add up to my effectiveness in dealing with different people in the business as it allows me to listen and recognise the importance of every person I deal with.             Also, I also increased my ability to communicate to people in all walks of life. My previous work experience as Sales Advisor/Supervisor entails daily interaction on people. My work includes advising them on mobile phone contracts, meeting and greeting them, assisting them on the shop floor, convincing them to buy our products, and at time supervising employees and assisting management. These responsibilities enhanced my interpersonal communication skills. Of course, it is expected that a person will get used to the things he/she does regularly. On my part, I am not just used to it; instead I am becoming a better communicator. I believed this is important to my future career as HR Manager because these daily work experiences armed me with the needed confidence and competence in dealing with people particularly on oral communication. Being a good communicator is a plus factor on clients because it portrays an idea of quality job performance. This enhanced skill will be used in persuasion and closing deals to potential clients. The importance of achieving balance between work and other life roles has also become an emerging topic in the career management literature (1998; 1995, 1999; 1994). This aids the people to focus on the achievement of the goals imposed by the organisation and by his/her self. I developed a strong conviction on the protection of my body. Most likely, I can say that I am a workaholic person. I do not know how to balance my personal life and personal life especially my work. I am always on the go. Sometimes, I skip my meals and do not exercise. This lifestyle that I have is a contributory element to my overall outlook in life. The incident that happened in my previous employment was triggered by my bodily mechanism. That day, I was in a hurry and forgot to eat my meal. I only had coffee as breakfast. I felt irritable maybe because of the fact that I did not actually eat my meal. With this incident and other body signals that I felt, I decided to take care of my body. I went to a gym and registered as member. In this gym, I had regular exercise routine and recommended diet. The development of a strong conviction to the protection of my body illuminates my future ability to effectively balance personal life and work. If I will not take care of my body and maintain a balance on work and life, I will not be very much contented. I might have all the wealth and success in the world but my body suffers, it is useless. This new knowledge will be useful in my future career as a HR Manager because it will reflect on my expected performance in the job. If I am healthy, I will be able to meet the demands of the work as well as my clients. I will deliver their needs properly and satisfactory. This will also have an effect on my ability to establish and maintain outstanding business relationships between me and my clients.       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Career Aspirations

Career Aspiration With regards to my aspiration, I will be moving within 1 year time to the post of and will be in-charge of the followi...

Stress Management Sample Essay

What is Stress? According to Dougal and Baum (2001), there is no universally accepted definition of stress. Most theorists agree that stress is or can be adaptive, that it is associated with threatening or harmful events, and that it is typically characterized by aversive or unpleasant feelings and mood. Some theorists have argued that stress can be positive, but others have insisted that it is a fundamentally aversive state. Some suggest that stress is an emotion and some have described stress as a general state of arousal associated with taking strong action or dealing with a strong stimulus. Stress can be described as a negative emotional experience accompanied by predictable biochemical, physiological, and behavioral changes that are directed toward adaptation either by manipulating the situation to alter the stressor or by accommodating its effects. Stress is an adaptive process with the goal of either altering a stressful situation or adjusting to and minimizing its negative effects. Dr. Hans Selye defined stress as the nonspecific response of the body to any demand made upon it (Kreitner and Kinicki, 1992). The demand can be a treat, a challenge or any kind of change, which requires the body to adapt. The response is automatic and immediate. Stress can be good (eustress) when it helps us to perform better, or it can be bad (distress) when it causes upset or makes us sick.   I consider stress not as an emotion or feeling. I think of it more of a response to a challenging or threatening situation. I learned that stress has physical and emotional effects on humans. Some argue that stress can create positive feelings while some believe that it elicits negative emotions. I believe that stress can have both negative and positive effects. It cannot be prevented. Stress arises with change. As long as we experience changes, we experience stress. It is also my firm belief that we eliminate stress altogether, because we cannot. Rather we must find ways to manage it correctly and deal with it in an advantageous (for both the individual and the organization) way. I noticed that there are a variety of definitions and meanings of stress. Theorists have different, often conflicting meanings but the unifying thought is that stress is our reaction to a challenging situation or demand. If a situation poses small challenge, we experience less stress. If the situation is poses a big challenge or if it is threatening we experience a lot of stress. I think the reason why there are many definitions of stress is because it is a personal/individual experience. It varies from person to person. An event or situation that causes me stress may not have the same impact to another person. There are also different ways to deal and cope with stress.   Objectives of Managing Stress Stress management, as what I have learned does not aim to eliminate stress. One of the most important things that I learned for the module is that stress can have a positive effect on us. Therefore, I think there is no need for us to eliminate stress. The key is “Management”. It is merely a technique (or an art) in deal with stress more effectively. It aims to prevent us from being overwhelmed by stress. It aims to help us cope and avoid the adverse effect of stress. The module taught me that the objectives of stress management are to eliminate stressors, develop resiliency, and cope with stress temporarily. Enactive strategies (eliminating stressors) aim to create a new environment for an individual where in there are no stressors. Proactive strategies (developing resiliency) aim to enhance the individual’s capacity to handle stress. Developing resiliency involves strategies that will initiate action that resists the negative effects of stress. When an immediate response is required, reactive strategies can be effective in dealing with stress. Reactive strategies (coping with stress temporarily) are applied on the spot remedies to reduce the effects of stress. The effectiveness of a strategy depends on the individual’s situation. In a working environment where there is a high risk of stress among employees. I think the best way to minimize the negative effect of stress is developing a proactive strategy (developing resiliency). The employees with the support of the management must develop strategies that will increase their level of self-resiliency. It is more important for individuals to be able to cope with and manage their stress level. For example, if an employee is working in a stressful environment or the nature of work is considered stressful, for example a Nurse, it would be quite impossible to create or move her to a new environment where there are no stressors. I think the more effective strategy is developing the person’s resiliency. This could be accomplished through the promotion of proper diet, balanced lifestyle, and supportive social relations. Mentoring, teamwork and coaching can also enhance a person’s resiliency.   Reactions to Stress Researchers divide the body’s reaction to stress into the following three stages: 1. Alarm This stage occurs when the body recognizes that a stressor is lurking and mobilizes the body’s biological/chemical defenses to cope with it. Certain hormones are pumped into the blood stream, which speed up the heart rate, increase respiration and slow down digestive activity. 2. Resistance and Adaptation In this stage, the body tries to repair the damage caused in the first stage and bring the body back to a “normal” condition. This defense system works so well that most of the time we are not even aware of it. We are all bombarded by stress – but we are not all sick. 3. Exhaustion A person’s body cannot be under stress all the time. Release must occur or illness may result. Exhaustion happens when the body stops to defend itself against stress.   The body’s reaction to stress is divided into three stages. The first stage, the alarm stage is when our body recognizes that a stressor is present. In response, the body alarms its biological/chemical defenses. During the second stage, the body tries to repair the damage brought about by the alarm stage. When the body is unsuccessful in repairing the damage or when the stress is not positively dealt with, the third reaction takes place. The third reaction is exhaustion. Continuous stress exhausts the body. Release must occur or illness may result.   Now I understand why people who are always “stressed out” and unhappy often fall sick more than those who are happy and enjoy life. Apparently, the mind and the body are connected. They affect each other. Prolonged stress has a negative effect on the physical health. Employees fall sick or become fatigued as deadlines, peak seasons or any challenging and demanding situations occur. When exhaustion takes place, the employees may feel weak and they may lose motivation. It is also important to understand that stress does not always lead to exhaustion. If the body is able to deal with stress during the second stage (Resistance), exhaustion will not happen.   Stress management teaches us ways to control stress. If we can effectively control our reaction to stress, we can turn it into a positive force that may improve our performance in the workplace. I learned that stress management is always a personal effort. There are stressors that we cannot avoid but if we learn how to control our reactions to stress we can minimize (or even eliminate) the adverse effects of stress on our health, performance at work and our over all well-being. The module helped me to learn that we can effectively deal with stress in an advantageous way.   Stress Defence Mechanisms The stress defence mechanisms (aggression, regression, repression, withdrawal and fixation happens during the resistance stage. I learned that aggression is not a good way of coping with stress. Instead of dispersing the conflict, it usually intensifies it. Withdrawal for a short period can afford us the time to find more acceptable coping techniques. Regression occurs when a person returns to a form of behavior characteristics of a younger age of development. Repression is purposely and consciously avoiding stressors in order to avoid dealing with them. I learned that aggression, regression, repression, withdrawal, and fixation are not proper ways of dealing with stress. I used to think that these behaviors cannot be avoided and that they are natural. They are our natural defense mechanisms to stress but because of this module, I learned that stress can be managed in a more proper way. There are more effective ways of dealing with stress.   Type of Stressors 1. Time stressors when temporarily present may have a significant effect on productivity and performance. However, continuous time stress can be harmful. 2. Encounter stressors are those that result from inter-personal interactions. Encounter stressors generally arise from three types of conflicts: role conflicts, in which roles performed by group members or subordinates do not fit expectations; issue conflicts, in which disagreement exists over how to define or solve a problem; and interaction conflicts, in which individuals fail to get along well because of mutual antagonism. 3. Situational stressors arise from the environment in which a person lives or from an individual’s circumstances. 4. Anticipatory stressors include potentially disagreeable events that threaten to occur unpleasant things that have not yet happened, but might happen.   I learned that there are different types of stressors. Each type has a negative effect on people. Temporary time stressors may have a positive effect on the employee’s performance. However, prolonged time stressors such as work overload and lack of control over one’s job is harmful. Interpersonal conflicts produces encounter stressors, which also have negative effects on the employees. I think that encounter stressors have significant effects on productivity and satisfaction. I found out that encounter stressors is one of the major causes of organizational dysfunction. Situational stressors arise from unfavorable working conditions and rapid change. Anticipatory stressors arise from unpleasant expectations and fear.   Eliminating Stressors In this lecture, I learned the ways to eliminate stress in the workplace. 1. Time stress can be eliminated through proper and efficient time management. The importance of proper and efficient time management is one of the significant things that I learned in this module. Now I see time management as a way not only to eliminate stressors but also to increase productivity and avoid a chain of stressors from arising. 2. Encounter stress can be eliminated through team building and collaboration. Collaboration eliminates stress by giving an employee membership in a stable, closely-knit group or community. I am still unsure about the how to effectively eliminate stress through teambuilding and collaboration. Maybe encounter stress can be eliminated but up to some degrees only. I think that this topic must be discussed more deeply. 3. Situational stress can be eliminated through work redesign. An effective job redesign model includes skill variety, task identity, task significance, autonomy, and feedback. Changing the aspects of work can eliminate stress and increase productivity. 4. Anticipatory stress can be eliminated trough goal setting and small wins. Small wins strategies include identifying the things that can be controlled; changing these things is a way that leads toward a desired goal; finding another small thing to change and change it; keeping track of the changes made; and maintaining the small gains made through change.   Temporary Stress Reduction I found out that there are temporary stress reduction techniques that can be employed in case an individual is faced with stress that needs immediate response. These are muscle relaxation, deep breathing, imagery and fantasy, rehearsal and reframing. I am particularly interested in these techniques and I hope it can be discussed deeper.   Workplace Stress Reduction I learned that both individuals and organization can use different methods to reduce stress. Individual strategies include physical exercise, hobbies, meditation, group discussions and assertive training. Organizational strategies like meeting with employees to discuss the extent of stress, conducting a survey and inspecting the workplace for stress causing factors, improving job design, improving communication, developing stress policy and training managers to recognize stress are also effective. The organization is responsible for the safety and well-being of the employees. The organization must make sure that the employees are working in a stress free environment or the employees are properly educated and equipped to cope with stress in the workplace. Each employee is responsible for managing his/her stress. He/she must find ways to effectively deal with stress. I learned that stress is also related to lifestyle. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is important.   This lecture taught me so many things. It taught me that stress management is a key to management competency. The most important things that I learned about this module are the nature of stress, its impacts on individuals and the ways that it can be managed. Stress management is an interesting topic. I used to think that the only way to deal with stress is to avoid it, but now I know that there are many effective ways to deal and cope with stress. Another thing that I learned from this lecture that change the way I view stress is that is can be a good thing. It is a driving force that keeps us on our toes and ensures that we push to the best we can be. The issues that interested me a lot, and that I would like to study in more detail are the reactions to stress and stress defense mechanisms. I think it is important that we study these issues in order to make an effective stress management strategy. The definition of stress remains unclear. What I know is that it is our reaction to challenging or threatening situations. I also want to know if there are differences on how male and female employees deal with stress.   The knowledge and ideas that I learned for the module can be applied to my personal life. I now know that I can manage stress and there are a number of ways to do it. When I face stress in the workplace, I will know how to deal with it.  The module was effective because it was able to educate its intended audience about stress and stress management. I learned many things form it. One the interesting facts that I learned from this lecture is that stress has overtaken traditional workplace illness and injuries to become the biggest cause of sickness and absence in Britain. Another interesting and new fact that I learned is stress costs U. K. industry £3.7 billion each year.   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Stress Management Sample Essay

What is Stress? According to Dougal and Baum (2001), there is no universally accepted definition of stress. Most theorists agree that ...

In this world where only the fast and efficient way of doing things are preferred

I.                   Introduction In this world where only the fast and efficient way of doing things are preferred, the common individual encounters stress of enormous proportions. This prompts companies like OSIM International to find ways to allow the common individual the means towards dealing with these types of work related risks. To do this, they afford the individual a chance for a healthy lifestyle. The company is basically one of the pioneers in this type of industry and it is building an empire by installing global presence using its worldwide network. This paper will provide an analysis of OSIM International, more specifically a look on the internal and external environment of the organisation. To do this, the paper shall initially provide a background description of the company. In this part a discussion of its basic tenets as well as the key            factors that drive the operations of the company. Subsequently, the internal and external environments shall be examined using analytic tools like the PEST analysis, Porter’s Five Forces, SWOT Analysis to name a few. The data used in this paper shall consist of data acquired from the website of the company and its annual reports. On the other hand, the discussions as per the theories, arguments and observations shall be based on the data acquired from scholarly and academic articles and journals. In the end of this paper, a summation of all these arguments and observations shall be provided in a conclusion. In the same manner, the study shall also indicate some recommendations for the company to ensure continued growth in its industry.   II.                Background of the Company The company is basically one of the more synonymous names with lifestyle products. Its most notable merchandise includes iconic chairs that ushered the company into a major international brand name. A.   The Industry The industry on which OSIM operates is dominated by the company. This is basically because there are a scarce number of players in the field of healthy lifestyle products. OSIM virtually have a monopoly in this field as it holds on a great market share in its operations. Based on the website of the company, they have made a niche and consequently established a demand for their products. This makes them the pioneers in the industry. With South Asia as their hub of operations, Hong Kong has become one of the top earners of the company’s global network.   B.   The Target Market In its operations in Hong Kong, it appears that the target market of the company is those individuals that are in their later teens and late thirties who are health conscious and lead a very fast paced lifestyle. This is manifested with their events like the marathons and triathlons that they organise. Basically though they have this specific target market as among their core customers, their annual report maintains that they intend to expand their market and reach other age brackets to cater to their individual needs. C.   Vision and Mission of the Company The vision of OSIM International is to provide a holistic and integrated approach to healthy lifestyle. The company is geared towards providing the public products that “carry the fundamental theme of health and well-being.” In order to do this, the company needs to focus its operations into four major areas: health, hygiene nutrition, and fitness. In the area of health, the company seeks to help the individual to manage a healthy lifestyle by offering a wide range of health products from massagers to blood pressure monitors. In the area of hygiene, the company seeks to provide the public an access to cleaner water, air and a clean environment in general. Products like water freshener and water purifiers are among those that spearhead this mission. In the area of nutrition, OSIM provides the public a selection of dietary supplements that helps in maintaining a balanced diet. And lastly, the company also focuses on fitness as a part of their overall mission statement. This is manifested in their home gym equipments which allow the common individual a chance to work out in the comfort of their own home. These products range from stationary bicycles to treadmills. D.   The Strategy Aside from these general strategies, the company has a growth strategy in their 2008 performance. Their annual report maintained that the company intends to introduce more innovative products that will share the market with their existing major products. It is also said that the company intends to improve store performance by increasing productivity. In this level, the company shows that it seeks to maintain its hold on the international scene.   III.              External Environment of the Company   A.   PEST Analysis   1.     Political Environment   2.     Economic Environment   3.     Socio-cultural Environment   4.     Technological Environment   B.   Five Forces Model   1.     Supplier Power   2.     Intensity of Rivalry   3.     Threat of Substitutes   4.     Buyer Power   5.     Threat of New Entrants   IV.            Internal Environment of OSIM   A.   SWOT Analysis   1.     Strength   2.     Weaknesses   3.     Opportunities   4.     Threats     B.   Value Chain Analysis   1.     Primary Value Activities   2.     Support Activities     V.               Conclusion     Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

In this world where only the fast and efficient way of doing things are preferred

I. Introduction In this world where only the fast and efficient way of doing things are preferred, the comm...

Transforming Knowledge Into New Products,

Introduction             Innovation is the process of transforming knowledge into new products, processes and services which, in return, generate new economic benefits (Western Diversion Economic Canada, 2006). Innovation is no longer a new topic. If you are going to search on the Barnes & Noble website, it will generates a list of over 2, 500 books within the tern “innovation” in the title (Abramson and Littman, 2002).             Innovation is the prime strategy for the first decade of the twenty-first century. This will lead to faster growth and increased market share and better corporate positioning (Stark, 2000).             As the number of vehicle variants proliferates and the demand for innovative vehicles and components grows, a company’s ability to successfully identify and launch new products has become one of the most important criteria for success (Korth, 2005). Innovation helps the large and small enterprises to begin to re-evaluate their products, their services and their corporate culture in attempt to maintain their competitiveness in the global markets of today. Some companies believe and recognize innovation as the only way to survive in the face of increasing competition (STUF n.d.).             Innovation enables companies and businesses to define and develop new products and services and deliver them to market. It is the fundamental source of value creation in companies and an important enabler of competitive advantage. Innovation is inherently a highly cross-functional activity that, when it works well, creates a constructive tension between competing objectives of development cost, product value, performance, quality and time to market (Bordia et al n.d.).             There is no doubt that innovation is critical to the success of organizations (Christensen, 2005), because it will either bring your business up or down.             Innovation will give a big competitive edge. New products and services can be knocked-off or copied but it’s harder for competitors to duplicate a management system and corporate culture that produces a continuous stream of successful products and services improvements, adaptations and extensions (Clemmer n.d.)   What is Innovation?             Innovation has been an important concept in the business community but the concept achieved attention only in the government community. Innovation boosted in the public sector during 1986, when the Ford Foundation created the Innovations in State and Local Government Awards program. Other similar awards came after the said award. In 1990, the Clinton administrator’s National Performance Review encouraged innovative ideas, programs and approaches in the federal government as a major component of its reinvention (Abramson and Littman, 2002)             Innovation is the successful exploitation of ideas (The Innovation Unit n.d.). The main difference between innovation and invention is that, invention is the first occurrence of an idea for a new product of process, while innovation is the first attempt to carry it out into practice (Fagerberg, 2004).             Innovation is the introduction of a new thing or method and the embodiment, combination or synthesis of knowledge in original, relevant and valued new products, processed or services (Luecke and Kartz, 2003). All innovation begins with creative ideas end with the implementation of creative ideas within organization. Creativity by individuals and teams is a starting point for innovation; the first is necessary but not sufficient condition for the second (Amabile et al, 1996). Innovation is just like many business functions, it is a management process that requires specific tools, rules and discipline (Davila et al, 2006). The words creativity and innovation are used interchangeable. This shouldn’t be because while creativity implies coming up with ideas, innovation is the bringing ideas to life (Davila et al, 2006). The Five P’s of Innovation             Innovation is the result of different factors and elements join together. The five P’s of innovation are: the pissed-offedness, the passion, the pals, the politics and the persistence. This five are the common factors that will push the company to innovate and change (Peter, 2005).             The pissed-offedness deals with the enough-is-enough and let’s-fix-it situation. Commonly, this is the situations that will make the company mad and will push them to decide to apply an innovation to their system to fix their problem.             Passion drives most of the non-profit and the opposite companies to move and grow. This helps them to go into innovation because of passion in serving the people or passion in making life a lot easier.             Pals deals with the people of team that are connected to a company. Just like what an adage says: No man is an island. Never go it alone and be sure that there is someone that will hold you, so you will not fall.             Politics is the process of gaining sponsorship and as a way to sell ideas, products and services in the market.             Persistence is the quality of continuing steadily despite problems or obstacle. A company must know how to sell and push their products or services in the market. Process for Innovation             There are four stages in applying innovation in a company. This four will be important in continuous change and innovation and will prevent chaos. The four stages are: exploration, experimentation, development and integration (Clemmer n.d.).             Exploration is the process of investigating or the study o something such as data or the consideration and testing of something such as possible courses of actions (Encarta Dictionary). This is the stage of decision-making on what kind of innovation must be done in order to solve a problem inside the company.             Experimentation is the process of conducting or using scientific method to gather facts and prove something (Encarta Dictionary). This will help a company to decide on what particular innovation is compatible to their business policies and standards.             Development is the process of developing something for growth (Encarta Dictionary). This will be the stage where in the actual improvement or the process of developing the innovation is done.             Integration is the stage where in the actual use of the innovation will be deploy to the company and will interact to the people and other machines that are involve in the process and transaction of a company.             This four processes or stages will help companies to achieve their innovation goals, which are: to improve quality of services and products; to create a new market; to extend the product range; to reduce; to cost by using machines and other new technologies; to improve and to speed up production processes; to reduce materials; to reduce environmental damage; to replace old and traditional products and services that will lead to boredom of target market; to reduce energy consumption; and to follow regulations (Wikipedia n.d.) Kinds of Innovation             There are nine types of innovation that the scholars have identified. These are: the business model innovation, the marketing innovation, the organizational innovation, the process innovation, the product innovation, the service innovation, the supply chain innovation, the substantial innovation and the financial innovation (Wikipedia n.d.).             Business model innovation is the situation wherein the company or organization change their way of business in terms of capturing value.             Marketing innovation is the development of new marketing methods by improving the company’s products or services.             Organizational innovation the modification of business structures, practices, models, process, business model and marketing.             Product innovation is the introduction of a new or old but improved product of services.             Service innovation is the innovation in services and products that will offer a more interactive and information-intensive.             Supply chain innovation occurs in the input of products from supplier to output of product through delivery.             Substantial innovation is the introduction of a different products or services but within the same line of the old products.             Financial innovation is the combination of basic financial attributes with the progressive innovative way. Dimensions of Innovation             There are different dimension of innovations. These are: product and services, manufacturing process, materials, business and practices.   Categories Opportunities for Innovations Product and Services 1. Design 2. Features 3. Technology 4. Quality 5. Price Manufacturing Processes 1. Equipment 2. Technology Materials 1. Composition 2. Properties Business 1. Management Practices Practices 1. Business Design   History of McDonalds             McDonald’s Corporation is the largest chain of fast-food restaurants in the world. The company’s primary product was hamburgers, chickens, french fries, breakfasts and soft drinks but recently, it also offers salads, fruits, snack wraps and carrot sticks.             McDonald’s was first built by the McDonald’s brother, Dick and Mack in 1940 in San Bernardino, California. In 1948, they introduced the “Speedee Service System” that established the modern fast-food restaurant. The first franchise of McDonalds was opened on April 15, 1955 in Des Plaines, Illinois by Ray Kroc. Later, Kroc purchased the equity of the McDonald’s brother in the company and led its worldwide expansion.             Because of the successful expansion of McDonalds into different part of the globe, it become a living symbol of globalization and spread the American culture in the world.                           Today, McDonald’s restaurants are found in 120 different counties and territories around the globe and serve 54 million customers each day. The company also operates restaurant brands such as Piles Café and Boston Market. It also has a minor stock in Pret a Manger. The company also owned majority stock in Chipotle Mexican Grill (Wikipedia n.d.). Innovation and McDonalds             The reason behind the success of McDonald’s is because of its proper management of innovation. The company is always making sure that they always have something new to offer to their customers. They are using recipe and technological innovation to improve their service to meet their customer’s satisfaction.             The Romeoville warehouse is the home of the McDonald’s Innovation Centre. This is where the fast-food group tests most of its gimmicks and ideas (Wallop, 2006).             McDonald’s established the Innovation Center, the Innovation Council and the Strategic Innovation Process to take different ideas from different branches of the restaurant from different part of the globe. Those ideas that will be gathered will be put into restaurant setting and try it to 50 to 100 restaurants to see if it will work. This will enable the company to test not only the menu, but also the operating platform and all the systems in the restaurant to synchronize up with the other changes (Gubman and Russel, 2006). Healthy Food             One of the most important innovations of McDonalds in terms of health is their launching of their salad (Wallop, 2006). This is to join the crusade in favor of healthy lifestyle. This is a great move, because it will target those customers that are into diet or vegetarian. This will also add a new flavor and features to their menu that will surely hit the heart of their customers. Wireless Toaster             This technological innovation that was used and implemented by the company will cover the safety issue of the company. This wireless toaster will automatically send a message or signal to the branch manager’s mobile phone when it over heat (Wallop, 2006). Fast Services             McDonald’s is serving thousands of customer everyday just in one branch. And more often than not all of the customers are all in the hurry when they order their meal. This is the reason why McDonald’s think of various ways to improve and to speed up their services. With the use of new technology such as the vertical hamburger grills that will speed up the cooking of the beef and other patties. The use of hinges for fridges will also help the worker to shave off their time (Wallop, 2006). New Services             Many McDonald’s franchises are now open twenty-four hours. This is to target those customers that are working in night-shift and even those families that are not that into cooking and are used in ordering to different restaurant. To try to draw people at slower hours, McDonald’s borrowed a page from Starbuck’s playbook, to improve their coffee and making is stores warmer and more accessible. This will encourage customers to linger in the afternoon or early evening (Christensen, 2007). New Products             McDonald’s historic focus on serving portions that are fit for a meal presented another innovation: snacking occasions. The company introduced the chicken snack wrap. This product carries a low price point and can be easily consumed with one hand. This product has been a huge hit with a sale exceeding the company’s projections by 20% (Christensen, 2007).             All of the individual franchisee has the right to develop and launch a new food items. Because of this McDonald’s policy, it leads to many of huge hit like the Egg McMuffin breakfast sandwich, the Big Mac and the kid-friendly Happy Meals (Christensen, 2007).             A recent Wall Street Journal article describe the process of McDonald’s where in they are accepting suggestions from franchisee. The product of this study was the launching of the Snack Wrap, and it reached the mass market in six months, an astonishingly short period of time given the company’s size and complexity (Christensen, 2007).   Automated Beverage System             This automated beverage system is a handheld device that can read bar codes to confirm if a specific step in a restaurant’s daily inspection routine was done properly (Le Beaun.n.d). Latest Innovation             There are two innovations that are now implemented in selected McDonald’s branch in the world (Le Beaun.n.d). These are the self-serve ordering kiosks that will help the worker and staff in managing the orders of the customers and the vertical grills that can cook hamburgers unattended (Le Beaun.n.d). French Fry Packager             This will help the staff to manage their time and serve the customers more quickly by letting this machine to do the time-consuming task of packaging french fries (Le Beaun.n.d). Comfy Chairs             This technology will help the restaurant to attract customer because of their well-furnished and comfortable chairs. Meat-less Fridays             McDonalds also consider the culture and belief of the Catholic during the meatless Friday. The company launches the Fillet-O-Fish sandwich. This will allow the customer to enjoy McDonalds even in meatless days (Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs n.d.). Halal Burger             Taking the community taste concept, McDonald’s decided to appeal to customer’s beliefs and taste by serving Halal burgers. This is to serve the devout Muslims by giving them Halal meat. This will give the Muslim people additional menu except from salads and desert (Commonwealth Department of Immigration and Multicultural and Indigenous Affairs n.d.). Factors that will affect the Innovation process of McDonald’s             The innovation process of McDonalds in the past years of its operation was a big hit. This is the reason why there are lots of establishments that are now following the path of the said company. But because McDonald’s is an international companies that is catering different taste, different culture and different countries and borderline, the company will always have a hard time in deciding which innovation should be applied. The launching of salad was a good idea, but the company must consider that the Americans are different from Asians and Europeans. Just for example in the Philippines, McDonald’s spaghetti is not very famous in the said country because, people there are into sweet with a touch of sour style spaghetti; this is opposite to the American style. This affects the demand of the said product because of the different taste and culture of the said country.             The use of new technologies will also affect in some way the activities and the labor cost of the staff. By using these technologies, it will be a lot easier for them to serve their customers in a short period of time but will also affect the relationships between the management and the team. Failure of Innovation             Failure of innovation is inevitable. Most of the innovations that often fail are those good but have been rejected due to budget constraints and poor management. Failure can be prevented if a company will learn how to manage all the resources that are needed and involved in the innovation process. Common causes of failure of innovation in most organizations are can be divided into five classifications: Poor goal definition; poor alignment of actions to goals; poor participation in teams; poor monitoring of results; and poor communication and access to information (O’Sullivan, 2002).   Innovation-friendly Organization               Fig 2 shows the six components that are needed in an organization to launch a successful innovation. Importance of Innovation             Innovation is part of the human DNA. Without the willingness to experiment, to try something new, to solve a problem or confront and overcome a new challenge, the entire human race would not evolve as a species (The Innovation Unit n.d.).             Innovation is important due to the fact that the world of business now is facing a number of key challenges. Globalization, the technological and informational revolutions and the vast and huge competition are the factors that should be consider in answering the question on why do businesses needs innovation (The Innovation Unit n.d.).             Innovation will help companies to be more productive and confident enough to face their competitors. This will also enhance their products and services that will help them to build a name. This will also them to catch the attention of the customers by giving them excitement and surprises that will surely make them eager in buying and availing the company’s products and services. Conclusion             Feeding about 50 million of customers in 12 different countries and over 30, 000 restaurants in the world everyday is not an easy task. McDonald’s Corporation knows that running its core business correctly is absolutely necessary for success but is insufficient to keep it growing (Gubman and Russel, 2006). It will need a lot of management and maintenance in order to improve and grow.             This is the reason why McDonalds now is at the peak of their innovation process and continue to research and experiment to improve their services and products. The company is continuing to work to capture the heart of the world by considering all the vital factors that will affect their innovation process such as the culture, the belief and the taste of their customers. This is the reason why McDonald’s is the world’s pioneer and leading fast-food chain.  There is no doubt that McDonalds is the leader and founder of fast-food chain innovation. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Transforming Knowledge Into New Products,

Introduction Innovation is the process of transforming knowledge into new products, processes and services which, in return,...

Effectiveness of the Current Health Promotions Measures Addressing South Asian Adult Women and Obesity

Promoting Public Health Part 1: Effectiveness of the Current Health Promotion Measures Addressing South Asian Adult Women and Obesity             In the United Kingdom, one of the major problems of the government regarding health is the increasing rate of obesity. It has been reported that the number of the people who are considered as obese has tripled over the last 20 years, and it is still rising. According to statistic, in the UK, 21% of women are overweight, and 21% are obese, while 46% of men are overweight and 17% of men are obese (2001).             There are different studies that show that compared with the European women; South Asian women are more likely to be obese, however, less likely to rate themselves as overweight (1999). Local Policy             There are different local policies that are being implemented by the local government in order to support and provide people with information and other service regarding obesity.             One of this is the Bradford & Airedale Primary Care Trusts. The said policy focuses on implementing and conducting different health promotion in order to inform the public regarding the issue about obesity. The policy is using the behavioral model, where in the policy believe that obesity can be prevented by different activities and measures that are related to the lifestyle of the individual. In January 2005, a scrutiny review group was organized and focus on looking at obesity and overweight in the District. Thus, different events regarding food and exercise are being held with the representative coming from the communities of South Asian. Although, their means of generalizing the public in terms of the programs that are being implemented, due to the fact that it will create a mentality of fairness and equality. It is important to consider that South Asian grown up women have different culture, body type and needs compare to the Europeans or locals. For instance, in South Asian diet, rice is considered as an important part of the meal, thus it can be said that it is already a part of their culture.             In addition to that, the council , focuses on tackling obesity by scrutinizing obesity and overweight in the district. Just like the Bradford & Airedale PCT, this policy also uses the behavioral model, where in it believe that obesity can be obtain or result of the lifestyle of each and every individual. However, the Bradford council had been able to connect the entire communities in the health promotion activities; it had included the influence of the employers and working place or environment to the development of obesity, as well as the roles of the supermarkets in informing the public regarding the food items that they are selling. On the other hand, just like PCT, the council is lacking in having a direct communication and relationship with the South Asian women. The said aspect is important due to the fact that the ideas and concerns of South Asian women towards obesity is the same as the views and priorities of the professionals.              Both of the policies had been able to cater on the general demand of the public or community or it uses the community model, where in it focuses on the different environmental as well as the connection of different shareholders such as the working environment as well as the supermarket. However, both of the organization did not focus on the cultural and racial difference of South Asian women compare to the European or locals. Both focus on the behavioral model that emphasize on the lifestyle of each and every individual. It would be better if will also focus on the use of biomedical model, due to the fact that there are studies that shows that obesity can be obtain in terms of genetic and hormonal. And it is understandable that South Asian women have different genetic aspects compare to European, thus hormones of men are different from women. National Policy             Aside from specific local policies that are being implemented and conducted in different areas and places in the UK, there are different national policies or the basis of those local policies. It serves as the guiding rules and policies for each and every organization and individual in local areas.             National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence or NICE is an independent organizations that is responsible in providing national guidance in promoting good health and preventing as well as treating ill health. NICE published their guidance for prevention, identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity in adults and children in December 2006. The said guidelines had been able to show different recommendations for the doctors, nurse, trainers, community and individual regarding the different aspects that are related to the current growing problem of the country.             This guideline uses the socio environmental model where in it views obesity as social, economic and environmental detriments that will help to provide incentives and barriers to the health of the individuals and the entire community. It focuses mainly on the lack of knowledge regarding the activities of buying and cooking food and how diet and exercise can affect health. In addition to that it also focuses on the impact of the cost and availability of healthy foods as well as the opportunities to exercise. Furthermore, it also stated that each and every program must be designed and implemented based on the individual needs, capacity and desires. This is due to the fact that action plan must be based on the culture of a group. In addition to that, it had been able to connect all the important entities in community that can affect the perception of the people towards obesity. But still, there are different problematic areas that must be considered. First is that, the guideline stated that each and every social worker must propose and implement programs based on the demand and needs of the patient, however, the culture and tradition can be a barrier in good communication and understanding between the patient and social worker. That’s why it will be important to make sure that the social worker has a background knowledge regarding the cultures, traditions and beliefs of the South Asian women that can help to ensure the effectiveness of the program.             The  DOH of the UK also released its own guidelines regarding the recommendation for preventing and combating obesity. It releases its, Lightening the Load: Tackling Overweight and Obesity in March 2007. Just like the recommendation of NICE, this paper also focuses on the different aspects that are related to obesity as well as the different aspects and entities that are involved in the said process of preventing and combating obesity, from the individual, families, societies and the authorities. In addition to that it also uses the, socio environmental model where in it tackles on the different environmental, social, economical and other important aspects that can be associated with the increasing obesity rate in the country. It proposes the Three E’s Model in tackling the issues regarding achieving lifestyle change. It focuses on the aspect of the Environment, Empowerment and Encouragement. It focuses in supporting individual to change their lifestyle and then provide with the knowledge and skills that will help individual to make a healthy change. This will be supported by the totality of the cultural, social, physical and even economic environment that are required in order to facilitate the improvements in the lifestyle factors like diet and physical activity. In addition to that, it also uses two approaches in order to implement the program, which are, the whole population approach and individual at risk approach. By doing the said approach, it had been able to cater the group and individual demand of the public. One of the problems that must be faced by the government in implementing this guideline is that it is important for the local authorities and social workers to have a full knowledge regarding the cultural background of the individual or group, primarily the South Asian women. This is due to the fact that culture plays an important role in the lifestyle of each and every individual.             Another problems regarding the national policies is that it is not considering the fact that there are also some factors that can cause obesity that is not due to environmental and sociological aspect, there are some studies that shows that genes and other related aspect can also cause obesity. It will be based on the body types of each and every individual. That’s why it will be important to the government to focus also on the different physical and medical aspects regarding the issue of obesity.             Over all, it can be said that the health promotion of the country focuses on the involvement from the public, sustainability of interventions and relationships and building social systems for health. However, all of the said objective and activities are somewhat difficult due to the different barriers that can be caused by cultures and traditions. This will affect the perspective of the South Asian women towards the different local and national policies, as well as their relationship with the authorities. Part 2: Plan for Promoting Health of South Asian Adult Women             Diet plays a very important role in the overall health of an individual. There is a saying that what you eat is what you are. It is important to consider that healthy eating habit can help to prevent and combat cases of obesity, especially in South Asian Adult women. It is believe that South Asian diet, primarily Indian diet are far too rich in saturated fat and sugar, that’s the reason why many of the upper and middle class suffer from excessive weight problem. And due to the fact that the South Asian women are living in the UK, which is considered as a developed country, most of them are consuming or eating food that is based on the said diet. However, most of the South Asian communities are saying that their opinions were not being prioritized that much compare to the locals, that’s why they don’t have that much knowledge regarding the different aspects that are related to the growing number of South Asian women that are suffering from obesity. That is the reason why this paper focused on the process of promotion of healthy food in preventing and combating healthy food for South Asian adult women (see Appendix A). The said plan is consists of 4 important events that focuses on the process of promoting healthy foods for the South Asian adult women: informing the South Asian adult women regarding obesity; promotion of healthy foods and diet; reducing consumption of fast food; and spreading awareness.             On the other hand, evaluation of the success of the health promotion program is important and vital due to the fact that it can help to assess the effectiveness of the program. This evaluation will focus on the impact evaluation where in it will measures the short term effects of the program and will focus its concern if the objectives were meet or not. It will measure different changes in terms of behavior, environments, health knowledge, social participation, lifestyle and even the risk factors. Furthermore, it will use the qualitative evaluation method where in it will use words and meanings that will help to focus on describing the experience and feelings of the people towards the program. It is important to use this method due to the fact that South Asian adult women have different culture compare to the locals, and it can affect their perspective about the topic. By giving them the chance to talk regarding their experiences as well as their feelings regarding the program, it can help to gather more data and information that could help to improve the entire program.             Focus group will be used in order to evaluate the result of the program. This evaluation tool is appropriate to the situation, due to the fact that it is important to focus on the side of each and every individual, at the same time, enabling to see and hear the reactions as a group (see Appendix B). By using the said evaluation tool, it will enable the program to gather information or feedback directly from the participants, thus it can be used for the improvement of the program in the future.             During the entire program, the local and national policies regarding obesity will be used in order to ensure that the program is following the standard that have been set by the law and by the government. According to the guidelines by NICE and DOH, it is important to focus on the individual demands that will focus on the cultural aspects. Thus it is important to make the participant feel that all of them are treated as equal as those locals. Thus it is important to know first, the understanding of each individual, regarding obesity. This is because, there can be different perspective about a certain disease, or what we call the health models. Social workers and authorities are not sure if the perspective of the group is the same as their perception. That’s why in order to maintain or sustain healthy communication and understanding in the group, it will be important to let the participants to explain their side first.             There are different factors that can affect the entire health promotion. First is, the issue regarding funding. It is important to consider that due to the fact that focus group will be used, it can be more costly compare to the individual questionnaire, due to the fact that there will be several meetings that must be done in order to evaluate the program. In addition to that, funding has a great influence on how huge the population the program will going to cater.             The program will promote women only session; it means that all of the authorities and social worker who will be involved in the program will all be female. This is due to the culture of the South Asian, where in gender issues are still a huge subject, that’s why in order for the participants to be comfortable, it will be appropriate to implement the said plan. In addition to that, the focus group interview will be done in a close room, where in the group can communicate, talk and exchange opinions without the presence of destructions such as noise and other commotions.             On the other hand, there are some South Asian women who are already fluent to English, while there are some who are not, in order to cope up with the said problem, it will be important to divide the group for those who speak English well, and those who are comfortable in speaking their language. That’s why, it will be important to have social worker who can speak and understand specific language. By doing the said activity, it will enable to gather more information regarding the effectiveness of the program.             This project will be done by having a direct communication with the leaders of the South Asian community. By doing the said activity, it will help the group to have a direct connection with each and every individual member. In order to disseminate and spread the news regarding the program that will help them to understand the growing problem of obesity in the country, as well as in their society. In order to reach out for South Asian adult women, it will be important to give away multilingual leaflets, in order to cater to the language barrier. In addition to that, posters will be placed in most of the crowded places in the entire South Asian community; where in most of women go such as supermarket, church etc. In addition to that, having a direct connection to the employer can also help to inform them regarding the program. Aside from that, talking to the husbands and other family members can also help to encourage them to join the program. In addition to that, it can also be helpful if the program will be launched in the Internet, where in South Asian women can access anytime and anywhere.             There are different barriers that can possibly cause problems in the entire process of health promotion due to the fact that, although South Asian women come from the same region, different race have different characteristics, cultures and behaviors that can cause misunderstanding in the focus group. That is why it will be important to group the participants based on their race, where in they will be able to understand each other. In addition to that, it will also be important if the social worker or the moderators that will be assigned to a particular group have the background regarding the language or traditions, or it will be helpful if the social worker comes from the same race. This will provide light and at ease environment during the evaluation of the program.             Aside from that, it is also important to consider that they have their own lifestyle, culture that had affected their eating habit, thus it will not be easy to inculcate to their mind that some of their eating habit are bad for their health. It will be important to implement the problem in step-by-step manner or slowly-but- surely manner. It will be helpful to provide them the background knowledge regarding obesity, thus can help to ensure understanding from the group. By enabling them to understand the consequences of their eating habit, it will help them to be encouraged to change some aspects of their lifestyle.             Aside from the process of evaluating the program based on its result or outcome from those groups that have undergone the program, it will also be important to have an external comparison; where in the changes and developments in the group will be compare to other groups or communities. This can be done by gathering external statistical data, analyzing it, and then comparing it to the past and current condition of the group.                                   Appendices     Appendix A: Plan for Promoting Health of South Asian Adult Women   Promoting Healthy Foods   Event Barrier Solution 1. Informing the South Asian adult women regarding obesity §      Most of the South Asian women are not that knowledgeable and informed regarding how diet can affect their health. §    Informing the communities of the South Asian adult women regarding the importance of diet in the entire health of an individual. §    Giving lecture regarding the current trend of obesity in the world. It will help them to understand that they are not alone in that situation. §    Giving background information regarding the cause and effects of obesity. 2. Promotion of Healthy Foods and Diet. §      Food Culture §      People are already accustomed with their way of eating.   §    Make some changes in the way that dishes are being cooked, for example decreasing the amount of salt and other sauces. §    Conducting seminars and meetings that will help them to understand different aspects of obesity as well the different consequences like fatal diseases that can be caused by obesity such as cardiovascular diseases.  §    Presenting tables and data that will show the amount of calories that can be obtain by eating their traditional South Asian menu. 3. Reducing consumption of fast food §      Some of the South Asian adult women don’t have time to prepare food for themselves and even their family. §    Implement and conduct a cooking lesson that will teach them to cook healthy and nutritious foods in short period of time. §    Presenting the amount of calories that can be obtain from different fast foods such as burger and fries, and how it can contribute to their gaining of weight. 4. Adult women are not aware of what they are eating §      Most of the South Asian adults are not monitoring their diet due to lack of time as well as lack of knowledge and they are not used to it or they are not practicing it. §    Keeping food diary §    Daily or regular consultation or meeting with the social worker.                   Appendix B: Focus Group             Focus group is an evaluation method where in focuses on the group interviewing the interaction between the moderator and the group, relationship between the group members that can help to produce a level of insight that is rarely derived from the unidirectional information collection devices like observation, surveys and other less international interview techniques. The methods that are used in the process of recording and analyzing the information and data that have been gathered during the focus groups, as well as the strategies that have been used in order to gather unbiased information have helped the evaluation tool to gain credibility as an accurate as well as useful source of information Advantages and Disadvantages             Like any other evaluation tools, focus group has its edge as well as flaws compare to other tools in terms of application in evaluating the performance and the efficiency of a program.             The following are the advantages and disadvantages of Focus Groups. Advantages: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Socially oriented research procedure, that’s why it is useful in obtaining detailed information about individual and group feelings, perceptions and opinions;</li> </ul> <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Format allows the moderator to probe, thus it will offer a broader range to seek clarification;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Discussions have high face validity, thus it can help to ensure validity of information.</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Can be relatively low cost compare to individual interview;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Can provide speedy results compare to individual interview;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Enable researchers to increase the sample size of qualitative studies.</li> </ul> Disadvantages: <ul style="margin-top: 0in; margin-bottom: 0in" type="disc"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Researcher has less control in the group interview than in an individual interview, thus it can create disagreements and irrelevant discussion that can distract from the main focus;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Data are more difficult to analyze, control and manage;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Technique requires carefully trained moderators;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Groups can vary considerably;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Groups are difficult to assemble and difficult to encourage and range of people in order to participate;</li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify; line-height: 200%"> Discussion must be conducted in an environment conducive to conversation. </li> </ul> Source:, 2006)       Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Effectiveness of the Current Health Promotions Measures Addressing South Asian Adult Women and Obesity

Promoting Public Health Part 1: Effectiveness of the Current Health Promotion Measures Addressing South Asian Adult Women and Obesity ...