Literature review Essay Example for Free

Literature review Essay According to (Light, Pillerner, 1984), systematic literature review is also useful for it provides literature review needed in the scientific world. Systematic reviews follow a predetermined set of guidelines while being conducted and produces results that are fair. Unbiased reports are of great scientific value for they become the rationale for scientific studies. Through the results, hypotheses that do not have supporting evidence are eliminated and the ones which are based on evidence used for scientific studies. Thus systematic literature reviews define strengths and limits of available researches that are used in the science world. Among the many advantages of systematic literature review is that, unlike ordinary research that provides conclusions and suggests recommendations to a particular study or question, systematic literature review does not limit researchers, practitioners, clinicians, health care managers among other users of systematic review findings. Mulrow (2008) states that systematic literature review leaves room for the findings to be challenged. For instance, if researchers do not agree with a particular study that has been appraised through systematic literature review; room is provided for parties who do not agreeing with the research findings to build their own reviews. The transparent way through which systematic literature review is conducted provides the building blocks through which it can be challenged. In addition, the process of conducting a systematic literature review is less tiring as compared to the primary studies which use data collected from the field. Systematic literature reviews uses the already processed and documented primary data and therefore is less tedious. Power and precision is accorded to systematic reviews through their use of quantitative methodologies in data analysis. When compared with other traditional research literatures, systematic reviews have an advantage over them for they are able to justify their evidence and conclusions qualitatively and also quantitatively. Thomas, Harden et al, (2004) acknowledges that the use of Meta – analysis in systematic reviews gives them a greater command when it comes to evidence over traditional literature reviews that only relies on qualitative evidence. In addition, the combination of qualitative and quantitative methodologies ensures that the results are of greater precision. Systematic literature reviews uses a methodology that does not have room for biasness. The results obtained through systematic literature reviews are valid and can be reproduced when the same procedure is used. Mulrow, (2008) emphasizes that systematic reviews are transparent and researches widely on the available data making policy makers, clinicians, nurses among other users to widely rely on systematic literature reviews. The reviews also provide information that is clear and defined depending on the question or the study under review. Last but not least of the advantages of systematic literature review is the use of quantitative methods in literature reviews. The combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods of evaluating existing data contributes to the accuracy of results accorded to systematic literature reviews. Systematic literature review is far from perfect and many professionals argue as to the practicability of the evidence produced through systematic literature reviews. They argue that systematic literature reviews are reviews done by a group of researchers who think that by conducting the review, they have already solved a problem. According to Mulrow, (2008) to most professionals, a systematic literature review only signifies the beginning of a finding and not a way for solving a problem. For instance, while systematic literature reviews makes use of existing researches to make the reviews, the existing research evidence may have been conducted in relation to a particular group of people, area or particular settings. Then, though the systematic review conclusions will be drawn, questions arise as to how systematic literature reviews that may have used research findings that were only meant for a particular group of people or area should be generalized to other regions or people. They raise a problem of generalizing and disseminating quality and clear information to consumers and thereby undermining one of the most important reasons as to why systematic literature reviews should be done.

Abortion Essay - GOD is Pro-life :: Argumentative Persuasive Topics

Abortion: GOD is Pro-life The reason I am pro-life, and oppose abortion, is because GOD is pro-life, and opposes abortion. Scriptural evidence of this is abundant; consider the words of Ps. 139:13-14: "For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; marvelous are Your works, and that my soul knows very well." God then forbids the taking of innocent life [viz. a life not guilty of a capital crime, according to the law of God]. This is evident from verses such as Ex. 23:7, which says this: "Keep yourself far from a false matter; DO NOT KILL THE INNOCENT and righteous. For I will not justify the wicked Next, we ought to address our second question: Why not sit on our hands, and wait for the Lord to take us out of the wicked world? This is a very pertinent question today, and it directly affects a large percentage of evangelical Christians in America. Many are silent on abortion (and other abominations) because they believe that they can do nothing, and that the darker the days become the closer the coming of the Lord. In other words, "Why shine the rails on a sinking ship?" This view, though prominent, is perverse and anti-Scriptural. Christ our Lord commanded that we go into the world and spread the Gospel of grace, and in so doing bring about real change, and the extension of the kingdom of Jesus, our Risen Sovereign. Here are Christ's words to us, from Matt. 28:19-20: "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Our third query is related to what we just observed, but it has its own nuance to it: "With the whole world against us, why put up a fight at all?" This is a faithless point of view, and it denies the ultimate power of God over the universe. On top of that, how would we have liked it if God took an attitude and approach like this to our salvation: "Since they're such wicked sinners--I'll just send them all to Hell!?

C-Direct Insurance Company

201KM GROUP PROJECT CASE STUDY 3 Case Study 3 The C-Direct- Insurance Company Developed by Peter Race, Henley Management College Call centres have fast become one of the most important channels for organizations and their customers to interact. There are around 4,000 call centres in the UK today,employing over 400,000 people. The direct sell insurance industry is increasingly using call centres to access and service its market. The C-Direct -Insurance Company has its call centre in Newcastle, England. The company itself is just 6 years old and specialises in selling automobile insurance policies direct to customers. The processAdvertising and promotion initiatives attract customers’ interest and generate enquiries to the CD Call Centre. These lead to the provision of quotations for personal car insurance. In order to provide the quotation, CD operators need to collect the customer’s personal and vehicle related data (in total 17 items) and input them to the computer. Th e process is as follows: Customers call the CDCall Centre (the focus of this case) by a freephone telephone number and submit the required information. This is entered directly into a computer terminal during the call, their questions answered, and quotation provided within 12 minutes.Customers can pay by credit card and receive immediate insurance cover. Customers receive their personal insurance offer confirmed in writing by mail, about 23 days after initial contact. Mr Small, the Operations Manager, is responsible for all operations in the Call Centre. The Call Centre employs 105 people in three shifts over a core day between the hours of 0800 and 2000. The resources for the Call Centre are:  · its facilities – for example the buildings and the staff’s workspace/workstations  · the equipment – for example, computers/systems the People who use them. Car insurance is compulsory in the UK, so customers are price sensitive and tend to shop around to compare t he company’s offer with those of competitors. Only about 17% of CD’s offers are converted into policies. The operations management strategies of scheduling, capacity and quality management were reactive rather than proactive; for example, poor forecasting of demand resulted in excess manpower being under utilised. Staffs were inflexible and showed little sympathy or understanding to frustrated and angry customers.The interfaces with support functions such as Marketing or Information Systems Department tended to be confrontational rather than supportive. Fortunately, in the early days, competition was not very tough and Mr Small had no special performance targets or formal control mechanisms – he was literally his own boss. The policy change After five years of high growth, over the last twelve months sales have only grown by 3% and the company is beginning to struggle with diminishing profits. The main reasons for the slowdown have been identified:  · New Entr ants: 15 companies in the last 2 years, producing a wave of ‘direct insurance startups’.These companies have targeted the same customer segment as CD, the market for which has remained stagnant.  · Customers are more price sensitive and new entrants offer extremely low prices.  · Substitute Products are unchanged – customers still require car insurance. The new situation has forced management to review business policy options to provide a competitive advantage. Research has shown that for direct selling insurance products, the key market drivers are to:  · Offer a wider range of insurance products, so minimising the need for customers to deal with many suppliers. Offer low prices  · Provide excellent service. A recent internal report showed that the CD Call Centre still had potential to improve service levels and cost efficiency. The decision was therefore taken to extend the product range and improve service by addressing: Product flexibility CD will res pond to customer’s demand by launching a new product – household insurance – and deliver it via the Call Centre, alongside car insurance. Household insurance is often requested by customers and they have been in the past disappointed not to source it from CD.Furthermore, the product margin for household insurance is high, thanks to low average claims. Since only a few competitors currently offer household insurance, management believed they could generate an above average profit margin in the first year after launch. Responsiveness In order to make the new product successful, it will also be necessary to fulfill customer expectations for ‘time’ response. Consequently, operations management will need to ensure quick access to the Cal Centre and efficient treatment of customers for both products.Quality Improve customer service – at least to match competitors’ standards. Internal analysis has shown that the auto insurance ‘lapse ra te’ (customers not renewing their policies) – which is an indicator of customer satisfaction – was above the market average. To avoid this trap with the new product, significant improvements in service delivery of all CD’s activities is needed (including settlement of claims, which is not part of the Call Centre’s responsibilities). Cost Ensure price decrease of insurance premiums by reducing internal costs.All possibilities for further cost reduction must be exploited to permit a price level lower than the top five price leaders. By launching this policy change, senior management believe a successful implementation will lead to higher customer satisfaction and consequently to profitable growth. Influences on the operations The change in business policy will have an impact on M. Small’s current operations strategies. The policy change has been developed at corporate level but the benefits will have to be delivered by Mr Small, the Operations Manager, in the future.Therefore, Mr Small will need to address the changes to operating systems structures and operations management objectives. The determination of the tradeoff between customer service and resource utilisation will be a key factor for sustainable operation, especially in this competitive environment. The new business policy decision will affect Mr Small’s current practice in two ways. First, he will have to interface with the project setup to manage the launch of the new product and modifications to the delivery processes.Second, Small will have to establish operations management strategies to allow the business to meet the objectives of the policy change. The Project phase Workforce The existing staff will be responsible for the new product, alongside the existing offering. Therefore an intensive training programme on Information Technology (IT); enhancements and new product features will be required. To improve the overall quality and service provision, customer acquisition techniques and friendly handling of difficult customers will be covered during the training.Mr Small will work with the training department to develop a training plan which will take at least four days per group to deliver (each group has about 10 employees). Therefore, he will have to schedule the training so that the normal business will not be hampered by too few staff in the Call Centre. The new training approach will also have a long term influence, because training updates for employees will be held at least once a year. One of the aims of the training is to reshape corporate culture so as to engender a commitment to high efficiency and excellent ervice. This will demand empowering the workforce to focus on customer service, together with better collaboration between staff, by using more teamwork, to raise the overall efficiency levels of the operation. Mr Small will also have to install a feedback process to evaluate the satisfaction level of the staff, to help identify continuous improvement areas. Better motivation will be achieved by introducing a new incentive system, using positive customer feedback as a measure for rewards. Facilities & equipmentThe current workspace/workstation for a Call Centre staff member is a small, open ‘boxlike’ area (less than one square metre), containing a terminal, keyboard and telephone. The boxes are very close together and do not have a proper noise protection. Staff complains about the workstations, because with the background noise of five or more colleagues, concentration is difficult, and the number of data input errors are high. Staff have little space to write notes, so for example, noting down a telephone number to return a call to a customer is very difficult.After looking at the staff’s workspace, Small realised they would have to modify the building in order to create more space and provide noise protection. He thought that only by providing a convenient and ergonom ic workspace would he be able to ensure his staff’s full commitment to performance improvements. A careful forecast of future demand will be necessary in order to install the right number of new workstations and avoid under/over utilisation of resources. Technology A new terminal mask (template or standard screen) for the Call Centre needs to be developed by the Information Systems Department (ISD).This mask must contain all questions that need to be answered by the customer. To ensure service quality, ISD would have to create a flexible IT system, which would enable the Call Centre staff to quickly switch from one screen to another, according to customer’s demand. The competitor benchmark for ‘time to switch’ screens is less than 3 seconds. Furthermore, high IT reliability is vital, because breakdowns in the past have stopped all activities of the Call Centre, (since they depend on online access to the mainframe) and customers could not be served during t hat time. Mr.Small wonders if an ISD/Call Centre staff taskforce should be setup to explore the main historical problems for poor reliability, define development areas and try to find the best possible solution. Organisation Experience in the past has shown that the first few months after a product launch to be critical. Therefore, a new role of a ‘first alert support person’ needs to be established. The ‘first alert’ person will help improve service by patrolling the Call Centre and helping the staff during busy times, in cases of difficult customer questions or with technical problems.Furthermore, they would have a coaching role for new employees and also support staff training. The Human Resource Department (HRD) will need to develop the job description, provide a career plan for that role, manage the necessary recruiting and training process and determine how this new position fits into the organisation. Questions 1. Prepare the Project Definition Repor t for implementation of the policy change. This report should cover: vision; purpose (including a stakeholder analysis); objectives; scope; strategy; project phases; and project organisation. 2. What are the risks for the project and how should they be managed?

The Reasons for War in 1898 Free Essay Example, 1750 words

The Reasons for War in 1898 The roots of the Spanish-American War of 1898 were planted decades earlier in a popular notion known as Manifest Destiny. Though there was not an official policy of expansionism, Americans were acculturated to the idea that it was their right, if not duty, to spread westward and outward. John L OSullivan wrote in 1839, "All this will be our future history, to establish on earth the moral dignity and salvation of man, -- the immutable truth and beneficence of God. For this blessed mission to the nations of the world, which are shut out from the life-giving light of truth, has America been chosen"1. Yet, had our only mission been to spread Christianity, freedom, and democracy throughout a world ruled by oppressive monarchies, Americans would have soon lost interest. The flames of American Imperialism were stoked by many diverse interests. Economics, religion, and political vision conspired in the late 19th century to spark the Spanish American War of 1898. The vision of the United States as an Asian power originated in the post colonial period. We will write a custom essay sample on The Reasons for War in 1898 or any topic specifically for you Only $17.96 $11.86/pageorder now The U. S. Exploring Expedition of 1838 described three great island nations in the Pacific. These ports, Pago Pago, Manilla, and Pearl Harbor initiated the vision of Americas quest for a presence in the Pacific. In 1878 the United States acquired a naval base in Pago Pago through an agreement with Great Britain and Germany, and by the end of 1898 the U. S. government controlled all the above mentioned harbors. 2 Frederick Jackson Turner‘s analysis that liberty and individualism had depended on the existence of a moving frontier into contiguous land. Turner believed that an ever-expanding frontier was necessary for the growth of the nation. Stromberg contends that, "With the disappearance of the frontier in the 1890s, a substitute frontier had become necessary to preserve the American way of life"3. Foreign markets became the frontier that had been exhausted on the mainland. Using Turners arguments, proponents advocated looking beyond our shores for new frontiers and expanding markets. The vehicle to make large scale saltwater imperialism possible began with the publication of Alfred Thayer Mahans 1890 book "The Influence of Sea Power Upon History, 1660-1783". Mahan proposed the theory that great nations rode upon great naval power. As Mahan laid out in his book, "The motive, if any there be, which will give the United States a navy, is probably now quickening in the Central American Isthmus.