Four Circles of HR Professionalism Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Four Circles of HR Professionalism - Assignment Example This involves having a knack for managing people and conducting activities which may include hiring and recruiting the staff, managing work culture and job performance within an organization, training the personnel working within an organization, assuring that the staff complies with the rules and regulations in an organization, and the overall management of the behaviour of personnel at the workplace (Sartain &Finney 2005). Thereby in a professional context, any HR manager does need to be astutely aware of as to how to conduct oneself at the workplace (Kulik 2004). There stand to be some predominant professional considerations related to the workplace that an HR manager does need to hold sacrosanct. As an HR I am well aware of the fact that within a professional environment it is not only the sacrosanct ‘best practices’ but also an array of rules and regulations that my conduct needs to be subservient to. I am well aware of the fact that for the personnel I manage, I am the actual company. Not only the staffs that I manage to view me as the management but in the courts of law, I will also be considered to be the actual employer (Muller 2012). This realization has a serious impact on my professional conduct. I am well aware of the fact that as an HR manager I will always be directly held responsible for the things I do or fail to do for the employees (Muller 2012). The other thing that I always keep in my mind is that employees never leave organizations; they mostly tend to leave bosses. Thereby I also keep in my mind that every employee that comes to work in the organization is not a passive toolbox, but rather a complete person with a heart and a mind and a soul. My approach towards employees is always imbued with concern and I hold very human expectations from them. I well understand the fact that employees do always need a feedback. Whether they are doing a good job or are not doing well, the employees are mostly not able to ascertain it until they are evinced an honest feedback (Slade 1994). I have also realized that extending a timely feedback to the employees does go a long way in assuring organizational efficiency and thereby as an HR professional I make it a point to be thorough and prompt with the feedback I extend to the employees.  

Reflective journal Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Reflective journal - Assignment Example Before her, many women lost their lives while bring new lives in to the world. Nurses had to go through a basic nursing training before specializing in midwifery as a post-basic course, a process that was quite lengthy. The contributions of Gaskin towards safe motherhood initiatives sensitized Americans about the rising rates of maternal death. In my view, the project was a great success as there was a sharp decline in mortality rates. Teenage pregnancy rate in America is among the highest in the industrialized world. I however, find her initiatives narrow and one-sided because the focus is on safe delivery and not on safe sex behavior. Ina Gaskin’s contributions have transformed midwifery into a specialized field of nursing. We now have more midwives and midwifery training schools. The focus of midwifery is now on prenatal, peri-natal and postnatal health of the mother and child. More women are now seeking specialized midwifery services. Nurses can now manage shoulder dystocia competently giving them a greater role. Ian May Gaskin transformed midwifery into a specialized distinct field by starting the direct midwifery training. This taught me that nursing could specialize more as a profession to give the nurses a greater role in health care. Gaskin’s development of Gaskin’s maneuver made me realize that nurses can play a greater role in managing difficult labor because the nurses were viewed to be competent in managing normal labor alone. With a good foundation laid by Gaskin, I intend to broaden the focus of midwifery to deal with difficult labor. This will be achieved by introduction of training modules and workshops for pre-service and in-service midwives on the management of difficult labor. This will ensure that as the numbers of midwives rise, their competency in managing labor is also

Irish Educational System Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Irish Educational System - Essay Example This is a situation that could escalate unless dealt with. They also say though that the situation is so variable from place to place that it is difficult to generalize either as to the current situation or ways to deal with any problems. The Irish educational system is many ways very similar to that found in other western European countries. It provides primary, secondary, further and higher or tertiary education with children spending 6 hours a day or more in school 5 days a week, a high proportion of a child's waking hours, though they spend even more time out of school than in it. Nevertheless it has a massive influence upon the way children think and behave, especially if the values a child finds at school are reflected in their family and in the wider society. Education is compulsory for those between the ages of 6 and 15, though many 5 year olds attend school and further and higher education is on the increase, with some 50 per cent of students going on from school to further studies varying from adult literacy courses and those for the unemployed to formal university courses. Education in primary schools follows the 1999 Primary School Curriculum as described on the Irish Education web site. This curriculum document is unusual in educational circles in that it does not provide a religious curriculum, but leaves this to the churches that control the various schools. Its aim is to make the most of each individual's character:- as it is expressed in each child's personality, intelligence and potential for development. It is designed to nurture the child in all dimensions of his or her life -- spiritual, moral, cognitive, emotional, imaginative, aesthetic, social and physical... This idea of making the best of each child is contained within the Constitution of Ireland as laid down in 1937. In article 41 section 1 it states clearly that the people of Ireland feel that the family is 'the primary and natural educator of the child' and that it is both the right and the duty of parents to see that their child recieves an education religious, moral, intellectual, physical and social. There is provision for education at home, but rather oddly no minimum standards for this are laid down, though there is provision for the state to see that a child recieves education when , for whatever reason, the parents are unable to do this. If one looks at the curriculum in an Irish Primary School it is clear that social education is given its place alongside such traditional subjects as mathematics, languages and science. In fact it appears twice in the list provided on the Education Ireland web site. There are a number of different types of primary school - state-funded primary schools, special schools and private primary schools. State funded schools include religious schools, non-denominational schools, multi-denominational schools and Gaelscoileanna i.e schools which operate in the Irish language, but which are outside the usual Gaeltacht, i.e. the area where Gaelic is the first language. Social education is linked to environmental studies and science as well as to personal and health education. It is of course in the earliest years of a child's school life that correct behavior and values must be reinforced if a positive school career is

Controlling Carbon emissions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Controlling Carbon emissions - Essay Example Carbon sequestration is a component of CCS (carbon capture and storage). CCS aims at capturing carbon dioxide, transporting it to the place of storage and finally ensuring it is safely stored. Of all the available storage options, carbon geosequestration may be the most viable. This is because the process of geosequestration is characterized by ability to handle large volumes of gases at long periods of time. The process of geosequestration has not been commercially proven to be viable. However, it has been applied in processes of extraction oil. Carbon dioxide gas is injected into oil reservoirs. It pushes the oil up due to pressure improving the rate at which oil is flowing out. Carbon dioxide remains in the reservoirs hence, it is stored (Metz, B., Davidson, O., Swart, R., and Pan, J. 153). The process of carbon sequestration is being investigated in several parts of the world. Demonstrations are being undertaken to determine how safe and feasible this process is. The oldest demon stration has been operation since 1996 (Goulder. and Mathai, 36-37). This is the Sleipner project which store approximately 1 million tons of carbon dioxide annually. Canada has the largest project (Weyburn project) of carbon sequestration which stores about 1.5 million tons of carbon every year in its process of oil extraction. ... and Mathai, 38). Cost of Carbon Sequestration High costs pose a great challenge to carbon sequestration. It is estimated that a ton of carbon dioxide costs more than 30 dollars to sequestrate (Grubler, Nakicenovic, and Nordhaus, eds. 112). There are great technical difficulties in reducing these costs given current levels of technology. There is technological knowhow and mechanisms of separating carbon dioxide and hydrogen. However, the capital and costs of operations are quite high. This is mainly because these technologies are preferably applied in fossil fuel combustion. There are is need for more research and development in this field in order to reduce the costs of carbon sequestration. Costs of mitigating leakages of carbon dioxide form the ground are also very high. If this gas’ concentration is stabilized at double preindustrial levels, a 1% leakage is tantamount to around 850 billion dollars annually up to 2095 (Kauppi 98).therefore, a leakage of around 1 percent or l ess poses an intolerable transfer of cost to future generations. However, there is no empirical evidence that 1 % or less carbon dioxide is leaked from reservoirs. This further increases the uncertainty of costs meaning that the economic burden of carbon sequestration might even be higher than anticipated (Kauppi 105). Potential problems of carbon sequestration There are three main problems of carbon sequestration. These are; Storage security, heightened energy consumption and lack of large-scale practicality. Storage security involves the potential danger of storing carbon dioxide at very high pressure levels. Any technology used in injecting carbon dioxide is susceptible to human errors. Such an error would cause loses in property worth millions and thousands of

Compare and Contrast Essay Example for Free

Compare and Contrast Essay Religion is a great topic to develop and more when you compare and contrast them. Everyone has different views based on their belief. In this essay Im going to compare two basic religions that are still use in today’s society after so many years of development. These religions are buddhism and christianity. Considered to be the two great distinctive religions of the world, both Buddhism Christianity today covers a large section of the world population with numerous similarities and differences. There are huge differences on this religions that outstand all the others. The existence of a personal creator and Lord is denied by Buddhism. However, Christianity believes in a personal creator and each may have a relationship with the creator, Jesus. Buddhism believes the world operates under natural law and power and Christians believe that there is a divine order to the world. Some in Buddhism deify the Buddha and worship other gods as well. Christianity is clear that a personal God exists but He is to be the only object of worship. Buddist believe that through a blowing out of yourself, freeing you from desire, will you break the cycle of reincarnation. Christianity says that a relationship with God through belief in the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ on the cross is what allows people to go to heaven. This only comes when someone completely trusts in what God has done for us in the person of Jesus Christ. There is no such thing in Buddhism as sin against a supreme being. In Christianity sin is ultimately against God and affects man and this world. According to Buddhist belief, the human life is not consider to have much worth, having only temporary existence. Life is understood in such a way in getting rid of all desire (good and bad) and not placing any value on this life on earth and not to believe there is any eternal soul to a person. In Christianity people are of infinite worth, made in the image of God, and will exist eternally. The human body is a hindrance to the Buddhist while to the Christian it is an instrument for glorifying God as well as God will restore the body of those who commit their lives to him so that they can be in his presence forever. Also there are some things in which Buddhism and Christianity are really similar. Lord Buddha based His ethics on the golden rule, which was for the welfare of the human beings. Christianity, Jesus Christ also preached His ethics as per the golden rule, which was for the welfare of His people and easily approachable. Buddha, the founder of Buddhism rejected extreme asceticism and gave an emphasis on self-liberation through knowledge. On the other hand Jesus Christ also rejected extreme asceticism. The worship in Buddhism includes monasticism, ringing of bells, bowing, use of incense and rosary, erection of towers or stupas, prayers and meditation. Similarly, the Christians also follow almost same form of worship Monasticism, Confession, the cult of images, ringing of bells, use of rosary and incense and the erection of towers. The Buddhist doctrine gives an emphasis on love for the entire mankind and every other beings as well, no matter whether the being is a friend or an enemy!. The Christian doctrine is also based on the principle of Love the neighbour like into yourself, which means that love should be showered upon not only your friends, but the entire beings. In conclusion buddhism and christianity like any other religion have their similarities and their own differences.

LG Mobile Essay Example for Free

LG Mobile Essay Founded January 5, 1947 Headquarters Address LG Twin Towers, 20 Yoido-dong, Youngdungpogu, Seoul, South Korea Our Businesses Electronics, Chemicals, Telecommunications and Service (Number of Companies: 53) LG Electronics LG Display LG Innotek Hiplaza Hi Logistics System Air-Con Engineering Siltron Lusem LG Chem SEETEC Coca ·Cola Beverage Company LG Hausys LG TOSTEM BM HAUSYS ENG LG Life Sciences LG MMA LG TeleCom CS Leader A†¢IN LG Dacom LG Powercom DACOM Crossing CS ONE Partner LG CNS LG N-Sys 1947 1953 1958 1967 1970 1974 1995 †¢Chairman In Hwoi Koo founds LG by establishin g Lak Hui Chemical Industrial Corp. (now LG Chem) †¢Lak Hui Industry establishe d (now LG Internatio nal Corp.) †¢Goldstar Co. establishe d (now LG  Electronics) †¢Honam Oil Refinery Co. establishe d (now GS Caltex of GS Group) †¢Cha Kyung Koo takes office as Chairman †¢Lak Hui changes its name to Lucky Co., Ltd †¢Bon Moo Koo takes office as Chairman †¢ New Corporate Identity (CI) establishe d (Lucky Goldstar LG) Goldstar produced first electronics in Korea. 1959 1960 1961 1965 1966 1968 1969 1973 1974 1979 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 †¢First radio †¢First electronic fan †¢First telephone †¢First refrigerator †¢First black and white TV †¢First air room conditioner †¢First elevator, escalator, washing machine †¢First cassette recorder †¢First PMC single station equipment †¢First videotape recorder †¢first electronic VTR †¢First color video camera †¢First compact disc player in Korea †¢First multiplex television with sound and color in Korea †¢First laser machines in Korea, single unit video 8 mm VTR in Korea 1958-1995 1962 1975 1976 †¢ Goldstar introduces private loans for the first time in Korea †¢ Goldstar establishes the Central Research and Development Institute †¢ Goldstar Precision Industry (currently LG Innotek Co., Ltd.) established 1977 1978 1989 †¢ Goldstar develops color television †¢ Goldstar achieves exports to the amount of 100 million USD †¢ Goldstar Industrial Systems develops the fourth direct drive ultra precision robot in the world 1995 †¢ LG Electronics Inc. acquires Zenith, the largest electronics company in the United States 1995-Today 1995 †¢Chairman Bon Moo Koo created and enforced Jeong-Do Management* and No. 1 LG as the companys core management goals. 1996 †¢LG Electronics Inc. establishes the LG-IBM PC company 1999 †¢LG Electronics Inc. develops the thinnest plasma display panel in the world 2001 †¢LG Electronics becomes the worlds first to develop organic EL for IMT-2000 2004 †¢LG Electronics develops the worlds first land-based digital multimedia broadcasting phone †¢LG Electronics unveils 3G mobile phones for Hutchison 2005 †¢For eight years in a row, LG Electronics is number one in the world for sales of optical storage devices †¢LG Electronics opens the LG Digital Reading Room in the National Library of Russia †¢LG Electronics develops the worlds fastest 3D game phone 2006 †¢LG Electronics wins the 2006 Hong Kong Design Award for its Chocolate phone †¢LG Electronics unveils the worlds thinnest ceiling-bound system air conditioner †¢LG Electronics unveils the worlds slimmest (33-cm) flat-panel TV 2007 †¢LG Electronics is ranked first in the global CDMA market for two consecutive years ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ Revenues: $12.1 billion (FY 2008) that increased 10.3% compared with FY 2007  Collaboration with Microsoft Corporation,  Android software under Google Inc., Wal-Mart, EBay, Toyota Threat Case of LG 830 Spyder cell phone ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ Jeong-Do Management and LGs management principles Increase the value for the shareholders and investors Improve reliability, flexibility and responsibility Increase the speed of responding to the consumers’ feedbacks Human recourses (Attract Foster) Music ï  ½ business mobility Nokia software communication game Global Market Local Market But in the United States, Nokias market share has been steadily declined. Nokia has to develop more CDMA mobile phones. Because the U.S. wireless operators have a strong control on the market, while the wireless technology in the United States has also been less advanced than Europe. ï  ½ Motorola was founded in 1928. It is the leader in the world’s chip manufacturing and electronic the communications. direct US Veriz on sales Gove rnme nt WalMart distribut ors products widely sold through Retailers dealers licensees Main customers of Motorola ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ Because of lacking of compelling new phones, the market share of Motorola’s mobile phones continue to depress. Samsung replaced the location of Motorola becoming the secondlargest mobile phone marker. Now Motorola can only rank at third. Samsung slips into No.1 mobile phone slot in US Leaves Motorola sadly Second ï  ½ Just as LG, Samsung Group is also a South Korean company which offering various industries including electronics and mobile phones. In 1973ï ¼Å'Martin Cooper invented the first mobile phone in the world. The 1G phone looks boxy and can only be served as movable but hardly portable. Many people call this cell phone as bricks and mortar or â€Å"KINGBOX†. Future mobile phones will be emphasis on security and data communication. On the one hand it will strengthen the protection of personal privacy, on the other hand the data services will enhanced by more researches and development. ï  ½ ï  ½ A large-scale of 3G networks is sweeping the whole global mobile phone market. At the same time, the global market of mobile phones is facing its biggest threat. Some common tools of International phony such as Skype, Icq and MSN are more and more convenient and popular. The future of Internet telephony will become a mainstream form of network communication which is under the trend of scientific and technological progress and perfection instead of mobile phones. General Outline Troubles Advantages Milestones 1997: 1962: 1958: Goldstar Established (LGE) LGE expands business to the U.S. with radio’s. Supplied United state’s Ameri-tech with mobiles phones. ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ 115 companies: 84 subsidiaries, 34 liaison offices (250 companies total) Workforce: 84,000 36 RD and Design Centers: 30 RD, 6 design Workforce: 17,000 63% of workforce employed overseas. (101,000 of 160,000 total) Global Subsidiaries/Companies: Europe: 22 China: 16 Middle East Africa: 11 Asia: 10 CIS: 7 South America Central America: 10 United States: 7 (Currently number 2 in U.S. market behind Motorola) Japan: 1 Global Sales KRW in BS Trillions 4.6 50 45 5 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 6 5 10 10 10 10 11 10 13 12 11 Home Ent. AC 16 Home App. 4.5 8.6 15.8 D.Media D.Display D.App. Mobile 0 2005 2006 2007 2008 2008 Q2 % Market Share Others, 16.6 SonyEricsson, 8.2 Nokia Nokia, 41 Motorola LG, 9.3 Samsung, 15.4 Motorola, 9.5 Samsung LG SonyEricsson Others ï  ½ Fluctuations in KRW: (Competitive exports) 2005: $1(USD)= 1,103 won 2006: $1(USD)= 955 won 2007: $1(USD)= 929 won 2008: $1(USD)= 1,103 won 2009: $1(USD)= 1,183 won ï  ½ NAFTA 1994/WTO 1995 ï  ½ Late Start (counter: RD, Design, Localization) ï  ½ High-End/Quality (counter: LG Chocolate consignment, PBL) ï  ½ PRADA – Luxurious PRADA phone ï  ½ Microsoft – Windows Mobile 6.0/Smartphones ï  ½ Mark Levinson (Audio Systems) – Music Phones (Chocolate) ï  ½ Google – Pre-installments in phones. ï  ½ Schneider – Mobile phone camera lenses. ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ LGE sports sponsorships/partnerships Formula 1 Multi-year partnership 1/09. Official consumer electronics, mobile phones and tech. Viewed by 588 million. ï  ½ ï  ½ International Cricket Council Official Sponsor from (ICC) 2002-2015. Following of 2-3 Billion: U.K., Australia, India, South Africa and other British Commonwealth countries. Football Club Sponsors: ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ ï  ½ Sao Paulo Fulham Liverpool Olympic Lyon Hungary National Team Iraq National Team Greece National Team Russia National Team LG Amsterdam Tournament LG World Cup Most Popular Sports in the world: (approx. 6.71 billion people) 1. Soccer – 3.5 billion 2. Cricket – 2-3 billion 3. Field Hockey – 2 billion 4. Tennis – 1 billion 5. Volleyball – 900 million 6. Table Tennis – 800 million 7. Formula 1 – 588 million 8. Baseball – 500 million 9. Golf – 400 million 10.Gridiron Football – 400 million 1995 †¢Acquired U.S. based Zenith 1997 †¢CDMA (3G) Handsets produced 1998 †¢60’’ plasma T.V. 2000 †¢Launched the world’s first Internet refrigerator 2001 †¢World’s first internet washing machine 2003 †¢Number 1 global producer of CDMA phones 2004 †¢Advertised world’s first 71† plasma T.V. 2005 †¢ 4th largest mobile phone supplier globally †¢ 18 million Chocolate phones sold. 2008 †¢ LG Mobile selected as the supplier for the â€Å"World Phone† †¢ World’s first 3G watch phone with full touch screen. †¢ LG Dare phone wins CES â€Å"Best of Innovations† award 2009 †¢ LG Secret phone wins â€Å"red dot design† award †¢ LG KS 360 phone wins â€Å"iF Design’ award. FEATURED PRODUCTS ï  ½ Brand Name ââ€" ¦ top 10 brand in electronics 2008 ï  ½ Marketing in UK ââ€" ¦ LG hired Alcone Marketing ââ€" ¦ 10% of market share for mobile phones ï  ½ Design ââ€" ¦ LG Prada: top 10 Fashion designs in Europe ââ€" ¦ Bluetooth Handsets : drive and talk ï  ½ Consumers’ satisfaction ââ€" ¦ J.D. Powder and Associates’ study ï  ½ Supply management †¢ Fashion phone designs ï  ½ Contracts with football clubs ââ€" ¦ Liverpool ââ€" ¦ Fulham †¢ Global Recession ï  ½ Competitors ââ€" ¦ Nokia Corporation ââ€" ¦ Motorola, Inc ââ€" ¦ Samsung Group ï  ½ Global Recession ï  ½ Short-term: ââ€" ¦ Improve supply management ââ€" ¦ Satisfy lower market ââ€" ¦ Bluetooth Handsets : drive and talk ï  ½ Long term: ââ€" ¦ ââ€" ¦ ââ€" ¦ ââ€" ¦ Increasing fashion designers field American Football in USA Increase market share in Asia Buying small companies or stocks

Providing quality healthcare

Providing quality healthcare Health Care Quality 1.0 Background To The Study The Client enters the health care delivery service with needs, concerns and expectations, requiring various interventions. Identifying and providing appropriate care to meet these needs in a cost effective way without compromising the standard of care is one of the challenges facing health care providers today. Other challenges facing them include consumer’s demands, professional demand for excellence, high cost of healthcare and demographic shifts. In order to provide quality care that meets the client’s need and increase his satisfaction the client’s views must be respected and his preferences taken into consideration. Studies to identify clients’ preferences have shown that providing physical comfort adequate and timely information, coordinated and integrated care, emotional support, respect for clients’ values and rights are powerful predictors of client satisfaction (Gerteis, 1993; Potter and Perry, 2001). Other studies also showed that irrespective of cultural background and beliefs, providers’ behavioural attributes such as showing respect, politeness, provision of privacy and reduction in clients’ waiting time influence clients’ satisfaction with care (Population Report, 1998). Clients satisfied with the care they received have been found to pay compliments, comply with instructions, keep clinic appointments and recommend the hospital to friends and family members (Larson and Ferketich, 1993; Kotler and Armatrong, 1997, in contrast, those not satisfied have been found to complain, take legal actions, change providers or even leave the orthodox health care services for complementary therapies or alternate medicine (Luthert, 1990; World Bank Report, 2000; Jegede, 2001). These activities have affected the health care delivery system. In recent times, several changes have also emerged. This includes a change in the stereotyped image of the patients. Historically the patient had been viewed as a passive recipient of healthcare in a paternalistic relationship with the caregiver. This is no longer the case, as today the client is a well-informed consumer with a strong negotiating power of choice, which he uses to his advantage (Melville, 1997, Alagba 2001). This position was strengthened by the Consumers’ Bill of Rights of 1965 and the Patients’ Bill of Rights of 1975 (smelther and Bare, 2000, Alagba, 2001). The Bills emphasized Client satisfaction with services provided more so as satisfaction has been accepted as a major indicator of quality care. Furthermore, as consumer of the services the client is in the best position to say if a service has met his needs or not. The client’s perception of care is therefore of paramount importance to any provider. However, in spite of all these, healthcare workers’ care alone may be inadequate to meet all the client’s needs. Client-centered care required that healthcare delivery system provide client-friendly hospital policies, adequate number of professionals, safe and clean environment, appropriate equipments and functional laboratories. These facilities provided at affordable prices are necessary to complement healthcare workers’ efforts and guarantee client’s satisfaction. Unfortunately the major hindrance to the achievement of this goal is the high cost of healthcare services, for example, Stanhope and Lancaster (1996), Potter and Perry (2001) reported that there was a great hike in health care delivery system in United States of America. Then the health care costs inflation was said to have been higher and faster than the consumer price index between 1950 – 1980, and in 1993 it was said to have increased twice above the national inflation index. This hyper inflation, Stanhope and Lancaster (1996) further stated led to consumers’ outcry and great demands for cost effective healthcare services. Chapter Two Literature Review Concept of Satisfaction Several authors have defined the word satisfaction severally, for example Webster’s dictionary defines satisfaction as â€Å"the fulfillment of a need or demand and the attainment of a desired end†. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary defines it as â€Å"the feeling of contentment felt when one has or achieves what one needs or desires†. Satisfaction can also be simply defined as a sense of contentment emanating from perceived needs met. These definitions suggest the need for needs identification and goal setting before satisfaction can be attained. It would also appear that satisfaction is subjective with only the individual attesting to his/her satisfaction. In today’s provider-client relationship the onus lies on the providers to strive at client satisfaction. Studies to identify the antecedents of client satisfaction have shown that client satisfaction is one of the results of the provisions of good quality service; consequently it has become an important quality indicator (Filani, 2001; Vuori, 1987). The need to provide quality care is based on several factors including the principle of equity. Clients and consumers who pay for services are entitled to value for money paid. Satisfaction is also found to depend on client’s expectations. Each individual has an expectation of the outcome of an interaction, a relationship or an exchange. Positive outcome engenders client satisfaction. This view is well articulated by Kotler and Armstrong (1997) who stated that â€Å"when a client’s expectations are not met, the client is dissatisfied, when it is met the client is satisfied and when it is exceeded, the client is delighted, and keeps coming back†. Consequently service providers should assess clients’ expectation at the inception of a relationship in order to consciously plan to satisfy the client. Sometimes clients may not be sure of what to expect, it becomes necessary for service providers to develop an expectation of good quality in the client so that they can insist on it. Otherwise the client may be satisfied with relatively poor services (Shyer and Hossan, 1998). This is not in the interest of the client or the service providers. Therefore counseling the client and informing the public on what constitutes appropriate care or service should be seen as efforts to develop and sustain client satisfaction. This is especially important in the light of current reforms in the health care delivery system. Recently, certain forces have occasioned reforms in the healthcare delivery system; these forces include population demographics such as increasing number of the aging population, cultural diversity, changing patterns of disease, technology, economic changes and clients’ demand for quality care (Smeltzer and Bare, 2000). These forces demanded that care providers developed innovative ways to meet clients’ needs and increase clients’ satisfaction. Today healthcare is viewed as a product to be purchased and patients hitherto seen as passive recipients of healthcare have metamorphosed into empowered consumers. As consumers the clients command the attention of providers and healthcare managers who have a duty to ensure their satisfaction. This view was supported by the British Government when dealing with the National Health Service (NHS) inability to cope with problems increasing demand on it by the aging population, the advancements in medical technology and the rising expectations of healthcare users (Melville 1997). Also like consumers it has been noted that healthcare clients are getting increasingly associated with rights, power and empowerment. Their present status enables them to take control of their circumstances and achieve their own goals. Adams (1990) observed that it also enables them to work towards the maximization of the quality of their lives. Using their power, clients demand for good quality healthcare: their demand is supported by the World Health Organization, Alma Ata declaration of 1978, and the constitution of the World Health Organisation (1966). The latter, stated that, â€Å"good health is a right of all people†. This is interpreted to mean a right to availability, accessibility and affordability of good quality health care. It follows that healthcare should be provided in a way that is acceptable and satisfactory to the consumer, who also has the power of choice. Literatures abound on the clients’ power of choice (Rogers, 1993, Melville 1997). However, suffice it to note that the client as a consumer uses this power to select between alternatives and chooses what gives him/her best satisfaction. This fact was also noted by Alagbe (2001), who citing the Law of marginal utility stated that â€Å"Consumers are rational and have the ability to measure the utility or satisfaction they derive from each commodity consumed, and given a total rationality consumers elect a combination of goods and services that will maximize their satisfaction†. This stresses the fact that consumers choose what will give them maximum satisfaction. The power of choice has numerous benefits for clients, including the fact that the client is frequently consulted by the provider or producer (Melville 1997). This also creates a relationship of partnership rather than the paternalistic one that had characterized the healthcare delivery system. The goal before all healthcare providers is to develop and maintain a client-centered service in order to provide quality service and ensure client satisfaction, more so as clients are becoming more knowledgeable and health conscious (Smeltzer and Bare 2000). Their interest was stimulated and sustained by the television, internet, newspapers and magazines other communication media and by political debates. Their increasing demand for quality care based on this increase in knowledge was however catalyzed by the consumers’ awareness campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s, which subsequently led to the formulation of the Patients’ Bill of Right. This will be reviewed later following a review of the historical background of consumerism. Historical background of consumerism The early 1960’s saw the American public agitating for quality service for every dollar spent. Most business executives regarded the agitation as transitory threats. The consumerists however continued and became extremely vocal in their criticisms and protests against escalating cost of services without corresponding improvement in the quality of goods. According to Alagbe (2001) in 1962, the American consumer movement received a major boost with a presentation to the congress of the consumers’ Bill of Rights; by President John F. Kennedy the bill contained four items namely, that the consumers should have: The right to safety: This refers to protection against products hazardous to health and life. The right to be informed: This refers to protection against fraudulent, deceitful or misleading information in advertising or elsewhere and by also providing people with facts necessary to make informed choices. The right to choose: This refers to assurance of reasonable access where possible to a variety of products and services at competitive prices with government regulations to assure satisfaction, quality and service at fair prices. The right to be heard: This refers to the right of redress with the assurance that the consumer’s interest will receive full and sympathetic consideration by government’s expeditious actions. Based on this the American Hospital Association in 1972 published a list of rights for hospitalized patients. The patients’ bill of rights was devised to inform patients about what they should expect from a caregiver-patient, and a hospital-patient relationship. The patients’ bill rights The patients’ Bill of Rights have strong implications for the healthcare worker, who is involved in independent, dependent and interdependent care of the patient. The care giver (Doctor, Nurse, Physiotherapist etc) form the most central and important part of the patients’ stay in the hospital. The care giver respecting patients’ right will ensure his satisfaction with care. Every healthcare worker therefore has a responsibility to ensure that the client’s right as enunciated by the Bill of Rights is always respected. The bill includes that, a patient has the right to considerate and respectful care. This implies that health services providers should consider such facts as individual preferences, developmental needs, cultural and religious practices and age differences in their care of the patient. S/he also has the responsibility of ensuring that their assistants offer the same level of care. The patient has the right to obtain from his physician, complete current information concerning his diagnosis, treatment and prognosis, in the terms that the patient can reasonably understand. When it is not medically advisable to give such information to the patient, the information should be made available to an appropriate and reliable person on his behalf. He has a right to know by name the physician, responsible for coordinating his care. The patient has the right to receive from his physician the information to give informed consent. Some patients may not want to know everything about them, so the care giver has the responsibility to explain to the client that it is their right to know all, as it is a legal requirement. This helps the patient appreciate his responsibility for his health. The average client also appreciates the honesty of these explanations in the long run, because he is being treated as a partner with decision power. The patient has the power to refuse treatment to the extent permitted by the law, and to be informed of the medical consequences of his action. It is difficult for healthcare workers to understand why clients refuse treatment that can benefit them, but this is a reality. Often, explaining in simple language the purpose solves the problem. If after the explanation of purpose and procedure, the patient still refuses, the care giver should remember that such action is the patients’ right. However, good planning of care that includes the patient in planning has tended to reduce the problem of refusing therapy. The patient has the right to consideration of his privacy. The patients’ right to privacy is readily violated on busy wards especially where there are no curtains as is the case in most government hospitals in many third-world nations because of the current economic crunch. Healthcare workers as patients’ advocates should ensure that their rights to privacy are respected. Efforts to ensure clients privacy should include having discussions with clients conducted in private areas not at their bedsides for all to hear. Also patients’ conditions should not be discussed in the hearing of other patients. Class assignments must not identify a patient by name or position. The patient has a right to expect all communications and records pertaining to his care to be treated as confidential. Patients’ charts should not be left to be read and discussed by unauthorized personnel. Laboratory result should be well documented and stored. Healthcare workers need to remind other aids that patients records are confidential and not to be discussed at home with friends and relatives. The patient has a right to expect that within its capacity, a hospital must make reasonable response to the request of a patient for services. Nurses are often in charge of coordinating services for the patient such as x-rays, appointments with specialists, such as physiotherapist, etc. these should be available and provided in the order that is convenient for the patient. Also in the event of a transfer, the nurse should emphasize this to the reference hospital. The client has the right to obtain information as to any relationship of his hospital to any other healthcare and educational institutions or hospital personnel. Sometimes hospitals are affiliated to or are owned by some religious organizations and universities; this has implications for the client care. He therefore has a right to be informed about it. The patient has the right to be advised if the hospital proposes to engage in, or perform human experimentation affecting his care or treatment. He has the right to refuse to participate in such research projects. Most clinical trials take place without the clients’ knowledge, or even when explained the language may be too technical for the client to understand. After explicit explanation, a client should be asked to sign a separate consent in addition to his consent for care if an experimental therapy is proposed to him. He can also withdraw at will without any reprisals. The patient has a right to refuse permission to any one to touch his body. His basic responsibility is to himself and not to the advancement of science or learning. A patient has a right to expect reasonable continuity of care. Healthcare must to continuous and of the same quality. A change in shift should not result in negligence. The patient has a right to examine and receive an explanation of his bill, regardless of the source of payment. In places where bills are paid by third parties and insurance, it is easy to assume that clients should not care about charges. The client has a right to receive explanations and demand for rational charges. The patient has a right to know what hospital rules and regulations apply to his conduct as a patient. Some hospital rules are very restrictive, however, if they are written down and given to patients, the patients are more likely to remember them. Patients’ have the right to be properly informed; having the booklets to review at his leisure time and reminding them of these rules will help compliance. It is important that a client has access to the bill of rights as the consumer’s access to the bill of rights ensures that he is able to demand for his rights. However as the patients’ advocate, the healthcare worker has a responsibility of ensuring that these rights are respected as provided. These rights ensure that the consumer/client’s basic needs are met. To guarantee this, Haskel and Brown (1998) recommended that hospitals should create a culture that focuses on patients. This, they argued will allow health workers to respond to patients’ needs and even go beyond their expectations. The Health care system determines the quality or services provided. Unfortunately today, healthcare financing is more economy driven than patient-centered. (World Bank Report, 2000). This portends a danger for client care and needs to be examined. Healthcare systems This can be defined as the organ that organizes and funds health care services. Its goal is to provide an optional mix of access, quality and cost. Kielhorn and Schulenburg (2000) identified three basic models of health care system. These are the â€Å"Beveridge† model, the public-private mixed model and the private insurance model. The differentiating factor appears to be the funding and the coverage. Beveridge Model This is funded through taxation and usually covers everybody who wishes to participate in the state. Countries using this model include United Kingdom, Canada, Demark, Finland, Greece and Norway; In this model healthcare budgets compete with other government spending priorities such as education, housing and defence. Consequently budget cuts and run away inflation lead to high costs of healthcare services. One of the resultant effects is shortage of healthcare professionals, like doctors, nurses, physiotherapists etc. Regrettably this is feared to have affected the quality of healthcare. For example, Ferlman (2000), after a poll conducted on 2,000 adults for the British medical association reported that, the number of people satisfied with the health service dropped to 58% as compared with 72% percent in 1998. The population who were â€Å"very dissatisfied† or â€Å"fairly dissatisfied rose from 17 percent to 28 percent This result may not be unconnected to the decline in the quality of healthcare services. Public Private Mix Mode This model is funded primarily by a premium-financed social mandatory insurance, it has a mix of private and public providers, which allows for more flexible spending on healthcare. (Kielhorn and Schulenburg, 2000). Participants are expected to pay insurance premium into competing non-profit funds and the physicians and hospital are paid through negotiated contracts. The funds can also be supplemented through additional voluntary payments. Countries that use this model according to Kielhorn and Schulenburg (2000) include France, Germany, Australia, Switzerland and Japan. Private Insurance Model This model exists exclusively in its pure form in the United State of America (USA). Healthcare there is funded through premium paid into private insurance companies. The health insurance is not mandatory, so most often people with low income and high-anticipated healthcare cost, like people with chronic diseases are often unable to afford insurance. This makes healthcare in this system selective and non-equitable. An estimated 15% of the population in USA where this model is practiced are said to be unable to have any insurance cover. (Kielhorn and Schulenburg, 2000). Any of these three basic healthcare funding models are utilized by most healthcare organizations to fund the healthcare delivery system. However due to the global changes occasioned by various factors healthcare organizational developments became necessary, in order to contain costs and ensure quality care. (Stanhope and Lancaster 1996: Yoderwise, 1999). The United Kingdom Health System In a bid to provide free healthcare services for all UK residents, National Health Service (NHS) was founded in 1948. Funds for running the NHS was got through general taxation and this fund is administered by the department of health. Essentially, consumers of healthcare services do not pay at the point of receiving the services. Apart from the NHS, Private healthcare providers also exist in the UK but the consumers of their services either pay at the point of service or through insurance. The NHS: Considerable changes have occurred in the structure of the NHS over time. There is however no considerable differences in the structure and functions of the NHS among the countries which make up the UK. In England for example, the department of health in collaboration with other regional bodies or agencies take charge of the overall strategy while the local branch of a particular NHS takes the key decisions about local healthcare. The secretary of state for health is the minister overseeing the NHS and he reports to or is accountable to the Parliament. The overall healthcare management is the duty of the department of health, which formulates and decides the direction of healthcare. England has about 28 strategic health authorities which are concerned with the healthcare of their regions. They are the intermediary between the NHS and Department of health. Types of trusts Local NHS are called Trusts and they provide primary and secondary healthcare. England has about 300 Primary care trusts and these altogether receive  ¾ of the total NHS budget. NHS Trusts: these are responsible for specialized patient care and services. They run most hospitals in the UK. There are different types of NHS trust: Acute trusts providing short term care e.g. accident and emergency care, maternity, x-rays and surgeries etc; Care trusts; mental health trusts and ambulance trusts. Foundation trusts: ownership of these trusts is by the local community, employees, local residents. Patients here have more power to shape their healthcare based on their perceived health needs to their satisfaction. Private Healthcare This sub-sector of the UK healthcare system is not as big as the NHS and does not enjoy similar structure of accountability as the NHS. They may be similar to the NHS in service provision but are not bound to follow any national treatment guideline and are not saddled with responsibility of the healthcare of the larger community. Regulation and inspection of healthcare system in the UK are carried out by a number of designated bodies. Some of these are the national institute for clinical excellence; the healthcare commission; the commission for social care inspection and the national patients’ safety agency. Community Satisfaction with Healthcare System World Bank (2000) identified three basic types of healthcare organizations providers in the healthcare system. These are: the market or for profit co-operations, the government, and the not for-profit organizations. The last group includes the mission hospitals run by religious and non-governmental organizations. For them their main objective is to provide quality care for the citizens. Although scarce resources often limit their efforts, they are reported to be providing quality care to clients within their means. (World Report, 2000). In Government run systems especially in many resource-constrained nations, the main complaint is the failure of the Government run systems, which are supposed to be the most equitable and cheapest system for providing care, is being run down for ideological reasons in some countries, (World Bank, 2000). This jeopardizes the availability of healthcare services to the individual, resulting in the client’s non-satisfaction with one. Lastly, are the for-profit co-operations. These, according to World Bank (2000) have problems of care and affordability, which parallel their profit. The affordability is noted to be most acute in the market-listed companies. This is because the prime objective of these groups entering the health market is to make profit from the sickness the most costly and least affordable healthcare providers. Unfortunately while share holders are getting profit the clients for whom health care is provided are receiving poor quality care. World Report (2000) documented declining care and increasing dissatisfaction with healthcare in most countries. The greatest dissatisfaction was reported in the market-based systems and when market placed systems replaced state funded ones. The market system in the USA, which was supposed to help the citizens, is criticized for deliberately exploiting them. Critics argued that the strong competitive measures encouraged, have destroyed the ethics of USA’s hospitals’ Samaritan culture and the professionals of the healthcare providers. Patients were reported to have had to suffer as a result. Equity was also said to have become a problem, as healthcare is no more available to all citizens. This was attributed to the effect of the market systems on the health care delivery service. The market based systems are also reported to have wide spread incidences of denial of care of patients, mis-use of patients for profit and neglect of the frail and vulnerable (World Bank, 2000). These were said to have occurred when profits were being earned and shared by corporate bodies to shareholders. Information from the market place were said to have revealed receptive marketing, and mis-information which covered up the misdeeds of the corporate bodies. In response proponents of the market system defended their policies and argued for its usefulness, and value in healthcare reforms. For examples Samuel (2000) argued that competition, a fall out of the market system encourages efficiency, reduces costs, enhances responses to consumer demands and favours innovations. Consumer empowerment, he stressed is one of the dividends of competitive healthcare systems. He added that introducing competition would provide consumers the freedom to choose between different services and different delivery mechanisms that meet their needs. It is also expected that this would increase their satisaction. Competitive pressures, Samuel (2000) pointed out will break down self-regulatory practices by service providers, developed essentially to serve their interest, so that clients interest will eventually be served. While the above argument is appreciated, it is also observed that the problem of equity is more profound here, as it appears that only the few that can afford quality care can get it. In the light of the what Alma Ata declaration of 1978, all nations have a responsibility and an obligation to attend to the health needs of all their citizens. It is obligatory to make healthcare available, accessible, affordable and acceptance to all. These places on the government of every nation the responsibility to ensure that there is equity in health care services distribution. In order to ensure this, countries like the United Kingdom entirely funded the National Health Service (Kielhorn and Schulenburg, 2000). As a result, even in the face of health care cuts and shortages the NHS clients were found to be very supportive of the system. (Walsh, 1999). In most other countries, clients have reacted to the healthcare system and services provided in various ways. In some places, they have responded with an observable move away from conventional medical care. This trend, most argue, can be traced to the high cost of the latter. There is also the argument that clients’ expectations are no longer met through conventional healthcare services. This is said to be so especially for clients with less serious disorders. For example, Manga (1993) found that clients were considerably less satisfied with medical physician’s management of their low back pain than chiropractic management of the same ailment. These observations, were also corroborated by Cherkin and Maccomak, (1989) and Harris Poll, (1994). Processes of a health service system The processes of a healthcare service system refer to the actual performance of the activities of care. Stanfeld (1992) identified two components of the processes. These are the activities of the providers of care and the activities of the population. Activities of health care providers Every interaction between an individual or community and a care provider begins with need or problem identification. Starfield (1992) stated that the problem recognition implies an awareness of the existence of situations requiring attention in a health context. Diagnosis, planning and intervention follows after that assessment, is carried out. Evaluation is done intermittently and the end of the intervention to determine if the original diagnosis, plan and interventions were appropriate and adequate for the recognized need. In nursing, models of care such as the nursing process are utilized to facilitate systematic and scientific provision of quality care and client satisfaction. Also care provided is guided by established institutional standards of care. Effective assessment of client’s needs and its resolution is expected to have an outcome of client satisfaction. It is therefore important that the healthcare provider’ intervention should be client centered, in order to achieve the set goal. Activities of the client People decide whether or not, and when to use the health care system (Starfield 1992). It is in coming in contact with the health care system that clients recognize what services are offered and the quality of the services offered. The clients’ experiences enable them to form their opinions, deciding if they are satisfied or not (Starfield 1992). The caring process involves the performance of the activities of car