Gene Silencing at the Nuclear Periphery Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Gene Silencing at the Nuclear Periphery - Essay Example Some epigenetic abnormalities have been identified in human tumors, offering tremendous scope for epigenetic modulation as part of cancer chemotherapy. (TY Kim, YJ Bang, KD Robertson, 2006) Histones are small, basic proteins which bind to DNA, to form nucleoproteins - this helps the DNA to be packed tightly into coiled coils. Histones are rich in the amino acids arginine and lysine. Unlike most proteins, histones are water soluble. The functions of histones include packing nucleoproteins for compaction, and chromatin regulation. Histones undergo modifications; this set of modifications which are interdependent and responsible for controlling gene activity is called the "Histone code". The histone code theory of gene regulation was articulated by David Allis and colleagues. According to this theory, expression of certain regions of DNA is turned on and off by histone code. Histone proteins are one of the most highly conserved proteins in eukaryotes, emphasizing their importance in cell biology. Heterochromatin is the condensed, dense form of chromatin, which is transcriptionally inactive; hence it is peripherally located. It is abundantly seen in resting or reserve cells. It stains deeply during interphase (resting stage). The heterochromatin part of a chromosome either lacks genes or has repressed genes. Heterochromatin is seen in both pro and eukaryotes. Euchromatin is delicate, thread-like, active form of chromatin. It is abundant in active, transcribing cells. The importance of euchromatin is because the portion of the DNA coil intended for transcription must uncoil, to permit reading of the code. It stains lightly and its gene concentration is high. It is usually under active transcription and hence it is partially or fully uncoiled. Prokaryotes have only euchromatin. NUCLEAR LOCALISATION - ROLE IN GENE EXPRESSION The vital facts about gene silencing are: (Shaklai et al, 2007) 1. Chromosomes rich in genes are centrally located in the nucleus. Conversely, gene poor ones are located in the periphery. 2. Inactive genes are silenced and translocated to the periphery. 3. If chromatin is moved to the periphery, it is silenced and rendered inactive. Gene silencing plays an important role in determining the fate of different cell lines during development and defining their temporal order. (Fischer, Merkenschlager 2002) cDNA MICROARRAY TECHNIQUE cDNA microarray (c -complimentary) is a tool which helps us analyze and measure the activity of genes. This is done using the process of molecular hybridization. Adenine and thymine are complimentary; Guanine and cytosine are complimentary. While studying two pieces of DNA, if they hybridize (bind to one another), then we can conclude they are complimentary strands - opposite strands of a single gene. Conversely, if they do not hybridize, then they are unrelated. Microarray expression technique has many applications - Gene expression profiling (comparing gene expressions in normal and abnormal cells), study of multigenic diseases like Parkinson's disease,detection of

International Finance Market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

International Finance Market - Essay Example Also, the importance of the capital asset pricing model for firms which want to evaluate their cost of capital, is explored in the next part. The link between CAPM, the required return on equity and the weighted average cost of capital is explored, with the help of various resources. There are many ways for the companies to raise the capital, the most common way is from stock markets, in this way the investor will be part from this company and the benefits will be based on the company performance and the company success is important for the shareholder. Another option is from bonds markets, in this way the bond owner does not have the ownership in the company and the benefit not very important for the bondholders, also the bondholder does not care about company success (Young, A 2009). For example if a firm undertake debt to finance the business, it will help the owner to retain the ownership but it will result in regular payment of interest and the lenders are less interested in success of the company, so if the owner relay more on debt fund, it will enhance financial risk. On the other hand if capital is raised through equity, then large volume of fund can be raise for longer time period and the investors will be more interested in growth and success of the co mpany but there will be loss of ownership as the equity share holders have the voting right to participate in decision making process. Bonds investment tools provide flexible funding and appropriate for companies, and at this time business companies need many way for funding, because the business sector now is changeable (Fadak, T 2004). Buy and sell debt was one of the main reasons for the occurrence of the global financial crisis, because that we have to be careful (Almarshad, M 2009). In my opinion In this argument I agree with the first writer, because at this time the business sector has many challenges and we must provide appropriate solutions for problem especially the problem of funding. A. Raising capital from bond and equity markets 1. The initial public offering When a company is in need of capital, there are two options which will comprise the mix of its capital structure: one is debt, and the other is equity. If the company chooses to raise capital from equity financing, there are also various options. One of these options include raising capital from financial markets such as the stocks market either through seasoned offering or a new issue, most commonly known as the initial public offering (Lee, I et al. 1996). The initial public offering takes place when a company decides to issue stocks that is available for the public's investors (Strategies for raising equity capital, 2003). The company employs underwriters-investment banks that first buy the securities from the issuing corporation and re-selling it to the investors-at-large (Szewczyk, H. S. et al. 1991). Underwriters usually help the issuing company to prepare the prospectus, which is a document that describes the company as well as its prospects. A lot of practitioners as well as academicians regard IPOs as one of the most costly ways to raise equity capital. IPOs are required, by law to be registered in the Securities and Exchange Commissions (Gay, K 1999). The issuing company pays for administrative and legal fees, which are part of the IPO registration (Lee, H. W. et al. n.d). 2. Seasoned equity

Atraumatic Restorative Treatment for Dental Caries

Atraumatic Restorative Treatment for Dental Caries Atraumatic restorative treatment for the management of dental caries: A Review Abstract: Atraumatic restorative treatment is a method of minimal caries intervention that uses only hand instruments. Over the past few years, there has been an increase in the number of studies reporting on various aspects of the Atraumatic Restorative Treatment and it is over three decades ART has been introduced, so this was considered an appropriate time for a systematic review on ART. Objective of this review article was to assess the effectiveness of ART in management of dental caries. All randomized or quasi-randomized control trials on ART were included. Intervention with adhesive restorative material such as GIC with different viscosity was evaluated. Primary outcomes measures such as pain relief, patient discomfort, anxiety and durability of restoration was assessed. Studies showed survival rates ranging from 66% to 76% at 6 year for single surface restorations ART approach provided higher survival percentages for single surface restorations and it causes less pain and dis comfort. Key words: Atraumatic restorative treatment, Survival, Deciduous teeth, Permanent teeth Introduction: Dental caries is one of the most prevalent oral diseases of public health concern. It affects almost all individuals irrespective of age, sex, occupation, religion, castes etc in developed as well as developing countries. It varies greatly among countries, even within a country and from region to region and there are several reasons for this problem like changes in food habits, poverty, lack of facilities especially to underprivileged section of the society, etc. WHO objective of â€Å"Health for All† still remains a dream, particularly in the underprivileged population of the world. Also, there has been a radical change in the methods of treatment of dental disease. We have seen a change in approach of treatment by the dentist, starting with extraction, then conservation of tooth structure and now stress is being laid on preventive dentistry. But the underprivileged population have not benefited from these developments that have brought about improved oral health in the indus trialized world. Realizing the magnitude of this problem, particularly lack of oral health care in below poverty line segment of society, JE Frencken embarked on simplistic approach of removing caries with hand instruments and filling up the ‘cavity’. This approach is termed as Atraumatic Restorative Treatment.[1] ART was first discovered in Tanzania in mid 1980s to suit the needs of the developing countries by JE Frencken Later, in Zimbabwe, the experiment was repeated by his team in larger school population group. WHO endorsed the ART procedure for the underprivileged population on world health day in April 7, 1994.[2] The idea of ART is strongly supported by the modern scientific approach to controlling caries maximal prevention, minimal invasiveness and minimal cavity preparation.[3] Different studies have been investigating the various aspects of ART approach in the past and still continue to increase. Most of the studies have investigated the survival of ART restoration and sealants. As ART approach is being utilized all over the world since more than 25 years, there is a need to carry out a systematic investigation about the survival and effectiveness of ART restorations. So the present systematic review focuses on the effectiveness of ART in management of dental caries in deciduous and permanent teeth. Materials and Methods We attempted to identify all relevant studies. Detailed search strategies were developed for each database to be searched and it was carried out in the Medline, Embase, Hinari, k-hub. All randomized controlled trials or quasi-randomized controlled trials were included. Non-randomized controlled trials were excluded. Studies with Dentate participants, regardless of the age and sex, with a history of dental (coronal) caries who have undergone restorative treatment using either conventional restorative or ART approaches were included. Studies in which evaluators were calibrated and independent, Survival result more than 1 year were included. Interventions were adhesive restorative materials, such as GICs with different viscosities, placed with the ’true’ Atraumatic Restorative Treatment (ART) approach, including Interim therapeutic restoration (ITR) with hand instruments, compared with different restorative materials, such as amalgam, placed with conventional cavity prepar ation methods. Studies on modified ART approaches, Survival results Selection of Studies All records identified by the searches printed off and checked on the basis of title first, then by abstract or keywords or both. Records that obviously irrelevant were discarded and the full text of all remaining records were obtained. The full reports obtained from all the electronic and other methods of searching assessed independently by two review authors to establish whether the studies meet the inclusion criteria or not, using an inclusion criteria form, which previously prepared and pilot tested. Where resolution was not possible, a third review author consulted. If more than one publication of a trial was identified, all publications were reviewed and the paper with the first publication date included as a primary version. All studies meeting the inclusion criteria then underwent data extraction and a quality assessment. Types of Outcome Measures Primary Outcome Measure Pain relief, i.e. freedom from symptoms of pain and sensitivity as reported and experienced by the patient. Patient discomfort during the procedure measured by physiological measurement or behavioral observation. Patient’s anxiety and stress after treatment. Durability of restoration survival time of restoration (in months) from the time of placement. Secondary outcome measures Defects of restorative materials such as wear, fracture and staining (color changes) of restoration. Restoration failure, e.g. replaced restorations. Marginal integrity of restoration. Secondary caries. Results Pain, Anxiety and Discomfort: Five studies were reported on pain out of which three studies suggested that ART was found to be less painful.[4,5,6] In a study conducted by Rahimtoola S et al[7] pain was reported when ART technique was used but was significantly less than the conventional restorative technique. While in one study there was no significant difference in the pain levels of children treated using conventional restorative treatment, atraumatic restorative treatment or ultraconservative treatment but it was observed that when conventional restorative treatment was used, more children neededlocal anesthesia.[8] One study showed that the levels of dental anxiety were less in patients treated with ART as compared to conventional restorative treatment.[9]The studies from Topaloglu et al[10] and de Menezes Abreu et al[11] reported no difference in the levels of dental anxiety. ART technique has a potential to cause less discomfort to the patient and to less invasive to the dental tissue than conventional approach. The patient’s acceptance of ART was verified by Mickenautsch et al[12] who observed that both children and adults receiving ART restorations responded positively to the treatment. Study conducted by Schriks MC[13] and Van Amerongen WE[14] stated that children treated according to the ART approach using hand instruments alone experience less discomfort than those treated using rotary instrument. Similar findings were reported by ECM Lo CJ Holmgren also.[5] A summary of these studies outcomes is presented in Table1. TABLE 1: Overview of studies having assessed dental pain, anxiety and discomfort between the ART and the traditional treatment approach Comparison Age Operator background Variable measured Conclusion ART vs rotary Instruments[7] 6–16 years old Dentists Pain: -Questions: Did you feel any pain during treatment? ART caused less pain ART vs rotary Instruments[8] 4–7 years old Pedodontist specialist Pain: -Wong–Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale ART caused less pain ART vs rotary instruments vs ultraconservative treatment[4] 6–7 years old Pedodontist specialist Pain: -Wong–Baker FACES Pain Rating Scale -No difference in levels of pain among treatments -Local anaesthesia was more frequent given in the rotary instrument group ART vs rotary instruments ART vs ART with Carisolv [10] 6–7 years old Pedodontist specialist Anxiety: -Venham Picture Test No difference in levels of anxiety between treatments ART vs rotary Instruments[9] Children and adults Dentists and dental therapists Anxiety: -Childrens fear survey schedule -Corahs dental anxiety scale Both children and adults treated with the ART were less dental-anxious ART vs rotary instruments vs ultraconservative treatment[11] 6–7 years old Pedodontist specialist Anxiety: -Facial Image Scale No difference in levels of anxiety among treatments ART vs rotary Instruments[13] 6-year-old children Dental students and dentists Discomfort: -Heart rate and modified Venham index (observations) ART caused less discomfort Durability of Restoration Various studies showed that survival rates were lower with increasing period of time.[15,16] Frencken JE[15] assessed the survival of ART restoration after first, second and third year evaluation interval and found that the survival rate of one surface ART restoration were higher in first year compared to second and third year. Lo ECM[16] Suggested that cumulative survival rates of the large restoration were lower, being 77% and 46% after 3 and 6 year respectively. There were no statistically significant differences in cumulative survival percentages of the evaluated ART restorations between single and multiple-surface restorations at 1-year (p=0.137) and 2-year (p=0.377) evaluations. But at the 10-year evaluation, the survival rate for single-surface restorations (65.2%) was 2.1 times higher than that for the multiple surface restorations (30.6%). This difference was statistically significant (p=0.009).[17] Secondary Outcome Measures: Defects of restorative materials wear and fracture of restoration: Studies conducted by Lo ECM[16] and Frencken JE[18] showed that most of the restoration were in good condition and had only minor defects and wear which did not warrant further treatment. Secondary caries Increment of secondary caries was found to be maximum in a study conducted by Zanata RL[17] while other studies showed no statically significant difference.[18,19] Operator effect. Frencken JE [18] et al observed an operator effect for single surface ART restorations. It was observed in one study that experienced operators place better ART restoration than inexperienced operators.[15] Marginal Integrity of Restoration: In a study the restorations that were evaluated with the USPHS criteria at the 5-year examination, unacceptable marginal integrity, either a crevice extending to the enamel–dentine junction or the restoration being fractured was found in 9% of the small and 21% of the large restorations.[18] While in another study, 63.6% of the ART restorations were assessed as ‘good’, 15% as having a ‘slight marginal defect’ at 3years.[19] Restoration Failure Failure occurred in 24% of the small restorations and 41% of the large restorations. The large restorations had a higher relative risk of failure, 5.87, compared with the small restorations.[16] Failures were related to unacceptable marginal defects and total loss of restoration. Frencken JE [18] reported failure of total 28 ART restorations placed in 25 students during the 3 year period. While same author in another study reported 106 ART restoration failures from total of 487 ART single surface posterior restorations.[15] Discussion: The ART approach seems to be an economic and effective method for improving the oral health not only of people in developing but also of those in industrialized countries (Frencken and Holmgren 2004).[1] It may be considered as a safe and conservative alternative for conventional restorative dental treatment, particularly for Class I (occlusal) dental cavities. Pr imary outcome measures: Pain, Discomfort and Anxiety: The originators of the ART approach noticed that the technique had a potential to cause less discomfort to the patient and to be less invasive to the dental tissues than the conventional approach. The patients acceptance of ART was verified by Mickenautsch and Rudolph[12], who observed that both children and adults receiving ART restorations responded very positively to the treatment. Dentists also seemed to approve the â€Å"new† approach. Among the main reasons given were those related to the patients comfort: the reduced use of local anesthetic and absence of the noisy drill and suction.[20] Some suggested that ART as found to be less painful and cause less dental anxiety. The reasons could be contributed to the operator’s level of specialization and /or skills in handling anxious children. The studies from Topaloglu et al [10] and de Menezes Abreu et al [4,11] in which no difference in levels of dental anxiety and dental pain were observed, were performed by pediatric dentists. In the studies that favored ART [7,8,13] all operators, but the one from de Menezes Abreu et al, [8] were non-pediatric dentists (general practitioners, dental therapists or dental students). However, the latter study had included children younger than 6 years, and all those given the conventional treatment received local anesthesia and the restorations were performed under rubber dam isolation. It is not unrealistic to argue that age and the use of the needle and that of rubber dam might have influenced childrens perception of pain. In light of all these aspects, it can be hypothesized th at the behavior management provided by a pediatric dentist may overcome much of the discomfort that a child can feel independent of the restorative treatment approach. Durability of Restoration: The survival percentages of single surface non occlusal posterior ART restoration were significantly higher than for comparable amalgam restoration 4.4, 5.3 and 6.3 years. Although it is known that non occlusal glass ionomer restoration survive long but significant lower survival results for non occlusal amalgam than for comparable ART glass ionomer restorations were observed.[15] The cumulative survival rate of ART single surface restoration remained high throughout the study 92.7% (SE 3.0%) over 2 years and65.2%(SE 7.3%) up to 10 years. These rates are in the line with the results of other investigations, which reported survival rates ranging from 66% to 76% at 6 year for single surface restorations. The cumulative success of 65.2% observed in this study could be considered even better due to the longer period of clinical service. The survival rates of multiple surface restorations (class II) decreased significantly from 2 to 10 years. After 2 years, the survival rates between single and multiple surface restorations were similar. These results are consistent with those of Cefaly and Farag which observed similar survival rates for class 1 and class II restoration after 1 and 5 years, respectively. However, a statistical difference was apparent over the 10 year evaluation period (65.2Ãâ€"30.6% success rates for single and multiple surface restorations, respe ctively).[17] Secondary outcome measures: Defects of restorative material such as Wear, Fracture and Staining of Restoration: The annual wear rate of the high strength glass–ionomer material used in their study was rather stable at around 20-25 m after the first year and this did not increase much with time or size of the restoration. This rate is very satisfactory and may help to alleviate some of the concerns of earlier reviews on ART. The use of an adhesive material in ART restorations also makes repair of restorations with gross defects and wear possible and total replacement may not be necessary.[15] Reasons for minor defects and wear can be explained by the fact that firm finger pressure was applied over the restorative material to ensure good penetration of glass ionomer into the pits and fissures, as recently demonstrated.[18] Secondary caries: It has been shown that caries left in occlusal enamel lesions had either not progressed at all or only progressed slightly under clinically ‘intact’ as well as ‘sometimes intact’ sealants after 3 years. In contrast, caries had progressed under sealants that were ‘never intact’.[18] No ART restoration failed because of carious lesion development only. Restorations failed because of a combination of dentine carious lesions and mechanical defects.[17] This pattern of failure was also observed by Frencken et al[15] but contrasts with the study of Prakki et al[21] which observed no caries even in those teeth whose ART restorations were missing. Operator effect: An operator effect has been cited in a number of ART studies.[18,22,23] Although all operators (dentists and dental therapists) in the studies referred to above had followed a training course on ART, the operator effect seems to indicate that in order to perform quality ART restorations, the operating dental personnel requires skill, diligence and comprehension. An ART training course of a couple of days may be too short for some qualified dentists and dental therapists.[15] The operators’ greater experience in applying ART and the use of a high-viscous glass ionomer in the study may explain the higher results.[18] Failure of Restoration: The finding that failures of ART restorations placed in the same child were correlated suggests that some factors related to the individual subjects such as diet, occlusion, and caries risk may influence restoration survival.[16] The predominant reasons for ART restorations to fail were unacceptable defects at the margin and re restoration.[15] Almost half of the failures were related both to the physical characteristics of the glass ionomer used and to the operators’ handling of the material. Few failures were due to excessive wear. The other half of the failures were considered to be operator related. The exact reasons for the unacceptable marginal defects were unknown. However, it can be speculated that improper mixing of glass ionomer, providing a mixture that was either too dry or too wet, was one of the reasons. Another reason could be the difficulty in inserting the material into the depths of deep and small preparations. Subsurface voids produced during insertion may have resulted in later fracture of the surface layer under pressure.[18] Compared to conventional treatment approaches, ART is still very young. Despite this, much progress has been made in researching various aspects of the ART approach. More experience in the actual technique of cleaning carious cavities with hand instruments has been gained and newer, physically stronger glass ionomers have been marketed as a result of its existence. These developments have most probably led to the higher survival results of ART restorations in permanent teeth in the more recent compared to the early studies. Conclusion: ART technique has proved to be less painful and causes less discomfort to the patients with high survival rate in both in primary and permanent teeth. This technique has the potential to make oral health care more available to a larger part of the world’s population than before. The greater part of the world’s population has no access to restorative dental care. ART should be taken seriously by the dental profession and educational courses should be organized before the approach is used in the clinic.

Chaucer :: essays research papers fc

The Medieval Church and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales In discussing Chaucer's collection of stories called The Canterbury Tales, an interesting illustration of the Medieval Christian Church is presented. I think that the Medieval Church was full of corruption, and Chaucer depicts this corruption through The Pardoners Tale. At the same time as the corruption, there can also be an argument for the opposing side stating that the church is not corrupted. This can be shown with the character of the monk from The Monk’s Tale. While people demanded more voice in the affairs of government, the church became more corrupt and this corruption also led to a more crooked society. In history then, there is a two way process where the church has an influence on the rest of society and of course, society influences the church. This is naturally because it is the people from a society who make up the church....and those same people became the personalities that created these tales of a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England was to take place in a relatively short period of time, but this was not because of the success of the Augustinian effort. Indeed, the early years of this mission had a discrepancy which shows in the number of people who hedged their bets by practicing both Christian and Pagan rites at the same time, and in the number of people who directly didn’t want to believe at all when a Christian king died. There is certainly no evidence for a large-scale conversion of the common people to Christianity at this time. Christianity did not initially provide a unifying element but was by the later seventh century to provide the basis of a structure of organization, which overreached the frontiers of the individual, highly competitive English kingdoms(Making 15). Augustine was not the most diplomatic of men, and managed to antagonize many people of power and influence in Britain, who had never been particularly enthusiastic to save the souls of the Anglo-Saxons who had brought such harsh times to their people. In their isolation, the British Church had maintained older ways of celebrated the major festivals of Christianity, and Augustine's effort to force them to conform to modern Roman usage only angered them. When Augustine died (some time between 604 and 609 AD), then, Christianity had only an insecure hold on Anglo-Saxon England, a hold that was limited largely to a few in the aristocracy. Chaucer :: essays research papers fc The Medieval Church and Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales In discussing Chaucer's collection of stories called The Canterbury Tales, an interesting illustration of the Medieval Christian Church is presented. I think that the Medieval Church was full of corruption, and Chaucer depicts this corruption through The Pardoners Tale. At the same time as the corruption, there can also be an argument for the opposing side stating that the church is not corrupted. This can be shown with the character of the monk from The Monk’s Tale. While people demanded more voice in the affairs of government, the church became more corrupt and this corruption also led to a more crooked society. In history then, there is a two way process where the church has an influence on the rest of society and of course, society influences the church. This is naturally because it is the people from a society who make up the church....and those same people became the personalities that created these tales of a pilgrimage to Canterbury. The Christianization of Anglo-Saxon England was to take place in a relatively short period of time, but this was not because of the success of the Augustinian effort. Indeed, the early years of this mission had a discrepancy which shows in the number of people who hedged their bets by practicing both Christian and Pagan rites at the same time, and in the number of people who directly didn’t want to believe at all when a Christian king died. There is certainly no evidence for a large-scale conversion of the common people to Christianity at this time. Christianity did not initially provide a unifying element but was by the later seventh century to provide the basis of a structure of organization, which overreached the frontiers of the individual, highly competitive English kingdoms(Making 15). Augustine was not the most diplomatic of men, and managed to antagonize many people of power and influence in Britain, who had never been particularly enthusiastic to save the souls of the Anglo-Saxons who had brought such harsh times to their people. In their isolation, the British Church had maintained older ways of celebrated the major festivals of Christianity, and Augustine's effort to force them to conform to modern Roman usage only angered them. When Augustine died (some time between 604 and 609 AD), then, Christianity had only an insecure hold on Anglo-Saxon England, a hold that was limited largely to a few in the aristocracy.

Boony Doon Case Essay

CASE FORMATTING RULES AND CONTENT GUIDELINES/ CASE QUESTIONS FOR BONNY DOON VINEYARD I Formatting rules The case write-ups should be typed and double spaced, 12 point font (Times New Roman), normal margins with a maximum length of 5 pages which you can split between text, numerical tabulations or appendices as you see fit. You should have a cover page with your names, student numbers, title and course section. You can add the table of contents page and 1 page with the appendices. I expect that it will take you about 3.5 pages to do the analysis (points 1to 4) and about 1.5 pages for points 4 to 7. II Content guidelines The structure of your report should follow the following template: 1. Brief statement of current position/outlook of Bonny Doon (about 1 paragraph) 2. Firm Analysis (This part should include: – business model, business-level strategy and position, – value chain model analysis – analysis of the firm’s resources, capabilities and competitive advantage, – organizational analysis (management, ownership) – profitability analysis (please make sure to include relevant numbers). 3. Industry analysis This part should include: – basic descriptors (size of the market, key players, demand) – Porter’s 5 forces model, – life-cycle model, – key success factors (what it takes to be successful in this industry) – economics of the industry (profitability, costs and revenues) – industry’s overall attractiveness (including the past performance and projected growth) 4. Strategic problem/issue identification and definition 5. Generation of alternatives 6. Recommendation(s) 7. Brief implementation schedule III Case Guidelines/major points for â€Å"Bonny Doon Vineyardsâ€Å" Reference point: You are writing a report as consultants to Bonny Doon. Your report will be presented to their senior management. Here are the main points for your report. 1Describe the current environment for Bonny Doon, including competition and the market trends in the California wine industry at the time of the case. 2.Outline the main features of Bonny Doon’s business strategy. What are its benefits and drawbacks in the light of current situation? Why has Bonny Doon been so successful? 3What are the main challenges and strategic problems facing Bonny Doon? 4.In light of the problems that Bonny Doon is facing, what would you recommend to their management? You should attach a statement to this write-up, which should be signed by all members of the group, indicating that this is entirely the group’s own work, is based exclusively on the information provided in the case, and that each group member contributed their best.

Addressing Employee Motivation Essay

Executive Summary Tom was seen to have a loss of motivation at work which was investigated. An analysis showed the main cause to be a lack of communication from his manager, a need for role definition, and a lack of publicity for the success of his project initiative. Recommendation is for Tom’s manager to be informed so they are hopefully able to address these issues and retain and develop Tom’s skills. A problematic work situation relating to a HRM concept in Book 2 1.1 A description of the work problem Tom has a well paid job as a project manager. He created an idea and initiated a project to design and implement a website. After setting up the design and defining the stakeholders, without discussion, another person was brought in to chair the project meetings and keep track of actions for the software team. He felt a lack of clarity in his role and without clear guidance and credit did not feel motivated to push the project as hard as before. Weekly work hours fell back to a normal 40 hours from 50 or 60, and his other ideas were not pushed to management with the same enthusiasm. Motivation was clearly falling. This example relates to motivation and Session 1 of Book 2 can be used to analyse what motivates Tom to go to work. See more:  First Poem for You Essay 1.2 Analysis of my experience using my chosen concepts To understand Tom’s motivation level’s I have analysed his situation using Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs (1954) from session 1 (The Open University, B120 Book 2). According to Maslow, â€Å"a satisfied need is not a motivator†. Matching which needs are met on the pyramid of five categories will give an indication of which unmet need should be a motivator. Figure [ 1 ] Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs pyramid, and summary of Tom’s status within it. Figure 1 Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs pyramid, and summary of Tom’s status within it. According to Maslow’s theory, Tom has reached the 3rd level, but the lack of communication and feedback has stopped him achieving ‘Esteem’. Maslow states that â€Å"Not meeting these needs has a negative effect on our mental health† and this could explain the low motivation that Tom’s behaviour indicates. Tom was also under the impression that his idea and the quick success of the project would be publicised by his manager and would open up opportunities to be involved in other senior projects within the business. This did not materialise, and the senior management was not made aware of any plans to utilise Tom’s skills. In fact Tom’s manager was based in another country and was often not reachable for consultation either by phone or email. This expectation and its failure to materialise also causes low motivation, as explained in the concept of a ‘psychological contract’ from The Open University (2012). By applying this concept, we can understand that Tom had reason to believe that a successful project would lead to acknowledgement and higher esteem within the company, and even though this was not part of a formal employment contract. When this did not occur Tom felt his psychological contract had been violated, and that his hard work was inconsequential, leading to his low motivation to keep working hard. 1.3 Proposed solutions to the problem The analysis above has identified possible causes of Tom’s low motivation. With this understanding of these reasons, each can be addressed with the right actions. . * Problem : Low motivation, * caused by : Perceived low likelihood of achieving Esteem (on Maslow’s hierarchy) * caused by : lack of communication about tasks. * Classified as : Broken psychological contract If we can determine the cause for the broken contract, we may be able to restore Tom’s motivation to work hard. Also relevant is the Job Characteristic Model from Hackman and Oldham cited by The Open University (2012) which lists five core job characteristics that contribute to satisfying work. If Tom’s work is missing any of the core characteristics his attitude to his job could be affected. Figure [ 2 ]. Hackman & Oldham JCM The lack of regular communication between Tom and his manager suggests that there is insufficient â€Å"Feedback from the Job†. B120, Book 2, Study session 4, highlights the importance of â€Å"Constructive feedback†, which â€Å"involves praising strengths and achievements†. Arranging another person to chair project meetings could also mean that â€Å"Task Identity† was not clear. To solve these items, Tom’s manager should take the following actions: * clarify Tom’s role and tasks within the project * Provide regular opportunities for feedback and communication, including praise of achievements when applicable. * Publicise Tom’s contributions to raise his profile in the senior management team and allow development of his career. Relevant Web sites http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/motivational-theory-in-practice-at-tesco/maslow-and-herzberg.html (accessed 28-Nov-2012) This shows how a successful company has used Maslow’s hierarchy and Herzbergs two factor theory to try to keep employee motivation high. Herzberg could be summarised as â€Å"If you want people to do a good job for you, then you must give them a good job to do.† The Times is a reputable publisher which lends credence to this site, but this is a case study utilising the theories in this report, and not and original source. http://gmx.xmu.edu.cn/ews/business/management/chapter16.htm#what (accessed 28-Nov-2012) This site was chosen because it contains some interesting definitions of motivation factors, and summarises a collection of different theories on analysing motivation in employees. The information is not verified but some theories corroborate with other sources. References The Open University (2012) B120 An introduction to business studies, Book 2 ‘An introduction to human resource management in business’, Milton Keynes. Web source 1: http://businesscasestudies.co.uk/tesco/motivational-theory-in-practice-at-tesco/maslow-and-herzberg.html dated unknown (accessed 28-Nov-2012) Web source 2: http://gmx.xmu.edu.cn/ews/business/management/chapter16.htm#what dated unknown (accessed 28-Nov-2012)