Cloud computing security

Cloud computing security Abstract The term Cloud computing becomes more popular day by day. As this is happening, security concerns start to arise. Maybe the most critical one is that as information is spread into the cloud, the owner starts to lose the control of it. In this paper we attempt to give a brief overview of what is described by the term Cloud computing and provide a small introduction to what we mean by Cloud computing security [Brunette, 2009]. Make a discussion of what are the security benefits that Cloud computing introduces and also the security risks that arise due to its adaptation according to [ENISA, 2009]. Index Terms Cloud, security, risks, security benefits. Introduction Cloud computing funds started to build in early 90s. The main idea behind cloud computing is to separate the infrastructure and the mechanisms that a system is composed of, from the applications and services that delivers [Brunette, 2009]. Clouds are designed in such a way that can scale easily, be always available and reduce the operational costs. That is achieved due to on demand multi-tenancy of applications, information and hardware resources (such as network infrastructure, storage resources and so on). According to [Mell, 2009] Cloud computing is composed by five Essential Characteristics, three Service Models and four Deployment Models as shown in figure bellow. More details on each of the above components can be found in [Mell, 2009] Security The way that security control is implemented on Cloud computing is most of the times similar to this of traditional IT environments. But due to the distributed nature of the assets security risks vary depending on the kind of assets in use, how and who manages those assets, what are the control mechanisms used and where those are located and finally who consumes those assets [Brunette, 2009]. Furthermore earlier we mentioned that multi-tenancy. This means that a set of policies should be implementing how isolation of resources, billing, segmentation and so on is achieved is a secure and concise way. In order to measure whether the security that a Cloud Provider (CP) offers is adequate we should take under consideration the maturity, effectiveness, and completeness of the risk-adjusted security controls that the CP implements. Security can be implement at one or more levels. Those levels that cover just the Cloud infrastructure are: physical security, network security, system security and application security. Additionally security can take place at a higher level, on people, duties and processes. It is necessary at this point to have understanding of the different security responsibilities that CPs and end users have. And also that sometimes even among different CPs the security responsibilities differ. Security Benefits [ENISA, 2009] in its report has spotted the following top security benefits that arise due to the use of Cloud computing. Security and the benefits of scale: when implementing security on a large system the cost for its implementation is shared on all resources and as a result the investment end up being more effective and cost saving. Security as a market differentiator: as confidentiality, integrity and resilience is a priority for many the end users, the decision on whether they will choose one CP over another is made based on the reputation this CP has on security issues. Hence competition among CPs made them provide high level services. Standardise interfaces for managed security services: as CPs use standardise interfaces to manage their security services the Cloud computing market benefits from the uniformity and tested solutions this introduces. Rapid, smart scaling of resources: Cloud computing is considered resilient since it has the ability to dynamically reallocate resources for filtering, traffic shaping, authentication, encryption. Audit and evidence gathering: since virtualization is used in order to achieve Cloud computing, it is easy to collect all the audits that we need in order to proceed with forensics analysis without causing a downtime during the gathering process. More timely, effective and effective updates and defaults: another thing that Cloud computing benefits from virtualization is that virtual machines (VM) can come pre-patched and hardened with the latest updates. Also in case of a configuration fault or a disaster caused by changes made on the VM, we can rollback to a previous stable state. Benefits of resource concentration: having all of your resources concentrated makes it cheaper to maintain and allows physical access on those easier. That outweighs most of the times the risk the disadvantages that this generates. Security Risks The following classes of cloud computing risks were identified by [ENISA, 2009]. Loss of governance: as users do not physically posses any resources, CPs can take control on a number of resources. If those resources are not covered from an SLA security risks arise. Lock-in: as we write this paper there is still no standardization on how to move data and resources among different CPs. That means in case a user decides to move from a CP to another or even to migrate those services in-house, might not be able to do so due to incompatibilities between those parties. This creates a dependency of the user to a particular CP.. Isolation failure: one of the disadvantages of multi-tenancy and shared resources occurs when the resource isolation mechanism fails to separate the resource among users. That can occur either due to an attack (guest-hopping attacks) or due to poor mechanism design. In present days attacks of this kind are pretty rare compared to the traditional Oss but for sure we cannot rely just on that fact. risk category covers the failure of mechanisms separating storage, memory, routing and even reputation between different tenants. Compliance risks: there is a possibility that investing on achieving certification is put under risk due to the following: The CP cannot provide evidence of their own compliance with the relevant requirements The CP does not permit audit by the cloud customer (CC). Also it is possible that compliance with industry standards is not able to be achieved when using public Cloud computing infrastructure. Management interface compromise: CPs provide to the users, management interface for their resources on public Cloud infrastructures. That makes those interfaces available over the internet allowing remote access applications or web browsers vulnerabilities to allow access on resources from unauthorised users. Data protection: CP is possible to handle data in ways that are not known (not lawful ways) to the user since the users looses the complete governance of the data. This problem becomes even more obvious when data are transferred often between locations. On the other hand, there are lot of CPs that provide information on how data are handled by them, while other CPs offer in addition certification summaries on their data processing and data security activities. Insecure or incomplete data deletion: there are various systems that upon request of a resource deletion will not completely wipe it out. Such is the case with Cloud computing as well. Furthermore difficulties to delete a resource on time might arise due to multi-tenancy or dues to the fact that many copies of this resource can exist for backup/ redundancy reasons. In cases like this the risk adds to the data protection of the user is obvious. Malicious insider: there is always that possibility that an insider intentionally causes damage. For that reason a policy specifying roles for each user should be available. The risks described above constitute the top security risks of cloud computing. [ENISA, 2009] further categorises risks into policy and organizational risks, technical risks, legal risks and finally not specific risks. Vulnerabilities The list of vulnerabilities that follows [ENISA, 2009], does not cover the entirety of possible Cloud computing vulnerabilities, it is though pretty detailed. AAA Vulnerabilities: Special care should be given on the authentication, authorization and accounting system that CPs will use. Poor designed AAA systems can result to unauthorized users to have access on resources, with unwanted results on both the CP (legal wise) and the user (loss of information). User provisiontion vulnerabilities: Customer cannot control provisioning process. Identity of customer is not adequately verified at registration. Delays in synchronisation between cloud system components (time wise and of profile content) happen. Multiple, unsynchronised copies of identity data are made. Credentials are vulnerable to interception and replay. User de-provisioning vulnerabilities: Due to time delays that might occur, credential of user that have earlier logged out might appear to still be valid. Remote access to management interface: Theoretically, this allows vulnerabilities in end-point machines to compromise the cloud infrastructure (single customer or CP) through, for example, weak authentication of responses and requests. Hypervisor Vulnerabilities: In virtualized environments Hypervisors is a small piece of middleware that is used in order to be able to control the physical resources assigned to each VM. Exploitation of the Hypervisors layer will result on exploiting every single VM on a physical system. Lack of resource isolation: Resource use by one customer can affect resource use by another customer. For example IaaS infrastructures use systems on which physical resources are shared among VMs and hence many different users.. Lack of reputational isolation: The resource sharing can result on one user acting in such a way that its actions have impact on the reputation of another user. Communication encryption vulnerabilities: while data move across the internet or among different location within the CP premises it is possible that someone will be reading the data when poor authentication, acceptance of self-signed certificates present and so on. Lack of or weak encryption of archives and data in transit: In conjunction with the above when failing to encrypt data in transit, data held in archives and databases, un-mounted virtual machine images, forensic images and data, sensitive logs and other data at rest those are at risk. Poor key management procedures: Cloud computing infrastructures require the management and storage of many different kinds of keys; examples include session keys to protect data in transit, file encryption keys, key pairs identifying cloud providers, key pairs identifying customers, authorisation tokens and revocation certificates. Because virtual machines do not have a fixed hardware infrastructure and cloud based content tends to be geographically distributed, it is more difficult to apply standard controls, such as hardware security module (HSM) storage, to keys on cloud infrastructures. Key generation: low entropy for random number generation: The combination of standard system images, virtualisation technologies and a lack of input devices means that systems have much less entropy than physical RNGs Lack of standard technologies and solutions: This is the case of lock-in risk, where users cannot move across different providers due to the lack of standards. No control on vulnerability assessment process: If CPs will not prevent their users from port scanning and testing for possible vulnerabilities and also there is no audit on the time of use (ToU) for a user (something that places responsibility on the customer) severe infrustrusture security problems will arise. Possibility that internal (Cloud) network probing will occur: Cloud customers can perform port scans and other tests on other customers within the internal network. Possibility that co-residence checks will be performed: Side-channel attacks exploiting a lack of resource isolation allow attackers to determine which resources are shared by which customers. Lack of forensics readiness: While the cloud has the potential to improve forensic readiness, many providers do not provide appropriate services and terms of use to enable this. For example, SaaS providers will typically not provide access to the IP logs of clients accessing content. IaaS providers may not provide forensic services such as recent VM and disk images. Sensitive media sanitization: Shared tenancy of physical storage resources means that sensitive data may leak because data destruction policies applicable at the end of a lifecycle may either be impossible to implement because, for example, media cannot be physically destroyed because a disk is still being used by another tenant or it cannot be located, or no procedure is in place. Synchronizing responsibilities or contractual obligations external to cloud: Cloud customers are often unaware of the responsibilities assigned to them within the terms of service. There is a tendency towards a misplaced attribution of responsibility for activities such as archive encryption to the cloud provider even when it is clearly stated in the terms of the contract between the two parties that no such responsibility has been undertaken. Cross cloud applications creating hidden dependency: Hidden dependencies exist in the services supply chain (intra- and extra-cloud dependencies) and the cloud provider architecture does not support continued operation from the cloud when the third parties involved, subcontractors or the customer company, have been separated from the service provider and vice versa. SLA clauses with conflicting promises to different stakeholders: An SLA might include terms that conflict one another, or conflict clauses made from other providers. SLA causes containing excessive business risk: From CPs perspective an SLA can hide a bunch of business risks when someone thinks of the possible technical failures that might arise. At the end user point SLAs can include terms that can be disadvantageous. Audit or certification not available to customers: The CP cannot provide any assurance to the customer via audit certification. Certification schemes not adapted to cloud infrastructures: CPs will not really take any actions to provide security measures that comply with Cloud computing security standards. Inadequate resource provisioning and investments in infrastructure: This vulnerability comes in hand with the one that follows. Provisioning of resources should be done carefully in order to avoid failures of the provided services. No policies for resource capping: CPs should make really well provisioning of their resources. Also end users should be able to configure the resources that are allocated to them. If the limits of requested resources exceed this of the available resources results can be unpredictable. Storage of data in multiple jurisdictions and lack of transparency: Multiple copies of users data can exist since mirroring of the data is performed in order to achieve redundancy. During that time the user should we aware of where are those data stored. Such a move can introduce unwanted vulnerabilities since CPs may violate regulations during this time. Lack of information jurisdictions: there might be a case where data are stored using high level of user rights. In that case end users should be aware of it in order to take preventing measures. Conclusion In this paper we tried to give a brief overview of cloud computing and discuss what security on Cloud computing means. Furthermore, we made it easy for the reader to understand what the benefits and risks of moving toward Cloud computing are. Vulnerabilities of Cloud computing are listed as those were described in [ENISA, 2009], allowing us to have a full view of what are the considerations that we should keep in mind when moving on Cloud computing. It is also well understood that exhaustive risk and security control is not recommended on all Cloud computing implementations. The level of control should always depend on prior evaluation. There are still lot of open research areas on improving Cloud computing security, some of those are; Forensics and evidence gathering mechanisms, resource isolation mechanisms and interoperability between cloud providers. References [ENISA, 2009] ENISA editors. (2009). Cloud Computing Benefits, risks and recommendations for information security. . [Accessed 25 March 2010] [Brunette, 2009] Glenn Brunette and Rich Mogull (2009). Security Guidance for Critical Areas of Focus in Cloud Computing, Version 2.1 [Accessed 25 March 2010] [Mell, 2009] Peter Mell and Tim Grance (2009). The NIST Definition of Cloud Computing, Version 15. [Accessed 26 March 2010]

Comparative Study Of The Professional Courier Commerce Essay

Comparative Study Of The Professional Courier Commerce Essay The objectives of the research study was to know, to what extent the company is aware about their service effectiveness and also to know to what extend the customers are satisfaction with the company service, it was also to know whether the customers are satisfied with the company policies, and if they are satisfied then to what extent, and if they are dissatisfied why so. and accordingly to identify strengths of company and weaknesses where they lack in serving their customers. It was also to know which are the area where the company has to put more of its attention and to serve those areas in a better ways,. And also to identify the problem of the company and to recommend suggestion on the basis of that and finally to take the necessary measures on problem identified for the company resulting in the research study. The survey carried out was random sample survey and the procedure followed for conducting survey was questionnaire method that is personally explaining the customer about questionnaire and getting them filled, targeting to total of 120 customers of both THE PROFESSIONAL COURIER and FIRST FLIGHT COURIER 6O of each company in three different location Mapusa Siolim, Arambol, Thivim, Pernem, Colvale and Panjim, survey was conducted with random customers of the companys. Questionnaires were filled personally by the employees also personal interaction was made and views about those questions was taken, which gave idea about customer service effectiveness of both the companies. Customer Service Effectiveness Customer Service Effectiveness is the process by which your organization delivers its services or products in a way that allows the customer to access them in the most efficient, fair, cost effective, and humanly satisfying and pleasurable manner possible. Customer service is a process, not a set of actions that might include greeting the customer, smiling, asking if you can help, etc. Effective customer service is all about delivering the answers customers are seeking. How information is stored, augmented and organized will determine how effective any organizations customer service efforts will be. The best knowledgebase technology allows the customer to guide the content, and structure of the knowledgebase, improve the level of service, and decrease the customer service representatives workload.   It recognize that different customers want to be treated in different ways. Not all customers are treated equal, and by going customer-by-customer, region-by-region and country-by-country, we build a custom suit that trades off efficiency and effectiveness, recognizing that we may actually eliminate customers. COMPANYS BACKGROUND THE PROFESSIONAL COURIER The beginning :  was founded in 1987 by Mr .A Braham M r.SAhamed Meeran , Mr. Oommen C. Chacko Late. Mrs. V.Padmavathi Mr. Ronny George Mr. Sumit Batabyal Mr. Suresh Bharathan Mr. Thomas John A year of glory for the Directors of this company because it was the year in which they were united and ventured in to Courier Business was incorporated on 1st November 1987. PROFESSIONAL COURIER gives employment to thousands of people. It has turned hundreds of ambitious aspiring youngsters to be the proud Managers of an elite company. Much more, it is today a Courier organization which is being looked upon by the others as a role model of what a courier should be. Today PROFESSIONAL COURIER in India has 20 Regional Offices, over 2485 Offices, over 5000 Collection Centers and easily well over 25,000 destinations, where delivery is possible, by far, the biggest Courier Network in India. FIRST FLIGHT COURIER First Flight Couriers came into being on Monday, 17th November 1986. It all began with the setting up of three offices at Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi. The overwhelming response from customers, was not just a dream come true, but the fruits of an early realization and recognition of the tremendous potential that the Indian subcontinent offered in terms of market size. It was the foresight and dynamism of the Founder Chairman and Managing Director, O.P.Saboo which created a spring board for the organization to catapult into what it is today   Indias Largest Domestic Courier Company. 930 First Flight Offices across India 2208 Authorized Collection Centers 452 Franchisee Locations Serving over 5000 Pin code Destinations across India Dedicated Workforce of over 10000 plus employees Strategically located 8 own International Offices Serving over 220 countries globally As a natural corollary to its growth endeavor, First Flight is in the process of setting up a large scale integrated Logistics Division to offer an entire gamut of Warehousing, Inventory Management, Supply Chain Services and Distribution Channels, thereby providing total end-to-end solutions to customers. In keeping with times, First Flight continues to invest substantial effort in building a State-of-the-Art Super Information Technology highway. First Flights commitment to corporate excellence and its yearning for making it a common household name opens floodgates of opportunities and challenges and to meet it head on, shall be the corner stone of its philosophy. METHODOLOGY RESEARCH EXPLORATION Qualitative design The method used to measure customer service effectiveness was firstly I meet customers of both companies asked them open ended questions verbally personal interaction as doing pilot study the responses from all the customers was taken which resulted in the final questionnaire and the data was collected from the company employees, the result of study will contribute knowledge about service proved by the company and to known how far it is effective. Pilot test: The qualitative research test was done with small sample size of 40 customers 20 of each courier service providing company. The questions were then framed based on their responses. Research Plan: Once the problem was identified, I prepare structured questionnaire for collecting the information needed for the research. And then to analysis the data collected before making a conclusion. OBJECTIVES Was to know how effective is the companies service. It was also to know the level at which the company customers are satisfied with the service provided by the company. Source of data: Primary data Questionnaire Personal interaction with the customers. Observation. Secondary data Internet Company reports Data collection: The personal interaction with the customers and questioning them with the help of structured questionnaires and which is filled by the customers personally in my presence. Sampling size: The total sample size is 120 for both companies 60 for each of a service providing company. Sample plan: Random Sampling Target audience: service taking customers of both companies THE PROFESSIONAL COURIER and FIRST FLIGHT. NEED FOR STUDY The main reason behind doing customer service effectiveness survey was to know how much the company is able to satisfy its customer as it was founded on discussing with the management of the professional courier and the first flight courier that the performance of the companies was coming down. The reason for doing customer service effectiveness surveys was also to know as to what are those services which the customers Are accepting from the company and due to which the customers are not satisfied with the company service as a result the market share of the company is decreasing. As an external consultant, my purpose in conducting survey with customers was to share information for the common good. It will be confidentiality and I will use the information to assist the company to make positive progress SCOPE FOR CUSTOMER SERVICE EFFECTIVENESS SURVEY Surveys will help company to measure and understand their customers attitude, opinions, motivation, and satisfaction. Surveys and focus groups help the company to identify areas of customer satisfaction and dissatisfaction. It is the terminology used to describe whether customers are happy and contented and fulfilling their desires and needs at work. Surveys will help the company to measure and understand their training needs for the employees, and also if necessary to put more focused in a particular area were company lake in serving customers. CUSTOMER SERVICE EFFECTIVENESS FOR THE PROFESSIONALCOURIER(PROFESSIONAL COURIER) AND FIRST FLIGHT COURUIER (FIRST FLIGHT) Q1) HOW OFTEN YOU TAKE SERVICE FROM THIS COMPANY (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) The above graphs tells us the users of both the service and how orphan they use the service we can see that customers of PROFESSIONAL COURIER uses service more time than FIRST FLIGHT courier. 2)THE SERVICE DELIVERY DONE BY THE COMPANY VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) In the above graph we can clearly see that compared to first flight courier the service delivery of the professional courier is better as more number of customers say its always no time were as no customers of professional courier say its never on time but some customers of first flight courier says its never on time. 3) PLEASE RATE US IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES outstanding above average average below average poor cannot rate professionalism responsiveness support and assistance follow- up overall satisfaction (FOR THE PROFESSIONAL COURIER) 3) PLEASE RATE US IN THE FOLLOWING CATEGORIES outstanding above average average below average poor cannot rate professionalism responsiveness support and assistance follow- up overall satisfaction (FOR THE FIRST FLIGHT COURIER) 4) CONSIDER THE OVERALL KEY AREAS BELOW TELL US HOW IMPORTANT YOU COSIDER EACH AREA TO BE better customer service variety of available services speed and ease of order placement pickup and delivery quality price CRITERIA very important important somewhat important not as important (FOR THE PROFESSIONAL COURIER) 4) CONSIDER THE OVERALL KEY AREAS BELOW TELL US HOW IMPORTANT YOU COSIDER EACH AREA TO BE better customer service variety of available services speed and ease of order placement pickup and delivery quality price CRITERIA very important important somewhat important not as important (FOR THE FIRST FLIGHT COURIER) 5) THE LEVEL AT WHICH COMPANY TACKLE YOUR PROBLEM VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) If we see in the above graph first flight courier is better than professional courier in term of tackling the problems faced by the customers. Professional courier is also not too bad. As 38 people say its good at tacking. So can conclude looking at graph that the both companies are equally good in tackling your problem. 6) FEES CHARGED BY THE COMPANY VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) With regards to the charges charged for the service given by the companies more customers of both the companies feels that it is charged at reasonable price. There in comparison both the companies are in a same position. 7) IS COMPANY ABLE TO MEET YOUR REQUESTED COMPLITION TIME VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) When it was question of whether the company is able to meet your requested time there were very few customers of both the companies who said its done always but were majority said rarely, sometimes, occasionally. But here while comparing we can say that professional courier is better because there are only 1 customer who said its not at all done on time but with the first flight courier 5customer said its not at all done on time. 8) SERVICE GIVEN WORTH THE MONEY YOU PAY VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) When it was said that the service given by both the companies is worth the money you pay there was only 1 customer of PROFESSIONAL COURIER who was strongly along with 37 agreed but 7 customers of FIRST FLIGHT was strongly agree followed by 30 agree. Where we can conclude first flight courier is better than professional courier. 9) WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF EFFORTS YOU HAV TO PUT IN GETTING YOUR SERVICE DELIVERED VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) In terms of efforts to be put in getting your service delivered the customers of both the companies have to put in more efforts as maximum of the customers of both the companies said they have to put more and lots of effort. So here we can conclude both the companies are week here. 10)SERVICE GIVEN TO YOU IS AS PER YOUR ACCEPTATION VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) when it was said that the service is given to the customers as per their acceptation 44 customers of PROFESSIONAL COURIER was strongly agree and agree were else 37 customers of FIRST FLIGHT was strongly agree and agree. From this we can say that in comparison to FIRST FLIGHT the PROFESSIONAL COURIER is better in meeting the acceptation of the customers. 11) YOUR ORDER IS DELIVERED WHERE AND WHEN YOU REQUESTED IT VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) In terms of order to be delivered where and when it is asked customers of both the companies looks like customers are satisfied with the this service of the company. But if you see gain many take a neutral stand. Where they are not included neither in agree situation nor disagree situation. Therefore compared to FIRST FLIGHT, the PROFESSIONAL COURIER is little bit in better position in term of accurate delivery. 12) HOW IS PROFESSIONAL COURIER SERVICE COMPARED WITH OTHER COURIER VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) First it was whether the customers have used other courier service than what they are using now. All the customers said YES they have used. Were 30 customers of PROFESSIONAL COURIER and 31 customers of FIRST FLIGHT said its same. Where else 28 felt better and only 2 said worse of PROFESSIONAL COURIER. But of FIRST FLIGHT 25 said its same and 4 said its worse. Here again we can conclude to some extent professional courier is better than first flight 13) HOW MANY TIMES IN LAST 6 MONTHS HAVE YOU USED THE PROFESSIONAL COURIER SERVICE VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) In the above graph we can see how many times the customers have used the service in last 6 months. But there are not much customers who have used this service for 30 or more than 30 in last 6 month for both companies. 14) WOULD YOU RECOMMEND USING THE SERVICE OF THIS COURIER IN FUTHURE VS (PROFESSIONAL COURIER) (FIRST FLIGHT) When it was asked whether the customer of the company will use the service in future again almost equal number of customer of both the companies said definitely would. But there were some of both the companies who said probably not and definitely not. And also with the reasons as the common answers are written down as positive once and negative once. For the professional courier user it was asked why would you recommend using the service and the answers were in positive as well as in negative POSITIVE (yes) Due to better quality of service. They reach on time always. Good at handling problem faced. Have good safety delivery. Delivery is always done on time. Parcel is accurately delivered were it is asked. Easy in using. It is faster. NEGATIVE (no) Late in delivery. Not very good service in terms of quality. Few collection centre in Goa. For the first flight courier user it was asked why would you recommend using the service and the answers were in positive as well as in negative POSITIVE (yes) Quick service Good Quality service Delivery is done timely and to the place Good at handling customer problems Because of reasonable price NEGATIVE (no) Delay in delivery Not good at handling situation No pick up service. Less collection centre what you have to say about the delivery done by the company PROFESSIONAL COURIER Positive Good quality delivery Make customer satisfied Dont have to face much difficulties Deliver parcel to the concern person Have good delivery boys for on field service. Negative Not done on time (sometimes). Poor delivery in north India. lack of delivery boys in north Goa. FIRST FLIGHT Positive More trusty and more faster Punctual in their delivery Its delivered when its asked Easy and comfortable Negative Dont provide service on time. Average delivery Parcel damage delivery (These are some of the common answers given by all the customers) Here are some of the suggestions to The Professional Courier. They should concentrate more on timely delivery They should put more attention in solving the queries of the customers should also focused on pick up documents from the customers. Try to be more faster and accurate in giving the delivery. Improve parcel packaging. Try and come up with the possible collection centers across Goa. Add the delivery boys in doing the delivery so that it can be done faster. Here are some of the suggestions to First Flight Courier. Put more efforts in doing delivery on time Try and put more time solving customers problem so that all customers are satisfied with this service. See that they put more focus on doing delivery on the within requested time. Company should add up more employees on field doing service delivery, so that it can be done faster and documents will not be pending. ANALYSIS FINDINGS Customers have to put more efforts for getting their services to be delivered. Both the companies lack in providing timely delivery the delivery is done late. The reasons identified is that they have less delivery boys on field doing delivery and because of which document is left undelivered and is done late later. Bad service providers are not only losing their valuable external customers but also their internal customers who are not willing to be associated with the organization for a longer duration. Retaining the loyalties of the customers, both internal as well as external is very critical for the future of the company. The Professional Courier has Lack of collection centre in Goa which make quit difficult for people in getting their document or parcel to the company office or the. When the question comes of solving problems face by the customers both the companies lack in doing so as they cannot service their 100% to the customers therefore not all the customers are satisfied with this service of the company, which is not profitable for the company as they can lose their customers. On surveying the customers it was founded that 35 respondent of TPC i.e the maximum said the give more preference to BETTER CUSTOMER SERVICE and of FF 45 respondent said so which again maximum therefore we can conclude that the customer wants good quality service which include timely, accurate, safe etc. In terms of money or charges charged by both the companies in providing the service is worth the service they provide the maximum respondent of both the companies i.e. 36 of TPC and 38 of FF said its reasonable. So can conclude from this that they are charging fair amount for providing the service. Limitation of the survey: The survey was conducted in a limited duration of six weeks only. No customers are loyal customers they change their service provider whenever they wants so was quit tough to get these companies customers which has taken service from them for quit many times . Many competitors in the market and it was difficult to get the the customer of these both companies. My target audience was the cooperate people and the business people which made it even more difficult to gather information. PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED Communication chain:- the communication system of the company is not in properly form. As the information regarding the company customer any query or any other help required are not directly communicated to the management it takes time due to absent of communication chain. Employee Relation:- Employee relation with the companys customers is not friendly, due to which companies are losing on their business and If you dont have a good relation with your customers it becomes very difficult for you to get business from that person to the company. Responsibilities to employees:- the employees are not much responsible it is said because the customers of both the companies had to put in more efforts in getting their service delivered Lack of collection centre for (TPC):- the customers of colvale, pernem (Tuem industrial estate) has to face difficulties in sending their courier because they have come all the way to mapusa. Delivery:- not all the time delivery by both the companies is done on time. it is not reach as per the customer requested time. SOLUTION In the interest of building a relationship of honesty, integrity, and trust, with the company customer, the results should be communicated effectively to the customers and the company customers should receive information in a timely manner when it is asked. Also company managers need to track progress and communicate implementation successes and failures to the employees so that they can accordingly work on field improving the same. Company should constantly strive to provide necessary information to their customer when ever asked that will increase their awareness of the larger scope of the operation and provide them a sense of satisfaction so that they will continue using your service. Company should also put more focus on talking to the customers could be personally or online how they wants and knowing their quires or problem face by them at any point of time while taking service so that it will gave them a sense of concern for them thinking yes company cares their customers which will help them to retain the customers. Company should try to improve relationship within the company customers. They can do this by constantly keeping in touch with the customers. This will lead to better interaction with the customers and the company employees and this will lead to improved relation which will future give company a good business. Successful Deliveries:- A successful delivery is directly tied into a timely one. Success is more than just getting the goods to their destination on time. It also means a safe delivery, parcel reaching the customer without damage and accurately to the pace where it has been asked. Recommendation / Suggestions to company Add more service delivery boys to improve customer service standards:- This is the most common method that most organizations firmly believe in. They tend to add up the numbers of people in the service delivery chain improving systems and processes which provides a positive result and further improves the process and service experience for the customers. It will also motivates the employees to increase their performance levels and improve the service delivery experience for their customers which ultimately benefits the company. Provide service training to the company employees:-Training the employees goes a long way in ensuring the effectiveness of service delivery of the organization. Training not only helps the employees in learning new techniques and tricks but also helps them in realizing that the company is concerned about their future in the organization and it is taking necessary steps to ensure its growth in the firm. It motivates the employees to increase their performance levels and improve the service delivery experience for their customers. Training and involving the employees in various decisions or discussions of organization. Apart from their routine activities makes them feel good as if they take ownership of the company and could improve the service that they provide to their customers. There is an increase in the willingness to satisfy the customers especially when there is customer complaint in order to ensure that the customer goes back satisfied and his loyalty is retained by the organization the training is very important. Cost saving option:- if you have goods to be delivered that are large and take up a lot of space and weight, a sea freight option likely would make more sense than air freight if the destination is across the country, if the destination is just a few miles away i.e. within the country or in the neighboring states, than some type of road service would likely be the best option in order to minimize the cost CONCLUSION AND LEARNING To conclude I would like to say it was of a great experience conducting my summer internship on comparative study on The Professional Courier and first flight courier. Working on my study I came to know many things about the service industry as how its work. I gained much more knowledge in marketing field as how its function, and as how to out approaching the customer along with the customer acceptation as to what customers wants and what they dont want. flow of proper communication from top to bottom and bottom to top plays a very important role in any organization as timely providing information regarding the customers if any quires is there by the employees to the company helps them to contribute to the success of the company, as company can makes necessary changes where ever required and also to come up with a solution to their quires . Also came to know how the employees deal with the customers of the company as to what is their needs and wants and how they are meet also not meet and how the customers reacts to it later.

My Service Learning Experiences Essay -- Personal Reflection

What connections do you make between your service-learning experiences and some of the themes addressed in class (justice, love, rights, responsibility, relationships, etc.)? There were several connections made between my service learning experiences and themes addressed in class. Some of the connections were about human dignity, solidarity, subsidiarity and equity. My service learning took place in a nursing home and the applicability of human dignity became abundantly clear. Teachings of solidarity and equity were directly exemplified. Social ties hold people together and are able to support the people who don’t have the power to help themselves. Subsidiarity is also a relevant issue; decisions for helping the elderly is best when done on the lowest level—the people who directly work with the elderly and know what troubles faces them. What impact do you think your service has had? My job was mainly assisting activity coordinators. As an extra set of hands, intermediate tasks were taken care of much quicker. The impact it had was chiefly that the residents were able to enjoy the activities and had to spend less time waiting for assistance. Many residents seemed generally appreciative simply by having a new face helping them out. What was the most unsettling experience you had while serving? Interacting with people who are unable to manage the activities of daily living in their own home hadn’t been an everyday experience for me. Understanding their needs could be adequately done in a classroom, but actually experiencing firsthand their situation gives a much more explicit and real understanding. The aspect of my experience that I found most unsettling was the meagerness of understanding when learning i... ...r enforce those teaching in class. Class lessons are very good in giving you a lot of information and putting it into context. Experiencing and trying to apply those teachings in real life is what really makes it stick. The combination of class and service learning provided a solid foundation on which to be a morally responsible leader. During class, all sorts of ideas are brought up and discussed as a group and critically analyzing from different perspectives and relating it to other ideas. This enables the students rectify their own beliefs and morals in constructive ways. From these developments, we begin to see how it fits in the world and try to apply ourselves and gain wisdom. Gaining knowledge, experience and wisdom, it becomes our understanding to find good in any aspect of our lives and work towards advancing that good in a way that benefits all.

Free Essays - Running From Prejudice :: Personal Narrative Essay Example

Running From Prejudice I look around and I see it, and then I read about it. But I never thought I would be faced with discrimination firsthand. It's my junior year in high school, with lots of opportunities, freedom and responsibility. I decided to join the cross-country team, and somehow I knew it wouldn't be easy, but I knew most of the team from classes and from running track. The first day of practice I disregarded the stares. As the season went on, though, I started to feel out of place, like an outsider. I was the only African-American and there was no one I could relate to or who could relate to me. I stayed to myself and kept thinking, Life is not always great, but I just have to get through this. There were certain people I was able to get along with, but even they would occasionally make racial comments. By then I was fully aware of how much respect they lacked. One day after a meet as we were preparing to leave, they started discussing how teens sometimes do crazy things. Then all of a sudden the issue of black and white surfaced and someone said, "Whites are superior to blacks, blacks have issues." The saddest part of this was realizing they knew I was there and didn't care. My world crumbled as they made comment after comment and laughed. Reality smacked me in the face. I'd had my first encounter with discrimination. The tears poured from my eyes as I headed for the bus. The only thought I had was how I had been deceived into believing these people were my friends and I could trust them. Even though some apologized, I don't have the respect for them I had had before. My insight on people will never be the same. After the incident, I took some time away from the team to reflect on what was important to me.

Antigone: A Greek Tragedy Essay examples -- essays Papers

Antigone: A Greek Tragedy The play Antigone is often thought to be a Greek tragedy because each of the tragic heroes is neither extremely good or bad, their fortunes change from good to bad, their misfortunes do not result from their own wrong doings, and they arouse pity within the audience. Antigone and Creon are the two tragic heroes of this play; however, I believe Creon to be main one. In the play Antigone there can be seen a struggle between two forces: god’s law verses man’s law. A woman, Antigone, who strongly believed in the god’s law, opposed a king, Creon, who believed in the man’s law. Antigone disobeyed Creon’s law, about burying Polyneices, simply because she felt it to be her duty to the gods. Although both Creon and Antigone suffer greatly in the play, I believe that Creon is the tragic hero. Creon was a king who made a fatal mistake, he didn’t listen to other people. In the beginning of the play Creon decided not to bury the body of his dead nephew Polyneices. He proclaimed throughout his city that whoever buries Polyneices will be stoned to death. Creon hoped that by making such a threat he would stop any disagreements and would establish peace in Thebes. But Creon was wrong. Antigone, a relative of Creon, decided to bury Polyneices, because she felt that Polyneices’ soul didn’t deserve an eternity of suffering and wondering (Greeks believed that if a person wouldn’t be properly buried his soul would wonder forever and will never be at ease). Unfortun...

Games As A Tool For Learning Education Essay

The game is an activity aimed at run intoing the demands of amusement, pleasance, emphasis alleviation, every bit good as the development of certain accomplishments and abilities.A Besides, the game is called a signifier of free look rights, non related to the accomplishment of useful intent and is a pleasance in itself. It is believed that most of the games have the undermentioned chief characteristics: Today ‘s universe is full of games even more than before.A Games, competitions, sweepstakes, lotteries have filled telecasting programs.A Gambling: slot machines, cards, roulette make immense net incomes to proprietors of chancing establishments.A Sports – football, hockey are the most popular shows, and for their members this is a high-paying work.A Films, theatres are favourite amusements with all the spectacle and leisure.A Human civilization arises and unfolds in the game.A In a wide sense of the word game covers human activity in all its manifestations.A Sing the activities of people with this point of view, we can state that people â€Å" play † a partner and parent, kid and nurse, supervisor and subordinate.A In different state of affairss, a individual performs different societal roles.A At the same clip he can play the function of position, behavior, state of affairs, etc.A There are such sorts of games: athleticss, squad games, logical games, games on th e paper, rational and developing games. All these types of games develop different accomplishments and a individual gets more cognition and experience. Developing games are the games in which there is a development or betterment of assorted skills.A The construct of developing games is associated chiefly with the childhood of human life.A Children playing in developing games train their ain thought, inventiveness, creativeness and imagination.A The types, nature, content and design are determined by the specific educational undertakings in relation to the age of kids with their development and interests.A The start the application of educational games for educational intents is allowed in a game at the age of ( 0 ) 1 twelvemonth, and depending on the kid ‘s development in each peculiar instance. There are such age groups: -for kids from 0 to 1 twelvemonth ; -for kids from 1 twelvemonth to 3 old ages ; -for kids from 3 old ages to 7 old ages ; -for kids older than 7 old ages and grownups ; The types of the games include: dough for sculpting, pigments, applications, mystifier, etc. Playing and learning.A Expression â€Å" educational game † is non right, because it comes from the false premiss that you can larn, sing ennui or to play, and non to comprehend the information.A Good game, which is interesting, ever teaches something, and in any good preparation exercising there is an component of the game. Nowadays games have become the resource that helps kids and grownups perceive the information, as there are new advanced attacks that help to explicate everything better and as a consequence people remember easy. A typical characteristic of games is a combination of repeat and surprise.A Therefore, the art of compiler games is in the right dose of repeat and surprise. However, the game is the first thing that a individual wants to play, and though this want may non be wholly motivated, it is still a extremely single. Games do non automatically take to learning.A If we want to guarantee changeless communicating between the game and instruction at the school, so this can be achieved merely by conveying the spirit of the game in the ordinary school life, instead than merely utilizing some educational games.A The instructor, as an organiser of the game should open up the seeds of its ain game started and should learn, presenting into the procedure of larning the elements of the game. Construction of the educational procedure is based on cognition of the construction of educational activities, and other psychological features built-in to the schoolboy.A This cognition is chiefly incorporated in the course of study ; they determine the methods and techniques of training.A But since they are present at that place in a hidden, inexplicit signifier, the instructor would be helpful to follow the trust on a psychological phenomenon that suggests one method or another that changes in preparation activities or the individuality of the pupil it should entail.A For illustration, the thought of the types of preparation activities and their relationship to take to the usage at certain phases of the materialized signifier of action with a assortment of strategies, thoughts about the formation and transportation techniques of cognitive activity, to organize them at assorted educational stuffs, etc. It is known that in preschool age acquisition of new cognition in the game is much more successful than in the classroom.A The kid, fascinated by an attractive construct of the new game, as if no notice of what he learns, although he now and so faces troubles, which require accommodation of its representations and cognitive activity.A In today ‘s pre-school educational teaching method and instruction, the value of the game in the rule is recognized.A The game is merely a tool for a kid to be able to larn what he still can non. However, the tremendous potency of educational games ( didactic, games with regulations, etc. ) are by and large non used.A The repertory of these games is really hapless and covers a narrow scope of undertakings, particularly small concerted games that involve the whole group.A There are virtually no games aimed at the development of strong-minded, moral qualities of the individual and the formation of human dealingss between kids. Educational game – this is non any action with didactic stuff and is non a game response at the compulsory preparation sessions.A This is specific, full and quite content for kids ‘s ‘ activities and besides it has its motivations and its methods of action. Developing games are characterized by the fact that they contain a ready game program, proposed by the kid, the drama stuff, and rules.A The end of a game ever has two facets: 1 ) cognitive, for illustration, what should we learn a kid, what modes of action with the objects we want him to reassign, 2 ) educational, for illustration, the ways of cooperation, signifiers of communicating and relationships to other people who should educate kids. In both instances the end of the game should be formulated non as a transportation of specific cognition and accomplishments, every bit good as the development of certain mental procedures or abilities of the kid. The game program is that the game state of affairs, in which the kid is introduced, and which he perceives as his own.A This is achieved if underdeveloped games are based on the specific demands and dispositions of kids, every bit good as characteristics of their experience.A The attraction of certain things gives a significance to their activities.A In all instances, the game program is implemented in bet oning activities that are offered to a kid when the game took topographic point. Game action ever includes a acquisition job, which all kids have, indispensable to personal success in the game and their emotional connexion with other participants. Action larning undertaking requires the kid ‘s active rational and volitional attempt, but it besides gives the greatest satisfaction.A The content of the preparation undertakings can be rather varied: Make non run in front of clip or name of the topic, clip to happen the image for some clip, memorise a few points, etc. Finally, an of import characteristic of the game is the game rules.A Rules of the game are brought to mind the kids of the program, game action and acquisition undertaking. For the game to actuate kids and to impact them personally, an grownup must go a direct participant.A By their actions, emotional communicating with big kids involves them in joint activities, doing it an of import and meaningful to them.A It becomes like a centre of attractive force in the game.A It is really of import in the early phases of acquiring acquainted with the new game, particularly for younger preschoolers.A At the same clip an grownup arranges the game, and so it helps kids to get the better of troubles, to promote conformity and to observe their errors.A The combination of two different grownup functions – participant and organiser is an of import characteristic in developing the game. Due to the fact that the educational game includes active and meaningful activities for kids, which he volitionally and voluntarily activates, the new experience gained in it, it becomes his personal belongings, as it can be easy applied in other contexts ( and hence the demand to consolidate the new knowledgeA disappears ) .A In add-on, many games teach kids to move â€Å" in head † , to believe what liberates the imaginativeness of kids, develops their originative abilities and capacities. Educational game is a reasonably effectual manner of organizing such qualities as organisation, self-denial, etc. The joint nature of the game is of a great importance, in which the instructor and equal group encourages the kid to follow with the regulations, for illustration, the witting control of their actions.A As a effect of a underdeveloped game, a kid learns the regulations of the game better, uses his originative thought and gives his new thoughts and takes determinations. Gradually, there are requirements to the formation of witting behaviour and self-denial, which is the practical development of moral standards.A Game regulations are like normal behaviour in a group, conveying a new societal experience.A All in all, developing games are really helpful for kids and grownups. They help to happen originative thoughts, to understand of import things and to look at the state of affairs at a different angle. Therefore, in early childhood developing games contain a versatile environment for the formation of the most valuable qualities of the individual.A However, to do their development effectual, there should be consistence in the choice of games.

Nursing

Community nurses are the nurses who work in a particular community for its welfare. With their ability to understand, they can deal with the health of residents living in any community. They work in the field of public health in order to perform tasks including population and community evaluation, development and implementation of community health programs and working in teams in order to work with discipline. Nurses in acute care settings work along with other health care specialists (Green, 27). The nurse is involved in the healing, security and recovery of intensely sick patients, looking after the health of healthy patience and operations of patients who are suffer from life threatening ailment. They perform non-clinical job that are vital for health care. Death and birth care is also provided by the nurses. Nurses practice in variety of acute settings that are available to them. They work in hospitals, schools, pharmaceutical companies, clinics, camps, militaries (Burbach, 98). Even though, nurses from different area of expertise seem to be more or less in abilities, we cannot conclude that nurses working in acute care settings are not capable. For example, Nurses working in critical care settings are experts on pregnancy and birth related aspects than community nurses. The question comes whether to justify that it is a false impression or a fact that a skill in one setting can be use as a skill in another (Humphrey, 19). When developing intermediary plans with requirements of constant management, the need of feedback and extra training is mandatory. This can help the nurses to put into practice and increase experience in non acute care settings before complete service changes are ready. This would enable the nurses to use their abilities and be confident to work in non acute settings. Equally essential, it is important for non acute setting nurses to continue with their education (Conrad, 28). The skills of dressing and taking care of wounds, having complete knowledge about the community’s resources, information on diabetes, patient family support and good communication skills with third party payers are very important when working in the community. These are the skills that help the nurse when working in the community. These nurses work under their leaders, learn in the learning atmosphere and accommodate themselves to adjustments to changes (Feldman, 17). They have the ability to work efficiently which has been dictated to them. They have the ability to work in a peaceful atmosphere and ignoring their colleague’s weaknesses. Nurses working in acute settings require the information, capabilities and experience to take care of their patients and the families. At the same time, the nurse creates loving, kind and restoring health environment. At the same time, they fulfill various responsibilities. They work directly with patients, they provide education to fresh nurses, they work as researchers, and they are managers (Shea, 67). A community nurse works independently as compared with nurses who work in acute settings. The main aim of a community nurse is to focus on the population and persons who do not necessarily seek out the services. Nurses working in acute care settings differ from community nurses in many ways. Nurses working in acute care settings do not have the access to direct clinical practice. They do not have the advance skills to provide education and teaching skills to patients and family (Loreti, 32). They work under superiors. They are not consultants and they do not take part in research. They carry out duties that are instructed to them. They do not require any leadership quality. They do not write policies or build partnerships.   They are restricted in certain working conditions (Stephany, 13). Nurses working in the acute care settings assess the critical and acute patient’s health status. Community nurses have to demonstrate the ability to make decisions for a variety of situations. They also need to demonstrate the need for promoting the rights of clients. They have to ensure the safety of their patients. Communications skills are very important for nurses working in the community and acute care settings. However community nurses require effective communication skills as compared with nurses working in acute care settings because the former might interact with poor and marginalized sections of society. A community nurse has to reflect primary health care principles to ensure that clients become independent and responsible (Brent, 10). An acute setting nurse on the other hand has to keep and document the health history of critical and chronically ill patients. A community nurse must have leadership and management skills to ensure that multiple approaches are used to assist the client in health issues (Wood, 17). Community nurses have to apply a public health framework to build community health nursing. They must plan and integrate health promotion into the aspects of community health nursing. They must also apply knowledge of health promotion to achieve public health policies (Hunt, 36). They must coordinate the development and implementation of health promotion plans. An acute settings nurse on the other hand is more concerned with assessing the needs of additional screening after initial assessment findings. They must have adequate skills to assess the impact of acute or chronic injuries on the individual (Bailey, 714). A nurse working in acute settings needs to be very quick and capable of working with complex and dependant patients. In the community settings, assessment and decision making abilities play an important role in the delivery of patient care. Nurses in the acute settings must quickly identify outcomes based on actual or potential diagnosis (Sobolewski, 12). Intervention plans are individualized according to the characteristics of the patients. The plan is developed in collaboration with other health professionals and family members.   They ensure that there is continuity of care and properly documented. A community nurse on the other hand must demonstrate the ability to have effective problem solving strategies. They must also make the use of systematic decision making techniques. These decisions need to be based on experience and clinical judgment. Community nurses have a higher degree of autonomy as compared with nurses working in acute settings. They have to participate in decision making to ensure accountability. They must also make appropriate solutions in response to a range of options (Harris, 14). Nurses in the community need to demonstrate the ability to make autonomous decisions and independence. They have to resolve complex situations using multiple approaches. A nurse working in the acute setting on the other hand does not have a high degree of autonomy. They also do not need to demonstrate a level of independence. Nurses working in the community differ from those who work in acute settings. They have work in developing community health programs and teams. Nurses in acute settings on other hand work for healing and recovery of intensely sick patients. Works Cited: Burbach CA. Community health and home health nursing: keeping the concepts clear. Nurse and Health Care. 1988; 9(2):96-100. Green PH. Meeting the learning needs of home health nurses. J Home Health Care Practice. 1994; 6(4):25-32. Conrad MB. Issues in home health nursing education. Home Healthcare Nurse. 1991; 9(4):21-28. Humphrey CJ. Home care nursing orientation model: justification and structure. Home Healthcare Nurse. 1992; 19(3):18-22. Shea AM. Transitioning professional nurses into home care: a 6-month mentorship program. J Home Health Care Practice. 1994; 6(4):67-72. Feldman R. Meeting the educational needs of home health care nurses. J Home Health Care Practice. 1993; 5(4):12-19. Stephany TM. Health hazard concerns of home care nurses: a staff nurse perspective. J Nurs Adm. 1993; 23(12):12-13. Loreti ST. Easing the transition from hospital nursing to home care: a research study. Home Healthcare Nurse. 1991; 9(4):32-35. Wood MJ. The educational needs of home health nurses. Home Healthcare Nurse. 1986; 4(3):11-17. Bailey C. Education for home care providers.JOGNN 1994; 23(8):714-719. Hunt P. When orientation is not enough.Home Healthcare Nurse. 1992; 10(6):36-40. Brent NJ. Orientation to home healthcare nursing is an essential ingredient of risk management and employee satisfaction.Home Healthcare Nurse. 1992; 10(2):9-10. Harris MD, Yuan J. Educating and orienting nurses for home healthcare. Home Healthcare Nurse. 1991; 9(4):9-14 Sobolewski S. `See you in home care.' Am J Nurs(Part 2: Career Guide). 1996; January:10,12,14.                                                             Nursing Nursing is like breathing for me. It is more than a purpose. Being a nurse will complement not only most people but my well-being as well. To become a nurse you need to be compassionate and able to pass college algebra and several science courses such as microbiology, chemistry, anatomy and physiology. I also need to take psychology, social sciences, and be proficient at written and oral communication. I need to be able to read at a tenth grade level. For many, 9/11 was a turning point in their professional lives. People began to find they were not satisfied in jobs that didn't make a difference in someone's life. Others had always wanted to become a nurse but other factors influenced their decisions and now they want to pursue a career in nursing. I might find it easier than you thought to have a second career as a nurse. Nursing is extremely hard work, both physically and emotionally. Not everyone is cut out for it. It's not just the blood and gore that might make you think twice. I have to understand what nursing involves before you choose this route. I don't have to just work in a hospital to be a nurse. I am about to find out more opportunities for nurses as well as the educational requirements to achieve these roles. Healthcare is one of the fastest growing professions throughout the world. The population ages, and healthcare costs rise, the demand for nurses will continue to increase as well. The health care delivery system is shifting, and nurses, particularly those with advanced education, will be in demand for quite some time.   With the rising costs of healthcare, physicians are spending less time with patients, and nurses are shifting into an ever expanding role of health educator, as well as providing more direct care to the patients. Effects of Nursing Shortage The present population of nurses is aging and approaching retirement. This will compound the current shortage of nurses worldwide. I am bent to become one of one the thousands of nurses that aspire to undertake this profession. The shortage nurses are causing a dramatic increase in salaries for nurses but this is not a hindrance to become a nurse. For one to become a nurse, he or she should be more than dedicated with his profession. Patients are to be treated like they are family as well, so as to feel at home during their confinement in the hospital. Hospitals and other facilities are competing for nurses with sign-on bonuses, and packages including cars, childcare and/or eldercare assistance, and housing assistance. Attractive salaries, bonuses, and job security are not the only benefits for nurses. Caring for others and making a difference in the lives of others everyday is a rewarding aspect to a career in nursing. It's something that can be said to be missing in many careers. The shortage of nurses has forced employers to not only adjust salaries, but to look outside the box at alternative and flexible working conditions. Many more opportunities are available for per diem, part time as well as full time employees. Flexible work schedules and job sharing opportunities are emerging in the field to help nurses meet the demands of their families while managing a rewarding career. One way you can see for yourself first hand is to become a patient, but that is not the recommended route. Many young people choose nursing because of past experiences as a patient or through the experiences of a loved one or a close friend. Other ways include volunteering in a local hospital. Many still use candy stripers, or have auxiliaries which train volunteers to read to patients, to assist with wheelchair transportation at discharge, running library carts, etc. Another way is to seek out a shadow day experience. Talk to your guidance counselor and see if it is possible to set one up. Sometimes local hospitals and clinics offer these periodically. Call your local facility and inquire. Perhaps you ca help them to do this if they don't already. Nursing schools may offer shadow day experiences. Some are beginning to offer Nursing Camps for a week during the summer. You live on campus and attend events and tours of their hospital facilities. You shadow nurses, and earn your CPR. You may also learn to take vital signs and visit laboratory facilities. You may get to enter a hyperbaric chamber and observe in the Emergency rooms and Operating Rooms. Yet this is what I aspire to be. Nursing is not just a profession for me it is passion that will take me places and would complement me as a person. Nursing Nursing is involved in identifying its own unique knowledge base—that is, the body of knowledge essential to nursing practice, or a so-called nursing science. To identify this knowledge base, nurses must develop and recognize concepts and theories that are specific to nursing. Theory has been defined as a supposition or system of ideas that is proposed to explain a given phenomenon. For now, think of theory as a major, very well articulated idea about something important. The four most influential theories from the 20th century were Marx’s theory of alienation, Freud’s theory of the unconscious, Darwin’s theory of evolution, and Einstein’s theory of relativity. Most undergraduate students are introduced to the major theories in their disciplines. Psychology majors study Freud and Jung’s theories of the unconscious, Sullivan and Piaget’s theories of development, and Skinner’s theory of behaviorism. Psychology majors are also introduced to critiques of those theories. Sociology majors study Marx’s theory of alienation and Weber’s theories of modern work, as well as the critiques of their theories. Both sociology and psychology majors spend the majority of their time studying theories and approaches to research. This paper discusses how nursing theory is different from medicine. II. Background A. Purposes of Nursing Theory Direct links exist among theory, education, research, and clinical practice. a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Education Because nursing theory was used primarily to establish the profession’s place in the university, it is not surprising that nursing theory became more firmly established in academia than in clinical practice. In the 1970s and 1980s, many nursing programs identified the major concepts in one or two nursing models, organized these concepts into a conceptual framework, and attempted to organize the entire curriculum around that framework. The unique language in these models was typically introduced into program objectives, course objectives, course descriptions, and clinical performance criteria. The purpose was to elucidate the central meanings of the profession and to gain status vis-à  -vis other professions. Occasionally, the language of nursing syllabi became so torturous that neither the faculty nor the students had a clear understanding of what was meant. Many nursing programs have abandoned theory-driven conceptual frameworks. III. Discussion A. In Research Nurse scholars have repeatedly insisted that nursing research identifies the philosophical assumptions or theoretical frameworks from which it proceeds. That is because all thinking, writing, and speaking is based on previous assumptions about people and the world. New theoretical perspectives provide an essential service by identifying gaps in the way we approach specific fields of study such as symptom management or quality of life. Different theoretical perspectives can also help generate new ideas, research questions, and interpretations. Grand theories only occasionally direct nursing research. Nursing research is more often informed by midlevel theories that focus on the exploration of concepts such as pain, self-esteem, learning, and hardiness. Qualitative research in nursing and the social sciences can also be grounded in theories from philosophy or the social sciences. The term critical theory is used in academia to describe theories that help elucidate how social structures affect a wide variety of human experiences from art to social practices. In nursing, critical theory helps explain how these structures such as race, gender, sexual orientation, and economic class affect patient experiences and health outcomes. a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In Clinical Practice Where nursing theory has been employed in a clinical setting, its primary contribution has been the facilitation of reflection, questioning, and thinking about what nurses do. Because nurses and nursing practice are often subordinated to powerful institutional forces and traditions, the introduction of any framework that encourages nurses to reflect on, think about, and question what they do provides an invaluable service. An increasing body of theoretical scholarship in nursing has been outside the framework of the formal theories presented in the next pages. Benner (2000) argues that formalistic theories are too often superimposed on the life-worlds of patients, overshadowing core values of the profession and our patient’s humanity. Philosophy is used to explore both clinical and theoretical issues in the journal Nursing Philosophy. Family theorists and critical theorists have encouraged the profession to move the focus from individuals to families and social structures. Debates about the role of theory in nursing practice provide evidence that is nursing is maturing, both as an academic discipline and as a clinical profession. B. Nursing Theories The nursing theories discussed in this paper vary considerably (a) in their level of abstraction; (b) in their conceptualization of the client, health/illness, environment, and nursing; and (c) in their ability to describe, explain, or predict. Some theories are broad in scope; others are limited. The works presented in this paper may be categorized as philosophies, conceptual frameworks or grand theories, or midlevel theories (Tomey, 2001). A philosophy is often an early effort to define nursing phenomena and serves as the basis for later theoretical formulations. Examples if philosophies are those of Nightingale, Henderson, and Watson. Conceptual models/grand theories include those of Orem, Rogers, Roy, and King, whereas midlevel theorists are Peplau, Leininger, Parse, and Neuman. a)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Nightingale’s Environmental Theory Florence Nightingale, often considered the first nurse theorist, defined nursing more than 100 years ago as â€Å"the act of utilizing the environment of the patient to assist him in his recovery (Nightingale, 1999). She linked health with five environmental factors: (1) pure or fresh air, (2) pure water, (3) efficient drainage, (4) cleanliness and (5) light, especially direct sunlight. Deficiencies These environmental factors attain significance when one considers that sanitation conditions in the hospitals of the mid-1800s were extremely poor and that women working in the hospitals were often unreliable, uneducated, and incompetent to care for the ill. In addition to those factors, Nightingale also stressed the importance of keeping the client warm, maintaining a noise-free environment, and attending of the client’s diet in terms of assessing intake, timeliness of the food, and its effect on the person (Nightingale, 1999). Nightingale set the stage for further work in the development of nursing theories. Her general concepts about ventilation, cleanliness, quiet, warmth, and diet remain integral parts of nursing and health care today. b)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Roger’s Science of Unitary Human Beings Martha Rogers first presented her theory of unitary human beings in 1970. It contains complex conceptualizations related to multiple scientific disciplines (e.g., Einstein’s theory of relativity, Burr and Northrop’s electrodynamic theory of life; von Bertalanffy’s general systems theory; and many other disciplines, such as anthropology, psychology, sociology, astronomy, religion, philosophy, history, biology, and literature. Rogers views the person as an irreducible whole, the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Whole is differentiated from holistic, the latter often being used to mean only the sum of all parts. She states that humans are dynamic energy fields in continuous exchange with environmental fields, both of which are infinite. The â€Å"human field image† perspective surpasses that of the physical body. Both human and environmental fields are characterized by pattern, a universe of open systems, and four dimensionalities (Rogers, 2000). Nurses applying Roger’s theory in practice (a) focus on the person’s wholeness, (b) seek to promote symphonic interaction between the two energy fields (human and environment) to strengthen the coherence and integrity of the person, (c) coordinate the human field with the rhythmicities of the environmental field, and (d) direct and redirect patterns of interaction between the two energy fields to promote maximum health potential. Nurses’ use of non-contact therapeutic touch is based on the concept of human energy fields. The qualities of the field vary from person to person and are affected by pain and illness. Although the field is infinite, realistically it is most clearly â€Å"felt† within several feet of the body. Nurses trained in non-contact therapeutic touch claim they can assess and feel the energy field and manipulate it to enhance the healing process of people who are ill or injured (Rogers, 2000). c)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Orem’s General Theory of Nursing Dorothea Orem’s theory, first published in 1971, includes the related concepts: self-care, self-care deficit, and nursing systems. Self-care theory is based in four concepts: self-care, self-care agency, self-care requisites, and therapeutic self-care demand. Self-care refers to those activities an individual performs independently throughout life to promote and maintain personal well-being. Self-care agency is the individual’s ability to perform self-care activities. It consists of two agents: A self-care agent (an individual who performs self-care independently) and a dependent care agent (a person other than the individual who provides the care) (Orem, 2001). Most adults care for themselves, whereas infants and people weakened by illness or disability require assistance with self-care activities. Self-care requisites, also called self-care needs, are measures or actions taken to provide self-care. Self-care deficit results when self-care agency is not adequate to meet the known self-care demand. Orem’s self-care deficit theory explains not only when nursing is needed but also how people can be assisted through five methods of helping; acting or doing for, guiding, teaching, supporting, and providing an environment that promotes the individual’s abilities to meet current and future demands. d)  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   King’s Goal Attainment Theory Imogene King’s theory of goal attainment was derived from her conceptual framework. King’s framework shows the relationship of operational systems (individuals), interpersonal systems (groups such as nurse-patient), and social systems (such as educational system, health care system). She selected 15 concepts from the nursing literature (self, role, perception, communication, interaction, transaction, growth and development, stress, time, personal space, organization, status power, authority, and decision making) as essential knowledge for use by nurses. Ten of the concepts in the framework were selected (self, role, perception, communication, interaction, transaction, growth and development, stress, time, and personal space) as essential knowledge for use by nurses in concrete nursing situations. Within this theory, a transaction process model was designed (King, 2001). This process describes the nature of and standard for nurse—patient interactions that leads to goal attainment— that nurses purposefully interact and mutually set, explore, and agree to means to achieve goals. Goal attainment represents outcomes. When this information is recorded in the patient record, nurses have data that represent evidence-based nursing practice. King’s theory offers insight into nurses’ interactions with individuals and groups within the environment. It highlights the importance of a client’s participation in decisions that influence care and focuses on both the process of nurse-client interaction and the outcomes of care (King, 2001). IV. Conclusion In the natural sciences, the main function of theory is to guide research. In the practice disciples, the main function of theory (and research) is to provide new possibilities for understanding the discipline’s focus (music, art, management, and nursing). To Nightingale, the knowledge required to provide good nursing was neither unique nor specialized. Rather, Nightingale viewed nursing as central human activity grounded in observation, reason, and commonsense health practices. Theories articulate significant relationship between concepts in order to point something larger, such as gravity, the unconscious, or the experiences of pain. Reference: Benner, P. (2000). The roles of embodiment, emotion and lifeworld for rationality and agency in nursing practice. Nursing Philosophy, 1(1), 5-19. Nightingale, F. (1999). Notes on nursing: What it is, and what it is not. New York: Dover. (Original work published in 1860). Orem, D. (2001).   Nursing: Concepts of practice (8th Ed.). St. Louis, M.O. Mosby. Rogers, M.E. (2000).   An introduction to the theoretical basis if nursing. Philadelphia: F.A. Davis. Tomey, A.M. (2001). Nursing theorist and their work (7th Ed.). St. Louis MO: Mosby. King, I. M. (2001). A theory fir nursing: Systems, concepts, process. Albany, NY: Delmar.