Prison Health Care Agency Essay

There are many facets in the health care industry. Examples include hospitals, urgent care centers, physicians’ offices, medical labs, and more. One not really spoken about, is the prison health care system. Prison health care is the medical treatment of inmates in the United States Correctional Facilities (Means & Cochran, 2012) this is according to the report. The National Commission on Correctional Health Care (NCCHC) is a federal agency that oversees the medical needs of prisoners. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, â€Å"In 2012, the number of admissions to state and federal prison in the United States was 609,800 offenders (Carson & Golinelli, 2013). With these prison inmate statistics, clearly there is a need for health care in the prison system. The NCCHC is a federal agency that was constructed to improve the quality of health care in the prison setting. The NCCHC was founded in the early 1970’s. The American Medical Association (AMA) executed a study on the conditions of jails. The AMA found â€Å"inadequate, disorganized health services, and a lack of national standards† (National Commission on Correctional Health Care, 2013). The National Commission on Correctional Health Care states their mission is to improve the quality of health care in jails, prisons, and juvenile confinement facilities. They support their mission with the help of other national organizations, mirroring the fields of health, and law and corrections, examples include The American Bar Association, The American Medical Association, The Academy of Pediatrics, and The American Dental Association. The NCCHC cannot fulfill its’ mission without the proper structure within the agency. This organization is comprised of accreditation and facility services, health professional certification, education and conferences, standards and guidelines, and a board of directors from supporting organizations. These supporting organizations play a role in helping the NCCHC fulfill its’ mission and roles for the prison health care system. The board of directors role is ensuring all guidelines are adhered to and assessing the overall direction and strategy of the organization. The NCCHC  has many roles and standards for their organization. One of the most important is patient safety. Put in place are patient safety systems to ensure prisoners are receiving proper care. Another role of NCCHC is continuous quality improvement. Continuous quality improvement is the process of requiring each prison facility to complete a process study on inmates needing health care services. â€Å"Process studies examine the effectiveness of the health care delivery process. Outcome quality improvement studies examine whether expected outcomes of patient care were achieved† (Rechtine, D., 2008). There must be a review in the event of a patient’s death. Proper procedures must be followed. The NCCHC requires health care professionals to continue their education by completing annual certification classes. Initial health assessments must be performed on each new inmate within 7 days of arrival to the facility. These health assessments are to be given by board certified and trained registered nurses or midlevel practitioners, followed by a physician’s review. If a prisoner is at risk for suicide, there is a prevention program in place with treatment plans. Any inmate with special needs requires an individualized treatment plan provided by a doctor. The NCCHC has put in place a chronic disease program for inmates, which requires the physicians to document in a patient’s medical chart, making sure they are following the correct disease procedures. The impact that NCCHC have on health care is one that relates to their mission. The mission, role, and impact has a direct association with each other. Providing quality health care for incarcerated individuals. The commitment to continually improve health care in confinement facilities, to help these correctional facilities in improving their inmate’s health and the communities that they will return to, increase the efficiency of health services delivery, strengthen organizational effectiveness, and reduce the risk of adverse legal judgments (NCCHC, n.d.). â€Å"NCCHC offers a broad range of services and resources to help correctional health care systems provide efficient, effective, and high-quality care† (NCCHC, n.d.). An example of the National Commission on Corrective Health Care carrying out a duty is the commitment to treating inmates in a humane manner. The NCCHC, in partnership with supporting organizations, including the American College of Physicians, the American Medical Association, the American Nursing Association, the American Bar Association, the American Psychological Association, the  American Psych iatric Association, and the American Public Health Association. Through the standards the NCCHC has set, has persistently declared the components of a policy against mistreatment. â€Å"The Standards for Health Services in Prisons (2008) preclude, for example, health staff participation in non-clinically ordered restraint and seclusion, except to monitor health status (P-I-01 Restraint and Seclusion), or in the collection of forensic information (P-I-03 Forensic Information). They require informed consent of the patient for â€Å"all examinations, treatments, and procedures† and recognize the patient’s right to refuse treatment (P-I-05 Informed Consent and Right to Refuse), and protect inmates as subjects in human research (P-I-06 Medical and Other Research)† (NCCHC, 2012). â€Å"Other standards require medical autonomy in clinical decision making (P-A-03 Medical Autonomy), maintenance of confidentiality of health information (P-H-02 Confidentiality of Health Records), and patient privacy (P-A-09 Privacy of Care). NCCHC standards require documentation of patients’ health status at each encounter (P-H-04 Management of Health Records), with special attention to the medical and mental health of inmates under close confinement (P-E-09 Segregated Inmates)† (NCCHC. 2012). In regard to health care, the NCCHC has the best standards of care and are the most recognized and accepted. Medical personnel for the prison system must follow the policies and procedures set in each facility. These policies and procedures allow guidance, standardization, and consistency in practices, a nonfulfillment to comply with these rules and regulations places the nurses, patients, and institutions at risk. The NCCHC has the authority to establish that these policies and procedures are followed by all correctional medical personnel. â€Å"Policy topics are wide ranging. Applicable laws and standards should be incorporated into institutional policies, procedures and protocols for the correctional nurse. For example, they should reflect federal and state regulations for reporting public health concerns, conditions of abuse, rape, communicable diseases, trauma, unexpected and expected deaths and care of the mentally ill. Regarding standards, NCCHC standards address topics such as access to care, quality improvement, grievance mechanisms, patient and staff safety, medication services, screening and assessment, patient restraint and much more† (NCCHC, 2012). The NCCHC has a process for accreditation, certification, and authorization. The NCCHC offers a  voluntary accreditation health services program. They have offered this program since the 1970’s. The NCCHC has standards in place as a guide for any correctional facility to follow. The process of accreditation involves an external peer review to determine if the correctional institutions can meet the standards in their provision of health services. â€Å"The NCCHC renders a professional judgment and assists in the improvement of services provided† (NCCHC, 2012). NCCHC provides an Opioid Treatment Programs (OTP) for accreditation. OTP accreditation allows OTPs to achieve legally required certification from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the United States Department of Health and Human Services. â€Å"The only SAMHSA authorized accrediting body that focuses on corrections, NCCHC has developed standards that are based on federal regulations but tailored for this field† (NCCHC, 2012). The NCCHC has accreditation surveyors that are formed of nurses, experienced doctors, health administrators and other health care professionals who have knowledge of the correctional system. The survey team reviews any medical records, including policies and procedures, interviewing of staff personnel, and inmates are included, along with touring the facility. There is an exit conference conducted at the end of the survey to talk over the primary outcomes. Specially trained surveyors visit correctional facilities seeking accreditation to measure compliance with NCCHC standards. These individuals share their time and knowledge because they are committed to the cause of improved quality in correctional health care (NCCHC, 2012). To become an NCCHC surveyor, one must complete 5 years of experience in correctional health care, a CCHP certification (or receiving one in a year), and the drive to participate in preparatory and follow on training. Surveyors must be health care professionals. Examples include, Medical Doctor (MD), Doctor of Optometry (DO), Doctor of Dental Surgery (DDS) Doctor of Dental Medicine (DMD), Nurse Practitioner (NP), Physician Assistant (PA), and Registered Nurse (RN), or have a Master’s degree. The utmost important requirement of a NCCHC surveyor is the need of devotion and obligation to improving the quality of correctional health care. References Carson, A., & Golinelli, D. (2013). Prisoners in 2012: Trends in Admissions and Releases, 1991- 2012. Retrieved from: http://www.bjs.gov/index.cfm National Commission for Correctional Health Care. (2012). Promoting Excellence in Health Care: About NCCHC. Retrieved from: http://www.ncchc.org/about/index.html Rechtine, D. (2008). NCCHC’s New Standards and the Role of the Physician. Retrieved from: http://societyofcorrectionalphysicians.org/corrdocs/corrdocs-archives/summer-2008/ ncchcs-new-standards-and-the-role-of-the-physician U.S. Department of Justice. (2012). About the Bureau of Prisons. Retrieved from: http://www.bop.gov/about/index.jsp

Critical Note: Ode to a Nightingale Essay

The speaker responds to the beauty of the nightingale’s song with a both â€Å"happiness† and â€Å"ache. † Though he seeks to fully identify with the bird — to â€Å"fade away into the forest dim† — he knows that his own human consciousness separates him from nature and precludes the kind of deathless happiness the nightingale enjoys. First the intoxication of wine and later the â€Å"viewless wings of Poesy† seem reliable ways of escaping the confines of the â€Å"dull brain,† but finally it is death itself that seems the only possible means of overcoming the fear of time. The nightingale is â€Å"immortal† because it â€Å"wast not born for death† and cannot conceive of its own passing. Yet without consciousness, humans cannot experience beauty, and the speaker knows that if he were dead his perception of the nightingale’s call would not exist at all. This paradox shatters his vision, the nightingale flies off, and the speaker is left to wonder whether his experience has been a truthful â€Å"vision† or a false â€Å"dream. † Referred to by critics of the time as â€Å"the longest and most personal of the odes,† the poem describes Keats’ journey into the state of Negative Capability. John Keats coined the phrase ‘Negative Capability’ in a letter to his brothers and defined his new concept of writing: â€Å"that is when man is capable of being in uncertainties, Mysteries, doubts, without any irritable reaching after fact and reason† Keats’ poems are full of contradictions in meaning (‘a drowsy numbness pains’) and emotion (‘both together, sane and mad’) and he accepts a double nature as a creative insight. In ‘Nightingale’ it is the apparent (or real) contradictions that allow Keats to create the sensual feeling of numbness that allows the reader to experience the half-swooning emotion Keats is trying to capture. Keats would have us experience the emotion of the language and pass over the half-truths in silence, to live a life ‘of sensations rather than of Thoughts! ‘. Thus, ‘Ode to the Nightingale’ is more feeling than a thinking poem. Keats often deals in the sensations created by words rather than meaning. Even if the precise definition of words causes contradiction they can still be used together to create the right ambience. Negative Capability asks us to allow the atmosphere of Keats’ poems to surround us without picking out individual meanings and inconsistencies. That I might drink, and leave the world unseen† Hearing the song of the nightingale, the speaker longs to flee the human world and join the bird. His first thought is to reach the bird’s state through alcohol–in the second stanza, he longs for a â€Å"draught of vintage† to transport him out of himself. But after his meditation in the third stanza on the transience of life, he rejects the idea of being â€Å"charioted by Bacchus and his pards† and chooses instead to embrace â€Å"the viewless wings of Poesy. The rapture of poetic inspiration matches the endless creative rapture of the nightingale’s music and lets the speaker, in stanzas five through seven, imagine himself with the bird in the darkened forest. The ecstatic music even encourages the speaker to embrace the idea of dying, of painlessly succumbing to death while enraptured by the nightingale’s music and never experiencing any further pain or disappointment. â€Å"Fade far away, dissolve, and quite forget What thou among the leaves hast never known† The poet explores the themes of nature and mortality. Here, the transience of life and the tragedy of old age is set against the eternal renewal of the nightingale’s fluid music. Man has many sorrows to escape from in the world, and these Keats recounts feelingly in the third stanza of his poem, a number of the references apparently being drawn from firsthand experience. The mention of the youth who â€Å"grows pale, and spectre-thin, and dies,† for example, might well be an allusion to Tom Keats, the younger brother whom the poet nursed through his long, last struggle with consumption. But the bitterest of all man’s sorrows, as it emerges from the catalogue of woes in the third stanza, is the terrible disease of time, the fact that ‘Beauty cannot keep her lustrous eyes’. It is the disease of time which the song of the nightingale particularly transcends, and the poet, yearning for the immortality of art, seeks another way to become one with the bird. Even death is terribly final; the artists die but what remains is the eternal music; the very song heard today was heard thousands of years ago. The poet exclaims: â€Å"Forlorn! the very word is like a bell To toll me back from thee to my sole self! † The reverie into which the poet falls carries him deep into where the bird is singing. But the meditative trance cannot last. With the very first word of the eighth stanza, the reverie is broken. The word â€Å"forlorn† occurs to the poet as the adjective describing the remote and magical world suggested by the nightingale’s song. But the poet suddenly realises that this word applies with greater precision to himself. The effect is that of an abrupt stumbling. With the new and chilling meaning of â€Å"forlorn†, the song of the nightingale itself alters: it becomes a â€Å"plaintive anthem†. The song becomes fainter. What had before the power to make the sorrow in man fade away from a harsh and bitter world, now itself â€Å"fades† and the poet is left alone in the silence. As the nightingale flies away, the intensity of the speaker’s experience has left him shaken, unable to remember whether he is awake or asleep; thus â€Å"Adieu! he fancy cannot cheat so well†. The â€Å"art† of the nightingale is endlessly changeable and renewable; it is music without record, existing only in a perpetual present. As befits his celebration of music, the speaker’s language, sensually rich though it is, serves to suppress the sense of sight in favor of the other senses. In â€Å"Nightingale,† he has achieved creative expression and has placed his faith in it , but that expression–the nightingale’s song–is spontaneous and without physical manifestation. This is an odd poem because it both conforms to and contradicts some of the ideas he expresses elsewhere, notably the famous concept of â€Å"Negative Capability,†. This can be taken several ways, but is often linked with the statement he made: â€Å"If a sparrow come before my Window I take part in its existence and pick about the Gravel. † While Keats’s begins his poem with â€Å"a drowsy numbness pains† the poem that follows is anything but numb. But the opening ties in with the words that end the poem: â€Å"Fled is that music — Do I wake or sleep? Life is or may be a dream — a very Shakespearean image — but, dreaming or awake, perception and empathetic participation are rooted in Keats’s own consciousness. It is only in dreaming, Keats says, that we can become conscious of, and merged with, the life around us. Thus, Keats heads towards Negative Capability in the poem. Keats is not as great as Shakespeare but he has the sam e power of self-absorption, that wonderful sympathy and identification with all things, that â€Å"Negative Capability† which he saw as essential to the creation of great poetry and which Shakespeare possessed so abundantly.

Evidence Based Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Evidence Based Practice - Essay Example Research revealed that the effectiveness of pharmacological therapy in treating PSD patients in evident. However, augmented and tailored cognitive behavior therapy can play a vital role in improving treatment outcomes of PSD patients Post Stroke Depression increases the risk of mortality and morbidity. Recovery from stroke decreases the rate of mortality of the patients but depression highly increases the rate of morbidity of the strokes patient. It also impairs the functional capacity of the patients and hinder with the social cognition attitude of the patients with stroke. The PICOT question to address the problem is: In stroke, survivors (P) does Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (I) as compared to anti-depressants (C) will increase the treatment outcomes of Post-Stroke Disorder (O) after treatment of stroke (T)? Stroke is a leading cause of death and adult disability in the UK. Around 1,30,000 people met the stroke every year. The National Health Service has given an estimate of around  £2.8 billion expenditure by hospitals and around  £2.4 billion cost spent on informal care by the caregivers to the PSD patients (Broomfield, Laidlaw, Hickabottom, Murray, & Gillespie, 2011). Several studies have focused on the impact of stroke on the social recognition and quality of life of the patients. Therefore, it can be said that cognitive behavioral therapy may play a major role in decreasing the rate of prevalence of PSD focusing on the cognitive and psychological treatment of patients. The psychological impairment also appears in the patients of Post-Stroke Depression showing the signs of depression, anxiety, sadness, loneliness, isolation, alienation, etc. The cost and expenditure served on the treatment of PSD patients is also very high. Mostly the geriatrics and adults have been found as the victim of PSD however in some studies young adults also report the symptoms of

Energy politics and Security in Kazakhstan Essay

Energy politics and Security in Kazakhstan - Essay Example Energy Sector in Kazakhstan The infrastructure of energy production in Kazakhstan is underdeveloped as a result of being part of former Soviet Union which strived to â€Å"optimize energy supply within member states rather than to achieve self sufficiency in the energy supply of each member state†. Post independence Kazakhstan had to depend heavily on energy exports for economic development. However, this dependence on energy sector caused wide disparities of income between the rich and the poor. As part of solution, Kazakhstan is bringing the oil and gas sector under the ownership of the government (Doi, 2-3). Oil Industry Restrictions from Russia Kazakhstan faces a major problem regarding the full development of its oil export industry. The oil from this country can be exported only on routes through other countries. Currently, the only route that is economic and viable goes through Russia. Russia has however imposed partial restrictions through its Transneft pipeline system . One-third of Kazakhstan’s current oil export capacity cannot move through Russia. The oil industry of Russia has also demanded a share in the profit by 30 percent from all oil exporting countries in the former Soviet Republics. The development program for Tengiz field has been postponed because of such demands and restrictions imposed by Russia. There have been considerations of using pipelines of other countries like Iran and Russia, but they are politically unviable and will take a long time. Also, Turkey will not allow movement of larger number of oil tankers that are necessary for utilization of full export capacity of Kazakhstan. In addition, oil industry requires high amount of capital investment so positive results cannot be achieved in the short run (Office of Technology Assessment, 139). China as export route China lies in the eastern border of Kazakhstan and is a major market for its oil reserves. China has introduced a ‘non-commercial element’ in the field of oil export competition for Kazakhstan. In 2004, China constructed its first oil pipeline to encourage exports from other countries. In August, 2005, China signed a deal for acquiring PetroKazakhstan for the valuation of $4 billion. It is an oil company that is based in Canada and has all its activities within Kazakhstan. Since then China holds the second position of being the largest oil producer in Kazakhstan after the latter’s national oil company. With China as an oil export route, Kazakhstan has faced positive evolution in its oil industry as supply to the world market has increased (Committee on Foreign Relation, 44). Natural gas There has been a steady increase in the production of natural gas which has transformed Kazakhstan from net gas exporter to a net gas importer. Development in the natural gas sector has been lagging behind oil because of insufficient ‘domestic gas pipeline infrastructure’ that links the gas production countries in the West to industrial region in the East. Also, there have been insufficient export pipelines. This has been a major issue as Kazakhstan does not have access to seaports. However, in 2014 when Kazakhstan-China gas pipeline will be completed, gas can be transported to the industrial region of Kazakhstan. This will also enable Kazakhstan to export gas to other countries. China and Russia are the important export partners of

Stereotypes and fantasies about the US South have been a major theme Essay

Stereotypes and fantasies about the US South have been a major theme in the development of US popular music - Essay Example The following analysis will seek to discuss and analyze the manner by which this particular song helps the listener to come to an appreciation and understanding of what the desire of the working-class black woman would be, a promotion and understanding of the idea that a greater self-determination was possible and therefore sees, an understanding and appreciation for a renewed emphasis upon feminism and a focus upon how the freedom and equality movement had grown from merely something that sought parity with whites to something that sought parity between the sexes. As such it is the hope of this author that this particular analysis can not only help to confirm some of statements with regards to the blues of the 1920s but also offer an alternative level of understanding with respect to the way in which this music was represented and presented within the particular time in question. The ultimate meaning and understanding that the song implies is with regards to a deadbeat husband who h as run off on his wife and lives a life on his own for over a year’s time. In returning, the woman of the house, exercising a degree of power and self determinism, recalled the way in which she answers the door and ultimately tells him to leave and not bother her anymore as she has started her own life. This is of course evident of a great degree of freedom, self empowerment, and self-determination that might not likely have been evidenced within another era. The songwriter recounts the way in which even though he asks for permission to come in and start a life together again, the woman refuses and states that she does not need his laundry, his rent, or his ones and twos (likely referring to any further children from this individual). In an era gone by, it would have been the requirement of the woman to wait for her husband, regardless of his indiscretions, and necessarily forgive these at such a time that he gained to reappear in her life. However, as was represented in this blues music of the 1920s, this working-class black woman was not willing to accept this as an alternative to the freedom and self-determination that she had already been experiencing within the past months. In addition to Hazel Carby’s understanding of the way in which the concerns and cares of the black working-class woman were represented within the blues of the 1920s, a very clear level of feminism and an understanding of greater freedom and equality was represented within songs such as â€Å"Sam Jones Blues†, the songwriter ultimately less the listener be aware of the fact that Mrs. Wilson not only refuses Sam Jones entry into her house, she has also learned how to leverage the legal system , filed and received proper divorce papers, and has her own employment; thereby making the existence of a man in her life ultimately superfluous (James 173). From the information that is thus far been provided, the reader can come to a clear understanding of the fact that the b lues of this particular era, as understood through the lens of â€Å"Sam Jones Blues† not only represented a shift away from the musical integration and utilization that had been leveraged in previous eras, it also dealt with a unique subject matter that was not formally discussed within songs prior to this era. Although infidelity and issues of adultery have long been topics of the human condition, and analysis of these from an empowered black woman’s perspective and the means through which she has the ability, will, money, and self

Small Business Advise and Discussion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Small Business Advise and Discussion - Essay Example These ground works includes the following: 1. Proper Market Study: Analyzing the attractiveness of the industry, demand and supply analysis, customer, competitor analysis, SWOT analysis of the company, capital budgeting and financial planning for the business will help the business owner to understand all the small and big issues involved in the particular business. The target market should be identified and segmented. The small business owners face problems in raising the capital due to various reasons. These reasons can be risk, credibility of the business owner, market value of the projects, expected growth of the project or the business, customer base, business know-how of the owners, qualifications, experience and backup to support any kind of financial crisis. There are various alternative sources of finance available for the small investors. These are Boot Strap, Angel, Initial Public offering and private placement.1 In the Boot Strap funding the funds are raised with family, friends and others. In the case of Angel the investment is done by wealthy individuals. Private placements are done through banks and various other investments companies. Companies also access to the market through IPO to raise the capital. Boot Strap is a funding option available for all kind of business. Most of the companies start up with the investments like this. These kind of investments which are done with the h elp of various close circle members like family, friends, colleagues and sometimes good customers help small business owners for their initial stages of developments. Small business owners can effectively utilize these investments. The results produced like profitability, increased market value, customer base and demand of the products can attract investors for the further investments. These can be new investors, banks and other potential investors. This can help the small business owners to raise the funds in the expansion and growth phases of the

Epigenetics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Epigenetics - Research Paper Example Arthur L. Beaudet earned his bachelor’s degree at the College of the Holy Cross. He studied medicine at the Yale University School of Medicine and is currently the professor and chairman of the Department of Molecular and Human Genetics at the Baylor College of Medicine (Arthur L. Beaudet, 2012). This paper aims to provide a summary of the article, along with statements of opinion in regard to some of the aspects tackled in the research. It also seeks to discuss the impact of the article to the study of epigenetics. Finally, it seeks to provide suggestions on how additional research in the subject matter can help in understanding the role of epigenetics on human health. According to Jiang, Bressler, and Beaudet epigenetics is the â€Å"study of stable and heritable (or potentially heritable) changes in gene expression,† which do not result to â€Å"a change in DNA sequence† (2004, p. 479). The two components of gene expression are labile regulation and epigenetic regulation. Jiang, Bressler, and Beaudet (2004) provided historical perspectives about epigenetics. They have further discussed the role of epigenetics to studying the development of human disease. Jiang, Bressler, and Beaudet (2004) have inferred that epigenetics is crucial to the study of human disease which is manifested in genes that is susceptible to genomic imprinting. In genomic imprinting, gene activities are reversibly altered based on the gender of the parent who is transferring the genes which cause â€Å"unequal expression of paternal and maternal alleles for a diploid locus† (Jiang, Bressler, & Beaudet, p. 480). Genetic and epigenetic phenotypes (e.g. uniparental disomy, as well as imprinting defects, appear as epigenetic disease phenotypes) are produced in the event of mutations and epimutations in human imprinted genes. In addition, chromatin structure and remodeling are also influenced by genetic disorders. Genetic

Patent Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Patent Law - Essay Example Patents are available for most industrially applicable processes and devices. They may cover: Mechanical devices, such as a mousetrap. It also covers methods for doing things, such as the method used for dyeing or bleaching fabrics. It also include chemical compounds, like for example, a new drug and mixtures of compounds, like that of an improved hand cream. Patents can also cover such diverse matters like vaccines for whooping cough, wire-strippers, and chemical processes (Coyle, 2008). The commercial benefit of a granted patent is that it gives the owner the right to prevent others from exploiting, without his consent, the invention for which a patent has been granted (What is n.d.). A granted patent is a property right which can be bought, sold, licensed to others or used as security. The owner of a granted patent might use it to protect a product or service, which he sells. Alternatively, or as well, he may grant a license to one or more parties, usually in exchange for royaltie s (Ibid). Patents in the UK, as elsewhere in the European Economic Area (EEA), have the duration of 20 years from their filing date, subject to payment of renewal fees and not being invalidated. As mentioned above, the duration for the protection of patents in the UK is 20 years and also renewable every 5 years. After this period of 20 year other people are free to produce or copy the invention. The reason why the term is set to 20 years is because the creator should have enough time to reap the rewards of creating his invention, his intellectual property. 20 years is more than enough time to get a market lead on any invention and has been at this length for... This essay describes and presents a study on the topic of patent law. A patent is a government issued right, that is granted to individuals or groups that protects their original inventions from being made, used, or sold by others without their permission for a set period of time. The law that protects and govern the patent in the UK is the Patent Act of 1977. It requires any new inventions to be a new invention; it can’t have existed before the invention was created. The researcher also discusses types of patents that are present in the United Kingdom today and the duration of these patents both in the United Kingdom and in Europe. Patent duration which is "the period in which the patent holder has monopoly rights to their invention, the granting of usage, distribution, and marketing rights to others, and the right to commercial benefit from such for a specific period". A patent is a form of intellectual property that provides the owner with an exclusive right to use and mark et an invention or process. The owner of a patent has the right to prevent others from using the invention or process without permission. For example, Pharmaceutical companies acquire patents in order to protect their drugs from competition. The researcher also analyzes the Patents Act 1977, that implements a statutory regime whereby an employee of a company may become entitled to a measure of financial reward or compensation where the employer has obtained a large benefit from a patented invention made by an employee.

Was Nelson Mandela's decision to support the move to armed struggle Essay

Was Nelson Mandela's decision to support the move to armed struggle justified - Essay Example Totally within and entirely dependent on South Africa is the small independent nation of Lesotho. Colonization in South Africa In the 1870s, the British operating from their main base in Cape Colony attempted to try and bring about a total political unification of the various states that they ruled in the region. The Anglo-Boer South African war that was fought between 1899-1902 allowed the entire South Africa to come completely under the rule of the British for the first time and with this, the movement by the British to try and secure the total unification of the four colonies was considerably intensified. Despite the union having a constitution that was heavily white supremacist and the region being mainly dominated by Afrikaners, the British were seen to welcome the formation of the new union (Page, 2003). After 1910, the South African government was seen to mostly be in the hands of several advocates who were advocating for a general policy of conciliation in South Africa. In 19 48 the â€Å"Purified† Nationalists party finally managed to come into power in South Africa and managed to hold on to power for over 40 years, until 1994. It was during this period that the party oversaw the creation and general implementation of the South African apartheid policy (Page, 2003). The Apartheid System in South Africa To a large extent, the South African National Party was seen to largely seen to build on a general principle of racial segregation that had been largely existent even before the establishment of the Union of South Africa. Various legislation governing urban and land in the country that had been established during 1923 and 1913 had for the most part set the necessary frame work that was needed for the successful formation of a segregationist society. In 1943 and 1946, the government formed legislation that helped it segregate Natal Indians with 1926 seen the extension of the job color bar (Riccucci, 1995). All the Individuals who came into power in South Africa in the year 1948 were all seen to believe that they had an actual formula that would aid them in ensuring the successful future of white minority rule in South Africa. Some of the measures implemented during this period in South Africa included the removal of blacks from the common voters’ roll, the continual tightening of the job color bar, the provision of an extremely inferior and separate education system for black in the country. To further advance these segregationist policies, all persons in the country were forced to live in specific racially defined â€Å"group areas† while various black African territories that were referred to as â€Å"Bantustans† were also created. These Bantustans were designed to allow black Africans to exercise their political rights strictly within the confines of these areas. The apartheid’s government Population Registration Act was seen to arbitrarily classify all South African’s based on their race, while the 1953 Reservation of separate Amenities Act was also seen to considerably tighten â€Å"petty apartheid† so as to try and eliminate any possible contact between different races (Stasiulis and Yuval-Davis, 1995). Malan’s Successor, H. F. Verwoerd believed that these Bantustan areas could be lead to some form of independence and in time, four of these Bantustan a

Book Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Book Review - Essay Example Allen& Jensen (1995) Pg 5-8, claim that freedom of speech is not supreme in any country and is subject to restrictions such as slander, libel, incitement or obscenity. In this regard, this paper aims to review a book that deals with the First Amendment and some aspects of freedom of expression, the overarching themes and key points made in the chapter, as well response grounded on what I have learned this far about free expression. In addition, I will also explain some of concerns and questions raised by the material. In chapter 3 of Allen & Jensen (1995), pg 11-16 it talks about the first amendment of the United States in terms of the prohibiting the federal, municipal or state to establish religion or have a preference for one religion over another. Subsequently, this law has been interpreted differently in the American history, for example, some say that it separates church and state, in addition to preventing the government from establishing a church. Additionally, it explains th at as long the freedom of religion law does not target a particular religion, then it does not violate the Clause Free Exercise. The congress is also said to have passed an Act called the Religious Freedom Restoration, in which it aimed to restore the standard of religion interest, also known as â€Å"Compelling Interest†. ... He argues that the Act is based on the first amendment unconstitutionally. However, the freedom of speech is recognized in article 19 under Human Rights Universal Declaration as well as in human rights international law in the Covenant on political and civil rights international. Chapter 3 of Allen& Jensen (1995), Pg 21-22, acknowledges that, the Article states that everyone has the right to hold opinions without any interferences, as well as the right to freedom of expression. Therefore, this right includes the freedom to receive, impart, and seek ideas and information of all kinds, either in oral, writing or print. The article also explains that the exercise of such rights also carries unique responsibilities and duties and can therefore be subject to restrictions if necessary. Allen& Jensen (1995), Pg. 22-30 also notes out that under the article 19, the concepts of freedom of press adopted Article 11, freedom of expression stating that free communication of opinions and ideas is t he most important right of every human being. Therefore, every citizen may print, speak, and write accordingly, but should be responsible for any abuse of freedom as law defines. The freedom of expression and speech is recognized in regional and international law of rights, in which the right is confined in Article 19 of international political and civil rights. Allen& Jensen (1995), Pg30- 35 argue that freedom of expression is understood as multi-functional rights which include not only the right to disseminate, or express ideas and information but other aspects like the right to impart, seek and receive information and ideas. Nevertheless, regional, national, and international

Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] Essay Example for Free

Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] Essay Radio Frequency Identification [RFID] is considered the biggest advancement in supply chain management since the first barcode was scanned in 1971 (Waters). RDIF is based on technology that has been in used since the 1940s and World War II. More recently, RDIF tags have been used to track wildlife and to allow speeding cars with Smart Pass stickers to breeze through toll booths without having   to stop (Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID). Only within the past few years has RFID been considered for supply chain applications (Kirk). RFID tags are already being used on shipping pallets, conveyor bins and totes, and packing cartons (Logimax). RFID tags have been embedded in the ears of pets, livestock, and wildlife (Walton), to track school children (Best), and for vehicle tracking systems (WhereNet). Currently, the most common use of RFID technology is to track assets such as desks, office equipment, and other inventory items. About 73 percent of all RFID chips are currently used to track assets (Logimax). That percentage, however, may eventually change. Kirk noted, Every industry will eventually identify a practical application for RFID, but prices will need to come down in order for many industries to consider the technology for enterprise-wide development. The technology received a big boost towards universal acceptance when it was adopted by Wal-Mart, Inc., the worlds largest company. Wal-Mart will require its major suppliers to include RFID tags on their products beginning January 1, 2005 (Barlas). For the end user, the concept behind RFID is the same as the concept behind the barcode. Information is recorded onto an RFID tag that is either attached to or embedded into an item. The recorded information may then be retrieved when the tag is scanned. For end users, the most significant differences between RFID and barcodes will be ease of scanning and the ability to update information. The workhorse of the RFID system is the small radio transponder, called a tag, that is either embedded in or attached to an object. The tag consists of a microchip attached to an antenna. The RFID tag transmits a low-power radio signal that is picked up by the scanner, which is essentially a radio transceiver. RFID is a new technology of storage of identified information about commodity, cargo, product or, for example, participant of some conference. Information is recorder on a micro scheme and together with miniature antenna is placed at/inside of some material. As a result, some token, label, tag appears, which is able to transfer recorder information for a small distance. It is natural that to read information from RFID-bearer we need reading or, as it is called, interrogatory device. This device has an antenna and can be fixed or portable like scanner for reading of bar-codes. Actually, RFID is a further development of technology of marking with help of code-bars.   The advantage is that radio allows reading information in conditions of absence of direct visibility between devices of reading and transferring of information. It means that reading of information with the help of RFID technology can be automated and to take place without direct participation of people. RFID is integrated with any system of coordination, and read information can be recorder into database. You can place inside of RFID-bearers any data, they can be mediators for transfer (synchronization) of information between different information systems. RFID-bearers can keep in memory the history of origin (genealogy) of the product, what allows using them together with other devices in order to increase automation level of manufacture and to preserve from mistakes in this process. There are several types of RFID-bearers. Before you choose any, you need to compare basic technical characteristics of RFID system and standards, which exist in the government regarding frequency regulation. There are two types of RFID-bearers: active and passive. Active RFID tags contain a small battery that is good for about 20 hours of transmission time. Active tags have a longer transmission range than passive tags. They are used when the tag will only be needed for a limited amount of time and/or there is a limited amount of data to store and pass. Active tags are available in read-only or read-write versions. The main characteristics of active tags are: accumulator power supply; data transfer for distance of 8-30 meters; the cost is approximately $20-70 per each; possibility to find its location in the system of two coordinates; the example of usage are cashier posts in supermarkets. The characteristics of passive RFID-bearers are: power supply from reading device; data transfer for distance from several inches to 7,00 meters; the cost is approximately $1 per each; identification of separate products; the example of usage is system of stock-taking. Passive RFID tags wake up when they are scanned. Because they have no battery to wear out, passive tags will last for the life of the object to which they are attached. Passive tags come with either read/write or read-only capabilities. Mostly all the readers follow the basic architecture as shown below. RFID systems are proposed to be used mainly in frequency ranges which don’t need to get a license, so it helps to decrease the cost for their application. There are several radio ranges like these: 125/134, 2 kHz, 13, 56 MHz, 900 MHz and 2, 4 GHz. The distance to read information from the bearer is mainly determined by area where it is used. Nevertheless, bearers which work at long and short waves, can transfer data at distances from 2,5 till 50 sm; passive bearers in frequency range of 900 MHz, work at distance till 7 meters, and in frequency rages – from 30 sm till 2 meters. The 13.56-MHz tags hold as much as 2,000 bits of data, or roughly 30 times the information of 125-KHz tags (Brewin). There is currently no FCC standard for RFID tag frequencies, although manufacturers are working towards developing standards that could be universally accepted. Sony and Philips have agreed to develop technology operating at 13.56 MHz. The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Chinas State Radio Regulatory Commission have agreed to support the 434 MHz radio-frequency band (Spiegel Supply Chain Management Review) We need to take into account that distance of action in many respects depends of material in which RFID-micro scheme is placed. Micro scheme is â€Å"tuned† for a certain material. In case you’ll put micro scheme for car windscreen, working at radio range 900 MHz, in a wooden box, there will be some difficulties to read information. Radio-specialists know also that any radio range correspond to certain antennas. RFID just stared to be used in the modern society, mainly in retail trade and storage service for automatic stock-taking. On every interesting story took place in 2003 with a famous electronic manufacturer Philips Electronics and manufacturer of clothes Benetton. In the end of March one of directors of Philips Semiconductor gave information regarding their plans for the nearest future. Particularly, he told that Philips will supply 15 millions of RFID chips to Italian company Benetton, which, in its turn, will use them in their production, selling in their own trading network consisting of five thousand shops over the world. They told that any kind of clothes which costs more then 15 dollars will have RFID chip, realized on basis of tiny micro scheme Philips I.CODE. Although RFID chips are widely used in manufacture processes of Dell computers or automobile giants like Toyota and Ford, new initiative for fashion industry is the large-scale operation. Many famous firms like Prada, Wal-Mart, Tesco already use RFID technology but in smaller quantities. The micro scheme I.CODE will be pressed into â€Å"smart teg† in the process of clothes manufacture. Benetton wanted to put information about a model type , size, color and destination in order to watch the way of every piece from manufacture and storage till retail. I.CODE chip has 1024 bytes of re-writing information (EEPROM) and works at frequency range 13,56 MHz. One can read information from micro scheme at distance till 1,5 meters (conditions of direct visibility are not obligatory). For the moment of 2003 Philips sold approximately more then half a milliard of such micro chips to different customers. The wholesale price is less then 20 cents per each (Richard W. Boss). Naturally, new initiative of Benetton aroused aversion from people who considered it a violation of privacy. The company agreed that there is not much use from such tags, and tried to find a way to deactivate chip at the moment of commodity sale, in case there will be a lot of protesting customers. For the moment, the only way out to get rid of â€Å"tag at your neck† is to cut it off from the product. What are advantages of using RFID tags? Let’s imagine that such tags will be inside of any product which is in supermarket: you just take the necessary thing and go out – without long queers to cashier and other â€Å"benefits† of modern trading system. When you go out from the shop, there is a device, which makes reading of information regarding the price of your shopping from commodity tag and from tag which is in your credit card or passport, and the bill they will send you directly home. It is very convenient to the seller as well, because it helps to simplify the process of trading. This example is the simplest one. They plan to use RFID tags almost everywhere – starting from books and clothes and finishing with money bills (European Union, 2005). Their usage will help to simplify and automate many routine operations, which we make every day. Besides, RFID tags usage will help to increase effectiveness of many processes. Let’s imagine that the buyer of clothes with such tag will come, wearing these clothes, to another shop of the same company (remember Benetton with its trading network): computer will scan it, read the tag and will get the information from internet from central database regarding what this man have bought last time and what they can offer him in first turn. But, as think numerous members of societies for human rights defense, RFID tags in clothes of human being can be used incorrectly: the government will be able to watch dislocation of people (RFID scanners will be added to places where there are a lot of people such like metro stations, squares, crossroads, etc), as well as hackers, freackers and others can use the tags with bad intentions. Access to databases will allow, without any doubt, to identify personality by tags, and this is loss of privacy. Still, it will take time to make the usage of RFID tags in such a way: nowadays RFID tags and equipment are quite expensive and not so popular. There is possibility to put inside the chip a device or program, which will deactivate tag by customer’s wish.   Ã‚  Ã‚   By information of CNET agency, aviation company Delta Air Line invests 15-25 million dollars in integration of RFID technology in its system of luggage processing, After the system will be installed, operator will be able to control dislocation and motion of passenger luggage from terminal of company, where they will put a radio tag â€Å"Destination point – (name of airport)†. The only difference of this new technology is that passenger at least, will know where is his luggage. Now the systems is as follows: radio scanners read information from tiny RFID tags, are installed in zone of passport control, along the belt of transporter which moves the luggage to cargo airliner, and finally, near the doors of cargo liner. Preliminary tests made by Delta Airlines by route Atlanta-Jacksonville, have shown that operator is able to follow up the cargo almost all the time, when the cargo is at zone of his responsibility. Quite possible, that in the nearest future this possibility will have passengers as well (Richard W. Boss). Nowadays, Delta Airlines looses four suitcases from every thousand, which costs more then one hundred million dollars per each year, spent for search of suitcases and compensation of lost things. Considering the fact that Delta, like many of American air companies experiences some financial problems, possibility to cancel these expenses from their budget was the main factor for management of company for such innovations. RFID is often used in circumstances, which can be called unusual. For example, not long time ago identification of animals and putting tags at them was considered to be a novelty. Tradition of such â€Å"strange usage† is increasing. In Las Vegas were held tests for electronic management and identification of value in BlackJack games. All chips-stakes in system â€Å"Safe Jack† contain components Hitag from Micron Identification – Austrian company, belonging to Philips. When the player puts tag in the field of stake, they are recognized and the stake is taken. Several chips can be recognized even if they are put into pile. Given cards are recognized automatically, so every game is under control. Increasing of safety and protection from cheating, collection of statistic data as well made a number of casino owners to show interest to such an interesting system. Because â€Å"Safe Jack† doesn’t prevent a usual way of game, players adopted new system and moreover, novice usage of technology in this field added to the game attraction. These RFID tags will help also to avoid false casino dibs. Usually owners of casino used colors luminescent in ultraviolet. Such protection wasn’t effective enough, so from time to time they were forced to change all the casino dibs, and this procedure not only costs a lot of money, but irritates casino players as well. This idea will prevent robberies from side of stuff as well and owners of casino will get opportunity to watch players which squander money and will have a chance to work with them in order to force them spend more money, for example, proposing them a room in hotel or free drink. Nowadays, the researchers develop works, which will allow finding out if this system will be also good for other games (Richard W. Boss). German company Metro Group also starts RFID identification at chain of supply of its production. Twenty suppliers of company will deliver identification tags to their distribution centers. Company declared that will start to use new technologies on computer basis and information technologies of IBM corporation, which will be used in order to provide standard infrastructure of deliveries in process of manufacture and delivery during collecting, analysis and management of information regarding supplies, received with the help of identification tags and reading devices. â€Å"Means of identification will lift up the industry of retail to a new level†, these are words of Gerd Wolfram, manager of project Metro Group Future Store Initiative. Taking into account Metro, this system will provide constant control under the process of delivery in internet, which will allow the sellers to determine exact dislocation of commodity at any stage of delivery process from supplier to distributor storage facilities and centers. The Metro supermarket in Reinberg is full of technical novelties, which make contact of shop with the customers more personalized. The customer can take in the entrance to the shop a small computer, a personal helper. Gerd Wolfram enters code of his loyalty card inside the computer. We can see personified greeting note and proposition of special individual discounts. â€Å"Really, I buy this kind of bread very often, tells Gerd, the technology allows us to give personal promo-offers, which the customers like very much† (Richard W. Boss). The clever court has other functions as well. For example, we can send from home computer a list of products (About 61,3% of customers in Germany prefer make shopping in accordance with a list), and when you’ll authorize your loyalty card, the list will appear at the monitor. The computer will play a role of navigation system then – it will show direction to the noted product. All shelves in supermarket are supplied with electronic prices (there is about 37  000 of prices). Some of them contain two prices: usual and with discount. â€Å"You can refresh information for prices very quickly†, notes Wolfram and goes to information desk. There are 16 such desks in supermarket. Wolfram puts to scanning device of terminal a bottle of wine. The monitor displays information about manufacturer – region, recommended temperature of storage, etc. If we put there meat, monitor displays schematic picture of caw, and the back flashes. The screen offers to look through and to print the recipes. All these 16 RFID terminals give the managers an opportunity to watch all dislocations of people inside the supermarket. People, who took the commodity with RFID chip. It shows how many minutes he spends, how he is going, what is he interested in. Advertising displays react to this customer as well – when he approaches, different advertisings are been played – but they consist of information that interests the customer. RFID helps against thefts as well. â€Å"Within 10 years RFID system will appear on all commodities†, optimistically notes Wolfram. We go to cashiers. You can pay with a help of cashier or scan the commodity by yourself with the help of interactive sensor monitor. The buyer scans commodity and puts it into a plastic bag, which is located on a special device – controller. â€Å"In case somebody forgot to scan a commodity and put it into the bag, the system will remind him. Besides, the process is controlled with help of video cameras, notes Wolfram.    Device takes credit cards and cash. With the help of this system we managed to make process of client servicing faster† (Richard W. Boss). In the middle of November the biggest world trading network Wal-Mart and manufacturer of cosmetics Procter Gamble were in the centre of scandal as a result of high-tech. They put in one of supermarkets in Tals as experiment, a shelf with lipstick Max Factor LipFinity, each package of which had RFID tag. Besides, they put a web-camera, which allowed specialists of company-manufacturer to watch the process of trading. The representative of lipstick manufacturer explained: â€Å"We wanted to understand, if this technology will help to provide availability of our production on shelves. We know tat our clients are irritated when they cannot find necessary product which is absent or isn’t in the right place†. Control of commodity in real time almost without participation of human is able to influence the volumes of trading and concurrent struggle, simultaneously decreasing the manufacturer’s expenses. The customer who bought a lipstick with RFID tag and who has it in her bag, will be noticed during her next visit to the shop. This scandal, possibly, will be an obstacle in the way of usage of RFID technologies in retail networks, but RFID tags are already used where the defenders of private life don’t have access. First of all, RFID technologies are used in non-contact access cards and tickets. Here is used a high principle of high-tech application â€Å"don’t want – don’t use†. Sure, you can refuse from high-tech access card or a ticket, but at the same time you’ll loose work or discounts for travel. The manufacturer of domestic electric appliances company Merloni is ready to supply washing machines with system of support of RFID tags – because tags can contain coded recommendations for washing. Company Goodyear plans to supply with RFID tags tires, which it produces. Here tag should reflect their basic features, as well as height of protector and pressure. Quite probably this will be for tires for commercial transport (trucks). Russian company Luxsoft develops connections between RFID tags and sensor networks (networks of miniature sensors, possessing calculation possibilities, means of wireless connection and number of sensors) – it will allow in perspective to add into tags additional information, for example, about temperature or humidity at separate stages of transporting. The Ministry of Defense of the United States, which is known for its love to new technologies, announced that till year 2005 all suppliers of USA army should put on commodity, except of friable products and big volumes of liquids, by RFID tags. By opinion of military, this approach will allow to improve control for commodity presence and for its supply. Still, don’t forget the fact that spies will have possibility to watch the dislocation of military supplies and separate subdivisions. Basic tasks in library business are to prevent robberies, to make a database for books and cd-s, and search some definite books with certain criteria. All these tasks cannot be fully realized with help of barcodes and usual means of theft prevention. The French company Tagsys offers specialized decision for libraries. RFID tag realizes simultaneously all these functions and allows keeping information regarding definite book or CD, for example, place where it should be kept. The system consists of the following parts: Terminal for reading of barcodes and reading/writing of radio tags. It allows connecting a usual scanner of barcodes and presents convenient and quick transfer of information from barcodes to RFID tags. Scanning of barcode, recording of RFID tag and activation of safety function is made within one second. With the help of terminal we are able to read and program new RFID tags by any kind of data. Terminal for simultaneous reading of several tags (till 16) This is terminal for table of registration. Is has more functions than the previous one. It consists of separate control block and one or two antenna. It allows scanning till 16 RFID tags at the same time, what allows fastening in dozens of time work with clients. System of safety. System of safety in order to prevent theft of books, which don’t have activation of safety in RFID tags. This is an independent device, consisting of two posts, which is able to produce controlling signals to close the doors, recording of camera or give siren signal. It can be put on any surface, which doesn’t conduct current. Barcodes can only hold a relatively small amount of information. RFID tags can hold much more information, including serial numbers, shipping information, name, price, and any other information that might be useful for a specific purpose. Unlike barcodes, which cannot be updated as the product moves from place to place, the information on RFID read/write tags may be updated as the product passes through the supply chain. Updates may include logging the time of receipt, sales order numbers, quality control information, or even data that would allow the tag to serve as a bill of lading for shipping (Logimax). Proponents of RFID point out that the system boosts productivity and is cost-effective, eliminating scanning times required by barcodes and reducing paperwork. RDIF is fast, although not as fast as some may believe. Current RFID readers are reported to read up to 150 tags per second, not thousands (Kirk). Still, scanning 150 tags per second with RFID is much faster than the time required to scan 150 barcoded items. In inventory management alone, Logimax estimates productivity gains in the 5 to 10 percent range. Additional time would also be saved by being able to know exactly where product is along the supply chain: on the shop floor, in the warehouse, or in the store. WhereNet estimates that RFID can reduce the delivery chain by 1 to 3 days. If companies deploy RFID and data synchronization, the total savings on improved information can reach $200 to $400 billion (Spiegel,RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings.). Kirk is more conservative with his estimates, noting that early adopters of RFID technology have seen 3 percent to 5 percent reduction in overall supply chain costs and 2 percent to 7 percent increases in revenue from inventory visibility (Kirk). Kirk lists five ways by which RFID improves productivity and increases profits: Reduced labor in high-volume product identification Reduced labor in lot tracking Increased information accuracy throughout the supply chain Automated proof of delivery Real-time inventory levels The power of RFID could increase exponentially when the tags are linked to the Internet. A article from Sun notes that information on RFID tags could be hyperlinked to additional information, including manufacturing batch and production history, product handling instructions, storage or delivery instructions, expiration dates, and other details. The possibilities are limited only by the imagination. (Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID). Kirk, however, points out what RFID is not capable of doing. RFID can tell the distributor if the product is in the warehouse, what time it arrived, and when it is expected to leave, but it cannot locate an item. RFID is not a Global Positioning System [GPS] (Kirk, emphasis as it appears in the original). RFID may, however, be used along with a GPS system to locate items with an accuracy of 10 feet. RFID radio waves cannot penetrate liquids, may have trouble penetrating metal, and may pick up interference from electric motors and other electromagnetic devices. These potential limitations could affect how RFID will be used in some production facilities and warehouses. The benefits of RFID come at some price. Spiegel reports that suppliers to Wal-Mart and the Department of Defense and their customers will need to spend $3 million to $35 million implementing RFID in 2004 (Spiegel, R. RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings). Per unit costs decrease with volume, which is why Wal-Mart can afford to implement the system. Smaller businesses might not be able to afford the upgrade to RFID. For those who will not be buying literally billions of RFID tags at a time, the low-end cost is about 30 cents per tag, depending on the type of the chip, how it is housed, and the volume purchased. More durable tags that are designed to withstand the harsh environments found in manufacturing applications can cost between $2 -$4 each at volumes of tens of thousands (Kirk). Prices for tags and other RFID technology will no doubt drop over time. Early cell phones and Palm Pilots were much more expensive and did much less than models that are sold today. Eventually, prices for RFID tags and systems will almost certainly drop as use of the technology becomes more widespread. As with any new technology, there are some concerns regarding issues surrounding security and abuse. RFID tags can carry a lot of information, including an items manufacturing and distribution history. Tags could also record credit card information, which presents another potential security risks. In order to be able to meet the demands of industry, RFID tags must transmit indiscriminately to any scanner that is in the area. Tags and scanners could be misused to gain unauthorized information. There are also concerns about privacy. Actually, all rumors regarding unsanctioned usage of RFID tags are a result of ignorance of different things about RFID technology. It is not a secret that practice to implant tags to people in USA and Mexico.   In 2002 company Applied Digital Solutions got right to sell microchips VeryChip, which are implanted to people and containing his identification code. This code can be connected with database, where any kind of information can be contained, as well as any medical data. The matter is that such chip is a possibility to get medical help in time for many families, who have ill people at home, or for example, to find a person until he gets into trouble. From the other side, and this information can be confirmed by any expert in this field,- it is possible to defend from RFID tags. The idea is to make a â€Å"jammer† which will be able to oppose the reading device. Sure, the best way is to make it in the image and likeness of RFID tags. The â€Å"jammer† should present a device, copying work of radio-identifying micro schemes, with the only difference that it should present as a reply for requests of scanners not correct information, but some accidental garbage. Two moments are important in work of such device. First of all, it should understand requests of different scanners. Second of all, the best way is to give as answer for one request a lot of answers simultaneously. This is supposition that in such situation scanner will simply confuse. This idea belongs to company RSA Security, which for the present moment is researching it in its laboratories and plans to make test micro schemes in the nearest future. So, actually, strugglers for freedom can sleep with calm. At least, this not so revolutionary technology will not bereave them of freedom. Rumors about RFID technology being used to track products to the homes of individuals are probably exaggerated. The limited transmission range of the chips and the lack of GPS capabilities rules out any feasible use of RFID as a system for tracking individual items beyond the store or warehouse. Wal-Mart will be using RFID to track pallets and other shipping containers and not to track individual items. Wal-Mart had explored the possibility of using Smart Shelves equipped with RFID to indicate when inventory was running low or to detect the possibility of theft. Gillette announced that it would work with Wal-Mart to develop packaging that was compatible with the Smart Shelf system. However, the project was deferred after concerns over consumer privacy were raised by consumer groups (Gilbert). Organizations that use RFID will save money in the long-term through increased productivity, decreased inventory loss, and more reliable tracking of inventory. However, these long-term benefits will only be reaped by those who can afford the high start up costs of the technology. There is currently no race to the bottom for RFID technology. Although the price of tags may have dropped since the first tags were introduced, these savings are typically realized only by those organizations that are large enough to buy large quantities of tags – literally billions – at a time. Smaller firms will continue to pay higher prices for RFID tags. High cost of implementation combined with the tendency of some organizations to stick with proven technologies until all the kinks are worked out of the latest generation of products means that barcodes will continue to be in use for some time. It is unlikely that the barcode scanner at the supermarket will be replaced with an RDIF scanner in the near future, although RFID could easily be used for that application. It is more likely that the two systems will exist side-by-side for some time to come, with RFID being used for manufacturing, shipping, and other large-scale business purposes and barcodes being used for smaller, more individual applications, such as pricing individual items. So, a short summary for usage of RFID tags will be as follows: By some forecasts, year 2005 will be decisive for RFID technologies: we expect decrease of prices – XEROX announced the new method of jet-print of RFID tags. Till 2007 market of equipment and service for RFID will be more then 4 milliard dollars. This fact proves the concept that RFID technology is very perspective and has numerous variants of usage. Data of RFID tag can be re-writed and added, it can be classified; tags are more long-termed; the location of tag isn’t of any importance for tag reader; the tag is better protected from influence of environment. In case the RFID scanners will be systematized and work in all used frequencies, the usage will be simpler and more effective. So, finally, we can conclude that RFID technology has a great future. Works Cited Barlas, Demir. Wal-Marts RFID Mandate Line56.com June 04, 2003. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.line56.com/articles/default.asp?ArticleID=4710 Best, Jo. Schoolchildren to be RFID-chipped Slicon.com 8 July 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://networks.silicon.com/lans/0,39024663,39122042,00.htm Brewin, B. Radio Frequency Identification Computer World. 16 December 2002. Online 13 August 2004 http://www.computerworld.com/mobiletopics/mobile/technology/story/0,10801,76682,00.html Enhance Your Supply Chain with RFID. Sun. Online 13 August 2004 http://www.sun.com/br/manufacturing_1120/feature_rfid.html Gilbert, A. Major retailers to test smart shelves' CNET News.com 8 January 2003. Online: 14 August 2004 http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1103-979710.html Kirk, Julie. Pennies a Tag: Making Cents Out of RFID Myths. White paper. Applied Creative Technologies. May 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.appliedcreativetech.com/pdfs/RFIDMyths.pdf Logimax Making Sense of RFID White paper. Online 13 August http://www.e-logimax.com/downloads/l_making_sense_of_rfid.pdf Spiegel, R. RFID and data sync seen delivering billions in savings. Supply Chain Management Review; 1 May 2004. HighBeam.com Database. 13 August 2004. http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?DOCID=1G1:118850308 Speigel, R. Supply Chain Management Review 8.5.66. ProQuest Database 13 August 13, 2004. http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004 Walton, Marsha. USDA steps up efforts to track livestock CNN 28 May 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.cnn.com/2004/TECH/science/05/24/animalidentification/index.html Waters, Jennifer. Wal-Marts muscle advancing use of RFIDs Investors Daily 6 July 2004. Online. 13 August 2004 http://www.investors.com/breakingnews.asp?journalid=22013065brk=1 WhereNet. WhereNet Automates Vehicle Tracking and Management for Automotive OEMs 10 August 2004. HighBeam.com Database. 13 August 2004 http://www.highbeam.com/library/doc3.asp?DOCID=1G1:120383879 Richard W. Boss, RFID Technology, Public Library Association (PLA) Tech Notes

Order Management Reengineering At Heatway

Order Management Reengineering At Heatway Heatway Systems lost a lengthy legal battle when a federal jury in Cleveland held Goodyear Tire Rubber Co. blameless for its role in manufacturing the rubber hose the radiant company marketed as Entran II. The jury reached its decision February 3 after three days of deliberation and after three weeks of testimony. Frankly, the outcome of this trial was a surprise to everyone-including Goodyear, if they were honest, Heatway president Mike Chiles said the day after the verdict. Chiles had high praise for the evidence presented by his Cleveland legal team. During three days of testimony, for example, an expert witness from the Naval Research Laboratory pointed out that Goodyear used inadequate antioxidants, inappropriate volatile plasticizers and cheap clay fillers in making the hose. A second expert witness testified that Goodyears failure to properly test the Entran II product for radiant heat purposes led to the problems. Meanwhile, mechanical contractors from Colorado and Alaska testified that they had employed exactly the same installation methods when installing Heatways other radiant brands-yet only experienced problems with Entran II hose. Goodyear argued that the failures were due to Heatways radiant system design, as well as problems with installation and maintenance by contractors. It said that field inspections showed that leaks were caused by the wrong type of hose connectors and that the hose was damaged by highly acidic fluid. In addition, Goodyear said it had been using the same 20-year-old formula to make hose for other applications, such as air and water hose, without any problems. In a statement about the jurys decision, Goodyear says it is obviously very gratified by the verdict. We always have believed that the Entran II hose was appropriate for use in radiant home heating systems when it was sold. Chiles said the numbers just didnt add up for his side. The jury looked at the fact that there had only been 658 cases of failure out of 10,000 installations, he said, and didnt think that was a high enough failure rate. After the verdict, Chiles said his lawyers interviewed the jury and many expressed the sentiment that if there had been two or three times as many cases of failure, we would have won. While Heatway lost this case, Goodyears win may be far from solid. Theyre not out of the woods at all, Chiles said. We have unearthed some ugly internal memos as a result of our discovery process. Its our firm belief that Goodyear will pay for this problem-its just going to take a couple of more years and more litigation. Chiles added that the courtroom was packed with plaintiff attorneys from across the country who are in line to sue Goodyear next. Heatway failed on its claim of a breach of implied warranty of merchantability. However, Goodyear still faces a growing number of homeowner claims and will have to fight other legal theories of liability. Heatway bought 25 million feet of the hose between 1989 and 1993. But the hose soon began to crack and leak, causing extensive damages. Entran II tubes started out orange and flexible, like garden hoses. Over time, the tube released plasticizers that hardened the tube, effectively dissolving in hot water, according to expert testimony. The first phase of the problem begins with leaks where the hose connects to the manifold, and continues until the tube spontaneously cracks and leaks elsewhere. There are about 10,000 radiant heating systems in the Unites States that contain Entran II tubes, and Heatway has spent more than $6.5 million to settle more than 100 claims since 1992. Despite the verdict against Heatway, Denver attorney William Maywhort has advised clients that the Ohio jury verdict for Goodyear does not prevent Colorado residents who have Entran II hose in their homes from suing Goodyear. In fact, suing Goodyear and Heatway directly now may be the homeowners only option for recovering for the damage caused by Entran II, said Maywhort, who represents more than a dozen Colorado homeowners who have experienced problems with the Entran II hose What is BPR? Business process re-engineering is a business management strategy, originally pioneered in the early 1990s, focusing on the analysis and design of workflows and processes within an organization. BPR aimed to help organizations fundamentally rethink how they do their work in order to dramatically improve customer service, cut operational costs, and become world-class competitors. In the mid-1990s, as many as 60% of the Fortune 500 companies claimed to either have initiated reengineering efforts, or to have plans to do so. BPR seeks to help companies radically restructure their organizations by focusing on the ground-up design of their business processes. According to Davenport (1990) a business process is a set of logically related tasks performed to achieve a defined business outcome. Re-engineering emphasized a holistic focus on business objectives and how processes related to them, encouraging full-scale recreation of processes rather than iterative optimization of subprocesses. Business process re-engineering is also known as business process redesign, business transformation, or business process change management. The role of information technology Information technology (IT) has historically played an important role in the reengineering concept. It is considered by some as a major enabler for new forms of working and collaborating within an organization and across organizational borders[citation needed]. Early BPR literature identified several so called disruptive technologies that were supposed to challenge traditional wisdom about how work should be performed. Shared databases, making information available at many places Expert systems, allowing generalists to perform specialist tasks Telecommunication networks, allowing organizations to be centralized and decentralized at the same time Decision-support tools, allowing decision-making to be a part of everybodys job Wireless data communication and portable computers, allowing field personnel to work office independent Interactive videodisk, to get in immediate contact with potential buyers Automatic identification and tracking, allowing things to tell where they are, instead of requiring to be found High performance computing, allowing on-the-fly planning and revisioning In the mid-1990s, especially workflow management systems were considered as a significant contributor to improved process efficiency. Also ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) vendors, such as SAP, JD Edwards, Oracle, PeopleSoft, positioned their solutions as vehicles for business process redesign and improvement. BPR Success Failure Factors Critique Many companies used reengineering as an pretext to downsize their companies dramatically, though this was not the intent of reengineerings proponents; consequently, reengineering earned a reputation for being synonymous with downsizing and layoffs. In many circumstances, reengineering has not always lived up to its expectations. Some prominent reasons include: Reengineering assumes that the factor that limits an organizations performance is the ineffectiveness of its processes (which may or may not be true) and offers no means of validating that assumption. Reengineering assumes the need to start the process of performance improvement with a clean slate, i.e. totally disregard the status quo. According to Eliyahu M. Goldratt (and his Theory of Constraints) reengineering does not provide an effective way to focus improvement efforts on the organizations constraint[citation needed]. Others have claimed that reengineering was a recycled buzzword for commonly-held ideas. Abrahamson (1996) argued that fashionable management terms tend to follow a lifecycle, which for Reengineering peaked between 1993 and 1996 (Ponzi and Koenig 2002). They argue that Reengineering was in fact nothing new (as e.g. when Henry Ford implemented the assembly line in 1908, he was in fact reengineering, radically changing the way of thinking in an organization). The most frequent critique against BPR concerns the strict focus on efficiency and technology and the disregard of people in the organization that is subjected to a reengineering initiative. Very often, the label BPR was used for major workforce reductions. Thomas Davenport, an early BPR proponent, stated that: When I wrote about business process redesign in 1990, I explicitly said that using it for cost reduction alone was not a sensible goal. And consultants Michael Hammer and James Champy, the two names most closely associated with reengineering, have insisted all along that layoffs shouldnt be the point. But the fact is, once out of the bottle, the reengineering genie quickly turned ugly. Introduction to Case Problem before Allan Firestone, president of Heatway Cooperationà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s Industrial Products Division and Bob Hemphill, a VP charged with designing and implementing a new process. Design and implementation of a new process, named Proposal to payment (PTP) for selling and delivering Heatway products. Change in organizational structure as well as IT architecture, and even a new philosophy of business. Trouble between Hemphill and Firestone over the spending budget, where Hemphill demanded $35 million and Firestone was ready to spend only $15 million. Funding Considerations before Firestone: How money could be arranged for PTP without sacrificing the profit objectives? Could corporate pay for the rest of amount? Could some of the other international divisions that had expressed interest contribute? Firestone himself believed that PTP was necessary and design for the new process, organization, and technology environment were very exciting. But, the VP had doubts about the urgency to implement PTP. So, firestone resolved to take one more look at the numbers, in hope to find some source of additional savings had been overlooked. Background-Industrial Products Industrial and consumer markets in 27 countries throughout the world. Activities involved heating, ventilation, air conditioning(HVAC) products and services. business heavily dependent on New Construction. IPD sold to medium % large sized businesses. Systems configured to suit the size, location and design of the businesses. Had its own direct-sales engineering groups. Heatway engg worked with architects, contractors and tenants to configure an HVAC solution. Reengineering at heatway An early adopter of new approaches to business improvements Quality based management approaches had been accepted in Manufacturing engineering but lacking in Sales Service In late 1980à ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s radical changes to improvement in contrast to incremental changes using IT. Sought order-of-magnitude improvements in Time Cost Quality Designing First phase Assess current state of order management Create vision of new process Work divided into two teams Team A 8 members Analyze current state of the processes Understand the costs time of doing business Recommend short term improvements Team B 10 internal managers consultants Create vision for future state of process. Both teams were jointly responsible for managing the organizational changerequired for the initiative to succeed Implications of New Process Team created a large financial model to analyze the costs, benefits, and financial risks of implementing the new PTP process. The new process was very expensive (around $150million) Cost for prototype process efforts Cost of SAP Implementation Cost of fully implementing and operating the new workstations, networks, and SAP software Cost for retaining, relocating, and removing employees Return on the PTP investment appeared very high. Prototypes and pilots was planned in the middle Atlantic states region. Changes in Information technology Mobile data network necessary SAP installation Sales force workstation Not only the designà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s adoption has to be justified in financial terms, but also the long process of changing had to be started. Implications for Employees Adoption of the new process. Management, evaluation and compensation of their day to day work. Communicated the nature of these changes through written communication. Mixed Reaction Performers loved the new process because of more freedom and less bureaucracy. Less capable performers were worried about how they would fare Dramatic change not only in how the field personnel did their work bt also how they were managed, evaluated and implemented Reorganization at Heatway Change in the management Salada remain as chairman Kacher would leave Heatway Information systems function would be outsourced to an external firm with substantial SAP experience. Reorganization could have been problematic for PTP European groups would have less incentive to adopt the PTP design. Want of new system provider to implement SAP without concern of PTP process vision Concerns Firestone concern Difficulty in assessing how rapidly the construction and rollout of PTP capabilities should take place. Other memebers of the operations committee were neither worried nor committed to PTP. Change in the commitment by the key managers after t He reorganization. These are those managers whose functional areas would shrink with the adoption of PTP despite being offered important role at Heatway. Financing for PTP If all the resources are devoted then both revenue and profitability goals would not meet. Decisions Everyone understood that PTP implementation is a good investment. Head of international said she wanted to wait to see how PTP worked in the U.S. before transferring resources from her budget. Friestone tried unsucessfully at one one meeting to make PTP corporate initiative. Its upto firestone and other executives to decide how quickly to roll out the new process and how to fund it

Relationship Between Learning and Growth in Business

Relationship Between Learning and Growth in Business Introduction The introductory chapter begins with a description of the context of the present study and a presentation of the fundamental issue addressed in this empirical investigation. The significance of intangible assets in knowledge era, objectives, conceptual framework and contribution value of this study is also addressed in this chapter. 1.1 Research Context This section presents the broad context within which this empirical investigation is undertaken. The current problems and significance of intangible assets in knowledge era are explained. Traditionally, profit and loss figures in the balance sheet and annual financial reports are used as the main financial performance indicators for the action previously taken monitoring and crafting short term strategies. Accounting for intangible assets starts with documenting the various categories of expenses. Profit (or loss) is derived from the financial difference between sales revenue and operating cost. The costs include the expenses in brand building, customer database, training, product development, information technology, etc. These are usually treated as part of the operating cost and marketing expenses. The investment of tangible assets such as equipment, machinery, building, etc. is also recorded in balance sheet. This simple accounting record mechanism is no longer sufficient in the knowledge based economy. There is no linkage with long term strategies to compete with global competitors and survive in dynamic economic. Since an increasing share of market value in this era is not represented by inventory or physical assets. Investments in intangible assets are usually not documented in a proper systematic manner because of data non-availability. Consequently, reasonable estimates of the future performance potential of an organization could not be provided to the management. It is intriguing to note that the cause-effect relationships between marketing, production and human resource and financial performance have not so far been made operational. Prior to the knowledge era, business lived in the world of tangibles, which worked well with the traditional accounting practices. However, things are different in todays world of intangibles. Modern management style and strategic crafting have adapted in response to global competition and volatile economic environment. The industrial age management has been replaced by the knowledge age leadership, with corresponding transformational effects on the economy and workplace (Figure 1.1). The focus on tangible assets in the industrial age has shifted to intangible assets in the knowledge age. This paradigm shift encourages organizational employees to utilize their knowledge in line with organizational goals. Globalization is the main driver of knowledge economy. Toffler (1990) proposed knowledge as the key success factor in the present competition. Knowledge can be transferred by information flow from manufacturers to customers. Organization knowledge could be frequently managed by well- organized people in organization. Knowledge and information technology form an important part of intangible assets. With the realization of this paradigm shift, issues concerning intangible assets are now more widely researched and practiced. Figure 1.1 The shift in management style from industrial age to the knowledge age Intangible assets are of increasing importance for the corporate value creation  processes of all kinds of organizations. In 1978, intangible assets were determined to constitute only 5% of all assets, while they become 78% of all assets today. Some 50 to 90 percent of the value created by a firm in todays economy is estimated to come from the management of the firms intellectual capital rather than from the use and production of material goods (Guthrie and Yongvanich, 2004). Some public and private sector organizations do not attempt to incorporate the value of intangible assets. Sonnier et al. (2007) examined 150 high technology companies and found that management may want to reduce the level of disclosure to conceal sensitive strategic information in order to maintain a competitive advantage. As such, management reporting and financial statements will become increasingly irrelevant as a tool supporting meaningful decision making. Forward-thinking management has to ensure that in tangible assets are identified, monitored, built and leveraged. Financial profit alone could not guarantee the long term survival of companies. To be sustainable, companies need to understand and be able to manage intangible factors, including organizational learning and growth, internal process and external structure. Management that aspires for sustainable business growth and industrial leadership in the twenty-first century has to focus on superior management skills and knowledge under limited resources. Augier and Teece (2005) and Johanson (2005) reported that human capital, knowledge and other intangible assets have emerged as key to business performance in the economic systems. The intangible assets are the competitive edge over competitors. Srivastava et al. (1998) suggested the framework linking market-based assets to shareholder value which could be considered as the subset of present study. The market investment in brand and customer-profile databases leads to cash flows via a combination of price and share premiums, faster market penetration, reduced distribution, sales and service costs, and increased loyalty and retention. Brands are economic assets which are to create value shareholders and develop competitive advantage (Doyle, 2001). During the last three decades, brand is widely recognized as playing the key role in business. Brands influence customer choice, but the influence varies depending on the market in which the brand operates. Ittner (2008) suggested several pre vious studies that provided at least some evidence that intangible asset measurement is associated with higher performance. Several previous studies are limited by over-reliance on perceptual satisfaction or outcome variables, inadequate controls for contingency factors, simple variables for capturing complex measurement practices, and the lack of data implementation practice. In this study, the Balanced Scorecard strategy map (Kaplan and Norton, 2004) is chosen to provide a framework to illustrate how strategy links intangible assets to value creating processes. The reasons for choosing Balanced Scorecard as the stage to build the framework for the present research are as follows: First, Balanced Scorecard is a practical approach to measure the intangible assets that has been widely used in a variety of organizations over the past two decades. Second, through the strategy map concept, Balanced Scorecard provides the linkage the relationship between intangible assets and business performance including the interrelationship between intangible assets elements: 1) Learning and growth affect internal process 2) Internal process affects external structure 3) External structure affects business performance. The measures in the four perspectives are linked together by cause-effect relationships. The company builds the core competence and training to support the i nternal process. The internal process creates and delivers the customer value proposition. When the customers are satisfied, the sales and profit are delivered in terms of financial performance which is the key measure of business performance. 1.2 Research Objectives Since developed economies have become knowledge-based and technology intensive, view of the firm has significantly changed and intangible assets have become fundamental determinants of value and control. There are three fundamental elements of intangible assets which are learning and growth, internal process and external structure (Sveiby, 1997; Kaplan and Norton, 2004). The ultimate goal of firm is to maximize the business performance (financial performance, sales performance and customer fulfillment). This study aims to establish empirically the cause-effect relationship between learning and growth, internal process, external structure and business performance, including the interrelationships between the elements leading to business performance. 1.3 Expected Contributions of the Study There are two key areas of expected outcomes of the study. First, the impact of intangible assets on business performance is expected to be empirically established. In particular, the cause-effect relationship between learning and growth, internal process and external structure would be identified and analyzed. This is so that the detail underlying the relationships can be implemented in practice. Second, it is expected that the effect of business size, business sector and establishment age on the causal links between intangible assets and business performance would be established. As there are various types of firms business (service and non-service), sizes of business (large and SME), establishment age in the industry, this study would provide the pattern of cause-effect relationships between intangible assets and business performance in each business characteristic. Given the expected outcomes, the expected academic contributions of the present study would be to encourage similar studies to establish the causal links between intangible assets and business performance in other types of economies. The study would also provide the foundation for the field of intangible asset management For business practitioners, top management will benefit from the understanding of cause-effect relationship and the realization of the importance of intangible assets (learning and growth, internal business process and external structure) and business performance. With the clearer understanding, proper budget allocation and intangible assets management will be more properly focused and controlled to increase sustainable competitive advantage. The intangible assets are the strategic key to a sustainable competitive advantage and future economic profit. 1.4 Conceptual Framework During last decade years, intangible assets are widely expanded and researched. The value of intangible assets is likely to grow over time if the firm undertakes successful intangible assets management. The intangible assets in each fundamental element (learning and growth, internal process and external structure) are selected and classified as shown in Table 1.1. More detail explanation is given in Chapter 2. Table 1.1 Framework of intangible assets indicators The cause-effect relationship is covered in strategic mapping (Kaplan and Norton, 2004). There have also been several studies, e.g. Huselid and Becker (1997), Hitt et al. (2001), Liu and Tsai (2007), that examined the relationship between learning and growth and business performance as explain in more detail in Chapter 2. The main hypotheses in the present study are shown in Figure 1.2. Figure 1.2 Research hypotheses testing model H1: Learning and Growth is positively related to Internal Process H2: Internal Process is positively related to External Structure H3: External Structure is positively related to Business Performance H4: Learning and Growth is positively related to Business Performance 1.5 Outline of Methodology The research hypotheses formulated in this study were tested in the mail survey or questionnaire of registered company at the Thai Chamber of Commerce. The initial step in the analysis of the data collected focuses on examining the frequency distribution and the mean and standard deviation for each item or variable considered in this research. The next step in data analysis is to assess the validity of measures. Here the study uses item-total correlation, confirmatory factor analysis and the Cronbach alpha coefficient. The initial data analysis, and reliability and correlation analyses are performed using the SPSS statistical package. Furthermore, the structural equation modeling (SEM) EQS program (Bentler, 1995) is used to perform the confirmatory factor analysis, discriminant validity tests and testing of the structural model. The entire step-by-step model fit process from data collection by field survey questionnaires is shown in Figure 1.3. More details of research methodology ar e provided in Chapter 3. 1.6 Structure of the Thesis The thesis is structured on the basis of five chapters, which represent the different stages that are involved in the overall research process. Chapter 1 has covered the research context, current problems, purpose and expected contribution of the studies. Chapter 2 provides an extensive review of definition of intangible assets, intangible assets value and the Balanced Scorecard strategic mapping. This detail provide support to conceptual model of the study and the set of research hypotheses of the study which links learning and growth, internal process and external structure to business performance through cause-effect relationship. Chapter 3 presents the step-by-step research methodology used to conduct the study. It illustrates a range of important methodological issues including the research design, sampling, questionnaire development process, data collection and measurement of model variables. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique is briefly explained. Chapter 4 provides results of validity testing of the constructs and hypotheses of the present study by using EQS program for SEM technique and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) program. Not only the results of the main research hypotheses testing model, but also other possible models are explored. Chapter 5 presents a summary of the major findings and conclusions of the study. It also suggests the long-term strategic implications of the study finding for top management. Finally, consideration is given to the limitations of this empirical investigation and suggestions are made for potential directions and strategies for future research. Literature Review This chapter reviews the definition of intangible assets and its value. The previous correlation empirical research between intangible assets and performance are reviewed. 2.1 Introduction There have been a large number of studies in intangible assets during the last two decades (see Figure 2.1). Intangible assets are involved in the customers, external structure, human resources, and internal process. The intangible assets are defined as non-financial assets without physical substance that are held for use in the production or supply of goods or services or for rental to others, or for administrative purpose (Epstein and Mirza, 2005). Intangible asset is an accounting term, but intellectual capital is a noun used in the management field. They both refer to the same thing. Therefore, Edvinsson and Malone (1997) and Tseng and Goo (2005) pointed out that intangible assets and intellectual capital are synonyms. Intangible assets are identifiable and controlled by the enterprise as a result of past events, and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow. Figure 2.1 Research development on intangible assets 2.2 Intangible Asset Element Classification Several studies have variously attempted to categorize intangible assets as summarized in Table 2.1. Some categorizations are in more common use than others. Table 2.1 Approaches for the categorization of intangible assets The purpose model of the above intangible assets researchers is summarized by Bontis (2000) in Table 2.2. Table 2.2 Purpose of intangible model In Table 2.1 and Table 2.2, there are the intangible elements correspond in each study. Wingren (2004) proposed that framework the correspond to intangible assets framework presented by Sveiby (1997) and Kaplan and Norton (1992) in Figure 2.2. Wingren (2004) mentioned that the Balanced Scorecard is primarily tool for internal development and evaluating the market value of the company for long run. Bose and Thomas (2007) implemented the concept of Balanced Scorecard to a company and they claimed that the formulating of Balanced Scorecard fits the strategic interest of the organization to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The Balanced Scorecard encapsulates the short and long-term strategies. The motivation and evaluation of employee to achieve goal in BSC is rather than using it just as a measuring tool. When intangible assets are addressed and defined, there are four practical approaches to measure the intangible assets (Luthy, 1998): 1. Direct Intellectual Capital Method (DIC) Estimate the value of intangible assets by identifying its various components. Once these components are identified, they can be directly evaluated, either individually or as an aggregated coefficient. 2. Market Capitalization Method (MCM) Calculate the difference between a companys market capitalization and its stockholders equity as the value of the intellectual capital or intangible assets. 3. Return on Asset Method (ROA) Average pre-tax earnings of a company for a period of time are divided by the average tangible assets of the company. The result is a company ROA that is then compared with its industry average. The difference is multiplied by the companys average tangible assets to calculate an average annual earning from the intangibles. Dividing the above value of average earnings by the companys average cost of capital or an interest rate once can provide an estimate of the value of its intangible assets or intellectual capital. 4. Balanced Scorecard Method (BSC) The various components of intangible assets or intellectual capitals are identified and indicated. Indices are generated and reported in scorecards or graphs. Wingren (2004) has chosen to use the BSC concept because BSC contains outcome measures and the performance driver of outcomes, linked together in cause-effect relationships. There are linkages between customer, internal process and learning/growth with financial performance. The financial performance is the outcome and visible to the observers. 2.3 Intangible Assets in Balanced Scorecard Among the above four approaches, the Balanced Scorecard is by far the most well-known, although its original intent was not meant to be the measure for intangible assets, as discussed by Marr and Adams (2004) and Mouritsen et al. (2005). The Balanced Scorecard may be used to measure all the intangible assets in Table 2.1. Bose and Thomas (2007) recently applied the Balanced Scorecard in an empirical study of the Foster Brewing Group. The formulating of a scorecard that best fits the strategic interest of the organization is considered vital. In their view, the Balanced Scorecard is never really complete because the business environment (new competitors, changing customer demand, etc.) is dynamic and constantly evolving. As is already well-known, the Balanced Scorecard was introduced by Kaplan and Norton (1992) as a tool to link financial performance with non-financial performance dimensions: learning and growth, internal process and customer perspectives. Linkages and relationships between customers, internal process and learning/growth with financial performance are shown in Figure 2.3. The Balanced Scorecard acts as a measurement system, a strategic management system, and a communication tool. Seggie et al. (2007) made an argument for the Balanced Scorecard to be the measurement tool in marketing to measure non-financial assets and provide the organization with a long-term perspective. The Balanced Scorecard is at least partially forward-looking and partially geared toward the long-term performance of the firm. The Balanced Scorecard concept has been examined the performance measurement of bonus plan in major financial services firm. Ittner et al. (2003) recommended that the future research on Bal anced Scorecard adoption and performance consequences must move to encompass the entire implementation process. . The concept of cause-effect relationship separates the Balanced Scorecard from other performance management systems. The measures appearing on the scorecard should be linked together in a series of cause-effect relationships to tell the organizations strategic story. Increasing promotional expenses will lead to the increase in brand value. Increased brand value will lead to higher sales revenue The investment of human capital will create the continuous learning and growth in the organization. When the employees have more experience and knowledge, they can create the internal process which serves and fulfills customer satisfaction. The profit and revenue are the final outcomes of this causal chain. Heskett et al. (1994) explained that the linkage of the above model that investment in employee training leads to improvement in service quality. Better service quality lead to higher customer satisfaction. Higher customer satisfaction leads to increased customer loyalty. Increased customer loyalty generates increased revenues and margins. The following are five principles of successful Balanced Scorecard users (Kaplan and Norton, 2004): 1. Mobilize change through executive leadership 2. Translate the strategy into operational term 3. Align the organization to the strategy 4. Make strategy everyones job 5. Make strategy a continual process Intangible assets can be considered very much part of the Balanced Scorecard. Intangible assets are linked mainly to the marketing and human resources. Following is the review of intangible assets in Balanced Scorecard by Kaplan and Norton (1992) and intangible asset monitored by Sveiby (1997) are reviewed. By using the categories developed by Hall (1993), Sveiby (1997), Shaikh (2004) and Roos et al. (1997) reviewed and classified the intangible assets into a framework of internal structure, external structure, and employee competence as shown in Table 2.3. Table 2.3 Framework of intellectual capital/ intangible assets indicators From the above table, the intangible assets are reviewed as follows. 1. Learning and Growth The learning and growth is the capacity of employee to act in a wide variety of situations. Employee is the most valuable asset of the company in the highly competitive market. It is the one asset that creates uniqueness to the company and differentiates the company from the competitors. Sveiby (1997) emphasized employee capability as a key asset for organization growth. Employee satisfaction refers primarily to job and what employees perceive as offerings. Employee satisfaction is positively related to organizational commitment. There are several studies mentioned that human resource is effect to business performance. Huselid (1999) and Hand (1998) have reported the existence of a positive and significant relationship between investments in human resources and the market value of companies. Huselid and Becker (1997) found that there is a strongly positive relationship between a high performance human resource systems and firm performance. Bontis et al. (2000) found that human capita l had positive effect on customer retention and loyalty regardless of industry type. Hitt et al. (2001) and Hurwitz et al. (2002) found that human capital has a positive effect on performance. Also, human capital is shown to have moderate cause-effect relationships with strategy and firm performance. Moon and Kym (2006) confirmed that human capital, structural capital and relational capital have direct impact on intellectual capital. Liu and Tsai (2007) surveyed 560 managers from major Taiwanese hi-tech companies and found that knowledge management has a positive effect on operating performance. Lin and Kuo(2007) also investigated that human resource management influences operational performance indirectly through organizational learning and knowledge management capability. Knowledge is one of learning and growth perspective. In knowledge era, the knowledge management has been widely studies. The knowledge is lost by the organization when the employees leave the firm (Ordonez de Pablos, 2004). McKeen et al.(2006) founded that knowledge management was positive significant to overall organization performance (product leadership, customer intimacy and operational excellence) which is part of internal and customer perspectives in Balanced Scorecard. Organization performance was significant to financial performance. There was no significant direct relationship between knowledge management and financial performance. The knowledge sharing is a key issue in order to enhance the innovation capability that is one of internal process (Saenz et al., 2009). There is also the linkage of learning and growth and internal process. Forcadell and Guadamillas (2002) studies a firm used knowledge management to develop a process of continuous innovation which is in the inter nal business process perspective. 2. Internal Process The internal process includes patents, concepts, models, information technology systems, administrative systems and organizational culture (Aaker, 1991). Such leading companies as GE, Sony, IBM, or Ford used to cover a wide variety of products, but after finding that they could not sustain all product lines, they switched to selective products, while improving the intangible factors, quality and innovation. Deng et al. (1999) suggested that patent attributes are statistically associated with stock return and market to book ratio. Research and Development is one of intangible assets which is the most importance performance. Chu et al. (2008) founded that the valuation of assets and long-term focused in operation of US ICs firms are higher than the firms in Taiwan. 3. External Structure The external structure includes relationship with customers and suppliers. The Balanced Scorecard is concerned only customer value proposition, but the external structure covers supplier. The external structure also encompasses brand-names, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction and the companys reputation or goodwill. In the brand valuation terminology, brand is a large bundle of trademarks and associated intellectual property rights. Cravens and Guilding (1999) reported that brand valuation is one of the most effective means for business to bring accounting and marketing closer for the purpose of strategic brand management and effective means of communication between marketing and accounting. A branded business valuation is based on a discounted cash flow analysis of future earnings for that business discounted at the appropriate cost of capital. The value of the brand business is made up of a number of tangible and intangible assets. There are 2 brand evaluation models 1) research-based approaches measure consumer behavior and attitudes that have an impact on the economic performance of brands. No financial value on brands is in this model 2) purely financially driven approaches. Relationship Between Learning and Growth in Business Relationship Between Learning and Growth in Business Introduction The introductory chapter begins with a description of the context of the present study and a presentation of the fundamental issue addressed in this empirical investigation. The significance of intangible assets in knowledge era, objectives, conceptual framework and contribution value of this study is also addressed in this chapter. 1.1 Research Context This section presents the broad context within which this empirical investigation is undertaken. The current problems and significance of intangible assets in knowledge era are explained. Traditionally, profit and loss figures in the balance sheet and annual financial reports are used as the main financial performance indicators for the action previously taken monitoring and crafting short term strategies. Accounting for intangible assets starts with documenting the various categories of expenses. Profit (or loss) is derived from the financial difference between sales revenue and operating cost. The costs include the expenses in brand building, customer database, training, product development, information technology, etc. These are usually treated as part of the operating cost and marketing expenses. The investment of tangible assets such as equipment, machinery, building, etc. is also recorded in balance sheet. This simple accounting record mechanism is no longer sufficient in the knowledge based economy. There is no linkage with long term strategies to compete with global competitors and survive in dynamic economic. Since an increasing share of market value in this era is not represented by inventory or physical assets. Investments in intangible assets are usually not documented in a proper systematic manner because of data non-availability. Consequently, reasonable estimates of the future performance potential of an organization could not be provided to the management. It is intriguing to note that the cause-effect relationships between marketing, production and human resource and financial performance have not so far been made operational. Prior to the knowledge era, business lived in the world of tangibles, which worked well with the traditional accounting practices. However, things are different in todays world of intangibles. Modern management style and strategic crafting have adapted in response to global competition and volatile economic environment. The industrial age management has been replaced by the knowledge age leadership, with corresponding transformational effects on the economy and workplace (Figure 1.1). The focus on tangible assets in the industrial age has shifted to intangible assets in the knowledge age. This paradigm shift encourages organizational employees to utilize their knowledge in line with organizational goals. Globalization is the main driver of knowledge economy. Toffler (1990) proposed knowledge as the key success factor in the present competition. Knowledge can be transferred by information flow from manufacturers to customers. Organization knowledge could be frequently managed by well- organized people in organization. Knowledge and information technology form an important part of intangible assets. With the realization of this paradigm shift, issues concerning intangible assets are now more widely researched and practiced. Figure 1.1 The shift in management style from industrial age to the knowledge age Intangible assets are of increasing importance for the corporate value creation  processes of all kinds of organizations. In 1978, intangible assets were determined to constitute only 5% of all assets, while they become 78% of all assets today. Some 50 to 90 percent of the value created by a firm in todays economy is estimated to come from the management of the firms intellectual capital rather than from the use and production of material goods (Guthrie and Yongvanich, 2004). Some public and private sector organizations do not attempt to incorporate the value of intangible assets. Sonnier et al. (2007) examined 150 high technology companies and found that management may want to reduce the level of disclosure to conceal sensitive strategic information in order to maintain a competitive advantage. As such, management reporting and financial statements will become increasingly irrelevant as a tool supporting meaningful decision making. Forward-thinking management has to ensure that in tangible assets are identified, monitored, built and leveraged. Financial profit alone could not guarantee the long term survival of companies. To be sustainable, companies need to understand and be able to manage intangible factors, including organizational learning and growth, internal process and external structure. Management that aspires for sustainable business growth and industrial leadership in the twenty-first century has to focus on superior management skills and knowledge under limited resources. Augier and Teece (2005) and Johanson (2005) reported that human capital, knowledge and other intangible assets have emerged as key to business performance in the economic systems. The intangible assets are the competitive edge over competitors. Srivastava et al. (1998) suggested the framework linking market-based assets to shareholder value which could be considered as the subset of present study. The market investment in brand and customer-profile databases leads to cash flows via a combination of price and share premiums, faster market penetration, reduced distribution, sales and service costs, and increased loyalty and retention. Brands are economic assets which are to create value shareholders and develop competitive advantage (Doyle, 2001). During the last three decades, brand is widely recognized as playing the key role in business. Brands influence customer choice, but the influence varies depending on the market in which the brand operates. Ittner (2008) suggested several pre vious studies that provided at least some evidence that intangible asset measurement is associated with higher performance. Several previous studies are limited by over-reliance on perceptual satisfaction or outcome variables, inadequate controls for contingency factors, simple variables for capturing complex measurement practices, and the lack of data implementation practice. In this study, the Balanced Scorecard strategy map (Kaplan and Norton, 2004) is chosen to provide a framework to illustrate how strategy links intangible assets to value creating processes. The reasons for choosing Balanced Scorecard as the stage to build the framework for the present research are as follows: First, Balanced Scorecard is a practical approach to measure the intangible assets that has been widely used in a variety of organizations over the past two decades. Second, through the strategy map concept, Balanced Scorecard provides the linkage the relationship between intangible assets and business performance including the interrelationship between intangible assets elements: 1) Learning and growth affect internal process 2) Internal process affects external structure 3) External structure affects business performance. The measures in the four perspectives are linked together by cause-effect relationships. The company builds the core competence and training to support the i nternal process. The internal process creates and delivers the customer value proposition. When the customers are satisfied, the sales and profit are delivered in terms of financial performance which is the key measure of business performance. 1.2 Research Objectives Since developed economies have become knowledge-based and technology intensive, view of the firm has significantly changed and intangible assets have become fundamental determinants of value and control. There are three fundamental elements of intangible assets which are learning and growth, internal process and external structure (Sveiby, 1997; Kaplan and Norton, 2004). The ultimate goal of firm is to maximize the business performance (financial performance, sales performance and customer fulfillment). This study aims to establish empirically the cause-effect relationship between learning and growth, internal process, external structure and business performance, including the interrelationships between the elements leading to business performance. 1.3 Expected Contributions of the Study There are two key areas of expected outcomes of the study. First, the impact of intangible assets on business performance is expected to be empirically established. In particular, the cause-effect relationship between learning and growth, internal process and external structure would be identified and analyzed. This is so that the detail underlying the relationships can be implemented in practice. Second, it is expected that the effect of business size, business sector and establishment age on the causal links between intangible assets and business performance would be established. As there are various types of firms business (service and non-service), sizes of business (large and SME), establishment age in the industry, this study would provide the pattern of cause-effect relationships between intangible assets and business performance in each business characteristic. Given the expected outcomes, the expected academic contributions of the present study would be to encourage similar studies to establish the causal links between intangible assets and business performance in other types of economies. The study would also provide the foundation for the field of intangible asset management For business practitioners, top management will benefit from the understanding of cause-effect relationship and the realization of the importance of intangible assets (learning and growth, internal business process and external structure) and business performance. With the clearer understanding, proper budget allocation and intangible assets management will be more properly focused and controlled to increase sustainable competitive advantage. The intangible assets are the strategic key to a sustainable competitive advantage and future economic profit. 1.4 Conceptual Framework During last decade years, intangible assets are widely expanded and researched. The value of intangible assets is likely to grow over time if the firm undertakes successful intangible assets management. The intangible assets in each fundamental element (learning and growth, internal process and external structure) are selected and classified as shown in Table 1.1. More detail explanation is given in Chapter 2. Table 1.1 Framework of intangible assets indicators The cause-effect relationship is covered in strategic mapping (Kaplan and Norton, 2004). There have also been several studies, e.g. Huselid and Becker (1997), Hitt et al. (2001), Liu and Tsai (2007), that examined the relationship between learning and growth and business performance as explain in more detail in Chapter 2. The main hypotheses in the present study are shown in Figure 1.2. Figure 1.2 Research hypotheses testing model H1: Learning and Growth is positively related to Internal Process H2: Internal Process is positively related to External Structure H3: External Structure is positively related to Business Performance H4: Learning and Growth is positively related to Business Performance 1.5 Outline of Methodology The research hypotheses formulated in this study were tested in the mail survey or questionnaire of registered company at the Thai Chamber of Commerce. The initial step in the analysis of the data collected focuses on examining the frequency distribution and the mean and standard deviation for each item or variable considered in this research. The next step in data analysis is to assess the validity of measures. Here the study uses item-total correlation, confirmatory factor analysis and the Cronbach alpha coefficient. The initial data analysis, and reliability and correlation analyses are performed using the SPSS statistical package. Furthermore, the structural equation modeling (SEM) EQS program (Bentler, 1995) is used to perform the confirmatory factor analysis, discriminant validity tests and testing of the structural model. The entire step-by-step model fit process from data collection by field survey questionnaires is shown in Figure 1.3. More details of research methodology ar e provided in Chapter 3. 1.6 Structure of the Thesis The thesis is structured on the basis of five chapters, which represent the different stages that are involved in the overall research process. Chapter 1 has covered the research context, current problems, purpose and expected contribution of the studies. Chapter 2 provides an extensive review of definition of intangible assets, intangible assets value and the Balanced Scorecard strategic mapping. This detail provide support to conceptual model of the study and the set of research hypotheses of the study which links learning and growth, internal process and external structure to business performance through cause-effect relationship. Chapter 3 presents the step-by-step research methodology used to conduct the study. It illustrates a range of important methodological issues including the research design, sampling, questionnaire development process, data collection and measurement of model variables. The Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) technique is briefly explained. Chapter 4 provides results of validity testing of the constructs and hypotheses of the present study by using EQS program for SEM technique and Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) program. Not only the results of the main research hypotheses testing model, but also other possible models are explored. Chapter 5 presents a summary of the major findings and conclusions of the study. It also suggests the long-term strategic implications of the study finding for top management. Finally, consideration is given to the limitations of this empirical investigation and suggestions are made for potential directions and strategies for future research. Literature Review This chapter reviews the definition of intangible assets and its value. The previous correlation empirical research between intangible assets and performance are reviewed. 2.1 Introduction There have been a large number of studies in intangible assets during the last two decades (see Figure 2.1). Intangible assets are involved in the customers, external structure, human resources, and internal process. The intangible assets are defined as non-financial assets without physical substance that are held for use in the production or supply of goods or services or for rental to others, or for administrative purpose (Epstein and Mirza, 2005). Intangible asset is an accounting term, but intellectual capital is a noun used in the management field. They both refer to the same thing. Therefore, Edvinsson and Malone (1997) and Tseng and Goo (2005) pointed out that intangible assets and intellectual capital are synonyms. Intangible assets are identifiable and controlled by the enterprise as a result of past events, and from which future economic benefits are expected to flow. Figure 2.1 Research development on intangible assets 2.2 Intangible Asset Element Classification Several studies have variously attempted to categorize intangible assets as summarized in Table 2.1. Some categorizations are in more common use than others. Table 2.1 Approaches for the categorization of intangible assets The purpose model of the above intangible assets researchers is summarized by Bontis (2000) in Table 2.2. Table 2.2 Purpose of intangible model In Table 2.1 and Table 2.2, there are the intangible elements correspond in each study. Wingren (2004) proposed that framework the correspond to intangible assets framework presented by Sveiby (1997) and Kaplan and Norton (1992) in Figure 2.2. Wingren (2004) mentioned that the Balanced Scorecard is primarily tool for internal development and evaluating the market value of the company for long run. Bose and Thomas (2007) implemented the concept of Balanced Scorecard to a company and they claimed that the formulating of Balanced Scorecard fits the strategic interest of the organization to achieve sustainable competitive advantage. The Balanced Scorecard encapsulates the short and long-term strategies. The motivation and evaluation of employee to achieve goal in BSC is rather than using it just as a measuring tool. When intangible assets are addressed and defined, there are four practical approaches to measure the intangible assets (Luthy, 1998): 1. Direct Intellectual Capital Method (DIC) Estimate the value of intangible assets by identifying its various components. Once these components are identified, they can be directly evaluated, either individually or as an aggregated coefficient. 2. Market Capitalization Method (MCM) Calculate the difference between a companys market capitalization and its stockholders equity as the value of the intellectual capital or intangible assets. 3. Return on Asset Method (ROA) Average pre-tax earnings of a company for a period of time are divided by the average tangible assets of the company. The result is a company ROA that is then compared with its industry average. The difference is multiplied by the companys average tangible assets to calculate an average annual earning from the intangibles. Dividing the above value of average earnings by the companys average cost of capital or an interest rate once can provide an estimate of the value of its intangible assets or intellectual capital. 4. Balanced Scorecard Method (BSC) The various components of intangible assets or intellectual capitals are identified and indicated. Indices are generated and reported in scorecards or graphs. Wingren (2004) has chosen to use the BSC concept because BSC contains outcome measures and the performance driver of outcomes, linked together in cause-effect relationships. There are linkages between customer, internal process and learning/growth with financial performance. The financial performance is the outcome and visible to the observers. 2.3 Intangible Assets in Balanced Scorecard Among the above four approaches, the Balanced Scorecard is by far the most well-known, although its original intent was not meant to be the measure for intangible assets, as discussed by Marr and Adams (2004) and Mouritsen et al. (2005). The Balanced Scorecard may be used to measure all the intangible assets in Table 2.1. Bose and Thomas (2007) recently applied the Balanced Scorecard in an empirical study of the Foster Brewing Group. The formulating of a scorecard that best fits the strategic interest of the organization is considered vital. In their view, the Balanced Scorecard is never really complete because the business environment (new competitors, changing customer demand, etc.) is dynamic and constantly evolving. As is already well-known, the Balanced Scorecard was introduced by Kaplan and Norton (1992) as a tool to link financial performance with non-financial performance dimensions: learning and growth, internal process and customer perspectives. Linkages and relationships between customers, internal process and learning/growth with financial performance are shown in Figure 2.3. The Balanced Scorecard acts as a measurement system, a strategic management system, and a communication tool. Seggie et al. (2007) made an argument for the Balanced Scorecard to be the measurement tool in marketing to measure non-financial assets and provide the organization with a long-term perspective. The Balanced Scorecard is at least partially forward-looking and partially geared toward the long-term performance of the firm. The Balanced Scorecard concept has been examined the performance measurement of bonus plan in major financial services firm. Ittner et al. (2003) recommended that the future research on Bal anced Scorecard adoption and performance consequences must move to encompass the entire implementation process. . The concept of cause-effect relationship separates the Balanced Scorecard from other performance management systems. The measures appearing on the scorecard should be linked together in a series of cause-effect relationships to tell the organizations strategic story. Increasing promotional expenses will lead to the increase in brand value. Increased brand value will lead to higher sales revenue The investment of human capital will create the continuous learning and growth in the organization. When the employees have more experience and knowledge, they can create the internal process which serves and fulfills customer satisfaction. The profit and revenue are the final outcomes of this causal chain. Heskett et al. (1994) explained that the linkage of the above model that investment in employee training leads to improvement in service quality. Better service quality lead to higher customer satisfaction. Higher customer satisfaction leads to increased customer loyalty. Increased customer loyalty generates increased revenues and margins. The following are five principles of successful Balanced Scorecard users (Kaplan and Norton, 2004): 1. Mobilize change through executive leadership 2. Translate the strategy into operational term 3. Align the organization to the strategy 4. Make strategy everyones job 5. Make strategy a continual process Intangible assets can be considered very much part of the Balanced Scorecard. Intangible assets are linked mainly to the marketing and human resources. Following is the review of intangible assets in Balanced Scorecard by Kaplan and Norton (1992) and intangible asset monitored by Sveiby (1997) are reviewed. By using the categories developed by Hall (1993), Sveiby (1997), Shaikh (2004) and Roos et al. (1997) reviewed and classified the intangible assets into a framework of internal structure, external structure, and employee competence as shown in Table 2.3. Table 2.3 Framework of intellectual capital/ intangible assets indicators From the above table, the intangible assets are reviewed as follows. 1. Learning and Growth The learning and growth is the capacity of employee to act in a wide variety of situations. Employee is the most valuable asset of the company in the highly competitive market. It is the one asset that creates uniqueness to the company and differentiates the company from the competitors. Sveiby (1997) emphasized employee capability as a key asset for organization growth. Employee satisfaction refers primarily to job and what employees perceive as offerings. Employee satisfaction is positively related to organizational commitment. There are several studies mentioned that human resource is effect to business performance. Huselid (1999) and Hand (1998) have reported the existence of a positive and significant relationship between investments in human resources and the market value of companies. Huselid and Becker (1997) found that there is a strongly positive relationship between a high performance human resource systems and firm performance. Bontis et al. (2000) found that human capita l had positive effect on customer retention and loyalty regardless of industry type. Hitt et al. (2001) and Hurwitz et al. (2002) found that human capital has a positive effect on performance. Also, human capital is shown to have moderate cause-effect relationships with strategy and firm performance. Moon and Kym (2006) confirmed that human capital, structural capital and relational capital have direct impact on intellectual capital. Liu and Tsai (2007) surveyed 560 managers from major Taiwanese hi-tech companies and found that knowledge management has a positive effect on operating performance. Lin and Kuo(2007) also investigated that human resource management influences operational performance indirectly through organizational learning and knowledge management capability. Knowledge is one of learning and growth perspective. In knowledge era, the knowledge management has been widely studies. The knowledge is lost by the organization when the employees leave the firm (Ordonez de Pablos, 2004). McKeen et al.(2006) founded that knowledge management was positive significant to overall organization performance (product leadership, customer intimacy and operational excellence) which is part of internal and customer perspectives in Balanced Scorecard. Organization performance was significant to financial performance. There was no significant direct relationship between knowledge management and financial performance. The knowledge sharing is a key issue in order to enhance the innovation capability that is one of internal process (Saenz et al., 2009). There is also the linkage of learning and growth and internal process. Forcadell and Guadamillas (2002) studies a firm used knowledge management to develop a process of continuous innovation which is in the inter nal business process perspective. 2. Internal Process The internal process includes patents, concepts, models, information technology systems, administrative systems and organizational culture (Aaker, 1991). Such leading companies as GE, Sony, IBM, or Ford used to cover a wide variety of products, but after finding that they could not sustain all product lines, they switched to selective products, while improving the intangible factors, quality and innovation. Deng et al. (1999) suggested that patent attributes are statistically associated with stock return and market to book ratio. Research and Development is one of intangible assets which is the most importance performance. Chu et al. (2008) founded that the valuation of assets and long-term focused in operation of US ICs firms are higher than the firms in Taiwan. 3. External Structure The external structure includes relationship with customers and suppliers. The Balanced Scorecard is concerned only customer value proposition, but the external structure covers supplier. The external structure also encompasses brand-names, customer loyalty, customer satisfaction and the companys reputation or goodwill. In the brand valuation terminology, brand is a large bundle of trademarks and associated intellectual property rights. Cravens and Guilding (1999) reported that brand valuation is one of the most effective means for business to bring accounting and marketing closer for the purpose of strategic brand management and effective means of communication between marketing and accounting. A branded business valuation is based on a discounted cash flow analysis of future earnings for that business discounted at the appropriate cost of capital. The value of the brand business is made up of a number of tangible and intangible assets. There are 2 brand evaluation models 1) research-based approaches measure consumer behavior and attitudes that have an impact on the economic performance of brands. No financial value on brands is in this model 2) purely financially driven approaches.