NHS Public Relations and Customer Care Policy

NHS Public Relations and Customer Care Policy Introduction Public relations are an indirect form of sales motivation ‘a psychology – coated advertising pill’. According to the Institute of Public Relations[1], public relations are defined as: the deliberate planned and sustained effort to establish and maintain mutual understanding between an organisation and its public. Presently in the UK (United Kingdom) most health care providers are managed by the NHS (National Health Service) – the largest public service organisation in Europe. Therefore the direction this report will take is as follows: (1) to investigate the key principles of public relations and customer care; (2) to analyse how a public service organisation deals with public relations – in particular how the NHS deals with public relations; and (3) to examine the customer care policy of the NHS. The key principles of public relations and customer care According to Hall (1971)[2], public relations are based on the following key principles: The company and customers or prospective customers – the primary objective being to create a good public image and the secondary objectives being: (1) Selling the company, by securing and maintaining public goodwill; (2) Unobtrusively advertising the product or service sold; (3) Increasing sales and profits, and paying higher dividends to the shareholders. 2. The company and shareholders or prospective shareholders – It is also important  that the company should maintain good relations with its shareholders and with  the investing public at large, for the following reasons: (1) The shareholders as owners of the company, are entitled to information  concerning its activities. (2) It is essential to keep the shareholders contented, as they are a  prospective source of capital if the company wishes to develop at some future  date. (3) The investing public at large is more likely to invest in a company with  which it has good relations. 3. The company and its employees – personnel relations and public relations are  complementary. A company’s treatment of its employees is an important factor in  enhancing or dimming its public image. Therefore it is useless to spend money on  an elaborate public relations department and then ignore the basic principles of  good personnel relations. Arens (1999)[3] agrees but argues that there are four other principles: 4. Communities – courtesy and friendly support towards the organisations immediate  neighbours strengthens the ties between the organisation and its neighbours. 5. Media – press packets, briefings, and facilitating access to organisation  news makers build trust and goodwill. 6. Government – a desire for favourable legislation and subsidies are good reasons  why organisations should earn and maintain the goodwill and trust of the  government. The systems and procedures involved in dealing with public relations The size of an organisation and the type of business it is often determines the methods of public relations to be used e.g. Large companies are more inclined to have their own public relations department – which contrasts with small companies which would most likely outsource public relations consultants. If an organisation desires external public relations can be achieved through anyone of the following methods: Press relations, comprising press releases and notices relating to the companys activities. Exhibitions and trade fairs Television and radio are used for public relations as well as for advertising. Direct consumer contacts – this is a personal approach to improving public relations and is all about implementing goodwill to others in an attempt at public relations success. Literature produced in various printed forms ranging from journals to an organisation history. Eye-catching functions used to gain public notice, e.g. The sponsorship of sports events such as the annual walk against breast cancer. Open days – the public (inclusive of employees families) is invited to visit the organisations premises – this helps promote personnel relations. The National Health Service The National Health Service of the UK is divided into two divisions; England and Wales, and Northern Ireland. The National Health Service has outlined for the both regions all the personnel who will fall under its umbrella as follows: England and Wales[4] A Patients Forum established under section 15 of the National Health Service Reform and Health Care Professions Act 2002. Any person providing primary medical services or primary dental services In accordance with arrangements made under section 28C of the National Health Service Act 1977; or Under a contract under section 28K or 28Q of that Act; in respect of information relating to the provision of those services. Any person providing general medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services under Part II of the National Health Service Act 1977, in respect of information relating to the provision of those services. Any person providing personal medical services or personal dental services under arrangements made under section 28C of the National Health Service Act 1977, in respect of information relating to the provision of those services. Any person providing local pharmaceutical services under A pilot scheme established under section 28 of the Health and Social Care Act 2001; or An LPS scheme established under Schedule 8A to the National Health Service Act 1977 (c 49), in respect of information relating to the provision of those services. Northern Ireland Any person providing primary medical services, general dental services, general ophthalmic services or pharmaceutical services under Part VI of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1972, in respect of information relating to the provision of those services. Customer Care Policy Davis (2003 p. 47)[5] says that patients are consumers of medical services and deserve customer care. He believes that customer care is critical especially for professionals such as surgeons and dentists; and that customer care creates opportunities for the customers to be informed and form judgements. According to Davis, customers pay for what they receive and as he explains, patients do have family and friends who from a critical public that directly affect the organisations reputation. Therefore if patients receive ill treatment the organisation is likely to have a bad reputation which would most likely lead to a loss of clientà ¨le to competition. Good customer care is also essential when dealing with patients, as this can affect the direction which a grant might take. In particular the NHS has a rating system which encourages feedback – which it then uses to improve its quality of customer service. Systems and Procedures in relation to communication with the media Media specialists are aware of the requirements, preferences, limitations, and strengths of the various media used to serve the client. They find the right media for clients messages (Baran, 2002)[6]. In public relations the accounting, legal and medical professions have had little success in policing their own members. Therefore one should ask what should be done to prevent misleading and dishonest communications from going to the public? The International Association of Businesses Communicators have laid down a code of practice which states that Members of IABC will engage in truthful, accurate and fair communication that facilitates respect and mutual understanding ¡K Accoding to Horton (2002)[7], the fact is that what a CEO wants, a CEO gets. Sometimes a board of directors has the power to stop a CEO from making false statements or misleading customers, investors, regulators and others. But, whistle blowers do not fare well, and it takes a great deal of evidence for a whistle b lower to prove that a corporation has engaged in unethical action or misleading communication. Further, even though one is personally ethical, executives can sanction and encourage unethical activity. This puts a strain on one to go along or get out. Unfortunately, it is usually easier to go along, and there are rewards for doing so. There are many ways that a CEO can corrupt a company, but one of the most insidious is the goals that the CEO sets. Horton explains that defending an unpopular person, organization or issue in the media is a tough PR challenge. He expounds that unlike a court of law where rules of argumentation and fact apply, PR practitioners face uncontrolled media, citizen rumours, political opinion, falsehoods and conclusions based on partial fact. Public relations in such times can be thankless and a losing effort. Yet, as he puts it, successful defence can be a career high point. Practitioners learn what they are made of and how well they have mastered communications. Horton has laid down some rules for dealing with the media as follows: The first rule of defending the indefensible is to start with and stick to facts as much as possible. Unfortunately, in many, if not most situations, facts are missing or incomplete. Facts put to rest speculation and opinion, and they stop a natural tendency to assume there is more behind an issue or event than meets the eye. This means PR practitioners should be trained in gathering and checking facts quickly then getting them out fast to interested parties. However, facts can tell an ugly story, a story that an individual and/or organization do not want to have told. In addition, facts may tell stories that must not be narrated because of personal, political or other confidentiality. PR practitioners often know more than can be said to journalists, and journalists are dedicated to finding out what practitioners cannot say. Silence PR practitioners are taught that silence is harmful. During a crisis, they are told that individuals or organizations must do something with media calls, skittish investors, unhappy suppliers, fearful employees and grandstanding regulators. But silence is not always harmful. There are times when silence is best even though others talk about you, especially when defending unpopular individuals, organizations or issues. An old clichà © attributed to British royalty is, â€Å"Never complain, never explain.† This stiff-upper-lip approach covered up many activities that royalty did not want to expose to public scrutiny. It worked for decades until U.K. media in search of circulation boosts broke a compact of silence about the doings of the palace. Nonetheless, silence helps when: Pressure to speak is not intense If the public, regulators, media and others are not pushing to get answers, it might work well not to volunteer them. When the issue might be a passing one – If an issue arises that is a one-day headline, â€Å"no comment† might suffice. When there is nothing one can say. The only justifiable expression may be confession and remorse. When speaking makes the situation worse. Speed It is a basic PR rule to get out factual information as quickly as possible. Delay is a mistake that happens too frequently because of internal battles, concerns for liability and dictates of privacy. Some speed techniques are: Say â€Å"No comment,† and follow orders. Deliver some kind of statement, even if inadequate â€Å"I have been instructed to tell you†¦. That is all that I can say at this time.† Let another take over. Fight hard – Collect the emerging media stories and go to the CEO to make a forceful case for what is happening to the firm’s reputation by failing to disclose the facts speedily. Resign – This is an extreme option unless a company or CEO is so far in the wrong that a practitioner can be considered complicit by acting as a spokesperson. Damage Control When compelling facts are not readily available, practitioners must use damage control to defend the indefensible individual or organization. Refutation – Paint a story as false. One attacks the teller of the story (â€Å"Consider the source.†) and the story itself as meaningless, incredible, impossible or illogical. Confirmation – Praise the person and story that favour your side. (â€Å"X is an honourable man. He would never lie.†) Note that a story is possible, probably, logical and fitting. (â€Å"From our careful reconstruction, this is the way that events unfolded.†) Of course, even though X is an honourable man, he might sometimes lie and careful reconstructions of stories might be logical and wrong. Vituperation – This has a more modern name – â€Å"character assassination.† It’s an all-out effort to discredit someone making allegations by going after the person’s heritage, education, background, lifestyle or whatever it takes to take away the individual’s credibility in the eyes of target audiences. Appeal to character – This is an effort to build the image of an individual and cast doubt on allegations against that person. Appeals to character use all of the techniques of vituperation but puts a positive spin on them. Diversion – Create a secondary issue that obscures the first issue. A popular movie came out a few years ago that illustrated how to do this by creating a phony war. The film, Wag the Dog, was a cynical portrayal of how Washington political communications work. Comments and Conclusion Defence of an unpopular individual, organization or point of view is probably no more successful than defending an accused in a courtroom. However, because the media and society do not follow strict rules of argumentation or precedent, the chances of a story â€Å"getting away† from the practitioner are greater. (Caywood, 1997)[8] When companies and individuals have been destroyed by negative publicity, only to be vindicated later, they can never recover what they have lost. There is little recourse in the law for such outcomes. One can sue for libel, but if the facts of a case were accurate to the time they were presented, there was no libel. One is a victim of circumstances. The PR practitioner’s job, insofar as the practitioner is able, is to balance perception enough to take pressure off an individual or organization or, if possible, to refute allegations. There is no chance of success unless one tries. It is imperative that public relations departments and personnel remember that they are the main point of contact for radio and television stations, newspapers, and magazines. Footnotes [1] Institute of Public Relations, Guide to the practice of public relations [2] Hall L., (1971, p. 288) Business Administration, 3rd Edition, MacDonald and Evans Ltd. [3] Arens W.F., (1999) Contemporary advertising, Irwin McGraw-Hill [4]National Health Service http://www.foi.gov.uk/coverage.htm#part3http://www.foi.gov.uk/coverage.htm#part3 [Online Source: 15/05/06] [5] Davis A., (2003) Everything You Should Know About Public Relations, Page Kogan [6] Baran S.J., (2002) Introduction to Mass Communication; Maedia, Literacy, and Culture, McGraw Hill [7] Horton J.L., () The ethics question http://www.online-pr.com/Holding/TheEthicsQuandaryARTICLE.pdf [Online Source: 15/05/06] [8] Caywood C.L., (1997) The Handbook of Strategic Public Relations and Integrated Communications, McGraw Hill

Swot of Ibm 2009

IBM – SWOT Analysis Strengths Since IBM was founded in 1896, it has gone through a very long experience in the technological industry with a very strong brand name. The company has a wide range of products to appeal and attract different customer needs and to maintain its competitive position. IBM in 2009 was considered as one of the largest and most profitable computer services company in the world with a market capital of about $119 billion and 319,000 employees speeded in 150 countries around the world. The company in 2009 has made a good cut of the cost structure while at the same time the company was achieving a good increase in the revenues. The company invested in the IT by outsourcing it completely to India just to compete more effectively in the IT services and to rebuild its competitive advantage. The company was concentrating a lot in the high value added business. Weaknesses In 2009 IBM announced 5,000 job cuts in the United States which was accounted for around 4% of the workforce in United Sates . This move could probably hurt the company’s external image. Also could be one of the company’s weaknesses is that, the company was facing very high operating costs. The company also is not investing a lot in the low end products. Opportunities The company needs to maintain its position in the market and to attract more customers. Also IBM has the opportunity to lead the market in many segments by investing more in the R&D and to generate innovative ideas. Many customers perceive IBM as an old brand in which they have the opportunity to rebuild its brand image to appeal to the younger generation, could by investing in the electronic games or the mobile phones. The company has a good opportunity to start design green products strategy that protects the environment and cut good percentage of the costs. IBM can develop a customized hardware & software for the key customers. Threats Probably one of the main threats that IBM is facing today, is the growing competitors that make a real threat for the company and those competitors who are able to create cheaper products and make more a considerable profit. The technological products are changing quickly and make the life cycle of these products much shorter. Also the economical fluctuations impose a real threat on the company of losing profits.

Donahoo Western Furnishing Company Essay

1. What did Donahoo’s balance sheet look like at the outset of the firm’s life? According to the text, at the start of the business, all of the firm’s capital was held in cash. This is represented by the $1,500,000 in cash current assets, which we can see are comprised of a $500,000 long-term loan and $1,000,000 in equity. 2. What did the firm’s balance sheet look like after each transaction? In the following balance sheet, we see that cash has been reduced by $500,000 that went towards the new $1,000,000 in inventory. The remaining $500,000 was financed by a short-term payable. In the next balance sheet, we can see that inventory decreased by $200,000 but that accounts payable increased by $250,000. Thus, retained earnings increased by $50,000. On Jan. 15, Donahoo increased inventory by $200,000 adding this value to short-term liabilities: Here, we see inventory decrease $400,000 but other current assets increased $500,000 (with $50,000 going in to cash and $450,000 into A/R). Rather than moving the $100,000 to retained earnings, the company used $100,000 in cash to pay a dividend. The company then took an additional $250,000 from cash and paid down long-term debt: 3. Ignoring taxes, determine how much income Donahoo earned during January. Prepare an income statement for the month. Recognize an interest expense of 1 percent for the month (12 percent annually) on the $500,000 long-term debt, which has not been paid but is owed. Unfortunately, the data that is provided does not include the operating expenses for January 2011 for the Donahoo Western Furnishings Company. Therefore, we can see what the Net Profit is before Operating Expenses. That is, this number is overstated and would likely be dramatically reduced once Operating Expenses were included. The graph on the right represents an illustration of what the furniture company’s real next income might be (i.e. operating income was estimated, incorporating rent, utilities, salaries, etc.).

Essay on Changing organizational structures

Essay on Changing organizational structures Essay on Changing organizational structures Essay on Changing organizational structuresThe organizational structure has a considerable impact on members of organizations. In fact, the impact of the organizational structure may be so strong that it can influence interpersonal relations within the organization and affect the organizational performance. This is why organizations are always concerned with the elaboration and maintenance of the organizational structure that matches the organizational culture, environment and current needs of the organization and key stakeholders.On analyzing possible impact of the organizational structure on organizations and members of organizations, it is possible to refer to the case of SAS, Google or Apple, which are quite successful companies, which though cannot avoid the impact of the organizational structure. If in case of some organizations, such as Apple or Google, their organizational structure is effective and contributes to the successful organizational performance of two companies. Th en in case of SAS, the organizational structure may be a cause of problems and cause tension in interpersonal relations between employees as well as it can deteriorate the organizational performance, especially in a long-run perspective (Chambers, 2005).The ineffective organizational structure of SAS contributed to the emergence of conflicts and tension within the organization along with the considerable downturn in its business development. In this regard, the bureaucratization was one of the main effects of SAS’ organizational structure. On the contrary, Google benefits from its flexible organizational structure and develops its business successfully since the company works on multiple projects and the best one obtain funding from the company. In such a way, the fair and tight competition within the company along with the freedom of work on diverse projects brings the company large opportunities to develop very successful projects. As for Apple, this is another case of the successful organizational structure, especially after changes introduced by Steve Jobs, which made Apple’s organizational structure efficient and successful.The problem of many organizations, including SAS is the inability of the organization to match its organizational structure to its current marketing position. For instance, in case of SAS, the company sticks to the centralized organizational structure, while the company operates globally. Therefore, the company would be more efficient, if it had a more flexible organizational structure but the company refuses to change its organizational structure so far.Therefore, the major cause of the problem of SAS and other organizations is their inability to change their organizational structure. At this point, the poor or wrong vision of top executives of the company of goals and prospects of the company may be one of possible causes of the problem. However, in its essence, the cause of the problem is systematic. What is meant here is the fact that organizations and their business environment keep progressing but organizations cannot always catch up with changes in their business development and their business environment. As a result, they retain their old organizational structure which once used to be successful and effective, but they remain unaware of the fact that this organizational structure does not work effectively anymore and changes are needed urgently.In such a situation, a possible solution to such companies as SAS and other companies that need the immediate solution of their problems through balancing their organizational structure and human behaviors. In this regard, changes have to be conducted at the organizational level. Organizations should change their organizational structure to create comfortable conditions for work of their employees and to maximize the effectiveness of their interaction in the course of their work. At the same time, there are no universal solutions concerning the organ izational structure because companies are different and they operate in the different business environment (Buhler, 2011). Therefore, one and the same organizational structure may be effective for some organizations and ineffective for others.Consequently, the possible solution that all organizations can apply to enhance their organizational structure and match human behaviors in their structure is to develop organizational structures that are the most efficient for them specifically. In this regard, organizations should assess adequately their current needs and challenges along with future prospects and goals, which they want to attain (Puffer, 2004). On the ground of their current needs and future goals, they can elaborate the strategy of changing or developing their organizational structure to maximize their effectiveness through balancing their organizational structure and behavior of their employees and other stakeholders.Thus, the development of the effective organizational st ructure is essential for the successful business performance of companies. The organizational structure influences human behaviors and may cause conflicts within organizations and deterioration of the organizational performance. Hence, organizations should develop effective organizational structures that match their current needs and future goals and help them to maintain positive behavior patterns in their employees.

Solutions, Suspensions, Colloids, and Dispersions

Solutions, Suspensions, Colloids, and Dispersions Solutions, suspensions, colloids, and other dispersions are similar but have characteristics that set each one apart from the others. Solutions A solution is a homogeneous mixture of two or more components. The dissolving agent is the solvent. The substance that  is dissolved is the solute. The components of a solution are atoms, ions, or molecules, making  them 10-9 m or smaller in diameter. Example: Sugar and water Suspensions The particles in suspensions are larger than those found in solutions. Components of a suspension can be evenly distributed by mechanical means, like by shaking the contents but the components will eventually settle out. Example: Oil and water Colloids Particles intermediate in size between those found in solutions and suspensions can be mixed in such a way that they remain evenly distributed without settling out. These particles range in size from 10-8 to 10-6 m in size and are termed colloidal particles or colloids. The mixture they form is called a colloidal dispersion. A colloidal dispersion consists of colloids in a dispersing medium. Example: Milk Other Dispersions Liquids, solids, and gasses all may be mixed to form colloidal dispersions. Aerosols: Solid or liquid particles in a gasExamples: Smoke is solid in a gas. Fog is a liquid in a gas. Sols: Solid particles in a liquidExample: Milk of Magnesia is a sol with solid magnesium hydroxide in water. Emulsions: Liquid particles in a liquidExample: Mayonnaise is oil in water. Gels: Liquids in solidExamples: Gelatin is protein in water. Quicksand is sand in water. Telling Them Apart You can tell suspensions from colloids and solutions because the components of suspensions will eventually separate. Colloids can be distinguished from solutions using the Tyndall effect. A beam of light passing through a true solution, such as air, is not visible. Light passing through a colloidal dispersion, such as smoky or foggy air, will be reflected by the larger particles and the light beam will be visible.

How globalization benefits America's economy Essay

How globalization benefits America's economy - Essay Example The recent advancement in Asian economy is really transforming the world and the notion that globalization only makes the rich richer and the poor poorer is disputable according to Wolf. He supports international economic integration as the reason behind success of many countries. However, Wolf says that different countries success is not attributed to full adoption of the neo liberal policies rather by instituting their own policies intended to enter market economy. He further argues that growth weighting distribution amongst nations by population shows that the most important things is the people but not countries themselves thus making it important only to consider income distribution alone. Inequality changes amongst world individuals are contributed by changes in the relative wealth of countries such that if the performance is low, the decline in inequality also changes. However, it should be noted that most countries have not fully benefited from globalization especially in Afr ica, Asia and Latin America countries (Wolf, 2004). The rapid growth of economies brought about by globalization has immensely reduced the level of poverty especially in east of Asia but went up in Eastern Europe, central Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. There was also general increase of life expectancy in developing countries though the growth was challenged by the AIDS epidemic and malaria. Moreover, globalization has reduced infant mortality and boosted literacy level in developing countries and the world as a whole. There has also been recommendable increase in food production thus lowering undernourishment issues globally. Finally, Wolf has noted that child labor has tremendously reduced because most parents have opted to taking their children to school (Wolf, 2004). Concepts Central to the Argument One of the most important arguments that has dominated the text is that globalization has negatively affected economies of most countries. This is very wrong and I really concur with W olf that globalization has instead boosted the economy of a good number of countries especially in Asia. The author has noted India and China as some of the beneficiaries of globalization. However, their success is attributed to the policies of individual countries towards globalization (Wolf, 2004). Countries have worked hard by adopting policies that can see them succeed in the wider market that has been brought about by globalization. The effect of globalization is therefore very intense and has positively developed most of the world economies especially countries that were once considered poor. Living standards and income per capita has greatly increased in most of the countries that took advantage of globalization. Nevertheless, some countries have not experienced the benefits of globalization because they have not changed their policies to properly fit in the international market (Wolf, 2004). Moreover, criteria used in measuring economic progress by World Bank are clearly uns atisfactory. The method of measuring economic progress and income per capita as used by world ban is not the best. Wolf argued that population of a country does not reflect failure or difficulty in economic progress by highlighting India and China which are the most populated countries yet making positive economic progress. Average incomes of the world cannot be weighted by population and accurate results be found (Wolf, 2004). This is because even amongst the less and densely

Scottich Dolphin Centre, Spey Bey, Moray Assignment

Scottich Dolphin Centre, Spey Bey, Moray - Assignment Example There is diversity in the types of experiences. Whereas the only aspect that that all of the tourism experiences or products share is their inclusion of the element of wildlife, discussion and the labelling of the wildlife tourism, as a separate class of tourism turning out to be more and more common (ARLUKE, and SANDERS, 1996). The development of wildlife and marine tourism has been as a response to the increasing number of the individuals who seek to combine the efforts of conservation with their time offs or retreats. In the last few decades, there has been a rising demand for tourism which is inclusive of the features of the natural environment and really promotes but not destroying the natural environment (BATTEN, 2009). Marine and tourism has some aspects and one such aspect is making sure that this kind of tourism an actual interaction with the nature is encouraged whereas championing the efforts of conservation in the region. This puts the consumer in a better position of acc omplishing their desired vacation experience whereas the natural environment is not interfered with at all as it continues to flourish. This kind of tourism actually draws inferences from various areas that are outside of the sector of tourism. Bringing the ideas or concepts of the various areas of research is what gives a good experience of wildlife tourist. Wild Scotland is among the most fundamental agencies or departments for the Scottish wildlife and marine tourism (WEAVER, 2007). The Wild Scotland is a none-profit making organization that offers the tourists the opportunities of getting involved with the wildlife together with activity holidays with the experts in the area. The organization was established in the year 2003, and then came to incorporate the Activity Scotland in the year 2011. Since the incorporation, it now includes all of the responsible nature tourism present in the country. According to the organization, they have an understanding of nature tourism as a comm ercial undertaking that should be well taken care of; that is environmentally, economically as well as ecologically to continue being in a position of providing future nature tourism in the country (WILKERSON, 2009). This is also same with some other organizations that are concerned with matters wildlife and marine tourism worldwide. One of the countries that lead in the provision of marine and wildlife tourism is Australia. This is particularly true because the country has some exceptional species that cannot be found easily anywhere else in the world (VEAL, 2006). However, what make the nature tourism to be successful in the country is the efforts made by the government, good and proper conservation and marketing. There are some parks in the country that keep the highly rare and species that are endangered, and these are in high demand by the tourists who travel from different parts of the world just to come and see (HENNING, 2009). This implies that these species are given the be st possible care, thus giving the tourists the chance of being able to view something very unique that they cannot find easily in their countries or any other parts of the world. This is something that the tourism industry of Scotland can actually learn for the purposes of future development of the industry. This can really be done by putting a lot of stress on the