Career management in business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Career management in business - Essay Example In the changing demands by businesses in the modern era, career management is a necessity to adapt to the changing environmental demands. The mode in which careers are studied in the organizational context take the form whereby careers are shaped by organizations and they as well shape themselves up through both theoretical and systematic approaches (Denison, 1996). It is often interesting to realize how the day to day work around companies and businesses are based on technology hence the way in which work is conducted around such work places is highly altered. It is also worthwhile to realize how scientists are on the rise in terms of numbers hence the crop of modernization is likely to go up. To cope up with all theses changes at the work place it is advisable to therefore be necessary to keep our knowledge current and skills (Arthur, Inkson & Pringle, 1999). II. The Career Management Practices in use today To mange an employee’s career plan successfully so as to achieve the necessary development some of the following practices may be adopted. First, provide the employees with career planning workshops while conducting constant assessment on them. The managers should be placed under career workshops. Employee career centers can be created within the organizations to encourage employees to constantly go for performance check (Fombrun, Tichy & Devanna, 1984). The management can also give open career briefing to enable the employees have a chance of planning their careers. These can be within a defined timeframe or through the relevant media to ensure that there is no lapse at all. Furthermore, a team of internal network of information providers so that information can always reach the parties concerned of for example the nature of work and their job qualifications. The internal job and talent banks ought to be maintained since it enables employees to frequently peruse through which employees learn about open positions and the skills required from them. O ther practices include: - establishment of individual learning accounts, starting a mentoring program formally as they are effective in ensuring employee retention by quite a big percentage (Ghoshal & Bartlett, 1997). III. Why organizations should implement supportive career management practices There are numerous reasons as to why it is appropriate for organizations to adopt and implement career management practices most so due to the changing work environment and dynamic workforce. Firstly, such practices enable the employees take charge of their careers by in the first instance assessing their abilities, interests and values. Such practices will enable the employees engage in planning process where they dig deep into the organizations needs hence determining the future options for the organizations and how to prepare for them. Secondly, through the career management practices, managers in many business organizations are able to learn how to support and reward employee efforts thr ough becoming familiar with their career assessment and planning process hence practicing vital techniques of career planning. Thirdly, career management practices can create a situation in the organization where services become automated and modernized hence able to incorporate all round feedbacks, competency assessment, confidential counseling, career management and resilience training (Gratton, 2000). Furthermore, career management

Ophelia can be viewed as an insignificant minor character Essay Example for Free

Ophelia can be viewed as an insignificant minor character Essay Ophelia can be viewed as an insignificant minor character in the play through the way she is used as an unwitting pawn in schemes of those who have control over her, as revealed in Act 2 Scene 2 where Polonius says I will loose my daughter to him when he and Claudius plan how they will test Hamlets madness. The word loose objectifies Ophelia, portraying her as an animal used as bait for Claudiuss own objectives; spying on Hamlet. Ophelias character does not have a say in the matter, and through her absence in this particular scene, Shakespeare is able to emphasise her insignificance in the play. Ophelias lack of appearance in the play also portrays her character as minor and insignificant, as Shakespeare only uses her character in 5 scenes. For the majority of these scenes, Ophelia has little contribution to the dialogue and her spoken lines are often responses to questions and commands by others who dominate the play, for example in Act 1 Scene 3 Ophelias responses are short in comparison to her fathers and brothers dialogue, most of which contains instructions on how Ophelia is expected to act; Do not believe his vows Look tot I charge you. Come your ways. The use of imperatives in this scene show how Ophelia is dominated by others and is therefore highlight her insignificance in the play. This is further portrayed in Ophelias responses, such as I shall obey, my Lord. The use of my Lord reveals her inferior status and through minimalistic speech we are able to gain a sense of her unimportance to the action of the play. Another way in which Ophelia may be viewed as insignificant is in her marriage prospects. Her brother Laertes, who suggests that she is not good enough for Hamlet, condemns her relationship with Hamlet, who tells her to regard Hamlets love as something unlikely to last and potentially dangerous: Fear it my dear sister. Hamlet is a prince and therefore Ophelias status makes her inferior in comparison and as a result, an unsuitable wife. Both her brother and father tell Ophelia how to behave, for example Polonius instructs Ophelia to spend less time with Hamlet; Be something scanter of your maiden presence. This dominance over Ophelia, as well as her subservience, again presents her of an insignificant status in the play. Ophelia does not say or do anything to indicate she is unhappy about the instructions given to her by her brother or father. However, another interpretation of Ophelias subservience is that obedience is a role she plays. She is expected to act as a loyal daughter and responses such as But as you did command suggest she is carrying out orders to keep her father content. Shakespeare reveals a weak Ophelia in Act 4 Scene 5 in which she is in a state of madness, through her songs about death, chaos and unrequited love. The poignancy of her songs (He is dead and gone lady, he is dead and gone) as well as the reactions of other characters (Alas sweet lady), induce a piteous reactions, allowing the audience to sympathise with a character who has become so weak it has led to madness. In contrast to her minimalistic speech, in Act 1 Scene 3, Ophelia has dominated the speech. This may suggest that Ophelias character is only of significance when she is in a state of madness. The taboo nature of her songs reveals a character stepping out of the bounds of her social status and this contrasts to how her father has ordered her to act. The death of Polonius may be a cause of Ophelias madness and this is evident when Claudius says Oh this is the poison of deep grief; it springs all from her fathers death. This may suggest that Ophelia becomes weak without the presence of the dominant male authority. Her father is dead, her brother is absent from the country and she has been rejected by Hamlet; without them Ophelia collapses. Shakespeare presents Ophelia as weak in Act 4 Scene 7 where she is unable to save herself: As one incapable of her own distress. The suggestion that Ophelia has committed suicide may have been used by Shakespeare to imply that Ophelias weak state did not allow her to go on living. Shakespeare uses Ophelias character to portray many aspects of Hamlets character, for example Shakespeare is able to reveal Hamlets capability of staggering cruelty through his treatment of Ophelia in the nunnery scene. Shakespeare presents this cruelty through the use of brutal commands and insults such as Get thee to a nunnery. In Act 2 Scene 1 Ophelia presents herself as a victim of Hamlets rough treatment; He took me by the wrist, and held me hard, revealing Hamlets capability of cruelty. There is also evidence of Hamlets cruelty when he embarrasses Ophelia in public, asking her Do you think I meant country matters? Hamlets wit enables him to belittle or mock other characters and the fact that there is little sign of Ophelias character reinforces the idea that she is a minor character. Another thing that is revealed about Hamlet through Ophelia is Hamlets judgment of women. In the nunnery scene, Hamlet accuses Ophelia; You jig, you amble, and you lisp, you nickname Gods creatures, and your make your wantonness your ignorance, revealing his disgust towards women. Shakespeare lists the deceptions to reinforce Hamlets repugnance towards the women in his life. Once again Shakespeare has revealed Hamlets feelings through his words to Ophelia. Ophelias character is also used to portray ideas about other characters, for example when handing out flowers to other characters, Shakespeare develops ideas about the nature of other characters through the type of flower that Ophelia gives to them. For example, one of the flowers she gives out is a daisy, which represents deception an act that could be linked to Claudiuss character. By doing this, Shakespeare is using Ophelia in this scene to indirectly criticise the characters, and the connotations associated with the various flowers would be widely understood by the audience in Shakespeares day. It could be argued that Ophelia is chiefly interesting for reasons other than what she reveals about Hamlet, for example Ophelia is important in the manner in which she illuminates discussion of some of the plays central themes, one of which is the oppression of women in society. Shakespeare presents Ophelia as oppressed through her lack of opinion and contribution in the play. The mere fact that she can be viewed as insignificant shows the audience that Ophelia is oppressed by male authority in the family. Polonius tells Ophelia that she speaks like a green girl, implying that she is nai ve, and this comes across to the audience as patronising. The alliteration of green girl emphasises Poloniuss condescending tone. By belittling Ophelia, he is able to gain control of the conversation. Ophelia is told to think herself a baby, suggesting that she is constrained from using her own mind and must follow the orders given to her. Ophelias character is presented as one with no point of view; as she says I do not know my Lord what I should think. Through statements such as this, Shakespeare reveals an oppressed Ophelia who is unable to think for herself due to the strict control by men in her life. The fact that Ophelia is being used as a pawn in mens political affairs is also a sign that she is being oppressed. When Polonius offers to loose Ophelia, he is taking advantage of her by offering her as a service without her consent. This also portrays Ophelia as a possession that belongs to Polonius. On the other hand, it could be argued that Ophelias character is not oppressed, but in fact in need of male control. In Act 1 Scene 3 Ophelia says I shall theffect of this good lesson keep as watchman to my heart. The use of good implies that the advice is necessary for Ophelias well being and is taken on by her with a positive attitude. When asked by Laertes to remember what she has been told, Ophelia responds by saying Tis in my memory locked, and you yourself shall keep the key of it. This statement also shows Ophelia is willing to take on her brothers advice. This argument can be supported by the idea that Ophelia collapses without her father or brother, and that she in fact benefits by being in their command. Ophelia is also significant as her character is crucial for the plot and setting the scene in the play, for example, in part it is her death that motivates Laertes to take revenge on Hamlet. Another example of the importance of Ophelia in the plot is that her death is used by Shakespeare as a catalyst for confrontation between Hamlet and Laertes.

Essay --

Tooth and Claw, by T.C Boyle, is a short story about the main character, Junior, a man who only depends on others to get by, and struggles in life because of it. In life, we all find ourselves searching for alternative reasons as to why things don’t always workout the way we hoped they would; however, more often than not, the real reason lies within ourselves, no one or nothing else. It is up to that person to make something happen, and junior fails to do this, always relying on others. As if the title wasn’t enough, the short story is packed with symbolism, one of which being that, like the wild cat he had won, Junior is nothing without someone to take care of him, and he fails to be the change he wishes to see in the world. This is displayed in multiple Scenarios throughout the short story. From the start it is clear that Junior is confused when his boss calls him and tells him not to come in for the day, but instead â€Å"take a couple days off and enjoy yourself†(Boyle 62).Without the direction of his boss and his job, Junior doesn’t know what it is he should do with himself for the day and he seems lost and turns to the comfort of drinking it away at his favorite bar, Daggett’s. Junior acts as if he needs direction of someone else, as pet would, to function. While drinking at the bar, in a haze, Junior wins a wild several that I man were trying to get rid of. This draws the attention of a waitress at the bar he has had his eyes on, Daria. When they get the cat home, they confine it to juniors bedroom, and he claims it hadn’t made a noise yet, but â€Å"†¦It’s existence communicated to me, it was there, I could feel it† (Boyle 72), showing that he connected with the animal and perhaps relates to it. Junior appears to worry greatly ab... ...egins to think of how far away and lost the cat must be, and without being certain that it had escaped, throws himself into the enclosed bedroom and shuts the door behind him, he explains â€Å"And then-and I don’t know why-I pulled the door shut behind me† (Boyle 83), in the instance, severely risking his life; however, like the several, feeling helpless and lost, he seems to be acting on impulse and not bothered by it. The title of the short story, Tooth and Claw, demonstrates the basic needs of survival in the wild, as most animals in the wild have both. While also tying into the symbolic several and metaphorically relating to Juniors life as well because he does not have the necessities to live on his own. The story has a hidden message, which portrays junior’s life lacking â€Å"Tooth, and Claw†, or necessities for survival, proving that it was eventually his downfall. Essay -- Tooth and Claw, by T.C Boyle, is a short story about the main character, Junior, a man who only depends on others to get by, and struggles in life because of it. In life, we all find ourselves searching for alternative reasons as to why things don’t always workout the way we hoped they would; however, more often than not, the real reason lies within ourselves, no one or nothing else. It is up to that person to make something happen, and junior fails to do this, always relying on others. As if the title wasn’t enough, the short story is packed with symbolism, one of which being that, like the wild cat he had won, Junior is nothing without someone to take care of him, and he fails to be the change he wishes to see in the world. This is displayed in multiple Scenarios throughout the short story. From the start it is clear that Junior is confused when his boss calls him and tells him not to come in for the day, but instead â€Å"take a couple days off and enjoy yourself†(Boyle 62).Without the direction of his boss and his job, Junior doesn’t know what it is he should do with himself for the day and he seems lost and turns to the comfort of drinking it away at his favorite bar, Daggett’s. Junior acts as if he needs direction of someone else, as pet would, to function. While drinking at the bar, in a haze, Junior wins a wild several that I man were trying to get rid of. This draws the attention of a waitress at the bar he has had his eyes on, Daria. When they get the cat home, they confine it to juniors bedroom, and he claims it hadn’t made a noise yet, but â€Å"†¦It’s existence communicated to me, it was there, I could feel it† (Boyle 72), showing that he connected with the animal and perhaps relates to it. Junior appears to worry greatly ab... ...egins to think of how far away and lost the cat must be, and without being certain that it had escaped, throws himself into the enclosed bedroom and shuts the door behind him, he explains â€Å"And then-and I don’t know why-I pulled the door shut behind me† (Boyle 83), in the instance, severely risking his life; however, like the several, feeling helpless and lost, he seems to be acting on impulse and not bothered by it. The title of the short story, Tooth and Claw, demonstrates the basic needs of survival in the wild, as most animals in the wild have both. While also tying into the symbolic several and metaphorically relating to Juniors life as well because he does not have the necessities to live on his own. The story has a hidden message, which portrays junior’s life lacking â€Å"Tooth, and Claw†, or necessities for survival, proving that it was eventually his downfall.

Biography John F. Kennedy :: essays research papers

May, 29, 1917, in the wooden three-story house in Brookline, Massachusetts, John Fitzgerald Kennedy became the second child in the Kennedy family. Joe Jr. is his two-year older brother. In all, Rose Fitzgerald and Joseph Patrick Kennedy would have nine children, four boys and five girls. Before long, family and friends called the blue-eyed baby, Jack. When Jack was three, the family moved to a twelve-room house just outside of Boston. Joseph Kennedy was running his own stock trading business and was working hard to ensure his family a wealthy life. The Kennedys had everything they needed and more; Jack could enjoy a very comfortable life. He was sent to Choate, boarding school in Connecticut, where he was very popular and had many friends. He played tennis basketball, football and golf. Jack graduated from Choate, and in 1936 he started his first year at Harvard, where Joe was already a student. In 1937, Mr. Kennedy was appointed U.S. Ambassador to England. The family, with exception Joe and Jack, who were still in Harvard, moved to England. Jack became even more interested in politics, world affairs and also visited Europe a couple times. World War 2 began and John Kennedy wrote a thesis why England was not ready for the war against Germany, which was so good that it was later published as a book. After graduating Joe and Jack joined the Navy. Jack became the Lieutenant of a torpedo boat in the South Pacific. On a dark night in 1943 the boat collided with a Japanese destroyer and sank. In the cold water Lt. Kennedy managed to gather his men around a piece of boat. At sunrise he led them toward a small island several miles away. He was awarded with the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his leadership and courage. His brother though, was not that lucky; he died a year later when his plane blew up on a mission in Europe. After the war Jack was uncertain what kind of work he wanted to do. He had considered becoming a teacher or a writer, but the death of his brother changed everything. His father finally convinced him that he should run for a seat in the House of Representatives, which he won in 1946. This was the beginning of his political career. After serving three years, he was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1952.

Health Financing in India

Institute for Financial Management and Research Centre for Insurance and Risk Management Delivering Micro Health Insurance Through the National Rural Health Mission A Strategy Paper Rupalee Ruchismita, Imtiaz Ahmed and Suyash Rai August 2007 Rupalee Ruchismita (rupalee. [email  protected] ac. in) and Imtiaz Ahmed ([email  protected] ac. in) are with the Centre for Insurance and Risk Management at IFMR, Chennai (http://ifmr. ac. in/cirm). Suyash Rai is with the ICICI Centre for Child Health and Nutrition, Pune. The views expressed in this note are entirely those of the authors and do not in any way re? ct the views of the Institutions with which they are associated. . Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission Contents 1 Introduction 2 Health Financing in India 3 Key issues in Health Financing 4 Exploring Risk Transfer and Pooling Strategies 5 Proposal for a National Apex Body 6 Conclusion 7 Annexures 7. 1 ANNEXURE I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 2 ANNEXURE II . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7. 3 Objectives, Activities, and Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 1 3 4 8 13 14 14 19 22 0 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission 1 Introduction The Indian health scenario is fairly complex and challenging with successful reductions in fertility and mortality offset by a signi? cant and growing communicable as well noncommunicable disease burden1 , persistently high levels of child undernutrition2 , increasing polarisation in the health status of the rich and the poor3 and inadequate primary health care coexisting with burgeoning medical tourism! This situation is further complicated by the presence and practice of multiple systems of medicine and medical practitioners (several of whom are not formally certi? ed and recognised) and very limited regulation. In such a context, this paper highlights the challenges in ? nancing health in India and examines the role of health insurance in addressing these. It proposes an operational framework for developing sustainable health insurance models under the National Rural Health Mission, responding to the contextual needs of different states. 2 Health Financing in India The total spending on the health sector in India is not low. According to the National Health Accounts 2001-02, the total health expenditure in India for the year was Rs. 1,057,341 million, which accounted for 4. 6 percent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). The concern lies in the fact that households are the major ? nancing sources, accounting for 72 percent of the total health expenditure incurred in India. State Governments contribute 12. 6 percent of the total health expenditure, Central Government 6. 4 percent and the public and private ? rms 5. 3 percent. External support from bilateral and multilateral agencies accounts for 2. percent of health expenditure in India, a majority coming in as grant to the Central Government. So, only about 20% of the overall funding comes from India accounts for only 16. 5% of the global population, it contributes to approximately a ? fth of the world’s share of diseases: a third of the diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, respiratory and other infections, parasitic infestations and perinatal conditi ons; a quarter of maternal conditions; a ? fth of nutritional de? ciencies, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and the second largest number of HIV/AIDS cases in the world. Report of the National Commission on Macreconomics and Health. 2005. New Delhi: Ministry of Health and family Welfare. ) 2 National Family Health Survey III, 2005-06. Mumbai: International Institute of Population Sciences. 3 The poorest 20 percent of Indians have more than twice the rates of mortality, malnutrition, and fertility of the richest 20 percent. (Peters DH et al. Better Health Systems for India’s Poor. 2002. New Delhi: World Bank. 1 Although 1 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission he government, which is one of the lowest in the world. This is a signi? cant problem in a country where the government has mandated itself to provide comprehensive quality health care to all. The problem of household expenditure for health care is compounde d by the fact that 98 percent of this is â€Å"out-of-pocket†, which is fundamentally regressive and burdens the poor more. Also, the absence of proper pooling and collective purchasing mechanisms for the households’ money further worsens the situation because of the resulting inef? ciencies. Most of the household expenditure on health goes to the fee-levying and largely unregulated private providers. The share of household consumption expenditure devoted to health care has also been increasing over time, especially in rural areas where it now accounts for nearly 7 per cent of the household budget4 . This situation is not surprising since public and private expenditure on health are closely linked. Given that government spending on health stands at less than 1 per cent of the GDP, which is very low by international standards, the need for private out-ofpocket expenditure increases. Seventy percent of the total ? nancial resources ? ow to health care providers in the for pro? t private sector. Only 23 percent are spent on public providers. In an environment of minimal regulation, this provides signi? cant opportunity for the exploitation of health care seekers. In addition, there are signi? cant inter-state differences in health ? nancing. Among the major states, Himachal Pradesh ranks highest in terms of per capita public spending on health (Rs. 493 per year) and also has the highest public expenditure as percentage of total expenditure (37. 8%). On both these parameters, Uttar Pradesh is the lowest ranking state, with a per capita public spending on health of Rs. 84 per year, and only 7. 5% of the total health expenditure is public expenditure. All India per capita expenditure on health is Rs. 997 (207 from public and 790 from private)5 . There are also indications of declining state government spending in crucial areas. Overall health spending declined over the decade 1993-94 to 2002-03 in 3 states, and declined between 1998-99 and 2002-03 in 6 4 Government Health Expenditure in India: A Benchmark Study. 2006. New Delhi: Economic Research Foundation. All India public expenditure including expenditure by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Central Ministries and local bodies, while private expenditure includes health expenditure by NGOs, ? rms and households. 2 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission states6 . There are also sharp and generally growing rural- urban disparities in spending in most states. 3 Key issues in Health Financing Drawing from the above analysis and other related literature, the following emerge as the key issues in reforming health ? ancing in India. Increasing government spending on public and more speci? cally, primary health care As discussed earlier, the government spending on public health in India, constituting about 4% of its total expenditure and less than 1% of the GDP, is very low. In per capita terms, the government spends only USD 4 annually on public health. According to the World Health Report (2000), only twelve other countries spend less than India on public health, most of them in Africa. For most other nations, government spending on health is more than 10 percent of the total government expenditure. The Commission on Macroeconomics and Health has estimated that public spending in low income countries should be within the range of $30-$45 per capita to ensure achievement of public health goals. In India, most of the government spending is on medical colleges, into tertiary centres, and very little trickles down to the primary and secondary levels. There is therefore a strong case for increasing government spending across the board, with a much higher focus on primary care services. This will reduce the need for spending by the poor and also improve the overall health status. The options for increasing public ? ancing of health include reallocation of the government budget (possibly by re-routing other direct and indirect subsidies) and earmarked taxes (such as the taxes levied for ? nancing the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan). Addressing the supply and demand-side factors that prevent the poor from bene? ting from the health sector In general the poor bene? t much less from the health sec tor than the rich do largely because of their inability to seek timely and adequate health care. The poorest quintile of Indians are 2. 6 times more likely than the richest to forgo medical treatment when ill7 . Government Health Expenditure in India: A Benchmark Study. 2006. New Delhi: Economic Research Foundation. 7 Peters, D. et al. Better Health Systems for IndiaSs Poor: Findings, Analysis, and Options. 2002. Washington 3 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission However, whatever care they do access, the poor are found to rely signi? cantly on the public system for preventive and inpatient care including 93 percent of immunizations, 74 percent of antenatal care, 66 percent of inpatient bed days, and 63 percent of delivery related inpatient bed days. Improvements in the public system through increased and more effective spending would therefore bene? t the poor signi? cantly. Increasing the effectiveness of public health spending would require attention to supply side factors such as facility location, availability of staff, medicines, equipment and quality of care as well as demand-side factors such as indirect costs (travel, wage loss), non formal charges, awareness levels, perception of quality and uncertainty about payment. Mitigating risks due to out-of-pocket expenditure, particularly catastrophic expenditure for the oor At least 24 per cent of all Indians fall below the poverty line because they are hospitalised8 . It is estimated that out-of-pocket spending on hospital care might have raised the proportion of the population in poverty by 2 per cent. Risk-pooling and collective purchasing mechanisms could increase the ef? ciency and equity with which the households’ money is collected, managed and used, so that the households’ burden is reduced. 4 Exploring Risk Transfer and Pooling Strategies Exploring Risk Transfer and Pooling Strategies in the context of the NRHM In attempting to understand the potential of risk pooling or risk transfer mechanisms such as insurance (which immediately addresses the cost which a household spends on hospitalization) in achieving public health goals within the overall NRHM mandate, the following issues become relevant: 1. The potential value addition that insurance could provide 2. The various models of health insurance for the poor 3. Implementation of the insurance programme in the context of the NRHM D. C. : The World Bank. 8 Ibid 4 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission 1. Health Insurance leads to: †¢ Risk pooling for in patient care (hospitalization): As discussed, one of the major causes of poor households slipping into the poverty cycle is out of pocket expenditure incurred for hospitalization. In such a scenario, insurance, which allows for risk pooling, helps in making available additional source of ? nancing for the household thereby reducing overall vulnerability and smoothening expenditure shocks for larger unpredictable catastrophic health events. Increased utilisation of health services: It is expected that the introduction of health insurance will lead to greater utilisation of health care services. Across the world it has been found that the overall use of curative services for adults and children was up to ? ve times higher for members of health insurance programmes than non-members9,10 . †¢ Standardization and cost effective q uality health care: Insurance as a mechanism attempts to standardize protocols, procedures and bring down cost through rate negotiations. This ensures the availability of cheaper healthcare, controlling fraud and possibility of rent seeking behaviour which is high in the case of the poor who have comparatively lesser knowledge about their health status or possible treatment required. Further due to Health Insurance, the out of pocket expenditures per episode of illness are signi? cantly lower for members as compared with those for non-members11 . Under the NRHM it is hoped that a national level expert committee will play a pivotal role in standardizing treatment protocol and rates. Presently such an activity has been undertaken by World Health Organisation (WHO), India-Of? e, in collaboration with Armed Forces Medical College (AFMC). †¢ Cover for access barriers (loss of wage, transportation cost) and new and emerging diseases: It has been seen that since most of the micro insurance models evolved from community institutions and NGOs, they packaged critical P. , and F. Diop. Synopsis of Results on the Community â €“ Based Health Insurance (CBHI) on Financial Accessibility to Healthcare in Rwanda. HNP Discussion Paper. 2001. Washington, D. C: World Bank. 10 Preker, A. S, Carrin, G. SHealth Financing for Poor People – Resource Mobilisation and Risk Sharing. T 2004. ? ? Washington D. C. : World Bank. 11 Preker, A. S and G Carrin. Health Financing for Poor People – Resource Mobilisation and Risk Sharing. 2004. Washington D. C. : World Bank. 9 Schneider 5 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission access barriers as part of their insurance cover. Also, insurance as a concept works on the principle of risk pooling and cross subsidization for low frequency events. The cost of healthcare for life style diseases like diabetes or critical illnesses and HIV/AIDS, is very high. Community Insurance models delivered at a large aggregation can cover for these rare events and ensure that the poor do not fall back into poverty in the process for paying for this high cost event. This has been tried in some schemes like the Arogya Raksha Yojna (ARY)12 . †¢ Development of stronger referral linkages: Insurance as a mechanism to be sustainable requires developing strong upward as well as downward referral mechanisms. Strong referrals ensure non escalation of cases, thus ensuring ‘right care at the right time’, reducing possibilities of collusion and fraud. †¢ Ef? ciency in the health system in terms of: – Allocative ef? iency in addressing the most risky event a household faces i. e. hospitalisation and by diverting the surplus premium to strengthen the health infrastructure and incentivise manpower. – Value for money: Presently the expenditure on health by the poor includes leakages such as transport costs, spurious drugs, unlice nsed medical practitioners who offer health care of sub optimal quality. 2. Various Models of Health Insurance for the Poor Models of micro health insurance may be categorized into the following: †¢ Social Health insurance: Such insurance models are found in about 8 countries across the world. The overall model works with a differential premium payment mechanism where the economically secure pays a relatively higher premium than what their risk pro? le dictates and the poor pay a comparatively lower premium commensurate with their income. This leads to cross subsidization across the rich and poor category. In India it is mostly seen in the formal sector in the form of ESIS and the CGHS scheme. 12 With Narayana Hrudayalaya, Biocon and ICICI Lombard in Anekal Taluka of Bangalore district of Karnataka. 6 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission Community Based Health Insurance (CBHI): There are three basic designs of CBHI, depending on who the insurer is. In Type I (or HMO design), the hospital plays the dual role of providing health care and running the insurance programme. In Type II (or Insurer design), the voluntary organisation is the insurer, while purchasing care from independent providers and ? nally in Type I II (or Intermediate design), the voluntary organisation (NGO/CBO) plays the role of an agent, purchasing care from providers and insurance from insurance companies. This seems to be a popular design, especially among the recent CBHIs13 . The merit14 of the last model is the aggregating role and the context speci? city that the NGO/CBO assumes. Since the NGO has systematically addressed information asymmetry, and also shares the community’s trust, these initiatives show better results (as seen in case of Dhramasthala insurance programme). In the case of a national roll out this can be the best model as it will capture the diverse nature of health requirements in the different NRHM states. The provider model or insurer model may not work out as customisation to local condition becomes the main crux of success or failure of the scheme. Further an NGO along with an insurer will be in a better position to retain the large risk of the community as compared to an individual entity like a provider or an NGO alone. It is crucial to ? nd NGOs that have a long term stake and therefore would act as ‘conscientious players’ who will ensure that the insurance programme, generates long term positive impact on the health system of the speci? c geography. 3. Some suggestions for the proposed Health Insurance Programme As discussed earlier, the health system in India is characterised by grave inequities leading to a political economy that makes health care access income and classdependent. This creates the need to explore various types of innovations and changes that could improve this unacceptable situation. Insurance is potentially one such et al. Community-based Health Insurance in India: An Overview. July 10, 2004. Economic and Political Weekly. New Delhi. 14 The Yeshaswani insurance programme (the large health insurance programme in the country) follows this model through the various cooperatives facilitated by the department of cooperatives. Other example is the Dharamasthala insurance programme where the NGO (Dharmastahala trust) is the aggregator and has about 1 million insured under its scheme. 3 Devadasan 7 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission innovation. However, for health insurance to effectively improve the ef? ciency of health spending and ultimately improve health status, it would need to be conceptualised as a part of a larger effort to improve the accessibility and quality of health care s ervices, especially for the poor. In the Indian context, any health insurance programme will have to take into account the plural nature of the health system, especially the presence of a large fee-levying, unregulated and ill understood private sector. It will have to explore synergies and integration with the widespread public health system and its current ? nancing mechanisms. Questions such as who should pay the premiums for the poor and how should incentives be aligned will have to be carefully thought through to ensure the management of problems such as adverse selection, inadequate monitoring and moral hazard, exacerbated because of extreme information asymmetries inherent in health services and goods. Internationally and within India, there is a signi? ant body of literature regarding the impact of different health insurance programmes on the health system. For the Indian context, it would be important to learn from these various experiences, develop a theory about the mechanisms through which insurance can contribute to public health goals, run pilots in different contexts within India to understand feasibility and impact, and determine the ? nal programme based on these learnings. 5 Proposal for a National Apex Body Proposal for a National Apex Body Working as a Coordinating Centre for Micro Health Insurance: It is proposed that a National Apex Body, ideally placed within the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA), be established to monitor and coordinate the implementation of the micro health insurance operations in the country (see ANNEXURE 2). The Apex body should have capacity in the areas of public health and insurance, host national and state-level dialogues on the idea of insurance in the context of health systems, implement pilots in speci? geographies and take forward the learning, and ensure knowledge sharing so that progressively larger regions can be covered under the micro 8 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission insurance scheme. ANNEXURE 2 provides details of potential roles this apex body (tentatively named Micro-insurance Coordinating Centre) could play in taking forward the agenda of usefully employing the strategy of insurance to get closer to the public health goals of the country, focusing on the vulnerable. It is envisaged that this body should play a knowledge-building, technical advisory, policy advisory, facilitative coordination role with a long-term aim of achieving universal health insurance coverage by an optimal combination of social and micro health insurance mechanisms, in a manner that it integrates seamlessly with the overall health system. The proposed apex body should host a process that ‘arrives’ at a framework of implementing health insurance under NRHM. Based on our understanding, the following emerge as important aspects of any national level health insurance programme developed under the NRHM. The health insurance model under the NRHM should explore the Partner-Agent approach which includes both the insurance partner (risk partner) and the agent (NGO). Based on experiences from the pilots, the insurance cover could be a compulsory, cash less health insurance product with a family ? oater with minimum initial deductibles. Depending on the availability and quality of providers, the insured should have the choice to access the nearest (private or public) health care facility and should be allowed to choose between any provider within a given geographical parameter. The client could be issued a biometric ID card which is updated with diagnostic information and refers her/ him to the desired care provider to control overcrowding at the tertiary facility. 1. Product Cover: To begin with, the product should cover basic hospitalisation at the secondary care level (either at the cluster of village, block or district level). It should include the cost of: †¢ Hospitalisation †¢ Diagnostic services †¢ Medicine and consumables †¢ Consultation and nursing charges †¢ Operative charges 9 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission The product should also try to cover for access barriers like transportation cost (with a initial deductible to control frauds and limited to only the cheapest mode of transport available, customized according to the district), loss of wage (in case of the male or female member of the household as de? ned by the state according to the minimum wage guaranteed by the state government. This could be done in tandem with the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGS). In geographies where investment in directed preventive and promotive services can bring down the need for seeking in-patient care, directed primary care primary level care can be provided by the insurance programme. For example, Directed preventive promotive community health education could lead to reduction in the frequency of inpatient care due to vector borne diseases in several geographies15 . Thus based on the speci? location package of additional community health intervention will be developed, which can be paid from the insurance model The insurance programme can work with District Health Societies to offer rehabilitative care and ? nancial help to patients who have recovered but are disabled due to diseases like leprosy or polio. It can also help the People Living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) by providing additional services like providing nutritional supplement and other additional services wh ich will supplement the current care being provided by the national programme for control of HIV/AIDS. 2. Health providers: Both private and public facilities at the secondary care level could be empanelled as providers. Private care hospitals could include nursing homes or 20 bedded medical facilities as seen in the Missionary hospitals as well as entrepreneur led inpatient care. For the government hospitals such as the district hospital, the difference in rates could be used for improving infrastructure and incentivising staff. 3. Building information systems: There is a need for a reliable transparent MIS sys15 For Insurance covering hospitalization due to events that can be impacted by Sspeci? S preventive promo? tive health education, it makes economic sense to proactively invest in Community Health Education, which will reduce the probability of hospitalization due to the event. Vector borne diseases show a high degree of sensitivity to such Community Health Education programmes. 10 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission tem to improve the overall ef? ciency of the system. This would reduce paper work, streamline referral linkages and aggregate data helpful for product customization. The community health insurance model could generate a much needed Electronic Health Records (EHR) system. This would imply that as per commonly agreed terms all health related information of an individual (parameters like diagnostic test results (blood pressure, body temperature, pulse rate, ECG), diseases to which he/she is prone; past illnesses etc) is stored onto a system or a database. This database can be accessed by all ensuring anonymity and therefore all insurers, health workers and policy makers can access and interpret the health data to be able to conduct community risk assessment. This will encourage insurers to compete for risk pricing of the community in the said geography and lead to cheaper insurance premiums. The focus of the EHR system would be to ensure – Universality, Consistency, Open Standards, Non-Proprietary, and Acceptability. To institutionalize a reliable EHR system it should be made compulsory that any treatment/diagnosis/medical intervention be updated into the individual’s EHR, such that the EHR is the most authentic source of health information about an individual. The other challenge that needs to be addressed for development of better health insurance products as well as better health care delivery is the challenge of targeting and uniquely identifying the individual. Such identi? cation could be achieved through a biometric identi? cation smart card. The smart card can be used to not only help in identi? cation, but also for storing of? ine health information With an EHR and smart card system, the insured can freely access b oth the public and private health care facilities available in the geography. This helps the insured as well as the medical practitioners and improves diagnosis and response time. The Smart Card can also be used to store health insurance related information of the client. The health provider can thus check the eligibility of the individual in terms of insurance before delivering treatment. The same card can also be used as a payment instrument to capture the payments that need to be made to the health providers. The card can be used to pass 11 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission n incentives to clients as well as the hospital to keep using the card. The biometric card will have terminals (which can upload data of? ine) in the various network hospitals to upgrade data whenever the insured avail care. 4. Formative Research: a Community Needs Assessment (CNA) will need to be done to list down the health needs and the willingness to pay, a mapping of the healthcare facilities in the geography, an unde rstanding about the type of premium and payout that the community are expecting from the insurance scheme and the broad range of social protection measures that they want the insurance to take up. Based on the information provided above the product and the EHR can be developed. Initially, it is advisable to undertake health insurance pilots in different contexts to develop and ? nalise the health insurance programme. 5. Implementation and monitoring: The proposed National Apex body, should monitor and coordinate the implementation of the micro health insurance operations in the country (see Annexure- 2). The following ideas can potentially strengthen the monitoring and implementation of the programme: †¢ The District Health Accounting System and the proposed ombudsman (to be created under NRHM to monitor the District Health Fund Management) will work closely with the NGO and the insurer to ensure the smooth running and monitoring of the programme. †¢ At the backend, the insurance programme with the EHR system will develop a rich data source and act as a Fraud control mechanism. This data will help in identifying disease patterns for the community and could be a critical tool for the NRHM team to de? e ? nancial allocations, target services and make evidence based policy recommendations. (While developing this EHR we should ensure that we are following international standards to be able to be coded properly and stored in a card). In the long run, this apex body should aim at achieving universal health insurance coverage by combination of social and community based health ins urance mechanisms. There is a case for building facilitative institutional arrangements of the ‘right’ stakehold12 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission rs who will pursue this goal. The learning from the challenges and processes involved in implementing Universal Health Insurance Scheme (UHIS) will be very valuable. 6 Conclusion Promoting health and confronting disease requires action across a range of challenges in the health system. These include improvements in the policy making and stewardship role of the government; better access to human resources, drugs, medical equipment, and consumables; and a greater engagement of both public and private provider of services. Insurance has a limited but important role to play in solving some of the health ? nancing challenges. Innovative pilots of partner agent model led micro health insurance could giver useful insights for designing a national level programme, led by an apex body. Such a programme could systematically impact the health system in the country. 13 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission 7 Annexures 7. 1 ANNEXURE I Beyond the pilot, the initial cover will be modi? ed to cover primary and tertiary tier of the health systems in the country. . Primary level: The Insurance will cover: †¢ Diagnostic charges incurred on low and high end diagnostic16 †¢ Medications including expensive medication (like life saving drugs, higher antibiotics etc), injectibles and other consumables not usually available in the primary health centre †¢ Based on the recommendation given in the NRHM document, practitioners of AYUSH and other speci alties can be roped in to act as the Primary Physician †¢ Based on the scale and/or the insurance experience in 1st year, further social security bene? s can be added as follows: †¢ Reimbursement of transportation charges, wage loss, ? nancial compensation for attendant, compensation for disability and subsequent rehabilitation. 2. Impacting infrastructure and Manpower: †¢ Depending on the claims experience and the volume, some monies can be utilized to purchase new or replace old goods/equipment at the Primary Health Centre (PHC) and such activity monitored by District Health Mission through district health accounting system and the proposed ombudsman under NRHM. Besides there is a need for 5-10 bedded hospitals to come up at the taluka or clusters of village level in severely resource constrained area for which emerging entrepreneurs like the Vatsalaya hospitals who have already set up such hospitals elsewhere in the country (especially in Karnataka in this case). L ocal doctors looking at running hospitals can set up such hospital and run it on a franchise model. in this realm may lead to cost effective and customised diagnostic solution. in this regard ICICI Knowledge Park is involved in coming out with such customised solution for the rural poor 16 Innovation 14 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission †¢ There is also a need for high end diagnostic chain to come in to the rural space with similar franchise model of commercial diagnostic companies17 . Standardization of all the services will be done by a committee of experts in each state. These services will include outpatient, in-patient, laboratory and surgical interventions. †¢ Manpower: The ANMs/CHWs/ASHA/MPWs can be incentivised to provide their services more ef? ciently and quickly from such fund given to the Panchayat either from the government or from the insurance fund. It is assumed that with the introduction of ICT component (EHR and biometric cards) like smart card, the 40% of time wasted by ANM on documentation will be saved18 . – To incentivise the doctors to work in the PHC: – Posting of quali? ed graduate doctors in PHCs can be made mandatory and also made necessary pre-requisite for eligibility to sit for Post Graduate Medical Entrance Examination. – Top 10 or 20 high performing PHC doctors in the entire state might be allowed to join specialty of their choice in P. G courses directly or some higher percentage of quotas may be assigned to them which will facilitate them to get admission. Transparency and accountability in the whole service delivery can be brought about by making the health manpower within the PHCs and other levels accountable to the PRIs and the Village Health Committee through a rigorous and scienti? c accountability system19 . †¢ Additional Services: De? ned amounts of fund can be made available to the local Panchayat or a certain percentage of premium collected be allowed to remain with them and be spent for these purposes according to their discretion 17 This entity can set up satellite diagnostic centre at the taluka or district level. They can have sample collection unit which collects the pathological samples from the villages and brings it to the satellite centre where it is examined. The report is either passed on to the patient the next day when the sampling collection team goes to the villages or can be sent directly to the referred doctor under the health insurance scheme. 18 This will give her more time to cover more villages, services and bring about ef? ciency in the overall healthcare delivery. It will also reduce paper work and make information easily accessible at each level. 9 Smart card technology will be used to increase transparency and accountability of the health staff bringing about good people governance. In this the gram Panchayat and the Village Health Committee will completely evaluate the work of ANM and other staffs (including the doctor). Their performance will be graded in a scale devised in consultation with the representatives of the PRIs and the District Health Mission and accordingly incentive/disincentive can be given based on the score. This information can be made available online for access to the general public. 5 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission and mutual decision (It can also cover other expenses like loss of wage and destitute supports). †¢ Health Database management system: ICT component in the form of smart card technology (in the form of a biometric card) be introduced which will ensure the capturing of health and insurance data of the population and minimize fraud. †¢ It requires a decoder cum uploading device which will be portable and hand held. This can be used by ANM/Health staff/PRI/Hospitals to upload or read information starting from the primary to tertiary level †¢ Will be able to transmit images and radiographic reports (X-ray and ultrasound, CT scan) apart from other routine test results. This can be done of? ine (Because in villages, the power supply is erratic or absent and the internet connectivity is lacking) and can be the precursor of telemedicine20 . 3. Tertiary level: It will cover all high cost, sophisticated care which may not be available at the secondary level. The diseases that can be covered are as follows: †¢ Cancer †¢ Myocardial infarction †¢ Major organ transplant †¢ Paralysis †¢ Multiple sclerosis †¢ Bypass surgery †¢ Kidney failure †¢ Stroke †¢ Heart valve replacement 20 With internet connectivity through satellite (which are now provided free of cost by ISRO to interested NGOs and CBOs) which will mean that the patient will not have to travel to district level or tertiary level care and can walk in to such tele-consulting centre within the village where his diagnostic reports are accessed by punching in the unique I. D number of the patient on the smart card. The specialist sitting at the district level can then assess the prognosis of the case and decide whether the patient needs to travel or else advices the local doctor on what is the line of treatment for the patient which then can be carried out locally. This will save a lot of money (on traveling and loss of wages), time and resources which the patient would have spent otherwise. 16 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission 4. Impacting infrastructure, Manpower and Services: †¢ It is envisaged that the government medical college hospitals, other government health institutions, central or regional health institution operating in the state can act as the tertiary care provider. †¢ Insurance can start paying for upgrading these infrastructures and incentivising the medical work force in a similar way as was explained under primary level care. Besides private healthcare who will start the franchise model or other wise interested (and agreeable to the negotiated rate for the insured) will act as the tertiary care providers21 . The government should play a central and leading role in developing a strong referral linkage in the state. †¢ As most high level tertiary care hospital are charitable trust hospital and get substantial subsidies and exemption from the government in return for providing subsidized services for the poor (but in reality a very few actually provide such services) it should be made mandatory and compulsory for these hospitals to treat the insured poor. 5. Health Database Management: †¢ There will be a Central Data Warehouse which will develop from the EHR integrate all the information collected from the primary level upwards, making it accessible to each level and hence acting as a central store house of information. †¢ Additionally it will have personnel(s) who will analyse such data. Such analysis will be invaluable for monitoring, evaluation and mid-course correction. This will help in achieving the following: – Help revise insurance premium – Incentivise and monitor providers 21 The bene? will be two fold – it will provide quality care to the poor (through a TPA and the District Health Mission and Rogi Kalyan Samiti which will empanel hospital) which will ensure compliance to a particular standard of care) and will also help reduce crowding in the government hospital. At the tertiary level, a working arrangement should be made with national level government hospital (like AIIMS,CMC etc), regional ins titutes, post graduate medical institutes (JIPMER) and large private/corporate hospital (Apollo, Wockhardt, Fortis etc) so that patient requiring advanced critical care can be referred to them. 7 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission – Control fraud The developing of referral linkages is very much possible with insurance playing a central role and ICT in the form of smart card technology will ensure equity, ef? ciency and quality in healthcare delivery at each level. The coupling of the whole machinery with tele-medicine will bring about synergy and help the poor in terms of saving money on traveling and also loss of wages. It has to be always borne in mind by all the stakeholders that all component of health care i. . preventive, promotive, curative and rehabilitative care as emphasized under National Rural Health Mission as well as the coming of all stakeholders to work together will ensure harmonious and ef? cie nt delivery of quality healthcare with insurance playing a vital role. None of the components or stakeholders can be undermined as each will ensure that we will be able to see demonstrable impact in the health indicators of the community in days to come. 18 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission 7. 2 ANNEXURE II Setting up of a national coordinating and development entity: One of the key issues recognised by many is that increased coordination as well as sharing of knowledge and resources among the various actors in the sector would greatly stimulate success of NRHM as well as micro insurance development. This is especially true of health micro insurance for which few (if any) truly successful and sustainable programs have been observed to date. Hence it is felt that there has to be an apex body in the form of a coordinating centre which will initiate, regulate and monitor these activities. Following is a matrix which delineates the various stakeholder who will be represented in such a supra structure. 19 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission Stakeholders Stakeholder Needs Coordinating Centre’s Criteria for Success 1. Bene? ciaries * Simpli? ed claims procedures with minimal bureaucracy * Solutions that result in fast claims payment 1. 1 BPL families * Timely payments of * Service satisfaction from bene? ciaries * Solutions leading to affordable insurance products with quality servicing promised bene? s * Systematic increase in product coverage to ensure reduction of access barriers * Access to health services and health risk protection services 2 Microinsurers, Insurers, reinsurers * Access to technical assistance, actuarial studies, EHR records and the Centralized Data Warehouse reports, exposure to international innovations * Long term sustainability of microinsurance programs servicing the poor * E ffective, broad-based microinsurance delivery channels * Microinsurance pro? ts commensurate to investment risk * Competent pool of microhealth experts insurance technical Service packages developed and patronized * Service satisfaction from micro-insurers * Insurers aggressively competing to offer superior products and services to MICC client governments * Investment and ? nancial support from insurers 20 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission Stakeholders Stakeholder Needs Coordinating Centre’s Criteria for Success 3 NGOs, MFIs, trade unions, employer grassroots organizations, organizations, * Strong partnerships with hospitals, diagnostic players, NRHM team, AYUSH, ASHA workers and insurers Satisfaction with the coordinating agency’s ability represents all stakeholders’ interest and re? ected by strong involvement and support and investment through time in the centres work corporate sector, co-opera tive sector, etc. * Successful delivery of risk protection services to their memberships and clientele 4 Insurance Regulatory Development Authority * Robust, vibrant health microinsurance industry * Insurance regulations followed * Robust and vibrant network of micro-insurer clientele * Mandate and support from the IRDA * Achievements towards supportive and enabling policy 5 Health Providers * Timely payment from insurers * Reliable stream of BPL clients utilizing their services * Reasonable pro? tability * Positive ratings from health providers * Service satisfaction of BPL clients * Minimal problems with * Fast claims turnaround Solutions that result in: fraud and overcharging, etc. 6 TPAs Innovative and effective collection, distribution, and servicing channel 21 Sharing best practices Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission Stakeholders Stakeholder Needs Coordinating Centre’s Criteria for Success 7 State Governments * BPL population covered Support and mandates from governments * Ef? cient utilisation of resources and resources leveraged through a resource center * Moving closer to the goals stated under NRHM 8 Government of India * Access to comprehensive and quality health care for all * Improvement in national statistics on accessibility of health care services 8. 1 Ministry of Health and Family Welfare 8. Department of Insurance, Ministry of Finance * In synergy with existing programmes and structures * Proper utilization of departmental funds * National statistics on health insurance penetration * Increase in the number of legalized community health insurance programmes * Moving towards universal coverage * Regularising illegal community health insurance programmes Other major stakeholders that will have to be consulted are the likes of Indian Medical Association (IMA), Institute of Public H ealth (IPH), Federation of Obstetric and Gynecological Societies of India (FOGSI) and Institute of Health Management Research (IHMR). . 3 Objectives, Activities, and Services The stakeholders and clients of the Microinsurance Coordinating Centre envision a network of professionally-managed micro-insurers and accredited service providers offering 22 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission affordable, comprehensive, quality risk protection to the majority of poor people in India. Similarly, the Mission Statement may read as follows: The Microinsurance Coordinating Centre aspires to facilitate delivery of innovative health ? ancing and health insurance solutions in the country and improve the health indicators. It also aims to improve the capacity of insurance providers to provide risk protection services on a sustainable basis. The Centre is committed to building a vibrant health ? nancing and risk pooling sector through coll ective advocacy and through concentration, leveraging, and focusing on resources and knowledge towards developing innovative technologies. More speci? cally, activities and services of the MCC may include the following: †¢ To diagnose the feasibility and requirements of proposed micro-insurance projects in speci? districts of the identi? ed NRHM states; †¢ To develop and offer comprehensive, feasible, customized technical solutions complete with onsite guidance and implementation assistance; †¢ To facilitate strengthening the technical and cost effective management capacities of the NRHM team at the district level; †¢ To analyze and document the leading and best practices in the health microinsurance industry; †¢ To provide a forum for regular exchange and dissemination of ideas, innovations, lessons learned, achievements, and international best ractices; †¢ To develop and support EHR central data warehousing and tools; †¢ To develop health microin surance performance standards and prudential indicators, and the supporting technologies and tools that will enable micro-insurers to meet these standards; †¢ To provide a rating service of NRHM districts with micro health insurance pilots micro-insurers with respect to the standards and indicators; 23 Ruchismita, Ahmed, Rai: Delivering Micro Health Insurance through the National Rural Health Mission To facilitate and strengthen collaboration and partnerships among the various microinsurance providers and Health Ecosystem partners †¢ To establish linkages between insurers and resource institutions such as funding agencies, ? nancial institutions, and research institutions; †¢ To accredit a network of providers delivering affordable, quality health care through use of clinical protocols and negotiated tariff schedules; †¢ To provide and manage a data repository and also a national helpline for query redressal. To conduct industry experience studies and share resul ts for use in pricing and management purposes; †¢ To represent the health microinsurance sector to the Government of India and lobby for favorable and enabling policy; †¢ To identify and facilitate networking and business opportunities among the various stakeholders; and †¢ To elevate the insurance consciousness through awareness campaigns and education. Some of the activities such as product design are already being carried out by insurance companies. However, since microinsurance differs greatly from commercial insurance it requires unique design, marketing, and distribution strategies and skills. The MICC, with its personnel focused and specializing in micro insurance and health (health economists), with access to current data, and with concentration of knowledge about the industry would be positioned to facilitate superior solutions in these areas. 24

Seminar on Challenges in Human Resource Management in 21st Century Essays

Seminar on Challenges in Human Resource Management in 21st Century Essays Seminar on Challenges in Human Resource Management in 21st Century Essay Seminar on Challenges in Human Resource Management in 21st Century Essay Mrinal Jyoti Deka Chandan Kalita Sonam Doloi Barnali Devi Reemamoni Sarma Pranjit Choudhury INTRODUCTION Uncertainty and complexity characterize the greatest challenges todays world for managers at all organizational levels. Responding to shifts in the external environment requires ever-vigilant managers. These managers must be agile themselves in order to effectively promote agility in their environments. Agility is required in numerous areas for managerial success. These areas include flexibility in managing employees, flexibility in rewarding employees, ability to flexibly plan, flexibility in solving problems, technological agility and flexibility in addressing organizational politics. Another challenge in worker motivation is the growing diversity in the workforce. The multi-cultural workforce will continue to grow at the both sector domestic level and an international level. A diverse workforce results from a global economy. This diversity reflects the need for managers to be more flexible. All facets of managing people must be re-thought with a broader mix of workers. All jobs no longer must be performed in exactly the same way, at the same time, or even in the same location. Managers cannot llow themselves to be constrained by the past, but instead they must approach management to from an entirely new perspective with an entirely new workforce. CHALLENGES OF WORKER MOTIVATION IN 21st CENTURY 1. INNOVATIVE OF TECHNOLOGY: Due to the emergence of innovative technology, the worker those who are not familiar with the technology find it difficult to perform their jobs as they do not adapt to this. So by providing proper training it can be made familiar with the tech nology and they will motivate to perform their task. 2. WORKERS DIVERSIFICATION: Today’s workforce is very much wide. So organization should take deep insight about the behavior of the employee and accordingly device the strategies to motivate the worker is a major challenges. 3. EMERGENCE OF KNOWLEDGE WORKER: Nowadays the new employees who have joined organization are better educated, more carrier-oriented and relatively less ideologically committed. This breed employee seeks more meaning from their work instead of traditional return of employment. Importance of Workers’ Motivation Proper utilization of human resource: Human resource is of paramount importance for the success of any organization. It is a source of strength and aid. Human resources are the wealth of an organization, which can help it in achieving its goal. Through proper utilization of human resource management can get and use the skill, knowledge, ability etc. by development of skills, tapping and utilizing them again and again. Hence, human resource has become the focus of attention of every progressive organization to motivate its workers. Better organizational image: Enterprises which offer better monetary and non-monetary facilities to their employees have a better image among them. Such concerns are successful in attracting better qualified and experienced persons. Since, there is a better man-power to development programmed; the employees are likely to join such organization. Better industrial relationship: A good motivational system will create job satisfaction among employees. The employment will offer those better service conditions and various other incentives. Proper motivation create an atmosphere of confidence among the employee and employers and cordial relationship will create a healthy working environment. So, motivation among employee will lead to better industrial relationship. Acceptability to change: The changing social and industrial situations will require changes and improvements in the working of enterprises. Employees resist changes for fear of an adverse effect on their employment. When the employees are given various opportunities of development then they can easily adapt to new situation. Thus, motivation will ensure the acceptability of new changes by the employees. Reinforcement: It is a very powerful motivational tool. It is not only used for motivating the employees but also for enhancing organizational effectiveness. Organizations, now-a-days are making use of various technique for modifying the behavior of organization members, so that they are engaged in desirable behavior. How to Motivate the Workers A. Financial incentives: Financial incentives are the monetary reward. In the form of more wages and salaries, bonus, company paid insurance for their performance. According to Gellemen â€Å"Money is actually used to retain good person in the organization†. Some of such incentives are: 1. Bonus 2. Free insurance 3. Medical re- imbursement 4. Profit sharing. B. Non Financial Incentives: Non financial incentives Full fill the higher order needs for status recognition and ego in the society emerge. Some non financial incentives are: 1. People Mission: Organization should committed to investing their employers and ensuring that they work in safe and fair work environment in which everyone equipped with learning and tools to achieved in their job and fulfill their potential regardless of their age, gender, race, sexual, orientation etc. This mission attracts people with the talent to thrive in a fast moving and challenging global environment. 2. Mentoring: It is a program to help employers to raise their potential and manage their career effectively. This strongly support talent management initiative is to attract, develop and retain the best and enable the better understand the taken with the organization. 3. Strengths best Approach: This philosophy focuses on weakness and gives highest potential for the performance and personal growths are where employee is most talented. This development process focuses on helping employee understand their talent, built them in to strength. 4. Talent Management: Managing talent is just as important as attracting it. Talent management focuses on development and encourages employee to seek opportunities which enable them to stretch their talent, build their strength as well as keep them motivated throughout. HOW A LEADER CAN MOTIVATES THE WORKER Since 21st century cannot be remain static, so the organization so it much constantly respond to dynamic environment. In this situation organization need a good leadership and forceful employee. Leaders do nothing more important than get result. But leader cannot get result him or herself. He need to help employee and the best way to have other people get results is not by ordering but motivate them. THE APPROACH ADOPTED BY A LEADER TO MOTIVATE THE WORKER 1. PHYSICAL ACTION: An essential feature of motivation is not about what people think or feel but what they physically do. Leadership must have believe in him and take action to follow him through the proper physical action. . MOTIVATION DRIVEN BY EMOTION: In any strategic management, a leader must make sure that people have strong emotional commitments towards their goal. A leader must make a decision in such a way that all the level of employees are benefited out of it. Impact of workers motivation: 1. High Productivity: When the workers are motivated for the satisfaction of their lower and higher level of need, they put in all their efforts to s atisfy the organizational need also. This increase the efficiency in organizational activities. 2. Create Suitable Work Environment: Motivation help create a suitable environment or work culture in an organization where worker can work feel promoted to work for the organization goal. Congenial working condition with harmonious superior and subordinate relationship. 3. Combine Ability with Willingness: Sometimes workers posses the ability but not willing to perform a Particular task. In this situation, Effective Motivation combines the ability of the workers with their willingness to do the job and extract maximum out of them.

Free Essays on The Education Of Odysseus And Gilgamesh

The Education of Odysseus and Gilgamesh Odysseus and Gilgamesh are both characters in epics who become heroes through the challenges they face on their respective journeys. During each character’s journey he learns the qualities that a good leader and hero must possess. They both start off as flawed men and leaders- and the tests they face on their journeys teach them to overcome their flaws and become better leaders as well as heroes. A true leader must be comfortable in his solitude and able to act alone. In each epic both characters are in situations where they are both isolated and feel overwhelmingly lonely. Gilgamesh encounters loneliness more than once throughout the epic. In the beginning, he is so lonely that he acts as a tyrant, ignores his duties as a king and pursues young children and maidens throughout his kingdom in a quest for companionship. Later on Gilgamesh becomes lonely again after the death of Enkidu which sets him off into deep depression and he feels as though he has no purpose for living any longer. Odysseus, on the other hand, is stuck on an island with Calypso for seven years with almost no hope of returning home. He longs to return home to his wife and son, but he has no ship and no crew to help him get there. Both Odysseus and Gilgamesh are able to overcome this unbearable loneliness with help from their gods. To keep Gilgamesh out of trouble and less lonely, the gods Anu and Aruru create Enkidu as a rival for Gilgamesh. Enkidu is Gilgamesh’s match and equal in terms of mind and strength and after a brief initial battle, the two become good friends right away. However, Enkidu proves to be only a temporary fix to Gilgamesh’s loneliness and when he dies Gilgamesh is miserable once again. But Enkidu’s death is the event that ultimately sends Gilgamesh on his quest for immortality. And at the end of the epic when Gilgamesh comes back to his homeland, he realizes that it isn’t the en... Free Essays on The Education Of Odysseus And Gilgamesh Free Essays on The Education Of Odysseus And Gilgamesh The Education of Odysseus and Gilgamesh Odysseus and Gilgamesh are both characters in epics who become heroes through the challenges they face on their respective journeys. During each character’s journey he learns the qualities that a good leader and hero must possess. They both start off as flawed men and leaders- and the tests they face on their journeys teach them to overcome their flaws and become better leaders as well as heroes. A true leader must be comfortable in his solitude and able to act alone. In each epic both characters are in situations where they are both isolated and feel overwhelmingly lonely. Gilgamesh encounters loneliness more than once throughout the epic. In the beginning, he is so lonely that he acts as a tyrant, ignores his duties as a king and pursues young children and maidens throughout his kingdom in a quest for companionship. Later on Gilgamesh becomes lonely again after the death of Enkidu which sets him off into deep depression and he feels as though he has no purpose for living any longer. Odysseus, on the other hand, is stuck on an island with Calypso for seven years with almost no hope of returning home. He longs to return home to his wife and son, but he has no ship and no crew to help him get there. Both Odysseus and Gilgamesh are able to overcome this unbearable loneliness with help from their gods. To keep Gilgamesh out of trouble and less lonely, the gods Anu and Aruru create Enkidu as a rival for Gilgamesh. Enkidu is Gilgamesh’s match and equal in terms of mind and strength and after a brief initial battle, the two become good friends right away. However, Enkidu proves to be only a temporary fix to Gilgamesh’s loneliness and when he dies Gilgamesh is miserable once again. But Enkidu’s death is the event that ultimately sends Gilgamesh on his quest for immortality. And at the end of the epic when Gilgamesh comes back to his homeland, he realizes that it isn’t the en...

Journal Artical Review essays

Journal Artical Review essays 1. Termination of an Established Needle-Exchange: A Study of Claims and Their Impact is an article written by Robert S. Broadhead, Yael Van Hulst, and Douglas D Heckathorn, appearing in Social Problems, published in 1999.The information in the is article was split into two parts, Part I: The Social Construction of a Public Health Hazard, deals with the claims making process which brought the needle-exchange process to its demise. Part II: The Impact of the Windham Needle Exchanges Closure, deals with the actual effects of the ended needle exchange , including the percentage of syringe reuse, syringe sharing, discarded syringes, stability and appeal of the Windham drug scene, availability of new syringes, and the new injection-related wish behaviors. 2. The research method used in this article was that of a survey research. The research was done before and after the Windham needle-exchange was extinguished. From March 1994 through February of 1997, 330 initial and 173 follow up wish assessment interviews were conducted of Windham IDUs. After Eleven months 111 Post- Closure initial interviews and 78 three month Post-Closure follow-up interviews. Also periodic surveys of public outdoors areas where syringes and other drug paraphernalia was recovered. The research was done to survey the changes among drug users with and without the needle exchange program. 3. The needle-exchange originally began as an underground project in 1990. Although the group had experience multiple arrests many of the attempts (majority of the attempts inflicted by the State District Attorney) to prosecute were dropped or dismissed. In 1992 Connecticut General Assembly passed legislation to support a needle-exchange and non-prescription sales of syringes to help combat the spread of HIV. In 1993 state wide assessments showed that fewer IDUs were obtaining syringes from street sources and that the sharing o...

TNA - Navy Federal Credit Union Part II Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

TNA - Navy Federal Credit Union Part II - Essay Example It was also identified that employees struggle with situations where they need to inform inquiring customers of information about the company that they least know about. This kind of unexpected performance can be associated with the lack of certain working techniques that are expected of employees servicing any financial institution. After research and extensive study, it was identified that an objective training program could instrumentally work towards generating desired worker qualifications at the federation. Allison Rossett and Lisa Schafer-2012 in Job Aids and Performance Support, cite objective training as a possible solution for under-performance of otherwise qualified employees (Rossett & Schafer, 2007). The actual performance of employees dictates the overall performance of a company. However, there is a set level of individual performance that is expected of employees at a company. This expected level of performance is rarely achieved. When the Actual performance is lower than the expected performance at whatever level of delivery, a performance Gap that is relatively more specific is normally created. This performance gap is a measure of the difference between the expected performance and the actual performance levels of a company. On an average scale, most of the tellers at Navy Union are giving in lesser input per day and this can be associated with customer relations and PR conditions at the company. The company’s Money’s and customer relations training program w ill work toward increasing the referrals of the tellers and generally raising their confidence levels when dealing with customers that creates an expected â€Å"good† name of the company (Blanchard& Thacker, 2010). After the identification of the performance gap and settling on training as a solution, the Navy Union could now provide its employees with a set of expected outcomes of the training so that when they go into the training program, they are aware

The role of self in the workplace relationships Essay

The role of self in the workplace relationships - Essay Example Social psychology represents a blend of sociology and psychology in its investigation of attitudes and behavior in groups (Bellevue Community College, 2006). Social psychology studies the behavior of individuals in social setting. An individual's thoughts, actions, and even the conceptualization of the self are influenced by external factors, such as people within the immediate surroundings, friends, family, and location. This paper takes a look at a work in which both the protagonist and the work setting are considered. Through this dual integration (in relation to workplace, and self) this paper will achieve a broader and deeper understanding of how an individual's thoughts, actions, and even the conceptualization of the self are influenced by others. Individuals found in a happy and entertaining atmosphere tend to be more creative and involved than in places where they face admonishment and pressure. Research claims that individuals who 'feel good' are prone to a cognitive process that instigates a more flexible, fluent, and original thinking. This can have a positive influence on other individuals around them. When effective laws, rules and regulations, financial incentives or penalties, and social pressure leave little room for personal values become weak, do personal factors influence an individual's behavior. And because a variety of factors influence an individual's behavior, creative approaches involving multiple influences on behavior offer the greatest potential for change (Stern P.C, 2005). There are quite a few environmentally significant behaviors attributed to an individual. In the context of this dissertation however, the following situations address the subject of workplace relationships and its effect on self, co-workers and the work environment. The first type of behavior is committed activism; the second is non-activist; and the third relates to the influence of individuals on the environment in which they work, affecting the actions of the organization. An individual can be categorized to be under committed activism, if, he or she is involved actively in organizational and political demonstrations supporting public policies that affect the work environment. Non-activist on the other hand, indirectly affects the environment in which they work, such as the financial contributors to organizations. The above two classes of individual

Leadership Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 3

Leadership - Case Study Example Historical leadership possesses some important attributes that are useful in the development of desirable modern leadership. According to the author, past leaders such as biblical leaders provide important insights in modern leadership despite differences in modern leadership such as accumulation of wealth in the long run. Therefore, leadership requires incorporation of charisma to build strong relationships suitable for devotion to organizations’ mission. Leadership should also transform organizations to adapt to the changing world while maintaining ethics. Additionally, leadership entails personal responsibility and commitment both during organizational successes and failures. Leadership also ought to pursue new strategies essential to organizational success. Furthermore, leadership is about service rather than self-advancement hence keenness in honoring all duties. Moreover, leadership should be within the confines of universal principles of leadership. Incorporation of suc h attributes is bound to improve leadership quality significantly. The success of modern organizations requires effective leadership able to incorporate and maintain trust hence commitment. Additionally, modern leadership requires attainment of set goals through moral and ethical strategies. As such, the perspectives stipulated in this article are essential in modern leadership cutting across all organizations either business oriented or

Pagasus Airline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pagasus Airline - Essay Example Such factors help the company with respect to connecting flights to increase its growth prospects. The infrastructure of airport is very flexible and it supports growth which is long term. The company’s fleet plan is accommodative of growth while at the same time can be considered balanced (Surhone, Tennoe and Henssonow, 2011). The company should follow a marketing strategy to highlight such factors as cost advantages, lower costs of airport, and an airport infrastructure which is considered as flexible. The strengths can be the factors such as the airline is growing very fast in EU and the fact that the company has a product offering which is considered to be very simple with the benefits of attractive pricing. The weaknesses can be enumerated as the factors such as the airline is highly dependent on fuel prices and that it is necessary for the airline to obtain bilateral agreements for getting sanction for new routes. The opportunities can be factors such as the aviation market in Turkey is very much underpenetrated and that there is considerable scope for improvement in factors such as loading and the utilization rates of aircraft with the launching of night flights. Threats could be considered as the factors such as an increased competition in Turkey from the low cost carriers of Europe and the opening of new airport of Istanbul. The company should focus on the opportunities and develop its marketing strategy accordingly. It should use advertising as a means to gain a greater market share and increase its revenue in the process. As the aviation market in Turkey is underpenetrated, there is every possibility that other low cost carriers of Europe will try to enter the market. In this regard, the company should use advertising to highlight factors such as lower costs of airport, cost advantages, etc. that it is already enjoying. The company has a very

The Economic Position of Some Prominent and Some Ordinary Canadians Essay

The Economic Position of Some Prominent and Some Ordinary Canadians - Essay Example Inequality in income is one of the key economic factors that have been noticed in the Canadian economy. The most important evidence for the income inequalities that exist in the Canadian economy is evident through the household spending data files and the household net worth data which shows the trend in the income equality trend in the Canadian economy. The wealth and living standards differ among people to people. â€Å"Economic inequality in Canada appears to be worsening, even as overall wealth increases† (Quarter et al. 2009, p. 82). The Canadian economy is a capitalist economy. Economic inequality is one of the key features of the capitalist economy. The important question that is raised in the Canadian economy is that ‘Does the labor market in the Canadian economy provide opportunities to the deserving candidates on the basis of their education or is it based on patterns of inequality in society?’ To this question the answer is both and that has been identi fied as one of the main reasons behind the unequal distribution of income in the Canadian society. Thus the distributive aspect of the labor market in the Canadian society calls for a study. ... Income inequality arises because of several factors like inequalities that exist in the work opportunities, the inequalities that are associated with distribution of income etc. Canada has experienced significant income inequality in Canada between the years 2000 and 2006. Income inequality is a prime economic indicator and is also covered by the national average. The three important factors associated with income inequality are the following: Change in population structure – the change in the structure of population is one of the main contributors to income inequality. With the increase in the non- income generating population there is less income in the hands of the dependent population which widens the economic inequality. The women and the aboriginal Canadians have a very small representation in the Canadian work force. The women workforce in the Canadian economy is being underemployed or unemployed. The increase in the capital income and self employment income - capital i ncome and self employment income are distributed unequally which has widened the economic equality. Disproportional per capita income especially in between the Canadian provinces has been a prime feature of the Canadian economy. Economic growth has played a mere role in the eradication of disparities in per capita income which cause unequal distribution of income. Earnings of workers are unequal with the rich growing richer and the poor becoming poorer which further causes inequality in the distribution of income. There is a very important relation between income inequality and economic growth. The wider the economic inequality in an economy, the lesser will be the economic growth of the country. The economic inequality in a country reduces the economic

Pagasus Airline Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Pagasus Airline - Essay Example Such factors help the company with respect to connecting flights to increase its growth prospects. The infrastructure of airport is very flexible and it supports growth which is long term. The company’s fleet plan is accommodative of growth while at the same time can be considered balanced (Surhone, Tennoe and Henssonow, 2011). The company should follow a marketing strategy to highlight such factors as cost advantages, lower costs of airport, and an airport infrastructure which is considered as flexible. The strengths can be the factors such as the airline is growing very fast in EU and the fact that the company has a product offering which is considered to be very simple with the benefits of attractive pricing. The weaknesses can be enumerated as the factors such as the airline is highly dependent on fuel prices and that it is necessary for the airline to obtain bilateral agreements for getting sanction for new routes. The opportunities can be factors such as the aviation market in Turkey is very much underpenetrated and that there is considerable scope for improvement in factors such as loading and the utilization rates of aircraft with the launching of night flights. Threats could be considered as the factors such as an increased competition in Turkey from the low cost carriers of Europe and the opening of new airport of Istanbul. The company should focus on the opportunities and develop its marketing strategy accordingly. It should use advertising as a means to gain a greater market share and increase its revenue in the process. As the aviation market in Turkey is underpenetrated, there is every possibility that other low cost carriers of Europe will try to enter the market. In this regard, the company should use advertising to highlight factors such as lower costs of airport, cost advantages, etc. that it is already enjoying. The company has a very

Separation of Ownership and Control in the US and EU and its Essay

Separation of Ownership and Control in the US and EU and its Implications - Essay Example It is seen that a weak owner leads to a strong manager where agency problem arises due to entrenched managers and dispersed shareholding. Conflict of interests is an important aspect that corporate governance addresses to. The separation of ownership that is the shareholders and control that is the management gives rise to agency issues. This separation is usually seen in firms where the shareholding is dispersed. Agency conflicts arise when the ideal situation isn’t achieved and the managers prefer their interest over shareholder’s interest. Agent principal relationship is governed by the agency costs that the principal incurs to align the interest of his agent with that of his own. Corporate governance deals with the minimization of the conflict of interests in the organization. Proper incentives linkage to the remuneration can help prevent the conflict of interests and align the interests of managers and shareholders. Stock option plans can be a good way to make inte rests common because the managers become the shareholders and put in the efforts to increase the wealth of the shareholders. Another option could be the board of directors, as they have the power to dictate decisions in the organization and control the company, they can serve as a solution to align the interest of both. Stock options have proved to be quite efficient it the linked remunerations to the shareholder's interest can also induce the managers to act dishonestly and adopt a short-term behavior because of quarterly disclosures.  

Starbucks Alternatives Essay Example for Free

Starbucks Alternatives Essay Alternatives Alternative #1 is to introduce existing products to new markets. Since Starbucks is already an established name, we know for a fact that people like drinking Starbucks coffee. However, cultural attitudes can be different around the world. This is an important fact since Starbucks is set on growing internationally. They will also face different reception to Starbucks image and taste. Statistics show that there is still a lot of opportunity to grow in current markets. These current markets represent significantly less risk than setting up overseas. This alternative takes what Starbucks have so far and push it into unknown markets. This is quite risky. Alternative #2 is to introduce new products to existing markets. To offer new products in existing stores would be less costly than setting up a new store in a new market. Immediately, new products will have the Starbucks brand image and this will help increase revenue because of these new complimentary items. While Starbucks is still in its growth stage, it is questionable about investing time and money into new products in our current markets when people are still finding out about Starbucks. Loyal customers can also be upset at changes to the new offerings. This option is not very risky and will yield a return that is low. Alternative #3 is to introduce new products to new markets. This alternative is more risky than the previous two but is necessary if Starbucks is to expand in the long term. In order to increase revenue and grow as a company, Starbucks will have to reach different consumers. These may include people who drink different kinds of coffee, teas and other hot beverages. Since Starbucks is selling the Starbucks experience, they should seek to introduce new products to make that experience fit that specific culture. They can still keep some of their current menu offerings but have it tailored to the consumers. By having a diversified product offering, they will also spread their risk. For instant, if they started selling coffee beans from another country, these new beans could keep the  cash flow coming in if another countrys beans were not acceptable due to weather conditions. However, the image of Starbucks can go both ways. Consumers may already have a preconceived notion of what Starbucks is about and will purchase or not purchase according to that. There is also risk that the current Starbucks image could be seen as unfavourable to current consumers if they think that the newer product items are of a poorer quality.