T-Bags Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

T-Bags - Essay Example T-Bags is a specialty teahouse concept offering a broad and creative selection of tea beverages and accompaniments at convenient and accessible locations in the Metropolitan areas. The company provides its customers with a new tea experience by creating a new context for the traditional idea of "afternoon tea". T-Bags is different to other tea-based businesses in the U.K. market today. Most teahouses in the U.K. are usually family businesses (passed through generations) located in the countryside, or if they are in the city area, they are upscale and are housed in high-end hotels. Essentially, T-Bags is based on the specialty espresso bar concept (like Starbucks) which is already rampant throughout the country. Like the espresso bar concept, the specialty teahouse has a strong product focus - tea. However, unlike the other traditional teahouses, T-Bags offers an usually wide menu range in an environment where customers are encouraged to explore different tea flavorings and blends brought in from all over the world. In the short term, The Company's goal is to implement this concept, first, in a retail outfit of less than 800 square feet. The Company's medium term goal will then be to pursue an aggressive expansion strategy in London and other major Metropolitan areas in the U.K. to create a strong brand identity. In the long term, The Company's goal is to become the leading brand of specialty teahouses in the U.K. Although The Company's key selling point is its wide product offerings, The Company is aware that other teahouses in the market today are also able to follow this product strategy. However, The Company's unique selling point which encompasses wide product offerings, a unique customer experience and customer loyalty cannot be easily copied. The following five elements will differentiate T-Bags from its competitors and foster customer loyalty. High Quality Product Offerings. T-Bags has scoured the best places in the world that produces quality tea leaves and the products offered are uncompromising. To complement the tea-drinking experience, T-Bags also offers high quality accompaniments like sweets and pastries sourced from the same regions as the tea in order to provide a consistent experience. Customer Service. Since this business concept is new to the U.K., it is important that first purchases from customers are followed by repeat businesses. Therefore, it is crucial that all employees understand the concept of the business in informing customers of the

The impact of globalisation in the emerging market economies

The impact of globalisation in the emerging market economies Globalisation is becoming a normal word in todays business environment where different countries are integrating with one another. No country can be self sufficient, they depend on one another. It is very common to see different countries moving from their own nations and invest to other country/countries in order to get markets or resources such as cheap labour. Country boundaries are no longer an issue due to advancement in technology. Globalisation plays a great role on the economical development of different countries in the world especially in the developed countries such as US which has investments in different countries around the global. On the other side of the coin, globalisation has negative impacts on social, cultural, political, technological, environmental as well as economical activities of different countries. The aim of this essay is to assess the impacts of globalisation on the emerging market economies in a double edged-sword, whether it is an opportunity or a threat for their growth. The essay will therefore focus on; what is emerging market economy, characteristics of emerging market economies, the concept of globalisation, its drivers, the impact of globalisation on emerging economies in terms of economic, socio-cultural, environment, technological as well as political-legal and finally make a conclusion of this discussion. LIST OF ACRONYMS FDI Foreign Direct Investments LDCs Less Developed Countries GDP Gross Domestic Product EMEs Emerging Market Economies MNC Multinational Companies UN United Nations IMF International Monetary Fund 1.0 Introduction Over the years it has been witnessed that the aspect of social, cultural, political, technological as well as economical activities of different countries integrating with one another has increased at a rapid rate. The practices that are found in the European countries and the United States are now found in practically at any country in the world. This phenomenon is now commonly referred to as globalisation. Globalisation is not a new phenomenon, for centurys individuals, later companies, institutions and corporations have been trading with each other in locations that are tremendously far from their point of origin. The Asians for example, used the monsoon winds that occurred after a space of six months to move from their countries and reach Africa to trade i.e. buy and sell products to the Africans. China and Europe were also connected during the middle ages through the famed Silk Road across Central Asia. This allowed the two parties to invest to one another which were an aspect of globalisation. This depicts the fact that for a long time globalisation was in existence but not recognised as today as globalisation (Jagdish, 2004). This current situation of the phenomenon of globalisation increasing at a rapid rate has been induced by policies that have opened economies internally (domestically) as well as internationally. One of the main propagators of this was the aftermath of the second world war whereby governments of different countries in the world decided to accept or implement the free market economic system which had an effect on the productive potentials of their countries and generation new opportunities for global trade i.e. the trade was no longer domestic oriented but internationally oriented. This is to say that the policies opened up opportunities for international trade and investments. The Governments have further negotiated the tremendous reductions in barriers to commerce and have established international agreements to promote trade in goods, services, and investments. These have opened up new opportunities in foreign markets and therefore corporations have built foreign factories and estab lished production and marketing arrangements with foreign partners. This is a defining feature of the late trend of globalisation, i.e. it is an international industrial and financial business structure (Jagdish, 1993). The new opportunities have made other countries that had ceased them to be dominant in the Global economy today. Now more than ever, it is a clear picture that the aspect of globalization has been one of the major contributors to the rise in the economic dominance of many economies such as those in the Asian countries i.e. India, china etc. To date china has now integrated with practically every country around that world. The Chinese corporations have come to be so powerful to the extent that the USA is in debt of more that 10bilion dollars to the Chinese banks. The latter is to say that the phenomenon of globalisation has tremendous impacts on emerging economies. This essay will therefore focus on discussing the impact of globalisation in the emerging market economies; in so doing, the essay will focus on defining the emerging market economies, characteristics of the emerging markets, defining the concept of globalisation, drivers of globalisation, and effects of globalisation on emerging market economies in terms of its benefits and drawbacks socially, economically, environmentally and technologically and finally make a conclusion of this discussion. 2.0 Definitions and Concepts 2.1 What is Emerging Market Economy? Emerging market economies are those economies that their economy and industrialisation grow in a rapid pace while experiencing a rapid increase in information efficiency in an environment. These economies are the leaders among developing countries. To be more precise the following are considered to be the leading emerging market economies Brazil, Russia, India, and China, normally referred top as the BRIC countries. The leading one is China due to high growth of its GDP, technology as well as literacy level, about 93.3% of Chinese total population are literate, this became possible since the Chinese government executed its strategy of prioritising education for its people from lower to the higher levels http://en.wikipedia.org. Discussed below will be the characteristics of emerging market economies. 2.2 The Characteristics of Emerging Economies 2.2.1 Transitional The economy of the emerging economies are constantly in transformational process from closed to an open market, trying to stabilise their economic performances for bringing efficiency and transparency in the capital market. Reform in Exchange Rate System International Monetary Fund and World Bank assist the Emerging Market Economies in reforming their exchange rate systems in order to reduce flow of domestic capital to foreign economies since there is an increase of local as well as foreign investments in terms of portfolio and direct. 2.2.3 Attractive to Multinational Corporations The countries in this category are very much on the list of the favourable environments for investment by the MNC because of the ability to provide lower costs of labour and providing a large customer base. 2.2.4 Large Population The first feature of these economies is the population in their country. The emerging economies have a large number of people in their countries as compared to other countries in the world. In the business terms it means they contain a very large share of the consumer base in their own country. China for example is the most populated country ion the world, and India is also one of the single countries that have many people as almost the entire African continent. 2.2.5 High Gross Domestic Product Growth These economies have a remarkable rate of growth on their GDP. China has been estimated to have a 10% growth rate in the last decade. This rate makes it the fastest growing economy in the world and in years to come it may have the leading economy in the world above the United States of America. Much of the growth however had been due to receiving Foreign Direct Investments from the Triads (USA, Japan and Europe), thought in the recent years the BRIC group has also been investing in the Triads. 2.2.6 Changes in Living style The countries with the emerging economies are experiencing an increase in the change in the life style of its population. There is a tremendous change in terms of industrialization, modernisation as well as urbanization. The rural areas are eroding and more cities with tall buildings and many investments are becoming prominent. Some of the wealthiest businesses and business man are found in these emerging economies. Most of the countries populations are more into becoming modern and more urbanised now than years back. Furthermore the standard of living has improved markedly in these emerging economies. Many millions continue to live in poverty but a growing urban middle class provides an expanding market for both domestic products and for imports from abroad. 2.2.7 Volatility of Assets The worlds interest for the assets of the emerging market economies has risen over the past years. The assets of the Emerging economies also tend to become volatile at times, the returns is really worth risking for. The funds of the Emerging economies have also resulted in a much higher percentage of wealth. 2.3 The Concept of Globalisation Globalisation has been a concept narrated for many years by different scholars world wide. Various dimensions come to light when the term globalisation is mentioned. Basically the issue of integration, in terms of the economy, technology, social aspects as well as politics is of highest consideration when one defines globalisation. Globalisation is the system of interaction among the countries of the world in order to develop the global economy. Some scholars have defined globalisation simply as the process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, culture, political systems, economic development and prosperity, and human physical well-being in societies around the world. Globalisation has been refers to the integration of economics and societies all over the world. Globalisation involves technological, economic, political, and cultural exchanges made possible largely by advances in communication, transportation, and infrastructure (Croucher, 2004). Others however as previously mentioned have defined globalisation as the process of interaction and integration among the people, companies, and governments of different nations, a process driven by international trade and investment and aided by information technology. This process has effects on the environment, on culture, on political systems, on economic development and prosperity, and on human physical well-being in societies around the world http://hubpages.com/hub/Definition-of-Globalization Globalisation attempts to depict the steps by which the networks in the world in terms of communication, transportation and trading cause the linking (integration) of the regional economies, societies, cultures, as well as technologies. At this point in time most of the world is considering the aspect of economic globalisation as one of the single most significant aspect of globalization. With this in mind economic globalization has been separately defined as the linking of economies of different nations to create an international economy via trade, FDIs, Investment cash flows, and the disperse of technology. Globalisation is usually recognized as being driven by the union of the economic, technological, socio-cultural, political, environmental and biological factors. For the purpose of this essay, we therefore define the term globalization as the rapid increase in the interconnectedness of the different countries economically, socially, politically, technologically as well as environmentally to resemble a single village; the process highly being facilitated by the increase in the information and communication technology. 2.4 Drivers of Globalisation. There are many issues that have been discussed when it comes to why is there such an enormous increase in globalisation and why many countries are opening their doors to this phenomenon much easily than before. One of the most common explanation to this has been summarized in one common and yet unique sentence. That is globalisation is inevitable meaning it will occurs, whether one likes it or not it will happen. Never the less that sentence is too short to provide the core drivers of globalisation but rather only explain that the phenomenon is there to stay. The drivers for globalisation can be put into the following categories: Market drivers Cost drivers Technology drivers Governmental drivers Competitive drivers These drivers are better explained below: 2.4.1 Market Driver This actually refers to when the companies consider the various markets to invest. The shifting of the policies of the different governments in the world top having a free market economy has in fact lead to businesses that had a market that was limited to one country to have a global market that waits for the specific products or services that they offer. At this point in companies in different parts of the world have to greater accessibility of the different countries world wide. If there was a trend of no free market economy, the phenomenon of globalization would have been accelerating at a vey small pace and the major transformations will not have been recognized. At this point in time there is the merging of national markets into a singular massive global marketplace. To sell internationally is now easier due to falling of barriers on the cross-border trade. A company doesnt have to be the size of these multinational giants to facilitate and benefit from the globalization of mark ets (Owens 2008) 2.4.2 Production Cost Driver This becomes a driver when it occurs that the costs of production in your country is greater than in another country for the same product, hence it becomes more advantageous for you to produce in another country than in your own. It refers to the sourcing of goods and services from locations around the world to take advantage of national differences in the cost and quality of factors of production. The idea is to compete more effectively offering a product with good quality and low cost. Companies consider the various lifestyle of the country before considering the price of the product and services to render. The companies that find themselves in search for international trade opportunities need to take into account the cost implications associated to where they want to invest. For example one might consider producing certain products in Tanzania than in Europe due to cheaper labour costs etc (Owens 2008) 2.4.3 Technology Driver This actually refers to when there is increasing technology system, transportation, advancing in the level of world trade system. The have been many developments in technology to date and the rate seems unstoppable. These developments or changes in Technological have achieved advances in communication, information processing, and transportation technology, including the Internet and the World Wide Web (www). The most important innovation has been development in the microprocessors after that global communications have been revolutionized by developments in satellite, optical fiber, and wireless technologies, and now the Internet and the World Wide Web. The rapid growth of the internet and the associated World Wide Web is the latest expression of this development. Besides, innovations have occurred in the field of the transportation technology. The development of commercial jet aircraft has reduced the time needed to get from one location to another. Now China is closer to the USA tha n ever (Owens 2008) 2.4.4 Government Driver This refers to the reduction of trade tariffs and non trade tariffs, as a result of reducing the role of political policies. As previously mentioned the adoption of the free market economy has essentially causes the fall of barriers to international trade. Now firms are able to view the entire global as its potential market. The lowering of barrier to trade and investments also allows firms to base production at the optimal location for that activity in order to achieve location economies. A firm might therefore , design a product in one country, create a part/ component parts in two other countries, assemble the product in another country and then export the finished product around the world. The lowering of trade barriers has facilitated the globalisation of production. The evidence also suggests that foreign direct investment is playing an increasing role in the global economy (Croucher, 2004). 2.4.5 Competition Driver The aspect of better products as a result of competition has actually made the aspect of globalisation an essential part in many economies. The competition among companies ensures that there is a production of high quality products globally (Owens 2008) 3.0 The impact of Globalisation on Emerging Market Economies Over the years different debates have existed on whether countries should embrace or be opposed to the phenomenon of globalisation. This debate is pioneered by the likely impact the globalisation has on the various economies or countries in the world. There has been an argument that the aspect of globalisation has favoured already the developed countries while continues to exploit the wealth of developing countries. Below therefore is the discussion on the impact of globalisation on the emerging market economies focused on five main categories; 3.1 Economic impact According to economists, there are a lot of global events connected with globalization and integration. The economy of a nation relies a lot on the business environment that exists. Whether there is high domestic trading or there is a wider range of investments from international companies. Globalisation has enabled the economies of different countries top become integrated. For example, the avenue of international trade now allows countries to have foreign currencies into their economies. Furthermore the aspect of citizens being in one country and owning property in another country is also a reality. The issues of lending has now moved to a whole new level, companies from one country ask for loans from banks in a different country as well as banks of one country can now put branches in other counties which automatically affects the economies. Governments of one nation go and obtain loans from other nations. A typical and yet most amazing scenario is the fact that the American govern ment being in millions of debt to china which is an emerging economy. No doubt globalisation has increased the foreign direct investments in different nations. At this point in time the Mc Donalds company of the United States of America had made a record entry to the Russian and Chinese economy when the policies of these countries had allowed room for the free market economy. The GDP of countries such as china have benefited a lot as a result of globalization. As mentioned earlier chinas GDP has been growing at a rate of 10%, one of the fastest growing rates in the world. 3.2 Socio-cultural Impact Another notable impact of globalisation has been on the culture of various societies in the world. Globalisation has been seen as a catalyst for change in the cultures of less developed countries to be more like those of the developed nations. More specifically it is seen as an imposition of the pop culture (western culture) to other countries. For example the way in which people talk, act, dress etc has changed over the last few decades. The type of music that people listen to globally has changed; even the morals of certain societies have changed. Years back, it was outrageous for women to wear miniskirts in the streets of Arabic countries, but now this is becoming debatable. Even in African countries some aspects are changing. Many people are forgoing their heritage for the new living styles which are believed to be more modernized. Now people believe that if you speak your native language and do not know how to speak English, then you are primitive. All these are a result of globalisation. The way in which people communicate has now also changed. People have conversations via the phone and have reduced the more traditional way of communication which was to visit and see each other physically. No longer are people playing sports outside, they rather play video games, watch movies in the house, all these are a result of globalisation. Furthermore there is a change in the type of ownership in the emerging economies. The aspect of globalisation has introduced a more capitalist system in nations that were primarily involved in communal ownership; the aspect of ownership has become more of individualistic nature. This being the case, there is no longer equal distribution of income among the people of china. This has benefited some of the members who believed that they deserved more for the more work they did but at the same time has created a division among the rich and the poor that was not there in the past. 3.3 Environmental Impact The environment is more of the less discussed factors at times but is ne of the most important aspect that needs to be considered when looking upon the impacts of globalization. The environment basically refers to every thing that surrounds us. In the globalized world more and more business opportunities have emerged for the different businesses in the world as a consequence the businesses that are engaged in manufacturing and involve the emission of harmful substances have increased h=and have caused a destruction in the ozone layer in different parts of the world. Furthermore, the less developed countries have suffered on the environment as the developed countries have used globalization as a means of dumping harmful products from their countries. There had been a ban on several environmentally harmful products in Europe; as a result, the European companies sold the goods to countries like Tanzania etc to not suffer losses. This was a means of dumping their waste products. On the o ther hand though, through globalisation, there are now campaigns all over the world that relate to environmentally protection. International; treaties on environmentally friendly productions have been signed by different nations. The reduction in green house emission treaties have been signed by many nations in the world being led by United states of America and China, the most highly polluting countries in the globe. 3.4 Technological Impact Globalisation has lead to the increase in the spread of technology all over the world. At this point in time, practically all parts of the world are awe-are of the existing technologies every where. The technology that is used in Europe is also used in china and at times even found in Africa. Globalisation has enabled the world to create, modify different technological devices that were founded by some one else in the different part of the globe. The Japanese have been known to modify different technologies that they see existing in the USA. The Chinese are now the ones who imitate all the existing technologies anywhere in the globe. The arena of globalisation has made the latest technologies to exist in every part of the world. Ranging from the latest mobile phones, laptops, video games and all other gadgets, globalisation in one way or the other has ensured that no one is left behind. 3.5 Political-Legal Impact The last aspect that globalization has impacted is on the issue of political and legal environment. Globalisation has been at the centre in the increased international laws that are in existence, the existence on the global organizations that provide principles across the world. The United Nations (UN), the World Bank (WB), the international monetary fund (IMF) and the like. The increased interconnectedness of different counties has enabled the existence of the organizations to crops cut different countries. For example some of the policies in the less developing countries (LDCs) such as the Structural Adjustment Program have been influenced by the World bank, some have been influenced by the united nations etc. This shows how globalization has impacted the political and legal atmosphere of a nation. Country losses its sovereignty in globalization as it is being scrutinized by the international countries. For example all of the countries are now looking at the policies of china and t ry to challenge some of the things that it is doing. In so doing, the sovereignty of the country is being lost (Croucher, 2004). 4.0 Conclusion In general, no one can deny the fact that globalisation is inevitable in todays competitive business environment. The issue is on how the countries take the existence of globalisation. Through in the discussion we saw that there are benefits that are being seen from the existence of the phenomenon, but there are also detrimental effects. All of these depend on the nation and hence the context in which globalisation takes place since each country differs from one another in terms of comparative advantages. There are issues that are related to the loss of a countrys freedom and sovereignty that play a key part on whether to embrace or reject globalisation, nevertheless, globalisation will happen. In a brief overview though one can see that there are many economically related benefits that have been associated with emerging market economies and hence probable cause for the increased acceptance in the phenomenon .The aspects of the expanding sales i.e. where by the emerging economies are having a wider market for its products is a notable reason for the acceptance of globalisation. Now the countries with emerging economies are having the markets in practically in many or any country of the world ranging from Europe to Africa, the Middle East and America. Furthermore, they have now been able to acquire resources such as technology and cheap labour from the various countries that they have invested in. The acceptance in globalisation has also reduced the risks that have been associated with the investment in only their country as there are many fruitful opportunities in other countries. However, in essay 2 critical assessments on the impact of globalisation to the emerging market economies will be discussed by evaluating the positive and negative impacts in particular the culture (socio-culture), economic, technology and environment of China.

Hegel: Reason in History Essay -- Philosophy History Essays

Hegel: Reason in History The second chapter of the Introduction to the Philosophy of History bears the title "Reason in History"; however, careful study reveals that it could just as aptly been dubbed Reason is History or better, History is Reason. Although Reason exists in a finite form within the human being, the whole—infinite Reason—is necessarily greater than the sum of its parts—the sum of finite Reasons. Hegel's Reason is the infinite material of all reality—the substance, form, and power. History is the increasing self-consciousness of the Spirit i.e. Reason; that is, a progressive increase of Reason within the world. This relationship between history and Reason is expressed by Hegel's agreement with Leibniz that this is the best of all possible worlds. In other words, everything is as it should be. In fact, Hegel makes strong assertions along just these lines, "that [Reason] reveals itself in the world, and that nothing else is revealed in the world but that Idea itself, its glory and majesty (12-13)." It is from this idea that Hegel derives the point that "Re... Hegel: Reason in History Essay -- Philosophy History Essays Hegel: Reason in History The second chapter of the Introduction to the Philosophy of History bears the title "Reason in History"; however, careful study reveals that it could just as aptly been dubbed Reason is History or better, History is Reason. Although Reason exists in a finite form within the human being, the whole—infinite Reason—is necessarily greater than the sum of its parts—the sum of finite Reasons. Hegel's Reason is the infinite material of all reality—the substance, form, and power. History is the increasing self-consciousness of the Spirit i.e. Reason; that is, a progressive increase of Reason within the world. This relationship between history and Reason is expressed by Hegel's agreement with Leibniz that this is the best of all possible worlds. In other words, everything is as it should be. In fact, Hegel makes strong assertions along just these lines, "that [Reason] reveals itself in the world, and that nothing else is revealed in the world but that Idea itself, its glory and majesty (12-13)." It is from this idea that Hegel derives the point that "Re...

Educating Refugee Children Essay

I. Overview People in exile, more often than not, see a dim light when concerned about their future in their foreign country. This is a natural response; of course, for they would have never left their country if they were not suppressed, aggravated or felt a sense of helplessness and seeking refuge in another country is the only choice left. However, countries which serve as refuge should serve not only as asylum or shelter but instead serve as the new permanent home for these unfortunate people; and doing so means prioritizing decent homes and jobs for the refugees and most importantly, quality education for their children, for they are the hope of those whose rights are oppressed in their homelands. II. Rights to a Better Education It is very essential to ensure that the children of refugees get not only literacy and a decent education in their adopted homeland, but not only the plain teaching of reading and writing will suffice the children’s hunger for a real home, a real family and all the fulfillments of their erstwhile depravations, economically and in health; because in most cases some refugee children do not have parents when they sought for refuge and that mere fact should awaken educators that they should not act as teachers alone, but correspondingly, as a second parent. Moreover, the refugee children have experienced a downward plunge in their living standard and their lives have had significant changes, or worse, they could have been witnesses to horrific events and subject to traumatic experiences in their home countries. The effects of these will prove to be very crucial to their learning capabilities, and so it is absolutely correct to first see and evaluate the refugee children to determine whether they need special caring, for the caregivers and the teachers do not have a clue on the degrees of suffering, oppression and depression. The teachers should also consider the fact that the schooling of the refugee children could have been halted for a long period of time, and so reacquainting them with the confines of the classroom will surely take some time. Commencing the schooling and education of refugee children should also be perceived as their new births, the first step towards rebuilding their lives. They, the children and their other family members should be acquainted with their social and educational rights in their new country, albeit they are only refugees. It should not be held in dispute that refugee children by all means have the full rights to gain education. III. Other Facets of Educating Refugee Children More often than not, the refugee children are of a different race or ethnicity, and so in the United Kingdom, the Race Relations Act of 1976 serves as a mediator between the government system which supervises the positive treatment of refugee children in regards with their education. This act is to improve the harmony between races inside the classroom and to give protection to those refugee children who are likely to experience racism, bullying and discrimination because of their statuses as new aliens and being of a different culture and race. In the United Kingdom, this is the primary duty of the Office for Standards in Education and the Local Education Authorities (LEAs), to protect the basic rights of asylum-seeking and refugee pupils from excesses. Library books and topics relevant to the refugees’ language, heritage and homeland should also be found, for them to have a sense of belongingness. Â  Furthermore, setting the United Kingdom as an example of a country providing quality education to refugee children, the Chief Education Officers and Directors always make it a point to ensure that schools possess quality language interpreting services, make it a point that late teenager refugees complete their education, and make sure that English will be taught as a second language to them, regardless of age for this would be their primary medium in surviving in their adopted homeland and English being the universal language.

Interview with a Medical Coder Essay

Medicine is an art, it is science and business. There are scientific and artistic aspects those doctors learn in the profession of medicine. Doctors have to be paid which requires a different skill that is complex and comes with administrative professional. Hint a Medical Biller and Coding. Medical Billers and Coders work with clinics, doctors, hospitals, patients, and other medical facilities. Submitting claims to insurance companies help ensure that supporting staff and doctors are properly reimbursed for services rendered. When one is a Medical Biller there are abbreviations and acronyms that help save time when filing a claim. Many offices have their own most frequently used acronyms and abbreviations that they use to do their coding and billing. There are many acronyms and abbreviations used in all medical practices. Here are some examples: EDI (Electronic Data Interchange): Electronic claims that are sent to a central clearinghouse for distribution for individual carriers. EOB (Explanation of Benefits): This refers to a document that is issued by an insurance company that responds to a claim statement which outlines what services are covered and what services are not, and what level of reimbursement are available. HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act): The privacy rule, which outlines certain entities in a person health plan, clearinghouses can disclose or use person health information, and who may be allowed to access a patients personal medical records. HMO (Health Maintenance Organization): Is a health management plan that requires patients to have a PCP (primary care physician). A PCP is where patients seek out most of their initial treatment at. If the PCP feels like it is necessary to seek treatment from specialist they will send a patient to within that network. CMS (Centers for Medicaid & Medicare Services): United States Department of Health & Human Services that administer Medicaid, Children’s Health Insurance Program, and Medicare. PPO (Preferred Provider Organization): This allows patients to visit providers that are contracted with their insurance companies. If that patient visits a non-contracted provider, the claim will be considered out-of-network. WC (Workers Compensation): The U.S. Department of Labor program provides insurance for employees whom may get injured on their place of employment. POS (Point of Service): An insurance plan that offers low cost HMOs when a patient sees network providers by their insurance company. Currently the medical coding is transitioning from ICD-9 to ICD-10. ICD-10 is presenting itself with more specific information and data, which in the turn helps with the World Health Organization (WHO). With the new ICD-10 codes have increased in character length giving the biller to right which specific extremity it is on a patient (left arm, right arm). ICD-10 compliance date is coming October 1, 2014. ICD- 10 reimbursement has said to have some challenges with DRG payments. The changes that are known to take place do not affect the DRG (Drug Related Groups) calculation as expected. The majority of reimbursements that come to a hospital are based on DRG. The impact on an organization with Medicare revenue of $150 million using a -0.04% variance it would be a $600,000 loss, which is still a substantial amount. Amounts of reimbursements can shift and vary depending on mix of a facilities DRG’s. In ICD-10 financial impact will be with slowdown in submission of final codes, rejections and denials because on inaccurate codes, and productivity loss (Smith, 2013). Medical billers and coders should not be overly concerned with these changes. Medical Billing and Coding specialist deal with patients medical records which contain physician’s notes for services that were rendered at the time of the patients visit. The medical biller and coder translates that information to a five-digit code from American Medical Association Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) or from Statistical Classification of Disease and Related Health Problems (ICD). It is crucial for the ICD and CPT codes match with the services rendered or a claim will be rejected, many claims are initially rejected. The cost of healthcare is on the rise and the demand for services has increased of required and specialty services feed into the financial greed among HMOs. The major bulk of hospital bills are paid directly by the patient’s health insurance provider which are termed the payer. 68% of the United States population has private insurance which is provided by their employer or self-pay. Around 9% of the population are self-payers who direct-purchase their insurance. There are two main categories of third- party payers they are government and private. Medicaid and Medicare are the largest government issued payers. Reimbursements for both private and governmental have policies that support therapeutics, diagnostics and new medical medicines and technologies. It is clinically evidence based approvals such as diagnostic test, prescription medicines, clinical trials and however insurers are using to help with their life cycle. With reimbursements there are incentives for medical facilities and doctors. Reimbursements are a source of revenue for hospitals; payers do not pay a full price for services. Healthcare has become the economy’s largest force. Healthcare services are very different from other industries because of the production rate. In the healthcare industry the technology advancement makes a bigger impact than other industries. An assembly line at a manufacturing plant process thousands of the same or identical items. These items are produced by robots and machines which dehumanizes the industry. Patients are cared for on unique terms one by one. Health care is also locally based in every city and state and are not outsourced or out of the country. As the healthcare industry is growing the productivity is slowing down. Thus the cost of production in the healthcare industry steadily rises. References (n.d.) AMA American Medical Association. â€Å"The Difference between ICD-9 and ICD-10†. Retrieved July 13, 2013 from http://www.ama-assn.org/ama1/pub/upload/mm/399/icd10-icd9-differences-fact-sheet.pdf Marcinko, D. (2011). Recognizing the Differences between Healthcare and Other Industries. Retrieved July 20, 2013 from http://medicalexecutivepost.com/2011/01/19/recognizing-the-differences-between-healthcare-and-other-industries/ Smith, Donna. (2013). â€Å"Reimbursement Impact of ICD-10: Should You Be Concerned?†. Retrieved from August 15, 2013 From http://healthcare-executive-insight.advanceweb.com/Features/Articles/Reimbursement-Impact-of-ICD-10-Should-You-Be-Concerned.aspx View as multi-pages

What Is Mercantilism Essays

What Is Mercantilism Essays What Is Mercantilism Essay What Is Mercantilism Essay What is mercantilism? According to the definition in the America Past and Present history book is an economic theory that shaped imperial policy thought out the colonial period, mercantilism was built on the assumption that the world’s wealth was a fixed supply. In order to increase its wealth, a nation needed to export more goods than it imported. Favorable trade and protective economic policies, as well as new colonial possessions rich in raw materials, were important in achieving this balance. During the reign of Charles II English policy makers assumed they established a well-integrated set of concepts about the nature of international commerce and a carefully planned out set of mercantilist government policies to implement them. However, they only were interested in solving their own problems. Since there wasn’t laws or anything to regulate these groups their needs lead to the rise of the English commercial regulations. The Navigation Act was passed in 1660 which stated that no ship could trade in the colonies unless it had been constructed in either England or America and carried a crew that was at least 75% English and that certain enumerated goods of great value that were not produced in England could be transported from the colonies only to an English or another colonial port. Thru out the years more and more regulations were set the last major legislation came in 1696. This statute tightened enforcement procedures putting pressure specifically on the colonial governors to keep England’s competitors out of American ports. American colonials thought they were in unity with England that would later prove false.

Microscope history essays

Microscope history essays The microscope has become one of the most recognizable symbols of science. This picture is of the "Lanyard Lens" discovered at Nimrod by Lanyard, and datable all the way back to 721-705 BC. With the lenses of spectacles widespread, and their obvious magnification properties, it was only a matter of time before someone put two together to make the first compound microscope. Indeed, this was probably already happening with telescopes just before this as Dutch Spectacle makers were experimenting with multiple lenses. Since a microscope could be made by just reversing a telescope, this may be where the idea originated. There is a terrific amount of mis-information about who invented the microscope. Fairly respectable references have said Galileo invented it shortly after inventing the telescope. This is not so, as Galileo didn't purchase his first telescope until around 1607. Many people think that Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope. This is also very untrue, as while his microscopes were very simple and crude, he started making them long after very elaborate models were available and they had made many important discoveries. With the lenses of spectacles widespread, an d their obvious magnification properties, it was only a matter of time before someone put two together to make the first compound microscope. Indeed, this was probably already happening with telescopes just before this as Dutch Spectacle makers were experimenting with multiple lenses. Since a microscope could be made by just reversing a telescope, this may be where the idea originated. There is a terrific amount of mis-information about who invented the microscope. Fairly respectable references have said Galileo invented it shortly after inventing the telescope. This is not so, as Galileo didn't purchase his first telescope until around 1607. Many people think that Leeuwenhoek invented the microscope. This is also very untrue, as while his microscopes were ver...