Should Marijuana Be Legalized - 877 Words

Legalize It There was a time when talks of legalizing marijuana went largely untouched by statesmen and policymakers. It seemed that considering legalization was unpopular and that the demand for it existed only in the minds of few. In this ever-changing world, we now see the rhetoric of the matter gradually fade away. That old approach of conservatism seems to be marginalized regarding this groundbreaking social topic. With 75% of the nation expecting that marijuana will find a federal path to legality, the ability to buy, possess, and consume recreational cannabis is perfectly legal in four states. Furthermore, economists have begun to study this subject in great depth. By and large, their analysis has concluded that the nationalized legalization of cannabis would stimulate the American economy. Additionally, black-market criminals would no longer profit from the vast exploitations of the marijuana plant, while licensed growers, retailers, and consumers would all reap the positive ends. In sum mation, revenue from the federally-mandated legalization of marijuana would prove economically beneficial to both the federal government and domestic businesses. Legalization would, in turn, affect a number of different economic systems, but it might pose some ethical questions for the Catholic Church and other religious institutions. First and foremost, production of nationalizing the pot industry begins with licensed growers. Currently, we have the proper infrastructure for cannabisShow MoreRelatedShould Marijuana Be Legalized?849 Words   |  4 Pageswhether marijuana should be legalized. Around 23 states have legalized marijuana for medical and recreational use. In the state of Illinois, medicinal use of marijuana has been passed on April 17, 2013. Since January 2014, patients are able to obtain marijuana with a doctor s recommendation. The new debate is whether marijuana should be legalized for the general public as a recreational drug. Although some believe that marijuana is harmless, and that it has beneficial medicinal uses, marijuana shouldRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1715 Words   |  7 PagesMarijuana in Society Cannabis, formally known as marijuana is a drug obtained from the tops, stems and leaves of the hemp plant cannabis. The drug is one of the most commonly used drugs in the world. Only substances like caffeine, nicotine and alcohol are used more (â€Å"Marijuana† 1). In the U. S. where some use it to feel â€Å"high† or get an escape from reality. The drug is referred to in many ways; weed, grass, pot, and or reefer are some common names used to describe the drug (â€Å"Marijuana† 1). Like mostRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1489 Words   |  6 Pagescannabis plant or marijuana is intended for use of a psychoactive drug or medicine. It is used for recreational or medical uses. In some religions, marijuana is predominantly used for spiritual purposes. Cannabis is indigenous to central and south Asia. Cannabis has been scientifically proven that you can not die from smoking marijuana. Marijuana should be legalized to help people with medical benefits, econo mic benefits, and criminal benefits. In eight states, marijuana was legalized for recreationalRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1245 Words   |  5 PagesMarijuana is a highly debatable topic that is rapidly gaining attention in society today.   Legalizing marijuana can benefit the economy of this nation through the creation of jobs, increased tax revenue, and a decrease in taxpayer money spent on law enforcement.   Ã‚  Many people would outlaw alcohol, cigarettes, fast food, gambling, and tanning beds because of the harmful effects they have on members of a society, but this is the United States of America; the land of the free and we should give peopleRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1010 Words   |  5 PagesThe legalization of marijuana became a heated political subject in the last few years. Twenty-one states in America have legalized medical marijuana. Colorado and Washington are the only states where marijuana can be purchased recreationally. Marijuana is the high THC level part of the cannabis plant, which gives users the â€Å"high† feeling. There is ample evidence that supports the argument that marijuana is beneficial. The government should legalize marijuana recreationally for three main reasonsRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1350 Words   |  6 Pagespolitics in the past decade would have to be the legalization of marijuana. The sale and production of marijuana have been legalized for medicinal uses in over twenty states and has been legalized for recreational uses in seven states. Despite the ongoing support for marijuana, it has yet to be fully legalized in the federal level due to cultural bias against â€Å"pot† smoking and the focus over its negative effects. However, legalizing marijuana has been proven to decrease the rate of incrimination in AmericaRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1231 Words   |  5 Pagesshows the positive benefits of marijuana, it remains illegal under federal law. In recent years, numerous states have defied federal law and legalized marijuana for both recreational and medicinal use. Arizona has legalized marijuana for medical use, but it still remains illegal to use recreationally. This is absurd, as the evidence gathered over the last few decades strongly supports the notion that it is safer than alcohol, a widely available substance. Marijuana being listed as a Schedule I drugRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized? Essay1457 Words   |  6 PagesSHOULD MARIJUANA BE LEGALIZED? Marijuana is a drug that has sparked much controversy over the past decade as to whether or not it should be legalized. People once thought of marijuana as a bad, mind-altering drug which changes a person’s personality which can lead to crime and violence through selling and buying it. In the past, the majority of citizens believed that marijuana is a harmful drug that should be kept off the market and out of the hands of the public. However, a recent study conductedRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1596 Words   |  7 Pages But what needs to be known before a user can safely and completely make the decision if trying Marijuana is a good idea? Many do not want the drug to be legalized because they claim that Cannabis is a â€Å"gateway drug†, meaning it will cause people to try harder drugs once their body builds up a resistance to Marijuana, because a stronger drug will be needed to reach a high state. This argument is often falsely related to the medical si de of the debate over legalization. It is claimed that this wouldRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?985 Words   |  4 PagesLegalize Marijuana Despite what people believe about marijuana, it hasn’t once proved to be the cause of any real issue. It makes you wonder what the reason as to why there is a war on drugs. Why is marijuana the main concern? Since the time that alcohol and tobacco became legal, people wonder why marijuana isn’t legal yet. The fact that marijuana is illegal is mainly caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. Once the government starts anything, they stick to it. At

The Beatles An Influence on Pop Culture - 1182 Words

There has been no other band that has influenced pop culture like the Beatles have, according the Rolling Stone website. The Beatles were an English rock band that performed in a city called Liverpool. The Beatle’s members consists of John Lennon, George Harrison, Ringo Starr, and Paul McCartney. There genres was rock and pop during the years they were active in 1960-1970. In the early 1960’s, they were known as Beatlemania instead of the Beatle’s but as their song writing grew in culture they came to be professed as an epitome of the ideals shared by the era’s sociocultural revolutions. They began to build their reputation in the 1960’s while playing in Liverpool and Hamburg. Their manager Brain Epstein, along with George Martin boosted their music potential. After, their first hit â€Å"Love Me Do† came out, they became more popular in the United Kingdom in the late 1962. They got their nick name â€Å"the Fab Four† as the Beatlemania grew in Britain and by the 1964 they became international stars in the â€Å"British Invasion†. In 1965, the created some very influential albums like the Rubber Soul in 1965, Revolver 1996, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts club Bands 1967, The Beatles in 1968, and Abbey Road in 1969. One of their members, Lennon was shot and kill in December in 1980 after their brea k up and Harrison died of lung cancer in November 2001. The Beatles was the best things to happen in the twentieth century, during 1964, they were held the first five slows on the BillboardShow MoreRelated The Beatles Influence in Pop Culture Essay1697 Words   |  7 PagesThe Beatles Influence in Pop Culture The Beatles were one of the most influential music groups of the rock era. They were able to conquer and influence pop culture with their music. Initially they affected the post-war baby boom generation of Britain and the W.S. during the 1960s, and later the request of the world. Certainly they were the most successful group, with global sales exceeding 1.3 billion albums. During the sixties, The Beatles using revolutionary ideas in their music inspiredRead MorePop Culture as an Expression of Society Essays636 Words   |  3 PagesPop culture is the modern lifestyle which is countenanced and recognized by society, the cultural patterns that are common within a population. The general opinion is that pop culture is a useful expression of society and the prevailing environment, as pop culture is the culture which is followed by the majority, and therefore reflects society. The pop culture of a society is influenced by many aspects of society such as music, movies and modern technology. Modern day songs and movies promoteRead MoreThe Impact Of Beatles On American Pop Culture1698 Words   |  7 Pagescoming artists such as The Beatles. The impact The Beatles had on society and society’s standards in the 1960s was so massive that their influences would last long into the future, even after the breakup of the band. The strides not only being made in music but in the culture of America were ones that would last for decades. Even today, 46 years after the breakup, the Beatles legacy is still kept alive through tributes and record sales are still skyrocketing. The Beatles were the most influentialRead MoreThe 1960s Of The 1960 S1394 Words   |  6 Pagesmusicians who were influential during the 1960s such as Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, and The Eagles, arguably none were as influential as The Beatles. Consisting of John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George H arrison, and Ringo Starr, helped change the face of popular culture of the 1960’s through their music, image, and influence on the counterculture of the time. The Beatles originally started off as The Quarrymen in 1957, headed by John Lennon and consisting of other musicians. That same year Paul McCartneyRead MoreMusic And Music : Mozart And The Beatles Composed Pop And Rock920 Words   |  4 Pagescomposer of classical music who was regarded as on of the best composers that had ever lived. The Beatles were a British boy band who had revolutionized pop and rock music. Although Mozart composed classical music and The Beatles composed Pop and Rock, the two have something in common; they revolutionized music. The Beatles do share a similarity to classical music though. Growing up, the members of The Beatles listened to BBC radio, which played classical music and familiarized them with what classicalRead MoreThe Beatles And Bob Dylan905 Words   |  4 Pagesvarious ways, Britain and America have influenced and inspired one another for many years. Music was, and still is, a huge connecting factor between the two countries. The Beatles and Bob Dylan, two of the most famous artists of all time, demonstrate how Britain and America had a profound influence on each country’s music culture. In the beginning of American history, America was heavily influenced by Britain because it was considered the â€Å"Mother Country† for the pilgrims that settled throughout NorthRead MoreSimilarities Between The Beatles and Pink Floyd775 Words   |  4 PagesPink Floyd and the Beatles had more in common then they’re often credited. Both bands members were raised in the United Kingdom. The original framework for â€Å"The Beatles† was conspired by the best friends, John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Likewise, â€Å"Pink Floyd† was created by best friends Nick Mason and Roger Waters. By the same token, both bands were founded while the members received their education. World War II was a pin point in each of the band members lives, if not directly affecting them, thenRead MoreMusic Of The 60s Help Shape Modern Australian Society1259 Words   |  6 Pagesthe ideas.† This was pronounced by Bob Dylan, a folk musician of the sixties: an era in which the mus ic heavily influenced the culture of the time and continues to influence the music and culture today. The music and artists of the 60s influenced radio and television, the music, fashion and lifestyles of the people, particularly youth, heavily influenced the popular culture Australia, USA, Britain and other Western Countries. The music of the â€Å"swinging 60s†especially influenced the lives of many teenagersRead MoreThe Musical Influences On The Beatles : The Beatles1644 Words   |  7 Pages Cynthia Leon Music 12 Dr. Michael Zilber The Beatles The Beatles are an English rock band that became one of the most iconic bands in history. All four of the band members of the Beatles John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney and Ring Starr were born in Liverpool in the early 1940’s. During this time England was in the midst of WWII and they were deemed as â€Å"war babies†. The shambles that England was left in cultivated skiffle from the U.S. which was a form of music that made it fairly easyRead MoreThe Beatles : The Most Successful Recording Artists Of All Time1592 Words   |  7 PagesThe Beatles â€Å"All you need is love†. â€Å"Whisper words of wisdom, let it be†. â€Å"Here comes the sun†. These household phrases are all attributed to one band: The Beatles. Considered the most successful recording artists of all time, this band is one that has transformed the music industry, revolutionized popular culture, and in essence, changed the world. Even the most adamant skeptics cannot deny the contributions of this historic band, and its importance can be evaluated using relevant criteria. The

Depression Across Community Environment †Myassignmrenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Depression Across Community Environment? Answer: Introducation The research question in the presented case scenario attributes to the systematic analysis of the psychosocial experiences of the adolescent individuals affected by the pattern of depression across the community environment. The qualitative research analysis would analyse and investigate the impact of the clinical manifestations of the depressive episodes on the on the pattern of health and wellness of the depressed adolescents. For example, the pattern of emotional paralysis experienced by the depressed adolescents requires exploration in the context of evaluating their subjective experiences attributing to irritability, impatience, anxiety, fear and panic (Amini, Negarandeh, Cheraghi, Eftekhar, 2013). Depressed people might experience dyshedonia, leading to the development of inconsistent behaviour. Similarly, disturbed thought processes of the depressed adolescents require subjective qualitative analysis while identifying the state of their guilt, spiritual conventions, beliefs a nd level of frustration (Amini, Negarandeh, Cheraghi, Eftekhar, 2013). The qualitative analysis requires further utilization in the context of exploring the pattern of cognitive decline experienced by the depressed adolescents. The identification of the attributes including indecisiveness, adverse evaluation, absence of concentration and memory, physical constrains, pain pattern, sleeping issues, facial alterations, appetite problems as well as sexual dysfunction is necessarily required for their evidenced-based qualitative analysis (Amini , Negarandeh, Cheraghi, Eftekhar, 2013). The study design as well as study method for this qualitative intervention could include the administration of semi-structured interviews to the adolescent individuals affected with the pattern of depression and associated clinical manifestations (Overend, et al., 2015). The recruitment of the study participants will be based on the diagnosis of depression and age group of the eligible subjects. The findi ngs of the interview data require a subjective analysis by multiple healthcare professionals from diverse clinical backgrounds (Overend, et al., 2015). The analysis of the depression-based data would require the utilization of a grounded theory approach in the context of generating a theorized concept evolving from the research findings. Contrarily, the quantitative analysis of depression manifestations and experiences of the adolescent people requires their objective measurement with the utilization of pre-defined variables and scales for leading a hypothesis (Teixeira, Fernandes, Llonch, 2013). These scales could measure the intensity of depressive episodes experienced by the depressed people and interpret the severity in terms of scores. The higher scores will correlate to the elevated level of deterioration of self-esteem of adolescent individuals, under the influence of depression. However, lower scores will reveal minimal influence of depression episodes on the quality of lif e and wellness outcomes of the depressed adolescents (Teixeira, Fernandes, Llonch, 2013). Sample Recruitment The qualitative recruitment strategy focuses on including the study subjects in accordance with the subjective inclusion criteria specified for undertaking the research intervention (Mendez-Luck, et al., 2011). The research professionals would identify the potential participants after their systematic screening and the subjects who do not qualify in the adolescent age range would be summarily rejected in accordance with the inclusion criteria. Similarly, the healthy adolescents who do not experience depressive manifestations require exclusion from the research study. The qualitative sample recruitment strategy would not consider the subjects who refrain themselves from undertaking the preliminary screening process or quit the study during the follow-up period. The qualitative sampling of the depressed adolescents will take into consideration the knowledge base and subjective experiences of the adolescents in relation to the pattern of depression and associated experiences (Palinkas, et al., 2015). People without appropriate knowledge of the same will remain excluded from the study in accordance with the qualitative selection convention. The qualitative inclusion criteria will also consider the communication potential of the selected individuals in terms of sharing their depression experiences in a reflective, expressive and articulative manner (Palinkas, et al., 2015). The qualitative method of purposeful sampling attempts to acquire the in-depth understanding of selected subjects in the context of undertaking subjective analysis from the data obtained from the semi-structured interviews (Palinkas, et al., 2015). Contrarily, the quantitative selection methodology will acquire a more generalized selection approach while utilizing an established set of formulae on a wider scale (Palinkas, et al., 2015). The qualitative selection methodology advocates the concept of homogeneity warranting the selection of a smaller sample size in comparison to the quantitative sel ection approach that requires the selection of a larger number of research subjects (Palinkas, et al., 2015). Data Collection Approaches The data collected from the semi-structured interview sessions in the presented case scenario would require the production of larger data sets for their subjective evaluation by the healthcare professionals (Sutton, 2015). The transcription of the recorded data is necessarily required before initiating the qualitative data analysis process. Research professionals might also append annotations in relation to various behavioural and environmental attributes that could influence the qualitative data analysis and the associated results (Sutton, 2015). The appended field notes assist in evaluating the influence of circumstantial factors on the quality and accuracy of the extracted data. Contrarily, the data collection method acquired while undertaking quantitative research intervention advocates the requirement of data acquisition in the electronic format with the utilization of IT based interventions (Ponto, 2015). The tailormade self-administered questionnaires assist in collecting a hu ge amount of data in relation to the severity of depression experienced by the adolescent participants. The utilization of digital systems for capturing the non-verbal responses of the research participants assists in retaining the accuracy of the data collected and stored in the electronic medical records (Ponto, 2015). Data Analysis The qualitative data analysis of the experiences of depressed adolescents requires subjective execution by the research professionals (Austin, 2014). The research team members might perform coding of the retrieved information or interpret the same by appending their own remarks. The coding of the retrieved data requires its thematic capture with the identification of the concepts, thoughts and ideas requiring systematic evaluation by the research professionals (Austin, 2014). The text or phrases used by the study subjects during the semi-structured interview sessions requires focussed and meaningful interpretation with the objective of retrieving the perspectives advocated by the participants. Thematic conversion of interview findings might require the utilization of software like NVivo (Austin, 2014). Manual conversion of large datasets into grounded themes is not recommended in the context of reducing the scope of errors in the interpretation of study findings. Research professiona ls require systematic documentation of various coding paradigms in accordance with the inclusion and exclusion criteria (Austin, 2014). Thematic conversion of the depression data in the presented clinical scenario will assist in generating a hypothesis that might require further testing and evaluation through prospective quantitative research interventions (Austin, 2014). However, the quantitative data analysis approach advocates the determination of variables and establishing the same while incorporating a set of values with each variable requiring evaluation (Simpson, 2015). These variables require assimilation in accordance with the measurement level and attributes requiring assessment in accordance with the pre-defined parameters of the research study. In the presented case scenario, these variables might include the low severity and high severity depression episodes and the values could indicate the clinical manifestations experiences by the depressed adolescents across the com munity environment. The categorical evaluation of variables and associated values assists in their meaningful sequencing that evidentially predicts the outcomes of the quantitative research intervention. The dependent as well as independent variables require objective statistical interpretation for generating the research findings. The statistical approaches including ANOVA, Binomial test, Chi-square (2) test and Kendall tau () alternative requires utilization in the quantitative analysis for the systematic theorization of the outcome data (Simpson, 2015). Findings and Generalization The qualitative research intervention leads to weaker findings in comparison to the findings obtained through quantitative study (Anderson, 2010). The qualitative findings are categorized while structuring the responses provided by the participants. The baseline of the qualitative findings includes the evidence-based literature containing previously recorded data on the same subject of study. The generalizability of the qualitative research findings is achieved through the process of meta-synthesis, multidimensional analysis, documentation and audit of the recorded data, consistent comparison of the datasets, triangulation as well as systematic sampling (Leung, 2015). Therefore, the findings of the presented case scenario could acquire generalization with the systematic analysis and audit of the recorded patient experiences in terms of depressive complications. Contrarily, the pattern of generalizability retrieved through quantitative approaches varies reciprocally with the statistic al power of the study variables (Kukull Ganguli, 2012). The quantitative study findings acquire generalization in accordance with the research setting, sample selection methodology, level of selection bias as well as study limitations. The pattern of generalizability of quantitative research findings results in the generation of a hypothesis on a wider scale (Kukull Ganguli, 2012). However, the generalizability of findings in a quantitative intervention might reduce their sensitivity as well as internal under the influence of confounding variables (Kukull Ganguli, 2012). Therefore, healthcare professionals require undertaking evidence-based measures with the objective of reducing the scope of occurrence of bias in the study findings while excluding the confounding dataset from the research analysis. Grounded Theory Approach and Qualitative Research The acquisition of the grounded theory approach assists in the justification and design of the qualitative research methods in the context of generating findings of elevated quality (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). These high-quality findings will require consistent utilization in the prospective research interventions with the objective of enhancing patient care outcomes in the clinical settings. The grounded theory approach in the context of qualitative analysis advocates the utilization of inductive assessment without waiting for the complete collection of the required data (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). The data collection process runs in parallel with data analysis while facilitating the process of theoretical sampling. The grounded theory intervention further advocates the process of coding and comparison of the recorded data in the context of identifying the pattern of variation in the extracted data. The interrelation of codes results in the generati on of concepts. The data analysis is facilitated by memo-writing (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). The concomitant execution of memo-writing, data comparison and coding leads to the process of theoretical sampling that evidentially assists in the development of emerging theory. The grounded theory approach advocates the acquisition of theoretical saturation in the context of substantiating the study results from the data analysis (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). Substantive extraction of results under the direction of grounded theory approach leads to the development of substantive theory that revolves around the interrelated concepts and never considered as final by the research professionals (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). Two grounded theory approaches include the evaluation of the dental treatment knowledge of the dental practitioners identified through interview sessions and theoretical sampling, and the willingness of the treated patients in terms of receiving the recommended dental approaches (evaluated through interview sessions and memo-writing) (Sbaraini, Carter, Evans, Blinkhorn, 2011). References Amini , K., Negarandeh , R., Cheraghi , M. A., Eftekhar , M. (2013). Major depressive disorder: a qualitative study on the experiences of Iranian patients. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 34(9). doi:10.3109/01612840.2013.789942 Anderson, C. (2010). Presenting and Evaluating Qualitative Research. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 74(8). Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2987281/ Austin, Z. (2014). Qualitative Research: Getting Started. The Canadian Journal of Hospital Pharmacy, 67(6), 436-440. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4275140/#__sec10title Kukull, W. A., Ganguli, M. (2012). Generalizability - The trees, the forest, and the low-hanging fruit. Neurology, 78(23), 1886-1891. doi:10.1212/WNL.0b013e318258f812 Leung, L. (2015). Validity, reliability, and generalizability in qualitative research. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care, 4(3), 324-327. doi:10.4103/2249-4863.161306 Mendez-Luck, C. A., Trejo, L., Miranda, J., Jimenez, E., Quiter, E. S., Mangione, C. M. (2011). Recruitment Strategies and Costs Associated With Community-Based Research in a Mexican-Origin Population. The Gerontologist, 51(1), S94S105. doi:10.1093/geront/gnq076 Overend, K., Bosanquet, K., Bailey, D., Foster, D., Gascoyne, S., Lewis, H., . . . Chew-Graham, C. (2015). Revealing hidden depression in older people: a qualitative study within a randomised controlled trial. BMC Family Practice. doi:10.1186/s12875-015-0362-2 Palinkas, L. A., Horwitz, S. M., Green, C. A., Wisdom, J. P., Duan, N., Hoagwood, K. (2015). Purposeful sampling for qualitative data collection and analysis in mixed method implementation research. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health, 533-544. doi:10.1007/s10488-013-0528-y Ponto, J. (2015). Understanding and Evaluating Survey Research. JADPRO, 6(2), 168-171. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4601897/ Sbaraini, A., Carter, S. M., Evans, R. W., Blinkhorn, A. (2011). How to do a grounded theory study: a worked example of a study of dental practices. BMC Medical ResearchMethodology. doi:10.1186/1471-2288-11-128 Simpson, S. H. (2015). Creating a Data Analysis Plan: What to Consider When Choosing Statistics for a Study. CJHP, 68(4), 311-317. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4552232/ Sutton, J. (2015). Qualitative Research: Data Collection, Analysis, and Management. CJHP, 68(3), 226-231. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4485510/ Teixeira , N. J., Fernandes , d.-C., Llonch , S. A. (2013). A quantitative, cross-sectional study of depression and self-esteem in teenage and young adult burn victims in rehabilitation. Ostomy/Wound Management, 59(9), 22-29. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24018389

Productivity Audit

Table of Contents Introduction General impression of the audit Analysis Recommendations Value Facet Analysis Conclusion References Introduction A Productivity audit is a tool that companies and businesses use to analyze an organization’s effectiveness. A company achieves this by determining the status of its productivity. A productivity audit establishes the organization’s current productivity.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Productivity Audit specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Recently, due to increased competition and the dynamic nature of customers’ needs, many companies are adopting the productivity audit as a tool. This helps to increase organization’s productivity, thus giving it a competitive advantage in the market. Walgreens, the largest drug store chain in United States of America, has its head quarters in Deerfield, Illinois. The company has expanded its business into all fifty states in America and Puerto Rico. It has over eight thousand stores in the USA. Walgreens offers a wide range of products and services. These include consumer goods, services, and pharmaceutical products. It supplies its products and services through Walgreens health services, Walgreens Health and Walgreens Wellness Divisions. It also has three mail order facilities in its portfolio. Walgreens has positioned most of its stores in prime locations except a few located in malls. General impression of the audit A productivity report should be comprehensive and fair to ensure that the organization does not underestimate or exaggerate its productivity status. The management should establish standards and policies for use during the audit to improve consistency and uniformity within the organization. The Walgreens’ productivity audit report presented in this paper will focus on eight key areas. Policies are the fundamental guidelines that govern the operations of an organization. The audit will evaluate Walgreens policies and, how the policies are contributing to the productivity of the corporation. Leadership of an organization is a critical component in determining the overall success of the organization. The audit will evaluate how Walgreens’ leadership has affected the productivity of the corporation.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Objectives should be measurable, time bound, attainable and communicated to all stakeholders of the organization. The productivity audit will evaluate the roles, which the objectives of corporation have played in the success of the business. The audit will also establish modifications to put the organization at a competitive advantage over similar corporations in the industry. Inputs are the resources that an organization incorporates into the production process. They include raw materia l, capital, and labor. The productivity audit will establish how inputs into Walgreens operations contribute to its productivity. The audit also evaluates how the management can make these inputs more efficient to maximize the productivity of the corporation. Technology helps an organization to keep up with the market trends. However, technology becomes obsolete unusually fast hence; an organization has to keep in investing in new technologies to compete appropriately in the competitive market. Investment into technology enhances creation of new products and services, thereby meeting the changing demands of the market. The audit report will establish how technological changes have influenced Walgreens’ productivity and carry out a cost benefit analysis to determine revenue generated from technological investments. According to Drummond, Ensor, and Ashford (2008, p.95), business managements should revise performance measures of the various inputs on regular basis to avoid redu ndant divisions in their organizations. The productivity audit will determine the performance measures, which Walgreens uses to evaluate performance of its employees, technology and the working procedures. This will help the Walgreens to identify areas where the management needs to make more emphatic performance measures to increase productivity of the corporation. Work procedures are the steps, which an organization follows during production of its products and services. An organization should improve work procedures on a regular basis to enhance the quality of its products and services. The organization should use a learning curve to reduce cost and improve the quality of its products and services.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Productivity Audit specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The audit will evaluate the evolution of working procedures in Walgreens over the years. The results will help Walgreens t o establish how the working procedures can increase the organization’s profitability through cost reduction and production of high quality products and services. Finally, the productivity audit will analyze the productivity status of staff members in the organization. The organization’s staff provides a link between the technology, inputs, and working procedures. Employee’s performance and competency are critical factors in improving the output and quality of services and products, which an organization offers. The Walgreens productivity audit will establish the competency of employees in the various divisions. The purpose of the audit is to identify training needs of Walgreens’ employees. This shall enable the management to increase the productivity of the employees. Analysis Walgreens has a policy that ensures that eight per cent of its supplier’s minority business enterprise and two percent of the suppliers serve diverse markets. This ensures th at the organization’s products and services are available at the grassroots. Walgreens has policies that enhance its contribution to the development of the community. Through its community-based programs for example, Walgreens plays a very crucial role in the development of the community. In addition, the organization has a policy that ensures that any prospective supplier of its products and services adheres to the company’s stipulated standards of performance. Walgreens has non-discriminatory policies of recruiting suppliers to its products and services. These policies have enabled Walgreens to become the market leader in the pharmaceutical and health products and services’ industry. However, for over the years, the company has not been having a clear policy of prescription of sale of over the counter medicine. As a result, the corporation once faced a lawsuit in which the state accused the corporation for altering doctor’s prescription and selling drug s to patients without a doctor’s written approval. Since the inception of Walgreens in the year 1901 by its founder Charles R. Walgreen, the corporation’s leadership has steered the corporation into financial prosperity. The leadership has in fact ensured that customers access quality products at affordable prices for over the years.Advertising Looking for research paper on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The corporation’s leadership has been hereditary since its inception. The current management of the organization has maintained the corporate culture and leadership perspective established by its founder. The Management has been majorly concerned with expansion of the corporation by encouraging diversity and supporting minority businesses and women. The management of Walgreens is actively involved in the control of production of the corporation’s goods and services. This ensures that their costs are relatively low. The expansion strategy by the management has ensured timely availability of the organization’s products and services to their consumers. Walgreens’ Leadership has had a positive impact on the organization since it has ensured that the corporation maintains leadership in the market. The leadership has established a corporate culture that ensures environmental conservation. The organization also empowers the disabled and minority groups in the co mmunity by offering them employment opportunities. Walgreens’ objectives include fostering growth of the corporation through supply diversity. Walgreen also gives back to the community through its corporate social responsibility program. The corporation recognizes talent by training the disabled and incorporating them among its staff. Through this way, the corporation empowers the minority and disabled in the society. Walgreens’ objectives have helped foster good public image in the community, its supplies, products, and services. Good corporate social responsibility is critical in increasing a company’s productivity. hrough empowerment of minority businesses, women and the disabled, Walgreens contributes directly to the development of the community. Walgreen does not stipulate its productivity objective in its mission statement, which perhaps affects the achievement of its goals. The merchandizing division of the corporation manages productivity of all the inpu ts of the corporation. The division manages the beauty, personal care product lines, and consumables. It also controls the health and wellness operations. Effective merchandizing plans ensure that the corporation supplies quality products and services to the market at affordable prices. The corporation’s ability to supply quality and affordable products and services has enhanced its realization of diverse market objective. Diverse markets have lead to increase in the organization’s revenue over the years. The ease with which consumers can access the organization’s product has lead to an upward trend in the organization’s revenues for over the years. However, to uphold the standards, the corporation undertakes rigorous process of training of all its suppliers and staff to ensure that the organization does not compromise any of its standards at any level. Performance standards and measures in Walgreens aim at ensuring that customers receive quality and safe products and services. The corporation’s auditing department ensures accountability and efficiency in the accounting and finance department. It indeed reinforces management standards in this department. The pharmaceutical department, beauty, and health care product lines, have safety regulations or standards that the production units have to adhere to avoid legal suits for production of substandard products. The standards also stipulate product recall procedures. Recall policies ensure that the organization recalls substandard products that find their way into the market as fast as possible to mitigate the harmful effects they could have on consumers. There exist clear rules and procedures in the Customer service department, which stipulate rerun of goods into the store after purchase, and shipping procedures for the mail order service. Through employee-customer relation’s policies, the performance standards have ensured that the organization maintains customer satisf action. There are in fact set standards to guide the staff when interacting with their clients. The standards also ensure that the corporation does not get involved in legal battle with the state due to supply of substandard products, which may be hazardous for consumption by customers. The innovation department is in charge of ensuring that the corporation uses the latest technology in production, marketing, and distribution of its products and services. Walgreens has adopted innovative expansion strategies that have facilitated the company’s penetration into the class of drivers of the market for over the years. The company also ensures that production of its beauty health, wellness, and pharmaceutical products uses the latest technology in the market. The company uses on line shop for distribution of its products and services globally, which it then delivers to its customers through shipment. Technology has helped Walgreens to keep up with market trends especially by offer ing the most advanced products to its customers. Technology has also helped the organization to maintain its market leadership in the industry. Because of the size of the organization, Walgreens establishes and monitors its work procedures at the departmental level. The corporation has business units, with their respective heads, and professional, functional units, which manage the overall activities of the corporation. However, the organization has established general work procedures for each department to ensure consistency in all its supply chains and business units. To ensure that the Walgreens’ management follows the stipulated regulations before the recruitment of staff and suppliers into the corporation, the potential candidates go through rigorous training programs. The training also ensures that the corporate culture of the organization ingrains into each one of the stakeholders of the corporation. The work procedures enhance uniformity and consistency in all functio ns of the corporation. Consistency enhances provision for quality customer care and products thus, increasing the customer base of the corporation (Guy, 1992, p.38). By ensuring that all the suppliers adhere to the stipulated work procedures, the corporation has made it easy to manage the activities of Walgreens’ wide supply chain. Walgreens recruits most of its staff from disabled persons. The initiative aims at empowering the less fortunate in society. Recruiting such groups of people equips them with skills that enable them to become self-sufficient and self-reliance. After recruitment, the staff goes through rigorous training programs, which ensure that each employee is competent enough, and is well conversant with the organization’s working procedures. The corporation’s staff trains on regular basis to acquaint them with the new technologies in the market. Consequently, this improves their efficiency, thus increasing the productivity of the corporation. or instance, Walgreen has training programs for pharmacists to enable them assist patients with chronic diseases. Walgreens recruits staff from around the country to enable it to handle its ever-increasing workload due to the expansion strategies it undertakes. Recommendations Walgreen should institute a policy for sale of prescription drugs to customers. Although the business units have complied with the policy, the Walgreens should take the initiative to formulate a policy on the sale of prescription drugs to its supply chain and customers. This will ensure that all suppliers of the company’s products and services adhere to this stipulation and therefore avoiding legal consequences of noncompliance such as legal suits and negative public image of the corporation. The organization should institute a program that monitors activities of suppliers to ensure that they adhere to this policy. They should also create awareness among the suppliers for the consequences of noncompliance to this policy. Walgreens should institute standards that ensure that the organization tests all its products to ensure that they meet the required standards before releasing them into the market. Walgreens has had a couple of product recalls, and although the substandard products have never caused a serious harm to consumers, recall of products brings negative publicity to an organization. This consequently affects the demand and hence the market of the company’s products. Management of Walgreens should implement a program that identifies productivity variance in its wide supply chain and business units. The program will ensure that there is uniformity in productivity objectives and strategies adopted in the various units to meet organizational goals. The programs should work in collaboration with a system for reporting any discrepancies in the productivity objectives. When an organization, has measures, which detect discrepancies in productivity objectives, it can avoid cos ts for correcting future problems in a project. Management of Walgreens should take the initiative to adopt productivity audits as a strategy in order to evaluate its work procedures and therefore avoid production of substandard products. The management should encourage collaboration between the production team and supply chains. The collaboration between supply chains and production teams will ensure minimum or nonexistent sale of defective goods to its consumers. Walgreens should train its suppliers to check the products for defects before sale. This will ensure that the products undergo two check levels before sale. Double-checking of products reduces the chances/probability of selling substandard or defective products to customers. This will improve the customer’s confidence to the products of the corporation. Walgreen is a large corporation with over eight thousand stores in the United States. The management of the corporation should adopt corporate structure that is fle xible to allow timely and effective communication of the productivity audit objectives to all the stakeholders. Ensuring that all suppliers and business units are aware of the productivity objectives will minimize objective variances. Walgreens should formulate a productivity plan and make sure that all the supply chains understand their role in accomplishing the objectives of the productivity plan. The productivity plan will enable the top management to monitor and evaluate the performance of the various units. Value Facet Analysis Organization’s stakeholders are critical in helping the corporation to achieve its productivity objectives. Value driven management focuses on values of the organization’s stakeholders. The actions of the stakeholders determine the actions of the organizations (Prokopenko, 1987, p.76). Value facet analysis includes analysis of the organization’s external culture, organizational culture, employees, suppliers, third party, competitors, and the stockholders’ values. Walgreens needs to adopt product measures that will ensure that products, which get to customers, are free of defects that can be hazardous on consumption thus bringing negative public image to the corporation. Walgreens also needs to formulate a policy that will govern the sale of prescription drugs across its supply chain and its business units. To implement these recommendations, Walgreens needs to carry out a value facet analysis to determine how to make its productivity objectives match with the values of its stakeholders. The recommendations’ implementation should be immediate to avoid lawsuit that could arise from defective products in the future. External Cultures of the organization evolves on the basis that there exist values that are common to organizations in the same industry. The move towards globalization has made it necessary to formulate regulations that govern operations of companies in the world. These values help regul atory bodies to formulate universal regulations for organizations in the common industry. Although the regulations may vary in their wording, in different countries, they promote the same values. Walgreens needs to evaluate the external culture before formulating a policy on sale of prescription drugs in its supply chain. This will help the corporation to formulate a policy that many world cultures accept thus leaving no loopholes that may cause legal suits in future. The organization’s culture defines the way of doing things and the acceptable values within that organization. Walgreens has a culture that contributes to the community through its corporate social responsibility programs. Through this culture, it empowers the disabled and minority groups in the community. To develop standards for evaluating its products before sale, Walgreens needs to engrain a culture, which will encourage testing and evaluation of its products. It also needs to engrain a culture that will pro mote adherence to the policy on sale of prescription drugs among its supply chain. Employee’s values should align with the organization’s productivity objectives. When employee’s values match the organization objectives, this will make it easy for the organization to meet its objectives. Walgreens should use the productivity audit on staff to determine their values. It should then determine how those values could align with the organization’s productivity objectives to improve the quality of its products to avoid product recalls in future. Supplier’s values should be in unison with the organizational values and objectives. Walgreens’ merchandizing department should carry out an analysis on the suppliers of the organization’s product. This will help Walgreen to re-evaluate its suppliers’ list and only outsource products from suppliers with values similar to its values. The suppliers should help Walgreens to uphold its product st andards to avoid product recalls in future. Customer’s values are critical factors when deciding on product factors and overall product success. The organization should promote customer values through the provision of quality products that will meet their wants. Walgreens should evaluate its customer’s values. The re-evaluation will help Walgreens to formulate new standards and policies governing its production and merchandizing operations. The customer’s values will also help in the implementation of the policy on sale of prescription in its supply chain. Third party include the government, regulatory bodies and consumers watch groups. Third party values should match the organization’s values to avoid lawsuits and negative publicity on the company. Walgreens should ensure that it adheres to the government’s regulations on the sale of over the counter prescription drugs. The corporation should also ensure that it meets the product standards stipula ted by regulatory bodies through use of standard procedures in its production and merchandizing units. An organization should evaluate its competitors to determine how it will gain competitive advantage through the establishment of productivity objectives that will surpass those of its competitors. Walgreens should implement work procedures that will improve the standards of its products thus avoid product recalls in future. The owners of an organization play a crucial role in influencing the operations of the organization. The owner’s values determine the organization’s productivity objectives. When the organization’s operations are running smoothly, there is promotion of the owner’s values. Walgreens should incorporate its owner’s values through adoption of new standards that will enhance product quality to avoid product recalls in the future. Walgreen should formulate policies that will ensure that the sale of prescription drugs adheres to the s tipulated standards. Conclusion Walgreen is the largest retail distributor of health care, consumables, and pharmaceutical products in the United States of America. The organization has a culture that helps the less fortunate in the society by empowering them with the skills and opportunities necessary to become self-sufficient. A productivity audit on Walgreens shows that the organization has several strengths such as a wide supply chain that has helped it to penetrate over fifty states (markets), in the United States of America. The organization has however some weaknesses such as product recalls due to sale of substandard goods and lawsuits arising from the sale of drugs without a prescription from a qualified physician. Walgreens can turn these weaknesses into strengths and opportunities through adoption of a culture that ensures product quality and adherence to government’s regulations on the sale of over the counter medicine. The corporation should implement these polic ies after the evaluation of value facets to enable Walgreens to align its objectives with those of its stakeholders. Value facets analysis looks at the external cultures of an organization. Such cultures include the organization’s culture, employee’s values, supplier values, customer values, third party values, competitor’s values, and owner’s values. The value facets analysis in this case provided the operative period within which the recommendations are implementable. The implementations of the productivity audit recommendations will increase Walgreens’ productivity. References Drummond, G., Ensor, J., Ashford, R. (2008). Strategic marketing: Planning and Control. Oxford: Elsevier Ltd. Guy, M. E. (1992). Ethical decision making in everyday work situations. West Port, CT: Green Word Publishing Prokopenko, J. (1987). Productivity management: a practical handbook. Geneva: International Labor Organization. This research paper on Productivity Audit was written and submitted by user Roy Vang to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.