Private practises (for-profit) will tend to discharge patients that are able to leave. But when surgery is required, the only hospitals low-income residents can attend to are the few government-funded ones that accept every patient. Because of this, patients are finding that they have to wait up to fifteen hours to see a doctor and those that can’t wait as long, leave with their condition untreated. When their condition worsens, they come back to the hospital and their medical fees come to tens of thousands of dollars, and the low-income patient is unable to afford it. The same happens when people are unable to afford crucial medications that can prevent conditions from worsening.

The long wait times are also accumulated because there is a shortage of hospital staff and the ratio of a nurse to patients is too high to care for. Hospitals need to find ways to retain hospital staff and to reduce patient wait times, but this can’t only be done on an organizational level; it should start with the government.

ObamaCare would benefit low-income families the most, as they will now receive the benefits in medication and treatment they require. On the organizational level, hospitals will also benefit as there wouldn’t be as many critical conditions arriving in the hospital.

Watching “Code Black” has given me insight on America’s broken healthcare system and the appropriate arrival of ObamaCare. The film documents the work system at one of America’s busiest hospitals, LA County Hospital.

Before moving to the new county, the physicians had a deregulated system of emergency aid in C-Booth, where patients with critical conditions were treated immediately. After moving to the new county, regulation stepped in and while spending two minutes with a patient, doctors subsequently spend another twenty minutes filling out forms. Although the government on the national/state level agree that regulation is benefiting doctors and patients, the organization (hospital) and the public (patients) differ in opinion. This is a common occurrence that happens when governments try to regulate systems with the focus on ‘business’.

Before the move, there were better doctor-patient interactions, especially in C-Booth, and this motivated doctors to practice medicine. Now with the short interactions with patients and large amount of documentation required, doctors find it difficult to treat patients. And without the intrinsic motivation to treat, the hospital and the patients don’t benefit if the doctors aren’t as happy and as productive.

Boasting more than 218 million users, Twitter is a powerhouse social media site. But in comparison to Facebook’s 1.15 billion user base, advertisers say Twitter needs more users in order for them to gain more spending from the mass public. Twitter definitely needs to find ways to garner users since they rely on advertisers as a main revenue stream.

Although it’s impossible for advertisers to ignore the magnitude of Facebook’s reach, Twitter boasts an impressive influential standpoint through celebrity tweeters. In assessing the risk of losing advertisers, Twitter should find ways to make the system more user-friendly, as it is difficult to find relevant news in the clutter of tweets. They also need to add value in engagement for the public in using Twitter. But to add engagement, Twitter requires users to build a list of “followers” and “followings”. The biggest problem faced is tweeting mostly spikes during big events and isn’t a daily habit for users. If Twitter can add more incentives to daily tweeting, users will be more inclined to check Twitter updates. As a social media platform with strong competitors, Twitter needs to find ways to reinforce its brand, user engagement and improve the medium as an easy way for users to connect with other.

Source:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702303492504579115753167390832.html?mod=WSJ_business_LeadStoryRotator

In The Vancouver Sun, this article showcases the value behind boutique brands around Vancouver and the experiences and services associated with them. By using cultural curation, “a buying strategy that tests and offers product categories outside the core business” (Lee) and lifestyle merchandising, boutiques have the advantage of putting value in differentiating their assortments, store design, editing and merchandising, with a sense of surprise in not knowing what to expect when walking into these retail stores. The strongest attribute related to a successful boutique’s brand, is the service provided that is different from big clothing retailers. For example, Rob Lo, Roden Gray co-owner indicates his “skill and emphasis on showing the customer how the product fits into his lifestyle leads to sales” (Lee). For the small retail chain, it’s selling the experience, like favourite restaurants and music preferences. This is highly uncommon to be seen at a department store. With its unique brand position, Roden Gray is able to target their ideal market, where consumers don’t mind paying regular price for the lifestyle and experience associated with the brand. Brands are priceless. And when competing with bigger competitors, it is important to differentiate your brand with key values in a saturated market.

Source:

http://www.vancouversun.com/business/smallbusiness/Small+apparel+stores+adapt+competition+from+chains/8723269/story.html

In The Globe and Mail, an article titled “New Apple iPad Mini faces delay: report”, suggests Apple Inc. will have a delay in release for its new version of the iPad Mini. The report indicates the new iPad Mini will support a higher resolution retina display, but due to possible supplier concerns, the release probably won’t happen until early next year. Although the manufacturing delay is unclear as to why, “one source at a supplier said there were delays in Apple’s certification of panel producers, which were given strict power-saving requirements” (Jim et al.). Apple has also requested suppliers to reduce costs in production in order for Apple to market the iPad Mini at a lower price to compete with dominating competitors in the tablet market.

Operations is a key component to successful management in a company. In order for the supply chain to work efficiently and to produce the highest quality and quantity while keeping costs low, management must organize and process the resources, labour and capital that are required. Companies may have brilliant ideas and products, but if management is unable to execute their plans and deliver the goods to the consumers at the right time or on a timely matter, the market could be soon dominated by competitors.

Source:
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/international-business/us-business/sharper-display-apple-ipad-mini-faces-delay-report/article14653930/