The Invention Of The Automobile Industry - 1450 Words

Background: One of the most innovative inventions of the 19th century was the invention of the automobile. It is clear that the automobile industry has changed the way people and goods travel. The industry basely existed until a man named Henry Ford made the automobile accessible to the public. He put into full motion what we now know today as the automobile industry. Henry Ford had both changed the automobile industry, as well as the manufacturing industry. Ford did this with the way he used the assembly line manufacturing technique. The assembly line technique is defined as â€Å"an arrangement of machines, tools, and workers in which a product is assembled by having each perform a specific, successive operation on an incomplete unit as it†¦show more content†¦As the automobile industry continued to grow, other automobile companies began to arise. However, The Ford Motor Company continued to be innovative in order to stay ahead of the other competing companies. To stay innovative in the modern days of technology, Ford has currently adopted another newer method of production, which is 3D printing. Ford is utilizing 3D printing to create parts for their vehicles into to maintain a more efficient manufacturing process. Technology: Ford was part of the team that was involved in the invention of 3D printing in the 1980’s. Ford is a current customer of the ExOne s S-Max 3-D sand printer. Ford is using this technology to manufacture automobile prototype parts like cylinder heads, air vents, intake manifolds and many others.2 Some of the benefits of 3D printing is that it reduces cost, reduces the time it takes to create an automobile part, and Ford is able to increase its production of parts. For example, Ford and ExOne were able to utilize the 3D technology in 2010. In 2010 Ford was trying to figure out how to make their EcoBoost engine in the new F-150 pickup trucks more efficient. Ford created a prototype engine with the EcoBoost from 3D printing.2 Ford hopes in the future to be able to print automobile parts not only in plastic but also in metal.2 For Ford to be one of the front runners in 3D technology they need to understand completely how the

The Joy That Kills By Kate Chopin - 942 Words

The Joy that Kills In â€Å"Story of an Hour,† Kate Chopin uses irony to emphasize her theme of the unhappiness of women during this time period. The symbols and imagery give the reader a sense of Mrs. Mallard’s new life, a life filled with new possibilities and endless opportunities. On the surface, the story, told within a few pages and spanning only one hour of time, seems quite simple. It is the story of Louise Mallard, a woman with a history of heart problems, who learns from her sister and friend that her husband, Brently Mallard, has lost his life in a train wreck. On instinct she weeps, before retiring to her room. Later, upon exiting her room and descending the stairs, Louise is greeted by the site of her supposedly dead husband entering the home. Louise immediately falls to her death, which the doctors accredit to heart failure. Although seemingly simple, Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is actually a deeply symbolic work, fraught with d aring irony used to achieve major themes of liberation and self-awareness. The story opens with the major irony of the work. Louise Mallard is described as having â€Å"heart trouble†, and news of her husband’s death is conveyed to her â€Å"in broken sentences† and â€Å"veiled hints†¦ revealed in half concealing.† (547) Louise plays the role in society of the delicate, fragile wife, and consequently any strength or passion she possesses remains buried beneath layers of repression. The figure on which she is supposed to be wholly dependent,Show MoreRelatedTheme Of Independence In The Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin1087 Words   |  5 PagesFreedom and Independence for All Kate Chopin is the author of many short-stories and novels. Her short story, â€Å"The Story of an Hour,† is about a woman named Mrs. Louise Mallard with a fragile heart that suddenly and unexpectedly loses her husband in a train accident. Throughout the story, Mrs. Mallard learns to embrace the accident because for her it meant she finally obtained freedom from her demanding life that she has been wanting to break away from. Freedom and independence is one of the themesRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin886 Words   |  4 Pages In Kate Chopin â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the reader is presented with the theme of prohibited independence. In Kate Chopin â€Å"The Storm†, the scenery in this story builds the perfect atmosphere for an adulterous affair. The importance of these stories is to understand the era they occurred. Kate Chopin wrote stories with exceptional openness about sexual desires. In â€Å"The Storm†, a short story written by Kate Chopin in a time when women were expected to act a certain way and sexual cravings was consideredRead MoreOppression of Marriage: Chopins The Story of an Hour and Desirees Baby874 Words   |  4 Pagesâ€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Desiree’s baby†, Chopin highlights the oppressive nature of marriage. Both short stories illustrate a tale of heartache, regret, and the dangers of instant gratification. Without equality within the bonds that tie us together, death is often the result. Each of the character’s experi ence true renowned joy and just as quickly lose that joy. This joy is similar to a drug addiction and drug withdrawal. During their moments of joy they are enthralled with this new feeling andRead MoreKate Chopin The Story of an Hour Critical Analysis Essay1377 Words   |  6 PagesBrandon Dabon Professor Mario Garcia English M01A 11 October 2012 Self-Identity, Freedom, and Death in Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† The story of an hour by Kate Chopin introduces us to Mrs. Mallard as she reacts to her husband’s death. In this short story, Chopin portrays the complexity of Mrs. Mallard’s emotions as she is saddened yet joyful of her loss. Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† argues that an individual discover their self-identity only after being freed from confinementRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin919 Words   |  4 PagesAs the title states, â€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin, is a story that takes place in a very brief period of time. The story revolves around a married woman, Louise Mallard, who is troubled both mentally and physically. Several other characters are present, such as Josephine, Mr. Mallard, and Richard, but play a limited role in the story. Mrs. Mallard is used to bring about a feminist theme in a time where women were viewed as invalidated until taking a husband. This story makes an effort toRead MoreKate Chopi n The Story Of An Hour Analysis1137 Words   |  5 Pagesâ€Å"The Story of an Hour† by Kate Chopin is a wonderful short story bursting with many peculiar twists and turns. Written in 1894, the author tells a tale of a woman who learns of her husband’s death but comes to find pleasure in it. The elements Kate Chopin uses in this story symbolize something more than just the surface meaning. In less than one thousand one hundred words, Kate Chopin illustrates a deeper meaning of Mrs. Mallard’s marriage through many different forms of symbolism such as the openRead MoreAnalysis Of Kate Chopin s Story Of An Hour993 Words   |  4 PagesIrony in â€Å"Story of an Hour† In Kate Chopin’s short story â€Å"Story of an Hour†, Irony, or the expression of meaning that traditionally indicates the contrary of what is expected, plays a huge role in deciphering the theme and underlying motifs of the story that takes the reader through the hour of Mrs. Mallard’s life after her husband supposedly dies. Through Irony, Kate Chopin effectively portrays the forbidden joy of independence (SparkNotes Editors). The theme is portrayed by the author’s emphasisRead MoreThe Concept of Epiphany in Kate Chopins Story of an Hour1262 Words   |  5 PagesEpiphany (Rewrite Order #A2101292) An epiphany is the sudden realization or manifestation of understanding, and in the Story of an Hour, by Kate Chopin, a woman experienced an epiphany that ultimately had tragic results. The tragedy was foreshadowed in the first line when the narrator informed the reader of Mrs. Mallards heart trouble and the problems it could bring when informing her of her husbands death. But instead of being the cause of tremendous sorrow, the death of her husband broughtRead More Essay on the Death of Freedom in Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour919 Words   |  4 PagesDeath of Freedom in The Story of an Hour In Kate Chopin’s short story, The Story of an Hour, we are told that Mrs. Mallard, the main character, has a heart condition. Then Mrs. Mallard’s sister, Josephine, tells her Mr. Mallard died in a railroad disaster. At the end of the story, Mrs. Mallard dies when her husband suddenly walks through the door. The doctor says that Mrs. Mallard died of heart disease—of joy that kills (Chopin 27). Some people may agree with the doctor’s diagnosisRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin882 Words   |  4 PagesKate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† is a story of the feeling of losing someone with a different twist. Mrs. Mallard, a woman who has heart trouble, receives the news that her husband died in a â€Å"railroad disaster†, by her sister Josephine and her husband’s friend, a newspaper worker, named Richard (Chopin 307). She begins to let it occur to her that her husband is dead and accept the thought of it. Chopin uses the theme of closure to express the feelings of Mrs. Mallard in coping with the thought

Discussion on Bundled Payment in Health Care

Questions: 1. What is your first impression of the BCBS proposal? Is BCBS being unreasonable? Should the group consider it? Why, or why not? (9 pts.)2. If Dr. Open decides to meet with BCBS, are there particular provisions that he should insist be included in any new bundled payment contractual arrangement? If so, please explain what they should be and why you think they should be included. (9 pts.)3. What data do you think Dr. Open needs to gather before entering into further negotiations with BCBS? Why? (7 pts.) Answers 1. The bundled payment arrangement proposed to our group sets the cost of each knee replacement surgery, including the combined cost of a pre-surgical analysis, the surgery and post surgical care for a period of six months, on the basis of local rates (Ridgely et al., 2014). Furthermore, the payment proposal also demands that five percent of the total cost fee be withheld by the company and only be returned to the company at the yearend if the group succeeds in meeting the quality standard negotiated prior to agreement by the company ("Blue Cross Blue Shield", 2017). This proposal reduces the cost structure to a ghastly average price, which cuts down on our individual charging programs and deceases the profits drastically ("Blue Cross Blue Shield", 2017). My first impression of this proposal as a group member is skeptical bordering on disagreement. Although, Blue Cross Blue Shield or BCBS group of companies are considered as health insurance giants of United States, proudly insuring one out of three Americans, and we cannot promptly refuse their offer ("Blue Cross Blue Shield", 2017). The corporate social responsibility of the company is to provide supportive programs to members ensuring best health care experience at all times, which has captivated the public from the very beginning. Therefore, their affordable plans might pose a challenge to the health care industry itself, though the entire payment method will be attractive to the customers and they will be more drawn to our group at time of need . However, their additional clause of withholding 5% is clearly intimidating and unacceptable as it pushes our already modest earning by bundled payment. Agreeing to their first demand would be enough to hit financial stability of the group, their additional clause might just be last blow. We have to consider that we have gained a significant reputation in the genre of knee replacement surgery and have a quality bar to meet. The reduced fee structure will already wear down the performance bar of the surgeons and the care members, additional cost cuttings can seriously affect the quality standards of our group. In healthcare, there often are additional expenses that are out of our control and under this plan the physicians are often penalized for the lifestyle choices of the patients and unavoidable medical costs (Mechanic Tompkins, 2012). Despite all the negative points, we have to take their grasp at the market into account and showing complete disregard for their proposal will not be wise. We have to aim for modifying some of the clause of their proposal and attempt to find a middle ground. 2. The glowing reputation of our group in the market gives us opportunity to stand our ground and negotiate the best suitable option for both parties. It will clearly be impossible to heed to all their demands, as that will seriously affect the annual revenue generation and will demote our performance standards. As per my knowledge, the bundled payment mode of transaction is meant to ease out the complex and frequent transaction procedure and ensure that there are no complications delaying the treatment procedure, and it is a noble initiative we can consider but we need to proceed with caution (Hussey et al., 2012). Despite their suffocating demands, we have to consider that BCBS has customer base to behold and merging with them will take our regional success to much broader spectrum ("Blue Cross Blue Shield", 2017). We cannot let go of this excellent opportunity to expand our customer base, but the basic challenge will be trying to influence their uncompromising stand to the negotiated fee structure. My first suggestion is to increase the fee structure to substantial amount, so that we can incorporate their payment plan without compromising on the quality standards. My second suggestion is to strongly oppose to their exclusionary clause of withholding 5% as a quality compensation as that will question our efficiency and productivity, and damage our reputation in the market. A substitution provision that we can put forth will include periodic quality and skill assessment programs that can assure them of our performance standard and infrastructure without burdening us with additional clauses (Rana Bozic, 2015). 3. A health insurance giant like BCBS will come with enough facts and figures in their arsenal to outsmart all attempts of ours undoubtedly ("Blue Cross Blue Shield", 2017). We have to prepare our own defense with unquestionable data if we want to succeed in making the most of this opportunity. The sky-high drug prices in America can be our first defense against their unrealistic demands, the lack of a national body, overlooking drug purchasing in America has caused a chaotic situation (Haberman, 2017). The drug prices are increasing in a rapid rate in our country and that will affect the treatment cost profoundly (Kliff, 2017). We need data that highlights this issue to support our argument so that the company realizes the cost hike is not much in our hands. Another important aspect should be our performance stats; if we want to convince them of our super specialty care standards, we need data to substantiate our claims. The success percentage of our surgeries and patient feedback will play an important role in establishing our credibility in front of them. The next set of data that we need in our arsenal can be the previous track records of our surgeons and care members, as that can persuade them to consider our growth potential in the health care industry. Lastly, there have been many fail cases of implementing bundled payment procedure, where the cost cuttings has drastically destroyed the quality standards, we need this data to negotiate best possible outcome out of this proposal so that our ambition to expand does not come in the way of our good work (Mehanic Tompkins, 2012). Reference List: Blue Cross Blue Shield. (2017). Bcbs.com. Retrieved 10 February 2017, from https://www.bcbs.com Haberman, C. (2017). Lives and Profits in the Balance: The High Stakes of Medical Patents. Nytimes.com. Retrieved 10 February 2017, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/11/us/retro-report-medical-patents-profits.html Hussey, P. S., Mulcahy, A. W., Schnyer, C., Schneider, E. C. (2012). Closing the quality gap: revisiting the state of the science (vol. 1: bundled payment: effects on health care spending and quality). Kevin Drum - January 2016 | Mother Jones. (2017). Motherjones.com. Retrieved 10 February 2017, from https://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2016/.../whats-real-reason-drug-prices-are-high Kliff, S. (2017). The true story of Americas sky-high prescription drug prices. Vox. Retrieved 10 February 2017, from https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2016/11/30/12945756/prescription-drug-prices-explained Mechanic, R., Tompkins, C. (2012). Lessons learned preparing for Medicare bundled payments.New England Journal of Medicine,367(20), 1873-1875. Rana, A. J., Bozic, K. J. (2015). Bundled payments in orthopaedics.Clinical orthopaedics and related research,473(2), 422. Ridgely, M. S., De Vries, D., Bozic, K. J., Hussey, P. S. (2014). Bundled payment fails to gain a foothold in California: The experience of the IHA bundled payment demonstration.Health Affairs,33(8), 1345-1352.