Management Risks in Financial Institutions Essay

Management Risks in Financial Institutions - Essay Example Basically, risk and return are related in the same direction. A minor example of this would be a bank charging different interest rates on different individuals who have opted for the same loan. The individual who has a relatively poor credit history is likely to receive a higher interest rate as there are chances of him/her not paying the loan bank. Therefore, there is a higher risk and the bank gets a higher return through the higher interest rate charged. However, risk needs to be managed and there can be several huge losses if the financial institution is not ready to deal with it. Risk management is a type of strategy which every financial institution needs to have at its core and there are several parts involved in this including monitoring the risks, measuring these risks and controlling risks. It is the analysis of risk mixed with the element of quality risk controls. Risk management is required by banks and financial institutions as a safety measure to protect the institutio n from any major financial problems. The uncertainty and the potential inherent risks that come with the financial markets makes it important for most of the financial institutions and banks to use risk management. The risk management controls are one of the major determinants of the financial stability of a bank. The most common types of risks faced by most financial institutions There are several types of risks involved with financial institutions and these risks are as follows: Systematic risk. This is also known as diversifiable risk. Basically this particular type of risk means the risk of the change of asset value associated with systematic factors. Therefore, the risk cannot be fully diversified. There are several subcategories under systematic risks and there are various ways in which the value of an asset can be affected. The determinant of the change in the value of the assets owned by the institution and it depends upon natural and economic factors including interest rate s affecting the value of the assets, an increase in inflation might cause an increase in fuel prices which might affect transportation and stock value and changes in economic conditions which may cause several changes in the value of assets. Interest rate risk is one of the major parts of systematic risk and the institutions needs to measure the variation and the responsiveness of the rate sensitive assets towards the changes in interest rates. Commodity price risk and foreign exchange risk are other risks which come under systematic risks that many investors try to measure and try to minimize these. Credit risk. This is the risk which is related to the payment by the debtors. Credit risk is the risk which all the banks face and they need to manage this in order to be proactive against any future losses. Basically the bank is the lender and is the creditor for the borrower and the risk is that the borrower might go bankrupt and might not be able to pay the bank back. This seems as a pretty low type of risk if a sole individual is involved, however, credit risk also involves borrowings worth millions of dollars by huge businesses. Even if the business is popular and has a good credit history, it can go bankrupt which might result in a loss of millions of dollars to the bank. In other words, it means that the company or the individual defaults which is why this risk is also known as default risk. Counterparty risk. This arises from the

Dementia care

Dementia care ‘The public outdoor world is rarely conceived of as an appropriate setting for a person with dementia’: Critically discuss this statement with reference to your reading and practice or caring experience. Use at least one case study or vignette of up to 350 words taken from your practice or caring experience. This should support your argument and illustrate either the opportunities and/or the challenges of accessing the outdoors. Assignment to be: 2500 words People with dementia have the right to a dignified, healthy, safe, and friendly environment where they are treated as equals regardless their increasing age or diminishing capabilities. (Mitchell et el., 2004). They can still maintain their abilities to cope independently throughout the early or mild stages of dementia. They still have the desire to stay independent and have control over their own lives. It is essential for people with dementia to experience regular mental and physical exercise to keep their minds and bodies active and to maintain social contact. If the streets in their neighbourhoods are not designed to meet their needs they will be trapped in their homes, because their previously safe and secure neighbourhood changed into a harmful and dangerous environment. There is an increasing need improve urban design through the Local Planning Authorities, as such urban planners should take in consideration the implication of not only normal ageing but they should enable indi viduals with various types of cognitive impairments to maintain their independence (Burton Mitchell, 2006). Effects and challenges of dementia Physical, mental, and psychological changes are due to the ageing process, and can encompasses several slight impairments in hearing, vision, ability, mobility, and memory. These affect elder individual’s ability to live in their surroundings with ease. This is even more difficult for individuals with dementia because they have to cope with both the normal ageing effects and the challenges of dementia that cause a threat to their personhood and result in the loss of identity (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Chaudhury, 2008). Dementia pose a number of behavioural, personality, and cognitive changes for example restlessness, agitation, depression, and anxiety. There is a typical decline in physical and mental abilities. They develop a typical style of mobility in the form of an unsteady shuffling pace with a stooped posture, always looking down and as such they are not aware of their surroundings. Dementia also result in sensory impairment which can include hearing and vision. Colour ag nosia is often intensified by dementia, dark colours and combinations thereof is difficult to distinguish. There might also be impaired depth perception, sharp colour contrasts or patterns on the ground will be interpreted as steps or holes, shiny or reflective surfaces looks slippery and wet, buzzy designs or repetitive lines will cause dizziness and that can result in trips or falls. The mental decline in dementia is permanent and incurable, it might progress gradually and result in unpredictable physical deterioration. During the mild to moderate stages their short-term memory is very fragile and their long-term memory remains acute (Burton Mitchell, 2006). Negative feelings The statement, ‘The public outdoor world is rarely conceived of as an appropriate setting for a person with dementia’ said it all. â€Å"There are currently over 750,000 people with dementia in the UK and this is predicted to rise to about 870,000 by 2010 and over 1, 8 million by 2050†. (Burton Mitchell, 2006, p. 27). But people with dementia is disabled and disempowered by the unfriendly and unsafe environment, it does not meet their cognitive impairment needs, which is ignored. Accessibility for these individuals have become a huge problem, there is positive transformations for normal disabilities but not effective enough to take into consideration the different barriers for individuals with dementia and their unique impairments. Burton and Mitchell (2006) found that individuals with dementia experience negative feelings that include fearfulness and anxiety. This is due to the fear associated with their decline in mobility and vision. Burton and Mitchell also i ndicated the complications and risks presented by existing city environments for instance irregular paving, poor seating, no shelter, steep inclines, a lack of signposting, and bicycles on footpaths. The psychological and social difficulties are also serious obstacles for example, poor bus services, inaccessibility of local shops, insufficiency of toilet services, and the possibility of getting lost. Constant noise of heavy traffic flow disturbs the person with dementia’s hearing and has an influence on their concentration. Unexpected, loud sounds often frighten them. Another ‘no-go’ facility is the moving stairways in any public building, it hinders a person with dementia who suffers vision-impairment to judge the stairways distance and speed. (Blackman et al. 2010) Vignette The above findings support the caring experience in my practice in that the public outdoor world is not an appropriate setting for a person with dementia, they do experience obstacles and challenges on a daily basis when accessing the outdoors as proven in my vignette: One of the residents, Mr X, in my care setting has been experiencing Schizophrenia for many years and he has also diagnosed with Vascular Dementia. He was from the local area and very familiar with the neighbourhood and community and is well known by some of the locals. He had free access in and out of the Care Home for many years but recently we received a phone call from a local shop that informed us that Mr X had lashed out towards one of their staff members who approached him to support and guide him. At one stage Mr X entered a private property without consent. He also developed some injuries on his lower legs and hands and also got on the wrong public transport. It was not very pleasant to involve the police to locate Mr X and to guide him back to his own home. After observing Mr X’s change in behaviour we determined that there was a deterioration in his physical and mental functioning, for example he could not remember where a toilet facility was available and used the ally of the local shop. He also entered a private property because that was his previous home. Due to the uneven walkways he also tripped and fell, injuring his legs and hands. Furthermore, Mr X could not read or understand the electronic screen at the bus stop causing him to use the wrong public transport. We had to involve Mr X’s General Practitioner to review his medical treatment and according to the legislation we had to redo his risk assessments. Out of experience and observation we are aware that a person with dementia experience bad days and good days, and it can be problematic to specify at what stage their dementia has developed. But Mr X still has the capacity to make his own decisions and as such he decided to continue with his daily visits to the local neighbourhood as normal. We understand and support his decision, because this daily routine ‘walk about’ was very vital to maintain his self-respect, independence, and his quality of life. However, Mr X agreed to inform staff when he is leaving the facility and when he can be expected back, following the internal home policy to keep him safe and secure. Positive transformations As mentioned above there was positive transformations for normal disabilities, the UK Disability Discrimination Act updated in 2005 affected a change in attitudes towards design for disability in order to meet the needs of anyone with disability. Accessibility has become the most important problem because of the increasing population of older individuals and more positive attitudes towards disability in general. Recently the mission for dementia friendly communities received an enhancement from the Prime Minister’s Challenge on dementia: a national challenge. In his challenge the Prime Minister highlighted three key areas (see Prime Minister’s Challenge, 2012, p.5) Driving improvements in health and care. Creating dementia friendly communities that understand how to help. Better research. Mitchell (2012) identified only six projects that have addressed the dementia-friendly design of neighbourhoods. That includes a three year research project, which was sponsored by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC). Individuals with dementia and older people in the community were directly involved, through escorted walks around their own neighbourhoods and in depth interviews. During the research the neighbourhoods were measured, mapped, and evaluated by using a developed checklist of environmental features. This research identified six key design principles that are necessary and required to make the streets and neighbourhoods more dementia friendly. The streets need to be safe, comfortable, accessible, familiar, legible, and distinctive (Burton Mitchell, 2006). Familiarity The roads and outdoor environments and features should be recognisable and easily understandable by older individuals, especially for the person with dementia who experience confusion, spatial disorientation, and memory difficulties. Individuals with dementia do not recognise modernistic unfamiliar designs, they are used to traditional designs with the main entrance facing the street with normal swinging doors and not revolving or sliding doors. They also fail to recognise modern designed street furniture, for example modern bus shelters, telephone boxes, or an automated ‘Superloo’ (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). To achieve familiarity in the outdoor environment the following can be done. Long-established streets can be maintained, local styles, materials, and forms should be used for new developments, and any changes should be incremental and on a minor-scale (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). Legibility Legible roads refers to an easy to recognise network of directions and junctions with simple, obvious signs and noticeable, unmistakeable features. Some individuals with dementia sub-consciously use various techniques to find their way. These include visualising their route through mental maps, route planning by using the same route every time, and they can follow symbols that are realistic and clear. Most individuals with dementia find it difficult to follow or understand the outdoor signs. A cluster of signs is very confusing and difficult to read and understand. People with dementia prefers straightforward, simple signs fixed to the wall. For example the post office sign is familiar and the colour is acceptable for people with colour agnosia. Another technique they tend to use in order to find their way is familiar landmarks and environmental features, such as the letterbox at the corner or a street cafà ©. It can happen that individuals with dementia get lost at times, that is d ue to confusion, disorientation, or distractions like sudden loud noise that causes a break in concentration (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). To achieve legibility in the outdoor environment, streets should be laid out on an irregular grid pattern, staggered and this will allow the connection of routes that is easy to understand. Forked and T-junctions decrease the amount of routes and offer focus points at the end of the roads (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). Distinctiveness Distinctive streets replicate the community’s character through the use of a variety of features, colours, forms and materials that provide the buildings and streets with their own character and identity. It is essential for people with dementia to follow a route with a variety of local styles, shapes, sizes, and colour that will help them maintain concentration. They prefer a visit to the parks that presents them with mix activities such as enough seating, greenery, and public art (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). To achieve distinctiveness and to help dementia people find their way in the outdoor environment it is important to provide interesting and understandable places, use landmarks, and environmental features. Firstly, make use of aesthetic features such as water pumps, attractive gardens, hanging baskets, fountains, and trees. Secondly, use practical features for example street furniture that includes familiar letter boxes, red K6 telephone box, bus shelters, and safe public seating (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). Accessibility Accessibility states to which degree the local streets empower people with any physical, mental, or sensory impairment to reach, enter, and walk to places they wish to visit. Older people, including people with dementia are no longer able to drive on their own or to use any public transport. Their trips are limited, due to their personal capabilities, to local places within walking distance for their homes. With the decline of their mobility they cannot walk fast or far distances and they struggle to cope in crowded places because they need enough space on the walkways. Level changes also create barriers for frail people, similarly ramps or steps are a challenge for people with mobility problems (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). To attain accessibility for frail people, they should preferably live no more than 125m from the nearest post box or telephone with 2m wide pathways and no more than 500m from crucial services and facilities. There should also be public seating every 100m to 125m (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). Comfort Comfort for older people and people experiencing permanent incapacity can include streets that allow them to visit places of their choice without any mental or physical agitation, it provides them with a welcoming and calm feeling (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). To achieve a comfortable environment the streets must be designed in a way that it is welcoming, quiet, open, and accessible by providing enough public seating, shelter, and toilets. The seating must preferably be a wooden seat with arm and back rests. Bus stops should provide shelter, with transparent sides and flat seats of non-slippery material that do not conduct cold or heat (Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004). Safety Safety is a critical characteristic of a friendly environment for dementia people, they have to be able to move around without fear of tripping, falling, being run-over, or attacked. Safe streets will be well-lit, wide, plain, level, non-slippery, non-reflected, and smooth footways with isolated bicycle lanes and in front of building entering ways (Blackman et al., 2010, Burton Mitchell, 2006, Mitchell et el., 2004) The above principles outline the design guidelines to a more outdoor friendly environment for people with dementia. Burton and Mitchell (2006) also provides 65 recommendations and by using these it will support the design and re-design of an easy to use and welcoming neighbourhood. To summarise, it is clear that people with dementia, at least during their mild to moderate stages, can still maintain their ability to cope independently and any regular mental and physical exercise is essential to maintain their self-respect, independence, and their quality of life as seen in the vignette. That is why it is so important to us to ensure that the outdoor environment is accessible, open, and safe for people with all stages of dementia. If this cannot be achieved the environment out there becomes a scary and frightening world for people with dementia. Although, the neighbourhood environment is not dementia friendly at present there is positive improvements and pressure from Government, through the Prime Minister’s Challenge on dementia. Importantly, the research project identified six principles of a dementia friendly environment that can be used for future planning and implementations. This will ensure that all new developments that take these principals into consideration will be in line with suggested and prescribed rules that cater for a safe and accessible environment for people with dementia.

Knowledge as a Double Edged Sword in the novels Oryx and Crake as well

Is knowledge, which is the base of human ingenuity and intelligence, also the factor which will bring upon humanity’s impending destruction? Knowledge today plays a key role in almost every facet of human existence, from food, to water, to providing the foundation for every piece technological equipment ever constructed. Knowledge though has also provided us with ever more imaginative and efficient means of killing and destroying each other and the planet, these means include nuclear weapons, and of course biological warfare. Therefore knowledge plays the role of the doubled-edged sword, bringing humanity luxuries and power beyond conception, as well as arming us with the tools to completely eradicate all life. In the novel of Oryx and Crake, a slightly more advanced civilization than ours, where biotechnology has brought numerous wonders to the world is brought into perspective. This civilization, wrought by corruption, has eliminated disease, and now is making synthetic viru ses in order to cash in on the destruction, the perfect scheme. One of the protagonists, Crake, discovers this scheme, and with this knowledge, seeks to destroy the corrupted civilization, by performing the same atrocity. With Crake’s synthetic virus, he eliminates the entirety of human race, with the tools knowledge supplied him with. In the novel A Canticle for Leibowitz the human race is just an insignificant remnant of its former glory, after it obliterated itself with the use of nuclear weapons. This novel shows humanity’s rise out of the ashes, with focus being placed on the Order of St. Leibowitz, the sole caretakers’ of the hated knowledge from the age past. With the knowledge contained with the Order, humanity experiences a renaissance, in which ulte... ...prized knowledge above all else. In both Oryx and Crake and A Canticle for Leibowitz, knowledged acts as a doubled-edged sword bringing wonders and inventions that truly make life easy, and at the same time bringing death and destruction in the form of weapons and military advancements. It is quite evident in both novels that knowledge acts a god, to be worshiped and studied, and as a god, chooses when to deal out good and bad deeds. Knowledge provided mankind with miracles and massacres. Knowledge itself is not lethal, mankind is the hand that directs the pathways of knowledge. Humans cause massacres, with the aide of knowledge. But if mankind is truly born evil, than it is only a matter of time for it to destroys itself. As mankind delves more deeply in the the endless mine of knowledge, it must take caution, as it has within its grasp to become gods†¦or demons.

Identifying a Problem

Identifying a Problem T. L. Wilson Grand Canyon University Professional Research Project NRS-441V March 19, 2013 Identifying a Problem The clinical environment that I previously worked in was a correctional institution. During the time that I worked in corrections I encountered several inmates that had HIV. It was this environment and the experience that I received this idea and it is what gives me the inspiration to build a proposal for change.Within this system is where I discovered that staff was not receiving much prevention and education and the inmates were not receiving any prevention education at all. During the time that I worked in corrections and encountered individuals with HIV. One evening while running the medication line a 17 year old stepped to the medication window to receive his medication. His medication was a barrage of HIV antivirals. I was shocked and found the situation to be very disturbing. I assumed this bothered me because I also had a child this age.The wh ole scenario of this young man having HIV made me feel as though somehow I had dropped the ball on him and his situation and let this young men down. I often wondered if this young man had been instructed on prevention and education prior to his HIV diagnoses. As health professional and a parent that situation personally left me feeling responsible as well as driven to do all that I can to get people educated regarding HIV prevention and education. After that initial shock wore off I encountered several others that crossed my path ranging in age from 17-21 that were HIV positive also.I also discovered that the staff and well as the inmates were in disparate need of a primary prevention and education plan. As a fully staffed health care unit there was very little to no patient teaching being conducted. I feel that it is very important that a preventive and health management program be implemented for inmates as well as staff. The purpose of such a program for staff would ensure that inmate/patients gained knowledge of their status. Implementing a preventive nd education program would give inmates insight in to their diagnosis and encourage medication compliance in addition to giving the inmate/patient the opportunity to take part in the management of their own health. This would be accomplished by being compliant with their medication and avoiding at risk behavior such as sexual activity or acquiring tattoos or any other at risk behavior. As for the health care staff and security staff an in depth expanding their knowledge base with a thorough system to educate and one that promotes prevention will decrease the exposure risk for staff and inmates.

Challenges/ Problems facing Air Cargo

I had the opportunity of talking to Mark Peterson an employee of National Air Cargo working in the Marketing and planning department and ask him some of the challenges the company is facing and what can be done to solve the problems.National air cargo is a worldwide air cargo service provider that is committed to delivering its clients goods in a fast, efficient and reliable way. As much as it is renowned for the good work it does, it is faced with several challenges that need to be addressed for it to be the very best in this field.The most critical problems/Challenges facing National Air cargoThe fluctuations in the oil prices especially the threats of increasing the global oil prices has seriously affected the air cargo business. National air cargo is feeling this impact as a lot of money is now being spent on fuel and this has led to cuts in various operations and the budget.The impact of this is a reduction in the number of flights so as to meet their budget requirements and mak e profits, some workers being laid off and less profit for the company.Another problem is the Air cargo security risks. National air Cargo is facing potential risks that come in the form of the ever increasing cases of theft and smuggling and the shipping undetected materials so as to meet strict deadlines.This poses a great danger in that one can never be sure of what is being transported and there are possibilities of carrying explosive devices that will not only destroy goods but endangering the lives of all those on board.The future of National air cargoThe future of National Air Cargo will be better and brighter because it aims at expanding its cargo facilities, improving baggage handling equipment as it embraces new technologies and making sure that it retains its employees and even recruit more qualified personnel.All this can and will be achieved if the current leaders take it upon themselves to make sure that they can forecast better on what lies in the future so that when plans are made, they can have allowances for uncertainties and this will ensure that the impact of the uncertainties will not be as harsh as we see now.More attention should also be placed on integrating technology into the system so that there is better advanced ways of tracking cargo as it departs from the ports to their arrival destinations and also to be used in cargo inspection. So that our clients receive the services they are supposed to in a more qualified, responsive and personalized smooth way.Comments or suggestions for members in an air cargo management classManagers and future managers in the air cargo business need to be sufficiently self aware, cognitive and morally developed in order to understand not only how to develop a shared vision within their organizations but also how to effectively communicate and implement the necessary skills, policies and plans that are of use to their businesses.The members attending the air cargo management class should be aware of air operations, be risk takers and listen to their fellow workmates so that they can get to know their views and opinions in certain issues as this will broaden their ways on thinking and even get solutions to the various problems that affect the company.In doing so, they will become better leaders and colleagues who have the best interest of their organization at heart.ReferencesInterview with Mark Peterson, National Air Cargo: Marketing and Planning Department