Healthcare Benchmarking and Quality Improvement Essays

Healthcare Benchmarking and Quality Improvement Essays Healthcare Benchmarking and Quality Improvement Paper Healthcare Benchmarking and Quality Improvement Paper Benchmarks are relevant to all health and social care settings. Therefore, the benchmarks are presented in a generic format in order that they can be used in, for example, primary, secondary and tertiary settings and with all patient and or career groups, such as in pediatric care, mental health, cancer care, surgery and medicine. It is important that those benchmarking (including patients and careers) agree on the indicators that demonstrate best practice within their area of care (UK-Department of Health). Benchmarking can be utilized in the following ways: Staff Performance: Benchmarking is often used as a method to determine performance   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  standards for office functions. Examples may be as basic as the number of calls answered, appointments made and medical records pulled. This process provides a true measure of staff productivity capabilities. Physician Performance: This benchmarking process only works if the physician being reviewed is truly interested in becoming more efficient. The basic premise is to examine what aspects of the physicians daily schedule is productive, (Time actually spent with patients) and non-productive, (time spent not rendering services to patients). The objective is to reduce non-productive time and leverage the physician’s impact. 3. Statistical Performance: This benchmarking process evaluates the practice’s statistical performance to best practice standards. Statistical comparisons include some of the following: charges, adjustments, revenues, expenses, gross/net collection percentages, and account receivable days. Performance measurement might seem strange to some organizations, but the concept of measuring and monitoring performance is not new to healthcare facilities. Requirements for public overview of healthcare facilities demand that performance data be collected, analyzed, and monitored for reimbursement, Federal and state record keeping, and accreditation purposes. As a result, most healthcare facilities already track key productivity indicators. And as state and Federal regulations require the reporting of more data, healthcare facilities will be in an even better position to assess their performance and share comparative information about performance and operations with other facilities for mutual benefit. Indeed, the greatest value to be gained from all of the performance data that healthcare facilities are gathering may well emerg from the process of comparing that data. Healthcare facilities often are quite similar in the complexity of their organizational structures, operational and clinical services, and corporate missions. That similarity will benefit healthcare facilities as they begin benchmarking efforts.     Business survival is increasingly difficult in the contemporary world. In order to survive, organizations need a commitment to excellence and a means of measuring that commitment and its results. Benchmarking provides one method for doing this. As the author describes, benchmarking is a performance improvement method that has been used for centuries. Recently, it has begun to be used in the healthcare industry where it has the potential to improve significantly the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and quality of healthcare services.   In the contemporary world, business survival is defined as long-term economic viability achieved through excellent performance. To maintain the excellence needed for survival, however, businesss enterprises must find a way of consistently measuring and improving their performance.   Productive ideas and methods are not limited to a single industry. Cross-industry benchmarking also can offer excellent opportunities for borrowin good ideas and processes. But finding suitable partners with applicable ideas from other industries can be time consuming and costly. For example, calling a fire department to discuss the process of bringing both equipment and manpower to an emergency site can generate a number of exciting ideas, but finding the best performing fire department would take long hours of research. Because benchmarking is an ongoing effort, working first within the healthcare industry for short- and medium-term solutions will help position a facility for later cross-industry initiatives (Anderson-Miles, 1994).

30 Words Containing the Letters sm

30 Words Containing the Letters sm 30 Words Containing the Letters sm 30 Words Containing the Letters sm By Mark Nichol After writing a post about the suffix -ism, I explored the class of words that include the letters s and m in sequence in which the letters are not a consonant blend (as in small) or in which the s is not at the end of a prefix (as in besmirch and dismiss); with some exceptions (specified), they have in common an origin in Greek. Here are the qualifying words I found that do not use the suffix -ism or do not refer exclusively to a medical or scientific condition or phenomenon (though a couple of specialized terms that have acquired one or more figurative senses are included). 1. abysmal: very bad; abysm is a poetic alternative to abyss, from the Late Latin abyssus, meaning â€Å"bottomless pit† (which derives abyssos, meaning â€Å"bottomless pool,† although the sm ending either resulted from the superlative abyssimus or was created in imitation of Greek words) 2. basmati: a variety of rice, from Hindi, meaning â€Å"something fragrant† 3. cataclysm: a deluge, from kataklysmos, meaning â€Å"flood† or â€Å"inundation† 4. charisma: charm, from kharisma, meaning â€Å"favor† or â€Å"divine gift†; originally referred to exceptional authority or leadership 5. chasm: a deep crack, from khasma, meaning â€Å"gulf† 6. chiasmus: the inversion for rhetorical effect of two or more clauses (as in Voltaire’s quotation â€Å"The instinct of a man is to pursue everything that flies from him, and to fly from all that pursues him†), from khiasmos, meaning â€Å"crosswise or diagonal arrangement† 7. chiliasm: belief in Christ’s 1,000-year reign on Earth, ultimately from khilioi, meaning â€Å"a thousand† or referring to the number 1,000 8. chrism: a balm in oil used in church rituals, from khrisma, meaning â€Å"an anointing† 9. cosmetic: a substance used in improving one’s appearance (the plural form, cosmetics, refers to such products collectively), or, as an adjective, pertaining to personal beautification- and the words have an additional sense of â€Å"superficial† or â€Å"for the sake of appearances†- from kosmetikos, meaning â€Å"skilled in adorning or arranging†; these words and cosmetology, the term for the study of beautification, are related to cosmos (see below) in the sense of order or arrangement 10. cosmos: the universe (referred to as â€Å"the cosmos†), from kosmos, meaning â€Å"order† or â€Å"orderly arrangement†; more often seen as cosmic, the adjectival form, and cosmo- is the root word of cosmology (a word for the study of the universe) and other words, and a form of the root is also seen in macrocosm, meaning â€Å"something seen as a miniature version of something larger,† and microcosm, meaning â€Å"a large system consisting of many smaller ones† 11. desmesne: a domain or estate, or possession or use of one’s land, from a respelling in Anglo-French of the Middle English term demeine (â€Å"domain†) 12. dismal: wretched, from the Latin phrase dies mali (â€Å"evil days†) 13. enthusiasm: eagerness or zeal, from enthousiasmos, meaning â€Å"divine inspiration† 14. gismo: gadget (variant spelling of gizmo, of unknown origin) 15. iconoclasm: criticism of conventional beliefs or standard institutions, from eikonoklastes, meaning â€Å"image breaker†; originally referred to literal destruction of images and objects considered idolatrous 16. jasmine: a plant, from Persian 17. kismet: fate, from Arabic qisma, meaning â€Å"portion† or â€Å"lot† 18. melisma: one of several specific types of musical expression, from melisma, meaning â€Å"song† or â€Å"melody† 19. mesmerize: captivate, or hold spellbound, from the name of hypnosis pioneer Anton Mesmer 20. miasma: a literal or figurative cloud or fog of an unhealthy or unpleasant or obscuring nature, from miasma, meaning â€Å"pollution† 21. orgasm: sexual excitement, from orgasmos, meaning â€Å"excitement† or â€Å"swelling† (also a verb referring to the sensation); the noun refers, by extension, to any stimulating experience (note also two slang terms modeled on orgasm: geekgasm, referring to a nerd’s exultation about, for example, a new computer program or video game, and eargasm, the result of an extremely pleasurable song or sound 22. osmosis: movement of a liquid through a solid, or, figuratively, learning or understanding something easily or smoothly; this word is an invention of New Latin and does not come from Greek 23. paroxysm: a sudden attack or a convulsion, from paroxysmos, meaning â€Å"irritation† or â€Å"exasperation†; now also used colloquially to refer to an outburst of emotion 24. phantasm: a ghost or illusion, from phantasma, meaning â€Å"image† or â€Å"phantom†; a related word is phantasmagoria, referring to an exhibition of optical effects or illusions, a constantly changing scene, or a bizarre collection 25. prism: a medium or a shape that refracts light, from prisma, meaning â€Å"something sawn†; also, figuratively, something that colors, distorts, or slants one’s perspective 26. sarcasm: a form of darkly humorous criticism in which the words stated are the opposite of the intended meaning, as in â€Å"Well, that went well!† for a disastrous incident, from sarkasmos, meaning â€Å"jest† or â€Å"taunt† 27. schism: originally referred to dissension within the Catholic Church but now also pertains to any disagreement in philosophy or policy, from skhisma, meaning â€Å"division† 28. seismic: pertaining to earthquakes, from seismos, meaning â€Å"a shaking,† â€Å"a shock,† or â€Å"an earthquake†; several words derived from the root seismo-, such as seismology (the name for the study of earthquakes) and seismograph (the word for a device that measures the motions of an earthquake) also exist (seismic also might be used to describe something of hugely significant import) 29. spasm: a sudden violent muscular contraction, ultimately from spasmos, meaning â€Å"convulsion†; also loosely employed to refer to an emotional outburst 30. talisman: a good-luck charm or something believed to have magical or miraculous powers, from telesma, meaning â€Å"consecration† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Wether, Weather, WhetherUsing the Active Voice to Strengthen Your WritingIs Your Novel "Mystery," "Thriller," or "Suspense"?

Samsung Hunts for 'Wow' Moment Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Samsung Hunts for 'Wow' Moment - Article Example What probably has them more worried is the failure of Apple to enthrall the consumers with their iPhone 5. Samsung has marketed their products in such a way that has largely been a reason for the hype. Their clever advertising strategies satirized Apple Inc. taking the balls to Samsung’s court and making it a mainstream maker of trendy mobile phones. The new Samsung phone which was to be unveiled on 14th March at the ‘Samsung Unpacked’ event at New York’s Radio City Music Hall. This time is critical to launch a new phone because the smartphone industry is growing at a very fast pace transitioning from the ecstasy of new technology to a more clever and mature stage. The hardware developments are now more evolutionary than revolutionary; people are expecting enormous improvements in hardware and software. The area where Samsung lags behind Apple is software; where Apple has the ability to link its hardware to its own OS, Samsung uses the Android technology like other smartphone manufacturers. So to compensate their weakness in the software department, Samsung has to depend on on new software aspects such as the screen that will scroll up and down with the motion of the users eyes. Samsung introduced new features and are planning to ‘double down on software’ as their executive informed at a technology conference. Other features include one touch sharing between their devices. The question however is whether Samsung will be able to uphold its progress with the market growing so much more competitive and products becoming more and more commoditized. What worries Samsung more is the increase in the chip prices and the fall in sales which will decrease by 35% in 2013 as forecasted by research firm Strategy Analytics. Samsung had been a leading smartphone seller; in 2012 they were on the top sweeping away 30.3% of the world over smartphone

Australia Broadcasting Comporation report Essay

Australia Broadcasting Comporation report - Essay Example Starting from news papers to the modern online network of mass communication encompasses a wide variety of means to ensure the seamless flow of communication. The mass media at present has evolved developed enormously from the earlier stages. The accuracy and speed of communication through various media have remarkably advanced. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is a key player in the field of mass communication, and the national broadcaster of Australia they have a long, successful presence of eighty years in this field. Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC): Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), informally known as ‘Aunty,’ is a publicly owned national broadcaster of Australia. ABC has been providing various communication services to the country since last eighty years. It started its journey with radio service at national level and has enlarged its broadcasting service to global level with ABC online services. ABC provides radio, television, mobile and online services to national as well as global customers. The services of ABC are available in all regions of the country and they have played major role in various emergency and important situations. ABC also performs a variety of other functions. â€Å"The ABC also operates network of retailing outlets known as ABC enterprises.... ABC also performs a variety of other functions. â€Å"The ABC also operates network of retailing outlets (24 shops and 119 ABC centres) known as ABC enterprises. Operations include the production of books, classical and contemporary recordings, audio cassettes, videos, multimedia and licensed products, and music and magazine publishing† (2000 Year Book Australia No. 82 2000, p. 349). This paper discusses the history of ABC in the following segments. The services provided by ABC- radio, television and online are analyzed separately. The national and global coverage of the ABC services are also examined and the most effective means of communication service provided by ABC is identified. 3. ABC - A History: The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, formerly known as Australian Broadcasting Company, was established by the government of Australia on 1st July 1932 to run the National Broadcasting Services as the Postmaster General’s Department failed to do the operation. The f irst broadcasting service of Australian Broadcasting Company was Radio service and ABC had 12 radio stations in major cities of the country at its beginning. Inspired from BBC, the working of ABC was done accordingly. The period of World War II (WW- II) and the period following it, were crucial in the history of Australian Broadcasting Company. During WW- II, considering the importance of communication and providing information to the people, the Australian Broadcasting Act was passed in 1942. This gave the company the power to make decisions to broadcast political speeches without external interferences. In 1948, ABC was given complete government appropriation through amendments made in the Broadcasting Act. The next major mile stone of Australian

The Taming of the Shrew Essay Example for Free

The Taming of the Shrew Essay The servants in the play are mainly dopey and dim-witted. They fool around stage acting stupidly and behaving erratically. As the majority of the audiences would not have had a proper education, so they would rely on these exaggerated actions and visual antics. An example of this would be when Petruchio returns home after the wedding, only to find his servants gossiping. A frantic scene follows where the servants all end up falling over each other etc. This kind of foolish behaviour would have entertained un-educated Elizabethan audiences. All comedies by Shakespeare follow the same simple structure, similar to all other plays. The play starts with an exposition stage, which is when the story emerges and things start to go wrong and get out of hand. Next is the complication stage, which is when the play becomes even more complicated and everyone appears stuck. However, finally is the resolution stage where all the problems are solved. In tragedy plays, the play ends with the death of the hero or heroine, but in the majority of comedy plays, the play ends with a marriage. The tangled plot has been unwoven and problems solved. Petruchio immediately sets out to tame Katherina and her wild personality. Not only is he physically stronger than her, he is also wittier this is constantly apparent as he persistently winds Kate up: Pet. You lie, in faith for you are calld plain Kate, And bonny Kate, and sometimes Kate the curst; But Kate, the prettiest Kate in Christendom. Kate of Kate Hall, my super-dainty Kate, In this quotation, Petruchio is outlining his superiority over Katherina by winding her up by being patronising. After a direct order to not call her Kate, Petruchio goes on to persistently call her Kate to show his power. This not only annoys her, but weakens her and wears her down. He shows that he is not afraid to confront her making it clear from the outset that he is out to tame her. Petruchios methods of taming Katherina would appear disrespectful to modern audiences however they would have merely been humorous to Elizabethans. Throughout the play, the taming process continues, becoming more severe as the play progresses. At one point, Petruchio starves Kate, and deprives her of sleep to physically weaken her. Much of Petruchios speeches consist of cs and ks. This harsh phonology could suggest his dominance. Also, the majority of Kate repetitions are stressed using iambic pentameter. After a long taming period, Kate eventually caves in. She begins to realize that the only way she is going to get what she wants is to agree with what ever Petruchio says. Kat: Young budding virgin, fair and fresh and sweet Pet: Why, how now Kate. I hope thou are not mad. This is a man, old, wrinkled, witherd This is said directly after Petruchio comments there a beautiful young woman present. This also adds comedy to the play, as the person being addressed is in fact an old rather fat man, nothing like a beautiful young woman. This is a pivotal moment in the play as it is the turning point, where Katherina finally gives into Petruchios unrelenting taming process. After this, Petruchios taming of Kate is complete.

Lockes Views On Education Essay examples -- essays research papers

John Locke had a number of major influences on society in general, but his influences on education have stood the taste of time. His idea of Tabula Rasa, his introduction of empiricism, and idea of the use of all senses are all objectives that are used in schools today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The idea of Tabula Rasa is basically defined as a â€Å"blank slate.† Locke believed that everyone is born with a clean mind, a supposed condition that he attributed to the human mind before ideas have been imprinted on it by the reaction of the senses to the exterior world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Thus the first capacity of human intellect is that the mind is fitted to receive the impressions made on it;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  either through the senses by outward objects; or by its own operations when it reflects on them. This is the   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  first step a man makes towards the discovery of anything...†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  -John Locke (On Ideas as the Materials of All Our Knowledge) Locke considers the new mind as white paper or wax. It is to be moulded and formed as one pleases. It is up to the teacher to insure that it is formed the correct way and that there is no inate knowledge. This is incorporated into education the grade system. Children start out in kindergarten or pre-school with a blank slate; we start teach...

Recycling Plastic

Recycling plastic will help save our natural resources. 1. With the increasing human population the needs for the people also increases. But the point of concern is that are there enough natural resources to service all your needs. What if these resources finish, this is one thing we need to ponder upon. Plastic is one of the most used materials in the world. Majority of the items we use daily are made out of plastic. For example like water bottles, cups, tables and chairs, etc. Plastic is harder than paper and lighter than metal. It’s cheap and convenient.Because of these advantages, usage of plastic has increase rapidly over the years. We need to start recycling waste to converse our natural resources. Recycling is simply the process of reusing the items from which utility can still be derived. It is important to recycle waste so that you can at least converse some of our natural resources for our generations to come. The United States must mandate recycling programs in all private and public places to protect the future of our planet. Recycling is one of the keys to a sustainable future. Many products such as paper, cardboards, and cups come from trees.In fact trees are our natural assets, you can converse trees by recycling the paper products we can minimize the number of trees cut down a year. This is one form of waste recycling. One should understand and know the importance of recycling waste materials. One simple benefit of recycling is it saves our resources. It will be wise to reuse metal item as metal reserves may be depleting. You can sold your wore out metal items for recycling. As mentioned earlier, recycling of waste papers can save our forests. Recycling helps protect precious natural resources.When used goods like paper, plastic and glass are recycled, manufacturers can use the recycled material to make new products instead of having to constantly extract more raw materials. The more recycling occurs, the fewer virgin resources need to be processed to make consumer goods. 3. Recycling waste not only save our natural resources but also help save energy. In most cases, recycling requires less energy than producing goods from virgin resources. These energy savings tend to accumulate over time: many products can be recycled multiple times before being sent to landfills, while other products, like glass, can be recycled indefinitely.Since industrial processing and transportation are largely powered by the burning of fossil fuels, the energy savings produced by recycling translate into lower rates of greenhouse gas emissions. By simply recycling an item or making a basic fix to it, we can we save all the energy that would have been consumed in the process of making it. The same example can be taken with plastic items. A large amount of energy can be saved by simply reusing the plastic items. To recycle waste is to simply reduce pollution. By recycling plastic material we can reduce air pollution as well as water pollution .Plastic factories produced large amount of smoke when producing plastic material at the same time if we don’t have proper waste disposal system those waste emissions will cause water pollution. Recycling waste in a way helps reduce pollution. 4. There are some obvious benefits to the environment when we recycle our waste products. One being that less of our waste ends up in landfills and littered around the streets which ultimately ends up in the ocean. This prevents animals from eating and getting caught in the waste.It also means less land needs to be cleared to make way for garbage dumps. Recycling prevents habitat destruction, loss of biodiversity, and the soil erosion that is associated with logging and mining, leaving the environment in its natural state. Recycling products such as paper means that fewer trees need to be cut down to meet the paper demands of the world. Every ton of paper recycled is 17(seventeen) less trees that are cut down. By recycling we conserve o ur natural resources such as timber, water and minerals making sure those in years to come we have these resources to use and enjoy. . In simple words, recycling or recycling waste is essential to both natural environment and humans. To sum up, recycling minimizes the need for raw materials so that the rainforests can be preserved. Great amounts of energy are used when making products from raw materials. Recycling requires much less energy and therefore helps to preserve natural resources. One needs to know the importance of recycling at the same time being earth friendly can help our planet a better place to live in.

Deviant Behaviour in the Civil Services Essay

The concern laid out a viable extraction of information that focuses on several nations outside the Commonwealth Caribbean and their history of administration together with the leading factors of deviance in the civil services. Criterion used to assess the intricacies of Public Maladministration and Bureaucratic Corruption includes: injustice, unreasonable delay, abuse of discretion, negligence, arrogance, disregarding morality, employing deception and justifying criminality, nepotism, bribes, fraud, and waste and abuse in government. Public Administration is â€Å"centrally concerned with the organization of government policies and programmes as well as the behavior of officials (usually non-elected) formally responsible for their conduct†. The field is complex in nature due to the various sub-fields such as organizational theory, statistics, policy analysis, human resources, ethics, and budgeting. Woodrow Wilson – 1887, defined Public Administration as â€Å"the detailed and systematic execution of public law†. Therefore, it is the government’s responsibility to take rational action and manage human and capital resources to attain its goals. Wilson is known to be the father of Public Administration. He wrote an article entitled â€Å"The Study of Administration†, and stated that â€Å"it is the object of administrative study to discover, first, what government can properly and successfully do, and, secondly, how it can do these proper things with the utmost possible efficiency and at the least possible cost either of money or of energy†. He also wrote in 1887 four concepts in which he believed: * â€Å"Separation of politics and administration * Comparative analysis of political and private organizations * Improving efficiency with business-like practices and attitudes toward daily operations * Improving the effectiveness of public service through management and by training civil servants, merit-based assessment† Deviance, when looked at sociologically, describes actions or behaviors that violate social norms, including formally-enacted rules. (eg crime. Norms are rules and expectations by which members of society are guided. When there is a failure to conform to these norms and they are defied, it can be considered to be deviant behaviour. This is quite common in administrative systems around the globe. The political term maladministration however, is linked to the actions of government bodies that cause injustice. Comparative Public Administration lecturer Maukesh Basdeo, stated that â€Å" Public Maladmini stration can be interpreted as a perversion of power, extortion, discrimination, intentional misperformance or neglect of a recognized duty. He goes on affirming that â€Å" public maladministration is a term derived from a purely post-French Revolution Western notion of public office based on the theory of the administrative state, the bureaucratization of government, the separation of political and bureaucratic career structures, the professionalization of public service, and the idea of public servants as trustees of the common good†. The government according to lecture notes is a public trust that must be used in the general interest and not for the benefit of particular sectional interests. Since public officials are â€Å"servants of the people and not vice versa†, it is a necessity that such officials be dedicated, obedient, hardworking, loyal, honest, patient, respectful and must have the ability to represent the people. They must also be highly productive and efficient and should be appointed based on merit not ascription. â€Å"The Western World has accepted this public service ideology and has, with varying degrees of success, exported it to the rest of the world.

How to Create Editorial Guidelines the CoSchedule Way - CoSchedule Blog

How to Create Editorial Guidelines the Way Blog Creating great content consistently isn’t easy. That’s especially true when you’re always juggling multiple projects. Time gets tight. You start cutting corners. Performance declines accordingly. It’s a downward slope. Stay on it long enough, and you might find content marketing axed from your company’s budget. Yikes. So, what’s the solution? How do you make sure every piece you publish is like your best? And how do you enforce quality across a team of in-house and guest writers? Start by developing strong editorial guidelines. You might call them something else. Our friends at Help Scout call them â€Å"editorial values.† Here at , we call them our standards of performance. Whatever word you use, the goal is the same: document standards every piece you publish has to follow. That’ll help make sure you never cut corners again. Read on and let’s make missed steps in your content creation process a thing of the past. The Best Way to Develop Effective Editorial Guidelines What Are Standards of Performance? Standards of performance are concrete guidelines every piece of content you publish is required to meet. They make sure nothing goes out the door without hitting every point on a detailed checklist. When applied consistently, they make sure you never publish anything subpar. Why Are Standards of Performance Important? â€Å"We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.† That’s a quote from writer and historian Will Durant. You’ve probably heard some variation of this same idea somewhere before. The takeaway is that people will know you for what you do on a regular basis. As a marketer, that means if you consistently publish quality content, that’s what your audience will come to expect from you. If your stuff is hit or miss (or, worse, consistently poor), they’ll either ignore you or think your brand sucks. If stats from a recent Conductor webinar are accurate, though, most content creators aren’t holding themselves to a high enough standard. Consider this quote: â€Å"†¦ only 0.1% of all content gets more than a thousand shares, and the conversion rate is well under 1%.† That †¦ isn’t great. But, there is an upside. Since the bar is set low, clearing it shouldnt be difficult. Do the work your competition won’t and you’ll succeed. And your standards of performance are what will guide you to that success. Do the work your competition won’t and you’ll succeed.How We Developed Standards of Performance at Back when first started, our marketing team was just one person (Nathan Ellering, who is now our Director of Demand Generation). When you’re a team of one, it’s easy to know what you think content should look like. You try different things, see what works, and do more of what proves to be effective. Then, our team started to grow. Now, we have multiple team members crafting content. Even if creating content isn’t their first focus, a lot of our team members create some kind of content, at least every once in a while. Naturally, managing expectations and maintaining content consistency got harder once more team members got involved. When you add guest authors into the mix, it only gets more complicated. Instead of allowing writers to run wild, we decided it was time to establish quality standards. These would be simple data-driven guidelines that would help us make sure every piece we produce lives up to the same standards as our very best content. We called them our Standards of Performance, and they’ve been our guiding light ever since. Heres how to set standards of performance like @.First Standard of Performance: Comprehensiveness Our aim is to publish the most complete content we possibly can. Ideally, our readers shouldn’t have to read another post on a given topic. If we’ve done our job correctly, you’ll be able to find all the information you need to get a job done or learn a new skill in one place. That often means our content runs long. There’s a reason for that, though. If you want to go more than just puddle-deep into a topic, you’re going to provide something substantive. When we reviewed our top performing content, we discovered our best performing content adhered to this principle. Stuff that went short or cut corners underperformed, while posts that dug deep into research and provided all the actionable steps the reader needed to solve a problem excelled. How Do We Implement This? We’re big fans of the Skyscraper Technique. You’ve probably heard about it before. If not, it’s a simple process coined by Brian Dean that entails. Heres how to implement it in two steps: Read the top ten pieces of content on Google for a given topic. Create one piece of content that’s better and more resourceful than whats already out there. Simple enough, right? Well, from a research perspective, it is. Actually executing that kind of content is (perhaps obviously) substantially more difficult. One way to make this process easier is to start with a simple spreadsheet. Add columns for the following things: Primary keyword. What is the primary keyword being targeted? Check the URL and headline for clues. Secondary keywords  (as best as you can tell). Title tag. This appears as the blue highlighted text in search results. Meta description. This appears as the short (160 character or less) description underneath the title tag in search results. Length. How long is this content? # of Images. Are images present, and if so, how many? Is video present? Does the page include a video? If so, is it an original video, or one from another site? Downloadable assets. Are there any bonus materials included that people can download (PDFs, templates, ebooks, etc.)? H2 and H3 subheadings. Is the page properly formatted with H2 and H3 subheadings, and which keywords (if any) are present? Missing details? Is there any important information about this topic that the page is missing? Documenting your findings along the way can make it easier to keep track of what your content needs to compete. Here’s what your spreadsheet might look like (plus a free copy via Google Sheets you can use here): Second Standard of Performance: (Smart and Strategic) Keyword Targeting We also noticed every post we published targeted a clear keyword. Not only that, but they also incorporated strategic secondary (or LSI) keywords. Those additional long-tail terms tie into comprehensiveness by covering all the most important details about a topic (and proving it both to search engines and real human readers). So, we decided we’d never publish a post without a strong keyword (with rare exceptions). We’ve experimented with that route before. The results have always been underwhelming. How Do We Implement This? Content planning (at least for the Blog) always starts with a heavy amount of keyword research. We’re not just looking for any keywords, though. They have to meet the following criteria: Relevancy. Are these topics or problems that professional marketers are researching? Volume. We consider relevancy most important, but we also want to target terms that a sizeable portion of our audience will care about. Theme. Does the keyword relate to a task that an existing or upcoming feature helps people complete? Before we start searching for specific keywords, though, content ideas might come from any of the following sources: Conversations with our sales team. What do customers (and prospective customers) say their top challenges are? Social media chatter. What are topics people seem interested in on social media? Feature launches. What content could we create to help people get more value from recently added features to ? Personal skill development. What’s something we’ve recently learned how to do that we can share with our audience? Rants. What are things about the industry that frustrate us? Are there ways we think marketers could get certain things done more easily (than the way they’re typically told)? Seasonal topics. Are there certain things that are most relevant at a certain time of year? Brainstorming sessions. Every once in a while, we’ll conduct a team-wide brainstorming session. This process usually nets a month’s worth of ideas in under an hour. This video breaks down how it works: Once we have some idea of what content we need, we’ll fire up our keyword research tools. A few of our favorites include: Ahrefs Keyword Explorer: Part of their growing feature suite, this powerful keyword research tool is by far our favorite. It provides an awesome amount of data to help us determine the best keywords to include. Google Adwords Keyword Planner: They say the classics never go out of style. This tool is free and ubiquitous with keyword research. Ubersuggest: This tool is great for spinning off tons of ideas based on one keyword. Feed it a topic and it’ll return a spate of long-tail variations based on Google autocomplete suggestions. (Tip: try exporting that list and pasting it into the Keyword Planner). These are far from the only options out there. However, they’re the options we use the most. Once we’ve narrowed down ideas we want to run with, we add them onto our internal calendar: If we have ideas we might want to create in the future, we’ll drag them into our Drafts folder (click an item on the calendar and drag it all the way to the right): Recommended Reading: Your Ultimate Content Marketers Guide to Keyword Research Third Standard of Performance: Make Every Piece Actionable Lots of content tells you what to do. Not enough shows you how to do it. This is a major source frustration for us (and the inspiration behind a lot of internal rants). So, we do our best to practice what we preach  and make every piece we publish actionable. What does â€Å"actionable† mean, though? And what does â€Å"actionable content† really look like? Those are common questions we get asked. For us, actionable content shows you how to get stuff done. If it tells you to do something, it either goes through the process step-by-step, or includes a video or link to another resource that does. How Do We Implement This? We make sure our content is actionable by always including  step-by-step breakdowns with whatever visual aids a reader needs to understand what to do. To make your own content more actionable: List the steps required to complete a task. And if you’re going to ask someone to do something in your content, show them exactly how to do it. Add in screenshots or photos. If it’s possible, give readers some visual guidance. Infographics, charts, and graphs can also be helpful. Consider adding video. If you can show how to do something more easily with video, go for it. Sometimes, a minute-long clip is easier to get the point across than 1,000 words and 25 screenshots. Whatever you do, include actionable follow-through in your content. Depending on your industry or niche, this will almost certainly put you ahead of 90% of your competitors. Taking the time to do this right will take time. However, one single actionable piece of content is probably more valuable to your readers (and therefore, your business) than ten pieces that only scratch the surface of any given topic. One single actionable piece of content is probably more valuable to your readers than ten piecesFourth Standard of Performance: Relevancy The best content on a topic your customers don’t care about is useless. You’ve got to make sure what you’re publishing is going to bring in not just a large audience, but the right audience. That’s why we pay close attention to topical relevance when selecting what to write about. The marketing world is big, and there’s a lot of stuff we could cover. However, if we’re going to get the most from our limited resources, we want to make sure we spend the majority of our time writing about the things our audience cares about most. How Do We Implement This? Anytime we publish a piece of content, we ask: Would our target audience care about this? If not, it’s time to scrap that idea and move onto the next one. No time to waste. Does this topic tie into our product’s purpose? If not, is it really something our audience would expect us to publish? Is this something we can speak authoritatively on?  If not, why would anyone listen to us? A more concrete means of determining relevance is to check who else is covering that topic. If sites or companies we consider peers, friends, or competitors are covering it, then that’s a strong indicator it’s relevant. Of course, we take things on a case by case basis though, using our best judgment. Recommended Reading: The Best Way to Document Your Brand Voice Guidelines (Free Template) How to Establish Your Own Standards of Performance This is what works for us. However, every company (and marketing team) is different. Your standards of performance should reflect what’s unique about your company, philosophy, and approach.

Chronology of American History From 1726 to 1750

Chronology of American History From 1726 to 1750 1726 Log College at Neshaminy in Bucks County is founded. It will be important in training evangelists who will become involved in the Great Awakening movement that will occur in the 1730s and 1740s.Riots occur in Philadelphia. The Pennsylvania colony governor will forcefully put down the riots. 1727 Anglo-Spanish War breaks out. It lasts a little more than one year, with skirmishes mainly in the Carolinas.George II becomes King of England.History of the Five Indian Nations by Dr. Cadwallader Colden is published. It details information about the Iroquois tribes.Benjamin Franklin creates the Junto Club, a group of mostly artisans who are socially progressive. 1728 The first American synagogue is built on Mill Street in New York City.Horses and carriages are banned in Boston Common. It will eventually be called the oldest park in the United States. 1729 North Carolina becomes a royal colony.Benjamin Franklin begins publishing the Pennsylvania Gazette.The Old South Meeting House is built in Boston. It will become a key meeting place for revolutionaries and was where the Boston Tea Party meetings occurred. 1730 North Carolina and South Carolina are confirmed as royal provinces by the British parliament.The city of Baltimore in the Maryland colony is established. It is named after Lord Baltimore.The Philosophical Society is founded in Newport, Rhode Island which has become a vacation destination due to its spa. 1731 The first public library in American colonies is founded in Philadelphia by Benjamin Franklin and his Junto Club. It is called the Library Company of Philadelphia.The American colonial legislatures are not allowed to place monetary duties on imported slaves according to royal decree. 1732 Georgia becomes a colony out of land from the South Carolina territory when the Charter of 1732 is issued to James Oglethorpe and others.Construction begins on the Pennsylvania State House, better known as Independence Hall, in Philadelphia.George Washington is born on February 22nd in the Virginia colony.The first Catholic church in the American colonies is founded. It will be the only Catholic church erected before the American Revolution.Benjamin Franklin begins publishing Poor Richards Almanac, which will become a huge success.The Hat Act is passed by parliament, banning hats to be imported from one American colony to another, in an attempt to help London hatmakers. 1733 James Oglethorpe arrives in Georgia with 130 new colonists. He soon founds Savannah.The Molasses Act is passed by parliament setting heavy import duties on molasses, rum, and sugar from Caribbean islands other than those controlled by the British.The New York Weekly Journal begins publication with John Peter Zenger as its editor. 1734 John Peter Zenger is arrested for seditious libel against New York Governor William Cosby.Jonathan Edwards preaches a series of sermons in Northampton, Massachusetts that begins the Great Awakening. 1735 The trial of John Peter Zenger takes place after the newspaper editor spent ten months imprisoned. Andrew Hamilton defends Zenger, who is acquitted, for the statements he published were true, and thus could not be libelous.The first American fire insurance company is founded in Charleston. It will be bankrupt within five years, when half of Charleston is devastated by a fire. 1736 John and Charles Wesley arrive in the Georgia colony at the invitation of James Oglethorpe. They bring the ideas of Methodism to the American colonies. 1737 The first citywide celebration of St. Patricks Day is held in Boston.The Walking Purchase of 1737 occurs in Pennsylvania. William Penns son Thomas employs swift walkers to pace the boundaries of land given by the Delaware Indians. According to their treaty, they are to receive the land a man can walk in a day and a half. The Indians feel that the use of professional walkers is cheating and refuse to leave the land. The colonists enlist the help of the Iroquois Indians in their removal.A border dispute between Massachusetts and New Hampshire begins that will last for over 150 years. 1738 English Methodist evangelist George Whitefield, a key figure in the Great Awakening, arrives in Savannah, Georgia.The New Jersey colony gets its own governor for the first time. Lewis Morris is appointed to the position.John Winthrop, one of the most important scientists in the American colonies, is appointed to the chair of mathematics at Harvard University. 1739 Three uprisings of African-Americans occur in South Carolina resulting in numerous deaths.The War of Jenkins Ear begins between England and Spain. It will last until 1742 and will become part of the larger War of Austrian Succession.The Rocky Mountains are first sighted by French explorers Pierre and Paul Mallet. 1740 The War of Austrian Succession begins in Europe. The colonists will officially join the fight in 1743.James Oglethorpe of the Georgia colony leads troops along with Cherokee, Chickasaw, and Creek Indians to capture two forts from the Spanish in Florida. However, they will later fail to take St. Augustine.Fifty slaves are hanged in Charleston, South Carolina when their planned revolt is discovered.Famine in Ireland sends many settlers to the Shenandoah Valley area, along with other southern colonies in America. 1741 New Hampshire colony gets its own governor for the first time. The English crown appoints Benning Wentworth to the position. 1742 Benjamin Franklin invents the Franklin Stove, a better and safer way to heat homes.Nathanael Greene, American Revolutionary War General, is born. 1743 The American Philosophical Society is founded in Philadelphia by the Junto Club and Benjamin Franklin. 1744 The American phase of the War of Austrian Succession, called King Georges War, begins.The Six Nations of the Iroquois League grant the English colonies their lands in the northern Ohio territory. They will have to fight the French for this land. 1745 The French fortress of Louisbourg is captured by a combined New England force and fleet during King Georges War.During King Georges War, the French burn the English settlement of Saratoga in the New York colony. 1746 The boundary between Massachusetts colony and Rhode Island colony is officially set by parliament. 1747 The New York Bar Association, the first legal society in the American colonies, is founded. 1748 King Georges War concludes with the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. All colonies are restored to their original owners from before the war including Louisbourg. 1749 The Ohio Company is at first granted 200,000 acres of land between the Ohio and Great Kanawha Rivers and the Allegheny Mountains. An additional 500,000 acres is added later in the year.Slavery is allowed in the Georgia Colony. It had been prohibited since the colonys founding in 1732. 1750 The Iron Act is passed by parliament, putting a halt to the growth of the iron-finishing business in the colonies, to help protect the English iron industry. Resource and Further Reading: Schlesinger, Arthur M., editor. The Almanac of American History. Barnes Noble, 2004.

Econ 4020 reaction 10 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Econ 4020 reaction 10 - Term Paper Example In addition, the article published by the New York Times, describes various reasons why increased government budgets could be detrimental to the future US generation. The last article basically describes the elements ascribed to the American Recovery Reinvestments Act and how the government would use them to ensure that the current expenses remain constant, without any form of reduction. Fiscal Policies are geared towards facilitating proper use of public resources; basically, they are pertinent in the sense that they regulate the manner through, which governments and other stakeholders spend their resources. However, in many cases, these policies may be faced by criticism from certain quarters, who believe that they may be detrimental to public finances. On the other hand, many fiscal policies may also create a scenario whereby, the future generation is given the burden to settle certain debts. DeLong Says Not Time to Cut U.S. Budget With Free Lunch. (n.d.). Bloomberg.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014, from