Information Systems in Healthcare Research Assignment Paper - 1375 Words

Information Systems in Healthcare Research Assignment Paper (Coursework Sample) Content: Information systems in HealthcareNameInstitutionDate As a concept in health care, electronic health record (EHR) is relatively new and it has been fueled through advance in technology around the world. In fact, EHR is increasingly dependent on technology as it involves health care providers storing as well as retrieving detailed information about a particular patient. This may involve storing and retrieving patient information during hospitalization, over time, as well as across health care settings. The aim of EHR involve the need to develop support systems to aid health care providers in their decision making process with respect to information and knowledge availability. What is more, EHR help hospitals to monitor advance, as well as report information regarding health care quality as well as safety. The implication is that EHR encompasses a variety of functionalities as well as information such as progress notes, patient demographics, lab data, e-prescribing, care alerts, past medical history, medications, and scheduling among others. Two examplesASTMs Continuity of Care Record (CCR) This represents a patient- centered record utilized by health care practitioners to determine the kind information deemed most significant in the health of patients at specific times. Indeed, CCR is increasingly focused on the kind of data that is required when a health care provider is necessitated to engage background information in delivering the best quality care to clients (CorePoint Health, 2016). In addition, a physicians group concerned with developing a standard generated CCR in Massachusetts (USA). In particular, CCR was developed with the aim of solving the issue of portability as well as to provide a patient-centered record for health care providers. This means that it is often viewed as a snapshot in time, organized and interoperable, as well as generated by a health care provider with the aim of aiding the next practitioner to access such informat ion. A consortium of health care organizations was involved in developing the CCR including American Medical Association, ASTM, Patient Safety Institute, American Academy of Family physicians, and others. CCR is associated with a number of key aspects including core data set. In fact, the CCR provides a core data set of the most vital information for a specified period. According to CorePoint Health (2016), some of the sections contained within the core data set includes CCR header. This part has data required to recognize the referred as well as referring health care provider. This also includes the date as well as clinical purpose as to why the document was developed. The other section making up the core data set involves patient identifying information, which includes data necessary to recognize the referred patient from admission via discharge and any additional contacts that may aid in providing the best care. It can be said that this feature is the most crucial simply becaus e it facilitates the identification of a patient throughout the transfer process, which may involve transitioning from and o hospital, physician office, clinic, and home nursing environments. In addition, another feature within the core data set involves patients insurance as well as financial information. This section often lists the patients commercial insurance or Medicare data including such elements as date of birth, member identification, and insurance company name. The other aspect attached to the core data set involves patients health status, which lists such crucial data elements as diagnosis, issues and conditions, alerts, ongoing medications, vital signs, procedures or examinations, as well as lab outcomes. This section is followed by care documentation, which includes detailed information about the clinician-patient encounter background including name of providers and the data/time of visits (Tessier et al, n.d). In addition, care plan recommendation section is a core e lement that includes scheduled examinations, procedures, as well as care regimes. It must be noted that CCR is still being developed and additional core features are likely to be incorporated including disease management and enterprise and institution specific information extensions. HL7 s Continuity of Care Document (CCD) CCD is an outcome of a collaboration between ASTM International and Health Level 7 (HL7), and its main aim was to address the gap between those using ASTM CCR and those who use HL7 Clinical Document Architecture (CDA). Nevertheless, the collaboration between the two bodies resulted in a standard that is increasingly compatible with existing systems and other standards that are similarly constructed (CorePoint Health, 2009). CCD was introduction keeping in mind that it would encourage as well as facilitate the groups of EHR systems and the utilization of electronic information exchange among care providers, which is crucial to care quality, safety, and efficiency. It must be noted that as care providers increasingly embrace electronic data exchange, universal standard emerges as an issue with regard to connectivity. The implication is that finding a standard that enables wide implementation as well as universality is of paramount significance, and CCD is increasingly designed to address this challenge. Indeed, CCD allows for broad compatibility and relatively easy assimilation into technologies as well as standards. A major feature that is associated with CCD involves CDA elements even as the data tends to be defined through CCR. CCD utilizes a set of templates for CDA elements to develop the standard, and these templates define the manner in which to utilize CDA characteristics with respect to clinical data communication. CCD templates include such elements as header, problems, alerts, family history, advance directives, immunizations, vital signs, as well as results among others (CorePoint Health, 2009). As an example, medications element i s made up of ongoing and relevant patient medication history. Optionally, this may involve complete medication history including the medication list source. Identifying information source and if it reports intended or actual medication use facilitates resolution of conflicting data from various sources. Nonetheless, other elements such as medical equipment describe implanted or external medical devices or equipments that a patients health may be dependent. This may include device history and other vital information contributing to overall health care success. As far as easy integration is concerned, HL7 CDA RIM based specifications making up CCD base are widely attuned with current browsers, applications, and emergency medical records. In fact, any standard and document that has similar patterns including emerging forms of public safety reports and IHE specifications are plug- and-play with respect to using CCD. This means that users barely engage in any form of configuration task. What is mor...

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William Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet - 1051 Words

William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet is arguably one of the greatest and most heart-breaking tragedies of all time. Two lovers, Romeo and Juliet, meet at the young ages of 16 and 13, fall in love, get married and die, all within the span of three days. The lovers take their own lives, but the blame for their deaths can be placed solely on Romeo and his impulsive behaviour. Romeo is always very quick to act on his feelings, but he tends not to think before he does so, which is apparent when he instantly falls in love with Juliet and decides to marry her, when he kills Tybalt despite the consequences and when he takes his own life immediately upon seeing Juliet in her tomb. Romeo is responsible for his a Juliet’s deaths because of how quickly he fell in love with Juliet and decided to marry her. Prior to meeting Juliet, Romeo was head-over-heels for another girl named Rosaline, who wanted nothing to do with him. Then, when he goes to the Capulet’s party and sees Juliet, he is instantly smitten with her, before even speaking to her. He then goes on to say, â€Å"Did my heart love till now? For swear it, sight! For I ne’er saw true beauty till this night† (1, 5, 52-53). At this point, he has forgotten all about Rosaline, dismissing the fact that he ever even loved her. This is significant because it shows how easily Romeo can change his mind. The next day, Romeo goes to Friar Lawrence and asks him to marry him and Juliet, saying, â€Å"We met, we woo’d, and made exchange of vow†¦Show MoreRelatedWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1287 Words   |  6 PagesLizzy Baginski English Composition 2 Mr. Spera March 10, 2015 Romeo and Juliet Research Paper The movie Romeo and Juliet is a modern classic film that took place in 1996. Overall this is a timeless story that everyone should go and watch. This movie has an intriguing plot line that tells the story of two feuding families, The Montagues and The Capulets, and how the children of these two different families fall in love. The two children overcome various obstacles such as hiding their chemistry fromRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet 966 Words   |  4 Pages Beauty Over Gold â€Å"Beauty provoketh thieves sooner than gold.--William Shakespeare, 1623. In his book As You Like It, William Shakespeare pointed out the supremacy of love rather than the want of gold and wealth. Truly, beauty is more important to thieves than wealth. Many of the thieves in this world would rather have an elegant woman than to obtain precious rubies. After all, what good is a prosperous man if he doesn’t have a charming woman? Two famous men grab my attention who didn’t fear forRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet Essay1024 Words   |  5 PagesRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. The plot is based on an ItalianRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1124 Words   |  5 PagesThe play Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately reconcile their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare s most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with Hamlet, is one of his most frequently performed plays. Today, the title characters are regarded as archetypal young lovers. Romeo and Juliet belongs to a tradition of tragic romances stretching back to antiquity. Its plot is based onRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet861 Words   |  4 Pagesgreatly shown in the play Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare. It was love at first sight with Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet. Meeting at a party and falling in love to get married without even spending quality time with each other. Romeo and Juliet couldn t tell there parents because the Capulets and Montagues are long term rivals. Both Romeo and Juliet had to find different ways and excuses to make this marriage work. A big problem was developed. Romeo kills Juliet s cousin and is banishedRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1770 Words   |  8 Pagesof Romeo and Juliet. The story of two destined lovers who were killed by their own doing. But what if they weren t two destined lovers who got unlucky, but doomed partners that were never going to have a good-life to begin with.William Sha kespeare gives us a view of early signs of gang conflict in the early age of Verona, Italy. He gives us a perspective of the norms and customs of Italy during the Setting of William Shakespeare s most famous story. Romeo and Juliet, by William Shakespeare, givesRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1264 Words   |  6 Pagestheater-going public the most important dramatist in English literature, Shakespeare occupies a well-known position in the world of talented authors. His canon contains thirty-seven plays, written in the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries. Additionally, throughout the years, they continue to sustain critical attention, with the majority of his works circling tragedies, one being Romeo and Juliet. William Shakespeare s Romeo and Juliet speaks to the timeless appeal of star-crossed lovers. Their loveRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet924 Words   |  4 PagesWilliam Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy that follows t he so-called love of two teenagers. The two fall in love at a masked ball and have a secret marriage. Throughout the play, their actions show how ridiculous love is, and how it is a danger to anyone who become twisted in its choking grasp. However, in the death of the youth and survival of the elders, an alternative explanation for the tragic events may be found. Although Shakespeare seems to be mocking love throughout the play, itRead MoreWilliam Shakespeare s Romeo And Juliet1616 Words   |  7 Pageslove can also cause some of life s most controversial battles. These battles could stem from lack of patience, disagreement of moral values, and in some cases, an absence of attraction overall. 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Visayan Culture free essay sample

The Island of the Philippines is a highly populated island located in Southeast Asia. To its North lies Taiwan and to the West, Vietnam. The Philippines are made up of islands located in what is known as the Pacific Ring of Fire. Which make it very prone to earthquakes and typhoons. It is categorized into three main divisions, Luzon, Mindino, and Visayas (which I will be discussing). With a population of about 92 million, there are a wide variety of ethnicities and cultures found throughout the islands.The region known as Visayas is broken into three different sections, Central, Eastern, and Western. These sections all have islands: Panay and the western part of Negros (Western) Leyte and Shamar (Central) and Cebu, Bohol, and the Eastern part of Negros. All of these islands have provinces as well. The people of Visayas known as Visayans and have a variety of different traditions and history in their origins. We will write a custom essay sample on Visayan Culture or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page They are influenced by many indigenous traditions of the Austronesian primitive tribes.There is a significant amount of Spanish and Mexican influence in the culture due to the Spanish colonization in 1565. They are visible in cuisine, language and religion. Since the Philippians was a territory of the U. S. ; American culture is prevalent in the Vigayaran society also. These include English language, film, and sports. Chines and Japanese cultures are prevalent as well since they have settled in this region since the colonial period.About most practice religion of the Visaya are Christians made up of Roman Catholics and East Timor. Followed by Aglipayan and Evangelicals. There is a small percentage of Muslims and people that don’t specify their religion as well. Before the Spanish and Roman Catholism emerged, many tribes practiced religions such as Animism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam. There are 30 languages spoken by the Visayan. The most popular being Cebanu (with about 20 million) Hiligaynon spoken in Western Visayan and Wary-Wary, spoken in the East.These languages are broken into four subfamilies Asi, Surigaon Central, Surgaon West, and Tausug. Visayan refers to their languages as Bisaya meaning Vaysian language. The people of the Visayan region usually live in what is called Nipa Huts, using bamboo cotton, and wood. They are normally built on stilts due to all the flooding in this region. They are greatly influenced by Spanish architect. The Spaniards introduced stones as housing and building materials. They also built European style chuches which still exist today.

Organic vs industrial food free essay sample

Organic foods, although stereotypically known for having a bland taste or having no taste have been shown to improve ones quality of life be decreasing some health risk such as cancer or heart disease. If you haven’t realized it, organic fruits and vegetables taste better, and the flavor is crispier. The health consequences of genetically modified food, when examined closely, will convince you to change your eating habits. The shelf life of food depends on four main factors: formulation, processing, packaging and storage. Change any one of these conditions and you can change the shelf life for better or worse. Shelf life has many attributes: bacterial control, color stability, yeast and mold inhibition, flavor stability, textural stability and aroma stability. The appearance of shelf-life problems can be wide, as well, including oxidative browning, oxidation of flavor compounds, or liquescence. To increase the shelf life of more unstable foods, such as low-sugar jam, low-salt condiments, low-oil salad dressings, prepared fresh produce and deli meats, food companies may take steps to reduce bacterial load from ingredients before they process the final food. We will write a custom essay sample on Organic vs industrial food or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To grow, thrive and survive, microbes need a friendly environment; this usually includes moisture. Lowering moisture creates a hostile environment for bacteria by decreasing the available medium for them to grow in. There are a number of new ingredients to help regulate water activity in foods with a reduced fat phase. â€Å" Generally, the water activity of a minimally processed food needs to be about 0.07 or lower, water has an a W rating of 1.00, and most products preserved with sugar, measure about 0.07, with the excess water bound so that bacteria are under osmotic pressure too great to survive(Katz, February 4, 2006).† Whenever you buy food, you have decision to make: Healthy or cheap, organic or industrial. If organic food was not so expensive, that decision would be easy, everybody would buy organic food, for a healthier body. Unfortunately not everybody can afford it, making it look like healthy food is becoming a  luxury good. In the rush to produce more and more food for the people on this planet, chemicals came into play. Farmers begin by trying to sell the highest percentage of their crop and therefore often use pesticides, gen-manipulated corn, chemicals etc. The farmers investment in pesticides, hormones, and chemicals tends to pays off, earning more, their fruits look better and costumers are happy with huge pest fee fruits and vegetables. When a farmer says no to chemicals, he runs the risk of losing a harvest because of pests. The only way to compensate the cost is a higher price for organic food. You cant ask everybody to pay higher prices, and a lot of people would starve to death without the use of chemicals which protect harvests against pests. Every time you eat something, you consume pesticides, these substances are added in order to produce and sell more efficient. Fortunately there are strict rules for the use of chemicals. Organic foods are produced following practices described in the USDA National Organic Program (NOP), a marketing program with a certification process throughout the production and manufacturing chain. The NOP describes the practices that are required for labeling a product â€Å"organic,† but it does not address nutritional benefits or food safety issues. Even when you buy organic food, you are consuming these substances, but the bar is set at a different height and you are consuming less harmful substances that could be particularly hazards for high-risk groups such as pregnant women, infants, young children and farm worker households. Since organic food is not prepared using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, it does not contain any traces of these strong chemicals and might not affect the human body. People strongly believe that organic food tastes better than non-organic food. The prominent reason for this belief is that it is produced using organic means of production. Further organic food is often sold locally resulting in availability of fresh produce in the market. So how bad is industrial food? Let’s take a look; there are maximum residue limits on all pesticides and chemicals. The department of health determines how much of each substance is ok. Eating organic food lowers the risk of getting hit by a similar scenario, but its not a 100% guarantee (Are Organic Foods Better for You. 2010). However, getting seriously sick from cheap food is not that high of a risk as long as you read food labels you can eat cheap and healthy at the same time? If you are eating organic food only, you are  still eating unhealthy foods. Almost everyone is aware that foods grown according to organic principles are free from over exposure to harmful pesticides, but that is only one small aspect. A larger part of organic agriculture is the health of the soil and the ecosystem in which crops are raised. Organic farmers know that healthy, live soils significantly benefit crops. Synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and/or fast acting inorganic fertilizers applied to or around crops interrupt or destroy the micro biotic activity in the soil. Organic farming reduces groundwater pollutants, decreases pesticides that can end up in your drinking glass; in some cities, pesticides in tap water have been measured at unsafe levels. The Farmer’s Market is a growers’ market, meaning everything in the market is homegrown, but Richard Bowie, an experienced organic grower is not convinced that all the food being sold is homegrown. â€Å"The market’s slogan ‘100% Homegrown makes us different’ is used as a gimmick, said Bowie† (Shreve, October 3, 2011). Vendors have been seen carrying produce and selling it to other vendors at the market bringing the term organically grown in to question and without certification, and but by law they cannot say they are a certified organically grown vendor. Most vendors cannot afford the certification process and want consumers to look past the term organic there for focus on the soil used or nutrients used. Almost everyone is aware that foods grown according to organic principles are free from over exposure to harmful pesticides, but that is only one small aspect. A larger part of organic agriculture is the health of the soil and the ecosystem in which crops are raised. Organic farmers know that healthy, live soils significantly benefit crops. Synthetic chemicals such as herbicides, pesticides, and/or fast acting inorganic fertilizers applied to or around crops interrupt or destroy the micro biotic activity in the soil. Organic farming reduces groundwater pollutants, decreases pesticides that can end up in your drinking glass; in some cities, pesticides in tap water have been measured at unsafe levels. We should choose farming methods that truly address our real concerns safety and sustainability, not simply methods that satisfy an arbitrary marketing label. To whatever extent these practices include methods that are permitted under organic rules. But theres never a case when a safe, mo re efficient, and sustainable modern technology that feeds more people worldwide should be disallowed for no logical reason. Eating â€Å"organic† alone doesn’t guarantee 100 percent healthy .The truth is that most Americans eat so badly that we get most of our calories from soft drinks, more than we do from vegetables; the top food group by caloric intake is â€Å"sweets†; and one-third of nation’s adults are now obese. It’s not unimportant, but it’s not the primary issue in the way Americans eat. To eat well, says means avoiding â€Å"edible food-like substances† and sticking to real ingredients, increasingly from the plant kingdom. There’s plenty of evidence that both a person’s health as well as the environment’s will improve with a simple shift in eating habits away from animal products and highly processed foods to plant products and what might be called â€Å"real food.† From these changes, Americans would reduce the amount of land, water and chemicals used to produce the food we eat, as well as the incidence of lifestyle d iseases linked to unhealthy diets and greenhouse gases from industrial meat production. And the food would not necessarily have to be organic, all it takes is paying attention to what you eat and read your labels more closely. Participation on our part to be more aware of what we buy and to raise our voices, if need be. We can let our opinions be known even in the simplest ways. A good example is when we shop, if there is no substitute for the product we need, let the store owners know, they will surely change their products. Organic food is better as it uses natural farming techniques. It is similar to preferring natural remedies when suffering from a disease as compared to eating chemical antibiotics. So, the question of organic foods vs non organic foods; which is better, is clearly answered. Organic food surpasses the conventionally produced foods.

How did the quality assurance milestones of 1911-2001 change industry

How did the quality assurance milestones of 1911-2001 change industry How did the quality assurance milestones of 1911-2001 change industry practices in the United States? How did the quality assurance milestones of 1911-2001 change industry practices in the United States? There was a time when only one highly skilled craftsman would plan and execute a specific product. Traditional views of quality management would wait to inspect products after they were made. However, milestones have changed industry practices in the United States. Many changes in quality assurance began with Frederick Taylor, also known as the father of scientific management, (Goetsch & Davis, 2013). Taylor basically eliminated the practice of just one skilled craftsman by separating planning and execution. This led to quality engineering in the 1920s which meant that quality assurance relied on statistics and charts. Reliability engineering was introduced in the 1950s and 1960 and this concept tried to maintain quality throughout the design and production process versus inspecting a product after it was produced. World War II also became a major milestone in the United States that affected quality. The U.S. was more focused on quantity and deadlines than quality. However, Japanese companies became very concerned with producing quality products and had gained a reputation as being leaders in producing quality products (Goetsch & Davis, 2013). Western companies realized at this time, that quality was a very important concept especially in a global market. During this time, around the 1940s, W. Edwards Deming also demonstrated the importance of statistical quality control. Although Demings idea of the Fourteen Points and the Seven Deadly Diseases were not adopted by the United States at first, the United States finally did acknowledge Demings concepts around the 1980s. Joseph M. Juran also contributed to the milestones of quality assurance in the United States by introducing the Three Basic Steps to Progress, Ten Steps to Quality Improvement, The Pareto Principle, and the Juran Trilogy. His philosophy was to find ways to continue to improve quality. He also developed the 80/20 rule which suggests that 80 percent of the issues come from 20 percent of the problems (SUO, 2012). Phillip B. Crosby was an advocate for zero-defects. Crosby had his own quality consulting firm until 2001 when he passed away. He also recognized for his Quality Vaccine and Crosbys Fourteen Steps to Quality Improvement. According to our notes, the milestones set by these visionary leaders of quality management have not only been instruments in the development of quality in the United States, but they have had a remarkable impact on the evolution of quality management internationally (SUO, 2012). Which quality leader do you think had the greatest impact during this timeframe? Explain your answer in real-life examples. Although all the leaders mentioned had an impact on quality assurance, I think that Joseph Juran had the greatest impact during this timeframe. Many companies still resort to Jurans book, the Quality Control Handbook, as a reference for quality and performance improvement (www.juran.com). His theories evolved into the Lean and Six Sigma that is used by manufacturing companies like Xerox. What, according to you, are the accomplishments of quality leader W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran? What are the differences in the methods and techniques suggested by them? I believe that Demings biggest accomplishments were that he was not only concerned with the quality of products or services; he was also concerned with developing better ways for people to work together. His philosophy of continuous improvement included that of the individual as well as organizations. Deming felt that focus should be given to one person but to the group as a whole. Jurans accomplishment was the 80/20 principle which managers still rely on today. The theory is that 80 percent of outcomes are based on 20 percent of events. The difference between Deming and Juran is that Deming believed that no one person was at fault for product defects. Whereas Juran, believed that organizations should eliminate the few sources that cause the majority of the problems (Goetsch & Davis, 2013). References: Goetsch, D.L. Bookshelf.} Retrieved from http:// myeclassonline. South University Online (2012). BUS4101: Quality Management: Week 1: Total Quality. Retrieved from http://myeclassonline.

Marketing Ethics of Mecca Cola Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Ethics of Mecca Cola - Case Study Example Marketing plans and strategies would be incomplete without paying much consideration to the customers. Customers will and should always be a part of the agenda in any marketing plan of any company. Because of the implications for profitability and growth, customer retention is potentially one of the most powerful weapons that companies can employ in their fight to gain a strategic advantage and survive in today's ever increasing competitive environment (Lindenmann, 1999). Marketing involves the buying, selling, and trading of goods and services and the subsidiary activities that make these exchanges possible. It is a social process, as well as an economic activity and a collection of physical tasks. Marketing takes place only in societies. Even a rather large, primitive family unit may engage in extensive production and consumption on a self-sustaining basis without becoming involved in activities that can be described as marketing. In organized societies, marketing activities are themselves important features of the social milieu, and changes in marketing practices may carry implications extending throughout the social structure. For example, the location of trading centers affects the modes and routes of transportation (Kotler and Armstrong, 200); advertising affects popular conceptions of tastes and life styles; and changes in distribution channels create and eliminate employment opportunities and ways of life. Appraisals of the performance of marketing activities within our society are commonplace. Marketing is said to be inefficient because there are "too many" gasoline service stations. It is said to be unfair because some firms are "making it impossible" for others to continue to exist in the market place. It is said to be unproductive because "too much" money is spent on advertising (Lun and Gupta, 2001). Generally comes off very well indeed. Businessmen do not hesitate to spend large sums in marketing their wares, and consumers show no great reluctance to pay the resultant charges embodied in what they buy The fundamental economic criterion for appraising marketing activities is the efficiency with which they are performed. Efficiency, or productivity, involves a relationship between effort and effect, sacrifice and reward, input and output. Efficiency is a relative concept (Neumann and Sumser, 2002). When we describe an activity as "inefficient," we mean that too much effort is being expended with too little effect; in other words, that the ratio of effort to effect is higher than necessary. And when we describe an activity as "efficient," we mean that the ratio of effort to effect is about as low as can be achieved. In general, economic activities that are more efficient are preferred to those that are less efficient and for a very simple reason. If there are two methods of accomplishing the same task and one of them requires a smaller expenditure of time, effort, and resources than the other, then by using that method one can accomplish the task and have time and materials left over. One may then either use these surplus resources to accomplish the task another time, or in a superior fashion, or may transfer these resources into some entirely different activity (Ohmae, 1990). So long as one's time and resources are of some value in some use including their use in leisure or in saving for the future