Decision Making and Problem Solving

Steps in Decision Making Decisions can be made at an individual or organizational level. Individual decisions may affect the decision maker, the people who look up to them or the organization they serve. Similarly, organizational decisions may affect individuals or groups associated with the entity. In this respect, different factors affect the process of decision making.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Decision Making and Problem Solving specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Experiences, the level of information, the uniqueness of the situation and urgency of the matter are some of the factors that influence decision making (Dietrich 1). Having decided on whether the decision is individual or collective, the following guidelines are vital. First, one must identify the problem that requires a decision. In the second step, one ought to generate possible solutions to the problem. The third step evaluates the consequence s of each of the decisions that are to be taken. The fourth step involves choosing the measure you have decided to undertake about the problem. The fifth step is implementation. Implementation may take place at once or may be done in bits depending with the situation. The sixth step involves evaluation of the degree of success of the decision (Lunenburg 3; Anderson 9). Making decision in the light of Ian Robertson, â€Å"Religion and Social Change†and Nicols Fox, â€Å"What are Our Real Values† Determining whether affective domains of mankind determine culture and social change or whether social and cultural changes determine the affective domains is highly contested. In this regard, affective domains refer to the human beliefs, attitudes, social philosophies, ethics, norms and ideals. Karl Marx held the opinion that culture is made of material and nonmaterial constructs. On the other hand, Max Weber agreed with the approach by Marx on material and nonmaterial construc ts, but he held the opinion that the affective domains influenced social changes. According to him, the concept and principles of capitalism emanated from beliefs and other normative aspects (Robertson 10). A further synthesis of the material and non material paradigms reveal that as much as the positions held by Max and Marx were based on correct constructs, they were relative and contextual. The growth of England as a capitalist over Scotland is a case at hand (Robertson 11). The emerging modern economies in the East, especially China, complicate further, the view of Weber. Setting the ideals, believing in them and passing them on to the next generation is fast becoming an illusion. The ideals on the value of family, humanity and moral consciousness have become subject to media and celebrities (Fox 122).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lilian Smith: When I was a child The article is a classical analogy of racial discrimination in the south of the U.S. The parents talk of the goodness of God, of the virtue of their society, and of the value of life while at the same time they segregate against the people with the colored skin. As a little child, the author wonders why the family treated Janie without regard although she had showed good manners (Smith 36-37). The white skinned society in the south denies children a chance to demonstrate hospitality, goodness and kindness to their colored skin friends. The only frame of reference in determining civility was in keeping slaves and disregarding them. Plato: the parable of the cave The article is about prisoners who perceive the objects of the world in form of shadows. One of the prisoners is freed and told to give his view of the world; the impact of the light hurts him. The cave has conditioned the prisoners into understanding the shadows as the true and real objects (Plato 80). The article is an insight on enlightenment. It advises one on viewing a situation in a new paradigm that is held as the true and real. It is relativistic. Henry Thoreau: On the Duty of Civil Disobedience The article systemizes the tenets of social organization. It observes the existence of individual human beings, property and the laws that govern their interaction, appropriation and increase. The society in collective terms, contract a few of its own to oversee the social order. In times of inefficiency and misappropriation of the stewardship of power, the citizens opt for disorder. They become disgruntled by oppression, slavery and short-change their trust in the elected few to oversee social order. This is the beginning of revolutions (Thoreau 194). The article’s advice for the current situation is that it is not absolute for the collective responsibility to be undertaken directly. Social order is already contracted to the government by the way of election. Furthermore, one continues to contribute to the stewardship of the law and order by way of taxation and service to the government. E.E Cummings: LIV The poem is a presentation of the concept of reductionism. Although we are independent as individuals, many factors unite us. The poem states the importance and the reality of unity. The imageries given on tree, leaf, and on the growth of buds is an indication of the society comprised of many components yet united by the virtue of love and co-existence. A show of love explains who we are (Cummings 181). The poem advises the situation on the value of compassion. The poem completely ignored the personal dreams, economic value and responsibility of provision on the east coast.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Decision Making and Problem Solving specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Martin Luther king, Jr, â€Å"Letters from a Birmingham Jail† The letter speaks of the issues on racism in the south of the Unit ed States. As indicated, the racial discrimination anywhere had effect everywhere. Luther wondered what response he could give to a five year old if they wanted to know causes of segregation. Children understand that all mankind deserves good treatment. The section of the letter that touches on children is especially critical in deciding whether to go to Boston or remain in Iowa with the family (King 77-100). Albert Camus: The Myth of Sisyphus The myth is anchored on the condemnation of Sisyphus to roll the rock up the cliff and just before it topples over to the other side, it falls back to the foot of the cliff and he has to repeat. The punishment is given after the accusation of his role when Jupiter stole Aegina who was the daughter to Aesopus (Camus 237). The myth is a demonstration of the power of divine creatures over the beings on the earth. Sisyphus suffers from labor in futility. The mythology informs the decision to remain in Iowa or leave to the east coast. The decision that violates the will of the divine power comes with adverse consequences. Auden: the unknown Citizen The Bureau of Statistics considered the unknown citizen as one with good conduct. He was on the good side of demography according to the Eugenist, he had modest interaction with colleagues, and he was in good health. He also had a reasonable material fortune of radio, automobile, fridge and phonograph. He was well informed from the media and his level of education was apt. (Auden 98). The unknown citizen is the ideal representation of the decisions that ought to be made in the described situation. He can meet the expectation of serving his community and undertake his employer’s assignment. The decision should strive to meet the ideals posed in the case of the unknown citizen. Precepts from the living quotations The message in the quotations is derived from the scripture. It emphasizes on service to humanity through the lessons drawn from the stories of the Biblical personali ties. The quotations reveal the benefits of working together as a community and treating each other with kindness (Bacote 155). The message in the nuggets informs the process of making decision in the present scenario by a historical and transcendent understanding. Conclusion The decision must strive to meet the ideals observed by the unknown citizen meaning it must be conscious of the family. The decision should also note that the current is an act of nature. The emerging obligations need character, strong will and decisiveness. The economic and social family obligations must be met despite the desire to offer a helping hand in the aftermath of the disaster (Adair 10 11).Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Decide to be in Boston as your family remains in Iowa to assist the victims then they join you later. They ought to accept leaving old friends is hard but it also gives them opportunity to visit new places. Significant decisions involve breaking with the past (Anderson 11; Ehrgott, Figueira Greco 88). Works Cited Adair, John. Decision making and problem solving. London: Kogan Page Limited, 2007. Print. Anderson, Barry F. The Three Secrets of Wise Decision Making. Portland: Single Reef Press, 2002. Print. Auden, Hugh Wystan. The Unknown Citizen. Sunnyvale: Shmoop University Incorporated, 1940. Print. Bocote, Vicente. Precepts for living2007-2008: Umi Annual Sunday school Lesson Commentary. Illinois: Urban Ministries, Inc., 2007. Print. Camus, Albert. The Myth of Sisyphus. Washington: Penguin Books Limited, 2013.Print. Cummings, E E. 100 Selected Poems. New York: Grove press, 1954. Print. Dietrich, Cindy â€Å"Decision Making: Factors that Influence Decision Making, Heuristics Used, and Decision outcomes.†The International Student Journal 2.02 (2010): 1-3. Print. Ehrgott, Matthias, Figueira, Jose, Greco Galvatore. Trends in Multiple Criteria Decision Analysis. New York: Springer, 2010. Print. Fox, Nicols. Against the Machine: The Hidden Luddite Tradition in Literature, Art, and Individual lives. Washington: Island Press, 2002. Print. Lunenburg, Fred â€Å"The Decision Making Process.†The forum of educational administration and supervision journal 27.4 (2010): 1-12. Print. King, Martin Luther â€Å"Letter from Birmingham Jail†why we can’t wait. Martin Luther King, Jr., papers project (1963):77-100. Print. Plato. The allegory of the Cave. London: P L Publication, 2010. Print. Robertson, Ian. Sociology. New York: Worth Publishers, 1981. Print. Smith, Lilian. Killers of the Dream. New York: W.W. Norton Company, 1949. Print. Thoreau, David Henry. On the Duty of Civil Disobedience. Washington: Arc Manor, 2007. Print. This essay on Decision Making and Problem Solving was written and submitted by user Charlie Wolfe to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Impact Of FIRST Robotics Program Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers

Impact Of FIRST Robotics Program Essays - Free Essays, Term Papers Impact of FIRST Robotics Program Carnegie Mellon It was just the second week of school, and I had mustered up all my courage to venture to the nether regions of our school known as the basement to attend the first meeting of the newly forming FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) robotics team. When I walked into room one, the newly proclaimed FIRST headquarters, I looked around with apprehension, and I noticed that I did not recognize a single face in the room. Nervously, I took a seat, and Mr. Mothersele, the advisor for the program began describing the program. FIRST is a national engineering competition in which partnerships are formed between local businesses and high schools to design and build a robot-like machine from identical kits of parts supplied by FIRST. The team has about six weeks to build the machine which must be able to compete in a timed sporting event. As soon as I saw the video of the students working and competing with the robots, I was hooked. The program seemed tailored to my int erest in math in science and to my competitive spirit. I couldn?t resist the opportunity. As a shy and relatively inexperienced freshman, I signed up for the program as the only underclassmen on the team of ten students. I bumbled along, learning about design and how to use the machines. I made my full share of mistakes and then some, but by the end of the program, I was gaining some real experience. Although our robot did not fare very well in the competition our first year, my learning process was underway, and I knew that I had found my place. The second year of the competition, I was only one of two returning students. I took an active role in recruiting new students, and our membership doubled. It was a complete role reversal for me because all of a sudden I was the experienced team member. We finished fifth out of forty teams at the regional competition, and at the national tournament, we placed in the top third. This past year, was the golden year of my FIRST career. In September, I was voted team captain. It was my job to ensure that our team was well organized and that we stayed on task. Our team advanced to the semifinals, where we lost to the eventual National Champion. We finished fourth overall, and it was an incredible success story. Over the summer, I continued to work at school with our instructor to plan for the upcoming year. Next year, I will be team captain again, and we are prepared to continue our success. I have come a long way from the timid freshman who nervously stepped into the FIRST room. As a result of my FIRST experience, I feel comfortable presenting my ideas clearly and convincingly to a large diverse audience. I have grown confidence in my own resourcefulness and problem solving ability. FIRST has taught me to trust my judgment in critical situations. Working with a diverse group of people having a variety of skills strengthened my team working abilities. To be successful, our team had to consider everyone?s ideas to produce a winning strategy. During the first two years, I gained the experience and skills necessary to assume the leadership position of team captain. As team captain, I set group goals and formulated strategies to achieve these goals. As a result of this experience I can work effectively on significant long range projects with highly focused goals. I can both work constructively as a team member and provide leadership among my peers. I developed my ability to communicate and coordinate my ideas in the corporate environment. The skills that I have gained are those needed to work in an entrepreneurial business environment which I have selected as my career objective.

Practicum Project Plan Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Practicum Project Plan - Term Paper Example The goal of this practicum project is to enhance learning. The goal statement, project objectives, evidence-based review of the literature, methodology, resources, formative evaluation, summative evaluation, and timeline of the project are outlined in this paper. There are two correlated goals that I will strive to accomplish in this practicum project. First, I will be able to demonstrate skills and competency in managing a diverse population of staff and patients at the end of the practicum experience. Secondly, I will be able to work within a complex system to develop leadership abilities appropriate for the management role of nursing coordinators or night supervisors. According to a Nurse Bedside Shift Report by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (n.d), "Patient and family engagement creates an environment where patients, families, clinicians, and hospital staff all work together as partners to improve the quality and safety of hospital care" (p.3). In this regard, implementation of best practices that promote patient and family engagement is vindicated. Purposeful rounding, bedside reporting, and multidisciplinary rounding comprise of actions posited by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (n.d) to support patient and family engagement. In a study aimed at scrutinizing the effects of communication cited by Dingley, Daugherty, Derieg, and Persing (n.d), open communication and teamwork were found to contribute significantly to the achievement of affirmative results. This shows that utilizing open communication and working in multidisciplinary teams in implementing best practices, in conformity with the project methods, is als o defensible. Conducting an evaluation will also be important in the practicum project. As explicated by Black (2010), evaluation helps distinguish practices that achieve their anticipated objectives from those that have failed. Evaluation will therefore help identify best practices that have

Buying Behaviour Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Buying Behaviour - Research Proposal Example They gave maximum importance to time saving, followed by ease of preparation, family health, and taste. Their choices of brands were entirely different. The non-working women gave maximum importance to taste, followed by family health, ease of preparation, time saving, whereas the working women gave maximum importance to saving, ease of preparation, good taste, and good for the family. Their choices of brands were entirely different. 1. Needs - Needs of both working women and non-working women are different. A working women would need coffee during her breaks whereas a non-working women needs coffee only in the morning during breakfast. So, their needs are entirely different from each other. As coffee satisfies her hedonic needs for example, consumers who drink coffee feel refreshing, which an emotional response. Also, her symbolic need to be fast, modern, confident, sophisticated etc. which is related to her status symbol and functional need to reduce the need of thirst. Whereas for cakes the they satisfy the functional need to reduce hunger, and hedonic need for example it satisfies the taste buds of the consumers and can be classified as a feel good factor. a) Brand awareness: For coffee the brand awareness among the working women was very high as they personally preferred coffee as compared to non-working women for them it was a low involvement purchase and hence the awareness is not that high. For cakes the brand awareness among the non-working women was high as they consider it to be a special occasion preparation and thus wants the most information about the cake. b) Perception: Perception is the process of selecting, organizing and interpreting information inputs (sensations received through sight, taste, hearing, smell and touch) to produce meaning. Selective Exposure - select inputs to be exposed to our awareness. More likely if it is linked to an event, satisfies current needs, intensity of input changes (sharp price drop). Selective Distortion - Changing/twisting current received information, inconsistent with beliefs. Advertisers that use comparative advertisements (pitching one product against another), have to be very careful that consumers do not distort the facts and perceive that the advertisement was for the competitor. c) Role of emotions: Generally working women show great involvement while purchasing coffee as she a habitual drinker of coffee everyday and feels connected to the brand and they generally stick to one brand whereas non-working women usually prefers taste and experiments with various brands and are not very emotionally connected to the brand. Working women usually prefers cakes with low calories and hence go for products for cake preparation that are low in fat but are that brand loyal whereas the non-working women prefer cakes with better taste and thus it becomes a high involvement product for them and tend to stick to one brand providing the taste they want. d) Attitudes: Individual learns attitudes through experience and interaction with other people. Consumer attitudes toward a firm and its

Business Management Essay Example for Free

Business Management Essay According to Joss (2001),a set of rules or strategies are used to control and direct by an organization effectively and efficiency, manpower is involved to work together in an organization to achieve a common mission continuously. Different skills are required and performed by a manager, such as leadership skills, organizational skills, etc. Particular person, in an organization, should shoulder the responsibility and produce results is called manager. Managers require specific experience and qualification, to make any important decisions and lead their teams to accomplish a goal. Management are classified into four levels, they are top managers, middle managers, first-line managers and non-managerial employees respectively. (Oxford, 2009; Joss,2001) Functions of management: There is a cycle of four functions of management before achieving the stated mission, they are planning, organizing, leading as well as controlling. Planning is one of the functions that preparing and evaluating what and how they can improve to do even better. They can plan for the desired achievement or integrate their current structure. Organizing is a way to utilize resources and guide the manpower in a specific way, since investment and employees are very crucial for successful organizations. Leading is the best way to influence and coordinate the workers, as the managers ‘motivate their ‘ left-right hands. Motivation means the managers inspire and persuade them to do their best in a happy way. Controlling is the final step amongst four functions. The managers monitor the current productivity and correct the mistakes or ways they perform. (Tripathi and Reddy, 2008) Q2: According to Mintzberg (1990), the managers are grouped into ten roles by three main categories. They are Interpersonal roles, Information roles and decisional roles. Analyzing a manager – Richard Branson: When I reviewed the functions, roles and skills, there is no denying I admire a manager Richard Branson a lot, who is the founder and director of Virgin Group. He is approximately 63 years old now, he experienced nearly 47 years in different categories of business. They are record stores, air travel, soft drinks, radio, clothing, holidays, etc. The reason he could own business in different sectors, because he performs different managerial skills and roles, mainly use interpersonal skills and conceptual skills. (Branson,2007) Although Richard Branson did not have any huge plans at the beginning, he performed the function of planning to define the missions for his business, especially his airline. He wants to make his airline growth with revenue, to drive the passengers to their destinations and the employees are satisfied to stay and work for the companies. (Virgin Atlantic, 2013) For the interpersonal skills, he has very good relationship with his own employees. ‘To be a good leader you have to be a great listener. said by Richard Branson. No doubt, he doesnt only require employees to treat the customers well, but also openly listen to the employees ideas, in order to correct the existence problems and bombing new ideas for future integration. He creates new business by communicating with workers. Even though Branson has more than 200 cabin crew, he still spends time with them, listen to their requests. Because he thinks it would be the best way leading them to work in a delighted environment is a business, solving the obstacles would not be the only situation. (Branson,2012) For the conceptual skills, he has unique business sense of sustaining and integrating his business. For instant, before he established Virgin Atlantic, he was doing the business of Virgin Music successfully. A lawyer persuaded Richard to invest in airlines; he was taking risks of promising, as he has no experience. However, he analyzed every risk, strategies and possibility of earning money after making up his mind; he even performed the function of organizing that thinking of the year plan and finding out the reasons why the competitors offered the market prices that low. Until now, Virgin Atlantic is the second largest airlines in the UK. (Branson,2009) In reality, most of the businessmen may not accept this challenge, because they want to ensure the risks are lower than the returns before taking any plans. Richard Branson used to equip himself with different financial perspectives; therefore, he can make a right decision quicker than a normal businessman and this shows that he was performing decisional roles. (Branson,2009) Although Richard Branson has a lot of insight of different perspectives, he would sometimes face the failure. He would like to compete with Coca-Cola and Pepsi for launching Virgin Coke. Nevertheless, he underestimated his competitors, as the location distribution is crucial to drinks industry. Therefore, he performed his function of controlling and the skills of managing changes, to correct the mistakes they made. He changed the location from the USA to Bangladesh and was being the best cola drink there. (Branson,2009) Q3: Reflection of myself: It is possible that everyone would possess managerial skills, including myself. I do possess human skills, conceptual skills and technical skills. However, no matter what my job position is, the degree of owning these skills is not the same. If I need to rank three of them, interpersonal skills would have the strongest degree. I have communication skills and leading function. As I have to deliver the responsibility to other committees and negotiate with suppliers to reduce our costs; therefore, my communication skills have been greatly improved by being figurehead and negotiator. Besides, I need to help keeping a good relationship with the external world. Additionally, I have the function of organizing and the skills and roles of decision-making as well. Being the leader in a team, I have to allocate works to my teammates; as a result, I need to organize all the plans before delivering to anyone. Besides, I faced a lot of obstacles, which are in sudden. If the original plan is not working, I need to perform the function of controlling, to think of another most suitable plan immediately. My conceptual skills should be enhanced, such as predict the future economy situation accurately or invest any properties in a smart way, as integrating our business is the most significant part of upholding current and achieving goals. I would like to be the top manager in next five years or more, who will own at least few shops. Knowing how to calculate the expected return rate and risk would be the first step. Therefore, I would like to learn how I could buy any properties without using my own money, but using the earned profits to invest and earn new profits. It seems my thoughts can be easily accomplished in words, but different skills are involved. Therefore, I should start understanding the bankers thought and how is the banking systems working, and then I could negotiate with them fluently. Because loans from the bank may be the ‘helping hands of my first business. However, my technical skills are not good enough. Lacking of the knowledge of advanced technology and particular software, my technical skills should be enriched as well. Although technical skills are very crucial to some managers, I will not put a lot of effort on learning them. Because first-line manager can be hired for monitoring the daily processing systems; yet, I should learn how to use software to read the financial statement and make proper decision for expanding my business. Additionally, I should briefly know the transactions processing as well, to prevent the employees from making their own interests. Last but not least, employees are the assets of my company; I should learn how to use the best resources and people with the lowest costs to boost the productivity and achieve my goals. In conclusion, management is very crucial to an organization. As people cannot entirely perform all the functions, roles and skills in a specific position, managers are required to shoulder their responsibility continuously to help achieving the defined mission. Besides, reflecting our strengths and weaknesses would be other criteria to run successful business. Bibliography : †¢ Branson,R. , 2007. Business the Richard Branson Way: 10 Secrets of the World’s Greatest Brand Builder. 3rd Edition. Great Britain : The Random House Group Limited. †¢ Brason,R. , 2009. Losing My Virginity : The Autobiography. Great Britain : The Random House Group Limited. †¢ Branson,R. ,2009. Business Stripped Bare. Great Britain: The Random House Group Limited. †¢ Branson,R. , 2012. Like A Virgin : Secrets They Won’t Teach You At Business School. Great Britain : The Random House Group Limited. †¢ Joss,R.L.,2001.Management. Australian Journal of Management, [e-journal] 26,p.89, Available through : London School of Economics and Political Science http://www2.lse.ac.uk/library/home.aspx [ Accessed 2 February 2013]. †¢ Oxford, 2009. Dictionary of Business and Management. United States : Oxford University Press. †¢ Tripathi,P.C. and Reddy,P.N. ,2008. Principles of Management. 4th Edition. India : The McGraw-Hill Publishing Company Limited. †¢ Mintzberg,H. ,1990. Mintzberg on Management : Inside Our Strange World Of Organization. United States of America : The Free Press. †¢ Virgin Atlantic,2013. Our Mission Statement. [online] Available at: http://www.virgin-atlantic.com/en/gb/allaboutus/missionstatement/index.jsp [Accessed 13 February 2013].

The Numerberg Trials: A Victors Justice :: essays research papers fc

The Numerberg Trials Were Unfair   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After World War II, the victorious Allies decided to hold a trial for the defeated Nazis. These trials lasted from November 20, 1945 till October 1, 1946. Although the victors claimed that they would give the accused a fair trial, upon closer inspection we can see that in reality, these trials were biased and were a â€Å"victor’s justice.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  After the war, each of the Allies leaders had their own idea for how they should deal with the Nazi’s. Stalin suggested that they should have trials, but here everyone is guilty and afterwards is shot. What then would be the point of having a trial then? It would just appear as a ‘play’ before they would perform their actual intentions. He may have suggested this also so that he could say that they were fair because they gave them a trial-but what sort of trial? Churchill even said that they should just be lined up and shot. If the leaders of the Allies were saying such things, how could we even expect the trials to be unbiased then? Each allied country had its own persecutors. All the judges at the trials came from the victorious countries as well. Most of the judges were American or Russian.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During the trials, the Americans put American justice over International Justice. It was wrong and unfair however to do such a thing because those who were guilty didn’t even come from the United States? Since the trials were supposed to be international in scope, they shouldn’t be following the justice of one country, but rather international justice. Although the Americans were applying â€Å"American justice† to the trials, they didn’t even follow their constitution while doing so. The US constitution states that laws cannot be made post-facto, but in Nuremberg, they created these laws (for example, crimes against humanity, and waging aggressive war) after the Germans had â€Å"committed† them. It is wrong however to charge defendants with crimes that didn’t exist in anyone’s books at the time they were committed. Although some might say that these crimes are â€Å"common knowledge,† they may in fact be on ly common knowledge to you. Not everyone in the world views things in the same way you might. John F. Kennedy even said about the Nuremberg trials that â€Å"The Constitution was not a collection of loosely given political promises subject to broad interpretation. It was not a list of pleasing platitudes to be set lightly aside when expediency required it†¦[and] discard these Constitutional precepts in order to punish a vanquished enemy.

Physiological Changes Essay

In order to compensate, more salt is added to the diet. This can contribute to, or exacerbate, a pre existing high blood pressure condition. Changes to the gastrointestinal system can seriously affect the overall body of an older adult. Reduced saliva and imbalanced stomach acid contribute to dehydration and bowel problems. Ulcers can result from the imbalanced stomach acid and limited movement. Sometimes these can become bad enough that surgery is necessary. Then, the person is exposed to a higher susceptibility of alternate infections and secondary problems. Decreased muscle mass causes a lack of physical strength and endurance. Overall body composition begins to change in the older adult. Fat in the body increases as muscle mass decreases. Joints stiffen as glucosamine is lost. Ligaments between bones loosen. When an older person tries to walk, just as they did before, they can likely have a fall. This can lead to broken bones. Within the body’s organ system, plaque begins to build up in arterial walls. Increased blood pressure causes the heart to work harder. This is one explanation for the decreased energy and stamina in older adults. With decreased circulation comes a lack of oxygen throughout the entire body system. Dry skin and general forgetfulness becomes common in the older adult. Cognitive decline begins to happen along with the physical changes occurring with age. Illness, disease, memory loss, and changes in a person’s environment can all contribute to physiological decline. Due to lack of physical exercise, proper hydration, and lack of oxygen, emotional stress becomes a serious issue. As stress levels increase, physical stress increases. This cycle becomes reciprocal in nature. Hormonal changes occur simultaneously. This can be detrimental to body’s ability to process vital nutrients in the dietary intake. The imbalance in hormone levels causes issues with insulin and glucose levels. Lack of hormonal balance and dehydration contributes to poorly maintained nerves. Stress is both a result of these changes and a contributor to them. Hearing loss impacts a person’s social abilities and can lead to isolation. Some older adults may be embarrassed at their lack of ability to hear or understand everyday conversation. They tend to withdraw from social opportunities and become susceptible to depression. Along with hearing loss, comes lack of vision. Cataracts, lack of sensitivity to light, and decreased blood supply to the retina all contribute to the inability to correctly see in one’s environment. This can lead to accidents within the living space. The last factor to consider is socioeconomic status. During retirement, income may decrease and medical costs increase. One of the first areas impacted is the affordability of food containing proper nutrition. Social events are not always accessible. These environmental changes coupled with the physiological changes can accelerate physical and mental decline. Supportive services do help to increase both longevity and the quality of life.