Sleep Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Sleep - Research Paper Example The literature reviewed in this paper also confirmed that working women have the potential to experience common stressors, putting them at risk for compromised sleep quality. Table of Contents Sleep Deprivation, Shift work and Women Introduction During the agricultural era, humans structured their sleep-wake patterns with nature's dark-light cycle. They worked during the day and slept at night. Dramatic changes in this natural pattern occurred with the discovery of artificial light and the productivity of the industrial era. Artificial light made it possible for industry to operate 24 hours a day. Thus, employees were scheduled into varying shifts, including evening, night, and rotating shifts. With the information era, carne the reality of cyberspace, and it became possible to work anytime, anywhere. The workplace expanded into homes, and disrupted family and leisure time as well as sleep. Natural sleep-wake patterns were compromised and America evolved into a sleep-deprived society (LeBlond, 2008). Background Between 50 million and 70 million individuals experience frequent sleep problems (LeBlond, 2008), and significant number of workers compromise their health and safety because they mismanage or do not know how to manage sleep. Significant number of Americans are categorized as shift-workers, and most report both decreased quantity and quality of sleep, plus family and social life disruption, and impaired physical and emotional health (Bridges, 2008).Medically, problems with decreased quantity and quality of sleep associated with shift-work are diagnosed as Shift-Work Sleep Disorder, and are clinically diagnosed, by professional nurses, as Sleep Pattern Disturbance (LeBlond, 2008). The ability to cope with shift-work is influenced by a variety of inter-, intra-, and extra-personal factors, including (a) one's attitudes and beliefs about sleep, (b) one's biological clock, (c) domestic and social circumstances, and (d) sleep factors (Monk, 2000). Shift-work specifically impacts biological rhythms, negatively influences the shift-worker's quality of sleep, and disrupts family and social life. In reverse, the quality of sleep, social, and domestic demands influence the shift-worker's ability to cope with an unnatural sleep pattern (Monk, 2000; Bridges, 2008). Problem Statement Shift-workers have been reported to experience decreased quality of sleep comparable to people suffering from jet lag, except shift-workers chronically live at odds with natural sleep-wake patterns. Shift-workers predominantly report increased sleep problems, and many shift-workers may exhibit pathological sleepiness levels on the way to and from work as well as during the work shift (Sekine et al., 2006). The most common problems reported are an increased tendency to fall asleep, increased risk of accidents, impaired mood, and reduced psychomotor performance. Shift-workers, who are able to work away from domestic and social obligations, such as on oil-rigs, report adjusting to this unnatural schedule in 5-7 days. However, shift-workers with domestic and social obligations have major difficulty adjusting, leaving them at high risk for suffering the consequences of poor quantity and quality of sleep (Bridges, 2008; Taskar & Hirshkowitz, 2003). At first, men made up most of the American workforce, but women joined the ranks of the employed during World War II (WWII), and by the 1990's, women's employment patterns replicated men’

Effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing Essay

Effective marketing planning requires full research of the marketing environment. Discuss what needs to be considered when under - Essay Example An effective marketing plan requires a research on the drivers of demand in the business environment. This may entail secondary research or primary research, or both in order to investigate consumer behavior and motivation. Some of the aspects contained in an effective marketing plan are demographic and social changes that may affect sales of the company’s product, for instance a change in the lifestyles and the age structure. New technologies that may open up some markets while at the same time closing some. Economic trends that have an impact on the consumer purchase decision, as well as political environment that alters public spending due to aspects like taxation. By conducting a marketing audit, a firm is able to explore its internal capabilities (Alison, 2011, p 23). Effective marketing planning also calls for an examination of the external environment to a firm, which entails focusing on the existing marketing strategies; the company’s marketing mix, and market s egmentation and segmentation, as well. Scanning and interpreting all these areas of market changes calls for knowledge and experience, and might be the source of competitive advantage. Much of the marketing planning also varies on anticipating the response of competitors. The reason is that interpreting and responding to market changes ahead of t6he competitors may result in high gains of both sales and profits. Marketing audit Marketing audit is a fundamental element of the marketing planning process, which ensures that a firm is profitable. Marketing audit considers both internal and internal influential factors. Most tools for conducting a marketing audit include the SWOT, PESTEL and the porter’s five forces (Bensoussan & Fleisher, 2008, p 23). PESTEL analysis PESTEL analysis is an examination of forces outside the business, but has an impact on firms sales and marketing. These are the political, economic, social, technological and legal aspects. The political element deal s with the impacts of government policy. Government legislation also incorporates legal elements that include taxation policies and laws that govern business operations. Government regulation has the effects on privatization and deregulation policy, which have an overall effect of opening up markets to competition. Companies should not be something for companies to fear, as regulations like lowering pollution may act to spur competitive firms to innovate and lower costs to counter increasing costs of regulation. Economic factors like disposable incomes, unemployment, prevailing interest rates, recession and booms have an impact of a company’s sales. Marketers have to scan and monitor the general economic environment before making any marketing move, as this may have impacts on sales and eventual profitability in a certain time. Social-cultural factors refer to consumers’ patterns of behavior, lifestyles and preferences that affect purchase and buying behaviors (Debra, 2005, p 23). Marketers need to be ware of changes in consumer behavior as a result of change in preferences. Trending social elements affects the demand of a company’s products. Additionally, it is vital to examine the technological changes that happen in the industry, especially changes in information technology, research and development and rate of technology change. The reason is that technology changes affect