Personal Learning Plan To Becoming A Nurse Practitioner

Personal Learning Plan To Becoming A Nurse Practitioner This assignment discusses my Personal Learning Plan (PLP). It examines the rationale for development, justifying why I have not only chosen to undertake Nurse Practitioner (NP) studies, but this course in particular, along with its prescriptive modules and my choice of Extended Nurse Prescribing as the only optional module. I have informally and theoretically identified my learning style as practical, which rationalises the above choices, discussed further in this assignment. At present, I work as the sole Occupational Health (OH) Nurse for the head office of a large London-based media organisation which is a subsidiary company of the FTSE 250 (Financial Times Stock Exchange) listed business. There are an estimated 3000 employees on-site; a catchment size similar to a small GP surgery, with a further 1100 employees regionally, to which telephone/e-mail support is available. 2.2 Link to primary health care Due to the generally low hazard working environment, and as an OH initiative to keep employees well and at work, I largely act as a Practice Nurse (PN) by bringing primary health care (PHC) to the workplace. Care includes treatment and/or advice for minor ailments and injuries; health monitoring and promotion; vaccinations and follow-up care such as wound and ear care. I am supported by a full-time Receptionist, and together we facilitate three afternoon GP clinics per week by two visiting private General Practitioners (GPs). This unique service is carried over from the old Factory Nurse role and outdated in todays OH remit (Bagley, 2008). Occupational Health (OH) Nurses are now moving away from a traditional clinical function (Richardson, 2008). However, whilst the service is promoted as a complement and not a replacement of employees National Health Service (NHS) GP surgeries, it is maintained that it is not in the OH remit to replace services provided by the NHS (Lewis Thornbory, 2006). Yet, in Dame Carol Blacks review of the health of the working population, the report welcome[d] and encourage[d] (Black, 2008: 49) employers offering GP consultations in the workplace, as an initiative towards health and wellbeing for a healthy workforce. Given the waking hours spent at work, and with most GP surgeries closed for the majority of weekends and after hours, the workplace is an ideal setting to target health and wellbeing (Department of Health, 2004), along with prevention and treatment of ill-health. Such a service has potential benefits and opportunities for employees, businesses and NHS services. However, effective communication between all parties involved, is crucial. I make it a priority in my practice to engage in effective communication between both our on-site health professionals, and employees off-site NHS and private health professionals. 2.3 Strengths and weaknesses To fulfil the above role, I was equipped with a Bachelor of Nursing, with the knowledge and skills to care for adult patients in an acute care setting. Although I went on to specialise in critical care, further development was only accessible through in-house training, on-the-job experience, self directed learning and reflection. When I moved to the United Kingdom, I fell into PHC through an agency placement, which was to cover an extended period of leave on the print side of the business. Again, I was working as the sole Nurse, with a private GP visiting once a month. Despite this placement being completely out of my depth and somewhat daunting, I enjoyed the break from acute care, and thrived on the autonomy and diversity of the role. However, this was compromised with a lack of confidence, not having any prior experience, and heightened by working alone. The next section discusses the rationale for my development having been taken on in permanent employment as the sole OH Nurse. 3.0 PERSONAL LEARNING PLAN 3.1 Rationale for development The move to PHC from acute and critical care knowledge and experience prompted a significant need for learning and development. There was no support from management in the sense of allowing study leave or time off work to attend practice-related conferences, and any learning was on-the-job or self directed with no colleagues to facilitate development. One of the main reasons why I took up a position at head office to restructure their OH Department, was that the importance of professional development was not only understood, but both promoted and encouraged. In addition to my gap in knowledge and because I worked alone, I wanted to take my service to the next level, to provide greater satisfaction to both patients and myself by being able to complete the full cycle of health care. For example, rather than advising patients that it sounded like they had a chest infection and should therefore arrange an appointment with the visiting GP (or to see their NHS GP), I would be able to diagnose and prescribe on the spot. This call for development reflects Maslows Hierarchy of Needs, which outlines an aim to bring the Esteem level of confidence, independence and achievement into balance, while also building towards the Self-actualisation level of creativity, problem solving and acceptance of facts (Maslow, 1943). The Self-actualisation level can also be interpreted as my Masters dissertation. Furthermore, ten years have lapsed since completing my Bachelors degree, and I felt stale, very eager to study again, and to learn more about the NHS system. 3.2 Course selection I began investigating NP courses in London. Prior to this course, I had informally identified my learning style as being practical, and set about finding the most hands on course (see Appendix 1 2 for course enquiry and application, with the relevant sections highlighted in blue). This course was therefore selected as the most practical, rather than theoretical, managerial or reflective. I wanted to be able to apply skills in the clinic as I was learning, and definitively at the end of the course. Through Philosophy Politics of Primary Health Care (Philpol), I have realised that my learning so far in PHC replicates Kolbs The Lewinian Experiential Learning Cycle, whereby knowledge is gained through experience (Kolb, 1984). This is further backed by Omrods behavioural definition of learning, again linking learning to experience (Omrod, 2004). Yet, according to Honey Mumford (1992), my learning style is Pragmatic, followed very closely by Reflective. By this model, it means I am generally proactive in attempting new ideas, concepts and practices, and eager to apply them. A Reflector contemplates experiences both personal and those of others, and weighs up all possibilities before coming to a decision. Taken together, pragmatic and reflective learning styles demonstrate a careful and practical approach, with which I concur. 3.3 Modules selected The NP route of the Masters of Science in Primary Care is a very prescriptive course, with only one optional module. This is to satisfy the Royal College of Nursings (RCN) requirements based on international competencies, to qualify as an approved course. In addition, should the Nursing Midwifery Council open up a separate part of the register acknowledging the advanced role of NPs, an RCN approved course will be a pre-requisite requirement (Queen Mary, University of London, 2009). The term NP is currently being loosely applied to Nurses with autonomy and/or experience. Therefore, the term Advanced NP is replacing NP, where Nurses have both formal training, and are working in an advanced role (RCN, 2008). Through Research Methods 1, I have gained the skills to recognise the different methods and approaches to research, and how to read a paper. These skills have enabled me to critically evaluate a paper, distinguish between good and poor research, and to determine whether a papers findings are credible, and should be applied in my practice. Philpol has laid a foundation in my gap in knowledge of PHC structures and policies, including an appreciation of the NHS, its history, services, how it works, and potentially, where it can all go wrong. Some of the most interesting learning has been in discussion and debates with fellow students. Our diverse backgrounds and individual functions in PHC, has been valuable to hear about each others roles and experiences. Physical Assessment 1 and 2, and both the Biological Foundations and Pharmacology in Clinical Practice will provide a much needed brush up in theory, and advance my current knowledge. During my Bachelor degree, learning was largely based on fact recall for exams and practicals. It is because of this, that I am now questioning my actual understanding, which I hope to overcome by these modules. This is a shift from my former academic learning experience to Engels Learning for Understanding, where the emphasis lies in understanding rather than recollection of facts (Engel, 1997). It perhaps also highlights the difference between studying for a Bachelor and a Masters degree. I anticipate that Clinical Practice will be one of the most important modules for me, to be able to apply what I have learnt. In past experience as a nursing student, clinical practice has been where all teachings have made sense rather than exams or assessments. I learn best through a hands on approach, and in past clinical practice modules, it has precipitated interest and knowledge beyond expected outcomes. For my optional module, I have chosen Extended Nurse Prescribing in order to be able to complete the full cycle in a consultation: to be able to prescribe to enhance independence and autonomy in my practice. I have already given my dissertation much thought, hoping to research into our unique OH service, ideally being able publish at the end, and promote our model. At present, my research question is: What are the perceptions of both employees and managers on the provision of a GP and PN in the workplace for a media organisation in London? I propose to conduct this research via an online survey to our employees and Managers with a mixed methods approach: both clicking on answers (quantitative), and asking participants for their thoughts (qualitative). I look forward to the challenges that this PLP presents, but more importantly, the opportunities and stimulation that will arise from my development.

Death, Why Do They Write Thee Essay -- Literary Analysis

The medical world affects our qualms and contemplations every day, whether it is that disease one may struggle with every day or that stomach ache one may have tussled with after consuming some horrendous food. Today, although it may not seem like it, we are privileged to have our prime worries be that of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and mental ailments. All of those terrible infirmities, that we have yet to conquer, seemingly slip into occupations, conversation, compositions, and the routine of our everyday lives. This dilemma has always been a part of history, since colds were life threatening. At one point in time life expectancy was young, almost half of what it is today, many infants didn’t survive birth and diseases went rapid. One can imagine how petrified the people of those periods were. Scientific advancements in the medical field certainly affect the emotions and actions of death in daily life; this correlation is evident in literature throughout the ages, in arrange ments by authors, such as John Dunne, Jonathan Keats, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. From the ages of superstition and homemade remedies arose the foundation of a complex medical world. The 1600s marked the termination of the Renaissance; however, the urge to learn more about the sciences persisted. One improvement was found in the previously women ran apothecary shops or pharmacies (Strocchia). The medical world was reformed when William Harvey discovered how blood circulates in 1628, which became â€Å"the basis for modern research on the heart and blood vessels† (Strocchia). Blood endured as a topic of interest and several years later in 1656 experimentation began on blood transfusions (â€Å"Medical Advances Timeline†). Towards the end of the decade blood cells, tissue... ...e River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 235. Print. "The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning." The Victorian Web: An Overview. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Medical Advances Timeline†. Infoplease. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . Mulrooney, Jonathan. "Keats In The Company Of Kean." Studies In Romanticism 42.2 (2003): 227-250. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. "Renaissance Medicine." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . Strocchia, Sharon T. "The Nun Apothecaries Of Renaissance Florence: Marketing Medicines In The Convent." Renaissance Studies 25.5 (2011): 627-647. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. Thomas, Christina. "Jonathan Keats." English IV. Wheelersburg High School, Wheelersburg. Winter 2012. Lecture. Death, Why Do They Write Thee Essay -- Literary Analysis The medical world affects our qualms and contemplations every day, whether it is that disease one may struggle with every day or that stomach ache one may have tussled with after consuming some horrendous food. Today, although it may not seem like it, we are privileged to have our prime worries be that of cancer, Alzheimer’s, and mental ailments. All of those terrible infirmities, that we have yet to conquer, seemingly slip into occupations, conversation, compositions, and the routine of our everyday lives. This dilemma has always been a part of history, since colds were life threatening. At one point in time life expectancy was young, almost half of what it is today, many infants didn’t survive birth and diseases went rapid. One can imagine how petrified the people of those periods were. Scientific advancements in the medical field certainly affect the emotions and actions of death in daily life; this correlation is evident in literature throughout the ages, in arrange ments by authors, such as John Dunne, Jonathan Keats, and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. From the ages of superstition and homemade remedies arose the foundation of a complex medical world. The 1600s marked the termination of the Renaissance; however, the urge to learn more about the sciences persisted. One improvement was found in the previously women ran apothecary shops or pharmacies (Strocchia). The medical world was reformed when William Harvey discovered how blood circulates in 1628, which became â€Å"the basis for modern research on the heart and blood vessels† (Strocchia). Blood endured as a topic of interest and several years later in 1656 experimentation began on blood transfusions (â€Å"Medical Advances Timeline†). Towards the end of the decade blood cells, tissue... ...e River: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2007. 235. Print. "The Life of Elizabeth Barrett Browning." The Victorian Web: An Overview. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . â€Å"Medical Advances Timeline†. Infoplease. Web. 19 Mar. 2012. . Mulrooney, Jonathan. "Keats In The Company Of Kean." Studies In Romanticism 42.2 (2003): 227-250. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. "Renaissance Medicine." ThinkQuest. Oracle Foundation. Web. 20 Mar. 2012. . Strocchia, Sharon T. "The Nun Apothecaries Of Renaissance Florence: Marketing Medicines In The Convent." Renaissance Studies 25.5 (2011): 627-647. Academic Search Premier. Web. 21 Mar. 2012. Thomas, Christina. "Jonathan Keats." English IV. Wheelersburg High School, Wheelersburg. Winter 2012. Lecture.

Your Writing Style Essay -- Writing Writers Education Essays

Your Writing Style How can one person know what good style is when writing a paper? Where is it written that we as students should have to follow specific guidelines while writing? Anyone wanting to make their writing clear, precise, and simply correct will usually try following some type of guideline, or book in order to perfect their own writing style. After reading both The Elements of Style by Strunk and White, and also Williams’s Style toward Clarity and Grace I can see why teachers discuss these books as tools for correcting and perfecting their students writing, and style. While at the same time understand someone out of the classroom setting, brushes up on their skills in writing with these books before they have to complete some type of report that needs to be concrete and readable. Students and other writers should understand that while these books can be effective tools they simply are that a tool and not a style that should be studied, and copied word for word. In these two different forms of writing and style that are addressed by both authors I feel they are targeting different audiences that have two dissimilar styles. These books are great tools for perfecting our style as writers, but they should not be relied on too heavily by the writer. Everyone has a different angle of style they go for in their writing; these books simply either enhance that style, or with books like Strunk and White’s curtail that style into one of the authors. Making a style one’s own is something most writers’ struggle with in the classroom and through out their careers because there are various types of books all claiming to be the â€Å"Bible† of style. These books are all geared toward... ... broad audience develop their own style, rather than copying his. Each book can benefit a student or person struggling to find the correct writing style for them, but they should understand these are simply guidance books to be used as tools, and not only way to write and use style correctly. Their style will develop over time when they implement some of these elements/rules with their own words. Works Cited Jamison, Larry. â€Å"Assignment 3 STRUNK-A-SAURUS VS TERRA-X-WILLIAMS.† February 16, 2004. Larry Jamison’s Blog. ljamison.blogspot.com (March 7, 2004) Newsom, Paula. â€Å"No Title.† February 10, 2004. Paula Newsom’s Blog. paulanewsom.blogspot.com (March 7, 2004) Strunk, William and White, E.B. The Elements of Style. New York: Longman, 2000. Williams, Joseph. Style toward Clarity and Grace. Chicago, IL: The University of Chicago Press, 1990.

Consumer Society Essay

Write an essay that outlines the view that a consumer society is a divided society. In response to this statement, there needs to be consideration as to whether or not a consumer society, like the one we live in in the UK, is a divided one or not and if so then where these divisions are displayed. Therefore throughout this essay, I’m going to explore some potential divides within society, specifically looking at division between the rich and poor, able-bodied and less able, and lastly the division created between those who have power to influence where we shop and those that do not have as much power, drawing on the example of supermarkets vs. small shop keepers on the high street influencing the consumer public. I will be using ideas from social scientists such as Bauman and Susman to further illustrate my points. As I examine evidence on potential divisions I hope to conclude that the consumer society, in which we live in, is moreover a divided one. Good, well done a cracking introduction here Gwen. This is just fine. Firstly, it could be argued that a division can be seen in a consumer society between the rich and poor. Because we live in a society where you are judged by what you consume, if you do not have much money to consume in the first place then it’s easy to see how someone who is poor may feel lesser or on the outskirts. What we ‘are in to’ and therefore what we consume not only gives us our identity and personality in the contemporary UK (Susman, cited in Hetherington, 2009, p 42), but also gives us our value within society. Kevin Hetherington in chapter one of the material lives strand, shows us a graph that displays what the average weekly household expenditure on main commodities and services in 2007 (Hetherington, 2009, p 24).*1* Transport is seen to be the top weekly expense, as it’s an essential. People might need to travel to work in order to make money for a consumer lifestyle; however the second highest expenditure was, surprisingly, recreation and culture. This category was higher than food and non-alcoholic drink. Hetherington describes this piece of evidence as ‘noteworthy’ presumably because it highlights how our society has become a consumeristic. We spend more money on things we ‘are in to’ than groceries in a week. If you are poorer than the average person in the UK, then it would be very difficult to fit into a society that revolves around consuming when you cannot. *2* Zygmunt Bauman depicts this division between poor and rich in his concept of the seduced and the repressed (Bauman, cited in Hetherington, 2009, p25+26). According to him, people that live in contemporary western society can be roughly put into two categories. The seduced being those who are able to ‘consume effectively’; they are employed, or young and good looking or have a particular skill that is valued financially within society. The repressed might be those that are old without a good pension, or the homeless. These people are repressed as they, more often than not, do not have the means to consume effectively and are therefore valued less in society. This causes a division as they are likely to not feel accepted by the majority who are able to consume. *1* Good content but try to be briefer, no need at all to refer to the module: â€Å"Hetherington displays a graph showing average household expenditure in 2007 (Hetherington, 2009, p 24)†.* *2* Here is where you could helpfully split this paragraph, the first section could have your main point emphasised again and then this would make a good paragraph on its own. People with disabilities might also be seen to fit into the repressed category Bauman speaks of, as they are not always able to go shopping for themselves and a lot of their money arguably goes on facilitating a life in which it is hard to get around. Furthermore, people who are mentally disabled might not have the capacity to know what sorts of things to consume in order for them to fit in with the latest fashion or with the people they’d like to be friends with. Additionally, people that are physically disabled might not only feel excluded by not having the means to consume effectively and therefore fit in with others, but may also be physically excluded as most shopping malls or places of social activity do not cater for someone who is physically impaired. Most shopping malls in particular have escalators, or stairs, or walkways without railings which means those who are disabled are not able to go into these places. This creates a divide between those who are able and those who are less able and can be seen to convey, whether it’s fair or not, that in society, there are winners and losers, people who lose out and people who are winning in the capitalistic race. Excellent content, I appreciate this is your own approach but it is relevant. However, if you find a suitable brief quote from the course it would be better evidenced, you can always do this appropriately but paragraphs without references just show you are not using course material and drop your marks down. This depiction of winners and losers within society is further seen in the tension between supermarkets and small shop keepers on the high street, which can also be described as those that have the power to influence where we shop and those that do not have as much power. This tension is evidently seen in the local market statistics and the falling number of independently owned shops, as well as factory surveys and local case st udies that highlight poverty and hardship (Allen, 2009, p93). Farmer’s markets and independently owned shops on the high street were once the most popular places to shop and were seen by some to contribute to the feeling of community in towns and small cities. *2* However in contemporary consumer society the majority of people are shopping a lot more at big supermarkets and chain stores, resulting in smaller shop keepers going out of business. Consumers may argue here that in supermarkets there’s a lot on offer and for a cheap price. Furthermore, supermarkets sell a huge range of different products, ranging from food to furniture to DVDs (‘Evidence in the social sciences’, 2009, track 1). People these days want all the trappings that come with a consumer lifestyle, and at supermarkets they can get these things for cheaper prices compared with independently owned stores, which appeals to the masses. *3* It is obvious to see how independent store owners and market stall owners may feel some animosity towards supermarket s, causing a power-play division. Excellent content and referencing from various sources, well done *3* You have too much of your own opinion in the next to last sentence here, also you need to mention Dennis Wrong’s theory of zero-sum and positive sum games ( Allen, 2009, p. 70). On the other hand however, supermarkets may argue that their shops contribute to regeneration on the high street as people who might not live in the area are drawn to it because of these mega stores and therefore more people are drawn to high street shops. Furthermore, national market statistics could also be seen as favourable to supermarkets. *4* People are drawn into buying more through these big chain stores therefore the economy is not going downhill. Although, the question arises: to what expense? *5* Supermarket owners say that the exploitation of people working in sweatshops still benefits the workers, as factory visits and local wage level comparisons suggest improved living standards (Allen, 2009, p93). However one might argue that this is true yet the workers are not in a position to protest as, if they do, the supermarkets will always find other people who are desperate to earn money, in that same country or another, who will work for them. *2* This might create a divide in consumer society between those who want to carry on consuming without worrying who’s expense it might be at or if the environment is suffering because of it, and those who care about the exploitation of people from third world countries and how the exportation of goods from countries that are far away increases our carbon footprint. *4* We may be a consumer society, but more and more people are becoming aware and active in world-wide issues like poverty and global warming. This creates a divide between those that are environmentally aware and retailers/ shop owners that have workers in third world countries and are exploiting them. Again, excellent content *4* needs referencing more, quantitative evidence can be shown by the inclusion of a few relevant figures with a reference rather than a word discussion *5* do not include extra questions here, just answer the one set In conclusion, it plausible to say our society is seen to be divided in many different ways. The points I have explored, not only show the many divisions that come up in a consumer society, but also propose the question: is a consumer society a sustainable one? Furthermore, is all that we consume globally sustainable? It is possible that our rate of consumption will one day come to a halt. Additionally, one might argue that the many divisions that are created not just between the general public but between shop-owners show that there are cracks beginning to form in our society.

The Importance of Business Communication

When you think about these two quotes you will find a lot of meanings, something happens in your life around you, about the relations and communication and how to deal with others not just on business also in your general life, so it is too important to learn how to communicate. Communication is the process of transmitting ideas, thoughts, information, opinions, and plans between various parts of an organization or sometimes to those on the outside of an organization who are interest in the business and need to know the information.Communication is one of the most basic functions of management in any organization. Its importance can never be over emphasized. The presence of business communication ensures that there is a sense of professionalism in the business. Good communication means your message is being sent and those receiving it clearly understand it in it’s entirely. Because of this, the receiver will more likely respond to it in a positive manner.When this occurs, it m eans the message was communicated effectively. A customer who receives poor communication from an employee will most likely have an unfavorable response to a company. The reason for this could be because the person listening does not possess a clear understanding of what the person doing the talking is actually saying. Perhaps the request is unclear, or maybe the person listening did not pay close enough attention. Human relations cannot be present without communication.Good and effective communication is required for both personal relationships and successful business relationships. You can use business software and other popular applications for writing communications, or you can utilize the telephone and in-person methods for the spoken part. No matter how you communicate, make sure there is both talking and listening going on and that you take the time to carefully consider what is being said to you. All three forms of communication are important to a business.The written  com munications can serve as a record of sorts while the phone conversations can facilitate the beginning of a great business relationship. The in-person communication will also help to further promote the business principles as well as the products. Face-to-face communication is especially important between companies and their customers. This is what keeps them coming back time and time again and what can place the business in the forefront of many situations that are perfect for acquiring and maintaining customers.Effective communication in business helps better understand a person or situation, enables us to resolve important differences, and builds trust and respect. Effective communication is also about exchanging information and it requires you to understand the emotion behind the information. Effective communication can also improve relationships at work, home, and in social situations by deepening your connections to others and improving teamwork, decision making, caring, and pr oblem solving. It is also stated that effective communication in a business is a learned skill.

Mud City Book Report Essay

Mud City by Deborah Ellis has a person vs. self conflict. Throughout the book, the main character Shauzia is constantly battling with herself so she can make her way from Pakistan to France. At the age of fourteen and living in current Pakistan, she has many things to deal with each day including other people who make her doubt herself. But, she is determined to finish her journey and prove those people wrong. Mrs. Weera helped Shauzia into the refugee camp. Although some people would kill to get into there and have any sort of food and shelter, Shauzia wants more. When she asks to get paid for all of her services that she has done in the camp, Mrs. Weera denies even the thought of it. â€Å" ‘You don’t know what it’s like out there. You’ve always been taken care of. You won’t be able to manage on your own’ † (Ellis 19). Shauzia was furious by this accusation and made up her mind immediately. She would leave this camp and prove herself to Mrs. Weera. But when Shauzia had been delivered back to the camp after a very interesting journey alone in Peshawar, she realizes that they don’t care if she proves herself or not. To Shauzia, it seemed as though Mrs.  Weera did not care enough to even pay her any attention. So Shauzia devised a plan to sneak into the locked flour shack and prove herself once again by stealing flour for her part of camp. But as she was running from the shack a man grabbed the flour out of her arms and proceeded to hit her. â€Å"He raised his arm and slammed his fist into Shauzia’s head. She dropped to the ground. Her head hit the dirt with a thud, and she watched the man run off with her flour† (Ellis 133). She woke up in a hospital bed with a broken leg and cast sometime later. All she could think about was how she had failed to keep the flour from the man. Children always seem to think they are smarter than adults. Even if someone says not to do something, they try to prove how cool they are by doing it anyways. Shauzia continues to do this throughout the book. Eventually she finds that the only person she is proving things to is herself. She decides to continue her journey with someone who she always thought needed to be proved wrong†¦ Mrs. Weera. In the end, Shauzia realizes that other people haven’t always been her problem. Her problem is herself. Finally at the beginning of yet another journey, she finds that this constant battle with herself has come to a close.

Information Sharing Essay

Abstract- Information sharing is a major strategy to counteract the bullwhip effect. Previous research suggested that applying different ISS(information sharing strategy) to the supply chain may improve the supply chain performance under a simplified two-level supply chain model. In this paper, we present a simulation study that investigates the effectiveness of information sharing under different information sharing strategy scenarios within a complex multi-level supply chain model. In our research, a computer model is developed to simulate the complex multi-level supply chain model. The simulation data and results analysis show both distributors and suppliers gain significantly from information sharing no matter under different information sharing strategy except retailers and different information sharing strategy has great influence on supply chain performance. Keywords- information sharing; information sharing strategy; bullwhip effect; multi-level supply chain model; simulation I. INTRODUCTION Supply chain collaboration has a major impact on an organization’s ability to meet customer needs and reduce costs, especially under demand uncertainty. It has become a research focus. While a key step in supply chain collaboration is to share information among the supply chain partners. And information sharing is also viewed as a major strategy to counteract the bullwhip effect [1,2,3,4]. So evaluating the effectiveness or the value of information sharing becomes hot issue[5,6].Previous research indicated the effectiveness of information sharing on supply chain[7]. Other research suggested that applying different ISS to the supply chain under different demand patterns may improve the supply chain performance[8,9,13,14]. But the supply chain model of their research was two-level or simplified. What’s  more their research is independent and did not connect the two factors which are information sharing and information sharing strategy. Till now, very little research has been done about the effectiveness of information sharing and whether different ISS improve the supply chain performance in complex multilevel supply chain. Z.Huang and A.Gangopadhyay[7] put forward that the inventory costs and backorder penalties are measured in evaluating the supply chain performance, but it is limited because the function is not an expression. We improve on it and put forward an approximately simplifying  expression based on it, which helps us to take a computer simulation approach in investigating the impact of information sharing among trading partners on supply chain performance in different information sharing strategies in the complex multi-level supply chain model. Z. Huang and A. Gangopadhyay[7] use a comprehensive supply chain model. In fact, their model is simplified: 1) Only two different parameters, low and high, are used to present different levels of uncertainty demand fluctuation by random number generator. 2) Their research doesn’t take into account the demand forecasting. 3) In their research different levels of inventory buffer instead of a specific inventory model are used, and they only examine three different ranges of inventory buffer levels: 100%-150%, 150%-200%, and 200%250%. In this paper, we put forward an improved multi-level supply chain model based on these unlimited. And we compare the impact of different information sharing strategy by building a new supply chain performance function. Especially we use computer program to simulate the different parameters in random number generator which are used to present different levels of uncertainty demand fluctuation under different information sharing strategy scenarios. II. INFORMATION SHARING STRATEGY IN SCM Supply chain management (SCM) is a set of approaches utilized to efficiently integrate suppliers, manufacturers, warehouses, distributors and retailers, so that goods are produced, distributed and delivered at the right quantities, to the right places, and at the right time. In this part, we introduce an important problem in SCM-the bullwhip effect and the suggested solution-information sharing strategy (ISS). A. Bullwhip Effiet andInformation Sharing The Bullwhip effect is one of the most well-known problems of SCM. It refers to the amplification of demand variability resulted from the information distortion in a supply chain where companies upstream do not have information on the actual consumer demand [4]. The effects of the bullwhip effect are: large safety stock, large inventory costs, poor customer service level and inefficient resource use. Its five main causes include: 1) demand forecast update; 2) lead-time;  Authorized licensed use limited to: University Kebangsaan Malaysia. Downloaded on July 23,2010 at 04:55:55 UTC from IEEE Xplore. Restrictions apply. 3) order batching; 4) price fluctuation; and 5) shortage gaming [1, 4]. ISS has long been suggested as a method to reduce the bullwhip effect and to help match supply with demand [1, 3, 4, 8, 9, 10, 19], especially in today’s world where IT enables the information to be shared among supply chain partners. Fisher [20] discussed the relationship among product nature, demand pattern and ISS. Tan and Wang [10] suggested that applying different ISS to the supply chain under different demand patterns may improve the supply chain performance. But the supply chain model of their research was two-level or simplified. Commonly used ISSs include: order information, demand information, shipment information, inventory information and forecast information sharing [10]. Each assumes different information policy and the information can flow upstream or downstream in the supply chain. HA3: there is positive relationship between the inventory buffer level and the effect of information sharing on the supply chain performance. HA4: there is positive relationship between the demand variability, the inventory buffer level and the effect of information sharing on the supply chain performance. Furthermore, we assume the two following hypotheses involving  the impact of information sharing on supply chain performance in different information sharing strategies: HB 1: information sharing strategy influences the supply chain performance significantly. HB2: HAl, HA2, HA3 and HA4 come into existence under different information sharing strategy including OISS, DISS and SISS. III. THE DESIGN OF MULTI-LEVEL SUPPLY CHAIN MODEL Our aim to design the multi-level supply chain model is to understand the behaviors of the supply chain and to find out the impact on supply chain performance of different ISS according to end consumers’ demand uncertainty. The performance of the system under a number of different scenarios needs to be measured, which falls into the specific field of computer simulation. B. Basic Information Sharing Strategies In this paper, we will consider three information sharing strategies, which are order information sharing strategy (OISS), demand information strategy (DISS) and sales information sharing strategy (SISS)[ll]. l)Order information sharing strategy(OISS): each tier bases its demand forecast only on the order from the lower tier but does not know other tiers’ inventory, shipment, or delivery. Under OISS, each tiers share their forecasting order information in the planning horizon from downstream to upstream besides the real order. 2)Demand information sharing strategy (DISS): each tier is provided with the real end consumer’s demand. The inventory management system used is the echelon inventory system. Under DISS, each tiers share to their forecasting net demand information with their higher tiers in the planning horizon besides the real order. 3)Shipment information sharing strategy(SISS): which means that each tiers share the historical information of real shipment information. Under SISS, upper tiers sharing their shipment information to their downstream customers can help them make their production /inventory decision. Hypotheses of Peiformances of IS andISSs The overall objective of this research is to study the value of information sharing by examining the combined effects of information sharing, demand variability, and inventory level on supply chain performance. Let Y be the supply chain performance, a be the degrees of information sharing, b be the demand variability, and c be the inventory buffer level [7]. C A. Multi-level Supply Chain Model For a traditional supply chain, each entity only interacts with its immediate upstream and downstream entities, Fig.l, and makes decision based on the information which it can attain for its own optimal goal. Our selection of the four-level information strengthened supply chain model is more generic than the two-level chain structure that is prevalent in most of the current researches. At each level, we have multiple trading partners. Each node/tier interacts with other according to the acquaintance relationship stipulated as the information and physical material flows in Fig.l. Under normal supply chain operation, each tier of the chain generates a forecast for the next period based on the demand that it faces from the previous chain tier. Using information sharing, the central warehouse of each tier has access to its customer demand data and generates its forecast according to that, bypass the information distortion caused by the stores node. We expec t that information sharing can help reducing each tier’s warehouse order oscillation and mean cycle inventory. Y = f(a,b,c) ( 1) Then we assume the four following hypotheses involving the degree of information sharing (a): HAl: there is positive relationship between the degrees of information sharing and the supply chain performance. HA2: there is positive relationship between the demand variability and the effect of information sharing on the supply chain performance.