Effect of Power and Politics in an Organization Essay

There are many aspects of an organization that can greatly affect their success and moral. Some of the areas that can play a key role in the organization are; power, politics, code of conduct, business intentions, objectivity, personal agendas, and organizational goals. Power and politics can have both a positive and negative affect on an organization. Businesses must make objective decisions and insure their intentions remain in line with the organization’s goals. Organizations must not allow personal agendas to interfere with their business decisions and must make sound ethical decisions. Organizational politics can have a detrimental affect on employee’s, moral, loyalty, and trust. Power and PoliticsPower can be motivators in both a positive and negative manner. Wideman, 2003, states that power is the ability to persuade others to do the following; get them to do what you want them to do, when to do it, and in the manner you want them to do it. Wideman also maintains that influence is the exercise of authority or leadership, to persuade others, and organize them to follow. The struggle of power and influence by competing groups creates politics. Some believe that the practice of politics can be cunning and deceitful, while others believe it can be a motivator with positive results. The reality is that office politics does exist in most organizations. Some issues in an organization that may create competing groups; departmental budgets, space allocations, project responsibilities, and salary adjustment (Robbins, 2001). Limited resources in an organization will also form competing groups because the gained resource of a group is always at the expense of another group or department. Competing groups require more than convincing facts in order to get management to make a decision; the group that can influence and pollute the facts of other groups will be more successful (Robbins, 2001). Office politics or effective management; some of these terminologies are used when office politics are obvious and things go wrong; â€Å"kissing up†, apple polishing, passing the buck, covering your rear, creating conflict, forming coalitions, cunning, arrogant and scheming. These are a some terminologies associated with obvious office politics with positive results; developing working relationships, encouraging change and  innovation, improving efficiency, facilitating teamwork, planning ahead, astute, and practical-minded. (Robbins 2001). Robbins, 2001, states that there are two different forms of office politics legitimate and illegitimate politics. The normal everyday politics such as â€Å"complaining to your supervisor, bypassing the chain of command, forming coalitions, obstructing organization policies or†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Robbins 2001). Illegitimate politics are acts of sabotage, whistle-blowing, different types of protest such as group coming in to work late or not coming in at all. The negative impacts can be described by past scandals resulting in the crash of corporations, non-accountability in the accounting industry, and lack of ethical direction from boards of directors and have cost thousands of people their jobs and taken millions of peoples’ retirement funds to zero. 401k plans that held the stocks for retirement were all depleted from the unethical practices of Enron. How, with all the checks and balances that are supposedly in place within the government, did Enron happen? The answer could very possibly be greed, fear, or just following the crowd. This can be related to the politics played upon by power. On a positive side of power and politics organizations have also been found to be responsible and able to promote trust. Take Johnson & Johnson for example, when Tylenol was tampered with leaving several people ill, they did not listen to their lawyers who were trying to prevent lawsuits, they admitted there was a problem and pulled all products from off the shelves. They did not hide behind the organization shirttails’ of attorneys’, they faced up and proved to society to be trust worthy. Which in turn, they gained respect from the general public. Scandals grow larger and more intensive day-by-day for organizations. In part certain government laws have provided guidelines to follow as a check and balance for the unethical behavior amongst large organizations. Sarbanes-Oxley being one to keep company’s honest in bookkeeping and allowing documentation to be proof that the organization is doing what is ethical. This will also be a source of insurance that individuals will not loose everything like those thousands of people did in the demise of Enron. Code of Conduct, Intentions, and ObjectivityIf the employees accept gifts, the company or organization wants to make sure the employees are in compliance with the policy or law. Which is also called â€Å"Code of Conduct† and this is to ensure that employee’s decisions will not create a conflict of interest. The code strengthens standards and includes measures to protect employees from outside pressure, such a solicitation for personal affairs and the offering of gifts. Most companies have a strict code of business ethics and conduct. The code discourages employees from accepting gifts that could be seen as an attempt to manipulate business decisions. Some companies forbid their employees to accept any gifts of any value. If gifts are received or if employees are undecided about whether they can accept the gift, the incident must be reported to the manager or supervisor. â€Å"All managers should establish a written policy limiting the acceptance of gifts and entertainment to items of small value. Managers should consider creating limits, for example-an amount per time period, per vendor for accepting gifts and prohibit the acceptance of any cash gifts† (Unswerving Loyalty, 2006). Employees should be required to document or disclose to the manager, the acceptance of any gift or entertainment. However, this is not meant to stop managers from maintaining multiple business relationships with a client, as long as possible conflicts of interest are managed and disclosed. Violating the code of conduct, regarding gifts if not reported can result in punishment. The employee can be penalized and there will also be an investigation. Providing clients with a code of ethics, sets a framework for how the manager conducts their business is an important step in developing the trust and confidence necessary for a successful investment management relationship. Organizations must make sound business decisions and have good intentions. They must have processes in place in order to insure upper management remains objective. Organizations can be easily influenced by outside forces when having to hire employees, contractors, or expansion. Executives and upper management must be able to decide, when making business decisions, on whether to decision will benefit the organization as a whole or suit their  personal or future needs. Organizations of today have to deal with a high amount of turnover in their executive positions. After these positions are vacated and new individuals are appointed is when an organization may finally find information on whether their executives were making sound organization decisions or decision that benefited them and assisted with their future gains or employment. Personal Agenda and Organizational GoalsAs a society and within organizations we stand behind the shared belief in the concept of structure, the openness of our management, and building trust. Within many organizations there is an underlying search for power. People seek power within an organization through many means. Power can be based on the influences of certain groups or individuals within an organization that might be another step closer to the desired position, goal, or outcome. People have become wary of organizations. An example that surfaced this year is the scandal involving the huge insurance company named AIG. According to (Scherer, 2005), the scandal links two of the world’s richest men. According to Forbes Magazine, Buffet is the world’s second-richest person with assets of $41 billion. Greenberg is ranked 132nd in the world and 59th in the US with assets of $3.1 billion. Using a position or influence within an organization can be considered a conflict of interest. In other words, conflict of interest exists when a board member or officer personally benefits, or is perceived to personally benefit, from an activity of the organization (Colbert, 1999). Personal power is used within an organization for personal gain as well as to benefit the organization. Expertise, rational persuasion, and reference are forms of personal power used by management to control the behavior of subordinates. Possessing the knowledge and experience needed uses expertise power. Expert power is increased when subordinates are denied access to critical information or to key contact persons. Rational persuasion can be effective by gaining the trust of the subordinates. Through reverent power, subordinates are controlled because they respect, admire and want to please their managers. Organizational politics are the processes used in which individuals work  together, conflict, compete in to make decisions, evaluate information, and structure or restructure an organization. They can have both good and bad effects. Organizational politics can cause loyalty to decrease and one’s own interest to increase. Individuals may be impacted by feelings of unfairness, discontent, anxiety, and stress. They may also be less willing to share information and be more competitive. Organizational politics can also lead to productive changes and enhance the achievement of organizational goals in an organization. Legal vs. Ethical It is human nature to want to succeed and achieve. Some individuals have been fortunate to work for an organization that is respected by the community from an external perspective and feel treated and respected as a part of the organization from within. Credibility can be an important part of an organization. There are often choices that might have to be made, for many different reasons, as we have seen that can lead to the most well respected individuals and organizations to fall. Deciding on what might be in the best interest and not necessarily ethical can be a difficult decision made by one or a few. What is legal and what is ethical affect nearly every aspect of today’s life. A few examples are the use of the internet, ethics in medicine, and ethics within an organization. Putting a legal box around what is ethical conduct is a challenge that many companies face today. The processes by which the organization is operated should be ethically based. The behavior of all employees from the highest to lowest should be ethical. Their behavior should result in the most favorable outcome for all involved. All involved should be treated fairly and their rights respected. Conclusion There are many aspects of an organization, both internal and external, that will affect their success. Some of these are out of their control, but quite a few can be controlled within the organization. Organizations must insure decisions are not based on personal agendas or outside influences offering certain perks for contracts. Power and organization politics can have both a negative or positive affect on an organization. Through all the decisions an organization will make, they must  insure they do not compromise their code of conduct, code of ethics, or decrease employee moral. References Colbert, S. (1999). Conflict of interest: what it is and how to avoid it. OCD Technote. Retrieved January 28, 2007, from http://ocdweb.sc.egov.usda.gov/technotes/tn15.pdfRobbins, Stephen (2001). Organizational behavior. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice HallScherer, R. (2005). A top insurance company as the new enron? Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved January 28, 2007, from http://www.globalpolicy.org/socecon/crisis/corporate/2005/0401aig.htmUnswerving Loyalty-Global Investor, (2006) http: web.ebscohost.comWideman, Max (2003, August). Power, influence & politics. Retrieved January 26, 2007, from Max’s Issacons Web site: http://www.maxwideman.com/issacons3/iac1365/index.htm

How Managers Can Use Motivational Theories to Improve Performance Research Paper

How Managers Can Use Motivational Theories to Improve Performance - Research Paper Example In the case when the production staff is not provided with the motivation to produce end products, to be able to fulfill the demand, the manager would be in serious trouble and it may contribute to majorly drastic consequences. If the efficiency of an organization is to be promoted there has to be provision of motivation. The case can be such that the business division has the very products and resources. However, merely a combination of superior products and resources cannot lead to the best consequences: there is a need for motivation as well if a company aims to be successful (Strategic Direction 22). Simply training the employees and delegating them to work does not ensure loyalty and dedication on their part. Employees have to be motivated in order to attain this. Motivation affects work performance to a great degree, thus it holds a great significance for any organization. As clichà ©d as it may sound employees are an organization’s greatest asset and without motivated workers a company cannot be efficient. A company can only go as far as its workers would lead it, as they are the ones who drive it. An organisation is simply a group of individuals who work together for a general reason. Actua lly they make up the company. No matter how effective the organisation’s technology or devices are, their employees remain as the most valuable asset. Therefore, it is necessary that they are provided with motivation so as to encourage them to perform better and better, which would lead to the company’s increased productivity. Several of the business managers of today do not know how effective motivation can be on the efficiency of their company. Therefore, they are required to learn its importance and to recognize the ways through which they can positively motivate their employees at the workplace. The size of the company is

Bring Tare To Justice Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Bring Tare To Justice - Case Study Example In October 2007, a winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature donated her money for a campaign that holds Boney Tare accountable for the Anglo-Mesopotistani War in the criminal and civil courts of England. The Lobby started a campaign with the slogan, 'Bring Tare to Justice'. The lobby has approached for advice on the advantages and disadvantages of suing Boney Tare in Civil Courts for Torts of Trespass against Tare in person and against Misfeasance in Public Office. There are thus two ways that justice could be brought against Tare - that is, against Tare as a person and against Misfeasance in Public Office. The potential claimants at the Lobby who can help sue Tare are Omar, who has been interned by the British Army for the last four years in its Detention Facility in Mespotistan, Ali, who was the victim of torture by two British soldiers who were subsequently court-martialled for their acts. Doris, a UK citizen who has never been to Mespotistan, but who is strongly of the opinion Tare should pay exemplary damages to those he has trespassed against. Fatima, whose husband died in the March 2003 bombing raids. Considering an answer to these questions would be the best method to understand the ways in which any legal proceedings could be brought against Boney Tare both on the basis that he has wronged in person and that there has also been Misfeasance in Public Office. After considering the four potential claimants who can help sue and testify against, it can also be decided as to who would be better suited to testify against Tare. For law dealing with the Trespass against the Person, the first issue is whether the English Courts have jurisdiction over a decision taken in England to commit false imprisonments in Mespotistan. Boney Tare can be sued on the basis of Tort or for committing legal wrong of Trespass and Misfeasance. Tort is a branch of Civil law and although similar to criminal law Tort is a case between private parties so in this case, under Tort a case can be brought up against Tare as an individual and Omar who was at the detention facility in Mespotistan or Ali who was a victim of Torture could bring up the case against Tare. The court might order to pay damages to Ali or Omar or stop the wrongful activity (in this case, the invasion and war in Mespotistan). The bilateral aspect of Tort law allows victims to sue the injurers directly without blaming the state and this provision can allow

Thornton's Strategic Choices Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words - 1

Thornton's Strategic Choices - Essay Example At that time, he might have not realized that the foundation of his shop was actually the foundation of an international business, which would continue to grow in the coming decades, and his products would reach many countries. His two sons, Norman and Stanley, joined their father and started conduct many of functions, such as manufacturing, packaging, retailing and others, in-house. During the 1920s, the shop started attracting customers from distant areas and the benefits of constant product innovation became apparent to Thorntons (Allen, 2010, p. 85). During the 1970s, the company slowly started expanding into the neighbouring countries of Europe and Australia. By the year 1972, the exports to these countries accounted more than 0.3 million pounds. Impressed with the gains made through exports, the company decided to enter into US market with the long-term expansion plan of setting up 100 stores in the next decade (Mullins and Walker, 2009, p. 390). Although, the company would hav e to later close down the purchased shops and abandon these plans because of failures in the US market. By the late 1980s, Thorntons had established itself as a strong brand name in UK with 170 company owned shops and 100 franchised outlets. Thornton had become an important brand name of chocolate at High Street. Thornton had now become a public company, with impressive share performance (Thornton and Bishton, 2009, p. 258). Business Model and Operations Thorntons only has a 1 percent market share of the confectionary market and claims to be having a 6 percent share of the confectionary gift market according to the statistics from the year 2009. Nevertheless, the company is the biggest manufacturer and retailer of specialist chocolates in the UK market. The company’s core product is boxed chocolates and it believes that its core competency lies in the manufacturing of these chocolates, with the help of quality ingredients and company owned recopies (Mullins and Walker, 2009, p. 390). The in house manufacturing method is largely labour intensive. The company relies on outside suppliers for packaging, basic liquid chocolate and solid chocolate bars (noncore business). In order to make up for sales during low seasons, the company would go on to sell ice creams and greeting cards as well but in selected outlets, mostly franchised. The company places special attention on the freshness of its product, in order to provide a unique customer experience (Thornton and Bishton, 2009, p. 258). As mentioned earlier, Thornton has been distributing its product to the customers in two different ways. First, the company owned stores, which were costly to acquire or obtain and to maintain in the long term as well. However, the company could ensure greater control over the business and in terms of interaction with

Strategic management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Strategic management - Assignment Example As Atkinson (2011) reports, in November 2011, the Citigroup planned to sell EMI Group’s recorded music sector to Universal Music Group and music publishing division to Sony/ATV consortium. This paper will use a number of strategic management theories including SWOT analysis, PESTLE analysis, Porter’s five forces model, and BCG matrix to assess the level of competitiveness of EMI and identify the need for strategic change in the digital competitive environment of 2012. SWOT Analysis Strengths Strong global presence is one of the major strengths of the EMI group because this factor assists the company to spread its risk elements. In addition, EMI is one of the world’s leading music corporations with 12.6% global market share (Light Speed Research, 2012). The group has a roster of over 1300 artists and many of them are world class artists like David Bowie and Norah Jones. The merger of the Columbia Graphophone Company and the Gramophone Company in 1931 resulted in t he formation of EMI Ltd. Weaknesses The EMI Music’s poor performance in the US market, the world’s largest recorded music market, seems to be its most potential weakness. Since EMI is an independent music industry, it has to find its own resources without any assistance from a parent company. Declining global market share is another weakness of the organisation. Financial data indicate that the firm’s global market share dropped from 13.4% in 2002 to 12.6% in 2003 and eventually 9.55% in 2005 (Bridgewell, 2004). Opportunities Joint ventures offer greater expansion opportunities for the company. The company has often enjoyed potential advantages from its joint ventures with other larger multinationals such as Apple and Yahoo. Liberalisation of mergers and acquisitions in the music industry would significantly promote the company’s growth (Department of Business Innovation & Skills, 2010). In addition, the fast development of internet applications also crea tes a range of potential opportunities for the firm. Threats Declining scope of recorded music is identified to be the biggest threat to the EMI Group. The recent global recession drastically affected the global economy and this condition appears to be an impediment to the growth of the music industry as well. Evidently, music piracy and aggressive market competition also threaten the further development of EMI. PESTLE Analysis Political factors The EMI Group maintains good relations with foreign countries to expand its business territory and thereby improve global market share. The company obtains good support from the political spectrum as it has designed many employee benefit schemes such as flexible working hours, family policies, and other financial incentives. Economic factors The global economic landscape is not much appealing because of the drastic effects of the recent global recession. Many of the EMI’s markets are still under the process of recovery. Hence, the eco nomic factors are not favourable for the organisation. Social factors The EMI website claims, â€Å"whatever the culture, whatever the society, wherever there are people, there is music† (EMI, 2012). In addition, EMI gives more focus on specific cultural aspects of each country where the company has a music market. Hence, social factors are less likely to affect the EMI’s business. Technological factors The technology sector has been performing outstandingly over the

Accounting & finance Financial Ratio Anlysis Essay

Accounting & finance Financial Ratio Anlysis - Essay Example Prolong Limited’s gross profit margin decreased from 42.4% in 2009 to 37.5% in 2010. This can be due to the considerable increase in the cost of goods sold from $680,000 in 2009 to $750,000 in 2010. Prolong Limited’s net profit margin was 19.8 % in 2009 and decreased to 13.9 % in 2010. This was due to the increase in the operating expenses of the company. This rise in costs can be due to the rise in the inflation rate in the economy. Prolong Limited should take measures to control their costs of producing the goods. 60% of the current assets are tied up in stock due to which the liquidity position of the company is not very good. Prolong Ltd does not have ample cash to repay its creditors and due to this amount owed to the creditors have increased. Prolong Ltd should improve upon its liquidity position so that it can repay its debt on time. The overall liquidity of the company in 2010 has improved because of the bank loan taken by Prolong Ltd. But still, the creditors of Prolong Ltd are accumulating and it would be difficult for Prolong Ltd to repay its debt if the company does not generate ample cash through sales. Moreover, most of the cash of Prolong Ltd is tied up in non-current assets. Prolong Ltd can generate cash by selling off some of their non-current assets which will improve their liquidity position. Asset turnover indicates the sales that are generated from $1 investments in assets. Prolong’s Ltd asset turnover remained relatively stable in 2009 and 2010. Although the sales increased marginally by $20,000, the total assets increased by $99,000. The investment in the assets was not translated into the corresponding increase in sales revenue. Days inventory ratio of Prolong Ltd indicate that it took 79 days on average to sell the goods in inventory in 2009 and 93 days in 2010. The days inventory has increased in 2010 and this high days inventory figure is not very beneficial for the company. Days debtor ratio indicates

Should stem cell transplants be done Essay Example for Free

Should stem cell transplants be done Essay Stem cell transplants are often one of the last choices a patient has to survive cancer. All have already gone through chemotherapy, radiation therapy or both and this is the next step in their treatment. Patients have two choices in transplants autologous or allogeneic. In an autologous transplant stem cells are collected from the patient and then given back to them at a later date after the body has been properly prepared for transplantation. In an allogeneic transplant stem cells are collected from a donor, related or unrelated to the patient, then transplanted into the patient. Stem cells can be collected in two different ways. One way is via bone marrow and the other is via peripheral blood. The donor’s or patient’s bone marrow is collected from the pelvis, femur or sternum, though the pelvis is the most common, and then infused into the patient via a central line. In a peripheral blood stem cell collection the donor or the patient has their stem cells collected via a central line in a process called apheresis. This can take multiple collections to ensure enough stem cells for transplantation. Both procedures need to be meticulously planned and all support medications given to ensure successful collection. There are many cancers that stem cell transplants are commonly used for. Multiple myeloma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, Hodgkin’s disease and chronic myelogenous leukemia are more commonly treated with transplantation. Each of these cancers has a different success rate, some have a higher success rates than with chemotherapy alone. Proper preparation is important for stem cell transplants. All patients undergo chemotherapy prior to transplantation. This is used to clear out the bone marrow of cells to ensure a successful transplant. Also most patients have already undergone chemotherapy in hopes of curing their cancer without having to have a stem cell transplant. Chemotherapy is not the only medication used to aid in transplants. Patients generally receive G-CSF injections to help promote cell production prior to harvest and to aid in engraftment. Transplantation is not without risks, patients can experience fatigue, infections, lowered red blood cells and platelets or even graft versus host disease. These can all be treated though with good supportive care by the physicians and other support staff. Research shows that stem cell transplants should be done in certain cases because it can allow a greater quality of life by ridding the body of cancer and promoting healthy cell growth and allowing a patient to have other options of therapies to overcome cancer. Multiple myeloma is one of the cancers that can have successful outcomes by a stem cell transplant. Though research shows this is not a true curative treatment for patients, it can give them a chance at a longer life. Both autologous and allogeneic transplants can be done for multiple myeloma though allogeneic transplants are more successful. Bruno et al, (2007) attributes this to the inability of the pre-transplant chemotherapy to eradicate all myeloma cells. Also allografting using stem cells from a HLA-identical sibling has higher success rates than transplants using non HLA-identical siblings. Another cancer that has successful outcomes after transplantation is acute lymphoblastic leukemia. Kiehl et al, (2004) shows that up to 46% of patients who receive an allogeneic transplant have successful disease free survival. Higher risk patients and patients who are in their second complete remission should undergo a stem cell transplant for a greater chance at long term survival. Those who are in their third complete remission, or have had induction failure, have a lower chance at a successful transplant with disease free survival. As stated by Kiehl et al, (2004) these patients only have a 5-15% chance of long term survival despite transplantation. The allogeneic donor can either be related or unrelated, though the donor of choice is a matched sibling. This is not always possible so transplantation should go ahead with and unrelated donor. Hodgkin’s disease can be successfully cured with chemotherapy and radiotherapy, though some patients will need transplantation at some point. Research by Sureda et al, (2001) shows that these patients can achieve long term survival after an autologous stem cell transplant. These patients have generally relapsed after initial chemotherapy or have refractory disease. Poorer outcomes after transplantation can be found in patients who have a short remission period or bulky disease at time of transplantation. This is not a deciding factor in not attempting a transplant though. Stem cell transplants continue to be the only curative option for chronic myelogenous leukemia. Most of these patients receive an allogeneic transplant though some undergo and autologous if no donors are available. Maziaz and Mauro, (2004) show that an allogeneic transplant from a sibling donor had a 60% disease free survival at 5 years. Autologous transplants have an 80% survival rate at 5 years though these patients are only in remission not truly disease free. Age, other health factors, and donor availability are factors to be considered prior to transplant. Maziarz and Mauro, (2003) bring up the question of non-transplant therapy by using Imatinib. This medication is still being researched regarding its efficacy and curative rates. This could be an option for patients who are too ill to undergo a transplant. Stem cell transplants are reliant on multiple medications prior to and after transplantation. Chemotherapies are used to ablate the bone marrow and ready it for production of new healthy cells. Granulocyte colony stimulating factor, G-CSF, is used pre and post transplantation. This medication assists in cell production for a successful harvest and then for successful engraftment. High dose chemotherapies such as Ifosfamide, Carboplatin and Etoposide are often used prior to transplantation. (Schlemmer et al, 2006, Straka et al, 20003) These medications ready the bone marrow for transplantation by destroying cells, both good and bad. Elderly patients and patients who cannot tolerate full dose therapy are often given doses at a decreased rate. This does not decrease the chances of a successful transplantation. (Straka et al, 2003) Without obliteration of all cells successful engraftment could not happen. The stem cells would be overrun by cancerous cells and the disease would continue. This is one reason why so much chemotherapy is given prior to transplantation. Granulocyte colony stimulating factor, G-CSF, is a very important part of stem cell transplantation. It stimulates the bone marrow to produce more leukocytes. G-CSF is used both pre and post transplantation. When used pre transplantation it helps produce more lymphocytes that are then harvested for transplantation. Post transplantation it is used to support engraftment and decrease neutropenia. Samaras et al, (2010) states the use of G-CSF can reduce the time to engraftment and potentially lower the risk for post-transplant infections. There are different side effects and complications that can arise from transplantation. As the body is prepared for transplantation, the body is stripped of its natural defenses against infection. With no white cells to help battle against opportunistic infections a patient can become extremely ill. They are also at risk for anemia and thrombocytopenia as the chemotherapy also destroys red blood cells and platelets. This is one reason patients are kept in the hospital for many days during high doses of chemotherapy. They are also at continued risk after transplantation until engraftment and cell recovery happens. Another major side effect that can happen is graft versus host disease (GVHD). This is where the donor cells perceive the recipient’s body as foreign and begin to attack the body. There are 4 grades of graft versus host disease and they can either be acute or chronic. Acute GVHD generally happens as the new cells are engrafting into the host body. Chronic GVHD can happen years later and is more severe in effects to the body. In the acute phases of GVHD the patient can be treated and cured by the use of short term immunosuppressant therapy and steroids. Long term immunosuppression can lessen the effects on the body in chronic GVHD. This in itself can lead to infections due to chronic immunosuppression. (Kiehl et al, 2004, Bruno et al, 2007) Most patients experience some level of fatigue while recovering from transplants. This can be exacerbated by nausea, vomiting, poor appetite, sleep issues and other side effects of transplantation. As patients experience more fatigue they become less inclined to do further activities. It is important to treat all symptoms effectively and encourage patients to be up and moving. This can shorten hospital stays and lessen the chances of infections. (Hacker et al, 2006) Stem cell transplants though complicated and risky are still one of the best choices for many patients. They can be the last chance at survival for patients as well as the best option for the possibility of longer life living with cancer. Relapse and failure of transplant are risks that patients choose to take. There is a complex series of chemotherapy and supportive medications for transplant, but without these, transplantation would not be possible at all. Though side effects can happen, the benefits far outweigh the risks associated with transplantation. Research shows that stem cell transplants should be done in certain cases because it can allow a greater quality of life by ridding the body of cancer and promoting healthy cell growth and allowing a patient to have other options of therapies to overcome cancer. As the years continue and further research is done stem cell transplants will become the first step in caring for cancer patients.